PandorasBox92264

Welcome!!! Sorry to hear you had that but now you have experienced getting stuck! The tenderness you feel is normal after a larger stuck episode, usually after a stuck episode if I have something to eat after it is liquid or a Protein shake. I let it calm down before I try food again if it is a tougher stick. Something mild you are generally ok to eat just be careful. Stress and being in a hurry and not chewing right do not mix, the stress can cause you to constrict and make you feel tighter. This is why it is important to drag along a lunch bag with you and eat something either there when your not in a rush or eat prior to leaving, but you must eat to get in the Protein and avoid the rush that got you stuck in the first place. I know it is easier said than done, however think back to this episode and when you forget it you will have another one that will imprint it upon your being and keep you careful for awhile. I had one the other day where I ate a two small bites of a rice/re fried bean mixture. The second bite as soon as i swallowed I knew it was all over, it seemed to create almost a plug in my tummy. I had a doc appt a couple days after and told them, it took me awhile in and out of the bathroom and a three finger throat tickle to finally get it up! Not fun, not ladylike but it was NOT going anywhere Good luck

I love Isopure dutch chocolate! I have not tried Unjury, but I hear it is good! I do not like most of the products due to their taste! We do add in Kale/Celery/Ginger root/Ice into our shakes and sometimes part of a banana.

Keep in mind this is still an online forum, not everyone who professes to be perfect really is! Not everyone but there are some who might very well be tossing the do as I say but not as I do theory while eating a cupcake/tastycake and drinking a soda pop. Try to follow the doctors orders because like they said it is truly for healing, and not the weight loss at this point. You will also after fills and such have to go back on a liquid only for a day or so, followed by pureed foods. How many days will depend on your doctor, and there is variations of the diets/restrictions between surgeons. Overall try to not compare yourself to others because that is one way that is going to drive you nuts!! We all lose at various speeds, my doc is happy with one lb a week! Good luck

I had mine back east installed and now live out in So Calif. There were some doctors that were willing to do fills here. One had a huge fee like 3500.00 up front for me to even get a fill appt, then they charge 250.00 on top of it for the actual fill. Even the gal in the office sounded disgusted about that. What I ended up doing was I had picked a doc to do the fills then went to my primary care doctor. They did a referral for me for the doctor I chose which got declined and I ended up getting a referral to a bariatric doc who is with the same medical group, however I do have to drove 1:45 to get there each way but pay 35.00 for the appt which includes a fill if needed. I was not going to complain getting it paid for this way I do not have to pay the 250.00 out of pocket plus a office visit. So if you have insurance I would go that route first and see if you can get a local referral, or since you work in the building they might let you just pay a cash discount price. My new doc did make me get an upper GI so they knew what they were looking at.

WOOO hooo...... congrats on your weightloss!!!

I had been banded late in 2008 and in a matter of a year span. I got laid off my job. Went back to school fulltime Lost My Mom to Cancer Filed for Divorce from my now ex husband Went skydiving. Went up with my best friend to Saratoga Springs NY for a couple months while dealing with my legal stuff. 'Stella got her groove back' (grin) Had movers come get my stuff, and drove cross county with just my dog and I! Found myself back home in Sunny California. I am now in a awesome relationship with the greatest guy ever who is extremely supportive and loving. I think for a relationship that is strong, I do not think the banding is an issue. However if there is issues they will most likely come to the surface. I think you know better of what you will or will not tolerate and I do not think that when you come out of your shell that you are not as willing to settle and deal with the bull that come with some crappy relationships. So I agree with MIS on this one totally!

Take a small soft cooler like a lunch pail and put it in your carryon/backpack. Put cheese/nuts/chicken salad you make.. for liquids you can also buy bottled water after the security checkpoint and make sure to hydrate during the flight! You can get a protein bistro box at a Starbucks most airports have those! You could take hummus, it is just the liquids you have to worry about taking through security. You could also take a mixer bottle and take some protein powder and mix it up on the plane. Grab the milk or water whatever you mix with in the terminal. I have found most of the planes have stuff that is workable for flights.

When i had surgery which was awhile back I had BCBS but it was in PA. I know what the seminar says, however have you ever actually had a sleep test? I didn't know that I had sleep apnea until I got tested. So I would for sure look into it further and do not get discouraged.

