SashaWLS

I had baked salmon, mashed potatoes and some grilled vegetables... I feel like I've got a lump in my throat and I haven't eaten in 9 hours because I haven't wanted to at all!! Had some tea, and am trying to drink part of a protein shake, but it's not feeling good...

If I overate a bit at lunch at 2:30pm, there's no way I'd still be feeling stuffed full and nauseous and burping at 11:30pm just cause I overate, right? Is this a stuck episode?? I don't feel stuck, I guess, but maybe this is what stuck feels like... I don't know how to read my body anymore... I don't get the chest tightening when I'm full, which makes me think I don't have restriction, so I don't know how much is too much to eat. I'm just sort of eating until I can't, which I know is probably totally wrong. I feel like such a lost newbie!! Should I try to throw up? Ugh. I feel lousy!!!

I've had worse things said to me when thin, about my former fat self, than when I've been fat... I still feel bad about a woman saying that it looked like fat had swallowed my face, and that was 13 years ago!!!

It's so weird, too... Yesterday I was totally fine. But today, I'm SO grouchy! I started crying just because my kid had to eat. and I want toast! I don't even care about toast, but that's what I'm craving... It's frustrating and emotional...

I haven't had this happen, but I heard that if it's meat that's stuck, that drinking pineapple juice or having papaya enzymes will break the meat down faster...

Oh no!! That's my worst nightmare. What a drag. Your experience, quite frankly, is why I wanted to get the sleeve in the first place—so you get your one surgery and then you're over and done with and you don't have to deal with some stupid foreign body in your local body... But, here I am on this road. Anyway, post back when you find out what's next. And when you decide what you want to do. I'm curious what your choices are, and what your decisions will be! Good luck to you!!!

2 weeks post-op with your folks sounds like a very good idea... There's absolutely NO WAY I could have lifted 20lbs for a few weeks after surgery. They ask you not to lift anything up to 40lbs for a month to make sure the stitches are healed... But your son can sit on your lap!! And if you let him sleep in the bed with you some, you can get lots of cuddle time. Just try to keep him from whacking you in the stomach!!! The day my 4yo daughter came home from her grandparents' house (5 days post-op) she ran flying down the hallway and slammed me in the stomach and yelled "TAG! You're it!!!" and ran away... Welcome home!

I have nothing to add about eating around the band, but I love your name!! SpaceGirl used to be an avatar of mine!!!

My doc said to avoid carbonation... But if I desperately want something carbonated, I should let it sit for a while and then stir the hell out of it. Once it's pretty flat, I can have small quantities, infrequently...

I wish my first fill went as well as yours... I had to go back and have 1cc taken out cause I was in PAIN!!! But now I'm fine. Liquids the rest of today, mushies tomorrow...

In the end, it's about two things... (1) your own head, and (2) the arrangement you make with those around you. Regarding #1 -- You can "flip the switch" in your own head to turn off all the food noise around you. You just have to find the switch!! Many of us have no problems with people eating around us, because we were very focused on what we were doing and why. I'm not saying you SHOULD be in that place, I'm just saying that if you can find a way to get to that place, the journey will be a little easier... Easier said than done I know!! Regarding #2 -- You and your husband need to talk about what support you need. And he has to agree to it. If you ask him not to eat in front of you and he agrees, and then does it anyway, he's a big old jerk and you have a right to be angry. But if he's not signing up for that, then you guys have to negotiate for what he will agree to do... In my house, I don't care what my husband eats in front of me. However, I've asked that we remove the alcohol from the house. I love to drink. And before surgery, we used to have a drink or two every night before bed... I don't want to give up drinking entirely, and I really don't think I can be trusted to only drink "sometimes" or "in moderation" if he's going to drink every night in front of me at home. So I've decided to try drinking only when I'm out, in a social situation... Is that totally fair to him? Not if he is resentful or angry about it... But sure, it's totally fair if he's happy to support me and agrees to do it. As it turns out we had a big fight one night because (during pre-op phase) he snuck booze into his juice and I caught him. I flipped out (more that he was sneaking it) and basically told him that I refused to be his mother, and that if he's so dead set on drinking regardless of the impact on me, he should just pull all the alcohol back in the house and act like an adult and make the decision that he didn't want to support me... I'm a big girl, I can deal with being told no, but don't pretend to be supportive and then make me the bad guy when I find out that he's lying about it... Grrr... Anyway. Point being that I understand what you're going through, but it is YOUR journey... Your family will hopefully help, but it's not actually their journey...

