judych

when i get stuck i get pain/discomfort in my pouch. it feels just like the food is being tossed around/churned like a washing machine. i get more saliva in my mouth ... eventually i cough up some slime. the slime is created by the stomach to help pass the food through the band. its not a nice feeling at all... but i have to say, in my experience ive not had difficulties in breathing.. perhaps others have here? i do get some pain through to the back as well if its bad.

..i had red wine and its not a problem.... only thing is, there is no more weight loss when we have alcohol, or at least there isnt with me. my body is very efficient at using very small amounts of calories now. im going on a cruise early nov... would like to have a small amount of wine then as well. im hoping that swimming will help my metabolism to step up a notch.

it will work for you... try not to stress... perhaps a lot of your weight loss initially was Fluid. that happens most times. i lost nearly 14 pounds fluid the first week. Give you body time to heal and start to lose at a healthy rate. You dr does know whats best for you. the main thing is.... be positive about the outcomes.... good luck

im glad that she met you halfway. I just had 0.50 taken out on friday... i couldnt cope with a 1cc fill, that was my second. it was funny in a weird way... when i went into the office there was another dr there. He didnt have my files... there were no files for patients in our city there. Apparently my dr has a surgery and another clinic in another city four hours travel by road away and he does so many hours a week there as well. when he left to go there he picked up the wrong city ?? wrong files?? so my files with all the other locals went north... lol. But, it wasnt a problem... i got my unfill... and im a lot better . Things happen. Im wondering now if i should get an unfill just before i fly north to catch a cruise boat with my grand daughter? early nov? i reckon i will somehow. My grand daughter doesnt know that Ive had the surgery and i dont want any issues to crop up.

yep.. ive had that too.. im finding now that if i have chocolate then the craving is worse for more. also, with fat. ive been cooking an egg and a small amount of bacon in olive oil for breakfast and i now thats giving me cravings.. and i think its the fat doing it.

that sounds great. ive found that im getting a lot more pleasure out of my meals now im not eating nearly as much.... i savour every mouthful.. its got a lot to do with chewing so many times and then waiting. anyone else had this??

what is smartlipo?? ive had some problems with my arms getting saggy. ive never had big arms before my weight gain and now they are looking pretty awful. i dont want them looking this bad when i go on the cruise with my grand daughter... i want to swim a lot. so... what is smartlipo please

i used calamine lotion all the time. i never had a general rash but an allergy to the steri strips they used. i probably did have some allergic reaction to the the paint they used but im not sure. i do know that my body came up in welts the size of a twenty cent piece... not nice. i just kept treating them with calamine and they went eventually. i didnt have undue itching with them when they were treated.

i have my coffee black with no sugar.... coffee is slightly bitter anyway so i dont notice anything different really. i have no problems taking my tabs crushed up and put into a coffee.

...good idea.....

i wonder... is your sugar level below what it should be?? try sucking some barley sugar and see what happens. i get light headed when i dont get enough carbs.. its a delicate balance . even gatorade may help you?? these ideas are just of the top of my head... worth a try??

..i really did enjoy mashed potatoes with meat juices added to the broth i was having. i just made it thicker as i got better. i also added cauliflower, pumpkin... they were thoroughly pureed. somtimes i added a little lite sour cream....yummmm.. also added mild salsa for more flavour.... garlic powder.

when i first went onto more solid foods i got some baby food... i had to add beef broth to it though... it was awful tasting. i think i only had about three jars if i remember correctly.

it will pass. before you know it you will be feeling on top of it all. i had a hernia repair done as well. I didnt have any painkillers or gas meds ( apart from some mild liquid panadol the first 48 hours) and i hurt too, but it passed quickly. Dont try and push yourself right now. make the most of your time.... do you read? i made the most of my time and did some reading.

i have to take meds for hypertension and i crush it up, put it in my black coffee. its slightly bitter but coffee is bitter to a certain thing and im used to it.

how marvellous is this?? you are a wonderful advertisement for weight loss surgery... both of you. congratulations for a wonderful effort from you both. You both look just fantastic. way to go.

the port incision is the biggest one... the port is seating in muscle so you will feel a hard lump there as everything heals . my port is about three inches to the left of my navel... i had a lump (hard swelling) there for quite a while. i wasnt concerned because i knew that muscle reacts that way when its had surgery. So... give it time and everything will settle nicely for you. i have to ask... do you have a follow up dr or clinic for fills etc?? also... the hardness below where you think the band is?? thats due to the trauma of surgery as well... dont panic. just do all the right things now and you will do fine.

