80s_chick

OMG! I wish my doctor sent me home with dilaudid!!!! I took liquid Lortab and it helped...a little. I swear the pill form is more potent. My doctor wouldn't refill the Lortab for me, and gave me a joke of a pill called Ultracet. It was like taking candy...did nothing for me. I do have a suggestion for gas pain that really works. I did this after my c-section and the band and I was very surprised. Drink only lukewarm liquids. Don't chew ice or drink cold Water. I swear it worked for me!! I don't know why, but it did. I had mimimal gas with both surgeries and it certainly wasn't painful. To Leisalips in CA...I was terrified to go in for my fill. I begged them to numb the area but they said there was no need for it. The nurse said that I needed to find something else to worry about. So, I laid there on the table, was breathing heavy, and...felt nothing! I didn't even feel the needle go thru my skin! It hurts much worse to have a shot in the hip, or an IV, because the port is under the skin and the needle doesn't have to pass thru and muscle. As far as band slippage, I have only heard of that happening to a couple of people, and it seems to be the early bandsters, or people that didn't follow the appropriate diet and vomited a lot. I personally know several people that have had the band and none of them have had severe problems. On the other hand, I know three people that had the RNY bypass, and two of the three have had serious complications and continue to have them. It seems as the long-term research is coming out, the band seems to be the better and safer option. Personally, I highly recommend it! Some people may disagree with me though. Don't be scared. Research the options for yourself. I did over two years of research before I finally committed to the band. :thumbup:

I don't have much energy to be honest with you, but I have some other health issues that might be contributing to that. I eat a lot less carbs these days, but I do find that when I walk on my treadmill at least three times a week that my energy level does pick up.

Please don't take this wrong, but I have to disagree and I think you are being a bit harsh on the young lady. I went thru basically the same thing she did, but I did talk to my husband beforehand and we discussed that while I couldn't eat that it would be best for him to do meal preps, just to make life a little easier on me. He thought that me having the surgery was a drastic measure to start out with, but since I went thru it, he wanted to be as supportive as possible. It was hard on him to have to do all of the cooking for a few weeks, and he did complain at times, but ultimately he understood that it was helping me by not having all of that really good food right in front of my face. I have made up for it now by cooking healthy food that the whole family can eat. I understand that one has to have willpower and self control, but it is hard to manage that if one has a poor support system. I am the queen of losing will power and breaking my diet, but hey, it happens. None of us are perfect and we may have a bad day, or even week. (I have decided that on one weekend day that I will allow myself a REAL milkshake in place of a meal. Cheat days are helpful for me, but they don't work for everyone. By allowing myself a little treat, it keeps me more motivated during the week to continue small, low-carb meals and get on that darn treadmill!) I would also like to add that I think subliminally in some cases, perhaps our husband's don't want us to get all skinny and sexy! Maybe they can be a bit insecure and are afraid that when we lose weight, other men may start looking at us again, and they fear losing the best thing that ever happened to them. I mention that because my husband's cousin had the bypass and when she lost a significant amount of weight, she was telling all of the girls at the family reunion how she used to be scared that her DH was going to leave and now she didn't care because she was getting thin and other men would want her. Her hubby got really angry that she was talking that way. He was a great guy. She had kids with him and he adopted her oldest child upon marrying her and raised the girl basically from birth. Ultimately, my husband's cousin had an affair and left her family. She gave up custody of her kids to her now-ex. I am by no means saying that this is common, but I think our husband's might have some scenario like this in the back of their minds, and they might do a little rebelling here and there because of it. If it were me, I would just talk to your DH, kind of just tell him that you understand that this is life-changing for him also, but explain that you want to be healthy and that him cooking is only temporary, and that it will help you tremendously to stay on track. Tell him that you will make it up to him by cooking a fantastic meal once you can eat solids, or perhaps make a dinner date to go to your favorite restaurant. :thumbup:

I have started measuring my food and I eat about a cup at a time. I will eat less if I snack thruout the day though.

I didn't know that I would still be hurting two days later. :scared2: I guess I probably have some inflammation or something. I am just trying to take it easy...

I don't weigh or measure my food either. I am taking a hard look at how I have been eating. I am just going to start over...LOL.

Thank you all for your support! I am still having problems today. I ate a banana this morning. It was soft and I chewed it to nothing, but I was in pain all day long. This evening I ate a couple of bites of a peeled, soft plum and a couple of bites of mashed potatoes. The pain is a little less so I am going to stick with the soft stuff here for a few days until I get back to feeling a little better. Now I know what it is like to have food problems, I will not have to go back to the hospital...although I am really going to try to prevent this from happening again!

