ParrotheadCathy

It could be a sensitivity to soy BUT more than likely it's just a case of liquid in, liquid out. Once you progess to mushy foods, thing will change and then again when you are back on solids.

.2cc solved my problems with being way too tight. Who knew such a small amount could make a difference!!

Rash, reaction to the adhesive on the bandages. Happens a lot. A little CortAid on the rash (not on the incision itself) will help with the itch. And, it sounds like you are definitely not taking in enough Protein. Even if it's Protein shakes at this stage, you still need protein to assuage hunger.

Hey, IWanna....unless your insurance requires it, probably not. There is usually a pre-op diet BUT, as Padanelle points out, that is meant to shrink your liver so that the doctor has a bit more room in which to work.

I'm with Plain! You can't continue to eat as you did pre-surgery. Plain and simple. As Band Groupie pointed out, eat fresh and healthy watch the nutrition labels because a lot of foods that sound like they will help you eat better actually come with another set of pitfalls. I eat anything I want but not in the quantities that got me to 284 pounds. I have a small piece of birthday cake every month at the office birthday party. I've eaten a bit of ice cream a few times. I drink some. But "diet" ("that's die-with-a-T", as Garfield said once)? No. The band is meant to facilitate a lifestyle change. But diets seem to have always had the feeling that "when I'm done dieting".....

Unless a fill just makes you too tight right away, if often is a delayed effect. After 2 days of liquid, going to mushies was a beginning, but yeah, it's not so uncommon to feel hungry after 3 hours. Just pick what you eat to assuage that hunger. A bit of protein (like say a bit of tuna or egg salad made with low fat or FF mayo) will go alot further than other things that tempt you.

And what all these responses mean is BE CREATIVE!!! There are a couple of suggestions here I would never have come up with, LOL.

I'm a "brass tacks" kind of gal. I would just drop by their office one day to see what's going on. ASK what the heck is going on. THEN, I would demand that they give me all of my files and records, test results, etc. and I would take every bit of it to a new surgeon ASAP. You don't want to have a problem post-op and not be able to get a response from the doc or his office!

"Night cough" is exactly what it sounds like....a cough at night. Not crazy coughing like with a respiratory infection, just occasional. Acid reflux will make you sit straight up out a dead sleep. It's a terrible sensation that combines (1) a sudden feeling that you can't breathe, (2) a serious burning in your esophagus, and (this is the worst) (3) liquid composed mostly of stomach acid coming back up from your stomach into your esophagus and the back of your mouth. Persisting acid reflux (nightly) can erode the lining of your esophagus because of all that stomach acid. Bad erosion can cause cell structure damage and that can in turn become cancer. I have a friend who is Stage IV esophageal cancer because he never once told his doctor he had acid reflux nightly. He though it was no big deal. Now, sadly, his life in the in the balance. If you have reflux, you'll know it. DON'T act like it's nothing. Tightness in your chest probably doesn't mean anything of any portent, especially if you are still fairly recent post-op. But mention it to your doctor on your next visit. If you overeat, you may not get stuck or PB. You might just feel like you ate three plates at Thanksgiving dinner. If you do that regularly, you could stretch out your pouch. You don't want to do that. You got the band, went through all of this, to not overeat. FOLLOW your eating plan and you will avoid the misery of being too full, or PBing for that reason. Not to say you won't get stuck and PB in the future but that's a different cause.

Cottage cheese! About 13 grams in a serving. Put a little fruit in it and you have a treat AND protein.

hair falling out is bad BUT have you ever heard the word "malnutrition"? Get informed because that's where you're headed. That's a good excuse...don't have time to make a Protein shake -- except that they come ready to drink in a lot of different brands. And a lot of them taste pretty decent. Something as easy as SlimFast Low Carb Diet (20 grams of protein, 2 net carb grams). EAS, or Muscle Milk. All come in an RTD version. They're better cold but a small soft side cooler can be had for very little money. Samantha is so right. You are in control of this. Do not let excuses derail you.

Don't know about liability for surgery for replacement but if the band is truly defective, they will likely replace it. The obvious test is for the doctor to have kept track of how much fill is in the band, withdraw all the Fluid in it and compare how much they draw out to how much should be there. And it might be if there is something faulty that it's the port. I've read here where a few people have had to have their ports replaced. Not many, but a few.

You will definitely qualify, especially as a self-pay. There are so few restrictions under this circumstance. I figure your BMI as 40.4. The problems you have are not considered co-morbidities but they are things the band will help. And the best part about being self-pay is that you will go from first visit to surgery on a fairly fast track. Just the testing the surgeon requires (I didn't have to do the nutritionist meeting or psych evaluation)...