Totally fine today, thank you so much Sunshyne! I must have just been very irritated, but I'm 1000x better today and am able to drink a yogurt smoothie and some tomato Soup. No idea how I'm going to manage getting 60-80g Protein a day, but I'll deal with that once i"m back on food...

Had a bad first fill... Way too tight, painful, had to get some removed...

On the flip side, the man's gotta eat, and why don't you go in another room? It's easier to control yourself than someone else... Not minimizing your feelings, but it doesn't have to be about you, it could be that he's focusing on his needs and letting you focus on yours... Seems like a reasonable thing...

Lucky!! I also had my first fill today, but it didn't go so well. Got 3.5cc but had to go back and get 1cc taken out... Still not feeling quite right...

Like Jess & Cocobean, I've gotten that left side under the rib-cage runners cramp pain on and off. It's definitely gas for me, my doc showed it to me on my esophogram — there was this huge ball of cotton-candy looking fuzz there, about the size of a softball. As for pain higher up, that could be that you're over filled. I just had my first fill today (3.5cc) and had to go back and get 1cc taken out. It felt like when you tie a rubberband tight around your finger and it turns red and throbs? At first it's like, wow, look at that. Then after a while it just aches and feels like it's going to fall off! Immediately felt better with 1cc removed, but I'll tell you, I'm still not 100%, though I'll wait a day to see if the pain I'm having is just tighness from drinking some broth or that my band is still too tight... Not sure this is the same for everyone, but this was my experience.

Hi Donna, Make sure you try drinking a decent quantity of each shake you try, so you're sure that you like it before going to buy a whole bunch... I loved the Isopure the first time I tried it, but then realized that they left a really slimy coating in my mouth when I had a whole glass. YUCK! My favorite, by a very large margin, is GNC's "Lean Shake". I think it's new to market, because they seem to be on sale constantly near me... What I like about it is that it's much thinner than others I tried. I think because it has real skim milk in it and isn't lactose free...

thank you guys!!!

I didn't read her post and scoff. I read her post this morning and realized that my first fill was actually too tight, so I went back to the doctor to get unfilled... As someone one month out after surgery, I'm not on this board to look for rainbows and unicorns. I'm looking for information, and I absolutely want to read posts like hers so I can learn from her experience. I appreciated her post. And I also appreciated yours, and love hearing that you've had a great experience... I can't speak for everyone here, but I do realize that her opinion of the surgery, like yours, is based on her experience and hers alone... Some people have good experiences. Some have bad. This isn't religion, so I don't see any reason to be dogmatic. There's room for everyone to have, and share, their point of view.

OMG I feel so much better!!! They took out 1cc and instant relief. It felt like having a rubber band tied around my finger that was throbbing and in pain from lack of circulation... And I could feel the Water moving through the band this time, not just sort of seeping through... I still feel nauseous and achy, but it feels more like irritation than the tight throbbing... At least I hope!

But is it supposed to hurt? Like sharp, throbbing?

Nevermind... I know in my heart that this is too full. After reading some other posts this morning about being overfilled and damage to the stomach, I'm going back to the doc now to have some taken out before I hurt myself. I don't think this should hurt...

NC Mama, I am hoping you're right!!!!!

I just got my first fill about 2 hours ago (3.5cc in a 10cc band) and think I may be too tight... But I'm not sure. I hear people say that sometimes the first fill takes a few days to get used to, so I don't want to be a worrier and get it unfilled if it's not necessary... But on the other hand it's going on the weekend and I don't want to end up throwing up, being unnecessarily uncomfortable, or having it get worse... Here's what I'm feeling, do you guys have any thoughts? After the fill I was immediately a little nauseous, but ultimately able to drink 2 dixie cups of Water... I felt the cold water backing up into my throat and my chest felt tight, but when I added warm water it went down... Now, 2 hrs later, I still feel slightly nauseous, like there's a lump of mucus in the back of my throat. I'm uncomfortable and feel a tightness in my chest. I assume it's the band and that it hurts a little. I am able to drink. I'm sipping Vitamin water and it is going down.

Thank you. I have to say that I TOTALLY hadn't considered exercise.