Jellyfish

Hello everyone. I got banded back in August and things have been going so so. I'm down 50 pounds and only 30 from my first goal, so I guess I should be feeling more encouraged, but I've been having a hard time with my band the last couple of months. I got a pouch dilation back in the beginning of January, right after my fill up to 5cc (I have a 10 cc band). My next appointment wasn't until February and I wasn't sure at the time whether this was a real problem, or if I was simply just starting to feel real restriction so I didn't go back for an unfill until a month later. During that month, I could drink liquids but sometimes I felt like they weren't going down as easily as they should, especially in the mornings. I was able to eat food too, in teensy lap band portions and I ended up losing 13 pounds in that one month. I've never gotten stuck so badly that I had to bring it up, PBd, or had reflux, but I did get painful hiccups sometimes that don't last very long. At my February appointment, they found the pouch and put me on a 2 week liquid diet to make it go down, but when that didn't work they had to take 2 CCs out bringing me back down to 3. I've been slowly getting refilled since then and haven't had any problems. Monday they got me back up to 5CCs, and I'm having the same problems again. I CAN drink liquids, but they aren't going down as smoothly as I think they should, I sometimes get painful 'hiccups' after eating a tiny bit of food, and I haven't felt hungry at all since two days ago despite barely eating anything. Maybe that's normal with good restriction? It's hard to describe, but I can kind of feel the band squeezing around the liquid while I drink. Should I be getting that feeling with a band that's only half full? My fill doctors are closed until Tuesday due to the holiday, they said that I could go to the ER but I don't think it's THAT series because I can still eat and drink. I'm going to do a liquid diet for the next few days, but what should I do after that? Ask for a sooner appointment to see if I have a pouch again? I really don't want to go through another unfill just when I'd started to feel good restriction again. I'm ashamed to admit that my self control isn't as good as I thought it was and I gained back another eight pounds after they took out those 2 ccs. I'm also feeling very discouraged that I can't seem to get past the 5cc mark without having this problem. I worry that if they do unfill me, I'll just have the same problem again in another three months. Is it okay to just leave the pouch alone, as long as I'm careful? Or will it lead to complications? I've love some advice, thanks!

Yeah I was afraid it might cause other complications. I actually started feeling a LOT better yesterday though, and was able to eat and drink normally. I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow and see what they say, but I'm hoping there isn't actually a problem.

Hello! Well I'm about three weeks post op now and I can finally have REAL coffee for the first time in almost two months. I use the flavored liquid stuff like International Delight, so my cups are usually 70 calories, 120 if I have a cappuccino. I'm usually 200 calories under my daily limit so I am in no danger of going over with one cup a day which is all I want. For the record, I have tried every creamer alternative under the sun and I none of them have worked for me at all. Stuff like Stevia gives me a migraine and milk doesn't take out enough of the bitter taste to make it enjoyable, so I've pretty much given up as far as that goes. My question is, will the sugar affect my diet in any way if I always stay under my calorie limit? I'm not very knowledgeable at all when it comes to food. Is sugar bad just because it's high in calories, or will it make me gain weight any way? Is it going to make my cravings for sugar from other sources worse? (I've had great willpower so far, even in bandster hell) Or maybe it will even keep the cravings at bay? I really want this lap band to work for me and I've set some fairly strict goals for myself so I don't want to do anything that will slow me down. Any advice? Does anyone out there still drink full flavored creamer and still lose weight?

My surgeon made me get up and walk for at least five minutes every hour. Let me tell you, it sucked royally but I did it and I never experienced any gas pains. If you have a husband or even an older child handy, drag them with you for support and go take a little walk. Some people swear by heating pads for the gas too, but I haven't personally tried one. For me, the gas-X only helped with the gas in my stomach from swallowing too much air. Did they not give you anything for the nausea? If they didn't, DEFINITELY call them up and get a prescription, even if you think the nausea is mild. You do NOT want to get sick this soon after surgery and the nausea can become severe really quickly. Good luck to you, the first week is the worst, it will only get better from here.

I use Myfitnesspal and I'm pretty good about logging everything in. The numbers on there are supposed to make you feel disgusted if you aren't eating the right things. If you are, you'll be happy with your progress and your willpower. Did you measure yourself before the surgery? Sometimes when the scale isn't moving, you've still lose inches. My stupid cheap Wal-mart scale (which is very soon to be replaced and good riddance!) says I haven't lost a single damn pound even after living on chicken broth for weeks. I haven't let it get me down too much and I checked my measurements yesterday, I'm down 1.5" on each thigh, 2 in the butt and FOUR in my waist. And I'm only three weeks out, so don't let the scale worry you too much. It's very common to lose inches instead of pounds once in a while. Don't' beat yourself up too much over the junk food. Just remember how crappy it made you feel and use that to stop yourself next time you're tempted. I promise if you don't have the junk you will feel SO much better about yourself after than if you had. It's just food. Five minutes after it's gone, you won't be missing it.

I went through the EXACT same thing for the first week. My surgeon told me it's caused from not taking in enough Protein. What are they allowing you to eat? I had nothing but Soup broth, so in my case I think that feeling was from not taking in more than 100 calories a day. I was allowed to have a Protein shake but I almost got stuck on my first one, (started sliming and everything) so I had to stop taking them until week two. I admit I cheated a little and started the week two diet one day earlier because of those issues. I literally couldn't function, I had to take another entire week off of work because my body was too weak to get up. My husband had to go with me and hold my hand for the little five minute walks, and a couple times I still almost didn't make it. For me, the effects that the post-op diet had on me where a hundred times worse than the surgery itself. My problems went away almost completely when I started the second week diet and was able to get back up to 500-600 calories again. I'd give your band doctor another call, maybe he'll let you start the second week diet early since you're supposed to start tomorrow anyway (I assume?). In the meantime, try to take it easy. You won't notice it as much if you rest a lot. You might also be suffering from low blood sugar. If that's the case, warm apple cider helped me out a lot.

I hadn't heard of the vagus nerve thing before, but I'm glad to know this is something common! I was worrying that I had some sort of infection going on in my lungs. I'll ask my doctor about it next time I go in, and the pain is MUCH better today, I can barely even feel it. Thanks for all of the advice!

Well maybe exciting isn't the word. Two days ago when I woke up, I had this horrible pain behind my left shoulder. It felt like muscle pain, only hurting when I moved my arm a certain way (like to pick up a phone on my right side while using my left arm for example). I thought I had just slept on it wrong, but it didn't go away the next day or the day after that. Yesterday I noticed it hurts when I take really deep breaths too, which concerns me. Now I'm not sure if it's something in my lungs or just muscle pain. It came on very suddenly and I haven't injured that area, recently or in the past. After the surgery they gave me this device to breath into, and told me to use it four times a day after surgery so that my lungs would be healthy and I wouldn't get pneumonia. Well I did but I stopped after a week or two when I was up and moving and breathing normally. Did I maybe stop too soon? The pain seems to be getting worse. It still only hurts when I move or breath very very deeply, but this morning it was so bad I had to take the post-op pain meds. Any ideas on what it could be? Also, is it normal to feel the port under your port scar? I couldn't at first (or maybe I just didn't notice it), but I felt it a couple of days ago. There's a very hard bump right beneath the port scar which I assume is the port itself. I haven't lost THAT much weight, and it seems to be pretty close under my skin so it's concerning me a little. None of my other scars have bumps beneath them. This is normal though right? As long as I'm making a post, I have one more question. (avert your eyes, men!) Any ladies out there experiencing really irregular periods since the weight loss started? Mine has always been perfectly regular, but that stopped almost immediately when I started the pre-op diet. Now I'm just spotty all the time and sometimes it's heavier than others. It's become impossible to track. My PCP wasn't concerned when I saw her before surgery. I had a good relationship with my period, I very rarely even have to take any pain meds for it. Is that going to change?

Call your doctor, they're all different. Mine told me no bananas at all, and they wouldn't let me mix anything into those protein shakes. I had to take two a day and then have one small meal at dinner.

