katwmn63

itschoice is bang on in my books. i haven't heard the term "first bite syndrome" but it is real and i have it often. IF that feeling of pain and pressure in your chest, fealt like it went trough all the way to your back, could neither get it up nor all the way down...and it went on for 10-15 painful minutes (with a slime in there too) that would have definately qualified it as a stuck. just learn from it.. we all are. this is all new. good luck!!

a heating pad helped me ALOT!! i had that heating pad wraped around my belly area for the first 4-5 days..it realy brought some comfort and my doc said it was fine. when i got gas up in my shoulder, it helped to have my daughter thump it (like burping a baby)...it seemed to loosen it up a bit. hang in there ...you will feel better very soon!!!

i got that feeling too once...recently. i really that the saline was trying to push out through the end of the port...it was shortly after i ate. hmmmm good question

Surgeons and nutritionists inform us at to what foods we should eat with the band, and as always, they varey widely. I am just wondering what kind of weight loss you experience with yours and which you follow? My surgeon told me it is completely up to me-we all have different palates-and it needs to be something i can stick to with small portions. He does "encourage" cutting out as many carbs as possible. I have had great "short term" success with carbs but fear screwing that up over the long term due to my love of Pasta & potato. But, I feal that low cal just won't do the trick for me...never has. Tell me which has been a success for you with your band? -What has been your average daily cal intake if you are just watcing cals? or... -what has been your daily carb intak if you are just watching carbs??? -What type of weekly loss does this give you??? I would appreciate any info from those of you experiencing some success with your band!!! Thanks :-) -kat

.. and i see you lost that 5 poundt too!!!! woot!! make sure you let me know how you are doing just as soon as you can. i will be thinking of you tomorrow. you will do GREAT!!! now your real journey begins:)

this is completely normal. i am just like you and i want to see loss!! but post op you are retaining Fluid... i actually gained a few pounds. they all came off and then a few extra too about the 5th or 6th day. good luck:)

could it be because pressure in the inside ring of the band pushes the pressure all the way through to the end/port?

UPDATE: First let me say thanks, and 2nd let me say... I LOVE MY SURGEON! Yes he emailed me back.. in fact i heard from him twice today:) the first thing he told me to do was to go to panera bread for lunch and order a sandwich, not Soup or salad, a sandwich, and to let him know how it goes down. i did exactly as he said and had a very tough time on the first few bites...i fealt restriction (i am not used to bread)! i did go kind of fast, so then i slowed way down and chewed alot... i finished just over half a sandwich before getting full. i fealt "kind of" hungry about an hour later and ate some sugar free Jello. then i emailed him the info. he emailed me back. he is happy with just a half of sandwich. he also told me that i shouldn't chew, chew, chew.. the more i puree the food in my mouth, the faster it goes through the band, and the sooner i will feel hungry. he feels that advice is a great disservice to LB patients - DISCLAIMER-"My surgeon's advice" but perhaps not everyone's, but i really always did wonder about the "chew" thing. He also said that if i snack beteen meals, eat nuts or other Protein snack ..jello is like saliva and a waste...it will go right through. he then told me to weigh myself tomorrow then sunday and report the weights to him...then we will discuss changing the date of the fill!! this makes a ton of sense to me. i still don't understand how 850-900 cals per day has me stagnant... neither does he... but at least i have something to try to feel fuller longer... and a surgeon working closely with me to figure things out:)

That's my girl!!! WTG!!!!

Hi all- I am wondering if anyone out there has a surgeon who is sympathetic and responsive to you when you feel you need a fill earlier than initially scheduled??? It seems from reading this forum, that most docs stick to their guns about fills, regardless of the patient's desire to get in there more aggressively and feel restriction. I, just moments ago, emailed my surgeon with frustration. So far my surgeon has been WONDERFUL!!! He did not require any liquid diet preop, only the first week post op...and that was full liquids, not clear. I am only 2 weeks post op, and he has already graduated me to regular food.... in short, he seems aggressive enough. He is also amazing at returning my emails... usually within a few hours. I feel no restriction any more and no longer feel full after eating. i feel that despite my forcing myself to eat only 800-950 cals per day (plus a 2 mile power walk on the treadmill) that i should still be losing weight but i am not. he has me scheduled for aug 24 for a fill (he did put "some" in at surgery). I shared my frustration with him and can't wait to hear his response. Has anyone shared this bandster hell frustration with their surgeons??? If so, did they stay strict with fills? listen to you and get you in earlier? compromise? Thanks!

i am 2 weeks post op- i started on the treadmill a few nights ago, very light swimming as well, and i return to karate class tomorrow night...we'll see how that goes;) I won't spar of course but i'm feeling ready to fully train!

i am not an experienced bandster by any stretch, but i am curious as to what the time frame is you got your 2 fills? if they were a month or more apart...i might get aggravated with 1cc at a time. if it has been less than a month, perhaps he is being careful to move slow to be sure the band gets reacustomed to fills.... does anyone really know for sure what happens to the band after very long term non-use??? 8 years is a long time and perhaps why he is taking it slow. as i said, i am a novice, but it is just something that came to mind after reading your post. so glad you decided to get back on track however, and i wish you the bst of luck!

what happens if you get a stomach virus/bug/flu, etc. in terms of vomiting??? would violent vomiting cause the band to slip? I can only imagine how difficult it would be for your stomach contents to come back up though the narrow stoma??? i have a bit of a belly ache today and feeling mildly nauseated. i haven't had to vomit, but it got me thinking.... what if?

