pjd3253

I will post after I see my doctor this afternoon at 3:00 - it is so frustrating - I have been counting the minutes til my first fill and now this happens.

Were you able to eat normally before? I haven't had any problems - only had a boiled egg get stuck shortly after my surgery - been really happy with the way food has gone down - I just get full faster and don't require as much to get full - then today of all days feel sick - I mean good that I will see the doctor but bad that he may not get an accurate reading of my band since it may be irritated or slipped. Thanks!

I have my 6 week appointment today and first fill. I have been doing great- no problems until last Thursday night I made some cream of wheat thicker than usual and it got stuck and I had to throw up. Since that time I have had trouble eating, throwing up almost every time I try to eat and I think I can feel my stomach or esophagus being irritated from it = I do not feel well this morning at all - tried to drink a protein shake but it felt bad going down as well. My question is: I was so excited about getting my first fill but worried now that with the fill I literally won't be able to eat a thing -will this irritation from being sick the other night heal in a few days? Should I get the fill? And mainly why after 5 1/2 weeks would suddenly cream of wheat not want to go down even if it was a little thicker than usual. Thanks for any advice you can give me.

As I have posted before my port sticks way up where you can see it and that is the main thing I am unhappy about. Does anyone know what the procedure is to fix this problem, i.e., anesthesia or not, inpatient or outpatient, how long it takes, etc. I am telling my doctor tomorrow that whatever I need to do to have it pushed further down in my body that has got to happen.

Thanks for your reply. It is just so weird that I have had no restriction for the first 6 weeks almost at all and was complaining about it and now that I feel what it is like -where it really hurts if you get something stuck and it feels like it is going to come back up especially if you are an important business dinner- I am thinking be careful what you wish for because too much restriction is not pleasant. I guess tomorrow my doctor will know what to do when he sees my weight loss, etc. which frankly has not been as much as I thought for the first 6 weeks. Thanks.

I get my first fill tomorrow - I know generally what you mean when you say sweet spot but my question (and it may be stupid) is do you define your sweet spot where you can't eat much at all and don't want to eat at all or do you mean you can eat a reasonable amount of food, enjoy it and get full faster. I just don't want to be too restricted so I literally can't eat anything because that isn't healthy either. I have had almost no restriction then the last couple of days (figures that it has happened right before my 6 week post-op checkup and first fill) I have had food getting stuck and not being able to swallow much at all. So, I want to make sure I even need a fill but I guess the doctor will tell me after my weigh-in and checking everything out under the x-ray. Thanks!

Fill question - I get my first one on Monday. After that do I decide when to get the next one or is it something the doctor tells me like come back in 4 weeks, 6 weeks, whatever or do they let you tell them when you feel like you need one -Thanks.

Who said anyone's surgery was better than anyone else's? Maybe you misunderstood my post. You sound so angry. Someone asked about the Realize band and I just wrote what I knew about it. Why did that upset you?

All I know about it is what I have heard from two doctors I went to (I have the Realize Band) - one of the doctors who I believe is considered one of the top in Dallas will ONLY use the Realize Band - My doctor (Cribbins in Dallas) gave me the choice and I chose Realize because of the size, the way it the port attaches, less slippage and flip problems supposedly. Thanks.

I have the Realize band - 5 weeks post-op - my first fill is on Monday and I intend on telling my doctor that I have got to have the port moved down more - it sticks out like a goose egg and is very unsightly - I know that sounds vain but I wore a swimsuit the other day and it looked weird on my left side- I feel like people will think I have a tumor there or something - I love the band - hate the goose egg.

Okay, I have been eating Cream of Wheat or Oatmeal or something soft and similar almost every night for dinner with no trouble at all - in fact, when I go out with my husband on Friday and Saturday nights to dinner have to watch it because very little restriction (5 weeks post - no fill yet). Tonight I made my cream of wheat as usual and when I tried to eat it it would not go down and I had to throw it back up. Why all this restriction all of a sudden. I have found that the band is not consistent - sometimes restriction sometimes not - no rhyme or reason to it but when something gets stuck and you feel like you can't breathe it is a horrible feeling. The good news is that I won't over eat tonight because I can't eat anything. Thanks - P

A friend of mine who is bone thin now and weighed 250 when she got the band said that she didn't start losing weight or her appetite for 6 months and then one day it just started working. She is down 125 lbs now and looks like a model. I think it will work if you hang in there like everyone else says. I am losing very slowly also.

My husband's doctor only uses the Realize Band - thinks it is the best - has done 3,000 surgeries most were Lap Band until the Realize Band was FDA Approved and he switched to it 100%. I have the Realize Band because I looked at them both, held them in my hand, saw the clamping mechanism on the Realize Band as opposed to having sutures, port is flatter and it has less port flip issues because it clamps on. Hope this helps.

