DeLarla

Man, I gotta have my sushi. I don't care if it's raw fish. It's not just that I love eating it, it's the whole experience. If you haven't tried it, like Nike says, Just Do It. If the raw fish freaks you out that bad, just ask the chef or waiter for choices that aren't just raw fish. I've heard a lot of people having problem with seaweed getting stuck and causing bad PB's, but now you can ask the chef to make the rolls with rice paper. Also, I was a very bad bandster and ate deep fried rolls the other day (shh, don't tell Dr. Billy.) But DAMN they're good fried! All the others were raw but I couldn't resist one fried.

Some heal fast, others take longer. Could take months before it feels comfy, and even after your port is fully healed you may have days where it seems to bug you, or you may totally forget it's even there. But you'll always have to take special care of the area - just ask around about the gal who stretched too far and damaged the port.

Damn, I rushed to this thread because I thought Paula would be wearing a tu-tu.

I just revisited the before & after thread. What amazing accomplishments. Everyone looks fabulous.

Soups, mashed potatos, yogurt, cottage cheese. Don't introduce solids until your doc says it's okay. Any kind of meat, including deli, is considered a solid food. If you chew steak enough it will turn to mush, but that doesn't mean we should eat it. Every time you introduce food into your pouch, the stomach starts moving & wiggling to begin the digestive process. Mushies slide right through the pouch, where solids need more work. Why take chances swallowing bits & pieces that aren't pureed? I'd put the turkey in a food processor first to make pate'. Follow the rules, that's why they're written.

That's my question, too. None of these pics allow me to see where the pouch is. It just looks like our whole esophagus accomodates our food intake. Where does the pouch cut off in comparison to the whole espohagus?

What a nice way for her to spend her time. Losing loved ones is the hardest thing in the world, but she's lucky to have you making such lasting memories.

Not to scare the living daylights out of you, but isn't 3:15 a.m. the exact time the guy in Amityville Horror wakes up every night? Christina, it's not your port waking you up, it's the Boogey Man. I wish I could be there to help you out. I wasn't ever able to sleep on my belly, then again, I had an open wound for a year. Have you tried getting a little sleep on the floor for the sake of that bad back? You need to lay on your back with your legs bent (like an "L") and rest the calves on a coffee table or ottoman (with your bottom squished way up against the table/ottoman.) This presses the lower back into the floor. I usually put padding on the floor and lay with my head to the side watching TV, then I end up falling asleep. My back doc suggested this, and it's the only way I can sleep when my back is out. Plus my dogs can lick my face easier. And I always have that heating pad under my lower back. Do you have your heating pad?

I hid some of the leftovers in wadded napkins. I buried some shrimp & octopus underneath the shells of the steamed soybeans. And I hid a piece under the fancy shredded garnish and some more under a pool of soy sauce in the dipping bowl. Then I spread the rice all over all the plates to make it look like less chunks. All them damn sushi rules make me feel like the Soup Nazi is behind the counter. No lie, they'll charge you extra if you don't eat all the food, and there's even a disclaimer saying you have to eat all the rice! Caused me great grief & anxiety!

Make an extra bucket of Jello to wiggle your toes in. I ate Jello right after surgery, too, but I squished it between my teeth like kids to to liquify it first. Didn't somebody here just have a horrible experience with Jello though? I think she ate that slimy part off the top that gets really hard & sticky - like the consistency of seaweed. Don't eat anything funky, just let the Jello melt to liquid before swallowing.

Just in case tomorrow never comes, last night I massaged my husband's tired feet with honey almond lotion, then used the heat massager on his hurting back till he fell asleep. I kissed both doggies on the nose and held my kitty before I left work today. Just in case...

I wish I could relate to this thread. I need to move into a Band Compound, where we all live together and coach each other through rough parts. I have night time eating disorder, and the coinky dink thing is my friend did a search and actually found reports that recognize my nighttime bingeing as a separate disorder. But I'm not completely discouraged - not yet. As long as other people crash and burn, then pick themselves up and move forward, then I guess there's hope for me.

I'm allowed to call myself a Pollock since I are one. I just went for sushi. All-you-can-eat is $21.00. I was damn starving, and since sushi is pretty expensive, I figured I could eat $25 worth. I could only eat $14.00 worth. So I had to order extra stuff like cucumber salad and eggrolls & ice cream. Then I had to strategically hide leftovers because they'll charge you extra if you don't eat all the sushi. So I had to pay $21 for $14.00 worth since I still think with big eyes like before getting Banded. I could have just ordered the pieces separate, but will I ever learn? Probably not.

Just sit on the top steps with your feet in, and make sure the kiddies know they can't splash you or throw you in. Protect those incisions & prevent infection at all costs!

I'm bumping this thread as a reminder to send healing, healthy vibes her way. Dianne took very good care of me when I was in Mexico; she even took special care of my husband, who otherwise would have been alone in Mexico while I was in surgery. I'd like to keep this thread alive till she's up running around again because I truly believe that positive energy has healing power.

It's important to stick with the doctor's rules of "no solids" for a few weeks after banding. Every time you introduce something into your belly, your stomach starts moving & wiggling around to begin the digestive process. You don't want all that movement when the band is new. The area needs to heal, the band needs to seat itself in place, etc. One of our fellow bandsters is currently in the hospital in very serious condition. So far all I've heard is 3rd hand information, but I've heard she had her band removed due to erosion, which could have been caused from all the Ibuprofen she took. The rules say "NO STOMACH IRRITANTS, such as Ibuprofen. The rules also say, "NO SOLID FOODS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER SURGERY." My point is to abide by all rules. Don't take unecessary chances with your band or your health. It's just not worth it.

OH my gosh... I just went back and clicked on the "too tight" option. It shows the barium backing up and a more defined pouch. Wow, good find on this video!

Good find. That's an awesome video that finally begins to show us exactly what's going on. I'd love to see the same video done with food instead of the barium. If you look above the band, you can't even see the pouch - it's just like the pouch leads right into the esophagus? Like a long tube? Sure would be nice to see that with food to show exactly how much food can fit without stretching. Did that make any sense?

Wow, I haven't thought clear since I heard the bad news, so thanks, Donali, for posting that's she's going to be okay. She's such a tiny thing but apparently strong and mighty. Dianne, if this gets back to you, we're all sending healing vibes.

Wow, sorry about this whole ordeal. Why were they thankful that your band was saved, was it in danger? To save travel money, you could always rent a car in Mexico for about $50 plus $25.00 insurance. Good luck. Hope you're back to normal soon.

Good job, Penelope! Megan, you look fantastic. Must be a blast being single these days.

You are just terribly cute. That's your problem.

I think a lot of us feel that way. I'm convinced I'm dying every day. Well, not dying, but I'm sure my band has snapped, broken, eroded. One day at a time, Baby!

Port infections are more popular than people around here think. When I was dealing with my port infections, I started running into other people with the same problem. Plus they'd tell me of others that they know. My surgeon told me of 3 other patients he had with the same problem about the same time I was having my 2nd port removed. Of all the people I've met, none of them post here. I encourage them to post, but there's a whole world of banded people that don't even have computers or know how to use them, so there's lots going on that we don't hear about. However, so far, most have been Mexico surgeries.

My trick when I wasn't able to drink was to hold my sports bottle to my lips and just let one drip at a time into my mouth - like a Polish IV. Hey, I'm Polish, I think of this stuff. It just wets your mouth, but after half hour you've gotten in several ounces.