jalomum

If you need something to open it up in the morning then you have restriction, maybe too much if you cannot eat solids at all without them getting stuck. Is having all you fill removed and starting from scratch an option? That would enable the swelling to go down as well as allow you to get your eating back into a normal mode without fear of getting stuck. Then you could start getting your fills once you got your head back in the game but this time take it slower and use this site for your support, as you have probably found out it really is the best place to get advice, encouragement and companionship while on a journey of this kind. If I was in your situation I think that would be the route I would take. STOP - REWIND - RE-START. Good luck.

This is sort of a NSV....I can't think of a better thread to put it on and I really wanted to post it... My son's on his way to Sydney for the 2010 Scout Jamboree. Today we packed his bag and his luggage allowance was 23kg. He filled his bag and put it in the boot of the car and was saying how heavy it was and he wouldn't like to carry it very far...that's when I realised.... 5 months into my banded life that's how much weight I have lost - 23kg. I've a long way to go still but I couldn't believe how heavy it was or how far and long I had carried it on my own. To feel the weight of it and be able to understand it rather than it just being a number that was part of me, weight I had to lose or had put on or needed to lose or whatever else that figure has always been in the past. It felt really good to know what it actually felt like, to realise that was how much I was NOT carrying anymore. I really, really, really wanted to tell all the other parents the significance of the 23kg bags they were all helping their Scouts to handle. I know they would just have looked at me without understanding what it meant to me. So instead of telling them I am posting it here to tell you guys as I know you will understand how I felt about it and why it was so important to me. It was like a revelation, a realisation. If you do not know what your loss feels like I would strongly recommend filling a bag with books to match the weight you have lost. If you are struggling or feeling like nothing is moving fast enough it is a real boost to realise how far you have already come and that it is ok to rest a while. Have a safe and happy 2010

ymjackson1's right about not keeping them around. If you have to travel to get a smoke then you can think on the way. and the lolli-pop thing just reminded me of something I'd almost forgotten... ...Chupa Chup sticks.... plastic and hollow so you can suck through them, those first deep fag drags of an irate smoker, the ones that calm you down and steady your nerves....deep breaths of oxygen through the pop stick will calm you too. sugar free ain't all it's cracked up to be though, depends what they use instead of sugar...951? I just used the normal ones but If you're on a pre-op diet now or once you're banded you'd better get the kids to eat the lolly for you and just save you the stick!! Shouldn't think you will be short of volunteers, or you could be super angelic and dentally aware and stick it in a glass of Water to let it dissolve. No sugar, no additives, no cavities, no dramas!! I am sure folks used to think I used them for sniffing coke or something!! I never left home without one, held them like smokes for ages and always had a spare one in my purse just in case I dropped it and it landed somewhere disgusting or it rolled down a crack in a pavement!! Now if only I could give up those pop sticks.....

I know what you're saying ...I smoked for 30 years and finally quit after 7 years of trying. I used to get through those first few days and then something would make me flip and I'd be back on it. The last time was pretty much the same but then I'd head for the shop and on the way there start thinking that I had done 3/5/7 or however many days and they were 3/5/7 bad days and I never wanted to have to do those same 3/5/7 days again. Finally worked out that going forward, as hard as it was at that particular moment, was still going to be a whole lot easier than going backwards and starting all over again. I ranted, raved, cried, cursed and went to bed as early as I could. Not fit company for man or beast!! I must have done that twice a day for three weeks before I finally left it behind. I've been a non smoker for 3 years now and I can't believe I ever was one. Good luck. It isn't easy but it's worth it in the end. My real kick in the ass motivation: After 3 days of not smoking, my young son kissed me at bed time and said "mummy, you don't smell bad anymore" Ouch, that hurt. How many kids you got?

Grilled chicken and whole wheat wrap sounds good. Good Protein, Low GI un-refined carbohydrates, fruit & veg, plenty of Water before, but not during or within an hour of a meal. A good Vitamin supplement and maybe some additional protein of some sort. No fizzy drinks or alcohol. That should about do it. There are no hard or fast rules but protein should be at the top of the list. Oh yes and of course don't forget to.... Cheer-up!! It's not the end of the world...more like the beginning!!

