psalm20

Well, I have no idea WHY this worked so well today, but since it did, I wanted to pass it along. I am having a bad "stuck" day today, where almost nothing I try is going down right. It's a month since I was banded, so I'm still on soft foods, but still have some issues. These days have been a frequent ongoing problem since the surgery, and I've found that by the end of the day I'm near tears from the frustration, hunger, and inability to fix the problem. This afternoon I made myself a cup of tea when I started to notice some low blood sugar signals. I had a few bites of applesauce while the tea was steeping, and then sat down to sip the tea. Well, it's about an hour later now, and I feel so much better! No more shakes, the hunger is gone, and I no longer feel like crying. I love hot tea anyway, but I've never noticed it having this effect before. (Note that I HAVE tried applesauce before, but never with the tea, so it could have been the combination, but definitely wasn't the applesauce alone) Anyone else have this happen? Kristine Texas Banded on 11/12/07

MBT, I've only been banded a month, so my advice may not be worth as much as some of the people who've been eating solids for a while, but I get stuck some days no matter what I try to eat. Today seems to be one of my bad days. A couple days ago, I was able to eat everything I tried (still eating soft foods), with no problems. I intend to ask my fill doc why this happens. I seem to have a lot of problems with food coming right back up when it gets stuck. This morning I tried to eat an egg, (not scrambled, that's the worst) and after just one bite, it got stuck and hurt for a long time, and then after about 30 minutes, it just came back out. Happened so fast, I'm glad I wasn't in public. I'm not taking big bites, nor eating fast. I just take one little bite at a time and hope for the best. Maybe you just have a lot of inflammation left. I'm going to watch this thread, because I'm very interested to know what works and what doesn't, when it comes to getting "stuck". Kristine Texas Banded on 11/12

Anyone else having major fluctuations from one day to the next regarding what you can eat, and how much you can eat? One day I'm able to eat just about anything on my list, and can eat quite a bit, and the next day everything I try to eat gets stuck. Yesterday was one of my "stuck" days, and today, I can eat much more than I would have thought possible, and don't feel full at all. Not that I'm feeling starved, but I don't feel that "full" sensation either. This seems to happen every few days, and I want to know if others are having the same issues. Also, I would like to know how everyone else seems to be able to make the title of their post in large, bold letters. I have the option to change the font for the text portion of the post, but have no options available for the title. Any help? Kristine Texas

Actually, Make33, I just went into the editing and checked on what you suggested, and those options are already in place. The problem is, I can do full editing on the Message portion of the post, but can't do any editing at all on the Subject/Title line of the post. I even tried doing a cut/paste to put bold letters into the subject line, and that wouldn't work. There must be something I'm missing here. Kristine

Make33, Thank you so much! I would never have figured that out on my own. Also, to BooBoo Kitty, GrantP and JPayton, I was secretly hoping that there would be an overwhelming response from others saying that once you get past the first month, or the first fill, there is never again a problem with these fluctuations But, what I really expected was what you echoed back to me. This is an ongoing challenge that we'll learn to deal with. Sigh. Have any of you spoken to your fill doctors about why this happens? Also, JPayton, I'm wondering if your fills were really small or something. Is it unusual for it to take 3 fills to get restriction? After you were banded, did you have a short period of restriction, and then nothing after the inflammation went away, or was there really never any restriction at all until now? Kristine Texas (Banded on 11/12/07)

For all of you out there needing a little encouragement, I wanted to share something. I was banded on November 12, and I'll admit to having a lot of pain right at first, along with terrible nausea and vomiting for the first 36 hours. I got through that, though, and never needed even one pain pill after leaving the hospital. I took a couple advil once or twice, but that's it. The next phase for me was HUNGER. After the first week went by, I just felt like I was starving. No end to the growling, nagging hunger in my stomach. When I did eat, it seemed as though everything (other than clear liquids) got stuck, and hurt a lot. My abdomen was so distended that I looked 8 months pregnant (I'm down to 6 months now! :girl_hug:), and in fact, it even caused new stretch marks to appear. I was sent home with a suggested menu plan, and instructions, just like everyone here. I realize I haven't had to stick to liquids as long as some others, but I did manage to make it through that phase. Here's the encouraging part -- After just one or two days of adding in some more filling foods (mainly fish), I am a changed woman. I haven't had my first fill yet, (that's not till December 29th) of course, so don't have nearly the restriction that I will have later on, but with the little bit I'm getting from the band at this point, and with foods that actually stay in my stomach a while, I can't BELIEVE the difference. I am satisfied with less than half the amount I used to eat, and stay satisfied three times as long. The pain of getting stuck has "cured" me of eating too fast, or taking bites that are too big. I'm losing weight -- okay, not as much as some of you, and not as fast as I'd like, but I've lost 9 pounds so far. I realize that as the inflammation disappears, I'll probably get hungrier, and before I have that first fill, I may be feeling somewhat less satisfied than I am today, BUT, this thing is working, and I'm THRILLED!! For all those people who are just about to be banded, and those who have just gotten their bands, take heart! It DOES get better, and it DOES work! Banded and Thankful in Texas Kristine

I was banded on 11/12, so I'm still on a fairly soft diet, although my Dr. allows fish, chicken, meat patties, eggs and Beans for the third week. I can eat fish okay, (I buy sushi grade tuna and eat small bites of it raw, which means it's very soft), also tofu goes down well. I haven't tried chicken, but did try a scrambled egg, and couldn't eat it. It caused a lot of pain. There are a lot of contradictions on this forum, but one of the main things I am really confused about is how many people mention "stretching the pouch" at this stage. Since the band is not filled yet, there should be no restriction, and hence, no pouch. There is, however, still a measure of inflammation, which seems to be going away pretty quickly for me. I am eating foods that go down most easily, and trying to stay away from anything high in calories. I have found that oatmeal is ok, but rice in any form simply won't work. I can eat almost any creamy-type soup, and had a piece of toast one day. I admit that I am hungry all the time, and haven't felt satisfied even once since the surgery. I'm hoping that when I have my first fill, I will begin to get that feeling of "fullness" and not simply having to stop when it becomes painful. I don't think you are alone at all in craving something more than what your dr. suggested. But, as far as I can tell from what I've read, the important thing is to not cause the band to become inflamed any more than it is already, and to try and let the band adhere. Giving your stomach a rest seems to be the best way to accomplish that. So, for as much as it's possible, it's best to just try and stick to the plan for now. If you have to, seek a second opinion. There are a lot of fill docs out there, and I'm sure you'll find one you can work with, if need be. Sometimes you just need an expert to talk to, and this may be one of those times. Why not give your dr. a call and tell him/her that you are just too hungry? You never know what advice they might give you. Best of luck! Kristine Texas

I was banded on November 12th. The diet I'm on is allowing about 400 calories a day, mainly liquids (a little liquid yogurt, or watery oatmeal is allowed once a day). I was not eating huge quantities of food beforehand, but wasn't hungry all the time. My stomach growls almost constantly, and hurts, I'm so hungry. I don't want to be this hungry all the time for the rest of my life. Any suggestions? Does this get any better? Kristine Texas Banded on 11/12/2007 by Dr. Miguel Zapata, Monterrey, MX

My surgery was just less than a week ago. All is well, and no pain or discomfort at this point, but my abdomen is seriously distended. I look like I'm about 8 months pregnant. If I had to guess, I'd say this is Fluid, but I wonder if anyone else had this experience, and how long it took to go away. Did you have to do anything to get rid of the swelling? Kristine Texas

Donna, Did they send you home with a menu plan and list of foods, etc? I just copied the menu in the above post from the sheets they gave me after surgery. Yesterday I substituted oatmeal for the liquid yogurt, so probably had a few more calories than that, but it still isn't much. It sounds to me like I just need to add in a few more small meals, and pitch the menu. After next week, they have more foods on the menu, but I'm concerned about the pain from just trying rice, and thinking I might need a little more time to reduce the swelling first. I really like Dr. Zapata. He was so kind. I had a rough go in the hospital, vomiting everything, including ice chips for the first 24 hours. He was very involved, trying hard to figure out a solution. (The solution came when they stopped putting meds that made me sick in the IV -- lol) I would recommend him to anyone. Kristine

I'm including the suggested menu here so there won't be any confusion about the content. Believe me, I'm not confusing something else for hunger pains, it's waking me up at night. And as for restriction, I tried to add just a teaspoon of rice to my chicken broth yesterday and thought I would die from the pain. It would not go through, and came back up instead. Rice is so small, I was sure it would be fine. At any rate, here is the suggested menu for this week: Breakfast: 1/2 cup fruit juice (diluted by half with water) (about 25 cal) 1/3 cup Jello (sugar free) (maybe 10 cal?) one liquid yogurt (no idea about that one) Lunch: 1/2 cup clear chicken broth (about 10 cal) 1/3 cup juice (diluted) (about 20 cal) Dinner: 1/3 cup non-fat plain yogurt (35 cal) 1 low-fat pudding cup (70 or 80 cal) And that's it. They suggested crystal light, waters, sugar free tea, and stuff like that for the Water intake. So, no extra calories there. I got myself some creamy potato Soup tonight, and that went down fairly well, although after a few bites it started hurting, so I didn't have much. I think one of the problems I have is that it seems to take so long for the food to leave the pouch and get into the lower part of my stomach. I am still having hunger pangs and I had the soup almost an hour ago. So, I guess part of the problem is the inflammation, which must be rather severe. I'm just feeling a little whiny because I had to go to the grocery store this afternoon and they were sampling all the really good stuff today. All those smells made me twice as hungry, I think. Anyway, thanks for all your comments. Kristine Texas Banded on 11/12/2007

I vomited every 10 or 15 minutes (not even an ice chip would stay down) for over 24 hours after surgery last week. I finally remembered some dramamine in my purse (I was banded in Mexico, and was apparently not getting the right thing for nausea) and took one. After about 45 minutes, I fell asleep and woke up several hours later feeling much better. The following day I had the feeling somewhere between a hiccup and the urge to vomit. I think it was caused by the tube they stuck down my throat. It must have scratched or irritated something. Anyway, by the third day I was feeling fine. If you can take phenergan or something, do it, otherwise try sleeping it off. It sure did help for me.