I was banded last Tues. and I am able to swallow pills or eat anything with absolutely no problem. Is this normal? I realize I have no fill, but I feel absolutely no restriction and am quite hungry. I have skipped from liquids and pureeds to solid foods with absolutely no problem. Is this normal? Somehow I thought I would know the band was there, but I don't. Except for the soreness I would never know I had it in there. Has anyone else been able to eat anything they wanted or suffered from hunger. I only ate once today, but I don't think what I ate was on my menu in any way, shape or form. Any help would be appreciated.

Where is this any different that what HootieBell said to Doty??:cry

There is a world of difference between these two people. 3 Loves I adore...the other is on ignore and was merely being a smark alec. Easy enough to ignore those that know no better, and it is done.

Betina, go back and read that post again if you will. Perhaps you will pick up what the rest of us did from it.

FOr what its worth: pills should be crushed forever even if you can swallow them. That's the advice my doctor gave. Why? Pills can sit in the small pouch just like food. They can start to dissolve and then can/could irritate the stomach pouch. If you crush them they will enter the larger stomach quicker and be gone. .

Just quick remeinder that not all pills should be crushed, especially if they are a time release pill, or if they have a special coating. If you arn't sure, plase speak with your pharmasist!

I just make sure I follow my pills with a large glass of Water to wash them out and down.

Be safe and be kind!

oops I guess I should have mentioned time released medications. I also said in that quote above that I wasn't sure what was truth and untruth. It is just what my doctor said to do always.

FOr what its worth: pills should be crushed forever even if you can swallow them. That's the advice my doctor gave. Why? Pills can sit in the small pouch just like food. They can start to dissolve and then can/could irritate the stomach pouch. If you crush them they will enter the larger stomach quicker and be gone. Thus no irritation.

I don't know what is true. However, I am crushing my meds for safekeeping. Many of them I can swallow with no problem. I just choose not to.

Good luck in your journey.

ANY drug that says SR (sustained release) or ER (extended release) or time released should NEVER be crushed. Different MD's will advise patients to either crush or swallow their pills. Bottom line? Do what your MD tells you to do and follow the directions on the medication. Also, anything enteric coated is NOT to be crushed as it is meant to dissolve in the small intestine and NOT the stomach.

Elizabeth, I asked this question in another thread. I take no meds that are time release and can swallow all others fine. Is it OK to swallow them if you can. I guess that is my question. Someone said "you should always crush them" and I don't know if there is a reason for this or not. My dr. told me I would be taking my meds with no trouble down the road. I can take them with no trouble now, but not sure if I'm doing the right thing. I have liquid pain med and the rest of my meds are not time release. Do you think it is OK to simply swallow them. I haven't found anything good that crushed pills taste good in yet

Dody,

The someone was me that said to always crush. I gave you the reason my doctor's office gives. I'm sorry I even contributed to this thread. Just do what you want or what your doctor says. That's what is best for everyone - just follow your own doctor's instructions.

There is a world of difference between these two people. 3 Loves I adore...the other is on ignore and was merely being a smark alec. Easy enough to ignore those that know no better, and it is done.

Betina, go back and read that post again if you will. Perhaps you will pick up what the rest of us did from it.

Okee Dokee Dody thanks for the heads up....as a newbie here it looked like 3Loves was slamming Hootiebell for the same thing she was saying....seemed biased to me. I actually thought they were both being mean to you (I didn't see it until you pointed it out- I thought it was the colon cleanse room all over again...*snickering* ) I guess private jokes might be better sent privately so not to be misconstrewed.

My aplogies to you and to 3Loves:hug: ......I hope you see where I was coming from! My bad:o .

Elizabeth, I asked this question in another thread. I take no meds that are time release and can swallow all others fine. Is it OK to swallow them if you can. I guess that is my question. Someone said "you should always crush them" and I don't know if there is a reason for this or not. My dr. told me I would be taking my meds with no trouble down the road. I can take them with no trouble now, but not sure if I'm doing the right thing. I have liquid pain med and the rest of my meds are not time release. Do you think it is OK to simply swallow them. I haven't found anything good that crushed pills taste good in yet

I don't think there's consensus on this issue and doubt there ever will be. As an RN, I do know it's dangerous to crush time released, sustained release, enteric coated and extended release medications and that's why I felt I needed to contribute to this thread.

