RestlessMonkey

Look I have the hots for Tim Curry in drag, thanks to that darn Beth. I don't care anymore about all your petty problems. !!!!

May I suggest that you call your coordinator (the one you called when you cheated on the preop diet; she sounded nice and helpful) and see if she thinks you need to be checked out or not? Have you lined up local aftercare or do you plan to return to Mexico for your fills? If you have local aftercare available, call and ask. IF not, call your coordinator. Odds are you're ok but you should get it checked out; that's the medically prudent thing to do. And if you're in doubt about what you can/can't eat, all the more reason to call and get some direction. If there's one thing many of us bandsters learn, it's that the aftercare is almost more important than getting the band itself. You need to have a physician you can go to if you have questions, problems, pains and what not. So stick to your post op diet, but do some phone calls tomorrow and get peace of mind, or get a test (or two) scheduled; whatever your local doc or banding doc thinks may be needed. Having lasagna, even pureed, day 3 is pretty soon for most of us....but your surgeon can tell you if it was too soon for you, or not. Don't feel bad about being hungry; many of us are. Just realize that it's more important right now to let yourself heal than to eat. And make those calls tomorrow, make sure you're ok. You don't want a slip in 9 months or so because you blew this off.

Mike, welcome and best of luck to you! I love my band, and hope you are as pleased with yours!

My doc (bless his conservative soul!) wants all his patients who live more than an hour away (and even though I'm in the same city, depending on traffic it can be more than an hour to go that 14 miles! LOL) to spend a week in town, just to make sure all is ok. Very few last the week because they feel better and go home, but there are many reasons to not travel that soon post op. People do, of course. That's why the surgeon can help head off any foreseeable trouble (like clots)...so the surgeon is the best one to ask.

I only know about me...and as we ALL know I "cheated" preop by doing my own thing (and paid the price...no band the first time) so I'm a convert. I learned the hard way. And I know I'm pretty bright, medically inclined, not prone to shooting myself in foot or stabbing myself in the eye with a fork etc...and still I cheated. I think it's partly "diet" mentality. I think lots of us don't realize it's REALLY important. You eat a french fry or two while you're on WW, it won't hurt. You eat it too soon post op and you could be in deep trouble. I don't think it's usually a willful disregard, just kind of the nature of the beast. Even after all that I was going to have some refried Beans during full liquids; my husband talked me out of it by reminding me that I was healing etc. Hunger sucks. We don't like to be hungry and it's a human drive to EAT when you are hungry. That isn't lightly bypassed. I think docs need to stress how important it is and again, how different it is from what we are used to as "diet". Some don't give a rip, I'm sure, and will do what they want, but I really think most people want to do the right thing and just don't realize how harmful "cheating" on the pre- and post-op diets can really be.

Eating "food" causes the stomach to churn. Period. Google it if you doubt. Surgeons have different post op diets. Why? Different surgeons have different educations, different skill levels, different clients, different experiences. IF your doc says "puree lasagna on day 3 with chicken broth, have for dinner" then you are good to do that. IF you are on a clear liquid diet, you had better NOT do that. Telling a person "oh well it was ok you did that" is dangerous if it isn't approved by the surgeon. It's like a spin of the roulette wheel, but your health is riding on the outcome, rather than your gaming chip. We're most of us hungry (starved ravenous) post op. And many of us think cheating on a diet is almost a way of life (I know I felt that way) I think docs don't educate properly and really should call any post op diet a "Post op prescription for recovery" or some such, not a diet. Eating before your surgeon (not your BFF's surgeon, or another poster's surgeon, or your ex-husband's current wife's surgeon) gives you the go ahead is dangerous. Lotusflwr should tell her surgeon what she did and let him/her decide if it was OK or not. Maybe. May not be. It's not up to us. You'd tell your surgeon if you ran a high fever, had redness and swelling, had pain, wouldn't you? You need to tell you ate way ahead of when you were approved to. Support is wonderful. I personally wouldn't want a friend to just shine me on. If I'm headed off a cliff, a good friend would say "HOLD IT THERE!" Not just wave and smile. Sometimes kindness is saying the hard stuff. You may or may not like Beth's style, but her motivation was education, and her intent was as kind, or perhaps even more kind, than those of you who say "oh you'll be fine" Because you don't really KNOW that. It's just easier for you to take the path of least resistance and post what you think she'd want to hear, rather than the facts. Facts are...her doc needs to assess it.