If your drinking seltzer it can be adding to your issue like Honk said. You said you didn't eat all day, so you were probably pretty hungry and could also be dehydrated which will make you even tighter. You need to get your fluids in and also watch when you drink your Protein shake do you gulp it down? You can drink those too fast, I know that I cannot drink them fast because depends on the time of day the body might not be working right. When your stuck it happens usually within a minute or so from taking a particular bite and you will know it. For me it comes with various degrees of my mouth filling with saliva, tough to breath etc. Had you taken any medication or Vitamins prior to the feeling because it could be a slow moving pill that is irritating your insides. I will get what feels a bit of a irritation then it will go away when i eat something. I would also check with your doctors office. Keep in mind, no eating will also cause your body to shut down the weight loss process and keep the fat reserves. So make sure you do eat and get your protein in.

If you hate the liquid protein drink that much why don't you ask if you can use a different product? I did the liquid diet for two weeks prior to my surgery and was not allowed ANY veggies or anything. It was 6 slim fasts a day and clear liquids for two weeks. I didn't cheat and got through the two weeks with a shining example of a liver! The first few days are the roughest when your body is detoxing. After that it is easier and you are able to get through the day much easier and I found most of the cravings went away. You will probably notice that your body functions go on overdrive like your system is purging itself and you might even break out here or there as the body releases toxins. It is all common, good luck with your pre op and the surgery!

Tonight for some reason I felt like I wanted to put away quite a bit yet I didn't know what I wanted to have. We kind of had a leftover thing going on at the house. I put a bunch of Leafy Romaine lettuce, a little low fat shredded cheese, a bit of a lite ranch and mixed in some black beans right out of the can. Mixed it all up and ate the salad, which looked pretty huge but when you chew chew chew it goes down to not alot of the salad. I did get bored with it, did not eat it all and was still comfortable even after eating a good amount. So if you feel like you HAVE to have a mound or what looks like it till you get a control give salad a whirl.. it might help you, just watch what you put on it. It will be better than a mound of pasta, a whole burger/fries, pizza etc..

My husband does most of the cooking for us, I am banded and he is not. We eat the same food/meals and when we go grocery shopping we pretty much stay and shop the perimeter of the store except for frozen morningstar farms veggie Proteins, the 40 calorie fudgecicles, and broth and Beans type of things. Other than that most everything is all around the edge. I make a chili with ground bison and kidney/pinto/black beans, chili is a really really good food choice. We grill steaks (tender cuts are the best), we will do pot roast at times. Grilled chicken keep it moist, salmon is great or whatever type of fish you guys like. I seem to have a hard time with Tuna Steaks unless they are very moist.. the key is to keep things moist or have something not bad to dip it in. We make a french fry thing out of sweet potatoes, put a bit of olive oil on them season and bake in the oven.. yes it is doctor approved. Canned tuna/chicken are good and you can use a lower fat mayo or miracle whip or mustard or whatever to mix it up. She will want to get the Protein in which is important, we also do salad (romaine is my fav w/ black beans in it for protein and a bit of a salad dressing that works for her. My doctor had said that a variety is the way to go, you are eating less and I opt for if I really want something take a taste and see how it goes. I found that my taste buds for bread and other things changed after I was banded it was no longer the priority. Grilled veggies along with meats are good too... eggplant, squash, zucchini etc.. little bit of olive oil and seasoning... After surgery when she is on more than Clear liquids.. you can puree whatever your eating just add a bit of a broth.. and it will liquify.. after a fill my husband has even pureed pot roast and veggies for me and its drinkable... keep her hydrated.. that is a big thing!

Hey Kathie, I would talk to your doc about the medication because it might not be the right medication for you. I have had a couple of family members that went on it and had to be taken off, one was my Mom who it just made her (bat **** crazy)she did not even know my sister and I... Lucky that another doctor pulled her right off it and the DOC himself had been put on it as a patient and had to be removed due to symptoms where his family said he was acting extremely upset/disoriented/didn't know his family etc. We keep Klonopin around the house which is good and I know alot of people that take it for anxiety which I do, so does my husband and my sister. I just take it here and there but not on a daily basis. We also try to meditate, nothing freaky or wild but just to try to balance out life and stress and IF i can't sleep then i take one of the pills. It just calms my brain so I can sleep, but yet you can function on it. Good luck!

YAY.. welcome

The feeling where you wonder if an alien is going burst through your port site? Try not to stress I had gotten those before and I believe it is a muscle spasm of sorts. I have gotten them mild and more severe where they feel like the type of charlie horse you get in your calf, the throbbing, twisting which have come on when i stretched it out too much or something and ALWAYs on the bad ones seems to happen when I have not hydrated properly! Eat a banana and drink drink drink... hydrate and if needed put a warm pack on it to help it relax. Hope that helps!

Anytime I get into a hospital or have a procedure I will spot or get a period early. It can also work the opposite way, the anesthesia, the stress, all the flying hormones etc.. I was told by a nurse once that a large percentage of the women regardless when they hit the ICU or in hospital they start a period regardless of where they are in the cycle. I would say do not stress, just go with the flow!!! (no pun intended) grin it can also delay it for some due to the above.

