B-52

EVERYBODY was new to this one time or another.... One thing I need to warn you about.....there are as many differing opinions here as there are members it seems...it can get confusing.....because of all the contradictions....I for one am glad I did not find this forum untill AFTER I had the surgery, because then all I had to go on was what my Dr. and staff informed me about....and that was good.... Bottom Line...this is about you and your Dr......ALL information here should be filtered through your Dr.'s treatment plan for you.... For Myself...I do not pay that much attention to what people "Think"....I much rather hear what people have personally "Experienced"... I can tell you all about Paris France, what I read, what people have told me, what You-Tube videos I've seen....but I have never been there, smelled the air or felt the sunshine, so how do I really know???? Welcome and Good Luck.....there are a lot of experienced and successful people here....and with just about EVERY issue imaginable, someone has gone through it also and can shed their light on it based upon their experience.... YOU already have important information to share...you already have started a history with this WLS....

Ok, I'm going to get gross here...but you asked.... The normal person produces and swallows up to 4 pints of saliva per day.....the rate of this production can be increased or decreased if one is in the act of eating.... When a person gets "Stuck"...it means food has become clogged and cannot pass through the band....think of your kitchen sink drain..... Saliva is not only normally being produced, but can be triggered to increase because food is currently being digested....BUT the saliva has no where to go....it begins to accumulate, not being able to pass by the clog..... Two things are happening that are good....first, the primary purpose of saliva is to break down the food, and also lubricates, softens it....., as the first stage of digestion.....and this is one of the body's defense mechanisms for food obstruction.... 2nd...if the food does not pass, saliva continues to accumulate, partially digesting the food, but with no where to go and still accumulating, it will come right back up and out..... bringing the trapped partially digested food with it....(Hopefully)...PB'ing... Does everyone experience this???? Not everyone has had adjustments - fills to their bands....but I would guess to say the majority of banded people will....it's just a lesson on eating correctly...the way they tried to teach you with their set of "Rules" For me, when I get stuck, the sliming begins, I will sip some Water while standing over a sink, etc, (NEVER while sitting at the table) ...adding water only speeds up the process and gets it over with so I can get on with whatever I was doing....

I'll admit I do not know that much about sleeves...but with us banders,,, if our first bite is the crunchiest, cheesiest, etc..our first will be our last!....some foods just will not pass through the band no matter how hard well we chew....it does differ from person to person, but it is a reality.... Some parts, those so called best parts...are now history.... I have been before the Cold White Throne from only one bite and one swallow.....and those foods are now a memory. I have gone to a restaurant, and made the stupid mistake by attempting to eat a dinner roll they serve you before you even order your dinner.....missed my entire dinner that evening because of that "First Bite"....had to settle for a bowl of Soup.....

Been there, done that....I have a hard head and it took some hard lessons to finally "Get it" I now know what my Dr. meant when he said the key to all this is to learn to "Listen" to my band...

Did you see a dermatologist?? I suffer from eczema..they tell me all kinds of things can make it flare up....and it can also be bad this time of year....all the more reason to gt as much Water in daily as possible to deter dry skin.... I also have a Rx cream with steriods in it..... Also, if it is eczema, water can aggrevate it, as in bathing, swimming, etc....

I am super tight in th morning...have not had a solid breakfast in over 2 years, and even my morning smoothie has to be taken slowly....as the day goes on, things get better.....

Sitting here at Panera for lunch.....I ordered a cup of soup and 1/2 tuna sandwich....that I eat minus the bread. I have eaten since my breakfast smoothie at 5am..... I had a taste of the soup and tuna, and I cannot continue...I have no appetite, and I simply do not want, or feel like eating anything....I'm gonna throw the whole thing out.... I have days like this...it is the band...I have no hunger at all, and no interest in food....the brand is telling my brain I am full, and do not have to eat...it's mental, not physical.... So I will wait till dinner to eat....but we'll see what and how much..

I had trouble with meat after my third and final fill....when I told my Dr. he said it was not that uncommon.... So I have not eaten meat in over 2-1/2 years....MUCH TO THE EXTREME DELIGHT of all my other Dr,'s such as my Cardiologist and Endocrinologist.... They have always been after me to either give it up, or only once a week.... Incidently, I have read many posts here where people will have "Turkey" Burgers, etc..... They don't work for me because they go to great lengths to make the Turkey or Tofu to be just like meat....and it is the texture of meat that gave me problems, not the fact is was meat....

You may be having pain because your taking too big of swallows, not chewing enough, OR the food you are trying to eat is not Band friendly...too harsh....try softer foods.... Also if you irritate your band, it is a never ending cycle and can only get worse, not giving the band a chance to heal, EVERYTHING you swallow will hurt.........some will go back to their Dr. complaining they can't keep anything down....or experiencing reflux....and the Dr. will get take Fluid out to give it a rest.... then the patient will complain they're not loosing weight....on and on it goes......but what one needs to do is give the band a chance to heal by going liquids for a day or 2.... If you sprain our ankle, you need to stay off it a few days.....take it easy....if you continue running, it will only get worse...

