Banded 1/30/09 in ATL, GA

Hello everyone, I just had my band put on this Friday 1/30/09 and I would like any advice or tips ya'll want to offer. So far everything is going well but my nutritionist says I should have 3 8 oz protein shakes per day and 1 snack 1/2 cup and I just havent been able to get all of that in, it takes me 1 and 1/2 hrs to just drink 1 shake and then trying to get my water in is just about all I can manage. Today I forced down 2 shakes and some water in between. Is it normal to feel so full u can barely get the shakes down? I too feel bloated and super gassy as some of t he other posters have noted, does anyone have tips to deal with the gas and bloating? Also I have shoulder and neck pain, anyone else have that?

Hey Rhonda! I didn't have the lap but I saw you had your procedure with Dr. Hart and I had mine with Dr. Johnson in his office.  I can say to you that you try to get in what they want you to get in but you may not get it i and please don't feel like a failure. The gas is normal and you can do Gas-X but the best thing is walk and get that air moving. As I said I'm not a bander and will let them give you good advice but those are a couple of tips that are in general regardless of the surgery!


Good luck and welcome to the losers bench!

Thanks so much for the helpful advice and for becoming my very first friend on this site. Look forward to chatting with you and reading your blog. I can really relate to the hair issues you talk about!

Rhonda,

First of all, congratulations on a successful surgery and welcome to the losing side.  You are experiencing the typical symptoms after surgery.  I had gas pain all in my back, chest and neck; I used the GasX strips and it helped some.  The pain med that my dr. prescribed for me helped also.

Sipping on warm herbal tea and walking also helps with the gas pains.  Everything that you are experiencing is a result of just having surgery.  Just give it some time because things will get better as your body heals.  If you can't follow orders from your dr. and nutritionist, just give the office a call tomorrow to let them know what's going on.

Read some of the post on the lapband forum and you will find that a lot of newly banded people are going through the same thing that you are going through.  Since BAF is slow on weekends, the best place to be right now is on the lapband forum.

Don't worry, you will get through this stage in a few more days.

Karen

Thanks Karen, I will check out the lapband forum on here. I really appreciate the info.

Congratulations.  It will get better.  I don't have anything to add to Karen's advice.

 Congratulations on your WLS

Congratulations Rhonda.

Everything you've described is very normal; plus, you have a lot of swelling.  Hang in there and sip as much as you can.  Staying hydrated is your main goal.  

Be encouraged. 

Thanks Terri, I'm glad to know this isnt abnormal.

Hi Rhonda. Congrats on a successful surgery. The pain is from the gas that was used to expand your stomach to place the band. It's going to take all day to drink the shakes. Your stomach is swollen from surgery. Karen was right on point with her suggestions. For the first couple of weeks after surgery, I aimed for 40 oz of liquids excluding my protein shakes. This includes tea, broth, decaf coffee, crystal light and other sugar free products. 

I used the Body Fortress shake from Walmart and Matrix from an online site. How many grams of protein are in the shakes that you are using? Remember to sip. I could only drink around 2 oz an hour. In between I would put the shake in the fridge. You may want to create a schedule so that you're not up until midnight trying to force it in like I was.

Let me know if you have questions.