I didn't experience gas pain with this surgery but I did after I had my first child via C-section. Apparently it's very common and the nurses were able to tell me what it was, but it did NOT feel like regular gas pain at all and I never would have guessed that on my own. For me it was a nagging, achy sort of feeling in my upper left shoulder almost at my neck. No pain medication that they gave me helped it at all, the only thing that helped was getting up and walking around. When I got banded, the nurses had me up and walking barely ten minutes after I first woke up. I kept taking short five minute walks at least once an hour for the first week post-op and I never experienced any sort of gas pain. Some people say that gas-X strips work if you do get the pain, but a lot of people say they didn't work too. You should probably have some on hand just in case. They're also good if you end up swallowing too much air when you drink, they did help me with that. I don't know anything at all about plication process, sorry.

Sorry, the shoulder pain and the port bump are two totally separate questions I had. I didn't bump anything, no injuries at all. I only just felt the port bump for the first time a couple days ago, which made me worry a little bit. I thought it was possible that it had somehow shifted into a position that allowed me to feel it, but most likely I just hadn't noticed it before. I try not to touch that area, it's still tender. About the shoulder pain, I'm almost positive it isn't gas pain. I'm back at work, moving around and over three weeks post op now. I never had even a tiny bit of gas pain even the first day after surgery. I know what it feels like though, I had it BAD after I had my first child. This is a very different kind of pain. That's really scary, Bwesley, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I will ask them about that when I call, thanks.

Well I had a reply ready but I see today is your surgery date so I'll just say good luck!! Get up and start walking immediately, I did and I never had any gas pains whatsoever. Take the nausea meds that they will give you for the first couple of days post-op even if you're feeling okay. I came thiiiis close to throwing up only two days post op which would have been dangerous. And that nausea came on out of nowhere. Scary.

My friend (who also loves creamer) swears that Starbucks Sumatra blend is the best coffee ever and he can drink it black. I've been meaning to try it sometime, but they're expensive! Thanks!! He was my Christmas present last year. Can you believe nobody wanted him and he had been in a shelter for all four years of his life? He's been the best dog ever. I love yours too, those perky ears are too cute!

We are buddies! I was just slacking off on MFP for a while. I could not get off the couch the first two weeks post op, I swear the effects that the broth diet had on me were a thousand times worse than what the surgery did. Doing much better now though, but I'm still not exercising like I should be. I'm jumping back on that wagon today dangit!!

Thanks Skyvic, that is so encouraging!! I'll sacrifice anything to keep the coffee, it's good to see that it won't necessarily wreck me. Can I ask how many cups a day/week you have? Do you limit yourself? I would have killed for a second cup this afternoon, but I didn't let myself have one.

I will shoot you a friend request I'm doing okay for the most part as far as the hunger levels go. I do get hungry, but I'm controlling it and I'm proud of myself as far as that. I've done okay with the cravings. I did let myself have one mini Hershey bar, figuring it wouldn't be that bad. Guess what? FIFTY calories in that little piece of chocolate that was smaller than my thumb. I learned my lesson. I also had one Pringle chip the other day because I was starving. Could have been better, but I chewed the heck out of it and that one chip did satisfy me until dinner. I guess I need to invest in some healthy Snacks for times like those. Congrats on losing 20 pounds, way to go!! I'm getting a little nervous, my scale has me at the exact same weight since the day of my surgery. Other than the above, I haven't cheated a bit. How can you live on nothing but chicken broth for two weeks and not lose weight!? Grr!! Anyway I ordered a new scale from Amazon which is supposed to be the best. I'll try not to get too down on myself until I know what my actual weight is for sure xD Besides, the pants are fitting looser there's no denying that!

Thanks for all of the advice, I'm going to try letting myself have a cup a day a few times a week and see how that works. Believe me, I've tried just about everything that's out there as an alternative. I had the same problem with fat free stuff that I do with sugar free, it gave me headaches. I haven't tried almond milk, and I actually have some at home so I'm going to try that one tonight. Also I did have black coffee during the pre-op diet to try and get used to it. We have one of those fancy coffee machines at work with 30 flavors of coffe and tea, but I couldn't find one that I could stand. I've always had trouble with sweeteners, I can't drink diet sodas or stuff like Crystal Light either though I wish I could. I once drank nothing but diet coke for a week to try and get used to it. Worst week ever! Anyway thanks for the advice!

