judych

have you tried just having hot drinks?? going off solids for 48 hours and having clear soups?? it sounds like inflammation. were you vomiting when the piece of food got stuck ?? sliming? i know when i have a bad episode that my pouch is very sore for a day or so. i have to be very careful .

a good idea. another idea is to put white rice in a sock. heated for a very short time in the microwave it retains heat well.

i have two cups of caffeine a day.. the rest is decaf.. so far im o.k. with it all. no dr has asked me what im drinking.

im post op five months and still have some issues with trying to get air back up. i have more issues when im eating. i often have to stop.. raise my arms into the air and put my hands behind my head.. and push my chest forward. It its going to come up then is the time. Its really a nuisance.. especially when eating out. lol.

i was allowed a cup of coffee in the hospital the next morning and ive had coffee ever since. it wont hurt you. i think its needless torture going without . lol.

i know for a fact that i would put heaps of weight on with this ....

o.k... well.. im post op about five months now. We're just coming out of the coldest winter for many years here.. That plus me losing bout 35 pounds in weight have made it harder for me to adjust. Ive been having more thick Soups... split pea,beef, etc. i have pure Protein every morning. egg and bacon. im finding now that by 11.. about four hours later, im hungry. this is where the problem starts. By 12 im having more than one mug of hot soup. At least two mugs or three over 1 1/2 hours. then about 4 im getting hungry again... so i will have something then. we eat our main meal of the day about 6pm. i have a small bread and butter place full then. My weight has been fluctuating .. i gain a couple of pounds and then lose it again. this has been going on now for the last two months. I also have cravings for sweet things... like some candy. i have a small amount of chocolate as well. So as you can see i have issues still. The main issue is.. every winter my appetite for hot soups increases. with me losing weight this year its gotten worse. Now that spring is coming along im able to think now more on salads. we dont get fresh salad produce here so much in the area where i live. But, as the weather gets warmer we grow our own salad veges... lettuce at least and tomatoes. So.. my issues are... too much hot soup in the middle of the say.. plus a craving for sweets which is a new one for me. At the moment our evening meal is hot veges and a meat dish. i have a very small amount of that and im satisfied. i have a fill coming up this wednesday. im hoping that it will help me to get through the day without getting so hungry. Im hoping for 1/2 cc. it makes a huge difference to me just having small amounts.( i have 3 1/2 cc now) i think also that i will have to go back onto Protein drinks. that will help alleviate the cravings for hot soup that ive been having. i sure hope so. I have to lose another 14 pounds. i will be completely satisfied with that and im sure my dr will be as well. i hope so.

i sometimes use a quarter teaspoon of low fat sour cream... just mix it into the salad after a little olive oil . thats really nice.

i couldnt have coped if i had to travel home the same day... but we live a fair distance from the hospital. plus i always have a problem with nausea after anaesthetics... i think overnight is way better as well. Like you say, nurses can give you around the clock care. i would always opt for overnight.

i think that your weight loss so far has been awesome... hang in there. They will all fall off their chairs in amazement... and it will be soon. i didnt have a fill with surgery. i had first fill of 3cc's... second fill of 1cc... half that taken out again... waiting now for another fill, next week. Im hoping that it will only be a 1/2. Id rather take things very slow. Im halfway to my weight loss and not in an urgent hurry anyway. After a fill, 24 hours of liquids, then mushies and onto solids.... thats me.

i have salt cravings as well. ive always had a love of salt. that was o.k. when my b/p was low but its not low anymore. recently i started using a low sodium salt with herbs in it. thats rather nice. I dont understand the physiology behind it all either... cravings for sweet things and salt?? Ive been getting cramps of a night... lower legs and my feet. Anyone else have cramps??