Do a lot of people go thru these type of trials or is it just a few? I am still a relatively new bandster, and I really hope I don't have to go thru this again, but how am I going to know what I can eat and what I can't if I don't try?

You are not beating me up! You are helping me, which is why I come here for support. Your advice is good. I am actually three months post-op, which really isn't that terribly long of a time. The thing is, I know better. I was making horrid choices and I pushed it too far. I have been so bloated that (right now) I feel sure that I don't want to put myself though this again. I have put myself back on soft foods and am going to keep that up for a little while. It is nobody's fault but my own that this happened. It is very hard to break the old habits. I think a part of the reason for my overeating lately is because I am out of work for another medical reason, so I am home all day. Usually while I am in the routine I do a little better. I am just going to pray and try to do better tomorrow, and take it day by day. :wub: I really appreciate the friends I have made here. I consider all of you my friends, and I am so glad to be here. God bless. :thumbup::thumbup:

Well, the doctor in the ER was pretty limited in her band knowledge. She called a surgeon who basically said that the best I could do was take some pain meds to try to relax and "let the body take care of it" to use her words. I will have to check with the doc about stretching the pouch but I should be more worried about the chicken sandwich I ate the other day and other foods stretching. :wub:

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my stupidity with you. I seem to be posting these "learn-from-me" novels every few weeks. I just want to help people avoid doing the same things that I do. :w00t: I got my first fill a few weeks ago, and I have done well with it. I was eating a lot less, and as I added foods I enjoyed, I didn't seem to be having a problem. My issue is that I enjoy a lot of food.:eek: My body has been trying to tell me to stop! I have never been "stuck" nor had any unpleasant problems, but over the past week, I have had stomachaches. I generally ignored the problem. Two days ago, I had not eaten all day and had to go to the grocery store. I didn't want to impulse-buy, so I stopped at good 'ol Jack in the Box and got a 99 cent chicken sandwich. The sandwich was really big for a value menu, and I was full after about a quarter of the way thru. But it tasted so good...I ate it. All of it. I had a lot of discomfort for hours after that, and I cursed myself and made a note to take off the bun next time. Today I made a new recipe for my family. Skillet pizza. Yum, right? I thought, okay, I can control the crust on this so I will make it very thin, no problem. It was a quick crust recipe and so the dough didn't have to rise, 1/3 cup of beer was used. It also had very little cheese and was topped with tomatoes. Healthy, right? :confused2: I sat down with the fam and the pizza was indeed tasty. After about three bites I noticed it wasn't doing down well. After the fourth and fifth bites (well chewed) I HAD to stop. I started to have quite a bit of pain! I didn't let on to DH something was wrong, so I went about my chores. About two hours after I ate, I was miserable. I thought for sure the food was stuck. Nothing seemed to be going down, and nothing was coming up. I was crying I was in so much pain. I called my doctor and he wanted me to go to the hospital to check for obstruction. I took myself at 10 at night. They wouldn't give me any meds until DH could make it. He wasn't planning on coming up, as he was staying home with our 17-month-old. I was in so much pain that he finally called his 82-year-old mom to come and sit with the sleeping baby so he could come to the ER so I could get some pain relief. He looked like this when he got the the hospital: :w00t: After three failed IV attempts (painful) :thumbup:, an XRAY, and finally some meds, they determined I wasn't stuck. My upper belly, however, was very swollen. How embarrassing was it when it finally occurred to me what the by-product of yeast (beer) is when it ferments. Say it with me...G-A-S! :scared2: I had gas in my pouch that was going nowhere fast. The pain meds didn't help, and they won't help with G-A-S! So, I was sent home, humbled and ashamed in front of my (thin, never overweight) DH, afraid that he thought I was a pig, unable to control what I was eating, even being banded. He says he doesn't think I am a pig, but clearly I have been out of control on my portions and what I have been eating. :thumbs_down: In conclusion, I am sitting here still bloated, my husband will only get four hours of sleep tonight, and I am ashamed that my elderly mother in law had to get out in middle of the night in order for me to cope with my bad choices. I will NEVER, ever, ever, ever eat doughy bread again, if I eat bread at all. :wub: The moral of (yet another) story from me is please don't be overconfident like I have been. I am lecturing myself when I say pay attention to your body! I know everyone is different but I am still learning how to live with this band and I am learning truly the hard way that it is a lifestyle change. I love having the band, but I have to take care of it or it won't help me. I hope I have possibly helped somone. God bless. :thumbup: