HeatherO

I have found that you can find good food or options anywhere as long as you are careful. Theme parks are always big enough to have a couple of healthy choices available.

I am not so sure that 2-3 weeks is necessary. I think at least 1 week is certainly reasonable and should be required. I think the primary reason is that it helps to get people in the right mind-set. How much of overeating is habitual . . . which makes it difficult to regroup and change eating patterns. I can't speak for everyone, but for myself the liquid diet was very difficult because it was my habit to eat certain things in certain amounts. This is exactly the reason why I found the liquid diet to really be a help to prepare for the lifestyle change. It wasn't easy for me, but I really wanted this to work and I am willing to put forth the effort. So I did the diet and worked very hard to stay steady through temptation. I have sometimes given in to temptation but I feel that as long as we do our best to make the right decisions the majority of the time we can be successful. As far as your friend is concerned, if she is eating these unhealthy things and not following any diet guidelines now then I am not sure that a different pre-op diet would have made a difference. I hope that she will find the inner strength to move beyond unhealthy eating patterns for her health and peace of mind.

Welcome back!!! How are things going for you so far?

I am happy you posed this question. I don't understand why Tylenol does absolutely nothing for me . . . but it is true. I get frequent headaches and liquid advil used to knock them out in 30 minutes. I take Tylenol and I don't feel any better . . . in fact I think I feel worse because the headache has a chance to reallllyyy take hold if you know what I mean.

That is great news. Congratulations!!! I keep getting stuck and then lose a few, stuck and then lose a few. It seems to happen every 5 pounds or so :0) Now I dont panic about it because I am getting used to it. It is almost as if I just need to give my body time to adjust.

I can see a big difference. :0) Before the band I avoided pictures like the plague. Now I really regret not getting more before pictures that show that level of detail. I am motivated to take some now before I get much further along so that I can share them as well. Congrats on your shrinking waistlines.

There is no metal in the band unless you have a version much different than most. I flew 4 days after I was banded without issue. Even if you did have something internal that caused the detector to go off, they would just pass a wand over your person and maybe ask a question or two. You can still pass through after they verify that you are not carrying anything inappropriate.

Everyone offered great suggestions . . . there are a lot of options for this problem. I would most strongly agree that other than the occasional use of a laxative for a specific issue, you should not take them regularly. It is not healthy for you.

I would definitely look at getting a different doctor if her doctor thinks this is normal. If he is also the one who did the original surgery, I would try to seek a different surgeon to replace the port as well.

Hey . . . Is anyone interested in getting together around the Cleveland area? I dont personally know any bandsters in the area and would like to meet some new people who understand the journey :thumbup:

I am willing to carpool if the dates workout. When are you heading back down that way again?

I went to Mexico with my husband for surgery. Surgery was in Hospital Angeles through Belite weight and I had a very good experience. If you would like to speak to any local people who have been there and done that . . . send me a message. I found a doctor to do fills near Akron, Walter Chlysta, but he is charging $500 with no floro. I went back to Tijuana for a fill but I will not continue every time. I think I will probably end up in Columbus for fills. I started calling local docs in Cleveland for fills and you would think that going to Mexico for surgery is like having the plague or something. I know I can go to Cincinnati to Trace Curry's office but it is a bit far. I am going to keep looking for a better, less expensive local option which I'll post if I find it.

I liked the lower risk of complications, decreased expense, decreased downtime. Best of all, it is adjustable. If I am willing to put in the work, there is no reason why the option would not work for me. It was hard to make the decision but once I did I have never regretted it for a minute

I think you should definitely see a doctor. There are just too many different reasons and no way to easily tell without professional advice. It may have nothing to do with banding.

I think I only waited about a week and a half. I know the doctor said when you feel up to it you are ready. There is no restriction as long as you are careful and feel well.

Carb cravings are a bear but I found a way to eliminate them for the most part. I find that if I eat a few carbs . . . I want more and more. I try to avoid them altogether and eat almost all protein/non-starchy vegetables. There is some kind of trigger with me and maybe you are affected by it as well . . . give me a couple of crackers and I will certainly want more and other carb laden items as well.