You are right - I should stick to the post-op information or general - Thanks for your reply!

I don't think I ate bigger bites than usual but maybe that was it just haven't felt this much restriction since right after surgery - my main problem is not drinking enough water during the day - I am not down much since surgery - wonder if the water makes that much difference in the weight loss - I am in Dallas and it is only 107 degrees here. Can't make myself pick up those water bottles and drink them - I do drink a lot of iced tea just not water.

I have my 6 week post-op appt next week and my first fill - I have had almost no restriction. Today I ate one of my grandkids chicken strips chewed it up very well but had to go throw it up - it wouldn't go down - tonight I made a piece of halibut took a bite chewed it up well and it got stuck also. Does anyone know why all of a sudden after 5 weeks I would be having more restriction than usual. I had big-time sliming also after I tried to swallow the piece of fish. Thanks!

It is really amazing, isn't it - just look at the posts about politics and other things that have nothing to do with the band. I love the forum but wish it was only about band issues. Thanks.

I have been missng the restrictive feeling I had right after surgery - I can't wait until my first fill next week and to see if my band and port are in the right place. I bought a new pair of jeans today two sizes smaller as incentive to do the right thing. Like I have said over and over and I am sure everyone is tired of hearing me say it - the ONLY thing I am unhappy about is the goose egg below my port scar. If I ever want to wear a two-piece swimsuit again it has to go. It is very depressing.

My doctor told me I could eat real foods after 3 weeks - he said I would be able to eat them but may not want to or may not be able to eat as much as before but just to chew - I do think every doctor is different, every person's situation is different - I don't think you can judge by your experience you have to listen to what your doctor tells you for your own body and my doctor told me I could eat fish, chicken, veggies, whatever I wanted as long as I chewed into a mushy state first - if a piece of fish is chewed into a mushy almost liquid state then what is the difference between that and thick soup? My band is not damaged, have had no problems and am fine. I think you are right, you should not condemn someone for doing something different than what you did or were told to do. I need to lost about 45-50 lbs at the most. I know it has to do with healing not the amount of weight to lose, etc. but on the other hand I do think that goes into the doctor's thought process when he is telling you what to do. My husband went to another doctor for a consultation than I did and he is considered the top doctor in Dallas and he told him the same thing - 3 weeks post-op you can eat whatever you want within reason if you chew it up enough. Thanks!

I have never had any trouble swallowing my pills - it is weird because they told me before my surgery I would have to grind them up - I can swallow them just like before - maybe after my first fill won't be able to but can now.

I have never understood when people say you can only eat 1/4 cup per meal or whatever - that just isn't true - I can sit down and eat an entire meal no problem - not as much as before the band but way more than I should if I let myself. I get my first fill next week and am counting the minutes. Why do they tell you that?

I thought mine might have flipped except (1) the Realize Band has its own clamping system that makes flipping almost non-existence and (2) I think I can actually feel the roundness of the port right under my skin - I literally just talked to my husband about it in the pool and said that if it doesn't go down pretty soon I will have to have it revised - if my doctor won't do it or disagrees with me I will go to another doctor because I can't live with the band and live with this lump. Call me vain but yesterday I had on a tight fitting cardigan going out to a movie and dinner and looked nice except for the lump which was sticking out underneath - I refuse to wear big baggy clothes which make me look heavier than I am and like to wear more tight fitting shirts and this is making me very unhappy. I am down 11 lbs so love the way the band works just not the lump that I wasn't expecting - in fact, never gave that a single thought! Thanks.

I think generally the doctors don't tell you the information that we find important to know after the surgery is already done - we don't know to ask questions like this or about sliming, other things because we don't know it happens until it actually does happen. I specifically asked my doctor before my surgery if I would be able to see it or feel it - personally, my husband and I have a large heavily treed and private backyard and we exercise in the pool every day and don't have to wear swimsuits - I am self-conscious about how it looks to him. Even if I was able to wear a bikini again and I hope that will happen I would not be able to unless this port goes down and is hidden more in the future. I love the band but I HATE the port.

I slime only when drinking cold liquids - food doesn't do it so nothing stuck in stoma - it is unpleasant but hasn't happened too many times - I know if I drink something really cold and maybe too fast it happens right away. I used to think it was dairy because the first time it happened I was drinking a fruit smoothie made with yogurt but not sure really. Thanks.

I am 5 weeks post-op and have not had a fill yet - have been worried about having no restriction at all then the last few days feel more restriction - this may be a stupid question but why would I have more restriction 5 weeks out and one week before my fill or is it related to something other than just how post-op I am. It is hard to get a handle on this because sometimes I feel like I am able to eat the same amount of food but then yesterday couldn't eat a piece of banana and same thing today had to spit it out. Thanks!