judych

im assuming that you will have all amenities.. like power. take a blender with you. that way you can eat your veges... fruits. take yoghurt, fruit, fresh veges... some soup stock. you wouldnt be on salads yet by the sounds of it.

nearly every morning now i have an egg and some bacon. im really enjoying it as well. i use a little olive oil in the frypan to cook. im still losing weight.. . this Breakfast holds me until about 12.30pm... which is good.

i use SLM by Musachi. Ive tried other protein drinks and they are awful. I buy the vanilla and chocolate one . I also use, everytime, Greek non fat yoghurt in my drink, and im generous with it as well. Do try this one. I recommend it . It has no aftertaste, and im sensitive to anything like that. If you wanted to you could add coffee... more vanilla, other flavours, like frozen berries, etc etc... ive had it lots of different ways. Ive been banded now for nearly four months and ive always got this in my cupboard. when i have a fill or if i have a bad episode with food getting stuck i use the protein ... its a great mainstay. Also, if im in a hurry at breakfast time i use it for a meal replacement.I do hope that you can get back onto losing weight again. Have you got a dr where you live who can give you a fill? it sounds as if you need to have another fill.... Whatever you do.. dont leave things as they have been. YOu have a wonderful tool in you that you should be utilising to the max. Go for it. Get a fill and be positive. You can do this. good luck.

i dont think there is any easy answer to this one. im like you, i love to have a couple of glasses of red in the evenings. one thing though... it doesnt make things any easier for me when i come to eating a meal. i dont lose weight and dont put it on either. i will have weeks without and lose a lot... then a few wines and weight loss stalls again. im using it as a tool to slow things down more. l ol. not that i recommend it to others. i would never do that. i think its just another area of discipline.... and i know thats not easy. good luck.

i wasnt crying but felt really awful.. wondering what on earth i had done to myself. feeling guilty because it had come to this. I think that nearly everyone goes through this. Its a profound move that you have made. YOu have severed your slavery to food... its that simple. There has been a death in your life.... overeating. It goes to show just how strong a hold food has had over us. I think also that there are emotional upheavals as well. after all, food was my best friend and becoming more so as i got older. i was using it as a crutch more and more. i dont know about you. I felt bereft when i came home from surgery. i made up my mind and got drs approval within just a few weeks so i didnt have time to really ponder over it all. my health needs were obvious so it was very quick. It was afterwoods that i stopped to think about it all. AS for the guilt thing? thats all gone. im just thrilled now at the result and the changes ive had to make have been huge. Its well worth it. Now i need to find another ''best friend'' or ''comforter'. lol.

now... it certainly isnt fun at all.i wonder if you have had a stomach flu?? jut a touch? o.k.... sliming.. well, as far as i know so far, when the pouch is having difficulties with what we have just eaten, (and it happens quickly after we do this..about five minutes for me.)... it gets a bit painful. when it happens to me, i get the acute discomfort... i feel the food moving in the pouch,( i feel it churning..) i seem to salivate a lot... ive noticed now that i start to sneeze. i guess thats just me though... dont quote me on this. lol. Eventually i have to put my head over a bowl and the ''slime' comes up. its like vomiting but its not as acute. its a softer reaction and more spontaneous somehow... still not nice though. it seems that when the pouch is having difficulty coping with food there is slime produced( to help the food pass, is my guess) which ,most times, if there is enough of it... just comes up. ive had a few episodes now but never more than once vomited back up any food. i find that when im goign through a stuck episode that the pain is uncomfortable, the extra saliva in my mouth tells me then that i need to bring up some slime.I salivate a lot. Usually when it happens to me i know whats coming and just get a towel until i go to the loo or the basin) Its one of those things that we just have to accept... it may happen to us anytime. i think thats why the lesson of ... ..''small ( and i mean sometimes the size of your little finger nail) mouthfuls.. chew many many times, swallow and wait for at least 20/30 seconds for the food to pass into the pouch from the aesophagus. If you are consistent with doing this... it wont happen to you. ive had periods when ive cooked roasts, been carving the meat and just plain forgotten that i had the band in. ive taken a mouthful... and BANG !! off i go.. lol.. and i suffer the consequences. other times Ive just been too hungry and eaten too quickly...BANG !! again. lol. WAtch these times if you are the cook for the family and if you allow yourself to get too hungry. Im sure it will all go well with you.....one day at a time... you will learn very quickly i know. we have, all. lol.