I am a couple of months out so I have a couple of comments to add. 5 eggs are simply too much for comfort. I think it was more of a quantity issue than the eggs themselves. It is difficult right after surgery and you are able to finally eat more but you are still in the uncomfortable time before having your first fill. I know for me, I had to learn to overcome habits. At that stage, my mind thought I want a lot but I simply couldn't eat it all without suffering for it. You will soon learn you are satisfied with a lot less. chicken . . . what is up with chicken? Almost every experience with being extremely uncomfortable had chicken involved. Yet I can still eat chicken I just have to be very very very comfortable with it. I can be miserable after properly chewing two bites. I also find that if I only eat chicken alone, I am more likely to have a problem. It may have been a little early for you to start with the chicken but it could also just be the chicken itself that was a problem. This issue has come up at every stage of my banding journey when chicken was involved. I still incorporate it into my diet because I love it. I also find that if I brown it good and it is a little tougher I tolerate it better but some other people say softened chicken is easier. Even deli chicken can give me problems and how easy is it to chew that properly??? It must be something with the texture. Before your first fill, 2-3 oz is good to go by but is extremely difficult to stick to because you can get verryyy hungry. It is more a suggestion than a physical impossibility. The fill should make all the difference in the world once you get to that point in your banding journey. How much actually fits in there now? A whole heck of a lot than you would probably want if you eat slowly and it is really soft. At this point after surgery, you will have to rely more on yourself to stick to the eating plan than your band. It is not easy at 3 weeks, that is why they call it bandster hell . . . but it is only a temporary situation. If you can limit your quantities now you will find things will go much easier for you down the road.

I have a ton of gas too, from either end. However, I can keep it silent and un-noticable to others . . . but I know it is there. I have not been concerned enough to try and take anything for it other than gas-x right after surgery. So what is up with that??? We have a band around our stomachs but I dont see why it changes the gas levels so much. I never had gas problems before. The other thing that seems strange to me is that I dont drink soda any more but I used to drink many diet sodas every day. To me that seems like I should have less gas since I am now eating/drinking carbonation free. I have also done high Protein atkins in the past and it did not have that problem at that time. The diet is the same, just less of it. Does anyone know if there is a medical reason for the gas? It seems to be affecting most people so I am really curious now.

It seems very early. Everything I have ever read is that you should wait at least 6 weeks before the first fill so that your stomach has time to heal sufficiently. I read that fills too early may increase your likelihood to have erosion or slippage down the road. On the other side of the coin, by about 4 weeks out a lot of us have reacquired voracious appetites and have disheartening plateaus or even worse . . . gains. My doctor told me that any weight you lose before the first fill is a bonus and not to be too concerned. If you are filled early, you may get to skip the bandster lack of fill hell. If you decide to go that early, I hope that you are not too far away from Tijuana so that you can get back quickly if something doesnt feel right. You will also have your own signs that you are ready for a fill that you should watch for . . . such as your restriction level and how the diet is working for you, how much weight you are losing. Doctors should always know best but this suggestion seems a little outside of the norm. By 15 days out most of our surgeons still have us on mushies or soft foods . . . if it were my decision I would wait a little longer. Now that I have been through it I can tell you that I felt very different 2 weeks out as compared to 4 or 6 weeks out. There is something to be said about giving yourself time to heal . . . specially since this is a long term solution. Best of luck :0)

I think it is still swelling that prevents you from feeling it. I was able to feel it much more a few weeks out. Now it is easy to locate.

I have the same issue since I have been banded. Occasional upset stomach. Sometimes Water makes me nauseous which doesnt make a lot of sense. Filled or unfilled, it is not any different. It is diminishing slightly over time. Hopefully there is a good answer out there we can both share :0)

Maybe you just need to shake things up. Vary protein, food varieties, exercise, etc. I can usually get past a plateau just by doing something different.

Funny you should mention that . . . I was miserable with shoulder pain for a couple of weeks. I did have a significant hiatal hernia that was repaired during surgery. The doctor never mentioned that it would cause more than the abdominal gas release shoulder pain mentioned. Others I have spoken to have mentioned the pain but it was not that big a deal . . . now I see why mine could have been so different. Thanks for bringing it up :0)

This may or may not be related but I just wanted to share. I had basal cell carcinoma, a small cancerous mole on the side of my nose. It was so small, it was not even noticable. I had surgery to repair it, only minor surface surgery, and afterwards I was numb for months on the side of my nose. As feeling came back, it just felt different. The doctor said it can happen, even if you are only having a very minor procedure done. Abdominal surgery isnt minor so I assume it may be along the same line.

I was just banded on 1/25/2008 so i am a little further out. I can say that shoulder pain for me started . . . and was really really bad one week out. It felt like I had pulled something. Even if I wasnt moving the pain could sometimes be terrible. It was always the worst after eating of if I had a lot of gas. It took about two weeks to get back to normal. Tylenol did not help it but hot baths (not submerging my stomach of course because of the healing incisions) and my husband's massage helped a lot. I read that it was normal to have a little shoulder pain after surgery, but I never knew it could go weeks out. I talked to the doctor and she said that it was normal to have some pain in the shoulder (usually left) but that if it continued I should be seen. I think we are all different in how much it affects us, but the shoulder pain in general is very common. Thank goodness I am feeling better now.