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Empty but restricted



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Soooo... I'm 4 months post op (11/04/15) and although per my nutritionist and surgeon I'm cleared to eat regular textures, I can't. I'm so frustrated with eating and chewing everything till mush. I haven't had a hot meal since I got banded. By the time I chew something up my food is cold and is even less appetizing. I'm so restricted it's depressing. Everything gets stuck . Big or small, liquid or solid...it gets stuck. My band is empty. I've never been adjusted. ..no need. I'm restricted just with the band placement. A meal should be between 4-6 oz but I'm stuck at about 2. I can keep fluids down but it takes forever to eat or drink anything. I saw my surgeon and he says that my band does appear to be tight but he can't empty it. There's nothing to remove. I admit that at times I still eat 2 fast or don't chew enough but whether I do or not everything gets stuck. I stick to Protein Shakes, yogurt and other soft stuff at work cause I can't run off to vomit every few minutes till the blockage is gone. Which brings me to the wicked acid reflux. GERD sucks. On a lighter note...I'm down 57lbs.

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I don't know if it would be a solution for you, but have you discussed with the surgeon the possibility of switching to a larger-capacity band?

My experience was different, but it may have some relevance. I had a 10cc band installed empty and I felt fine for the rest of the day. My medical plan required an overnight. Next morning, during the routine esophagram, I was unable to tolerate the barium; no drop of liquid would go down and trying was painful. My surgeon had me stay in-hospital so that I could be on IV. Her idea was to wait a little while in case the problem was swelling. With no improvement, we were back in the OR on day #4 to switch for a 14cc band. That solved the problem.

Again, I have no idea whether this might be a solution for you.

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That may be an option. I really don't know what to do. The goal with this surgery is to aid in weight loss but not through malnutrition or starvation. He's satisfied with the fact that I can still keep liquids down so I can get my nutrition through my Protein shakes and I can stay hydrated but my quality of life sucks. The only thing he could offer me was that he agrees that the band is tight but there's nothing to remove and that he thinks if I lost a little bit more weight it would help. I still have some fat around that area that will go away giving the band more room to expand on its own but if I continue with these eating issues he recommends removal

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    • LeighaTR

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      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

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      · 1 reply
      1. Selina333

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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