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First few days after gastric band surgery - advice needed

Posted , 4 users are following.

ollie3.14
ollie3.14

Hey everybody, this is my first post, i just joined, i've been reading through a few dicussions and everyone seems friendly enough so i thought i'd seek some advice smile

I'm a 26, Male. Just got my protector type gastric band (the one with the webbing attached to stop stretching) fitted on tuesday (26th July 2016).

The first day I got out of surgery, in pain but nothing out of the ordinary, i managed to drink water and a small cup of clear soup no issues. Moving onto day 2 and 3 (today) I can barely keep down fluid, my stomach tightens up and i keep bringing up a lot of foamy saliva/water, i managed to keep down about 200-300ml of water over the course of the day but i feel like i should be able to keep down more.

Is this normal/has anyone had experience of this. Most posts about this i've read only seem to mention similar things happening months down the line not right after surgery. I'll be trying to contact support team tomorrow to be safe, just thought this might be more helpful initially smile

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • saltytowers
    saltytowers ollie3.14

    Posted

    Allie - I'm almost 30 years your Senior and was banded in October last year.

    The first few weeks are pretty horrid. It will pass. Eat and drink slower than you've ever done before. You've heard of the 20 20 20 rule - eat a piece of food the size of a 20p piece, chew slowly 20 times, eat for 20 minutes and stop. Drink slowly 20 minutes after eatingetting - not while eating.

    I'm coming up to one year and I still forget often and pay the same consequences as you describe.

    It's worth it- I've gone from 19.5 stone to 15 stone, feel and look much better with much higher levels of activity - in all aspects.

    Stick with it and bon chance ??

    • ollie3.14
      ollie3.14 saltytowers

      Posted

      Thank you so much for the quick reply smile

      i will take it slower with the water, i want to keep hydrated at least smile It's wierd not being able to drink a nice big glass of water when you're thirsty, i suppose the trick is never letting yourself get thirsty.

      Thats excellent what you've achieved so far, well done! I'm still confident and excited to get over this inital phase!

  • Bandid
    Bandid ollie3.14

    Posted

    HI OLLIE - i think you should ring your bariatric team for advice - I am unfamilar with the type of gastric band you mention - but what you describe sounds like the sensation when the band is too tight but yours can hardly be too tight if you have just had it put in - could be there is some swelling due to the surgery - are you drinking the water slowly - sip the water little and often - if you think you are dehydrating them go to your nearest accident and emergency dept - 300mls doesnt sound very much for an entire day but I am no expert and getting some input from your team is the best thing to do - good luck. 
    • ollie3.14
      ollie3.14 Bandid

      Posted

      Hi bandid. Thanks for the reply. The surgeon did mention he managed to fit the smaller size band than expected and it wouldn't need filling for 4 months so I imagine it's tighter that normal. I spoke to the team this morning and they advised it sounds normal but if it's still an issue next week to call them again. I have to monitor my fluid intake if I can't manage 500ml I need to go to A&E. Unfortunately it's not got any better since yesterday I didn't sleep at all last night from constant regurgitation, it's probably offsetting any fluid I am taking in. So I might go to A&E tomorrow if it doesn't improve.

    • Bandid
      Bandid ollie3.14

      Posted

      yes indeed - to dehydrate can be life threatening so dont hesitate to do this and be persistent with your bariatric team if things dont improve
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