Cocoabean

5 almonds and a slice of cheese? All day? That might constitute a meal, but not a daily ration. Hydration is very important. I got a bit dehydrated this weekend myself. My band tightened up very tight. I've been slamming Water all day hoping to loosen things up.

Many of us have hiatal hernias. They can often be fixed at the time of banding. Obesity is a factor is hiatal hernias..from medline: The cause is unknown, but hiatal hernias may be due to a weakening of the supporting tissue. Increasing age, obesity, and smoking are known risk factors in adults.

Shauna, putting a seat cover down in the Water really reduces backsplash. It's a trick I learned here at LBT. I am now more careful with autoflush. I just don't stick my head so close to the bowl. It is hard not to trigger them, as the movement causes it. I've been known to use the bushes in the back of restaurants if the place is busy. I get weirded out at the thought of people thinking I am anorexic or something. I can usually urp quietly, but every once in a while...YAK. Then I fear they will see my feet pointed backwards..Guys are lucky in that sense.

Go to "Contact us" at the bottom of the page and send the administrators of LBT an email. Hopefully they can help you out!

Did James Bond edit his post about the scissors??? Well, I actually tried it. Didn't work. The slime stuck to the scissors and stretched with them to the counter, then continued back down into the sink. I was leaning over the kitchen sink at the time. What a mess. Also James....beware of auto-flush toilets. DH wanted to know why I had washed my face and bangs in the bathroom at PF Changs. 'nuf said. To stop back splash into the eye in a public toilet, put a seat protector into the Water before yaking up the stuck item. IF you have time. Yes, the splash from a stuck item is perfectly aligned to hit you in the eye.

I've been banded 4 years now. Typical day... Yogurt or grahams w/peanut butter for b-fast. lunch is half a sandwich, quesadilla, salad, or enriched noodles. dinner is a meat dish, with veggie side, and a starch side if there is room left. I also eat cheese for Snacks. Oh my gosh! I watched that movie one night when working the night shift, alone, on an airport with mirrored windows overlooking the ramp and runway. When lights were on inside, you could not see outside very well. So, I am watching the moving, doing nothing, being scared, when a spot light comes in through the windows right in my eyes!!! I about pooped my pants. It was the police doing rounds. They'd never shined the light into the building before..sheesh

For a bandster alcohol metabolizes exactly the same as it did pre-op. Our anatomy has not been altered. So it moves through the full stomach and into the intestines as it always did. For gastric bypass patients, the absorption of alcohol is significantly changed and they feel the effects much sooner, and their blood alcohol stays raised for longer than a normal person. After you have lost a significant amount of weight, it will take less alcohol for you to feel its effects. Plus if you cut back during the weight-loss phase, your tolerance may decrease. I know mine did. When my weight stabilized and I began enjoying adult beverages again, it only took one for me to feel it. But that was because I hadn't consumed any in two years. Now my tolerance is back to what it was pre-op.

Glad you found us! This is a great place for support. I found it shortly before my surgery. I don't do many shakes, my surgeon prefers that I eat my calories. But I do keep some around for if i am bored with my diet, or just too lazy to eat. Ever think I'd be too lazy to eat?? Nope, never!!! Another victory the band has given me.

I didn't drink much during the active phase of my weight loss. You have to take the added calories into account. As far as safety, once you are fully healed and on solids, I don't see it would do any harm. My surgeon advises against it because of calorie content, and the fact that sometimes if we consume too much we might be tempted to eat too much as well. Now that I am maintaining, I do enjoy some adult beverages.

Any junk food goes down the easiest. It is a Bandsters' Paradox. Eat good, solid, heathy Protein, and risk getting stuck. Eat buckets of junk that I know will go down easily and taste ooooh sooooo goood......

Milk of Mag can be your best friend. My question would be, do you feel plugged up? Our diets change so much, then you add the pain meds--which block you up. But me, I can go for days and days without going. (ok that is a weird sentence) But until I feel uncomfortable, I am not concerned. I think 7 days is my max before I start to feel bloated, feel like I need to go, but can't. I was recently diagnosed with IBS. Not at all related to my band.

Cherish, good to see you! Thanks for popping in! I think size 6 says you don't need to worry about those pesky 10 lbs! My opinion of course. Put a fork in you can call you done! Congrats on all your hard work paying off. Stick around, it's nice to see some other "old timers" who are doing well hanging out.

It is not uncommon for fills to kick in one to two weeks later.

I have heard of insurance companies accepting non-consecutive years as proof. What does AETNA's policy say? Does it say 3 years of history of obesity? Or history of obesity over the last 3 consecutive years?

Did you contact your surgeon's office? Sometimes the surgeon will meet you at the ER or at the office to do an unfill. Tell the surgeon's service you are having problems getting liquid down, and that you've been to the ER--they failed in an attempt to unfill you.

What she said below. It is part of the digestive process of which we are usually unaware. Normally it would go into your stomach. I have snipped the below quote, but ellendeette is referring to Papaya Enzymes. They've never worked for me either.

