kiz

It's the carb count in a banana that makes some people squirm. However, it's a very digestible form of sugar plus it's a good source of potassium, so it's not the same as eating a chocolate bar. When I did Weight Watchers, I remember we were limited to 1/2 a banana/day. 1 medium banana (105 calories, 27 grams carbs, 1 gram Protein, 420 mg potassium, 0.5 gram fat).

You really need to get that checked out, especially since you're having trouble with liquids. The first thing I'd want to rule out is a band slip. If you catch it early, often times just an unfill for a couple of weeks and it will correct itself. It could be nothing more than a fickle band, but with it being a sudden onset, I'd want my doctor to take a look at my band.

I've had my band for a year and am at my sweet spot, and I can eat rice with caution. When I eat plain rice, I take smaller bites of it then I would other foods, and if I feel I'm a little tight with it, I just go on to something else, then try again. I've never had any problems with it. In soup, I'd think it would be even easier to eat since it's already so plumped up with Water. Just go slow at first, and see how you feel. If you start to feel tight, stop. I prefer brown rice, and really only a small amount since I'd rather fill up on Protein and veggies.

I agree with Barbara. Only two Slimfast Shakes a day plus sugar free jello sounds too restrictive for both calories and protein. Did you get a written set of instructions from your doctor for you meal plan? I know some of these pre-op diets sound very unreasonable, but yours probably ties the all skim milk pre-op diet for being the most restrictive. If you're not 100% certain this is the diet your supposed to follow, I'd call and get confirmation, and if it is correct, ask if you can add anything.

Welcome to LBT, bobcat. I've read that statistically, approximately 2% of patients have a band slip. With the way bands are being sutured in today, band slips have decreased. Band placement also is an important factor in band slips, so pick an experienced surgeon with a good track record. Another very important factor is following your doctors rules for your post-op diet. Stay on liquids or soft foods as instructed so that your stomach heals and your stitches stay in place. Slippage can also occur because of over filling resulting in persistent vomiting. Also, I'm sure there's some sort of randomness built into those statistics, but I take control of what I can by taking care to follow my doctor's rules. I can drink wine without any issues, but I limit it to special occasions only because I don't want the empty calories. I do find that any kind of alcohol goes to my head a lot faster after being banded.

My answers are 100% the same as Judy's.

Definitely discuss it with your doctor. I was leaving the country last spring and was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to get medical attention if I ran into a major stuck episode (I'm a worry-wart). The NP said I could come in and have as little as 0.2 cc removed. It turned out, as the trip got neared, I wasn't having any food issues, so I didn't bother with it. With that long of a trip in mind, your doctor may want to remove a little though, since there's no way of knowing ahead of time how you're band will react to such a long flight.

If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to go in for a small unfill. You're barely a month into having a band, and you have plenty of time to slowly work your way to good restriction, which doesn't include continually feeling stuck and/or having pb's. If you try to stick this fill out a few more days, go back to soft foods. If you're having trouble with the soft foods, stay on liquids for a couple more days then try soft foods again. If, in the next few days, you can't tolerate solid foods, then you definitely need a small unfill. Don't continue to let yourself pb because it's harmful to your band and also could lead to more swelling and then you might need a total unfill.

Hi Judy. Welcome to LBT. When did you get your last fill? If it's been longer than a week or two, you're too tight since you can only eat two bites of food. Are you eating soft foods? They often have more calories and don't give long lasting satiety.

Hi Margo, and welcome to the forum. You could be lucky and someone who knows the answer to your question will read this thread, but you might want to start your own thread with the info you want in the title. Also, are you looking for an after-care doctor, or are you just trying to find a one time fill center that will give you a fill under fluoro?

The only time I've read that someone has had that feeling of something stuck in their throat when they haven't eaten is right after their band surgery. Like the others said, I would call the doctor. Maybe it's nothing, or it could be a signal that your band is a little tight.

I would call the doctor's office tomorrow. You never know if there's a little infection or something that has set in. Mine closed up pretty quickly after I snipped the stitch. It may be nothing, but it's better to play it safe. I'm sorry you're still having problems.

If you're not doing it, keep a food journal of what you're eating and how much in volume. Keep track of how soon you're getting hungry too and whether drinking satisfies that hunger. It's sometimes hard to figure out, but it's important to know if you're physically hungry or if it's a craving, which for me, would generally be something like chocolate. It sounds like your doctor isn't giving you much guidance on when to know whether you need a fill or not. This is just my doctor's band rules of thumb for fills. I'm supposed to eat 1/2 cup (volume) meals, mostly solid Protein (like 3 oz) and then veggies or fruit three times/day plus a healthy snack. That should leave me feeling satisfied for 3 to 4 hours, before physical hunger sets in. No drinking 1/2 hour before or 45 mins after a meal. Then lots of fluids. It's time for a fill if I'm eating more than that and getting hungry in less than three hours. Also, his goal is 1 1/2 to 2 lbs weight loss/week. Plus at least 3 days of good exercise. There are many different band "rules" for when it's time for a fill, but I hope this gives you something to reference.

Welcome to LBT, June. :confused: You should be cautious about overeating, but as long as you're not having issues such as pb'ing, sliming, etc and you're keeping your meals close to the level your doctor has recommended, there's little chance that you've stretched your pouch. Most likely, you just haven't reached a level of good restriction, and your food is going through your stoma pretty quickly. Try not to get discouraged, because it may take several fills to get good restriction, or you might get there right away. Each fill should provide a bit more restriction, so that you feel more and longer lasting satiety between meals.

The only advice I can give you is to make mini goals. No more Saturdays on liquids, then the last weekend, then only three more days, etc. It's hard, but just try to stay focused on letting your stomach heal to reduce the possibility of a band slip.

