I was banded on Friday, 12/11. The vicodin made me extremely nauseated and as I'm not supposed to vomit, I didn't take it. The gas pain in my shoulder was bad but it is tolerable. The worst is the pain in my right side. It feels like my guts are being ripped out (sorry if that's too graphic.) I also had trouble breathing but that is getting better. I am coughing all the time though and when I cough it kills me - on the right side. I can't bend over to pick anything up. Also, I couldn't tell if I was hungry or full but now I'm starving! I'm afraid to eat too much as I don't want to get sick. I was on clear liquids but today was supposed to start full liquids. My doctor says no jello (says it will get stuck) and didn't mention anything about pudding but others say they do pudding so I'm confused. When I do eat, it isn't keeping me full long enough, I don't think. I'm supposed to be doing something every hour (water, protein shake, juice, milk, gatorade, yogurt, broth, creamed soup, etc.) I am just overwhelmed by this whole situation......

Just breathe!!! Everything will settle down like it is suppose too!!

You've been banded two days.. you shouldn't be picking up anything.

As far as eating, do what your doctor recommends and consume something every hour. Did they mention adding Protein to what you do consume? that will keep you feeling fuller longer.

You shouldn't be picking up anything right now. You are in the healing process. I don't why you can't eat plain jello....my nut has it on my list. Walking is the best thing you can do for the gas pains. Walk room to room in your house if you can't get out. Intake should be your water, protein shakes, and whatever your nut suggests.

i am about a week ahead of you... banded on 12/7... i was hungry 3 days after banding... even w/the Protein shakes etc... called the dietitian at the office and she gave the ok for pureed Soups (pea, tomato, etc)... REALLY did the trick!

never heard that about Jello, but every post-op plan is different, i'm learning.

as for the pain - it sucks! i also was coughing, had chesty/gas pains that felt like they would never go away! but if it's any consolation, 6 days after the surgery, i bet you will feel soooooo much better!

So sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. Hang in there. Take it easy. Work will wait even if you think it won't. It's time to baby yourself. You don't want to damage anything by doing too much too soon.

As far as Jello, sugar free jello was one thing my surgeon and diatician said I could have at your stage. I just was sure to take my spoon and mush it up good. I never had any problems whatsoever. Take tiny bites at a time. Don't eat too fast and set your spoon down between bites. At first I thought suger free jello wasn't very tasty but you do get used to it and once you get hungry enough everything you get to have tastes like heaven.

Take care of yourself!!! :willy_nilly:

Hi there sorry to hear you are having trouble but I don't understand why your doctor told you not to eat jello its considered a liquid. It melt as soon as you eat it. They served me sugar free jello in the hospital. the next day after surgery along with broth. As far as the gas pain you will have to walk and probably take some gasX. For the nausea maybe you can call your doctor and ask for some Phenergan or zofran. Please Please Please don't do to much bending and you are not supposed to be lifting anything right now. If you have a baby you have to be careful try to sit and hold the baby/child. It will get better. Protein shakes should help a little with the hunger. Good luck and feel better.:willy_nilly:

My doctor says no Jello (says it will get stuck) and didn't mention anything about pudding but others say they do pudding so I'm confused. When I do eat, it isn't keeping me full long enough, I don't think. I'm supposed to be doing something every hour (water, Protein shake, juice, milk, gatorade, yogurt, broth, creamed soup, etc.) I am just overwhelmed by this whole situation......

Hang in there. Your pain will eventually go away...try Liquid tylenol. I held my port when I bent over for about two weeks, then that went away too.

Jello isn't a problem. I had to eat something in the hospital before they'd discharge me on the day of my surgery and jello was one of the foods I had to eat.

Ok...my .02 on the 'full' thing. We're so used to being 'stuffed' that we need to rethink what 'full' means. A cup of creamed soup, a container of yogurt, an 8 oz Protein Shake...all these things should keep you from being hungry for at least an hour.

You can do this Laurita.

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I wondered about the sugar free jello, too, because I was on it pre-op and does melt in your mouth - it is kind of like a liquid. They said it gets stuck and causes blockage but I thought if I took small bites and let it melt it would be fine. I bought baby spoons to eat with so I could learn to eat smaller portions. Right now I'm supposed to be doing something every hour but I don't feel like it and if I don't, then I'm starving come evening time so today I will follow the every hour plan and see if that makes a difference. I feel dumb because I don't know where my port is. Is that the pain in my lower right side that hurts? I thought the port was going to be higher. I feel a little better today. I'm glad I took the time off of work because I couldn't imagine having to go to work full time and heal and adjust from this. Thanks for your input and advice. It is greatly appreciated.

