elcee

Yeah, all those poor Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics etc they are all going to burn in hell along with all the non believers aren't they Patty , even if they have led exemplary lives, all because they have made the wrong choice!

you are supposed to lose an average of 1 - 2lb per week. You have lost 55lb in approx 27 weeks.I think that you are doing well.

No the item won't be broken down by stomach acid as there is none there. The acid is lower down in the "normal" stomach". The stuck item if it is still there will be sitting wedged in the stoma between the 2 stomachs. Your surgeon should have a number for you to contact in emergencys. Where are you - I imagine somewhere outside of the US as you gave your loss in KGs and not lbs! If you can't get Water down you will have to go to emergency as you will become dehydrated. Hope its getting better already.

It sounds to me like either you are not eating slowly enough or you need a small unfill. Also if you leave eating until you are really hungry you tend to start eating faster than you should which then backfires in the way you have described. Don't let yourself get too hungry before your meal.

To me it sounds as though you are too tight. I wouldn't go for that next fill if anything i would get a small quantity taken out.

Try sucking on crushed ice, it can help to reduce the swelling.Once you are able to keep that down then progress to drinking water/clear liquids.Hydration is the most important thing. if you are unable to get any liquid in soon then you need to get some help. If you call your surgeons rooms it is likely that someone there can do an unfill if necessary - it is not normally only the surgeon that does this. I have heard lots of people say this and it is something I don't understand.I would far rather PB/regurgitate/bring the offending item up if I can than be stuck , in pain and miserable.It is so much easier and gives far quicker relief. Hope you feel better soon.

So the trick is to choose individual sports/exercise rather than group ones! LOL.Typically it happens to me when I move more and getting the farts in a dance class is not good! Its quite strange as for the first couple of months I hardly farted but rather burped all the time, the last couple of months it has changed and I now do the opposite. Good luck with the tests Jacqui , I hope its nothing too serious.

I don't know if they have fixed it.I assume if it was bad enough it could be fixed by relocating the port. My friend discovered the problem after having a fill (not the first she'd already been banded about 2 years) and it caused her excrutiating pain.Seems strange but I suppose after losing so much weight everything moves!

You need professional help if you are unable to get any liquid in. I don't know if there is a guideline for how long but I would say that if after 24 hrs I couldn't get Water down then I would probably be looking for help. I find sucking ice chips helps.You are swollen after an episode like this and ice helps to reduce swelling.

This happens to me sometimes too.Usually at the worst possible time. Haven't yet managed to pinpoint any particular type of food as the cause, have tried using Gas X and they don't seem to help much.

You may have done some kind of exercse that has pulled the muscle to which the port is attached. You may even have somehow torn some of the stitches.

I do know of someone who's port is either rubbing on or trapping a nerve - wonder if yours could be something similar?

So long as you are talking to your Dr as well then it is all good. As to the pain. I have had pain exactly as Mel described. It woke me in the middle of the night and felt like I was dying.Indigestion remedies did nothing the pain just got worse.It lasted for hours and was so bad I ended up sleeping (or trying to) on the bathroom floor.The pain was below the diaphragm area from front to back and I also felt nauseous.It happened again a couple of weeks later. NB. This was preband. My heart has been checked and that was all fine. I also got sent for an ultrasound to check for gall bladder problems and typically they found nothing. So to this day I still have no idea what the cause was. If it ever happens again I will have to make sure I go to the hospital when it is happening as then maybe they might come up with an answer. At the time I was convinced that it was a gallstone(after researching on the net) but I still don't know and that is really frustrating.

Ahh so you are another Aussie. Where do you live and who is your Dr? Having fills does make a difference but you are unlikely to achieve perfect restriction with the first one. Australian Dr's typically fill slower than US ones as they believe that this way it causes less problems. My first fill was 1ml.I lost constantly since the op and could not say that having a fill made a huge difference to the weight loss - but it does make a difference to the hunger so that you can maintain the eating plan and continue to lose.You still have to do your part and make good choices and exercise. The stage you are at at the moment prior to a fill is not really intended for loss but for healing. I know it can be frustrating when you appear to be losing slowly but you have to remember you didn't gain the weight overnight so it won't come off overnight either. I lost 5kg in the month after surgery,3kg the month after that and then it averaged out at about 2kg a month. Full is different after you are restricted. You feel it in your chest rather than your stomach! you may want to eat more food because it tastes good but you know that you can't because you will end up being uncomfortable and probably bringing it up.Stuck is different, that happens when you eat too quickly,don't chew properly or take too big a bite. It can also happen with certain foods that may not agree with your band.

My port is in approx the same position as yours. Above the bellybutton and maybe slightly to the left.I have no problems with it. You haven't said exactly how much you are aiming to lose - if it is only 20kg you will probably lose it a bit slower than if you had 50kg to lose. The closer you are to goal weight the slower it gets. I had my surgery in june last year and have been sitting at goal for a couple of months. I have lost a total of 22kg so very similar to what you are aiming for. Congratulations on making a great decision and doing this whilst the excess weight was "minimal". I assume you must have paid yourself as in the US insurance doesn't cover you at this sort of level.

I eat very similarly to Jacqui except I'm not quite that good. I still can't stand plain Water except in summer and it has to be icecold so I sometimes have a diet soda or Crystal light. The rest of the time I drink tea with skim milk. I don't buy lots of processed foods and when I do I no longer buy the diet versions - I just buy the standard version as I am eating less of it anyway.E.g I always buy full fat Greek Yogurt. However there are some things that I cannot stand unsweetened and then I use a small quantity of Splenda or whatever. I use it on my oats even though I cook them with raisins and also on my yogurt along with some cinnamon. The quantities are minimal and I do not believe that it makes me crave sweet foods more. Most things are OK in moderation it is when you overdo them that they become a problem. Lets face it even too much water is dangerous and can lead to death! Interestingly for years fructose was pushed as a healthier alternative to sugar - its also natural , is low GI and I'm not sure but it may be lower in calories too. They have now discovered that fructose actually causes problems similar to the ones your NUT told you about for the artificial sweeteners! It's actually quite hard to know who and what to believe when it comes to nutrition as they change their minds so often. For example.We have had fats being the villian then sugar then fats again then carbs, told not to eat more than 2 eggs a week, then told we can eat them daily, told soy is great then told that that causes problems............................................................................

I totally agree. The weight loss seems to totally taper off and then stop.It may be our bodies way of telling us that we have gone far enough or it may be a signal that we need to pick things up. Much as I would love to lose a bit more I don't think that I am ready to do what it would take. I seem to have got comfortable! Maybe when summer comes I will feel a bit differently. All credit to you for being determined. You go girl.

I agree that you should not advance your diet without consulting your Dr whatever the circumstances. Even though you feel fine you may be doing damage which only becomes apparent much later. The postop diets are staged for good reason.

it's a great feeling isn't it?

Good question

Have you contacted your Dr yet? It seems like you are trying to make your own diagnosis and that can be dangerous.

I was thinking the same thing! Seems like a very strange goal!

Good - that was the intention.

Avoid the tanning booths.You don't want to prolong your life through losing weight only to cut it short with skin cancer!

I suggest you phone and make an appointment. Often these surgeons don't get emails, they are so busy that they get dealt with (or not) by their admin staff.