Mostly no problems, is this normal, seems like small issues?

[plj]

Hey,

I had the surgery on Oct 10. Today is the 24th. Here's my experience so far.

I have no appetite, and food doesn't bother me at all. I'm on mushy foods, and

have found some wonderful soups. I don't miss other foods in the least, and I can go out

with friends and have soup and whatever they have doesn't bother me a bit!

That may change in a bit as I heal, I think.

Protein is a pain to find. Sugar substitutes give me

headaches. But I've found some good protein drinks, but rather high calorie protein drinks.

The things I wonder about are the fatigue and sometimes lightheadedness/dizziness.

Some evenings I have a slight headache. I realize I'm on a lower calorie regimen these days,

and some days it is really low. With no appetite, I have to force myself to eat.

And I know all about dehydration and I am drinking water. It feels like sometimes

I'm dehydrated. (do a dyhydration test by pulling up a bit of skin on the back of your hand,

on the knuckle. A dehydrated person will have skin that stays pulled up, or doesn't snap back

to flat very fast).

The first 10 days or so, once in a while I'd run a 99.2 temp, usually after

a soup meal.

I have no sense of restriction at all. But so far it is all mushy, and I do drink water with

foods for now, to heal and get nutrition.

I am also having some weird mood swings. I'll break into tears for no real reason, then

I'm fine. I took a couple of extra days to rest and I feel better now. The counselor thinks

it is rather normal for what's going on nutritionally and in my life.

I thought the nutrition side effects needed to be taken care of, so I started eating more,

and now I'm back to my almost surgery day weight of 202. I'm at about 199 or so. I may have been at about 195, but I'm not very sure (old scale). Could be water weight.

If you have similar experiences, let me know. Seems fairly normal to me for the

big metabolism changes going on.

[Chelley]

What you are going through is perfectly "normal". Some of the tears and mood swings can be caused by the anesthesia they used. Plus, you've been through a rather traumatic experience physically and emotionally. The headaches are caused by the decreased calories/sugar in your diet. You are having blood sugar lows. You will adjust. When your blood sugar drops, your first instinct is to eat something sweet but that actually causes a huge swing in blood sugar levels which feels just as bad several hours after the sugar high is over. Instead, try a protien source like a few sips of milk with a graham cracker, a bite of cottage cheese, or a cube of cheese during these times. When you are able, thin sliced deli meat like roast turkey is easy to digest. By choosing a protien source, you blood sugar level adjusts slowly then levels off.

Chelley

[CalKev]

I had the surgery on Oct 10. Today is the 24th. Here's my experience so far.

plj, I was banded on 10.16 by Dr. Ortiz, This is how I match-up with you:

"I have no appetite, and food doesn't bother me at all." I feel the same in fact I am a bit repulsed by the thought of eating so called regular food.

"But I've found some good protein drinks, but rather high calorie protein drinks" I found one that works for me it has 100 calories, 15 grams of protein, 1g of carbs, 11 oz. It is EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control.

"The things I wonder about are the fatigue and sometimes lightheadedness/dizziness.

Some evenings I have a slight headache." Yes, Yes, and Yes.

"With no appetite, I have to force myself to eat." I am still on the drinking stage and I have to force myself to drink a shake or drink fluids as I feel full always. Psychological hunger has only raised its head once and that was for soup.

"And I know all about dehydration and I am drinking water. It feels like sometimes

I'm dehydrated." I have dry mouth all the time and just sip, sip, sip, H2O all day and night.

"I have no sense of restriction at all." I have a bit of tightness but restriction is not the word for it more like almost constant fullness.

"I am also having some weird mood swings." Yes but this gets better each day that goes by and with good sleep and nutrition.

I agree with Chelley even with my short experience. "Normal" has a wide definition here because each of us go in with our own presurgery biological differences. I said this in another post but because of my high BMI I had to lose 20 lbs. in 5 weeks, I lost 30 lbs all on liquid diet so my plumbing had shut down a bit even before surgery. Add anesthesia, swelling, clear liquids, etc. and I had trouble the past few days getting it started again. Under the circumstance I believe this was normal.

Oh yes I forgot to mention I was the only male of 5 patients on my band day which wasn't so normal. Best wishes on losing the weight! CalKev

[Liz]

Tell me more about the fatigue...? My surgery date is Nov. 14th and I may be starting a new job should I be worried? You also mentioned that you don't have much of an appetite but, how is it that you've gained weight?

Hey,

I had the surgery on Oct 10. Today is the 24th. Here's my experience so far.

I have no appetite, and food doesn't bother me at all. I'm on mushy foods, and

have found some wonderful soups. I don't miss other foods in the least, and I can go out

with friends and have soup and whatever they have doesn't bother me a bit!

That may change in a bit as I heal, I think.

Protein is a pain to find. Sugar substitutes give me

headaches. But I've found some good protein drinks, but rather high calorie protein drinks.