Don't panic about wanting to eat or eating the pizza, the band is a tool that assists in weightloss, it is not something that turns us into the most angelic eaters on the planet at the slick of a scalpel. The stuck feeling could be because you did not chew it long enough and it won't go through. It will either come back up or go down soon. I have heard that drinking/sipping pineapple juice is good for shifting blockages as it has digestive enzymes in it. If you can drink Water and it goes all the way down then it is probably not too dire. I had a piece of beef stuck for 3 days and when it finally shifted all I wanted was a bucket full of tea to drink... Don't waste emotional energy wringing your hands about eating pizza, just think about how it feels physically now and if it was really worth it. Ask yourself if it was a good choice or not.....and if you will feel the same next time you look at or smell pizza!! I suspect not.. Living with a band is a learning curve, as you get fills and restriction you will alter what you eat and with every day that passes you are learning and thinking about what you eat and working out what is and isn't a good idea. Dont' stress...just learn!! And if you are as human as the rest of us then this is probably the first of many times when you will ask yourself 'what the hell did I eat that for'.

Hi, I think you are ok. I felt no real restriction until after the second fill and now on my fourth I have really noticed a difference. Last fill I had to be careful as I ate to avoid getting anything stuck but I never felt over full. Now however that has changed. I have a couple of mouthfuls and I can tell that I am getting there. I am also not hungry until around 2pm. Stick with it. It has to go slow or you won't get used to it.

HI, these may be small cuts in size, but they are very deep and so the scar tissue is bound to be quite pronounced and thick. I am in Australia but I assume you can get this sort of thing in the UK too....gel type scar Patches that you put on each night and then take them off, rinse them under the tap and repeat the next night. These reduce the texture of scars. Have a chat with your local pharmacist or try Boots or something similar. They are quite expensive, but very effective and the ones we get can just be cut to size and re-used for 3-6 months. I was thinking the other day that there is going to be a whole generation of women with these 5 little scars. I don't really care how large the scars are, they are small compared to the emotional ones I was sustaining daily whilst morbidly obese.

Hi, we have a lot in common, so I will bore you with my pre-op strategy and give you my opinion ....I'm from WA too and I have PCOS with all the IR that goes with it. I had the PCOS as a youngster, was at dietitians from the age of 9 and always had the body hair thing and the un-predictable periods, heavy around the middle, low energy levels, hungry 2 hours before everyone else in the world etc. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 40. What a relief...what a waste.:biggrin: (Do you see a particular doctor for the PCOS? As far as I am aware there is only one in WA who treats it with both metformin and hormones to balance out the androgens excess). and then 2 years ago I had a major un-diagnosed thyroid collapse which left me with a TSH of 57-yes that is right!! I am 45, 138kgs 2 weeks before the op and 168 tall. BMI just touching on 50. When I had my op in August I only had time to do the Optifast for 2 weeks, I couldn't survive on that as the IR hunger pangs were horrible and made me feel like I was collapsing inwards. I researched livers function and asked my surgeon if I could supplement the optifast with the old 'cabbage Soup diet' soup. Know the one I mean? I was told that was fine. For 2 weeks I had 3 opti-fast shakes a day and in between each one I had a large, really large, bowl of the soup. Cooked it up every 3 days or so in the slow cooker. Didn't get hungry, lost weight and my liver was fine according to my surgeon. Any length of time on Optifast or 300 cals a day would likely send your body into starvation, slowed metabolic energy saving, mode anyway. Totally counter-productive. Research liver function on the net, find out what sort of food it processes and avoid it totally up to the op - I think it's Protein. So all of the veg like celary, cabbage, tomatoes, onions etc that go into the soup are ok. If I was you I would also be looking to get to Perth and see some of the other surgeons available, the one you are with sounds like he has very little understanding of the physical and emotional stress he is demanding you put your body through. I would think he has no idea how IR affects your hunger and the way you use or rather can't use the energy from the food you eat. Most docs dismiss PCOS and IR as figments of fat womens imaginations and excuses for being fat.:sad:

Air pressure varies with altitude so I think that would do it. The higher up you are the lower the air pressure and the liquid in your band would increase in volume and therefore increase the restriction. Temperature should not really affect it as it is internal and your bodies core temp varies very little.

It is probably the volume that is filling you up.

Pretty normal really. Can't change from devil to angel overnight!!!! Dont' beat yourself up over it. 'A little of what you fancy does you good'. But not if you spend the next week feeling guilty over it! I tend to have a few naughty things close to a fill, after a fill I have to be careful and am more aware of what I am doing. We went out for dinner last night as I am in for a fill on Thursday and that will be the end of naughtiness for the best part of a month. Regards

On the advice of a friend who was banded 12 months before me, I started taking Benefibre as soon as I got home from hospital and continued with it right up to the stage where I could eat normal food. I never had any problems with constipation and I think that was due to the fibre. So I would say that you are doing the right thing.

