AngelWhisper

:eek: Over the weekend I had my very first PB. I feel like I've graduated to a true bandster. I took a bite of pizza and started laughing at something and accidentally swallowed and I knew right away I was headed for trouble. My mom who had gastric bypass 6 years ago FREAKED OUT when I first got the food stuck because she thought stuck = stays there forever until you go to the ER and have it removed. Then she freaked out when it all came back! I thought it was hilarious, she thought it was terrifying. You have to have some humor about these things. Anyway, I'm wondering whether or not I should get a fill. I had my last fill 4 weeks ago and I'm scheduled for another on Wednesday. I've lost 4 lbs since the last fill. I get full on some things, not others. I never pb'ed before until over the weekend. :sad: I'm kind of scared to get one. I have 3.5 cc's in a realize band, I'm thinking I might get another .5 added Wednesday. Any opinions?

I never thought I'd say this to anyone but congratulations on being overweight! LOL I feel your pain. I'm 5'3" and I weigh about 272 lbs now and I'm like wow I've lost almost 50 lbs and I have nothing to show for it! Not even down 2 pant sizes! :eek:

I tell everyone about my band too but personally, I wouldn't go. But, I even schedule my fills around events where I know there's food. I'd have a crappy time if I had to go to a party where I'd normally have fun but not be able to eat anything and have everyone (even though they know I have a band) question me about it and ask me why I couldn't eat anything because of the band that day.

I almost killed someone the day I got banded. I had anesthesia 3 times before this and each time I woke right up and was ready to run a friggin marathon so I expected the same. OH NO! I woke up all groggy with a mask on my face which I can't stand so they say I can take it off. I took that off and then I'm yelling get it out of me it hurts. The nurse told me to "shut up other people are in recovery". So I'm in recovery for 10 minutes and they take me to a room and 80 billion people come in and start talking to me and I'm still half asleep and the nurse is like can you get up and walk around yet?! Then I finally did get up and I burst into tears because I felt like if I moved at all I'd explode. I got discharged the next day and ended up readmitted 3 days later with dehydration. The surgeon on call said I was "abnormally" swollen and that was why I couldn't really get liquids down. I didn't feel pain free until about 4 weeks later. It was god awful.

That's really good! 1kg is about 2.2 lbs so you've lost about 11lbs. I think it really varies from person to person but remember the first 6ish weeks are for healing. When you switch to solid foods you might stay at the same weight or gain some, totally normal from what I'm told. I lost 20lbs in the first couple weeks but the majority of that was from being so swollen post op that I couldn't get even clear liquids in and had to be readmitted for dehydration. I probably wouldn't have lost that much if it hadn't been for that mess.

Check with your surgeon about the ibuprofen. Most surgeons say you can't take anymore NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen) because they're harsh on the stomach. They may have you take tylenol instead.

Thanks! I don't really think there's anything terribly wrong but this band has me incredibly paranoid. It helps to know I'm not insane. LOL

I haven't tried them but I've found slathering dry meat in ketchup helps...even though it kind of defeats the purpose of eating healthy. lol

OK maybe I'm just being a little bit paranoid but I'm wondering if anyone else has had this happen. I posted before about getting stuck and then having what feels like muscle pain in the center of my chest a few days afterwards. It's still there and it's been a month. I went in for a fill 2 weeks after it started and my surgeon didn't seem concerned at all. She said it could be a pulled muscle or a piece of food that's still stuck and said she wouldn't really know what it was until it went away. Well, it's not going away. My next fill is on the 20th and of course I can't see MY surgeon I have to see another Dr. because she's not in town. I can eat and swallow things just fine, but I have no idea what could be causing this for so long. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

LOL I had that happen too. Luckily my birth control only makes me get a period 4 times a year, otherwise I'd be screwed. My surgeon said it was normal and I had gained 6 lbs but 2 days later it was gone again, mainly water weight I think. Hang in there!

I haven't found any protein supplements that I don't think are completely repulsive. Good luck searching!