i dont think a dr will give a fill before at least six weeks to two months after surgery. it was two months for me. then i got 3ccs. No... you are not missing anything .. just relax, trust in the dates that the dr has given you for fills... concentrate on your food right now. do you have any restriction just from the band itself? i did, right from the start.( nothing in the band at surgery either) im over three months out from surgery and have have 4ccs... and had 0.50 cc removed yesterday. it was too much.That was in three visits... two visits fill was added, yesterday some taken away REgarding the procedure of the fill?? there is absolutely NOTHING to be concerned about... and i mean that. its painless and its very quick. Amazing really. Yesterday , having that small amount taken out was quick and painless as well... no soreness after woods or anything... dont worry about the pain .. there is none. Regarding the amount of fill?? your dr will ask you some questions... he will see the weight loss on your chart as you would have been weighed when you go in... and he will work out what amount you need... so dont worry. He is the professional and he knows what you need. good luck.

i havent been through this with flying yet but i do know that if im having a long stressful day the band tightens a lot. i did read about flying and how it does affect the band though. im thinking that maybe you will go through it... everyone is different but if flying one way has affected you this way than you should expect that flying home will do the same. i do hope its not that bad though. not even being able to take in fluids is really scary stuff. good luck.

hang in there... it will get better. yesterday my hubbie and i were in Mac Donalds. we were in the city .. a long day. He likes Maccas... so, here we are. I ordered ten very small chicken nuggets and the smallest chips. i was able to eat half. Hubbie had his usual. chicken burger with the lot plus a large fries. lol. i enjoyed my meal just so much... and i ate very little. i wasnt concerned in the least. now i know, i can order very very small serves of chicken, or fish and have an enjoyable meal. im sure that even these fast food outlets have very small meals that arent laden with fats etc... you would have more selection of eateries that we do. we live in country australia. So... if i can do it, everyone should be able to. the secret is... We only do this on average about once every two months !! apart from that we eat at home and i have full control in the kitchen.

this is a really good practical post... if you follow this one you will do well.

.. i know that there are different opinions from various drs and different countries as well. when i was banded, and, by the way, im australian.... i wasnt given any real direction about how much protein i should have. i had one appointment with a dietician and that was a broad discussion over every food group, not a lot of time spent on protein. so... i had Protein drinks through the day... i had beef broth, etc etc. this was mainly my eating plan. im having more protein than other foods even now... over three months out . i love my egg and bacon.. i have beef hamburger on a plate with fresh from the garden dill... i have chicken... all the meats, and a small amount of veges on the side. ive never worried much at all about the amount of protein i needed... i just went and did that. ive been on atkins diet many times in years gone by so i know some basics. im having a liquid Vitamin at the moment ... plus barley green, which is like spirolena. my intake is quite healthy. im not counting anything at all. Im having what i want to eat... what i feel i need. its been easy for me.

so you are still having trouble with PBing?..and you have just had your third fill?? did you find that it took you forever to eat a small amount? im wondering because ive just 0.50ccs taken out.. that was yesterday, from a 1 cc fill over two weeks ago. i have the same sized band you have. i only have 3.50 ccs in right now. i had trouble with the first fill also.... three ccs.ivef had restriction even after surgery . how were you with all your fills? did you have problems after the fills?? your holiday sounds just marvellous. it really does. i would love to visit there. i just adore that part of the world.

a good question. yes, chicken should be good . what about turkey? beef? ... when i started on puree foods i just pureed meat and veges and added it to a beef broth. mind you, we were going into winter so it was fitting to have more thick soups. i would just do the soup thing... beef stock is great. ive added hot mashed potato to mine, ive added mild salsa... lots of things. i live in australia so most likely my diet is a bit different. but... purees are all the same wherever we are. i know that soups are boring but putting puree into them now would make a huge difference to the palate. Were you goign to feed salads to the rest of the family? i know its summer there and quite hot.. do you eat fish? you could cook up fish.. .puree it with low fat mayo and whatever else suits your tastes... in fact, you could do puree with any meats.. .including beef. beef would be great pureed with a little gravy in a beef broth.. things like that? i made up all my own meals... soups, thick soups, just made them thicker by adding more protein(meat) and carbs (veges) until i was on solids. its not hard ... just take what the family are having for the most part an puree that for yourself. if you are having b.b.q. you could do the meat from that and put into a broth.. make it nice and thick. im sure others will have lots of ideas for you as well. good luck with it all and let us know how the holiday went. judy