dr_justice

Hi there. Been inactive here for a long long time, but I was banded on Nov 5, here in Canada. So far I've lost 75 lbs, BMI 45 -> 35. My weight loss has been pretty quick during the first 3 months. But a lot less quick during the last 3. I think I need to tighten my ring. I've also relapsed sometimes and eat sweets... something I shouldn't do. I had brownies for dessert today :redface: Anyway, just reporting that I'm doing fine. Have occasional PB'ing when I eat too fast. Still getting used to it...

Hey there. Was banded Nov 5, so today is day 5. Well, technically, day 6 now. Since Oct 20 I've been on a liquid diet (pre-op for 14 days) and since surgery I've been sipping broth and other liquids. During the last few days, I've also had broccoli Soup, which is really pureed broccoli and other veggies. Things went down fine, even though the soup itself was much thicker than just broth. When I came home, today, I was starved. I didn't have anything easy to eat, so I went and got myself a can of pea soup and a can of chef boyardee macaroni. I mixed half a can of each, and blendered it. Now before you think this is gross, let me just say that is kind of is. But a taste test of the pea soup was delish, and a taste test of the tomato sauce of the noodly stuff was also good. How bad could the mix be? Well, pretty bad. But it still tasted better than what I've been having for the last 3 weeks. So, I had some of that. I felt full after about 500 ml of the stuff. And I got used to the taste pretty quick. I ate very slowly while watching TV, and hey, it all went down just fine. But, this is day 5/6, and I'm already on to mushies and I don't feel any kind of side effect. Today, gas pains have all but subsided, and I have felt actual hunger for the first time since the operation! Now, I'm definitely not going to try any chunky stuff anytime soon -- but I know everybody else says to go slow and to move on to mushies after about two weeks of liquid diet? Is this so? So far, I've not had any problems eating pureed stuff, or thick Soups. Am I going too fast? Thanks for your feedback. Dr. J.

Two things jump at me: If you had a "normal" diet of 800-1200 calories per day, that's not a lot. That amount of calories corresponds to an already severe diet. I'm not sure why your surgeon accepted to band you if you were already eating a low-calorie diet. The other thing that jumps to mind is that my doc told me that in order to actually lose weight properly, your restriction needs to get into what's called the "green zone". Neither too loose, neither too tight. Too loose, you will not feel any restriction and will eat too much, and too tight will cause you to move towards a liquid diet. Typically, liquid diets tend to be high in calories and sugar (most fruit juices, are a good example of this) so defeats the purpose. Are you counting the calories from your drinks? If so, you definitely need to. Finally, I suggest you continue with the good ol' exercise. Doctor told me that it's more bio-efficient for your body to transform muscle tissue into energy, rather than fat into energy. By exercising, you are forcing your body to go into your fat reserves. Good luck, Dr.J.

If you've never had any problems before, I doubt you'd get erosion. Perhaps this is a case of simply getting too comfortable and eating too fast?

Banded same day. Nov 5, morning. On the day following the surgery, I was able to have warm broth. I had coffee, and other warm liquids. I don't think they do any harm. In fact I think it's slightly better warm than cold, because I was told that a cold liquid would induce stomach contraction, and thus, pain. For the last 2 days I was able to eat jell-o, slowly. I transformed the jelly to a smooth liquid in my mouth before swallowing, and it went down fine. Tonight I was able to eat a small 100g yogurt. It was way thicker than jell-o. But it went down okay, I ate slowly. Just go slow, you should be fine.

I think what you're not supposed to is "Productive Burping" aka PBing. That's when you have eaten too much food and burping causes the food to come up, because that will tend to stretch the pouch. I don't see why burping air would cause any problem?

I didn't experience any hair loss after getting banded. I was already bald. Does that count?

Banded Nov 5. I also can't burp. Sometimes I feel the need to, the bubble comes up and a huge pressure comes up against my diaphragm. Hurts like hell. It passes within a few seconds. Also no problem farting. I just wished I would fart more to relieve pressure. Today, I went poop for the 1st time. Didn't hurt. But after 12 days of only Protein shakes pre-op and 3 days of Clear liquids post-op, there wasn't much there. Another thing I noticed: the gurgling sounds in my stomach are getting really loud and frequent! Blurpp!

Thank you. I must admit I'm pleasantly surprised at your positive reply, I was certain I'd get slammed.

