So, I just got back from the hospital: A Lesson

[80s_chick 2]

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my stupidity with you. I seem to be posting these "learn-from-me" novels every few weeks. I just want to help people avoid doing the same things that I do. :w00t:

I got my first fill a few weeks ago, and I have done well with it. I was eating a lot less, and as I added foods I enjoyed, I didn't seem to be having a problem. My issue is that I enjoy a lot of food.:eek:

My body has been trying to tell me to stop! I have never been "stuck" nor had any unpleasant problems, but over the past week, I have had stomachaches. I generally ignored the problem. Two days ago, I had not eaten all day and had to go to the grocery store. I didn't want to impulse-buy, so I stopped at good 'ol Jack in the Box and got a 99 cent chicken sandwich. The sandwich was really big for a value menu, and I was full after about a quarter of the way thru. But it tasted so good...I ate it. All of it. I had a lot of discomfort for hours after that, and I cursed myself and made a note to take off the bun next time.

Today I made a new recipe for my family. Skillet pizza. Yum, right? I thought, okay, I can control the crust on this so I will make it very thin, no problem. It was a quick crust recipe and so the dough didn't have to rise, 1/3 cup of beer was used. It also had very little cheese and was topped with tomatoes. Healthy, right? :confused2: I sat down with the fam and the pizza was indeed tasty. After about three bites I noticed it wasn't doing down well. After the fourth and fifth bites (well chewed) I HAD to stop. I started to have quite a bit of pain! I didn't let on to DH something was wrong, so I went about my chores.

About two hours after I ate, I was miserable. I thought for sure the food was stuck. Nothing seemed to be going down, and nothing was coming up. I was crying I was in so much pain. I called my doctor and he wanted me to go to the hospital to check for obstruction. I took myself at 10 at night. They wouldn't give me any meds until DH could make it. He wasn't planning on coming up, as he was staying home with our 17-month-old. I was in so much pain that he finally called his 82-year-old mom to come and sit with the sleeping baby so he could come to the ER so I could get some pain relief. He looked like this when he got the the hospital: :w00t:

After three failed IV attempts (painful) :thumbup:, an XRAY, and finally some meds, they determined I wasn't stuck. My upper belly, however, was very swollen. How embarrassing was it when it finally occurred to me what the by-product of yeast (beer) is when it ferments. Say it with me...G-A-S! :scared2: I had gas in my pouch that was going nowhere fast. The pain meds didn't help, and they won't help with G-A-S! So, I was sent home, humbled and ashamed in front of my (thin, never overweight) DH, afraid that he thought I was a pig, unable to control what I was eating, even being banded. He says he doesn't think I am a pig, but clearly I have been out of control on my portions and what I have been eating. :thumbs_down:

In conclusion, I am sitting here still bloated, my husband will only get four hours of sleep tonight, and I am ashamed that my elderly mother in law had to get out in middle of the night in order for me to cope with my bad choices. I will NEVER, ever, ever, ever eat doughy bread again, if I eat bread at all. :wub:

The moral of (yet another) story from me is please don't be overconfident like I have been. I am lecturing myself when I say pay attention to your body! I know everyone is different but I am still learning how to live with this band and I am learning truly the hard way that it is a lifestyle change. I love having the band, but I have to take care of it or it won't help me.

I hope I have possibly helped somone. God bless. :thumbup:

[SanDiegoPhotog 0]

oh wow . . . I am glad to hear that you are okay, though.

did they say anything about having stretched out your pouch or do they think it will go back to normal size after the gas dissipates?

[80s_chick 2]

Well, the doctor in the ER was pretty limited in her band knowledge. She called a surgeon who basically said that the best I could do was take some pain meds to try to relax and "let the body take care of it" to use her words. I will have to check with the doc about stretching the pouch but I should be more worried about the chicken sandwich I ate the other day and other foods stretching. :wub:

[Fanny Adams 7]

I don't want to beat you up for making silly mistakes, coz I know I've made my share too, so I'll just quote some of your words back at you:

"My body has been trying to tell me to stop!"

"over the past week, I have had stomachaches. I generally ignored the problem."

"I was full after about a quarter of the way thru. But it tasted so good...I ate it. All of it."

"After about three bites I noticed it wasn't doing down well. "

Your body and band are trying their best to let you know what's going on. Your head is playing mind games with you and fighting to keep the old addictions and comforts going. You have to break that! I know it's hard to give up the old eating habits, but the only way you'll succeed is to learn to LISTEN to your body when it gives you these signals.

Chances are you're probably thinking "tell me something I DON'T know!" right now and wondering how repeating the obvious could help. Well maybe it won't but I can also add a trick I used to try to break that cycle:

Tell your head you'll "come back to it later". When your body is saying "stop" but your head wants "more more more!", it can be really hard to walk away from or throw out the remaining half of a portion, even when you KNOW you don't really want it or need it. Instead, wrap up the remainder and put it away and tell yourself "If I still want that in half an hour (or an hour), I can come back to it", then go do something totally distracting (walk, play a game, start the washing, whatever). If you're anything like me, anytime I tell myself "NO I CAN'T HAVE THAT", I obsess over it and it becomes the "one thing I can't live without", but if I trick myself into not triggering that "oh my god, I am DENYING myself something, WAAAHHH!" feeling, the desire goes away. Most of the time, I forget to come back to it because I really wasn't hungry any more and when I find it in the fridge hours later, it isn't very appealing at all, so then I can summon the willpower to chuck it where it belongs - in the bin. On the few occasions when I've still been hungry when I came back and the item was still appealing, at least I've managed to get through that without pain and nausea, so that's better than the alternative.