Banded almost 3 years now....last fill was over 2-1/2 years ago...Green Zone ever since.... Just want to say: I have NEVER felt "Full" For me, it's a mental thing....the band is there, 24 hrs a day...so 24hrs a day it sends a signal to my brain that I am full, I do not need, or want to eat....even if I physically had nothing to eat in 24hrs....it's always there, just as the band is always there.... Imagine you just had the biggest thanksgiving feast...have to un buckle your pants...you cannot possible eat anothrer thing! Don't even show me another slice of pie...I cannot stand the sight of it....TAKE IT AWAY!!!! Now seperate the menatal thoughts, from the physical feelings...THAT is what I experience, all day long....I do not want to look at food, can't get motivated nor have an interest in eating....sometimes I find it repulsive.... All without ever eating a thing! There is no trick to it...it's not the Protein, nor the Water....it's all the Band! Simple.... As far as feedback from the band when you swallow something, I do get that with almost eveything I eat AND drink, at times....but that to me is not feeling "Full"

No change for me either....just another day in the life with the Band...controlling my hunger and ability to overeat.......I have been gaining and loosing within the same 5 lbs for 2 years now....up 2 lbs today, down 3 tomorrow, etc, etc, etc.....as long as I stay within that 5 lbs, I'm good.....

If you're truly sliming, I don't see how you can wait 15 minutes....it is inevitable what is going to happen next......and SOON.... I also don't understand how someone can linger a stuck episode all day??? Think about a stuck piece of meat in your airway, needing the Heimlich maneuver ASAP....now equate that to your esophagus....not as extreme as breathing, but ALL DAY???? When I got stuck, I had to do something right then and there.....or I could not carry out any other normal activities... But this goes back to my first thought....the term "Stuck" is very over used on this forum....as are other terms like "Slippage"

All I can say for myself, I had more medical issues to list here right now.....My PCP stated if I drop at least 60-70 lbs, it would all go away!!! 100 lbs later, he was RIGHT!!! I am now a health nut....you would not believe how many pills I take every morning in the way of Vitamins, Omegas, and other supplements.....I don't eat meat anymore.....nothing processed like flour, sugar, etc.... I'm soon to be 62....and I feel GREAT!!! Like I was 20-30 years younger....ALL because I lost weight!! And it is all Band Related....

I always look at the BIG picture....what I eat now, whatever it may be, good or bad days, it is still considerably a lot less than what I used to eat before the surgery.....all day long!!! For me, it is a new lifestyle, where my days of over eating are gone forever...... not a diet where I need to count calories, keep journals, etc, So if I have ice cream now and then, or some other "Evil" food, it's not going to kill me.....again, I look at the Big Picture.... I'm a sucker for "Cheetos", to name but one...... I can sit back and think about how much I ate today, then these days add up to weeks, which add up to months, which becomes a lifetime...... I simply eat less, and less often.....

Getting Stuck.....first, IMO, this term is often over used.... Think of your kitchen sink...have a large anount of food go down the drain, too fast and too sudden, and what happens...it gets CLOGGED...cannot go anywhere...just sits there.... Will it go down eventually? Slowly? MAYBE Do you need to get it unclooged? With a plunger? MAYBE Will it allow other things, such as Water, to pass by it? NOT REALLY....it will only over flow onto the floor.... That is what getting stuck truley is...clogging up the plumbing, not allowing anything to get by....then the sliming begins...the bodys mechanism to get it unclogged...also hiccups....thay may be enough to get unclogged.... Sometimes the only way to get unclogged is to get it to come back up...(not really vomiting)....regurgitation.... I sip water, overfilling the pouch...it WILL come back up having no where else to go... Can it be painful? YOU BET!!! Can be EXTREMLEY painful especially if your dialting your pouch...and the effects from thr pain can linger for the rest of the day.... I never bought into the therory that drinking with meals will wash it down...the opposite effect happens to me if I try...so I CANNOT drink while eating, or else!!

I don't follow any specific rule....what I have to do is control my eating to meet what the band dictates....if my band's feedback is to slow it down, then slow it down I will....other times, I can eat a little faster...all depends on the foods I guess, but in any event I have learned to "Listen" to my band and let it determine the parameters....my band is the Boss...not me.... I have drank shakes too fast and overfilled my pouch, and had it come right back up on me....even Water once or twice.....so even with liquids I have to pay attention to the feedback my band gives me with every swallow..... And there are also times my band will tell me, after taking a swallow, that the food I'm eating is not good and I should stop right then, eat something else.....example would be overcooked, dry chicken.... If I have to wait a full minute in between, that's a sure sign the food I'm eating is definitley NOT band friendly...