Are you ill with symptoms you feel are band related, or do you just feel the band isn't helping you? Honestly I know the band isn't for everyone and as Nanook correctly said, it can be removed and many insurance companies will pay if there is a medical necessity. HOWEVER, may I ask if you have been getting adequate follow-up care? If you don't have a physician or surgeon who specializes in the band, but also don't have symptoms of erosion/slippage/etc, it's possible you just need an attitude adjustment and a band adjustment. I don't mean to negate your fears, just offer another opinion/side of things. The band requries aftercare, no doubt about that, and it sounds like you haven't really had that, at least for a while. Odds are you'll regain what you lost if you have it removed (sad but true) I don't "know" you, your story, your situation, so I don't mean to be presumptuous. But something convinced you 3 1/2 years ago, that the band was for you. Since then you lost your specialized care and any impetus to use the tool you have. Slips and erosion are possiblities but most of us don't go day to day fearing that. I know, though, my good doc is a phone call or a short car ride away. It's possible a good bariatric surgeon could help you. At the worst, a good bariatric surgeon can help you see if insurance will pay for your band removal.

As long as you are getting adequate hydration (64oz of water in) you need to call your surgeon and ask.

Are you scared of anything in particular, or just generalized anxiety? Have you had surgery before? Are you afraid you won't be able to follow the "band rules"?

Theoretically a person could get banded and never "sliime" or "PB". In reality, it is very very rare; even the most careful of us often have a moment where we forget, or we are tighter than we thought, or something else happens and it comes UP. I will tell you this: I had horrible visions of vomiting up onto my plate at a restaurant etc, it's not like that. (Not that that can't happen but it too is really rare LOL) It isn't fun, I'll say that for it! And man, you really pay attention (at least for a while!) afterward! My husband and I used to often eat in front of the tv (for shame, I know LOL) After I got restriction we started eating at the table (gasp!) and I realized that I was getting involved conversing with him and not chewing. So...the table made me PB! LOL ok not really. It's just easy to get distracted; you think you have it down and bammo! back to the drawing board. It's a process.

Check with your gynecologist. Usually weight loss makes you more regular, not less so...especially since you're almost a week late (confirm you counted correctly, of course!) Were you perhaps on the pill or some other hormone type contraceptive that you discontinued before the surgery?

No they don't have to be chewable. I take ALL my meds, in pill/capsule/tablet form, have great restriction, and no problems. My potassium is bigger than a horse pill! LOL Follow your doc's advice if in doubt...(some do have a size limit, like "size of an M & M" for example) and some say "do what works for you". As for time involved; it depends on if I'm in a rush or not. I take about 20 pills a day (many of them supplements) and I split them up am and pm. I can take them in about 30 seconds (one at a time) up to 5 minutes (if I'm malingering) I have found, though, that I need to take my potassium 2 hours after I eat or it hurts my stomach.

Do what YOUR DOC and nutritionist tell you, not what you read on here. And if you are in doubt..CALL them and ask (that's why they get the big bucks!) Each doc and each patient and each pre- and post-op diet vary...sometimes widely. Don't follow anecdotal evidence on here...your health is too important.

Sliming and PBing are almost always caused by operator error...either you ate too fast, didn't chew as well as you thought, or took too large a bite (or a combo of all 3) I know it took me a while to really get into the rhythm of chewing well...I THOUGHT I was but wasn't. And unless you're well filled/restricted, odds are you aren't too tight (which can also cause a PB and/or slime). If you had the meal for lunch and didn't get a good amt of Water in that could be a culprit. And lastly...I can't eat and drink at the same time. That includes soup. It's possible that your turkey was doing it's thing, clogged the stoma, and the soup swelled your pouch and hurt. Don't really know, of course! Just watch it, and no soup with "food" for a while. Make it an either/or propostion (soup is usually considered not a good meal because it goes on through the stoma usually...no feeling of satiety)