PS: Sorry but couldn't let it go without at least this much of a nag... You DO know that pizza and Jack in the Box are not good choices, don't you? I hope to goodness that you are at least several months post-op and not making those choices in your post-op healing phase :wub:

[80s_chick 2]

I don't want to beat you up for making silly mistakes, coz I know I've made my share too, so I'll just quote some of your words back at you:(

You are not beating me up! You are helping me, which is why I come here for support. Your advice is good. I am actually three months post-op, which really isn't that terribly long of a time. The thing is, I know better. I was making horrid choices and I pushed it too far. I have been so bloated that (right now) I feel sure that I don't want to put myself though this again. I have put myself back on soft foods and am going to keep that up for a little while. It is nobody's fault but my own that this happened. It is very hard to break the old habits. I think a part of the reason for my overeating lately is because I am out of work for another medical reason, so I am home all day. Usually while I am in the routine I do a little better. I am just going to pray and try to do better tomorrow, and take it day by day. :wub:

I really appreciate the friends I have made here. I consider all of you my friends, and I am so glad to be here. God bless. :thumbup::thumbup:

[Kalipso2 25]

i've had similar problems lately but i've always been able to make the stuck food come back out by PB'ing. after a few days of this happening i asked myself what i was doing wrong. then it hit me...

i wasn't listening to the band. it was telling me i was full but my brain was telling me that the food smelled so good and looked so yummy that i should continue eating... even though my band told me i was satisfied.

it's ALL part of the lifestyle change. you'll think twice now before eating those extra 2 or 3 pieces next time!

[libra 13]

Another lesson learned.

Now...stay away from beer and bread!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,281]

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Edited July 18, 2008 by LilMissDiva

[80s_chick 2]

Do a lot of people go thru these type of trials or is it just a few? I am still a relatively new bandster, and I really hope I don't have to go thru this again, but how am I going to know what I can eat and what I can't if I don't try?

[KayleighsMommy 16]

Oh {{{ 80s chick }}} I am so sorry you have been through this. O guess you just have to chalk it to the learning curve and not do it again.

[Fanny Adams 7]

Do a lot of people go thru these type of trials or is it just a few? I am still a relatively new bandster, and I really hope I don't have to go thru this again, but how am I going to know what I can eat and what I can't if I don't try?

Some people are good at following the rules and don't have these issues; others *waves hand* have that streak of futile rebellion and like to push the envelope. All I can say is slow down and work on listening to your body. When you get those signals, don't ignore them and try to push on further - it will only lead to pain and nausea. If you know after 2 or 3 bites that it isn't sitting well, stop for a few minutes, then eat something else. Try every thing but take small bites, chew chew CHEW, and wait between eat bite to see how you react to it. I think the process of really listening to your body is the most important lesson of all. I'm still relatively new and I'm still working on this, but if I take things slowly and carefully, I can eat just about anything. When I stop listening, though, and try to eat just that little bit too quickly, forget to chew properly or stubbornly try to keep eating when my body says stop, that's when I run into trouble.

[Insky67 2]

pizza seems to be a big no no. My first "stuck" experience was after 2 bites of pizza. And I felt your pain...I thought I was dying! It was HORRIBLE. The second time I got stuck wasn't as bad and it was from a few bites of toast.

I avoid all bread now, even tortillas. I am 43 days post-op and have decided to wait a long time before I try them again. It isn't worth the pain. I'm sorry you went thru all this, it is a hard lesson to learn (I know) but don't feel bad. I would say it happens to at least 90% of all banders at one time or another.

Just be real careful now.

Robin

[VegasGrace 1]

Do a lot of people go thru these type of trials or is it just a few? I am still a relatively new bandster, and I really hope I don't have to go thru this again, but how am I going to know what I can eat and what I can't if I don't try?

A lot do. Since everyone is different some can eat pizza while some can't. Some can have a soda every once in a while, some can't. Some can eat chicken, some can't.

You will have to learn for yourself what you can and can't eat.

My doc had me introduce normal foods but warned me to eat slowly, chewing very/very/very well. I won't ever eat Arby's roast beef sandwich, a hamburger, an apple...ever again! Stuck and hurting!

Good luck with your journey and enjoy the process.

[rosiered 0]

Wow...think a lot of us have been there in some capacity!

I've been banded for 4 months and I know sometimes when to stop and feel good about it..........but there are times when I just don't know when to stop and I pay the price!!

I started doing exactly what "Fanny Adams" was talking about........I stop and I wrap up the portion that I can't eat or know I can't eat and go back to it later. Usually at that point I don't want it anymore because I really feel full. I usually just dump it after that.

It's such a mind game...none of us got here because we knew what to eat and how much. It took many years of bad eating habits and I don't expect to break all my habits in one shot.

Now my biggest fight in life is HEAD HUNGER vs. REAL HUNGER !!! :wub:

[Pix 4]

I am slowly learning to eat part now, put up the rest and have it later. For those of us who are relatively new to the band it is trial and error for us. We still try to listen to our head instead of our stomach which we MUST do now. Its a learning process for most, some it just comes natural and they don't have any issue with it.

Some days I am good, my head is overruled by the band/stomach but some days my head hunger is so strong I don't hear my stomach until it is to late. Thankfully I have not had a PB/stuck issue its just enough that I have to walk around for a while until the pain has abated.

Just remember this (banded) life lesson and move on sweety. Try to not dwell on it, try to move on but remember the triggers you had.