Hey guys...

Went for my first fill today, I was all excited and as you can probably tell, it didnt go all that well :thumbup:

The doctor said that he was worried at how much i was vomiting and the amount of different foods that were getting stuck (i thought all of this was normal post op but apprently not...) so he wants me to wait a little while and make sure all of this stops before he fills my band. :tt2:

I'm really dissapointed because i was really looking forward to my first fill, and my next phase of banding, but now i have to wait another two weeks, and if its still not better by then, i have to wait ANOTHER 4 weeks, (because the doc is going on hols:rolleyes2:)....

Plus im sooo hungry atm....a think a fill would have come in handy!

*sighs* oh well, not to worry!

HI Aus_girl.

I can understand your disappointment. However the doc would have had a couple of valid reasons for not wanting to fill you. You are only 5 weeks post op and there's still healing to be done there. Perhaps there's irritation there due to all the vomiting etc? That cannot be good for the healing process. You don't say how much you vomited or had food stuck, but it would ring alarm bells to me. That is definately not normal. It begs the question that perhaps you may not be chewing your food until it almost dissolves in your mouth, it could be that you are eating too quickly or perhaps the wrong things. Have you seen a dietician?

The doc is doing the right thing by you, not for him. You are paying him for that privilege and while it is a huge downer, he knows best. I know you understand this although you don't want to hear this right now.

I could suggest that you have a few days off the solid food and go back to mushies until the vomiting settles down a bit. I know you are hungry, I know it I have been in bandster hell (and still I sometimes go through it depending on the day!) but you have to stick with the rules to make this work.

As a general rule, I don't eat anything until lunch time. I have a cuppacino and a Sanitarium Up-and-Go for Breakfast, I have tuna, avo and mayo for lunch and for dinner some Protein and a salad. This is pretty much every day for me. 8 weeks post op, I have not once PB'd nor has anything stuck.

Consider changing what you are eating to give your body something different. Even if it's a Soup or porridge for one of your meals, I am sure if your band is having some difficulties, that it will be relieved to have something slip through it rather than get stuck.

I feel for you, but remember this is a slow process. You loss in 5 weeks is staggering, you should be proud of that, and keep building on that success. Things will improve - I am sure.

Hugs

I know we all want results NOW NOW NOW, but your surgeon has your best interests at heart in doing this. I didn't vomit/PB until I was TOO tight with fills months and months after surgery, so it sounds like he's doing the right thing. The best thing you can do is try to be patient, as hard as it may be. This is a life time commitment and you will get there if you are committed! In the mean time, we are here for support!

Hi Danni, sorry for your disappointment. I am an impatient kind of gal also, but when its an important long term thing such as this, you have to put yourself in the good hands of the doc.

You were banded just a few weeks before me. I'm still on mushies - haven't had any problem getting anything down as yet. I'm due to my first fill in 2 weeks.

I wonder, what kind of foods are you eating that you find are getting stuck or causing you to vomit?

well today I was to have my first fill and well ... I too walked out dissapointed and disgusted!!!!

we had some dificulty finding the port, didn't bother me, we agreed on me getting my first fill in consultation with an x-ray, but what concerned me was the full syringe of gunk that he extracted from a haematoma between my port and abdomen wall.

Rest for 10 days, x-ray, fill, then catch up with him in a few weeks.

hungry too ... going to intoroduce something a bit more than mush, but I could do without eating any more potato if anyone has any ideas!

hey all!!

Thanks very much for all your kind words :rolleyes2:

The doctor too thought at firs tthat i was eating too much/ wrong foods/ too quickly...but i assured him that i am eating 1 cup of food three times a day as directed by my dietitian, and he said that was small meals so that wasnt it. I took it upon myself (which probably wasnt a good thing to do anyway..) to not move on to the next stage, which is solids because i honestly didnt think i was ready for them...i mean my mushies are quite firm, but im not eating whole chicken or anything like that yet...My diet primarly consists of Yogurt and maybe some grapes in the morning...Lunch is generally fish and mashed sweet potato, and then dinner is generally fish again, or chicken mince, with mashed potato or Pasta...At the moment im struggling to eat things like tomato, carrot, egg, rice (which was expected) umm chicken...but mostly carrot for some bizarre reason...

I think i was just in a bad mood after that appt. I realise now that he has done it for a reason, and thanks again for all your support!!!

I'm not sure I understand your problem, Aus girl. You say you are hungry but you are struggling to eat even soft foods and PB'ing/sliming regularly? If you are already so tight AND you are losing weight so quickly (you've done REALLY well!), why would you want another fill? It will only make the PB'ing and sliming even worse!

