So I got banded over two months ago, on June 5th. I got my first fill Aug 2nd, and since then I have been stuck around 10 times. I'm trying to figure out if its the food I'm eating, the size of the bites I'm taking, or if its something else.

Let me work backwards... and I know I have made mistakes, I have chastized myself enough, so y'all don't need to point my errors out, I feel bad enough!

I am a high school teacher, with no breaks from 6:45 until 12 (lunch). Yesterday I was selling Krispy Kreme donuts and there was one left. I haven't had a donut in about 4 months and around 10:30 I could NOT stop myself, even though I tried. I ate half the donut, started to feel tight and nauceous, and I barely made it to the bathroom before the donut came up.

Wednesday I was having tuna on crackers for lunch, and after two crackers I had to take a ten minute break before I could eat again, and I was in a lot of pain. I didn't throw up thankfully, but I was close.

Tuesday our electricity went out (98 degrees at 8 pm) so my husband and I went to eat Mexican. I didn't eat any chips (go me!) but I had refried Beans and one enchilada. I took a bite of the enchilada, forgot who I was and drank some Water. I felt like death, and had to run to the toilet.

Monday for Breakfast I had turkey bacon, three pieces and some oatmeal. I couldnt eat but half the cup of oatmeal but after the second piece of bacon I was throwing up what little I did eat.

This goes on an on, most of the time I'm only feeling like this once a day, but sometimes it will happen at breakfast and dinner, or lunch and dinner. I am losing weight, four pounds since the fill, so I'm willing to continue to get stuck, or throw up if I can keep losing, but I dont want to hurt my band or make long term problems for myself.

It's what your eating! No donuts! No tortillas! No crackers! These things are all going to expand when they hit your stomach. Eat slower. Chew more! It's easier said than done, but it is a necessity.

PattyGirl' date='

A few things to clear up... I dont have any small breaks. I am on the clock, with students in front of me from 6:45 until 11:50ish. I have 5 minutes in between classes but teachers are to be in the hallways during this time, so its not a break. I am going to talk to my principal about my surgery (As of right now only one other teacher knows) and see if she will give me a free pass to eat a snack around 9.

My lunch is always prepared from home, as I only have 22 minutes to eat every day. Even if I wanted to, I would not have enough time to go pick something up or even walk to the cafeteria and get the oh so wonderful school lunch. I do not pack Snacks in my lunch since I can't eat them anyway.

My surgeon is the top ranked surgeon in the southeast. His awards are all over his wall, plus he has offices in multiple states, and give seminars to other doctors on how to perform the surgery. I am looking for a new doctor who gives fills more freely, but not until my three months is up since I get three months of free doctor visits and fills. Oh and the only true direction my doctor gave me was 30 grams of fat a day. Not all doctors give their patients guidelines 'to follow to a tee.'[/quote']

I totally understand! I teach elementary students and the workroom is always full of treats! It can be overwhelming! This may sound gross but I will admit that I have chewed a donut and then spit it in the trash! I knew I couldn't swallow it but oh how I wanted to taste a donut again. I also had a top doc that was horrible. Trust me- find a new dr that will work with you on fills. A tiny amount - .2ccs can make the difference between success and failure.

I have no idea how much fill I get, my doctor does not believe it is important for the patient to know such things. (To see how AWESOME my doctor is, read my last two threads)

My doctor threw a fit about giving me my first fill because I had only lost 20 pounds in 8 weeks, and his words I was not taking this 10,000 dollar surgery seriously. I basically had to beg him to give me any sort of fill, so I REALLY don't want to call him and ask him to take some out.

One of the biggest issues I have is my new work schedule. I leave for work at 5:45, but lunch isn't until almost noon. Our school has a STRICT no food policy in the classroom, for teachers and students, and I try to be a role model for my kids, so Im making a huge effort not to eat anything in front of them, although I do drink Water. Our lunch break is only 22 minutes, so I know I am stuffing my face with my lunch as fast as I can. Im going to have to make a huge effort to take my time in between bites and savor my food.

Your doctor threw a fit over only 20 lbs lost in 8 weeks?! That's 2.5 lbs/week, and the average with the band is 1-2 lbs/week, so in my opinion, you're doing great, and he needs to chill.

I too have a job that allows me only a very short break (usually 15 minutes). There is no way I could safely eat solid food in such a short amount of time. You may have to sip on a Protein shake (unless it's in a clear beverage container, who's going to know it isn't water?) so you don't get too hungry by lunch time, and stick with pureed foods at lunch time.

Also, as others have said, going on eating after a stuck episode is a bad idea. It perpetuates a cycle of stuck-irritation-more stuck-more irritation-worse stuck-worse irritation. Give your innards a break by doing liquids for 24 hours, and do NOT go back to eating when you have a stuck episode.

If you're in the Memphis area, and your surgeon is an arrogant a**hole, I think I know who he is (his initials are G.W.) and I strongly suggest that you consider transferring to another surgeon, such as Dr. Virginia Weaver at St. Francis Hospital. I have never heard a single positive word about your doc. Dr. Weaver, on the other hand, is an excellent surgeon and a patient, compassionate person with a great support staff.

eat small, chew big and go slow

I absolutely love this!! I think this will be my new motto, if that is OK with you!!

