Gastric band booked in 4 weeks

My Bmi was over 40 and it is now 31.  I wish I had had the Op years ago.  I xould lose another stone or 2 but I am so much nmore confident and happy than I was.  Also no longer take any medication for diabetes.  My only complaint is that the NHS will not even consider me for a tummy tuck....good luck and let us know how you get on.

wow that's an amazing weight loss! well done. I am doing it now because I know that if I dont I will just keep piling on the weight. It gets so much harder as you get older and I dont want to look back in 3 stone time and regret not taking the plunge. Ive not told anyone apart from my husband (who thinks Im just lazy) as they dont think I am that overweight, But its not what other people think, its what you think. And I know that if I continue to gain weight at a stone a year (as I am doing) it wont be long before I have weight related medical issues. I am already at the point where exercise is difficult so I have to take drastic action now and stop the yo-yo diets.

the band wont stop you from snacking or making the wrong food choices - that is something you still need to control with your willpower - its not a magic wand - just a to0l to help you lose wgt and for you to work with - rightly so you will not be able to eat large meals but if you are prone to snacking between meals that is something you will have to stop yourself from doing

thanks. Luckily I dont snack at all. but I know that I am going to have to make some big changes - which I hope the band will give me the impetus to do.

Hi Ollie how are you getting on? Are you feeling any better?

Hi Fran. Thanks for asking. I'm doing much better now. I really should have gone to A&E as I wasnt keeping down anything more than a couple of sips, but being a stubborn man I stuck it out (which is a silly thing to do I don't recommend it). However Saturday night having not being able to keep anything down I had a small glass of dioralyte to help with the dehydration symptoms something about it didn't trigger the regurgitation I had with other liquids. That allowed me to get a good night's sleep which I think gave the swelling around the band a chance to subside, and as of Sunday I've steadily been increasing the fluids I can get in. I still can't manage anything thicker than milk but at least I'm more hydrated. Walking around a lot I do feel a bit light headed from lack or calories so it's something to watch out for.

You have to really concentrate on drinking, one big sip, moving too much or the wrong seating position can really make you tighten up and possibly bring it up.

I've done some experimenting and this is what I've found works for me a week in, some of it might sound unhealthy but I've been advised have what I can when I can, I'm having so little that calories aren't more than 200 a day.

Goes down well: milk, tea, coffee, thinner fruit juices (watermelon/vitamin water/Apple), water, green tea with honey. Thin soups

... Tiny amounts though, I'm averageing 150ml-200ml an hour with breaks between

Don't go down yet: yoghurt, chocolate pudding, thicker fruit juice, thicker soups (that's all I've dared try)

Hunger wise physically still feel full after a sip or two, mentally smelling or seeing food gets a bit depressing but at that point I go over the reasons I'm doing this in my head.

Sucky sweets are a good distraction. Just don't swallow!!

Sorry about the massive essay. Hope this helps.

HI OLLIE - good to hear things are improving - a couple of suggestions to get some nutrition into you - have you tried slimfast which would give you a bit more than just plain milk or try adding a couple of spoonfulls of dried milk to your milk to fortify it - other things you could try are protein powder and also something like lucozade but let it go flat - you could also try fortifying your soups with milk powder or protein powder - perhaps if you ask your GP he/she could provide you with some kind of supplement or there could be something your bariatric team could recommend that you can buy from the chemist - are you taking vitamins - if not this could be something else you could try in order to get some nutrition into your body as it needs to heal after surgery 

Hey bandid. Thanks for the suggestions. Yes I'm taking some dissolvable multi vits. They're quite acidic so hard to get through but I have them once a day. One of the juices I have is multivitamin also.

Good idea about fortifying soups I'll have to give that a go.

As for protein shake I do have some delicious ones just not worked upto it yet. They're pretty good in the protein/carb balance too it's syntha 6 salted caramel. If you've not tried I would definitely recommend. I'll be giving them a go tomorrow to see how they go down.

You'll be fine. Its not bad at all worst part was the waiting to go into surgery. The actual thing took less than an hour went to sleep woke up couple of hours later and obviously a bit painful but they give you some awesome painkillers so it was all good after

which bit are you scared of - is it the actual surgery - cos if thats the case you wont feel a thing til you come round and as the post above says, they do give you painkillers - i was a bit stiff around my abdomen but each day i felt a little better - concentrate on your pre op diet and friday will be over and done before you know it

I have very poor pain tolerance.

Thanks Ollie3.14.

So worried about the pain after. I will be travelling 4 hrs on the train the next day.

Trains a pretty smooth these days so shouldn't be too bad. Try and get down some pain killers before you get on allowing time to clear your top pouch, and when you're on take it very slow with drinking and take a sick bag just in case.

Thanks for the information.

Band fitted yesterday. No pain up to now. Fluids went down well yesterday after surgery. Today I am struggling. Hiccups and small amount of fluid in my throat.