It is no fun, but I take it in stride. Totally worth it to be healthier. My biggest offender is chicken breast. So I don't even try. Next is very soft, doughy breads, like doughnuts (who needs them), white bread, and bagels. Bagels are hit and miss. I'll try them later in the day, but not as the first food I eat. If I have a hamburger, I don't eat the bun. I'll use it as a handle and tear it off as I go. Hamburger meat can be an issue as well, it can have gristle in it and you think it is chewed, but BAM. So I often chose turkey burgers or veggie burgers. If I am getting a sandwich, a wrap is perfect, if I cannot get that, then whole grain is a better choice, toasted makes it easier.

Thanks, looks like you are doing well yourself!

Stuck feels like you just swallowed a rock. The rock is now sitting at the base of your sternum. It can be pain or pressure. If you experience that, STOP EATING. Wait until the sensation passes before trying more food. Putting more food on top of stuck food just increases the pain. Don't drink anything, that won't help either. If you swallow a couple big gulps of liquid, the stuck item is likely to come back up. Your pouch grinds trying to force the item through. That can get very painful. Your body produces a very thick mucous in an attempt to help the item go down. As the way down is blocked the mucous comes up, and out, in the form of slime. The sliming will not stop until you are unstuck. Ah the joys of banded life. But really, oh so very worth it.

Congrats on your loss so far!!! The first time I tried on "regular" sized pants and they fit, I stood in the fitting room crying. Take several sizes of the pants you like into the fitting room. Cause if you think your Z...you just might be X. I don't know how many times I had to go chasing smaller sizes! How fun! Enjoy your shopping adventure. For me, for the first time ever, I am actually wearing out clothes.

Left shoulder pain is very common post-op. For some reason the gas they use to fill your belly so they can see seems to rise to the left shoulder once we are awake and mobile. Try a heating pad and walk, walk, walk. Gas-x strips can also help dissipate it. Yes, I know, the pain is not in your stomach, but they can help. Walking is the best treatment for getting rid of that gas, though. Usually by day 3 post-op people are feeling much less like they have just been hit by a bus. Stay on top of the pain with your pain meds, don't let it get above 3 on the pain scale. It will get better.

Marci, please go to the ER. You need to feel well for your mom. From my reading here at LBT, stress can make a band tighter. Maybe a slight unfill will help enough to get you through until you are home. Whatever is going on needs to be addressed. If you aspirate the stuff coming up at night and you get pneumonia, then where will you be? Besh wishes.

I didn't feel anything after my first fill. My second I did. My third was my green zone. Don't be too worried that you are not feeling the effects from a 1st fill. Stick to your food plan. My surgeon never had me to a liquids to mushies to solids regime after fills. But his NP did my second to last fill. She had me do 3 days clears and 2 days mushies. I was horrified. And then I was HUNGRY. But she had her reasons. We were going into a long weekend and she and my surgeon would be out of town. She did not want me to end up needed an emergency unfill and having to go to the ER. So, the clears and mushies reduced that risk. I followed it, but was not a happy camper.

In four years I've never tried jumping...hhmmm, must add it to my repertoire...I doubt you'd cause a slip by the act of jumping. Other than unknown causes, the biggest cause of a slip is vomiting. I have tried: Waving my arms above my head. Flapping my arms like chicken wings. Rocking from the waist. Walking...I've worn a path in the hall carpet. Hanging over the kitchen sink to let the slime drain and wait it out. Take a few gulps of water--be near a sink or toilet, this starts the launch sequence. Lean over a toilet and work my stomach muscles. I can often bring up the item that way. Last resort...I have a short gag reflex, finger down the throat, offending item up. Done For me, if I am sliming, the stuck item is NOT going to go down. If I just have pain, there's a chance it will go down. The book answer of course is to take small bites, chew the heck out of them, wait between bites, repeat. Book answer 2, if you do get stuck, wait it out, if it will not go down, call your surgeon. I say there are those who have been stuck and those who will be. It is just a fact of life for us. At some point we are going to eat a food that now won't go down ("but it went down yesterday!"), eat too much, not chew it enough, take a bite that was too big. When you are out with friends enjoying a meal...great conversation going on, you have a bite of something in your mouth, you want to say something, you swallow quickly, speak your mind, and oh...no.....stupid, stupid, stupid. We were camping with friends. One day I had a bagel. The next day I had another bagel, sent me into an hourlong pain-fest. Now I can sometimes eat bagels, sometimes not.

It is really a shame they cannot band our brains, eh? I am still drawn to junk, but I try hard to make better selections. When you choose solid Proteins over sliders that go down so easily, you'll consume fewer calories and be satisfied longer. When I am satisfied it helps me to not be drawn to the junk for grazing purposes. When I start to think I want food I ask myself if I would eat a can of green Beans. If the answer is no, I want chips....then I am most likely not hungry. That really helps me determine real hunger.