I'm guessing he's worried that your dog could be a jumper. If he's not I wouldn't worry about it. If you're a pet lover, you'll probably rest better knowing that your animal is happy. I wouldn't let him sleep next to you for a while though, he might accidentally hurt your incisions and you don't want to take that chance. Maybe he would be okay at the foot of the bed for a while?

It's finally here! I lucked out and got the first surgery tomorrow morning, I have to be there at 7am. So excited!!! I'm running around in a panic right now trying to get everything ready. I've got my comfy clothes, my Water bottle, and a pillow and blanket for the drive home. Still feels like I'm forgetting something... Is there anything you brought to your surgery that helped? Or anything you wish you would have brought?

I had surgery on the 2nd, I have a 10cc band with no fill in it at all right now. I have been following their post-op instructions to a T. All I've had to drink was Water, beef and chicken broth, my clear liquid pain medicine, a sugar free popsicle and half of a Protein Shake. Per the doctor's orders, I didn't try the Protein shake until I was 24 hours post op. That's it, nothing even remotely resembling a solid, I've even been staying away from Jello. I guess this started around yesterday morning, suddenly the liquids were a little painful going down, like I could feel them slipping past the band. Sometimes I can also feel my stomach contracting, like it's trying to make me throw up, and that also causes a little spike of pain. I've been burping a lot (I guess I'm just one of those people who takes in too much air drinking), but sometimes when I burp I bring a little bit of my stomach contents back up. Usually it tastes like the pain meds. I had to sleep sitting up last night because it was the only thing that helped. I thought that if I was somehow stuck on liquids with no fill, it would have passed by now but it hasn't. I woke up with a mean sore throat, so I had a cough drop this morning. It was the clear kind that shouldn't have been a problem, and I did not swallow it, I just let it dissolve in my mouth. Well, I made it about half way through and felt like I was going to throw up. I did a lot of sliming, but managed to keep myself from bringing anything else up. My band feels really tight right now, and I'm afraid to drink anything in case it won't go down. I don't really feel nauseous, but I did start taking my nausea meds late last night. They are helping a little, but I still feel stuck. Did anyone else go through this? I wouldn't be so worried but I'm only two days post op and I'm terrified of messing up my new band, I know this stage is critical. Is there anything I can try to make the stuck feeling go away? Any idea how in the heck I got stuck on pure liquids in the first place?

Thanks for asking I got my husband to burp me (he picked on me for it too, the jerk!), and then I had a nice long nap. I'm feeling a good bit better now, not 100% but that's to be expected. I'm going to stay away from the Protein shakes for today and just Water it down a lot when I have one tomorrow. Water is going down fine now, and I'm able to take bigger sips of it. I forgot to mention I also had a hiatal hernia repaired when I went in for the surgery, so that pain that I'm feeling might be the repair rather than the band. It's hard to tell. If I have another episode where I try to throw up, I will go to the ER. But as long as I'm keeping down the water and broths without much trouble, I'm going to wait and call my surgeon on Monday.

My actual surgeon's office is closed on weekends, but they did refer me to a local ER who sees a lot of their patients, so they know about the lap band. The lady over there told me to stop the Protein shake and call her back if I still felt stuck after 6 hours. She said that since I have no fill, it's probably a combination of being swollen and getting clogged up with mucus. Is it normal to feel a little pain when liquids slide past the band the first few days post op? Are there any home remedies at all that I could try? I heard pineapple juice helps, but I'm not sure if that applies to getting stuck on liquids. *sigh* I'm off to a great start here.

Haha! Maybe I am going to set ambitious goals after all. Better go edit that...

I got banded on the 2nd so I can't set any ambitious goals yet, but I'd still love to play! Name, real or screen~ Jellyfish Goal weight for August 31st~ 204 lbs Weight on August 1st~ 214 lbs Age~ 27 Dietary goal for August~ Not setting one yet. Focusing on healing. Exercise goal for August~ To walk an hour a day every day Personal goal for August~ Get used to drinking slowly Date banded~ August 2nd Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 16 lbs What is your favorite place to travel?~ I don't ever get to travel, but one day I want to go to Alaska

Try not to take in too much air when you do. Believe me, that is no fun at all, it's harder to bring up air after the surgery.