SashaWLS

SWITCH SURGEONS STAT!!!!!!! This guy does not know how to manage aftercare for the band! HE has not had success. Band patients have!

Stouffers Mac and cheese is really my only serious slider. I can eat an entire HUGE portion even with the band. It's the only food I've encountered where I can overheat to this degree and the one time I really "binged" on it, I had the feeling I was stoned afterwards. It felt so AMAZING that it scared me a little. I haven't felt that in a long time!!

Good luck, you'll do great!!!

Awesome!!! Mine was discovering that the huge bump between my breasts was not a growth, but in fact my sternum! I never felt it before. :-)

I'm trying too, but am still getting fills. I'm not sure why you can't do both? They don't unfil you when pregnant unless you're having a lot of morning sickness--and even that's only the first trimester... Did you hear something different?

First, I went to the doctors for mammogram today, and decided to step on the scale. It's been about two months since I've weighed myself, and I stepped on wearing my big heavy boots and pants and everything. But to my unbelievable surprise, I was in Onederland!!!!! And not just a little bit, I weighed 198! The second was later in the day when I went to The Gap to buy some clothes for my five-year-old daughter. Not only am I not wearing an extra large shirt anymore, but a large…. But I fit in a pair of their jeans!!!!! JEANS!!! I have never, ever, fit in a pair of Gap jeans. Because I have a really big butt! :-) Anyway, for someone who doesn't follow the rules very well, it's really really really nice to see that I'm still losing.

I've had a stuck episode for the last hour with sharp, shooting pain coming probably every minute. It comes in very even, predictable waves and I don't know what to do. I don't have anything on hand like papaya enzymes or anything like that, and it's the middle of the night and I'm at home. I think I'm stuck on a piece of a hazelnut, which I'm not sure why I ate in the first place, but I feel like it's scratching my insides. I tried drinking a cup of coffee, but that hurt, and it didn't seem to loosen the band. I also took some aspirin. Is there anything else we can do?

Update: I was in a lot of pain for 36 hours or so. Baby aspirin helped a little, but not much. Then yesterday I was in GNC buying a protein shake and asked if they had antacids thinking I'd try that, and the lady said "All we carry our papaya enzymes." So I bought some and OMG they totally helped!! No idea what makes them work, and they sure do smell bad, but I feel much better. Now just trying to keep to soothing foods. Thanks for your advice!

Sounds like you're healing well and need more shakes. Don't progress faster though, just add more if what you're already having.

Try to let go a little bit, it sounds like you're holding on pretty tight. Nothing you can do now except let all the other people do their jobs and let some time pass.

YES!!!! Chloraseptic, that throat numbing spray... The breathing tube scratched the heck out of my throat and that hurt most of all!!! Also Gas-X tongue strips. The gas pains were bad and I lived on the strips postop.

14mos and trouble free!

Unflavored yogurt has no sugar. My favorite is Fage 2% because it's thick and tastes like sour cream. Zap some frozen berries in the chopper, and you've got yourself a really great dessert!

I went in asking for the sleeve (I was freaked about the idea of having a foreign body in me) and ended up getting the band anyway. Here's why: 1/200 people die from complications with the sleeve. It's 1/2000 with the band. There are potential complications with each surgery, but the ones with the sleeve are much more serious and painful. 1% of people who get the sleeve have leaks because the stitches/staples at the top of the stomach doesn't fuse right. Those people are in agony for months. You could be in the hospital for months. There's no way to know if you'll be that 1%. And even if all goes well, the stomach can stretch over time leaving you with no other option but to diet or get a band over the sleeve. I decided to try the band first, since it was less invasive, and hope all would go well. Knowing that if it didn't, I could switch to the sleeve later. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

For what it's worth, you can also do it if you have some ambivalence or if you're rebellious... It turns out, the band DOES kinda do some of it for you—up to a point... I surprised myself when I found that I had mixed feelings about losing weight, and while I've done it somewhat slowly compared to some people on this board, the weight is still dropping off. I gained about 10 pounds in last suppers the 2 months before the Pre-Op diet, but the day that started, it was over. And I was actually relieved. I ate everything I ever wanted, and then was done. Lost 12 pounds in the Pre-Op liquid diet, and then another 14 two weeks later... And now, 14 months after surgery, I'm down more than 70lbs and seem to be gaining momentum. I'm not an advocate for "being bad," but I wanted to point out that there are many different ways to get from here to there, and you can have your own journey and still achieve your goals.

The only ones I like are the GNC lean shakes in chocolate. They taste like a Yoohoo.

I had about 100 last suppers.

I'm about a year out and could eat almost anything until last week. Now I'm REALLY tight and am not sure if this will ease up or if its the new normal, but I'm getting full on 1/2c Soup. food mourning to come if this continues... For the last year though, the only things I avoided were things I felt like I was chewing forever and not breaking down--seaweed on sushi, chewy steak, jasmine rice in Indian food for some unknown reason, lobster... The only real surprise was not being able to easily drink cold orange juice! I LOVE juice, but I mostly want it with breakfast and I want to gulp it... Since I really can't drink anything cold the first hour or two after waking (because my band's too tight) it's no fun anymore... I can drink it later I guess, but super cold drinks are hard ant time... Anyway, here's my theory... Right now you're like an expectant parent, and you're worried about how you're going to deal with the terrible twos and having a defiant teenager... But you really don't have to worry!! They're not born teenagers, they're born infants and you'll have time to experience joy and to learn tools to deal with them. You're not gonna start out with a really tight band. When you first start, you'll have some swelling so it'll be tight, but then it'll feel really loose you'll be able to eat anything for a while. Then you'll get a fill, it'll be tighter. And you get used to that. You'll have another fill, and so on. You will be in control! You can either fill it up really tight right away, and you'll have trouble eating a lot of things very early. Or you'll get it filled very slowly get used to each stage and be able to eat along the way. But either way, you're gonna do great!

I can't really eat breakfast except coffee... But yesterday I had half an avocado. Sometimes I have scrambled eggs. Sometimes cottage cheese or oatmeal...

Try some antacids

I have ABSOLUTELY no self control. If it were up to me dieting I'd still be as big as a house. Relax and just wait this out. You'll get there, just know that your journey may be a longer slower one than others who are able to 'diet'

I don't think I'm stuck, I think my esophagus is irritated... But I'm now crying it hurts so much. Nothing has helped and this has been going on 2 hours now. Ooooooouch. X-(

I haven't had any issues, but I've heard of many people have. It's definitely not the right solution for every single person. Are you going to revise to the sleeve? Or just take it out and be done with the whole thing?

Yeah, I don't usually get stuck like this anymore. But I just had a fill on Friday morning. I had absolutely no business eating what I did, but those stupid Ferrero Rocher chocolates with the Nutella on the inside were taunting me in the checkout line of the deli and I caved... I KNEW I shouldn't get one, but did I listen? Tried the honey and we'll see how it goes, but even that hurt!!