You know what I take satisfaction from? I can lose the weight but insensitive people are handicapped for life.

Don, the chicken could have been too dry possibly. Chicken (especially if you cook boneless skinless chicken breasts) can get too dry. I never use boneless skinless chicken breasts because (1) they are too expensive, and (2) chicken with the bones and skin cooks up much more moist. You don't have to eat the skin, just pull it off after cooking. It doesn't add very much at all in the way of calories but it adds a ton of flavor and moisture.

By "puree" I assume you mean mushy foods. If so, amoung other itemes: runny mashed potatoes (I never thought instant potatoes could taste so good, LOL). Fat free refried beans with a little melted low fat cheese, cream soups (pureed if there are chunks in it), runny oatmeal, grits, (and I'm sure farina would be okay as well), fat free pudding is still good, pureed vegetables (some people say they eat baby food, but I'm all in favor of REAL food just run through the blender).

cruz -- you're still taking in nutrition. It's just liquid. Liquids in, liquids out. Sudden bathroom cues are not uncommon on a liquid diet.

Had my gallbladder removed in 1984. The only potential hitch, which my surgeon pointed out, is that I had open removal (where they cut you almost from your sternum down to your appendix). That left behind a significant scar and there was the slight risk that the scar tissue could get in the way. But I had not problems from it. If you're B12 deficieint, why not start taking B12 supplements NOW? It is bound to make you feel better. BUT I don't think the routine metabolic panel that is part of the pre-op testing reflects B12.

A cup of food at 6 weeks post-op really is about the average (and some can eat more comfortably. What I was told to do post-op, once I got to solid foods was to eat a meal of 3 oz of solid Protein and a serving of vegetables totalling about a cup. If I got hungry in less than 4 hours, I was to eat something like a boiled egg or an ounce of lowfat cheese or a half cup of low fat cottage cheese. You are totally within those guidelines as far as volume. Only you know if you're eating "on program". As I got more restriction I found that with some foods I can can still eat a cup easily, with others, not so much.

Quote: Too tight because I developed a night cough and acid reflux which I am treating with over the counter drugs and apple cidar vinegar. Too tight because I PB/vomit more than 3 times a day--once on Protein drink with two pills. My question is: Okay, I'm almost too tight, but I've lost more than 10 pounds in less than two weeks. Won't this weight loss (and more loss in the future) "loosen" my band a bit so that I don't need an unfill? night cough and acid reflux are strong indications that you are too tight. Continued acid reflux will destroy the lining of your esophagus and can lead to esophageal cancer. A dear friend of mine is dying because he ignored reflux ... later told us he thought it was "not a big deal". Will your band loosen up? MAYBE; MAYBE NOT. And eventually you may find yourself trying to avoid the PBs and stuck episodes by eating slider foods....and the weight loss will slow down significantly or even stop. I know. I was there for two long months (actually, almost three) where I kept telling myself it was getting looser. But I was getting stuck multiple times per day and PBing at least once per meal. And when it came down to me losing 9 pounds over three months, well, it was time to take action. It took the removal on JUST .2CCS to fix it.

I could have done it. I might have been a bit tired by the time I got back home is all. I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work on Friday, including a round trip commute of 94 miles. If I'd had a driving need, I could probably have gone back to work on Thursday but was grateful to have that day. How did I do that? Part of it is very much the power of positive thinking. But positive thinking will not completely overcome pain and it doesn't do a thing for gas, LOL.

Well, I haven't had this problem BUT if I get stuck I've found that if I stand up and make sure my shoulders are back and back is very straight, the stuck bit often moves right on then. Maybe it's time for both of us to just work on the posture thing!

The first pair of slacks I bought that weren't elastic waist pants, I referred to them as my "big girl pants"! Yeah, we know the feeling!! Congratulations.

Yes, I had to get 1cc of my first fill removed. BUT I knew I had a problem within the first hour. My advice? Stick around the doctor's office area for a while. My doc requires you to drink an entire glass of Water before you can leave after a fill. I managed that fine, but on the drive to work, it hit me. I couldn't even swallow spit. So I called them on my cell, turned around and went back. So, since you have to travel for your fill, why don't you allow yourself a couple of extra hours afterwards as a precaution?

als, you sound like you're just a bit too tight to me. Ask for an unfill of about .2cc. I know, it seems like a miniscule amount but it saved me. I was PBing every meal, getting stuck every meal....take away just .2cc and I'm fine.