RestlessMonkey

Wow you have a great doc! :smile2: I'm glad you're feeling better; it's scary how quickly we can get dehydrated, isn't it? That was my big worry; when someone can't keep his/her own saliva down, things are going to go south really fast. This week will fly by and it's safest in the long run!

Ok yes do let me know...and I know it hurts but it will pass. Good luck!

Petalpusher let me put it this way. I've always gotten 64 oz of water in (plus tea etc..but always at least that much water) per my surgeon and never had a schizo band. If I can eat 3 ounces of steak today, I'm fairly sure I can have 3 ounces of steak tomorrow. and the next day. And so on. There's never been something that I could eat one day and not the next. OK? That's just me...not a scientific sample. However I have a friend who posts on here who had real HELL with her band and ability to eat. So I asked my doc (LOVE him) why sometimes you can eat something and other times not and he said "Hydration. If you stay well hydrated things go through easier; if you aren't, they don't." I start each morning out with a bottle of water and then go from there and never ever have problems... I passed the info on to my friend who was so happy she offered me her first born (I politely declined LOL) She said she still has an occasional odd moment but that info essentially saved the band for her; she'd gotten so down about being able to eat something one day and the next barely anything. And she said she NEVER got her water in. Within one day of getting 64 ounces...problem resolved. SO...all I can say is odds are hydration plays a big role. I'm sure you'll find people it doesn't help, and I'm sure you'll find some who say that's BS, but I say try it; it can't hurt you. If it helps...who cares? :eek:

Well it's normal if you are too tight, or are REALLY stuck. Some things other people have tried...I don't do Yoga but there is a yoga position Down facing dog or some such that people say works perfectly to "unstick you"...if you're bendy you could probably google it if you aren't a yoga person... and some believe in sips of Water to help FORCE a PB and make the offending food come back My kitchen sink is at the right heighth apparently to mash on my stomach and help me PB some, and in the early days if my husband would strike me sharply on the back between my shoulder blades (he enjoyed that immensely! LOL) it would help loosen things. AND papaya enzyme helps digest Protein (it's a chewable pill I found mine at my local grocer's) but if you don't have any it won't do you any good tonight. Others say raising their hands above their head helps...and a rare few just gag themselves ( I never ever could do that...never could've been bulimic but some people...it works) so .... try some of those if you want. I know it's a miserable feeling!

OMG of the about 8 times I've gone to WDW, ONCE was in August. Lord help you...stay cool! :eek: I'd wait an hour or so and then TRY to sip a little, but if you still feel pressure, sipping may just get it all going again. If you're thirsty, try again (slowly!) in a little while, sip or two, and then wait about 5 min and see how you feel. Seems overly cautious but if you are just aggravated you don't want to stir things up even more. if it stays down fine after 5 min, drink a bit more, wait a bit less, see how you feel, and on from there ok?

I'd bet that the early am tea helps as much because it's liquid as it does because its warm. Hydrated bandsters usually have happy non-schizo bands.

Hearkening back to our Puritan or "Protestant Work Ethic" roots, for many old school types,(not everyone comes from protestants or puritans ok? not saying that LOL ) fat is a sin, fat is gluttony, fat is a character flaw, and to lose weight without working or struggling is wrong. I don't think the ideation is quite that strong or straightforward, but it is all tied in. Fat people are lazy. To get thin we have to work to earn it. (uh huh) Assinine as it is, that used to be the prevailing attitude, even among the medical professionals. Attitudes have changed a lot but some old prejudices linger. And some people just say that because THEY have heard it over and over.

I'm not going to say he WONT unfill you because I don't know him and docs do odd things, but it's more likely if you still feel badly on Monday he'll check to make sure you don't have a slip (really outside chance of that so don't freak) and then do a SLIGHT unfill, which is the usual modus operandi for overfilled patients. Ok? If he wants to unfill you, demand to know WHY. He really shouldn't. And yes get your Water...my surgeon says that the less hydrated we are, the tighter we are, and the LAST thing you want is to be tight, right? :eek: So get a good bit of water and clear liquids in and if you feel normal by sunday, have some mushies, if not, wait. AND...do have Protein shakes ok? It won't HURT you to go a day or two on just liquids but no reason to totally torture yourself. It's a learning curve! :smile2: and PS ... I LOVE Mickey Mouse, I'm a FANATIC for the mouse, so i had to jump in and help you!

If you're pretty well healed and didn't have a big hernia repair or something, 6 weeks should be long enough to wait before you swim. If it's not been that long but you're healed, just don't overexert yourself.

Sarah.R ... I don't think most Australian docs push the PROTEIN thing like the docs do here in the USA. At least, the "Aussies" (if that knickname is correct and appropriate?) I've read on here eat a more "balanced" diet than a protein-heavy one. So don't fret; your doc will give you guidelines.

