RestlessMonkey

What a sweet talker you are. I'd hate, though, for your jaw to go "all wacky" so I'll, er, bite the bullet and wait for the "secret" weekend. :ohmy:

SIGH. Ok. For you, HH, I'll manage. And it is a DRY heat. :ohmy:

I had my surgery on Friday and was back in class on Tuesday and I felt WONDERFUL! I guess I'm either really lucky...or too hardheaded to know I didn't feel good. :ohmy: I wanted the band SO MUCH...and had already had 1 surgery just under 3 weeks before and didn't get it, so I felt marvelous once I had it.

I thought chips were sliders. Tostado chips go through too easily...so for THAT reason you may want to avoid them, but if you chew them up well, they don't bunch or ball up, they go through. And honestly I LOVE Mission low carb flour tortillas. I eat them several times a week. I do chew them well...but flour tortillas don't give everyone problems. Corn tortillas, again, don't ball or clump up so I think even if flour tortillas give you problems, corn tortillas (those used in enchiladas and flautas and tacos) would be "safe". Maybe to be indulged in only occasionally, but safe.

Maybe the key is "tough" meats...but I think a better way to describe them would be "dense". My prime ribeye steak (my Sunday night meal! LOVE it!) isn't tough :ohmy: But it does pack a powerful "fullness" punch. 3 oz and I'm good for 6 hours!

I'm still waiting to hear about Cabo. :ohmy:

You aren't a pig! (although petunia is Porky's girlfriend I love Porky LOL) You're just human. You need to tell to make sure you're OK, not to confess or any such thing, ok? :ohmy: If your Nutritionist blows it off (mine would've had a heart attack LOL) make sure you run it by your surgeon or NP ok? I'm sure you'll be fine but since it hurt you, and for so long (and cottage cheese IS a mushie) it's safest to get checked.

honestly, until you're restricted well and food doesn't go through the stoma quickly, you're probably ok as long as you don't gorge or binge on stuff. Your doc can give you the "final word" on this but I know that I ate "more" than 1 cup etc before I hit my sweet spot. I ate LESS than preband, but still "more". I just worked very hard to never get "stuffed" or that "holiday meal" full feeling. I'm not stretched; I'm doing well at 11 months out (and good restriction, FINALLY, since 5/7) So you don't have to wander around starved, just watch it and talk to your doc about it. Until you get restriction, it's not uncommon to be in your position.

As to drinking....actually most beverages don't help and can exacerbate a bad reaction to capsicum (the "hot" in peppers). Milk or ice cream can soothe it, though (high fat, high sugar)....so just have a dish of ice cream handy LOL j/k We were taught, growing up in El Paso, to use salt. It always worked for me.

As long as what you're eating is in line with your post op diet, then there shouldn't be a problem! Glad to know you are finally feeling better!

The postop diet is for healing and a major cause of band slippage is advancing the post op diet too quickly. I wish they'd call it something besides a diet so people who have dieted (and cheated, like me!) in the past would realize this is an entirely different ball game. Since it gave you so much pain, Petunia825 you should tell your doc what you ate. He may need to do some tests to make sure you didn't hurt yourself. i don't mean to scare you! Some docs treat this type of thing more lightly, some more seriously (ie the tests etc) but let your surgeon either laugh it off or check you out. The pain isn't a good sign.

LOL I know when I admitted that I think we had a mild earthquake here in San Antonio (area not prone to earthquakes LOL) Be sure and post or PM me what you find out, ok? As to the anxiety...if you do four by four breathing, it will abate...LOL :ohmy:

My first "soft" food was a chile relleno. However, we're all different. You've had many issues I didn't, so don't use me as a ruler! :ohmy: Your doc can tell you when.... but there is no reason for it to make you sick unless it made you sick preband.

Weigh2Fat...Why fills can take a while to kick in? Brace yourself....I don't KNOW!!:ohmy: LOL at myself...anyway...what I've read some say their surgeons tell them is that it can take the mind a little while to "realize" the difference. I don't know if that's true or even makes sense. But "delayed" restriction doesn't seem logical, does it? I don't have that (not everyone does)...but I'm going to put it on my list to ask my doc at my next appt (8/30)...and you ask yours next time, and maybe we'll get a concensus. OR maybe someone will know? It is a puzzlement.

HH does that 17K dental bill mean our secret getaway to Cabo is on hold?

