mezazea

If you feel any pain, stop eating until it passes. The esophagus sometimes seizes up on the first couple of bites, so go very slowly. Also, any burping or hiccuping is a sign to stop eating as well. I usually take one or two bites and then wait, often as long as 5 minutes, before continuing to eat.

Ah, yes the seaweed pb! I remember it well, along with all of the other foods that just didn't go down well. For example, even one bite of a poptart is not a good idea! Pickles that aren't well-chewed, spicy chorizo ( I think it was the skin that did it) and surprisingly, strawberries!? Kathe 25/07/03 298/211/150ish

You all may want to consider your iron intake as well. I recently had blood work done and was found to be somewhat anaemic. I am taking a dose of Floradix twice a day now. It is a vegetable based iron supplement and doesn't taste half bad. I also take a Centrum Forte (seniors) chewable vitamin, 2 Viactic chewable calcium. I haven't had any hair loss at all.

I found that a heating pad or hot water bottle helped ease the pain somewhat. I only had maybe 3-4 days of pain- I would take a little walk every 1/2 hour or so and do long slow stretches up, then down. Hot showers too, once you are able. Good luck!

Food get can get stuck at the opening between your upper pouch and the rest of your stomach. In very nasty cases, it gets stuck in the constricted part. So chew, chew, and then chew some more and only swallow a bit at a time. The idea is for the food to remain in the upper pouch for a longer time and gradually move down to the rest of your stomach. I find myself doing the squirrel thing. I take a bite, chew a lot, keep some in my cheek and swallow a little. It also gives me a chance to make sure that it will go down ok if it is a new food. If the piece is really too big, the esophagus will spasm before it even gets to the pouch. That leads to a really quick pb.

My port is anchored just under the sternum in the middle of my chest. So far it's only interfered with one bra (which was getting a little big anyway!

I have found that a full body pillow really helps me get comfortable on both my side and front. I have been using it since my surgery and probably always will now.

We all fight certain battles while adjusting to life with the band. As the others have said, tackle one habit at a time and don't go on to the next challenge until you have conquered the first. It is too overwhelming to try to chew more, eat less, drink more, move more, eat slower etc. all at once. Yes! Go for the water first. Start with one litre, sorry, quart a day and build up. Buy fancy bottled water if that will help - and just sip sip sip all day long. Keep bottles ready to go in the fridge and every time you leave the house, throw a bottle in your bag or car. I was banded late July and have had one fill to 1.5cc and I am still working out what I can and cannot eat (had a nasty experience with a peach the other day...) Learning how to use the tool (band) takes time. Don't worry - you will succeed!

Try mixing food in your bites. I mean, take a bit of salad with the meat, chew to a pulp, then swallow. Mixing foods seems to help things go down and stay there.

My port is just under my sternum and the doc didn't numb it at all. It's really no worse than a blood test or flu shot. Actually, now that I think about it, flu shots hurt more...

I just had my first fill last Monday and really, it was one little prick and that's it. The hardest part was being able to tell when it was filled enough. I would drink 3 gulps, my doc would fill a lttle and then I would drink 3 more gulps and he wanted me to tell him the difference. I think I eventually hit it right, at 1.5cc, as I can only eat a small amount, but water still goes down fine. Good luck!

Just out of curiousity, where are your ports placed? Mine is tethered just under my breast bone. I was under the impression that this was now the standard as there is less chance for slippage, flipping etc.

By the time you read this you will already be on the other side! Congratulations!

From my understanding, the nearest doctor for you would be here in B.C. There are a number of people in the B.C. banded group who are from Alberta. Dr. Leung is the only surgeon doing banding west of Ontario so far. You may want to check in the bordering states...good luck