I think you'll find that you will continue to feel hungry as long as you are sticking to the soft foods - you need to take in solid, high fibre food for the band to work properly. The only way to do that when you are so tight is to take extremely small bites and chew those absolutely thoroughly, waiting between each bite. I know you said you already do this but how small is small to you? How thorough is thorough? How long do you wait?

I know I had trouble imagining how small the bites needed to be, so I asked around on this forum before I had the op. Several of the longterm bandsters replied and assured me that "small" means the size of the little pink eraser that you get on the tip of a pencil!! I was astonished - that is TINY!! And "thoroughly" meant chewing that tiny amount AT LEAST 30 times, more if even the tiniest lump was left in your mouth. I was also given a great tip on how to measure the wait period too - do not cut up your food all at once, make sure you do it as you go. Cut off a tiny piece, put it in your mouth, then put down the utensils. Chew and swallow in tiny sips, until it's gone. Do not pick up the utensils until every last bit has been swallowed. Wait a few seconds and try to feel how that is hitting your stoma. If all is well, pick up the utensils and cut off the next piece.

I'm not as tight as you and consequently am losing more slowly. However, I am not feeling hungry at all. Iin fact, I feel quite full and satisfied at the end of each meal and this lasts well until the next meal time. I also have very few PB episodes - every one of them caused by talking while I'm eating and not paying attention - a single less than completely chewed bite is all it takes :rolleyes2:

Good luck in your journey! Congrats on the loss so far!

hey all!!

Thanks very much for all your kind words :w00t:

The doctor too thought at firs tthat i was eating too much/ wrong foods/ too quickly...but i assured him that i am eating 1 cup of food three times a day as directed by my dietitian, and he said that was small meals so that wasnt it. I took it upon myself (which probably wasnt a good thing to do anyway..) to not move on to the next stage, which is solids because i honestly didnt think i was ready for them...i mean my mushies are quite firm, but im not eating whole chicken or anything like that yet...My diet primarly consists of Yogurt and maybe some grapes in the morning...Lunch is generally fish and mashed sweet potato, and then dinner is generally fish again, or chicken mince, with mashed potato or Pasta...At the moment im struggling to eat things like tomato, carrot, egg, rice (which was expected) umm chicken...but mostly carrot for some bizarre reason...

I think i was just in a bad mood after that appt. I realise now that he has done it for a reason, and thanks again for all your support!!!

What you are eating seems ok, just be careful with grapes as the skins don't chew up well and they can cause a blockage. I also find carrot, corn and peas difficult to eat unless they are really, really well cooked. I use my crockpot alot as it makes the meat so tender and easy for a bandit to chew - this is also how I eat carrots. Most of the bandits I know don't have problems with eggs, but they do have to be either soft boiled, poached or scrambled - I lived on them when I was on mushies.

Perhaps you aren't chewing enough - this is usually my problem - i get distracted and forget to chew, chew, chew and then I find I get something stuck. so perhaps you could try eating slower and chewing longer and see if this helps.

Danna

well today I was to have my first fill and well ... I too walked out dissapointed and disgusted!!!!

we had some dificulty finding the port, didn't bother me, we agreed on me getting my first fill in consultation with an x-ray, but what concerned me was the full syringe of gunk that he extracted from a haematoma between my port and abdomen wall.

Rest for 10 days, x-ray, fill, then catch up with him in a few weeks.

hungry too ... going to intoroduce something a bit more than mush, but I could do without eating any more potato if anyone has any ideas!

If you like fish, tuna mornay is great for the mushie stage. I made a chicken currie and then pureed my portion (several actually cause I froze some for lunch at work), for something sweet I pureed fruit and had it with diet yoghurt or diet custard, or with diet jellies. Remember that you can have diet jelly on mushie stage to help fill those vacant spots. Blitz some Pasta and tomato, or some lasagna for something different - looks gross but tastes great and if its too thick just add a touch of tomato soup to thin it out.

Danna

If you like fish, tuna mornay is great for the mushie stage. I made a chicken currie and then pureed my portion (several actually cause I froze some for lunch at work), for something sweet I pureed fruit and had it with diet yoghurt or diet custard, or with diet jellies. Remember that you can have diet jelly on mushie stage to help fill those vacant spots. Blitz some Pasta and tomato, or some lasagna for something different - looks gross but tastes great and if its too thick just add a touch of tomato soup to thin it out.

Danna

Danna, you are a legend! thanks for the tips!

Although I broke today and at some solids! chewed and chewed but YUMMY!

I am starving at the moment, I mean realtively no change to pre banding appetite!

Monday (x-ray fill) can't come quick enough guys, I'm actually scared I'll stretch or move my band if I eat too much. :smile2: