BetsyB

First, happy birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day! I've handled celebration meals pretty much like every other meal: I eat the portion of the meal that works for me, leave the rest behind, and focus on my family and conversation :bored: It gets SO SO SO much easier when you have restriction. You really do reach the point where your mind doesn't want the stuff you "shouldn't" have---when you're satisfied, then it's just so much simpler to say, "No thanks."

It sounds like you have swelling caused by a stuck episode (the vomiting). When this happens to me, I have learned NOT to eat---but to focus on fluids. Once the swelling goes down, I add eating back in. Sip, sip, sip continuously. If you can't get enough Fluid in to produce pale yellow urine, call your doctor. If you think you have already become dehydrated, call your doctor, describe what's going on, and let him/her know, with as much specificity as possible, what your intake and output has been today. Chances are, you're not at the point where you require IV fluids--but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

A couple of caveats: if you go into the surgery with realistic expectations, you may well avoid buyer's remorse. The regrets associated with banding seem to be associated with unrealistic goals. And you can lose significantly before you achieve restriction. It will be the last time you experience hunger in the name of weight loss, and some of us find it less frustrating to really watch what we eat during this time. It feels like dieting (because, well, it is dieting!) ....but it also helps us feel like we haven't had surgery for naught. It's a personal choice (often driven by doctor-recommended eating regimen)---but know that it is a choice that is in your hands. You can modify your behavior so that you lose even when you do not yet have adequate restriction. Doing this has the added bonus of really getting you in "practice" for the eating behaviors required with restriction.

I feel like a kid on Christmas, too--isn't it great?! Please don't worry about exercising increasing your hunger/appetite too much. I haven't found it to be the case at all. If anything, I have the psychological don't-want-to-undo-my-hard-work thing going on. Exercise will, however, buy you some leeway in terms of how much you can eat and still lose effectively :thumbup:

Yep, sounds like the turkey got stuck. It may have moved through--after I have a stuck episode, swelling increases my restriction for a good day or so. I lack the patience for stuck episodes; I make myself throw up. It's not violent, it's just gentle regurgitation of the offending food. The quicker it gets out, for me, the less swelling I have. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to accept that, after this happens, I really can't attempt solid foods for 24 hours or so. Fortunately, it does not happen frequently.

What are you eating?

Monkeymama is right on target. The blood tests are nonspecific, and the most likely culprit for their abnormalities in a woman who's losing weight is the gall bladder. It used to be common practice for surgeons to remove the gall bladder at the time of banding, for this very reason. However, increased infection rates have pretty much put an end to that practice. Good luck!

Surgeons' bedside manners sometimes are lacking. A person may be brilliant in the operating room, but lack social skills. Just like anyone else. Chances are, he expected someone else in his sphere to have educated you regarding what to expect from your fill. I wouldn't assume that you're "being played." Very few people feel noticeable restriction from their first fill. And the month-long wait between appointments? It seems that the standard, or as close as can be considered a standard in this every-doctor-has-a-slightly-different-protocol world, is six weeks between fills. So, you come out a little ahead on that. It would be nice if all doctors took the time to explain things like this---but they don't. Even mine, who is wonderful, didn't tell me about bandster hell, I don't think. Luckily, I've been in this forum since well before surgery. You are, too. You know, from reading here, that restriction is rarely achieved with the first fill. So you're in a far better spot than the patients of your boorish doctor who leave the office perplexed. I am sorry you did not have the experience you expected. But don't assume the worst.

I was unable to get on for several hours yesterday morning.

Whew! I'm glad it's just noise, not pain!

Check with your doctor if you're not sure, but in general, binders are a comfort measure, and can be removed, at least periodically, to increase your comfort. It sounds as though yours does give you good support and comfort---but I wonder whether, during the hours when you're not up and around, it would be okay to give your skin a break from it. I'd give the doc a call.

Don't worry. The port is usually a little above or below the incision. The scar won't get in the way. It's common not to be able to feel the port at first. It becomes more prominent as you lose weight. I promise, your doctor will be able to find it for a fill!

Liquids and mushy foods bypass the band pretty effectively. They sneak past it, and the stomach empties faster. The band is designed to slow the passage of solid food from the upper portion of the stomach. So, you are likely to achieve far greater satisfaction from solid foods. I won't address the calorie issue, except to say that yes--it is a very low calorie diet. Whether this is appropriate for you is something you should discuss with your doctor or nutritionist. Were you told to stick in this range?