The things I wonder about are the fatigue and sometimes lightheadedness/dizziness.

Some evenings I have a slight headache. I realize I'm on a lower calorie regimen these days,

and some days it is really low. With no appetite, I have to force myself to eat.

And I know all about dehydration and I am drinking water. It feels like sometimes

I'm dehydrated. (do a dyhydration test by pulling up a bit of skin on the back of your hand,

on the knuckle. A dehydrated person will have skin that stays pulled up, or doesn't snap back

to flat very fast).

The first 10 days or so, once in a while I'd run a 99.2 temp, usually after

a soup meal.

I have no sense of restriction at all. But so far it is all mushy, and I do drink water with

foods for now, to heal and get nutrition.

I am also having some weird mood swings. I'll break into tears for no real reason, then

I'm fine. I took a couple of extra days to rest and I feel better now. The counselor thinks

it is rather normal for what's going on nutritionally and in my life.

I thought the nutrition side effects needed to be taken care of, so I started eating more,

and now I'm back to my almost surgery day weight of 202. I'm at about 199 or so. I may have been at about 195, but I'm not very sure (old scale). Could be water weight.

If you have similar experiences, let me know. Seems fairly normal to me for the

big metabolism changes going on.

[CalKev]

Tell me more about the fatigue...? My surgery date is Nov. 14th and I may be starting a new job should I be worried? You also mentioned that you don't have much of an appetite but, how is it that you've gained weight?

Liz, The fatigue is worst during the first week post-op as you will be on clear liquids. If you have ever been on an extreme diet (very low calorie), add healing from surgery ( incisions inside and out, and anesthesia), and you can get a picture of the weakness you can be in for. You should not be doing any heavy lifting and only walking for exercise for 3 weeks. These were my instructions, they may change for you but in general this is required for healing.

Post-op on days 5,6,7,8,9, you may start to gain steam and feel better but you do, and I speak only for myself, have an overall weakness in your body as a whole. I hear the worst days are different for each person. Mine were 6,7,8, and then I started to get more energy into my system. For example I was shopping on day 8 and dropped my wallet at the cashiers. My hands had become weaker as I shopped and then just let go. Trouble sleeping can add to this. The mind can act in a similar manner being moody or suffering from lethargy periodically is a possibility.

If I were in your shoes I would take 2 weeks before starting a new job. 1 week for a job you are in currently. But that is me and you will get many opinions. My advice is to not risk your health and healing or your new job if you can and take 2 weeks.

I can't speak for the other poster but your body has changed after surgery. Weight can be water or the body holding on to reserves due to having surgery. Personally I am down 8 pounds since surgery (10 days post-op). Each person's body reacts differently. I am not in the medical field and none of the above is meant to represent what you may experience. Best wishes on a successful banding! Kevin

[tuesdaythecat]

Hey,

I had the surgery on Oct 10. Today is the 24th. Here's my experience so far.

I have no appetite, and food doesn't bother me at all. I'm on mushy foods, and

have found some wonderful soups. I don't miss other foods in the least, and I can go out

with friends and have soup and whatever they have doesn't bother me a bit!

That may change in a bit as I heal, I think.

Protein is a pain to find. Sugar substitutes give me

headaches. But I've found some good protein drinks, but rather high calorie protein drinks.

The things I wonder about are the fatigue and sometimes lightheadedness/dizziness.

Some evenings I have a slight headache. I realize I'm on a lower calorie regimen these days,

and some days it is really low. With no appetite, I have to force myself to eat.

And I know all about dehydration and I am drinking water. It feels like sometimes

I'm dehydrated. (do a dyhydration test by pulling up a bit of skin on the back of your hand,

on the knuckle. A dehydrated person will have skin that stays pulled up, or doesn't snap back

to flat very fast).

The first 10 days or so, once in a while I'd run a 99.2 temp, usually after

a soup meal.

I have no sense of restriction at all. But so far it is all mushy, and I do drink water with

foods for now, to heal and get nutrition.

I am also having some weird mood swings. I'll break into tears for no real reason, then

I'm fine. I took a couple of extra days to rest and I feel better now. The counselor thinks

it is rather normal for what's going on nutritionally and in my life.

I thought the nutrition side effects needed to be taken care of, so I started eating more,

and now I'm back to my almost surgery day weight of 202. I'm at about 199 or so. I may have been at about 195, but I'm not very sure (old scale). Could be water weight.

If you have similar experiences, let me know. Seems fairly normal to me for the

big metabolism changes going on.

By the time your skin turgor (pulling up skin) is bad, your dehydration would be really severe. So don't look at that as an adequate indicator. You could still be dehydrated. Fat cells contain a lot of water, so sometimes overweight people need more water. Also to be considered is are you taking a vitamin supplement? Your electrolytes could be out of wack, hence the recommendation to drink gatorade or I like propel fitness water (10 calories).