Everyone needs to discuss how to take their medications with their MD. Someone posted here that you can NEVER take NSAIDS (motrin, etc.) if you are banded. That's not true. I have severe arthritis and the surgeon simply added Nexium once a day so I could take Aleve twice a day with meals.

After 3 fills, I have had no problems with getting medications down and take pills 3 times a day. So, it seems the best advice is the advice of one's individual surgeon. I mean no disrespect when I disagree with someone else's post but as an RN, I feel I have a responsibility to interject when someone gives concrete advice that is not true as in the case of crushing ALL medications. All or nothing rules rarely exist.

Thanks for the help Elizabeth. I appreciate it.

Okee Dokee Dody thanks for the heads up....as a newbie here it looked like 3Loves was slamming Hootiebell for the same thing she was saying....seemed biased to me. I actually thought they were both being mean to you (I didn't see it until you pointed it out- I thought it was the colon cleanse room all over again...*snickering* ) I guess private jokes might be better sent privately so not to be misconstrewed.

My aplogies to you and to 3Loves:hug: ......I hope you see where I was coming from! My bad:o .

3 Loves is one of the most liked people on here and would never slam anyone. On the other hand the other person is a whole nother ballgame which I don't want to get into to.

Thank you though for your concern.

dont let it fool you , i had my band done on may 27 and by the time i got back home on the 30th of may i felt like i was invincible.Now almost 2 months later i am having lost of trouble .I started the atkins diet as soon as i could and had lots of success , on the 4th of july i began to feel irritated after i began to eat . Then as the weekend progressed it got worse by the week of the 10 i was back to a liquid diet .I spoke with my doctor in mexico he told me my stomach was swollen .So i am back on a liquid diet ,and feeling better maby a week or two more i can start introducing mushed up foods back into my diet . The whole idea of this post is to tell you that do what the dr tells you .stay on the liquids for the allotted time and such , i didnt and i am paying the price .I have lost a good bit of weight , i dont know how much because i had over 200 lbs to lose , so i am not that worried about how much i have lost yet . I have a cruise in september and i will weigh before the cruise ......

I a sticking to what the dr. said except for one little "glitch". I don't feel invincible at all, just lucky to be able to swallow pills. I am lucky I have a dr. and nursing staff that call every few days and answer all questions. I have been told to break the tablets if they are bigger than a pencil eraser and otherwise not worry. I will be seeing my dr. in a few weeks again and perhaps I will see a big difference after a fill. I'm kind of playing this day by day as I have no experience to go by. I hope you get to feeling lots better and your cruise goes well. My dr. merely switched me more to the mushy phase to see how it works out, although a cup is all I can eat even without a fill. I just feel like I coud eat most "anything" is what I meant, but my tummy won't hold more than a cup. Thanks for the good advice and lots of luck to you.

Excuse me I have had enough of the HOOTIEBELLE BASHING...... telll you what see what I post and see what she posts and see why I would ever be called a whole other ball game ....does anyone wish to see the mean PM sent to me by Dody?????? I have hardley even posted in the time I have had tthe account!!!!! I don't think it is in the LBT rules to do this to me.........

54 posts since MAY yeah I am really working overtime

Hey Dody,

I know where you are coming from. Even after having spent a couple of months on here reading posts and doing research before getting my band, I guess I really expected to feel something majorly different after my surgery. But, after the first week of healing got past, I began to wonder if there really was a band in there. Until I had my first fill, I could eat anything I wanted, and as much of it as I wanted. I was really nervous that I had blown a ton of money! But, everything has changed since getting my first fill. Now, there are so many things I can no longer eat. (my, I miss bread, cheese, corn, etc.). But, it is so worth it because since I got my fill I have been losing 2 pounds a week.

As far as meds, though, I haven't had any problem getting any of mine down. I am not super restricted right now though, and am planning to go for my second fill next week, so that may change after that.

I just wanna contribute that time release pills are NOT to be crushed, thats just common sense.. I dont care if a doctor says its ok or not..

when you crush them you destroy the time release and you get your whole dose at once. IF thats morphine or somthing.. it can kill you..

BE carefull what you crush!

I take about 8 to 12 pills a day and I have had the band for 16 months and I dont crush and I dont think they stay in my pouch either.. I do chope them up though sometimes if I feel too tight.. (NOT the time released ones)

Since I had the band I went from 6 vicodan a day to MAYBE two a day...

I DONT know why..

I am not afffected any different on alcohal..

BUt something about how the medication sits in the pouch, ... MAY make sense.. I dunno?