elcee

I had a similar issue for a couple of months and I swear I was not too tight. I could eat ANYTHINg and my hunger was not well controlled. I was taking Nexium and it was not helping. I ended up having most of my fluid taken out as I stupidly tried to eat steak and got horrible stuck. I am in the process of being refilled. Am now up to 4ml in a 10ml band - previously I had 6ml. I have no restriction and am struggling with hunger. I have had 1 episode of reflux in this time so I am not sure what is causing it. I hope you get yours sorted out. 3ml does not sound as though it should be too tight.

I am wondering if part of this might be psychological? I do not have experience with this but the symptoms that you describe when you say food hits your band sounds as though it could be a form of panic attack.I think maybe you need to talk to a specialist about this. If you can sort this out then you may find that you are able to work with your band.

I cannot understand any Dr wanting someone to gain weight to a BMi of 25. That is right at the top of the normal range and from there it would be far too easy too slip back into the overweight range. Surely it is better to aim for the mid to lower range!

If I was going to Uganda I would probably get my band emptied. They do not have the worlds best hospitals and I would be too scared that I could have an issue. I agree you are likely to be given fish but fish in Africa is not necessarily what you are used to. There is a possibility it could be dry and I find that some types of fish get stuck quite easily. Meat is likely to be goat and unless that has been slow cooked it can be very tough. They also eat things like samp and beans and maize meal porridge. These are similar in consistency to mashed potatoes or gluggy rice depending on how they are cooked so these could also be problematic. If you are not going to get an unfill before you go make sure that the RN you are travelling with knows how to take fluid out if necessary and take your own needles. Even if the RN knows how to remove fluid in theory she may not be able to do it in practice - I had a surgeon(not bariatric) that couldn't do it when I ended up in the local emergency dept here in Aus.

Constipation is normally a sign of a low fibre diet not of a slip. Post op your diet will be very low fibre. Anaesthesia also contributes towards it. Try adding something like Benefibre to your drinks as that will help to add bulk. Once you are cleared to eat normal food make sure you eat a variety of foods including veggies and grains. High protein diets can cause really bad constipation.

I have flown to South Africa from Australia a number of times and never had any problems. It actually surprises me that your Dr wants to take your Fluid out before you go as an empty band is more likely to cause problems in flight. The air in an empty band can expand in the air whilst if it has saline in it the saline does not expand. Where in Africa are you going? If it is to a 1st world country like South Africa I would not have the fluid removed. If it is one of the 3rd world countries then I probably would consider having the fluid taken out because I wouldn't want to risk having a blockage, their hospitals would have no idea how to take the fluid out and you wouldn't want to risk them using a dirty needle.

It sounds to me as though you are considering the sleeve because you think that it will be easier, that you won't have to make the good choices etc. Although I am not sleeved I believe that you will find that you actually have to make the same choices as you do with the band. The sleeve will not stop you from eating junk, it will not stop you from grazing, it will not make you exercise etc. If you are considering a revision because there is a problem with your band then I would say go ahead, but if you are considering it just because you think it will be an easier option I would say you should be very careful. Remember there is still no magic wand WLS - they all require work.

I agree that there is very much a one size fits all solution and that most practices have trouble seeing beyond that.They seem to be trained to deal with the initial banding but have not considered the differences when there is some kind of revision.

I wold just tell them that I was unable to do any situps.

No, they will still go ahead. Just let them know so that they can give you a pad or something.

Not sure how an ice pack would help. The pain is from what they have done to you internally, the ice pack can't reach that. if you are struggling with the pain you need to speak to your Dr and see what he/she recommends.

The gas x won't work as the gas is not in your digestive system. The gas is trapped in your stomach/chest cavity. You need to take the pain killers prescribed by your Dr.

Good luck, it will be over sooner than you know it.

You may have caught a bug. You may be pregnant. You've got an extreme hangover. Your hormones are out of whack. Those are the only suggestions I can come up with atm.

Stop being so hard on yourself. You have lost 85lbs in a year. That is HUGE. Appreciate what you have done and realise that if you don't get to 100 in a year it doesn't matter. It's not a race, there is no cut off date. If it takes 13 months or 14 months then so be it.

This doesn't make sense to me. I struggle to understand starvation mode. If it really exists then we wouldn't have starving people in Africa and lots of people that are anorexic.Also if you were consuming so little then it would be really hard to find the energy to workout that hard and it does not sound as though you are struggling. My inclination would be to keep up the exercise but to watch what I was eating. You could inadvertently be eating more than you think as it is hard to correctly log every calorie.Also when you have lost a lot of weight sometimes your body needs time to catch up. Plateaus are normal.

This doesn't make sense to me. I struggle to understand starvation mode. If it really exists then we wouldn't have starving people in Africa and lots of people that are anorexic.Also if you were consuming so little then it would be really hard to find the energy to workout that hard and it does not sound as though you are struggling. My inclination would be to keep up the exercise but to watch what I was eating. You could inadvertently be eating more than you think as it is hard to correctly log every calorie.Also when you have lost a lot of weight sometimes your body needs time to catch up. Plateaus are normal.

Generally if you can't drink you are too tight. But if the liquids are going down then I would probably wait a day or 2 to see how it goes. You may just be a little swollen and it may need time to go down. Take it easy, do not push it by trying to eat anything solid and see if it gets better.

I don't think you have done any damage, I would relax and not worry. It is probably just coincidence that you felt like that after a milkshake. It maybe a bad choice but it is still liquid - it is not going to cause any damage. Even drinking through a straw isn't going to hurt. Yes it might make you swallow a bit more air than usual but that is it.

Oats are generally fine just make them runnier than usual. Weetbix made with hot water works well too.

Water doesn't help because it has nowhere to go. Think of the blockage as being like a blocked loo. What happens when you add more water? The stuff doesn't go down it sort of makes it all swirl around and come back up. Sorry if that image is gross but it was the easiest thing I could think of to explain it.

You need time to adjust to the new way of eating. Giving you a fill that tight straight up would probably cause you problems. Drs do things in a certain way for a reason. You need to trust your Dr and that he knows what is best.

If it is stuck the best way to get relief is to try to cough it up. I can't stand the pain and discomfort of waiting hoping that it will go down because most of the time it won't.

I eat wholemeal bread and find that if it is toasted it is easier than if it is soft. I can do english muffins but usually only half.They are not particularly healthy so if you do want bread go for the grainy types - they are far more nutritious.

In fact thinking about this again the fact they can't see a gastric pouch probably means that you don't have a slip. Which just proves that trying to interpret stuff that you know (me too ) nothing about is dangerous.