Christina... i think that its important to see a nutritionalist. He/she would be able to help you through the issues you have now, instead of going on a long time and getting entrenched with any bad eating patterns. Do you have access to a nutritionalist ?? You may not need one for more than one or perhaps two sessions...

i know that feeling.Some days i can really enjoy a small meal and hardly even be aware that ive got the band... other days it gives me hell. Im sure that it tightens from day to day, either through hormones, how tired i am, how emotional i am. Learning how to read how it is from day to day is an ongoing process. i have a very small cup of black coffee of a morning first thing and then within five minutes have egg and bacon ... enough to fit in the middle of a very small bread and butter plate. Some days it goes down really well and i enjoy the meal so much, other mornings i have to leave half because the band is reacting differently. It goes with the territory i think. I cant predict how its going to be. However, in spite of this, im very positive about the band and the role its playing in my body. i havent regretted having it in, even the times when ive been so miserable with being stuck. I agree that if you really dont want to eat you should be on vitamins. you dont want to have health issues after coming this far. I know that Vitamin drinks are good... but they arent as good as having solids. Are you still seeing your specialist?? how long between visits?/

you really do need to eat though... develop good eating habits. It would be far easier for you to have a small amount and chew well. If you do this you shouldnt have problems with getting stuck. . Most problems of getting stuck are caused through eating too quickly... brought on by hunger or distraction. Also, are you on vitamins? you need the nutritional balance that eating brings. Without it you could develop illnesses caused through malnutrition.

...speaking of sleep. Ive noticed how much better my sleeping patterns are now. i used to have so many nights without sleep i dont know how i could live like that.Sometimes it was like i was punch drunk. Did anyone else here have issues with sleeping?? sleep apnoea for example?/ i was never diagnosed but im certain that i suffered with sleep apnoea. its improving as i lose weight.

this is great..... how many calories do you think you are having a day??..you are very lucky to have good weight loss and having red wine as well. i have dry red wine. Im a lot older... perhaps my metabolism is a lot slower than yours?

this is so true. i eat about 1200 a day... some days more than that. im sure if i under ate i wouldnt be losing weight at all.

I agree. i think everyday ive had sugar either in a few sweets or some chocolate. i am losing weight but its slow. i dont mind that slow weight loss. What does concern me is my cravings for sugar right now. im having complex carbs.... i shouldnt be having these cravings.

i was the same ... a vegetarian for about a year. In that time my hair was glossy and my skin was clear ... weight loss was great. My body was more alkaline than it is now. I know that the ketogenic diet helps heaps with losing weight but im sure it leaves the body more acidic.

Me too !!!! i was amazed... im not a sugar lover as a rule. ive not had sugar in drinks ... tried to stay away from it for years... and now?? my goodness. lol. Its been the last two months ive felt like that... im five months post op.

i like a glass or two of red wine but ive found i dont lose weight when wine is added to my intake.

im sure you arent eating enough. i have about 1200 a day ... i will go sometimes for a week without any sign of losing and then it will drop about three pounds at once. Try not to stress over the weight loss, its more important for you to get into an eating plan that sustains you.The weight will take care of itself.

elcee..i agree with you here. i never had to make protein shakes a part of my daily intake, i could use them if i chose to. i mainly had soups... chicken broth, beef broth.. sometimes i made up a strong bonox broth.. lol. i put garlic seasoning salt on mine... sometimes used a small amount of salsa. mild. i used garlic as well... i love spicy foods and cant like sweet drinks or foods. ( only sometimes have a craving for jubes.. lol) I did use protein shakes though,just occasionally.ive always had one in my cupboard and still use them after having a fill. i get vanilla... use Water, greek yoghurt, sometimes coffee, sometimes vanilla... it was/is really tasty. i always dressed my Protein Drinks up so the original taste was obscured. lol.

thats right.... good luck with it all.

...i agree wholeheartedly... and can i just add another comment here? i dont think that lapband is easy.... not in my experience anyway. It doesnt allow for you to have an off day... if you get distracted for any reason and eat the wrong way you suffer agonies.... you just cant be like others anymore, its that simple. But, having said that i know its one of the best things that i have done. But no one could ever tell me that its easy... to me its not.