Curious

What is it like after surgery? I am starting to freak out a little. My surgery date is Monday, 29th. I am having a hard time with what it is like to re-learn to eat. Any inspiration out there?

I had surgery on Jan 9th... and don't worry.... it's really easy... I even ended up cheating and beginning to eat some more solid/soft foods before my 2 weeks of liquid diet was up.... at first, you will probably just crunch on ice chips and move to low sodium chicken broth, sugar free jello, and decaf tea in the hospital... and don't be surprised... I felt really groggy and nautious when I woke up from the anesthesia... this is normal... my shoulder also hurt... you will feel gas pressure but in a couple days that should start to pass thru... at first you won't really want anything to eat... and then you will probably want to start eating normal again but take it slow.... don't rush... you will adjust... I also felt really sluggish for about a week, but once I started feeling better and getting out of my apartment, I felt like myself again in no time! I've already lost about 15 lbs.. maybe more... I was officially down 13 lbs at 9 days from surgery... ( i had my 2 week appt early so I could be cleared to go back to work) I was lucky and had no complications... I'm just still instructed no heavy lifting... I also heard that my sluggishness was probably hangover-ish getting the anesthesia and morphine drip pain meds out of my system... if you don't feel well for the first week, don't be alarmed... it is bearable and will soon pass and you will feel better than ever... if you have any more questions feel free to contact me... I don't always check things online... and you are more likely to get a hold of me at [email protected] I hope you surgery goes as smoothly as mine did! good luck!

I had open RNY on the 8th. I honestly don't remember too much from the first day. I was pretty out of it. I do remember falling asleep with a cup of water in my hand. I was in the mist of sipping when I fell asleep and sipped it all over myself. I know when I had to sit up, lay down, roll over, stand up, etc, I did hold on to my incision which helped a lot. On the first day I could only have room temperature water. I also remember my period decided to join the fun of the week and come a week and half early in the hospital, too. I counted 17 bowls of orange sf jello from the hospital. BLAH. I usually had a small thing of apple or cranberry juice, some decaf tea, broth, and sf orange jello. I know I slept a lot in the hospital. My butt went numb, haha. It was hard for me laying in bed, I'm use to sleeping on my stomach. I did find comfort though in a recliner chair in my room. The chair and me were buds, haha. I still am working on learning how to eat. I never realized what a quick eater I was. It's hard for me to slow down, but it's getting better. I honestly right now am trying to work on increasing my protein intake. The water I noticed is increasing. It's just me having to get use to mixing protein powder into everything. Tomorrow I go back to work, so I just have to remind myself to keep on working on the protein. I wish you good luck, and a speedy recovery

Your feeling that way from lack of information. My surgery is tomorrow am, my husband had his lap-band Nov 6th last year. The day of surgery when your in your room your really groggy from all the meds, you rest most of the afternoon, then you'll get some more pain meds and you'll get up and walk around. Try to walk as much as you can, even if it's hard for you, you really will feel better. My husband came home after 1 extra day in the hosptal, he had a small complication that turned out to be nothing, but he didn't even use the pain meds the doc had him fill before surgery. There is very little blood during the surgery, and your incisions are small so you'll heal pretty fast. The first month you won't have to worry about eating much, our program only has us on clear liquids for the first week, after that it's soft protein. When the swelling goes down, which is different for everyone as far as how long it takes, you will probably not feel any restriction, this is when you have to be careful and not eat too much of what's allowed. They want your new stomach to heal during this time, so don't try to eat anything off the program. Don't drink coffee, or other caffeine products for a couple of reasons, they irritate your stomach and they can dehydrate you. You need to be sipping 64 ounces of water a day now. On our program my husband was cut loose on food after 5 weeks and his first fill. Keeping in mind your only to eat somewhere between 1 cup and 1 and 1/2 cups of food and eat all 3 meals over about a 20 minute time period, eating slowly so you can feel yourself getting full. No water before, during, or right after. You eat 2 bites of protein, to 1 bite of vegetable, etc. You need to make sure you focus on the protein to keep your body healthy and loose fat instead of muscle. You get choosey as to what your going to eat at a meal because your not eating that much and your focused on the nutrition instead of the quantity. My husbands seems to have had no problem with it. He had fajitas tonight, just no tortilla, no chips, just the meat and vegetables. He didn't feel deprived at all. As for me, I was drinking clear tea and had some soup broth! Night before surgery...hope this helps, relax your in for the journey of your life. Just take it 1 day at a time, oh by the way, my husband has lost almost 60 lbs. doing what I just mentioned. The program works....good luck, your band will work for you if you let it.

It is FAR easier than I ever expected. I don't want to eat. I don't have food desires. I love to drink all my fluids. It just works. Almost miraculously. I know hunger and a desire for "bad" foods will return at some point, but for now - 10 days out, it's one of the easiest things I've ever done. Your fears and concerns are valid....work through them. And then resolve and plan to follow your doctor's orders completely. You'll be fine!!! Margaret