yes, its quite normal to have that feeling like you want to burp and cant... if you walk or put your hands on the back of your head and try to burp productively that may help you. i use my arms above my head everytime i need to burp and cant. that works well for me. sometimes just walking will move it as well. i think that feeling is tied in with soreness or inflammation around the band... which we have immediately after surgery or sometimes after a fill... even if we have a stuck episode. Keep moving as much as possible. dont stress about the volume of fluids you are drinking now... just quietly manage as much as you can... in my experience it took a few weeks for me to recover from the surgical aspect of it.. but, mind you, im 66. you would have quicker recupe powers i would imagine. but, if you havent, thats o.k. you need to listen to your body... dont fight it. if you are taking some vitamins and doing everything right your body will recover when its ready to do so. you may feel for a time that youve done the ''wrong thing'' by having the band in.... it seems thats normal enough. i think that most of us have had that feeling. i know i did have. I dont think i had that feeling for long at all. i know that the immediate results with me and retaining fluid were truly amazing. i lost nearly 12 pounds in a week just shedding fluid from my body. ... so, even if you dont feel that things are happening... believe me, they are. Dont worry about weight loss immediately after surgery, or in the weeks after. The important thing is to allow time for your body to heal. Normally after surgery it takes six weeks for healing to occur, and at some levels, im sure, it takes longer. STick to your drs and your dieticians instructions. They know best what you should be doing. Dont worry about trying to exercise too soon... that will come soon enough and you will know when its right to do that, without pushing things before its time to do it. Gentle walking if you are that way is great for starters. Dont over do it. Your diet isnt complicated... simple clear broths, then slightly heavier soups... ive added various thickeners with veges in mine. i noticed that my hunger was an issue so i put potato ..mashed, into my soups. i also put plenty of flavour, like salsa, in mine as well. i happen to like savoury/spicy. i went through a period where i was hungry... but honestly, im not sure what was true hunger and what was head hunger. you will find that issue as well, im sure. Just for now i think thats enough for me to post... lol.. not that ive given you every thing thats been goign on with me. im post banded now going on four months... You have had two major ops... so your body is going to take a while.... take it easy and have a peace about it all. i assure you, everything will fall into place as you walk this journey. good luck. judy

you are doing everything right. continue to take it easy... you will get healthy again... this will pass. be kind to yourself. Dont stress. we have all been here and worked our way through it all. I guarantee you... before you know it all this adjustment time will be over and you will be feeling on top of the world.

are you able to start taking them again... or arent you supposed to have them anymore?? im sure others will have some suggestions for you, im just wondering why you arent back on them?

it sounds like you have had a stuck episode. its not a nice experience. did you bring anything up? Im having problems after my second fill... which was only 1cc. i had 3 ccs already in a 10 cc band. when iwent back just over two weeks ago for my 1cc fill i was still losing weight but slow. (the way i want it anyway). the dr was pleased, but decided to put that extra 1 cc in. Well.. that was over two weeks ago, and im still having a lot of problems. For two nights runny Ive slimed and vomited... and ive had real issues trying to eat. it takes me over an hour to get a small amount in. so.. this morning i rang my dr and tomorrow morning i go in for an unfill... hopefully only 0.50 cc. The first fill i had it took me about ten days to get settled again, thats why ive waited so long this time. If you are sore in the chest or sore when you eat.... can you give it a rest by just having some liquids for a day? i know that sometimes that does help a lot.

