tiggergramma

I could eat absolutely anything in the 4th week, unfortunately. It wasn't until the 3rd or 4th fill I started to have stuck episodes. I haven't ever felt nauseous with eating, if I am getting too full, I will start with hiccups. If I push past that, it seems like I am suddenly making too much saliva and have trouble swallowing that. I still get a pain in my back if I get too full also...my band touches a nerve that does that to me. Good luck!

Yay you! I have had this happen once or twice, and typically his scale is exactly the same as mine, so those days when I weigh less in his office, WITH clothes on...whoo hoo! Good on you!

Thanks! I am definitely in a different place with this fill. I will try eating foods separately, that's a good idea. I was certainly more careful all day yesterday!

So I had another fill on Tuesday and have been very careful all week to let that settle and not get stuck on anything. At lunch yesterday, I tried to eat a sandwich with pastrami and found that I could not chew it enough to get it down, so out that went. I didn't actually get stuck, but the rest of the day I found I really had to go slower than usual to get even mushy stuff down. FF to last night at bedtime: I let the dog out, grabbed a small handful of nuts, chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed, and swallowed. Let the dog in, go upstairs and get a drink of water and the second sip won't go down! So that stinks. But I don't feel any distress like being stuck feels, and I go to bed. As I'm laying down, I feel water in my sinuses...like after using a neti pot and lying down...I didn't think anything of that and went to sleep. I suddenly started coughing, hard. Coughing like I had inhaled food or water. The only thing I can think is that I actually aspirated water when I laid down. Anyway, I coughed and coughed, to the point it felt like I was going to throw up. I have been banded a year and have never thrown up, but I never, ever want to! I cannot imagine what hell that must be. Anyway, it finally subsided and I was able to go back to bed. My purpose for sharing this is that I don't want anyone to go through this if you can avoid it! If you feel like you have stuff in your pouch...don't lie down until you have given it time to move down!

I'm not anywhere near goal and am a year out from surgery and that damned 5 pounds is killing me! Thank you for your honesty and good luck!

Yep, I was terrified of failing before surgery. I am almost a year out, and only started to be somewhat more confident of succeeding about 3 months ago! I am what is called a "slow loser" and learning patience, along with actually getting to the restriction part of the band journey, so that it truly acts as the tool I was told it would be, were very difficult for me. Now that I have the tool dialed in to my needs, I am finally changing my eating habits and feel like I am on solid footing as far as future weight loss. So, fearing failure is normal, based on all the posts I have read here and on my own experience. Just like you say, some folks who have the surgery will lose 100 pounds in an hour, the rest of us will lose very slowly, don't let that intimidate you. The healthier you will absolutely love you for being brave enough to go ahead with surgery and start the journey!

Nope, not like vomiting. It is hard to describe...the only time I have ever had it come back up, it was like it had not made it down very far and it just came back up like it had gone down. It is more of a spasm, I guess.

I went through some of that with my surgeon's office...it was like watching the Keystone Cops at times! I was very concerned about going to a doctor whose staff appeared so inept, but it all worked out and the staff really do know more than they came across. In my case, it was because one person handled all of the insurance details and she was only in a couple of days a week. Nobody else really knew where she was in processing anything. Good luck!

Powdered eggs and white chicken meat are the worst for me, I absolutely cannot force the eggs down, no matter how slowly I chew and swallow. Chicken is usually only a problem if I take too large a bite or don't chew enough. The eggs have only ever been in public, as part of restaurant buffet lines in hotels. So, the first feeling is tightness, like you swallowed an ice cube whole. Then, you cannot swallow your spit. What happens with me is an involuntary swallowing action and panic because I know nothing is going to go down. At that point, if I can get up and walk around a little, sometimes that helps. If not, I sometimes have to get into a bathroom and hope what was stuck comes up. It isn't like vomiting...but it isn't pretty. Think of a bird regurgitating for a chick...that pretty much nails it for me. After a stuck episode, I usually am very tight for a day or two. My surgeon recommends going on a liquid or slush diet for 24-48 hours, but I can't always do that. I just am very careful until all is well again.

I am going to be going soon, specifically to shut down midnight hunger. I am a night owl, and by 11 or 12 I am hungry again. I know that when I can manage not to eat that late, I lose weight, I just don't manage it often enough! Best of luck with yours!