Your weight loss is going to be faster right after you are banded. I had my first fill after several years May 24th and went to the doc today. They did not give me a fill and I am at 7cc in my band. I dropped 12 lbs and they were very happy with that number, they are happy with a lb a week. So keep that in mind and do not get disappointed if you do not hit that same weight loss that you had initially. The higher weight you are then you will initially lose faster, then it usually will slow down. Ideal is 1-2 lbs a week, but you will see a difference in clothing/inches etc... Congrats on the 22lbs that is awesome!!

I can eat nuts, but you do have to chew them really well, down to the mush stage.

You will have plateaus all along, how many calories were you taking in when losing. I would look at the 800 calorie thing because it might be too low. If you get the calories down too far your body will just hold onto everything because it is thinking your in starvation mode. I would try the 1100-1200 area and see how that does for you but don't just give it two days... and drink alot of water.

I agree with Mis that it is a HIPPA violation!!! That is a major no no. But think if your WLS is the topic of her conversations, then she must have one boring life. Not saying your boring but ... someone needs to get a life. Hell, I would walk into that office and tell her in front of everyone (insert name) is your life really so boring that you have to tell everyone about my business? You could also talk to the Medical group that she is affiliated with, or the hospital and let them know. Just a thought

What is it that your currently eating? Morningstar Farms Protein veggie protein w/ cottage cheese Tuna or chicken from can w/some light mayo I put on whole grain tortilla or cracker or eat it alone Romaine lettuce w/ black Beans Make some home made chili it is a good go tofood.. EASY to make Grilled chicken or other meats eggs/egg beaters toss in salsa or I like to add in Morningstar farms products in them. Makes and omlette, We jazz up Protein shakes w/ Ginger, Kale, banana, and Ice cubes VERY YUMMY. We occasionally slice up a sweet potato, use a dab of olive oil/spray or with Pam, and kinda mix the sliced potato in it season it up and bake 30 minutes or till done to your liking at 350 degrees (good if your craving fries of some sort) I mix cottage cheese and black beans together (but I am a food mixer) you can toss in some meat protein too.

Do you think that maybe he is somehow angry or fearful you will leave him? You have lost weight, do you think that maybe you are re-evaluating your relationship because you might feel that you have more options? Just a thought.... I filed for divorce 8 months after I got banded because my ex was becoming a total douchebag. I realized that all I had been through with getting laid off, losing both parents etc.. that I would work my ass off vs being stuck in a place where I was not happy. Do you think you could get him to counseling? IF not maybe just you? Good luck!

If someone is really liking you for you then he is not going to care that you have the band. The truth is that the other two that you did go out with might not have really 'felt the vibe' or maybe they like their women with some meat on them and didn't want to end up with a thin woman. Regardless, you don't need to tell someone that you have it until you feel comfortable with it, it is not an STD or anything. ON the other hand IF you are fearful that the guy will bail on you just because you have a band, then let the truth fly! It is better to be rid of someone that won't accept you vs. worrying about hiding something for fear he will run off. The scars will fade for the most part, so that shouldn't even be an issue. After I left my ex husband who I was with when I was banded, I went out on all sorts of casual dates. I did not tell everyone, because they were not going to see me naked and honestly if I wasn't sure I just met them at a Starbucks this way it was something casual and nothing that I had to deal with food or anything. Not alot of time invested if it was not something I wished to pursue. My husband on the other hand, we actually met from an online dating site and had quite a bit of conversation before meeting. I did tell him but he didn't really mind nor worry about it, it just did not make a difference. I finally got another fill and he is 100pct supportive and would say if the guy is worth anything he is not going to care if your banded or not. If he does care, then kick him to the curb. Damn I sound harsh huh lol

i still drink iced coffee from Starbucks, i put splenda and xtra ice. I don't do the frappachinos, Lapband gal who does the blog will drink a strawberries and cream (tall) with double Protein in place of an on the go meal. Not saying to do it but it works for her. Or i make coffee at home

Two other tricks make sure to wash ALL undergarments in HOT Water. When wet from the washer toss them into the Microwave which will kill any additional bacteria that might be hanging out. TIP: do not microwave dry underwear!!!!! My Mom did that because she forgot to nuke them once when she had an irritation and ended up with flaming panties in the Micro. ALso THIS after a bath/shower blowdry your girlie bits to make sure they are nice and dry in the folds/creases etc that will help with issues tremendously. Sometimes you will get one so severe that it will take several rounds to rid yourself of it. Also even if the petroleum never bothered you before it might now bother you. good luck