If you're in the Memphis area, and your surgeon is an arrogant a**hole, I think I know who he is (his initials are G.W.) and I strongly suggest that you consider transferring to another surgeon, such as Dr. Virginia Weaver at St. Francis Hospital. I have never heard a single positive word about your doc. Dr. Weaver, on the other hand, is an excellent surgeon and a patient, compassionate person with a great support staff.

Jean, while I am in this early in the game i agree that it is very important to have an understanding compassionate surgeon,one who actually listens. Because NO one knows your body better than you do. I also have chosen one of the best surgeons in New Jersey who have 4 bariatric surgeons available.If I don't get the head huncho, I know I will always get one out of the 4 who will be there for me and listen. Not to mention the excellent staff who caters to me every time I call or visit. I think this is a huge part of being a successful weight loss pateint.

I believe that many of us do not know or understand how to eat with our bands for many months post surgery. I'm still learning. I think I was to tight for about 6 weeks and got a .25 unfill. That seemed to do the trick but it's still a struggle to eat small, chew big and go slow. If you think you aren't doing those three things, and from what you posted, you may be the problem and the solution. You're in great company because so many of us took months to learn this.

tmf

Thats the beauty of this site, we are all always there for eachother no matter what! Through the good bad and ugly...

PattyGirl,

A few things to clear up... I dont have any small breaks. I am on the clock, with students in front of me from 6:45 until 11:50ish. I have 5 minutes in between classes but teachers are to be in the hallways during this time, so its not a break. I am going to talk to my principal about my surgery (As of right now only one other teacher knows) and see if she will give me a free pass to eat a snack around 9.

My lunch is always prepared from home, as I only have 22 minutes to eat every day. Even if I wanted to, I would not have enough time to go pick something up or even walk to the cafeteria and get the oh so wonderful school lunch. I do not pack Snacks in my lunch since I can't eat them anyway.

My surgeon is the top ranked surgeon in the southeast. His awards are all over his wall, plus he has offices in multiple states, and give seminars to other doctors on how to perform the surgery. I am looking for a new doctor who gives fills more freely, but not until my three months is up since I get three months of free doctor visits and fills. Oh and the only true direction my doctor gave me was 30 grams of fat a day. Not all doctors give their patients guidelines 'to follow to a tee.'

I really think you have to find another surgeon. I was given a full and complete plan 'before' my surgery. It is about as thick as small book and outlines everything I should be eatting from stage 1 through stage 5. Including menus on the back.

No one is perfect, we all make mistakes.. I am very early on and do not know a lot, I have joined this forum back in December and learn from others, its really does put things into perspective. I am sure I too will make mistakes down the road. Right now I am very much scared of my band,and do follow my surgeons rules as I hope that I will always do, but like I said we are all only human and will make mistakes.

I wish you the best of luck, you have come to the right place for moral support, guidiance, and encourangement. I for one think you are doing a great job with your weight loss!

-Patty

Jean, you were right about my surgeon! He told me I wasted 10k on my surgery because I obviously wasn't taking it seriously as I only lost 20 lbs by my first fill. I have lost 6 pounds since then, so I feel successful, yet gross due to my constant throwing up.

I know the donut was wrong, but my doctor actually told me to eat crackers in small amounts. In fact it was in the 6 week plan I recieved. (I did get menu options for weeks 1 through 6, but after the 6th week I was pretty much on my own and only told to stick to 30 grams of fat a day, I didn't even know not to eat 4 hours before a fill or 24 hours after!)

I am going to try Dr. Weaver for my next fill, I just wonder if she has to call G.W. for my records and if he will willingly send them to her.

Maybe he just doesn't want to waste his precious skills and time with free fills so he's a complete and total ass??? I didn't like my doc either (although you doc makes mine sound great!) so every one of my fills was by his nurse practitioner, loved her to death! But not a problem for me any more obviously!

Jean, you were right about my surgeon! He told me I wasted 10k on my surgery because I obviously wasn't taking it seriously as I only lost 20 lbs by my first fill. I have lost 6 pounds since then, so I feel successful, yet gross due to my constant throwing up.

I know the donut was wrong, but my doctor actually told me to eat crackers in small amounts. In fact it was in the 6 week plan I recieved. (I did get menu options for weeks 1 through 6, but after the 6th week I was pretty much on my own and only told to stick to 30 grams of fat a day, I didn't even know not to eat 4 hours before a fill or 24 hours after!)

I am going to try Dr. Weaver for my next fill, I just wonder if she has to call G.W. for my records and if he will willingly send them to her.

Crackers are crunchy and in small amounts, don't have the icky-sticky-gummy potential of a donut to clog things up in there.

If G.W. refuses to send Dr. Weaver your records, he is breaking the law. As long as you sign a waiver, he is legally obliged to give copies of your records to her as well as to you. But I wouldn't worry about that, because it's very unlikely that he's the one that's going to make copies of your records and send them to Dr. Weaver. And if she calls his office wanting to speak to him about you, he's probably going to treat her with more respect than he does his patients, because we're all lowly slugs, while she at least has MD after her name.

Dr. Weaver is extremely busy and her partner doesn't do bands, so you may have to wait a while for an appointment with her. Also, you'll probably have to pay a patient transfer fee, but it'll be worth it, I promise you.

^{some palces change for records- crazy but true,, just do your homework before you pull out- and we all BLOW it sooner or later,,, its a life time of changes. Since we got off the bottle or breast we have ate one way,,, so for me 58 yrs I must NOW change,,, whewwww, but Ill get there n so will you!}