... are you taking a vitamin supplement?? I remember how tired i was for quite a while after surgery, i wasnt exercising either. i still get tired, even now. I wouldnt be too concerned. Just give your body time to heal and adjust... this new way of eating... and living... is a biggie. Theres more to it than we realize. Hormone changes (dont understand why but there often is..) and all that ... as well as healing from surgery. Rest up as often as your body tells you it needs to. Take supplements and your protein shakes... and eat what you can manage. Time is a great healer. Im just 3 1/2 months out from surgery now... im still feeling some effects at times. Thats o.k. im prepared to wait, as long as it takes. judy

im afraid there are no magic quick fixes... use a heating pad, keep up the meds and most of all... just relax and give your body the time it needs to heal. ive been there... there is no short cut im afraid.

smalltown... thats a shame you werent informed enough. im afraid that is an issue for a lot of us. there are so many areas with this surgery that need to be covered that its difficult to cover each one before the knowledge is needed. So... we just take one step at a time , learning all the way. Thats why this group is such a blessing to everyone. Experience is the best teacher.... have some patience and some confidence that you will get there. Keep posting and reading on here and you will learn all there is to know... just as i have done. cheers.

..i reckon anything can be pureed within reason... i go for something with more flavour.

you're welcome. i know what its like to have a furr baby thats dependant on you... i have one as well. lol. i take her very seriously... to me she is another child and i do for her just the same. I hope that the lump is gone very quickly. you dont need this . just getting over post op and all the changes is enough to contend with. good luck

like you said... this period is bandster hell and there isnt a lot you can do to get around this one. Your will power is goign to have to be used a lot , even when you are through the hell period. New eating habits, all that stuff, and will power is important. Give your body a chance to heal... its early days yet. Everyone is different. i lost about 14 pounds the first week, but, im 66, have high bloodpressure, a lot of fluid and swelling in my lower legs and feet. that first week saw the fluid leave me. You may not have fluid.... however, your body will respond as soon as its ready too. the band procedure is worth it... every moment of every day... it is worth it. Hang in there.

im three months post op and im having salads with fresh dill.. yummmm.. im not sure if i could have managed beforehand... i just didnt feel ready to have any then.

try not to stress out about it. i know it seems overwhelming, mainly because there is such a huge range, and what do you buy??for me?? i bought a liquid multi Vitamin ... and its great. i also bought SLM Protein powders... they arent too expensive and i also used greek yoghurt in them. i didnt use milk at all. i had no issues about what to use and i live in an isolated area in country australia. What to eat when on a hectic schedule?? my suggestion?? always have a pack of cuppa Soups in your bag... especially in the immediate post op stage. i had many trips into the city which is a long way away for us. This was immediately post op. my husband had to eat so i just took cuppa soups with me and asked for a mug of hot Water in the eating places we were in. i had really filling meals and it was no trouble at all. i hope this helps. judy

i used a lot of salsa and garlic seasonings in my soups.. i bought creamy chicken... ive also used soy sauce in them for extra flavour.. ive mashed a very small quantity of potato or pumpkin in them as well. If you can get the flavour its nicer... not so bland. i cant stand bland food.

this is a good post... thanks Tina.

Donna12.. i agree with you. this morning we worked out how much weight id lost in three months... its 35 pounds. that would have been impossible for me any other way. Talking about that lump you have.... what a nuisance, especially if it limits you with your activities i would let your mum take care of your dog if its still hard for you to do it. ive got a niece who had lapband done the same time as me. She ended up with a huge lump over her port.. it was as big as a grapefruit and it was oozing. she was put back in hospital, it was lanced and she was given antibiotics via drip. it was a real nuisance for her and did make things miserable for her to start with... so i understand you must feel miserable with it as well.. i hope its fixed real soon.

..what about the clear fluid that is in blood??..

thats sad you are having some issues with communication with your wife. Did she have the band surgery as well?

you are right cazzy... and i had forgotten about the band loosening up a bit as we lose. At the moment, to slow down weight loss, im having a couple of squares of chocolate nearly every day.. and also the odd glass of wine. my weight loss is still happening... I dont want to lose any quicker than i am now.thats good advice about just having 0.05cc removed... i never thought about that. i have about 16 pounds to go... and about three months i want to do it in.

was it a haematoma?