HH if there's one thing I "know" about you, it's that you NEVER advocate blindly listening to anyone...even if they have a string of letters after their names. I think I pretty much said what you did; I just said it Monkey-style. In the final analysis, the OP will do whatever s/he thinks is best, and that's as it should be....you live, you learn. :ohmy:

I think it's always prudent to ask WHY. For example, people who are grazers struggle more with the band. Her surgeon MAY have a good reason, or it may be knee-jerk. We don't know the OP or the surgeon, so it's hard for us "armchair" players to tell the OP what to do.

Not a man but buy MBT's for one and I love zappos. They have a large range of sizes and exceptional customer service. Viprvenm sent you a link...they are a great company.

What you're feeling is normal. Your stomach is probably a little swollen in reaction to the band being tightened some. If you can drink water you don't need any taken out right away; within a few days (per your surgeon's advice) you should be able, if you chew well, small bites, no liquids with meals etc, to eat up to 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food per meal. If you can eat more, you may need another fill (but it can take a few weeks for them to kick in on many people, so you need to give it time) and if you can't eat without being stuck, you are too tight.

I think probably cavemen ate things raw. I'm glad I don't have to! :tongue2: (Admittedly a big WEENIE when it comes to raw foods) (and raw oysters give "slider" a whole new dimension to me. shiver)

This surgery is elective. (and by the way, if you lose a lot of weight you'll have loose skin whether you do bypass or the band. So loose skin is no reason to choose one surgery over another) We make an INFORMED choice. That means considering alternatives and deciding. Let me give an example. Over time my front teeth have separated slightly. Now I don't look like myself, to myself. So I asked my dentist: Do I need braces to get them back in alignment? He told me : NO They'll keep moving. You have a couple options. I can fill in the middle with dental bonding. It will look great. It is the cheapest. Or I can do porcelain veneers. That's way more expensive. Both will work. You pick. (he went into more detail of course but I don't figure anyone on here cares about this in more detail LOL) SO you see...I had thought "braces", he disagreed, explained why, gave me other options. The goal: No longer have a slight gap between my two front teeth. What I thought I wanted (and what worked for many) Braces What I decided on: Veneers. Firstly, I trust my dentist. He's great; I've been going to him for years. I PAY him for that expertise. I PAY him to help me navigate. IF you trust your surgeon, ask WHY bypass? WHY not band? Weigh his reasoning and decide which is right for you. The band isn't one supersize fits all solution. It works for lots of people, but not everyone. Neither, for that matter, does bypass. or the sleeve. But they are all valid solutions (like my braces, dental bonding, or veneers options) and you need to pick which (if any) is right for you. If your surgeon will not take the time to explain to you which he feels is best, and why (same with dietitian and psych consult) then by all means ignore them. But ASK. Weigh. It's your body, the surgery is elective, educate yourself and decide, knowing yourself best, which is right for you once you have all the info.

Since cashcow never answered, we don't really know what the surgeon plans on being self injected...we assume lovenox but it could be something else, actually. Having to inject lovenox post op is rare. It does happen, but it's not the norm for most surgeons/patients.

I just googled and found this link: Green Zone - What is this? The "sweet spot" is what my surgeon calls "the green zone" and is explained at the above link by the chart that comes up.

Honestly my psych eval was a great big joke. But if you want to pay for one on your own I'm sure you can! Aside from almost a year of behavioral therapy on my own before I even decided to get the band (when I say I tried everything, I mean it; including hypnotism) anyway...I know myself better than any 1-hour psych eval could ever show, did my research, soul searching, etc and was ready. If you aren't sure you want the band, don't get it! IF you feel you need more tests and are getting rushed through (and that is possible) find another surgeon. I didn't have to do a lengthy 6-month eval and honestly that's a waste too, for some of us. Some decide to cancel the surgery (which I'm sure pleases the Ins. co) I've done WW for years, I've done Jenny, I've done Atkins and Nutri systems and a thing in the 70's called Medical Weight Control. The last thing I needed was another 6 months of dieting, but we're all different. If you feel you need to give it one last try then you know yourself best; do that. Join WW and give it your all, (or some other organized diet).

I slept on my left side (the one with the port) the first night and on my stomach (my norm) from night #2 on. I felt like the longer I delayed it, the more stiff I'd be, and more likely to form adhesions. I was a little stiff the first day or two, but I wanted a good night's sleep. Plus actually the pressure is good to stop bleeding.