I definately had this problem... so much so that I complained to my surgeon. He wanted to make sure the inabilityto take a deep breath was coming from my abdomen (diaphragm) and not chest (lungs)... the latter, as RM above indicated, a possible, a sign of a clot. Mine was definately in my abdomen and did go away after 5 days or so. It did help to occasionally (5x a day) grab a hold of my kitchen counter while about 3 feet away from it, leaning over to face the floor and brace for a nice deep breath. It felt less painful to fill my lungs, and gave my body that much needed fill of oxygen. I got this idea from another poster (perhaps retigulus above) and it really helped me. Most important is to get with your doc first and make sure it is NOT a clotting situation. Do feel better soon!

UPDATE: well, i haven't gained anymore, but i have still lost ZERO. I counted cals yesterday and only had 856...so what gives? I am definately getting on my treadmill today... geesh...this better do the trick... i really am being a good girl... ok... minus the water intake but i will improve that today as well. grrr

Thank you!!! Sure is a learnng process :}

my bad breath is from ketosis (burning fat instead of carbs) which happens to me whenever i am doing a low carb diet. i have seen on this post however that the lack of acids in the pouch (that you have in the stomach) also can cause bad breath and an icky taste in your mouth. i struggle with it and never really have found the perfect answer... i do like sugar free icebreaker mints... but really haven't found the best answer yet :[ i'm gonna keep reading this thread in the hopes of finding good ideas too... so thanks for posting it, and good luck!

Ouch! I have been on soft foods with the green light to progress to regular foods. Tonight I ate 1/2 cup shepherds pie made with ground turkey (layer of turkey meatloaf with layer of corn and topped with layer of mashed potatoes). I went slow but am thinking perhaps the corn is not band friendly??? or at least not yet?? here's why: every 5 minutes or so i feel a tight pain right smack, dab in front of my sternum area...like pressure type of pain, then it stops. almost reminds my of when i was pregnant and the baby was pushing his foot strait out as if nearly poking through my skin..only much higher, and slightly more painful. could this be the corn gettiing stuck kernel by kernel??? I know I chewed the meat well enough..but the corn isn't as easy to chew to oblivion. thoughts????

many, if not most, get banded without any saline in it at all for exactly this reason...so that they can heal completely from the surgery before giving too much band restriction. when you heal completely and get back to being able to drink Water adequately, etc., you will get a saline fill. With your symptoms it sounds like it is what is best for you and why your doc elected to remove the saline for now. usually, bad breath is an indicator that you are in ketosis (your body is burning fat instead of carbs)... though the bad breath sucks, being in ketosis is weight loss heaven. i hope you heal quickly and your first fill goes far more smoothly :-)

i used the oil that came with my sally hanson wax strip kit (that i normaly use for my eyebrows) :thumbup:

I know I am being rediculous worrying about a lousy 1.4 lb gain, but GEESH...I haven't lost an ounce since starting reg food (soups, ground beef cooked to oblivion, soft eggs...all suggestions of my doc) and I only eat around 800-1000 cals per day!! I have read posts that tell me to watch my measurements so I finaly got off my tush and measured myself. MAYBE that will tell me something in a few days...or weeks:( Anyway, my QUESTIONS are, for those that are on soft or regular food, how many cals do you eat a day? or carbs if that is what you count? are you losing? gaining? and most important... what do you notice makes the difference in causing you to gain and/or lose? For instance, my Water intake went way down these last few days...could that have caused the lack of loss and slight increase?? Does increased activity seem to kick start it for you?? I am determined to get through this Hell period. I had a few cc's at surgery and do get full fairly easy, but only mild restricton if any:( :thumbup: Thanks!

LOL... Thanks for that:lol:

you bet i had it...for a solid week. just like karibensea stated, the port is sutured beneath the skin...(mine to the left of my belly button) to the muscle of the abdominal wall. this is what i learned, and my surgeon confirmed, was causing the sqeezing pain and inability to breathe deeply. exercize your breathing by forcing those slow deep breaths from time to time...i think that helped mine to finally start healing. of course a check with your surgeon is a way to confirm all this and be sure it is nothing more serious than this. good luck, but i truly believe it will get betterfor you!!

Good info! Thanks everyone!!!!

muscle cramps?? i think you know your body.. it sure does sound like dehydration and/or potassium like you mentioned. are you sneaking caffeine in there anywhere? ring the doc