My Gastric Band Diary

[helen louise]

Hi

thank you all for your good wishes

I have lost about 8lbs in 10 days on the pre op diet & no could def not keep it up for much longer, its very bland & limited, one of those diets you would go off in a dramatic style if you know what I mean

[Spaceage]

Re Liver REduction Diet,

It's an evil diet, thought that they were joking when telling me I'd be allowed no more than 40 strands of spaghetti etc. until it was explained to me as to the reasons why.

Post op I was recommended to use protein supplements and used Pea Protein which when mixed with Orange Juice isn't too foul (taste is similar to slimfast style drinks) but increases your protein intake way more than trying to eat proteins, so might be worth while checking out.

[helen louise]

Hi All

just a brief update as its to uncomfortable to sit for any length of time

Went down for surgery at 9am & back in my room about 1.30pm, spent a while in recovery as my pulse rate was quite high, although it fell when I went to sleep, we all had a bit of a giggle it must of been looking at all the ugly faces in recovery that did it

Was very painful at first so was given morphine which was wonderful plus an anti sickness jab, kept on an insulin pump to keep my BS down,

very uncomfortable friday & saturday morning but consultant happy to let me go home, he said my liver was large but floppy so the pre op diet had done its job,

more later

[catza]

Good to hear you are back home. Hopefully you will start to feel more comfortable soon. <<<<<hugs>>>>>

[Jude]

Hi Helen

Sorry I have been absent - been on holiday - just catching up with the forum and remembered your operation. So pleased for you that everything has gone ahead ok - love and hugs - Judith x

[helen louise]

Its now day 4 post op & feeling much better, exchanged the codiene based painkiller for ordinary soluble paracetamol so feeling less like a zombie!

Came out of hospital with a carrier bag of meds! laxatives to stop any constipation due to lack of food/fiber, painkillers, tabs to help stop my stomach from producing too much acid which helps to stop any irritation of an already swollen stomach, peppermint water to help with the bloating,

Was very bloated to start with which is normal as they blow your abdomen up with gas to be able to operate using the keyhole method, it was until yesterday (mon) that this started to go down,

Since saturday I have been drinking water, peppermint tea, protein shakes & cup a soups (smooth ones only) only able to have runny liquids at the moment, on sat/sun the most I could drink was around 100ml at a time but yesterday & today i am able to drink upto approx 200ml which is probably due to the swelling going down,

More later!

[helen louise]

A few stats

Day of op weight 104.7kg, so lost just under 4kg in 12 days following pre op defatting liver diet

2 days after op weight was 106.1, so a weight gain of 1.4kg even though I hadn't eaten anything for 2 days

The blood I had taken on morning of op gave me a hba1c result of 7.8% (62)

[helen louise]

Weight now 102.6kg

[ladybird64]

Hi helen

I'm very glad to hear that all went well with the op and that you are coping fine, brilliant news about the weight loss, you must be so happy!

I had so many problems with accessing the forum recently I gave up in the end otherwise I would have responded to your post, cheers for the answer. You are obviously one of the people who has things mapped out, you know why you are doing it, know and accept there are changes to be made and health improvements to be gained, in cases like yours I absolutely agree with surgery 100%.

I disagree with weight loss surgery being available for all, why should it be there for someone who has no interest in their health and has no intention of using the surgery as an aid to weight loss, but an excuse to carry on doing exactly what they did before, eating the same crap and living the same lifestyle?

Keep it for those who really need it. Keep us posted Helen, this diary of yours is really useful, hope all continues to go well for you x

[helen louise]

Being very brave today so this is me! taken this morning weighing 102.5kg (16st 2lbs) BMI 36.5

[helen louise]

This time last week I was waking up in recovery!
Second day without painkillers & dressings changed this morning, in theory they could be removed now but because of their location I have put some new ones on so my clothes do not rub them,

[Jude]

Hi Helen

It sounds like you are doing well - what does your diet look like at the moment and how easy/or not are you finding it?

Love & many hugs, Judith x

[Momblegoose]

You are doing so very well Helen .. your determination to make this succeed is so encouraging. I really hope that you keep updating this thread as I am sure I am not the only one who looks forward to seeing your progress.

Well done you .. keep smiling

Suzanne xx

[Defren]

So sorry, I forgot all about this thread. I'm so pleased the surgery is over and done with, I bet you are too? I am going to PM you with my email address, I meant to do it before now, but forgot. I'm so sorry. I would love to have a look at the liver reducing diet.

Please do keep your diary going. I wouldn't have bariatric surgery now, but I did look into at diagnosis, my BMI was too low at that time, so I did the low carb diet instead. Keep losing weight at the rate you are and you're gonna fall down a grate soon.

Brilliant job, keep going, and you will be MissDUK 2012.

[helen louise]

Thank you for all the good wishes

last sunday morning I weighed 106.1 & this morning I weigh 101.6 so a loss of 4.5kg (9.9lbs) thats likely to slow down now as I am now able to eat food with more substance from today,

For 7 days or so after being discharged I was able to drink pretty much anything as long as it was thin enough to be sucked up a straw, so it was water/tea/coffee/protein shakes/cup a soup (no bits) the first few days it was fine but I must admit once I got to thurs/friday I was fed up with it, I am not a fan of soup but ended up drinking it as I wanted something savoury,

Today I start a new eating phase which means I can eat things that are a bit thicker, everything I consume now has to be blended so that it resembles baby food puree, I am making a chilli in the slow cooker today which I intend to blend down for tonights dinner, not sure I will bother with blending any rice as I need to keep my protein levels up, I need approx 60-80gms of protein a day, less than that can cause hair thinning etc a couple of protein shakes will give me around 2/3 of that so as long as I eat a protein rich meal I should be ok, my appetite has now returned & I can eat almost a whole mug of soup before feeling full which is a sign that my stomach is no longer swollen