Hi, I'm Jim. I got banded on Nov. 21st and am still a bit apprehensive about this whole "journey" thing. Considering what was done to me, I can't believe how good I feel. I've only been nauseous once, and that was in the car on the way home from surgery. My largest incision is pretty tender, especially if I cough, but the other four are really no big deal. I have this odd cramp/air bubble kinda feeling in my left shoulder/chest, but they told me to expect that. I'm hardly taking any pain meds at all, so overall I can't complain. They did tell me, however, and I would not experience the sensation of hunger for about a month after surgery. What a crock! I was hungry the day after, and still am. I've been without a bite of solid food for four days now, and, for now, I'm much more focused on what I can't eat than how much weight I could potentially lose. Thanksgiving will be tough! Before surgery, I figured I could handle this with no problem, but now I'm a bit nervous because food looks so much better when you can't have it. I wanted to get the band before the holidays to skip the inevitable gluttony, but now I'm not so sure it was a great idea. Anyway, it's too late now, and I'm stuck with it. Hopefully, when the weight loss commences, I'll be encouraged. It is also nice to have this forum to come to for support. This is my first post, but I'll be around, and look forward to getting to know many of you. Jim

Hi Jim,

This is amazing - I was also banded on November 21st - last year! Check out my numbers at the end of this post to see what's happened to me since then.

Your post-op experience sounds a lot like mine. I also had little or no nausea, and had to use OTC pain medication only once. Coughing will be less painful for you as time goes on, and that cramp/air bubble thing, as I understand it, is leftover gas they use to lift your organs during the procedure. Don't worry - it's uncomfortable, but it goes away.

Regarding hunger and your thoughts about food, especially in connection to Thanksgiving:I was lucky enough not to have had a lot of hunger for the first month after surgery. Even though you are hungry, try to stick to your doctor's post-op diet; I believe that a good first month is crucial for future success. Even if it means just liquids - you will draw a lot of strength in the future from knowing that you were able to subsist off of liquids for x amount of time and that nothing terrible happened to you. I think that one of the most powerful insights being banded has given me is that my sense of how much I needed food, and how much food I needed, was way off.

As for Thanksgiving, with all due respect to our national gorge-a-thon, I say: flip the bird to the bird this year, and next year you will really have something to be grateful for. If it makes you feel better, just stay away from the table - after all, you've just had surgery, right? Best excuse in the world. Gluttony is not inevitable, and although "food looks so much better when you can't have it", health looks even better when you don't have it, right? You are not "stuck" (I'm sure you weren't serious) - you are lucky to have had this operation, and to have found this site - it's a great place for encouragement, support and sharing experience.

Good Luck, and Welcome,

I too was banded a few days ago, on teh 21st. Yesterday was pretty sore (even moreso than Saturday when I came home), but today was a lot better.

I got no gas in the shoulder like so many have. I have at times had a gas bubble in my "breadbasket" area between the breasts, but other than that it's been fine.

I haven't taken my bandages off yet to see how everything looks. Figure I'll take a shower tomorrow (I know, yuck, right? No shower since Friday).

And it is hard to see all this food at the holidays, though for me it was harder during my week-long pre-op liquid diet. So far I haven't really been "hungry" in the traditional sense. I have had some short glimpses of head hunger -- like I SHOULD be hungry or that looks/smells good -- but once I take in a cup of Soup, I'm satiated. And I've been drinking a lot of Water. I can't tell how much I had at the hospital, but yesterday I took in 6 cups (plus tea, but I'm not counting that), and today I made the full 8 cup minimum.

I hope all goes well for you. Remember that you'll get out of it what you put into it. We have to take control over food, not vice versa. Otherwise we will still be people who overeat -- just with a band on.

Thanks for the encouragement. I really do feel a lot better than I had expected to feel, and I realize the food issues are psychological rather than physical. I do feel hungry, but I'm starting to get over it, I think. I'm also 15 lbs down from my all-time high, a bit of which I lost before surgery, and that's encouraging as well! See ya around....