I'm not a sex obsessed person. Humans, just like animals, need to eat, have shelter and reproduce. In approximately that order. It's hardwired in our genes. Denying your husband of sex for long and extended periods will make him miserable. Whether you like it or not. He will not be happy in your couple, or at least, there will be something missing in his life. While he may never tell you for whatever reason (because he loves you and doesn't want to hurt you, has children with you, or any other good reason) chances are that if he's missing something in his life that you can't or won't give him, he will go and get it. Get over it. I'm not your husband so you have nothing to fear from me. But if you think a sexually frustrated man will never cheat and you think you know more about men's psychology just because from a christian american woman's point of view it would be morally reprehensible for a man to go looking for another mate that actually has sexual interest in him, you're deluding yourself. Either that, or you will both corner yourselves and your couple in a bitter and lifeless life together. Why do you think there are so many divorces? [note: I'm assuming you're not an elderly couple here] I'm just telling you to not be surprised if one day, after years of sexual neglect and frustration, your husband leaves you for greener pastures. Let me put this another way. What if your husband completely neglected you emotionally. Let's say he just didn't care anymore. Would you leave him and find someone who does? You could probably put up with it for a while, but in the end you'd probably just leave him. Now let me be clear: denying your man of sex is, in fact, neglect. It's not purely emotional neglect. But it is neglect nonetheless. If you just "don't care anymore" about sex he will have the same adverse reaction as you would if he neglected you emotionally. Just because a woman's needs are different from a man's needs doesn't make a man's needs any less real or any less important. Now let me be clear on one last point: I'm NOTtalking about avoiding having sex while sick or being incapacitated in some way. Any reasonable mate will actually be supportive in this case. But if today you're using the lap-band as a way to get out of sex, tomorrow you're using the fake headaches excuse, the next week you're using a bogus vaginal infection, the following week you're "just not into it", the next week you find yourself going sleeping at your sister's, and every day you go to bed early to avoid having sex with your husband, you know, patterns will emerge.

Sex is to a man what food used to be to all of us. A man with no sex will go get it elsewhere. It's nature.

I was banded on the morning of November 5th. I am able to take clear liquids, some Jello. I am still feeling quite bloated. Transitioning from a sitting-to-lying-down position makes my whole abdomen quite sensitive. I only took a few morphine pills, as I don't think I really needed it. I hate to take medecine anyway. Only tonight have I had some pain in my left shoulder. Other than this, I've had some problems taking deep breaths but in general my biggest problem has been my abdomen feeling bloated and sore.

Hey there. I was banded Nov 5 (yesterday morning). Ever since then, I have been experiencing pain in my abdomen but mostly around the diaphragm area, just below my lungs. I can breathe but only short breaths. I am able to take liquids but had an episode today where I drank too fast and ate a bit of jell-o, and suddently went from fine to ghostly white in under 20 seconds. The episode lasted about 3 minutes until I was able to pass the feeling, but for a while I thought I was going to faint. I did not vomit, thank god. I know a lot of people are experiencing gas pains. I have felt bloated before, but never like this! Are my problems with being short of breath normal? When we're talking about gas pains, are we just talking about the tummy feeling full? I was told recovery was about 2-3 days after the surgery, but at the rate I'm going, I think it's going to take longer than this. Help!

Thanks for the advice. I will follow it. Good luck with your band too!

It was a private clinic. I did not get a spirometer. I know that as I was waking up from the surgery, I was all wired up and the machiine went beep-beep a few times from not having too much oxygen in my blood -- the nurse told me to breathe more, which I did, then oxy levels came back to normal. Nevertheless, as I have told a few friends, it feels as if I had done 400 sit-ups, feel like I could eat a horse, and at the same time it feels like I ate 25 large pizzas. I'm not sure what my stomach is telling me. The biggest problem is when I transition from a sleeping to sitting to standing position. It take a while for my whole abdomen and diaphragm to adjust. After a few minutes I feel OK but then sitting and lying down is a chore. By the way, these forums rock.

Okay, let me give a better description here. I can breathe without effort if I take small breaths. But I can't take deep breaths, it hurts my diaphragm too much. I am fine if I sleep or if I am just resting. I am also fine if walk around the house some. But I know that my breathing pattern has changed and that I'm not breathing as deeply as I normally would. As for the fainting, it was not related to being short of breath. It was due to the fact that I think I overdrank and overate some jell-o. I first feelt nausea, then a tingly feeling all over my body, felt light-headed. My mom put a cold wet handcloth on my forehead for a moment, and I was able to pass the feeling. "I told you you were drinking too fast", she said.