IMO, Inspire is hands-down the best. OTOH, you'll want to check with your doctor. Mine does NOT consider it (or any of the powders) to be suitable for the clear liquid diet. Depending on how long you have to be on it, you may not need Protein (during that phase); I was only on Clear Liquids for 3 days, so it was not an issue. Isopure isn't awful IF you pour it into a Water bottle that has a sports cap. As long as you don't smell it while you drink it, it's not half bad. But Inspire is light-years better, if your doctor okays it.

And yes---you're right. There is more than a respiratory risk. Smoking does interfere with wound healing, too---because of the blood vessel constriction you've mentioned. That reverses fairly rapidly after smoking cessation.

I understand that you're just a social smoker. If you choose to do so less than four weeks prior to surgery, you increase your risk of respiratory complication. Your risk may not be as high as an habitual smoker, but you can't justify the risk away. It's there, and it's real.

By "screaming," do you mean making a lot of noise, or do you mean that you're in pain? If the latter, give your doctor a call; you should not be in tremendous pain. If the former, well---there is lots of new noise. But a lot of it has to do with how much air you gulp in when you eat. Are you eating very slowly? Taking small bites and chewing thoroughly? Avoiding Fluid during meals (and drinking them without a straw when you do drink)? Avoiding carbonation? These things help tone down the bellychatter :thumbdown:

It's true that Protein is vital. However, it is NOT the primary concern immediately postop. Part of the reason preop diets focus so much on protein is to allow for some "down time" immediately postop. If you're very concerned, call your doctor. S/he will likely reassure you that, this soon after surgery, it is not something you need to worry about. You will soon have no trouble getting the protein you need in.

Shad, my orthopedist would blow a gasket if I told him I was thinking about running. They really prefer people to be closer to goal---the added stress from excess weight is hard on joints. But I'm already walking for miles and miles each day---I have to shake something up! Karen, plateaus are SO frustrating. Try to relax. You're doing all the right things--you just have to ride it out. Your body is just getting used to there being less of you, that's all. It will figure it out and let the weight come off again--truly. Leigha, my band is fickle, too. It's tricky, having to listen so closely to it each day. But it does keep me on my toes. No such thing as complacency around these parts!

My daughter just told me she's doing C25k this summer---and I astounded myself by agreeing to do it with her. Not sure my body will like the runner's gait (ortho issues), but I'm willing to give it a try! Jacki, your poem is awesome :thumbdown:

I have 7.3 ccs in an 11-cc Realize band. I'm approaching restriction, but am not quite there yet. It sounds as though we're in the same boat!

Your body may be telling you, "Feed me MORE before 4 p.m.!" Really, if you fall apart in the evening, it may be that you've had too little to eat during the day. "Feeding" the sugar cravings with fiber plus bars may actually perpetuate them.

I love the concept of these gadgets, but unless tracking your sleep is important to you, it doesn't seem to give any more information than a good pedometer (like an Omron). The body bugg measures a variety of things to determine calorie burn. I couldn't find information that indicated that the fitbit does much more than count steps and, from that information, extrapolate an approximate calorie burn. You can do that by using a pedometer. Or even by typing in how long you've exercised into a program like fitday (for free).

Fluoroscopy allows doctors to be a bit more aggressive with fills, in terms of amounts added, because they can see if there is over-restriction. However, there's really only so much you can add to the band at one time without risking problems from tissue swelling. Your doctor watched, today, to make sure that Fluid was able to move through your band. But he likely did not have any intention of taking you close to restriction; to do so would be risky, in terms of swelling. In subsequent fillings, you may be taken right to the edge of restriction---or even all the way there---only to find that it recedes over time. It can take a while to get restriction that "sticks." My fills are all done with fluoroscopy. I've had 3, and didn't feel significant restriction until my third. For most of us, it's a slow process. Luckily, you've started that process now, and are a step closer to where you want to be! (Don't be surprised if tomorrow, you feel a little tighter than today. You may not, but it's a possibility.)

A snack is fine. Note the emphasis on a snack--not multiple Snacks. Delay it until it's late enough in the evening that you'll be asleep before you need another. I agree that it should give you a bang for the nutritional buck---a protein-rich snack mid-evening is a good idea.