Yeah! Where is the consignment shop in Maryland? Probably nowhere near me but it's worth a shot.

There are pain patches. I haven't worked in a pharmacy for awhile because of health issues but I do know there's the Lidocaine patch which is nonnarcotic and the Duragesic (Fentanyl) patch which is narcotic. If there are more now I'm not really sure but those two got a lot of use at my pharmacy.

Honestly, I've had a few nights out with with the girls and drank more than I should have (including tonight LOL) but it didn't hit me any faster than it did before. I think it's more a bypass problem than a band problem. Moderation is key though!

I agree. I had to do optifast and it was absolutely, hideously, disgusting. I believe you can only get optifast from your surgeon though.

I'd wait until after the vacation also.

It seems like most surgeons I've seen here say to be on liquids or mushies for a small period of time but others don't. He should tell you at the fill visit but you can always call the office and ask and explain why you're asking. LOL I had to postpone my first fill because I had to go 100 miles away to my cousins 1st birthday party and the next day I had a baby shower. I guess I didn't want to feel stupid or something. LOL

Icees are carbonated? I never knew that!

Call your surgeon and ask if you cant have plain baked chicken breast. I did that while I was on the preop optifast diet and it helped quite a bit.

Oh wow. I never thought about my esophagus but you're right, the food definitely got stuck above the band and not at the band, although I didn't pb or slime which was nice. Thanks for your help!

I'm not sure if this is band related or not but I figured I'd ask here and see if it happened to anyone else. I had my 2nd fill about a week and a half ago and everything has been great, still have little restriction. Over the last 2 days I've gotten stuck a few times because of my own stupidity in not chewing well enough but it passed right through after about 2 minutes with no problems. Yesterday and tonight I've had what feels like muscular pain in my chest. It's located right around my sternum. It hurts sometimes when I breathe in and when I move around and when I sneeze. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and could be band related or if I just pulled something maybe? Thanks for the help!

Thanks! I feel better actually seeing banded people's opinions. My mom and aunt had bypass so everyone is on my butt for not getting that. All I hear now is blah blah slow losing blah blah should've gotten bypass blah blah BLAH! My next fill is tomorrow and I was banded January this year, in my head I know 45 lbs is a great start but now that I've hit a plateau for the last few weeks everyone's on my butt. I think I'm just going to start telling people to mind their own business and I'll mind mine. We'll all be happier that way.

I feel like I need to talk to other banded people about my situation. Nobody seems to get it, even my mother who had gastric bypass. For starters, I lost my grandmother in December exactly a month before my surgery. She was my rock. I've had depression, anxiety, and social anxiety for years. I have one good and true friend that's very supportive. When I got the band for the first 3 weeks I thought it was the worst mistake of my life. I had so many problems. Now, I can eat whatever I want and I have one fill. I realize that's normal, but I can't seem to make the right choices. All I do is sit at home and eat crap. My mom yells about how I'm going to get fatter and shouldn't be able to eat bad stuff because I'll get "dumping syndrome". I've told her and the surgeon has told her this is NOT the case at all. A couple weeks ago, I fell on ice at the mall. I sprained the hell out of my knee. I can't do anything with that knee now and probably have to see a specialist. I have chronic open wounds in my skin folds that keep popping open and draining. So all the exercise I had planned on doing has gone out the window. I'm terrified to join a gym because people will see me and make fun of me. I've always felt like a failure, and now the band seems to be one more thing that's proving my point. I'm already getting the "shouldn't you have lost more by now?" comments. I'm definitely going back to therapy, I just don't know if I'm ever going to be able to deal with this.

I tend to agree. I would be looking for another doctor. 700 dollars for a fill is absolutely outrageous. I hope your situation gets better!

This is very true. My dad had a routine blood test done for a physical and had elevated prostate specific antogen levels and NOBODY from the Dr's office called. He found out 3 months later when he went to the Dr. for an upper respiratory infection. I've seen so much stuff just like that working in a pharmacy. People really have to be proactive with a Dr's office. They don't always follow up the way people hope they will.