Newly Banded and a Question....

OK, so I got my Realize Band last Friday.  So I am 3 days post op.  I have done well with pain and just taking liquid Tylenol now and then.  I even slept on my tummy the night after surgery.  Here is the problem.  I am afraid to eat.  The day after surgery I had 2 oz. of broth and was so miserably full all day that I have been leary since.  I am very afraid that I will get dehydrated or something.  My stomach is growling.....I feel it and hear it.  But I am afraid to put much in it.  What is normal at this point?  I am taking in about 3 oz. of water and about 3 oz. of liquid other than water (broth or fruit juice).  Any advice is appreciated!  Thanks!

you have to get at least 64oz of liquid in you and 60 grams of protein-if you have to add protein to your water, so be it, but you gotta get it in-you shouldn't be that full, probably were still very swollen from the surgery-you'll be much better now.

I just got banded a few days before you did on Tuesday, June 10th. I also was afraid to eat at first, but because I spent my first 4 days inside a hospital (I had to have tumor removed at the same time I got banded), I felt a little safer eating what they were giving me in the hospital which was a small bowl of jello (I would only eat half of it), a small 3oz of chicken broth (I'd sip it until it was gone), and a popsicle. Even though you do not feel hungry, you have to make yourself drink a little liquids even if you cannot get the 64 oz down (which I could not drink that much the first week).  My suggestion is SUGAR FREE FUDGESICLES. They taste good and you will still be getting your liquids in!  Congrats and good luck!

You definately don't want to get dehydrated and you need the fluids to aide in weight loss.  I found it very hard to get all 64 oz of liquid in, but after a few days it wasn't so bad. 

I was banded on the 10th and the first few days I didn't want anything and I barely had anything, but I was miserable...headaches, tired, etc.  So I started making myself sip water and strained chicken noodle soup...just a few ounces every few hours.  This helped me feel a lot better and helped me learn how much to drink.  I think everything is so swollen the first few days it doesn't take much to fill you up, but as the swelling goes down the more you can tolerate.  I've also done tomato soup and the juice from vegetable beef soup.  I've just now started getting all my protein because I couldn't find anything I liked.  So now I'm adding chocolate flavored protein powder to sugar free carnation instant breakfast and unflavored powder to anything else.  Hope this helps!  Good luck! Amanda

TommieJean_27, It's been about 9 days since your post, and I was wondering how are you doing now? Hopefully it's getting better, and you are eating. Please know, you NEED TO EAT in order for this to work.

When I had my operation I too was a little leery about eating. I spoke to a close friend, who is a Certified Fitness Trainer, about loosing weight. He gave me some information I found interesting, and thought I’d pass it along.

The first thing he said is “You have to EAT in order to loose weight”. He further explained, this does not mean to OVEREAT, but eat sensible portions.

He explained the body is a marvelous machine, and it will protect it self. If one doesn’t eat enough, the body’s metabolism will slow down - in order to keep it self functioning. If a person intake is less then what it expels, the body will start to “store” food. If a person stay on this type of eating regiment over a prolonged period, the body starts to “eat it self” - which is extremely unhealthy and could be fatal.

According to my friend, the first thing the body will first start to “eat away” at is all the stored sugars in the body. After that has been depleted, the body then attacks all the (both good and bad) carbohydrates and fats. Finally the body starts to “digest” the proteins in the body. The proteins are mostly stored in muscle. One of the most important muscles our body has is the HEART. That’s why many anorexia patients die of heart problems - basically the body ate it away. 

He said don’t worry if you’re loosing right away. He said as long as we follow the guidelines our Doctors/Nutritionist has set for us, we will loose weight. The body sometimes takes a while before it “resets” itself.  So make sure you follow your Doctor's instructions, and eat !!  Give us an update when you can !! Tom

Hey Tom!  Thanks for the interest in a follow up.  Well, it is the exact opposite now.  I can eat....and at only 8 days out I went on a 24 hour trial and error spree!  I know how bad that can be....I just lost it for a bit.  I found out that I can eat solids and a pretty decent amount.  I caught my heard and immediately went back down to soft foods and will be here until July 22nd.  It is very hard.  I am eating anywhere between half a cup and a cup three times a day.  I am hoping with my fill of 4 cc's on July 10th that I will feel full faster.  I am counting the days down!!  lol  So there it is.....I went from a a scared little froggy to a big hungry monster in just a couple of days!  I do feel great though.  If I didn't have the healing scars on my tummy, I wouldn't believe that I ever had surgery or that there is even a band in there!   Thanks again for your interest!  :)

Wow!  I know you are uncomfortable, but I'm glad to her you say that 2 oz of broth filled you up. I'm so afraid that I'll be the ONE person on the WHOLE planet that banding doesn't work for. And then, I'll be out of the huge amount of copay money, hurting from banding surgery, and STILL not able to feel full. Beryl