Yes, coffee and tea can have a "diuretic effect"...not for this chickie! I think caffeine is one of those buzz words (oh ha ha LOL) that is in/out/in/out I can go without it (and have) for weeks on end with no ill effects. no headache, not meaner than normal, etc. OR I can drink a gallon of tea a day with no ill effects. I think it doesn't impact some of us. I just like it, and I'm glad I can (and do) keep drinking my tea! And I had to laugh. I agree that caffeine is apparently one of the few things on earth that didn't make me hungry...or should I say, hungrier?

I agree; it's manipulative and controlling at worst. At best it's a sign of insecurity and foolishness. Either way it would be a big old RED LIGHT for me and I think the OP did the right thing! The guy needs therapy to deal with whatever issues caused his outbreak; I bet he won't get it though.

google Lap band Green Zone. There's a chart that will tell you. Otherwise briefly...you get "satisfied" (not full) on small amounts of food (up to about a cup or so) and stay full for a long time (6 hours?) AND you lose at least 1-2 pounds a week. Feeling pain when you eat too fast isn't a function of "the sweet spot" but it's a function of the mechanics of eating as a bandster. In other words, if you eat too fast, don't chew well, or take bites that are too large it will hurt whether you are at your sweet spot or just mildly restricted. You can't use that as a ruler. It just means you need to pay attention and chew well. RARELY you will be so tight you can't eat food and then that pain means "UNFILL" but you aren't there....

I think jealousy is controlling and can't abide it, myself. Good grief; you've only lost 1/4 or so of your weight (great though that is) WTH would he do once you've lost about 1/2? Locked you up in a room a la some weirdo slasher flick or something? It's HIS problem; he needs to deal with it. You did the right thing. Relationships cannot function without trust. Well, dysfunctional relationships can thrive with jealousy and drama but that doesn't sound like what you want. Don't feel guilty. And next time, DO flirt with the roofer, if he's cute.

Honestly the BIG thing about that is the risk of blood clots because you'll be fairly sedentary, with your legs down, for long stretches. Check with your surgeon; he may want you to make sure you stop every so often (like every 40 minutes or so) and walk. If he gives you the go ahead and you're up to it, taking a pillow to brace your surgical sites will help a lot. As for feeling up to it, I would've been up for a car trip on day 2, as long as I could take my tylenol, and as I long as I didn't let my husband control the music!

Welcome and good luck!

I think Albacheeser pegged it: Different people react differently. And I think you are spot on about therapy. Apparently you used food as a coping mechanism and now that you can't or won't, you need to substitute a more healthy(physically and mentally) behavior. A good behavioral therapist will do wonders for you!

you should probably ask your surgeon. The nutritionist had it on the NEVER EVER NEVER list at my bariatric center but when I pinned her down as to WHY...(took me asking more than once) she finally answered "because it is an appetite stimulant for some people". Well, it doesn't stimulate mine, so it was immediately put back in the mix; coffee in the AM and my unsweetened iced tea the rest of the day. I DO get my 64 oz of water in though.

Tell your doc. You may have hurt yourself. Plus honestly you may need a little therapy to get over the head hunger/emotional issues involved with eating. I don't mean this unkindly (I'm going to a therapist myself right now) but the post op diet is for a reason...to allow your band to heal in place...and eating most of a medium pizza is dangerous. The bad cramps tell me your body didn't handle it well. I don't mean you need to "confess" to your doc, ok? But you are under medical care and may have harmed yourself, not meaning to. Call, let him decide if you're ok or if you need tests to check yourself out. And stick to your post op diet.

You know, I've got issues (you don't get to 405 without having issues!) but I've NEVER thought food was my friend. I've felt more like food was a hateful master who kept me on a short leash (no kidding). If you think food is your friend, as I've said before, she's a back stabbing beotch. Let her go.

I didn't take mine at all until I was in "mushies" because they are hard to handle on an empty stomach, for most of us. You should be ok; your doc will do bloodwork again soon anyway.