1 day post gastric band...panic has set in!

[KW1987]

Hi everyone
Glad to have stumbled on this site, had my gastric band operation yesterday and not feeling too bad physically. I am however having a major wave of anxiety over the future and getting used to lifestyle changes to come. Does anyone have any advice!?
Thanks!

 

[Missyme]

Welcome. Chew food well. Stay away from slider foods e.g. chocolate, ice cream, biscuits etc. Get to know your band... what you can tolerate and what you can’t. Follow advice with regards to fills/fluids etc. When eating out, suss out the nearest toilets! TOTM will tighten your band (first day or so). Good luck.

 

[KW1987]

Welcome. Chew food well. Stay away from slider foods e.g. chocolate, ice cream, biscuits etc. Get to know your band... what you can tolerate and what you can’t. Follow advice with regards to fills/fluids etc. When eating out, suss out the nearest toilets! TOTM will tighten your band (first day or so). Good luck.

Thanks! Stupid question but do you often have small treats like a piece of chocolate or crisps or have you gone completely cold turkey?
When you say be near a toilet is that in case of vomiting or ....the other thing!

 

[Mazza]

Hello and welcome!

My advice would be to follow the post op eating and drinking advice of your team to the letter. It's vital for recovery that you stick to each stage. Also, that when you are back onto solid food you focus on protein and veg and fruit.

Thinking of having small treats is fine when you have lost most of the weight you want to but in order to maximise your losses, it's probably best to focus on the good stuff.

Being near a toilet can be handy if you've not chewed your food properly and then, yes you might bring the food back up but it's not the same as vomiting - this is why the 20, 20, 20 rule is so important and used by so many successful banders. Aim (but don't exceed) to eat 20 mouthfuls of food for a meal, over a 20 minute period of time, chewing each mouthful 20 times and putting your knife and fork down between each mouthful.

Good luck x

 

[KW1987]

Thanks fo much for your response. It’s brilliant being able to speak to people especially as I feel so overwhelmed at the moment!

Absolutely intend to stick to the instructions, I’m not looking forward to the first bad experience! My instructions say 1 week each on liquid, purée and soft but have read a lot of people doing two weeks on each. I’ve asked my nurse for clarification but wondered what everyone else had done?

I also wondered when people are listing foods that they can’t have, what is the common side effect experienced? Is this pain, regurgitating, acid...?

Thanks so much again.

 

[Missyme]

Thanks! Stupid question but do you often have small treats like a piece of chocolate or crisps or have you gone completely cold turkey?
When you say be near a toilet is that in case of vomiting or ....the other thing!

I’m no longer banded. I’ve just had a conversion to a bypass. As Mazza says above, follow the rules. It can take some time until you reach restriction, so you will need to be mindful with what you’re eating. Unfortunately, the band wasn’t successful for me and I could never get the right restriction... either too tight or not tight enough. I’m probably one of the few this happens to. The band is successful for many, just wasn’t the correct tool for me. With regards to the toilet, I meant with food getting stuck. I found the band unpredictable. Some days a certain food would go down ok and another day it would get stuck. When you bring food back with the band, it’s not like being sick when you have a bug, it’s basically the food regurgitating back up the way it went down. This can sometimes irritate the band and it’s wise to return to fluids for a day or 2.

 

[x.Nicky.x]

How you getting on babe? I went through so many emotions after the op, including have i done the right thing.

Id stick 2 weeks on each but yh call for advice. Hope to hear from you soon.

U soon feel normal again and get into the swing of things.

I do have a few treats lol but probs shouldnt say that lol xx