My understanding is that the only restriction you get initially is caused by the swelling of your stomach where the band has been attached, as this goes down you will probably be able to eat anything and everything, I know I could! This is the post op healing phase, your body needs good nutrition to help it heal and smaller quantities or slower eating so you do not get anything backing up and putting strain on the stitching holding the band in place. Make the most of this as when you start having fills that will all change. Maybe after the first or maybe after the second you should start to feel a change in your hunger at different times of the day and bread will probably become enemy No1!! As will anything else you pop in your mouth and swallow absent mindedly without chewing properly. Restriction is gradually increased with each fill and as it does you need to learn at each step of the way what you can and can't eat. Restriction also usually falls off a couple of weeks after a fill at first until the fat pad surrounding your stomach, and therefore under the band, has gone. Then restriction should last longer. Don't panic, don't rush. It will all start to happen soon. For now make the most of knowing you are on the first step of the journey.

I would go for the liquid diet and some good foods too. Sounds like your metabolism has slowed down and an increase in quantity intake will reassure it that you are not in a famine situation and it should relax the panic energy-conserving mode your body has probably gone into . The low cal liquid diets are high in Protein and have lots of Vitamins and trace elements in, combine it with some good food choices and it should give you a jump start.

All carbohydrates are not equal!!! Processed and refined carbs are the bad ones, Sugar, Flour etc. Un-processed or complex carbs are low GI and are digested slowly without triggering the glucose spike and excess un-usable glucose in the blood that is responsible for the weight gain associated with PCOS as well as the low energy levels. Carbohydrate is a very important part of any diet and should not be omitted. Reducing carbs too far will slow your metabolic rate futher. Good quality carbs are what you should be eating. Low GI is the way to go. Pick low GI carbs, good quality Protein and good fats. These are all important for gaining and maintaining good health. Stay away from the empty calories provided by junk food and drink. Keep taking Metformin, if you are on it, and slowly build up the exercise, one step at a time, and all should go well. ....that's my opinion and everyone is welcome to it...no charge.

The pre-op diet is designed to shrink your liver which processes fat and carbs. I had 3 Optifast a day and 3 bowls of the Heart Diet cabbage soup with concentrated mint sauce to add a 'yum factor'. Checked it was ok with my surgeon first. I got through 6 x 6 litre crock pots of it in 2 weeks!! No hunger. Easy peasy, shrunk my liver a treat with no side effects apart from feeling now squeemish when I see cabbage or celery!!

The idea is to be relly gentle and nice to your stomach until all the trauma caused by the op has healed. So I think the best policy is to have little and often. Thin liquids will pass straight through...this is good.:tongue2: Anything that has a thicker consistancy will take longer to pass through and 'back up' in the small pouch. This will obviously put pressure on the newly positioned band and the stitches that hold it in place....this would not be a good thing. :wink2: Hope this is helpful.

That pain sounds familiar...I have found that if I am unable to swallow something or have something 'stuck' that if I then drink anything on top of it I get a horrible chest pain, it brings tears to my eyes and is very painful, I think it is the pressure on the sides of my oesophagus from the liquid being 'backed up' and unable to enter my stomach. The liquid eventually comes back up very forcefully and then the pain is relieved. My understanding of this whole process is that if it is painful or you are unable to keep anything down then either you have an obstruction with something stuck or are too tight and need a slight unfill. I have had a couple of temporary blockages that lasted a day or so but nothing that did not eventually resolve itself with peppermint and papaya digestaid and lots of pineapple juice sipping and heaps of slime appearing!! Oh that's a point...if you have 'slime' coming up then it is probably something a little stuck. No slime and I would have thought it something else. I could only guess at what that something else was as at this time it is outside my experiences. Hope you work it out soon though, does not sound comfortable.

Hello Australian bandsters I was banded in Perth Wednesday 05/09 and have used this site as my major source of info and support since I decided to go along this path to get my life back. I have been trying to get my profile to show me as Australian. The darn thing won't let me register without an American State!:tt2: Can anyone out there let me know how I should go about registering, rejoining the forum or whatever so that I am listed as an Aussie?:wink::confused::crying: Thanks a heap Jalomum