After my first fill, and before my second, I GAINED weight....did nothing at all..... My second fill did make a difference, curbed my appetite somewhat between meals, but that was about it.... For me, it took three fills before it really kicked in.... Everyone is deifferent, what you're experienceing has been mentioned here 1000 times....

You're talking the Pre-surgery diet???? My Dr. did not care if it was liquid or not....my only task was to loose a determined amout of weight or the surgery would be re-scheduled......just happens that a liquid diet is the most effecient...but I did eat regular food also.....BUT I was very, very careful what I consumed...did not want to screw it up being so close.....

It's a good feeling, isn't it??? I have to remind myself to eat....I never get hungry 24/7..... I have gone full 24hr days without eating, if I am very busy at work, traveling, etc....usually it is my Wife who insists it is time to eat.... So when I do eat, I make sure I make the best of it...Good, wise food choices....not worrying about the calories.... Protein and Water....protein and water....

First, I'm curious...does your anti-depressents increase or decrease your appetite...just info I want to add to other people's findings.... If your getting stuck, then your band is working...or it is doing something at least....as bad as it is to admit, I used to get a little satisfaction when I got stuck because it told me the band was indeed there trying to do something....better than not feeling anything at all, as though it was not there..IMO. After my last adjustment, I too was all over the place with getting stuck, what foods to eat, differences from day to day if not hour to hour...there were times I felt I could not keep anything down....many people's opinions would have been to go back and get a little taken out so I would be able to eat anything I wanted.... In MY opinion, it was not the band that was causing me to be so erratic...it was ME that had to get things under control..to learn all new habits all over again...AND IT WAS NOT EASY....probably the hardest time period of having this surgery.... Eventually I did learn a new way....took many trial and errors to get it through my hard head....but then I lived 58 years of eating all wrong....hard to change in a few weeks..... before I was even banded, they started to teach me "The Rules"...giving me handouts, and constant reminders....I was honest with them and told them I felt "The Rules" were a big waste of time....I still remember the 2 ladies smiling and telling me "Learn them now, because there will come a time when you won't be able to live without them...you'll see" Boy were they ever right! After that last fill......WOW! So it was a big learning curve for me....a very fine balancing act between having too much Fluid in my band, and/or Me not behaving properly so as not to interfere with the band and how it was designed..... I will say, that once I got everything "Balanced"...it has all been a BREEZE...EASIEST thing ever, a true MIRACLE!! I have no idea what you're experienceing.....I'm just rattleing on with my experiences, and hoping something I said rings a bell....

Reading your story, it seemed as though you answered your own question(s).....In the beginning, the band was properly adjusted, worked great, and you steadily lost weight.... Then You experienced medical problems, had to get the band completley unfilled, therefore nothing to inhibit you from returning to the old habits, and you gained a significant amount of weight back.... Now You are starting to get the band re-filled, to get back to that place you were in the beginning.....

I see you just joined the group.....don't worry, you will observe and learn....and it is tricky to get around......I could challenge and debate 70% of the people here, but I won't...you will also find people will take exception if you don't believe things the same way as they do.......so what's the point? Plus 1/2 of them can't stand me or my posts anyway...so you learn......then go on your merry way.... Actually, it can get very entertaining.......I smile most of the time when reading the posts here.....

Undertaker1220....you say your a RN, well I've been around quite a while and you should know you can write a book on what comes through the door...never a dull moment........now consider an open forum with all kinds of backgrounds, emotions, personalities, and sometimes even the simplest understanding..... You're first mistake is asking everyone on an open forum "Is This OK?" ?????? I for one would never try to answer any question, but simply give my own experience with a certain issue...if I have no experience, then I have nothing to say....... Where's your bedside manner??? And we all know the Dr is always correct, right??

Trying to determine if you have a leak or not by the way you judge your restriction is not very diagnostic....my restriction varies day to day, hour to hour....can totally dissaper for days then suddenly and dramatically return.... I even have my own little maintenence trick to regain restriction when it begins to fade.... I have not had a fill in well over 2 years now....BUT every visit to the Dr., he withdraws ALL Fluid where he can measure the amount in the syringe and compare it to what is supposed to be in there....also checks for clarity..... He then replaces it with fresh saline. Also, your Dr. telling you to go on shakes for a few days is very clever on his part....I LIKE THIS GUY....we think alike.....

I failed 100's of times before being banded.....my PCP referred me for Lap Band Surgery.....so, my logic was....if the Band was suggested to me because I failed, then surley the Band must be able to do something I cannot on my own....so I put my faith in the Band, and expected it to do everything it was advertised to do.....nothing less would do...... That was three years ago...and it has not failed me yet, and has performed BEYOND my wildest expectations and exceeded any weight loss goals I set for myself...making it the easiest thing I could have ever done to loose weight......and it is still performing slendidly today without a single problem or complaint.....