just had surgery monday..had some questions

hi,  just had my lap band done monday..I'm doing pretty well as far as the pain and all...gas pains too, but I'm finding that even drinking my 4oz/hr I'm feeling as if I could drink more and be ok...should I drink more? also..I still have an appetite for real food even though I know I'm only supposed to have clear liquids...did this happen to anyone else?

hi congrats on your surgery and i'm glad you are feeling good :)  i had rny and i'm not sure how different the surgeries are -- but i had no appetite at all -- i still don't have an appetite --but then again i was the type before surgery that i could go days without eating and just forget to eat -- so i'm not sure if it was the surgery for me or just the bad habit of not eating  please follow your dr's orders -- your stomache is healing -- surgery is surgery and it's a wound  good luck :)  roberta

I'm not sure about the lap band but you may also be experiencing 'head hunger' where you WANT real food, you can 'taste' it in your mouth...but your are not allowed to have it.  People post about this all the time.  Continue to follow your doctors instructions.  Ask them about the water/liquid issue. Good luck! Pam

I have yet to be banded but I am on LapBandTalk.com all the time and many say after surgery they still have an appetite because you aren't filled yet.  Resist eating though because it can harm band.  Your stomach is still swollen and you don't want to over do it.  If doc says eat 4 oz, eat for oz.  Follow directions closely because if you overdue it, there is nothing you can do until it gets through that band and you will be uncomfortable or in pain.  Also, band does not really restrict fluids, it will restrict food more.  Be careful and follow doctors order.  Good Luck to you.  Check out the labband forum on this site and the one mentioned above.  Great people on both.

Did your doctor put a limit on all fluids? Because mine OK'd me for all the water/Crystal Light I wanted or could handle the day after surgery. The nutritionist and the nurses told me that I wouldn't be able to handle more than 4 ounces at a time, but they were flat out wrong. I didn't have anything that wasn't a clear liquid for the first week up until my post-op visit, but I did have a heck of a lot more than 4 ounces per hour. I wouldn't sweat it, it's not like clear liquids can stretch your pouch. You're hitting the longing for real food a little faster than I did, I only felt like it was killing me on day 7. You're only on day 3! Yikes! Tami

well now the problem is being on the moist mushy stage and it's totally confusing what to eat. I went on lapbandtalk and that website sucked, it seemed like there were a lot of people who got banded that were a little harsh and judgemental. also when I try to post or reply it keeps making me log in...f-that!! people say that it's almost as if they can fully eat normal again and this is just so tough. I've been doing my best to eat the mushiest food I can find but I never know if I've eaten enough or too much. I feel guilty eating anything at all!!! it's like i want real food but I know there's soo much I can't have yet. I really think this band is gonna give me mental problems. and just because on day 3 I wanted real food doesn't mean I ate it thank you very much!! anyone have any meal ideas? I'm desperate. I feel like I'm making poor choices and want to correct it before this whole surgery turns out to be a waste!! Thanks -Lindsay

On my first mushy foods week I ate a lot of Campbell's butternut squash soup, or 98% fat free clam chowder that I put through the blender. One night I put a cup of lentil soup and a can of water-packed tuna in the blender until it looked like bean dip, then warmed it up in the microwave. All of those were pretty good. The clam chowder probably worked best. Because I was too lazy to go buy protein powder, I blended a can of tuna into soup a bunch of times. I also added an ounce of grated parmesan to soups to boost the proteing content, or had mashed potatoes with low fat cheese melted in. I tried to keep my portions between one and two cups. I could eat different amounts of different things. I could do 2 cups of squash or pumpkin sou without a problem, but I was DONE after 1 cup of lentil soup. The potatoes, I could eat about 1 1/4 cups in the beginning, and then right before my fill I could put away 2 cups without a problem. I'm glad I got a fill. Anyway, I kept my average calories a day at about 1000-1100, and I always tried to get between 50 and 70 grams of protein a day. Hope that helps. Tami