Ok...once your doc is open, ask him.... but as long as you are in pain, don't eat mushies, ok? My doc usually says 24 hours on liquids but if we feel really tight, make that 48 post fill. When you quit hurting...give it a good 24 hours. do liquids; Protein shakes, etc. then SLOWLY advance to mushies. I've never had a crab cake but I know a lot of fish is considered a "soft" food, not a mushie, so unless the crab is blended beyond recognition then no, it isn't a mushie. Mushies are things like smooth mashed potatoes or refried Beans. Mushies kind of "come apart" in Water. If you soak a crab cake I bet you get pieces of crab in goo, right? If you still hurt you most likely either 1. have more to come up or 2. really irritated yourself and need to give it time to chill out. So just stay on liquids...small sips until you know you can keep it down. Ok? If you aren't better by Monday call your doc. If you start to really feel worse, you may need to go to the ER. I hope not! It will be a mad house!

Did just liquids make you PB? In other words, you didn't eat anything, just drank?

The BIG problem is "empty calories", I think. Often one or two alcoholic drinks isn't worth the 200+ calories (I don't do wine) so I often just decide I'd rather have food than liquor. Nice to know I can have a drink, though, if I want. Unfortunately most of my drinks of choice involved carbonation so I usually just pass.

Maybe have an appt with your endocrinologist to see how your blood work is, and if your insulin can be reduced some? Otherwise, it's harder, but not impossible obviously as you've lost 37. Hang in there!

I have great restriction (think I'm at my sweet spot) and there is not one single food I've found that I cannot eat. Nor has there been. This is what my doc told me was his "goal" for me, and it is as he hoped. I can eat anything. For weight loss, I choose certain things over others, but can, if I'm careful, eat anything.

Hey Kartman! I drink iced tea in buckets myself, superoctane caffeine charged, with no trouble. But since the jury is out on Water, OP should get enough per her surgeon's guidelines (as I said) to stay hydrated. For all I know he told her to only get 8 ounces a day :eek: Or none...but she needs to follow his medical direction especially post fill to make sure she's hydrated. We all process things differently as you noted, and usually medical types don't count latte as hydration! :smile2: There is some medical debate about whether or not both lemon juice AND caffeine/coffee are diuretics. Jury is still out, as far as I know...so that's why I said water, not lemonade or latte. Major point...stay hydrated. If you can't, go to ER or call doc's after-hours number.

Yeah, you have to do what works for you. Having been told this works NO this works No do this NO NEVER do that all my life (LOL) I want science. In that respect, my surgeon is a "go to" guy. The nutritionist was not so, um, up on things. That isn't always true. I think she's since moved on because I never see here at his office; but again my doc gave me science and I respect that. He's way more than just a "cutter". Bottom line, though, they still don't really "know" what works. It's a thorny problem, and we just do the best we can (and what works for us) while the scientists thrash it out.

Some do, I've read. So far for me, if I'm gonna feel it, I feel it immediately. :eek:

Maybe you're taking too large a swallow? I don't feel "air" sometimes but something more akin to what I THINK I'd feel if I swallowed a small golf ball. Is it like that? Just take sips or small swallows but (very important this:) Make SURE you get the Water in per your surgeon's guidelines. It is vital. If you can't get enough in over 24 hours, you can quickly dehydrate. And it needs to be water, not lemonade or SF latte, ok? :eek: Otherwise yes it should loosen up a little. If it doesn't you need a slight unfill; the point of the band isn't to limit us to a liquid diet. For now, take it slow, be careful, stay hydrated, and have a good 4th!

I thank God never have felt that way but it is not uncommon. It is pretty common, in fact. Hang in there; as the other posters told you, it will get better!

Another thing to remember, as a dear friend from WW once told me: Holidays are about being with friends and family, people we love. If I need food to "get through it", I don't go. If I can go and follow my "diet" and laugh and love and enjoy the group, I do that. There'll always be another hot dog, another burger, another ham or turkey. But the people I love...are worth everything.

No. In fact with some insurance networks it's illegal. I agree with WASA; find another surgeon. They need to make money, I totally understand that. But price gouging is price gouging and that's just short of criminal.

Congrats to you both!

KTK1982...get them to send (email?) you the requirements IN WRITING.

I am not a tax pro (but frankly neither are many at H & R block! they do get training but not in depth like, say, a CPA) ANYWAY I think you can write off any medical expense if it is something like more than a percentage of your income, for example. If I were you I'd check out the IRS website for "medical tax deductions" or something like that. Trust me, your doc cannot approve a deduction, if you get my drift. The IRS decides, taxes aren't usually on a "case by case" basis. Check it out.