Banded 5th May Perth Western Australia

[dazza]

How are we all going...

Just thought I would share the experience and ask some questions {hope you understand my oz colloquilism}

I was banded last friday in Perth West Oz

4 weeks strict pre-op full all meals replacement liquid diet "Opti-Fast"

lasted about a week on that, no i lie, 3 or 4 days

then for a couple of weeks I had it about once per day

But the last week I pretty well stuck to it,, but then snuck a couple of last suppers

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Started-off at 149 kilo's, 6 foot 3 inch's BMI 43,,,,,@ 39 yrs old

went down to about 144 ,, day before surgery

today I'm about 135 kilos, still 6'3" but I'm feeling younger

Couple of issues with Op

I suffer from severe obstructed sleep apnea "CPAP every night"

had a bit of an episode during OP, low O2 levels, lazy and stopped breathing a few times

Can remember being woken in OP theatre "BREATHE DARREN BREATHE"

I bit scary,, ended up post-op in ICU under observation

later that day couldn't urinate properly I think because of the morphine,,I was really vague about-it

had a cathedor thingo that I couldn't tolerate for longer than 30 minutes even with a double shot of morph

anyhoo a really nice nurse guy removed it and I was pissing the proverbial razor blades for the next 2 days....

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The whole Keyhole OP process and some side issue's resulted in the couple of days being a bit more

hardcore that I expected..

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any how POST-OP

Just started burping today,, seems to comes up differently, but easy and smooth

Have a continual acidic hunger pains, might be heartburn, but I've never really had that so I'm not sure, milks, smoothys and sorbet icecream seem to ease

A very fine {sived and watered down} pumkin or a chicken soup I've tried seemed to give pains for upto 20 minutes post eating

So I haven't really got my post liquid eating/drinkin pattern sorted out yet,,, any ideas or experiences would be most welcome..

Also for the 4 weeks pre-op diet my flatulance stopped almost completly, the last 2 or 3 days it's hit overdrive,, is this normal?

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[Chelley]

Welcome to the lapband! In reading a lot of posts here and on other websites about the band, one conculsion I've made is that you have to follow your doctors orders. I was banded April 18th by Dr. Ortiz/Dr. Martinez in Mexico. They require a preop diet of 3-4 meal replacement shakes and salad greens with balsamic vineagar or up to 2 tablespoons of low fat salad dressing 1 week before surgery.

The flatulence you are experiencing post op is completely natural because it's your body getting rid of the gases they used to inflate your abdomen so they could perform the laproscopic surgery. Just walk a lot and let off the gas as needed. I don't know if you have them there, but Gas X strips that melt on your tongue are recommended for excessive gas. Like you, I can burp ... just kinda let it come up easy... not forced. I think this might be due to placement of a larger band. I have the VG band. My mother and sister were banded at the same time I was with a 10cm band and they can't belch.

I've found a hand held blender does wonders with what you can tolerate on the full liquid phase of the post op diet. I would take homemade or canned soups and blend them completely as the nutritionist on my case said "no chunks". While on the liquid diet, I found I needed to eat about every 3 hours or I experienced rumbling and discomfort of hunger pains in my lower stomach. Sometimes just a few small bites of yogurt or gelatin was all that was needed to satisfy the rumblings. Some doctors recommend an acid reducer like Pepcid for the stomach problems you are having. You should consult with your doctor about that as excessive acid can keep the stomach lining irritated and delay healing.

I've had no complications post op. If you are worried about your lungs, you could continue to use the incentive spirometer to help with lung expansion then of course wear your C-pap every night as recommended by your doctor. (By the way, I'm a nurse!) Good luck on your journey. God bless!