So this past Monday I took my daughter and my two granddaughters out to a horse rental outfit on the side of Mt. Rainier. We rode steep mountain trails for an hour and had an absolute blast! The last time I was on a horse was about 5 years ago, and it was a miserable ride; I could barely fit in the saddle, a trot made me want to die...etc., etc. This time I fit just fine, I am 30 pounds under the maximum weight limit, my core strength is strong enough to keep me balanced during the roughest up and downhill trotting...I was ecstatic for the entire ride! The only thing that hurt was both knees, which have ached for years with any stress on them at all. Hopefully that will improve as the weight continues to come off. I am so thrilled to finally be back on a horse, I cannot contain myself! This is one of the many reasons I went through WLS...Yay me!

Having lived in Mexico and having friends who are ancient and are in and out of Mexican hospitals, I would say medical care, in Central Mexico at least, is as good or better, and certainly less expensive than in the US. I would personally be less inclined to seek medical care in any of the border towns, simply because they tend not to be safe places to visit regardless. The biggest reason I can see not to go to Mx for surgery is that you would possibly have too much trouble finding a good surgeon willing to follow your aftercare. Back to the topic at hand though, talk to your anesthetist about your fears. They can explain how the anesthetics are delivered and processed in your system, what it will feel like and how quickly and smoothly you will wake up after surgery. These days, anesthetics are so smooth and so much better than when I was a kid, it really feels like you just closed your eyes for a moment...

I will never in this lifetime be able to get 64 oz of water in a day. That is just a fact of life. What I have had to teach myself to do is get AT LEAST 20 oz a day or I stop having BMs, which is miserable! The only way I can get water in most days is to make weak Crystal Lite and then I will drink enough to keep regular. So, the short answer is: You need water to keep your system working smoothly. Dehydration makes me tighter, too.

I just learned that you can bake them whole! I did one last week, baked for 1 hour, let cool about 20 minutes while making a sauce, sliced open and scraped seeds out, shredded the meat out and topped with a spicy pepper sauce with portabello mushroom chunks and extra firm tofu chunks...yummo!

hehehehehe...good story! Good mom! This whole learning curve is a monster, I feel ya there!

Hmmmm, not sure why the difference, unless we have different levels of the plan? The fills have not been covered 100%, I think those are at 80%, but the surgery and hospital, etc. were all covered.

I prefer quinoa to rice and have not had any trouble with it. If you haven't used it before, I recommend roasting it dry in a skillet for a few minutes, then use broth for your cooking liquid as it adds flavor. It's great with black beans and diced tomatoes, cold in salads, or there is a great Moroccan dish at Epicurious if you like a little spice... http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Quinoa-with-Moroccan-Winter-Squash-and-Carrot-Stew-233714 Enjoy!

Mine has stayed about the same, but I am only down 30 pounds. I am also down 6 inches overall, but it has not become any more prominent as that has changed.

I am also finding that if I have a protein-heavy supper, an hour or so later than usual, I don't snack close to midnight. If I do snack, it is always a protein: cheese or peanut butter, but I would rather not do it at all.

That is one of the most exciting feelings there is, no? Yay for you!!!

My downfall is soda crackers with peanut butter around 11 pm...IF I avoid those, I lose weight. If not...well, I was at a plateau for 4 months! I am having to find things to do to keep from thinking of late night snacks. One thing that has helped since my last fill is that I am finally in the sweet spot and don't get hungry at night anymore. I eat a healthy dinner and if I can keep my head occupied, I do ok.

Solids up to 4 hours before the fill, liquids up to 1 hour before, then full liquids for 24 hours, mushy/soft for 24 hours, then back to regular. Now that I have enough fills to get stuck, back to liquids or very softs for 24 hours after being stuck.

I started with walking (treadmill), then stationary bike, then machines. Did your gym membership come with a free training session with the trainer? If so, use it! Tell the trainer where you are with your band and what you want to accomplish, (I wanted to firm the areas I knew were going to be saggy as I lose weight) and have them teach you how to use the equipment and understand what each piece does and then they can give you different workouts to do different days. If your membership did not include that, as the people who work there to do all of that for you, that is their job. Good luck!

I didn't even know there was a liquid form available. I'll be interested to see if anyone knows too, I will try to switch to liquid form if it is safe, now that I have to crush anything bigger than a baby aspirin.

Thanks, I have been doing what I can as far as getting protein drinks in and just going very slowly with food. Today was finally better, but still being careful. Does anyone know if this will continue after I fly home?