Protein bullets are sold at the Vitamin Shoppe and I believe GNC locally. I bought one, but I didn't end up drinking it.

You need to call your doctor asap. You might have had a band slip. Some slips are worse than others, and because you're constantly vomiting at this point, you need to be seen right away. If for nothing else, you need Fluid taken out of your band until this passes. I hope everything turns out to be fine.

I know some people take a measuring cup when they go out to eat, but I don't do that. You do get familiar with the size of the amount of food you're suppose to eat after a while, and different doctors have different standards for meal size. Yours may be different than mine. Here's a link to some rules of thumb to help you estimate portion size: When You Can't Measure, Estimate Portions Example (Ounces is a measurement of weight, but with a solid like meat, it's fairly close to volume. It's certainly not an exact science. But, by that measurement 4 oz of meat would equal 1/2 cup. I shoot for 3 oz of Protein plus some veggies for my meal). Conversions: 1/2 cup - 4 Fluid ounces - 8 tablespoons - 118 ml

Donna, were you been able to drink between the time you had the chili and three hours later when the chest pains started? If fluids went down fine, then it doesn't sound like it could have been a stuck episode from the chili. Like Cathy, I've never had anything hit me three hours after eating either. It's been bang. You were very smart to get to the hospital.

I wondering if your doctor is an experienced band doctor. I don't know why he would have added more fill when you were having trouble with healthy solid foods you need to be eating in the first place. Don't try to eat anymore food for a couple of days to let your stomach settle down. You may be experiencing some swelling, and it sounded to me like you were tight to begin with. If you can't get liquids down, call your doctor this weekend! Try to drink slow, but get those liquids down so you don't get dehydrated. If by Monday, you can't add back some mushy foods to your diet, call your doctor then. Don't try solid foods until you can get mushies down successfully. Neesh is correct. Don't continue to pb and slime because that puts you at risk for a band slip.

Different doctors have different meal recommendations, but mine leaves a 4 oz pouch above the band, and his goal is for his patients to eat 1/2 measuring cup (or about 120 ml) solid meals three times/day plus a healthy snack and to not get hungry for three hours or more. (This measurement is volume rather than weight). I usually start to feel hungry in four to five hours after a meal, but it took me several fills to get to this this level of restriction. I also agree with Band Groupie in that I don't have off limit foods. I don't want them in my house, only because I don't want that kind of temptation. I would have a small piece of cake at a birthday party, I would split a dessert - which usually means I'll eat a few bites - with my husband when we're out to eat, etc. Knowing that I can still have these sweets under controlled situations makes all the difference to me. I don't like having a long list of "off-limit" foods personally.

Yay..I can't believe I figured out a solution for someone! It's been a year, but I do remember that right around the clear stitch (sort of looks like fishing line) was red and looked irritated. Once I disinfected the area and my little scissors and clipped it, the area healed right away. The nurse said I could clip it myself or stop into their office, and she would clip it. I just gently pressed on the area to get make the stitch poke out a little further and snipped. That little stitch was so darn uncomfortable because it caught on my clothes.

Hi Petra, and welcome to LBT. For the most part, the band will not physically restrict sweets. They go right through. How that band has helped me is two ways...new discipline and sense of fullness between meals. I know I'm supposed to only eat three solid meals and one healthy snack per day. Snacking between meals is not part of my program, so if it's not meal time, I'm not supposed to be eating, and that has helped me stay away from all those sweets that I ate pre band. Secondly, once I got wonderful restriction from my band, and this is the biggest help for me, I'm rarely hungry between meals and therefore not craving snack foods. I was a chronic grazer rather than a big meal eater pre-band. The smaller meals I'm supposed to eat hasn't been a big issue for me. I measure out my 1/2 cup meal and when I'm finished, I'm not at a loss wanting more food. It seems like people who were used to eating huge meals have some trouble with this part of banding. It took some time to get to get to this level of restriction, but once I did, and my sweet tooth cravings are kept at bay because I'm not hungry like I used to be. I feel like a normal person now. Before I became overweight, I wasn't hungry all the time. My husband and kids who are thin aren't hungry all the time. And finally, now, I have that same sensation of satiety. It makes a world of difference. I'm very cautious about letting temptation in my home. I was kidding myself in the past when I bought ice cream, oreos, etc for my family. I had to face the fact that I bought those things for me. My family would eat a little here and there, and I would eat the rest. I know my trigger foods, and I don't bring them home. At a year out, I'm starting to feel more confident that I've kicked some of those "addictions" to the curb, but we're all better off not having those things around. I'd rather go out with my husband for ice cream, than to have a quart in my freezer.

My doctor has said to be sure to not over chew. In essence, don't turn your good solid food into slider food. It never made since to me to chew tiny bits of food to mush either, so I was really glad when he clarified that for me. I'd rather have a little looser band so that I can eat pretty normally. I really don't think if anyone was interested enough in watching me eat, they'd think I was eating any differently than anyone else. I use small plate because my meal portions are small, but I've never used baby utensils. Pre-banding, if I got a bite of tough meat, I could swallow and let my stomach take care of the digestion, but you're not going to get away with that after banding. I would never take a huge bite of steak, for instance, but I'd say I cut off maybe nickel size bites and chew well, but not to a liquidy mush. That question also came up at our lap band support group meetings, so it's one a lot of people wonder about. That surgeon in attendance also said to be to not over chew, because if you do, you're not taking advantage of the band's restriction.

Kelly, I'm so sorry you're in so much pain. Call your doctor. It's Friday, and it might be harder to get a hold of him over the weekend. He knows what meds you're on, and if you had additional work done (ex. hernia repair). Everyone feels pain differently, but you sound like you're experiencing excruciating pain, and that's more than normal.