I wondered about the sugar free Jello, too, because I was on it pre-op and does melt in your mouth - it is kind of like a liquid. They said it gets stuck and causes blockage but I thought if I took small bites and let it melt it would be fine. I bought baby spoons to eat with so I could learn to eat smaller portions. Right now I'm supposed to be doing something every hour but I don't feel like it and if I don't, then I'm starving come evening time so today I will follow the every hour plan and see if that makes a difference. I feel dumb because I don't know where my port is. Is that the pain in my lower right side that hurts? I thought the port was going to be higher. I feel a little better today. I'm glad I took the time off of work because I couldn't imagine having to go to work full time and heal and adjust from this. Thanks for your input and advice. It is greatly appreciated.

Every doctor is different. My port is in the left side. Some are in the belly button. The port is usually where your biggest incision was. Try not to do to much bending over and picking things up. The only thing you should be doing is resting and walking as much as possible. Try sugar free ice pops. I lived on them and still do. You have to drink every hour so that you do not dehydrate. Also my NUT said that I could take 8oz of Protein drink instead of 4oz because I was hungry in between meals. You just have to sip it really slow. Ask your NUT if you can also do that. Pain on your lower right side could be gallbladder too. If it doesn't get better call your doctor.

the pain in the shoulder was the worse for me but i consumed protein drinks every 1-2 hr just a cough syrup size and it did the trick for me..my doctor wanted me to have protein before anything went in my system..atkins shakes are good or even the ones in your docs office

Jello was NEVER a problem and I've never heard anybody say they had a problem with jello. I'd just sort of chew it/swish in my mouth a little and it's going right down.

No picking up anything right now!

Pain in your shoulder....Walk around and wave your arms over your head; sit in a rocker and rock instead of sitting in a chair; put a heating pad over your shoulder (just as a caution, don't put a heating pad on your incisions).

For MOST of us, our ports are on our left side. Where is your longest incision? That is where your port is.

So sorry you are feeling bad. But as others have said, hang in there. On my 5th day after surgery I thought I'd never feel good again. Then I woke up the next day feeling sooo much better - just literally overnight!

The heating pad on my left shoulder really helped. Also, I really didn't want much food, but drank lots of juice and soup/broth. V8 makes a squash soup that I really liked, and the flavor satisfied me.

Good luck!

My longest incision is on my right side mid between breast and belly button. Where it hurts is the incision to the right of that, way over on the right hand side but kind of in between the two so maybe my port is in between and that is why it hurts. Yesterday and today I had tomato soup with my protein powder and 4 ounces was enough to gag me but didn't fill me up for long. I'm going to try something different tomorrow. I hate this hungry feeling. Oh and now constipation has set in. Is this normal? Each day brings a new problem!

Constipation is a very common side effect of anesthesia and of pain medication. I suggest INSTANT relief. Go to the drug store and buy a Fleet enema or the store brand. They're cheap because they are nothing more than the little bottle and some saline...works in a matter of minutes...and there's not much that feels more miserable that constipation so getting rid of that is a very good thing.

Some people report that their port is in the middle, just below their sternum. The port is either sewn (if you have Lap Ban AP) or attached with metal crimps (if you have a Realize band) to muscle and that's why it can be painful. It will get better day by day. Other soreness is more likely from tugging as they maneuvered their instruments and, again, that should get better daily. I was one of the very lucky ones. I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work on Friday. I had some soreness around my port area, but that was about it. I never took any pain meds BUT I still had constipation from the anesthesia so I can relate.

Hunger will be an issue for a while, at varying levels. Until you start getting fills, you will need to manage your hunger. Protein always alleviates better than anything else you can eat. So make sure you drink your Protein shakes (look to take in as close to 60 grams of protein in a day as you can get). And then drink Water. Getting dehydrated is your enemy.

Thanks Cathy. I hadn't seen anyone report on the constipation and was embarrassed to bring it up but as this is all new to me I figured I'd better ask! My NUT has me on an every hour consumption - 4-6 ounces - but I can't finish what I'm supposed to yet before the hour is up I'm STARVING. At noon I get soup and at 5 yogurt, 6 broth, and 7 a protein drink. Other than that it is just water, milk, or gatorade. I thought the goal was to be fuller longer between meals but it feels like I'm training my body to be hungry every hour.