Cocoabean

Have you talked to your band surgeon about the dysphagia? How much do you need to drink to get a swallow of food to go down? If you need a little sip of Water to moisten the food enough to get it to go down, it might not be a problem. I discussed my LOVE of milk with my evening meal with my surgeon. I told him that I was able to cut down the amount, but was having issues stopping it entirely. He said I could sip a small cup if I could tolerate it. His main concern was me drinking calories, and that I would not have room for it. I have experimented with drinking vs. not drinking with my meals--since my surgeon said I could, and for ME it doesn't make a difference in my satiety level.

Well, it is not easy to be discreet at all times. I've been known to run down side streets looking for a friendly bush. When I am out with a group, I always order something I know will go down well. If that means I eat a slider food for one meal, so be it. Generally I'll get something off an appetizer menu or Soup. That usually saves the discussion of whether or not I liked it. If my mouth is full when the server stops by, I'll just nod and gives a thumbs up that all is well. I have to be very careful that I pay attention to what I am eating when I am with a group, otherwise I get wrapped up in coversation and and take too big a bite or don't chew well enough. You don't say how long you've been banded, but for me, with practice I get stuck far less often than I used to. Don't get me wrong I have to be careful and mindful, but each meal is not the roll of the dice it used to be.

Follow-up visits with a band are more numerous during the first year post-op. Every surgical patient will have some post-op visits. I'll be three years next February. I had a tiny fill in early September of this year, and an upper GI just before that to check that all is well (it is). Prior to that, I had not seen my band surgeon for a year. Prior to that it had been about 9 or 10 months. Unless you have complications, the band does not have much more follow-up than other procedures after you get proper restriction. My surgeon wants me to check in once a year. If I did not have insurance, the upper GI would have been costly, I am sure. It could be a consideration, depending on your circumstances. I believe long-term (2-3 years, that is) weight loss rates for both procedures is about the same. I lost 100% of my excess body weight with the band in about 2 years. Here's a link to a good comparison chart of different procedures: Weight Loss Surgery Comparison | WLS Basics | Weight Loss Surgery

I believe with bypass and sleeve that foods can get stuck as well, no?

If you are very uncomfortable with this fill level, get a slight unfill. But, I always have an adjustment period after a fill where I need to learn the needs of the new fill level. Take VERY small bites, chew them very well. Take a break between bites. If food is going down then you are getting nutrition and hydration. But if you are miserable, it isn't worth it.

Hello and welcome! My answers are based on my experiences. Everyone's are a bit different.

If HB is Droopy then I get to be Saggy! Leigha is a perfect Snow White! Maybe Saggy goes better with Scooby Do? Hubby can be Grumpy, or is that a Smurf? :wink2: Anway, C. Diff. symptom was just an anomaly, thanks all for the prayers! Whew. I was sceered!!! I really don't want to go through that again. I was running low on probiotics. That nudged me to order more. My recent fill has provided me just THAT much more restriction, which is exactly what I wanted. I am not so hungry between meals now and my meals are smaller. But I am not getting stuck more often (once I adjusted to it, that is ). Pants are a little bit looser. Haven't done a morning, naked weigh-in. It's funny, I really DON'T care! I step on at night in PJs. Which is subject to all sorts of variables. But I can't get to the scale in the mornings due to its location. The weekend if DH is up first is my only chance. I could have yesterday and today, but I found it was too much effort and I don't care what it says. It has no power over me. WOW! WOW! WOW! Talk about an NSV! So, I am thinking I am pretty much at my goal weight. My ticker says 140. But I have been hanging here at 145-147 since around March or so. Maybe I should change the ticker and be done with it! Anyone heard from Anne or Bobbie? Where they been hiding?

Cleo'sMom, I am not a believer in drinking my Breakfast or the 1/2 cup portions. My surgeon specifically told me that I am to NOT do Protein shakes. He wants me eating my calories not drinking them. He also wants my band on the loose side, so that I can eat a wide variety of foods. I do not eat a low-carb diet. He prefers his band patients use a bit more self-discipline to control their diets, rather than relying sooooo much on the band. It's a fine line, for certain. Of course, my response was, "if I had any self-discipline I'd have not needed the band!" I eat a larger volume of food than many posters on this board. The only food that consistently causes me trouble is chicken breast. I am not exactly sure what my point is, or how it applies to you. But I guess it is that you don't have to be so tight that you cannot eat. I still feel hungry between meals. But it isn't the obsessive, "I MUST eat something NOW!" type of hunger I used to have. It also doesn't occur as often. My brain is not constantly focused on food like it used to be. Since you have the band in you, and it sounds like you have a great new doctor, I hope you are able to find the right fill level to make it work. Insurance coverages are constantly changing. I know the language in mine has recently changed. It now reads as though a revision to a new procedure is possible even without complications if the patient has been compliant with the first procedure, but it isn't working. Or perhaps something like I mentioned to you in another thread, a revision fee during a removal surgery. I do understand you are not having "complications" now. But what about gallbladder surgery? One never knows when that might happen....add in band removal and a sleeve. Just an idea going through my little pea brain. I do hope everything works out for you.

Jaqui, who knows -- perhaps your healthier lifestyle the past five years have allowed your body to fight the cancer, and it would have grown faster and be more deadly with your old unhealthy lifestyle. Without your positive changes and choices you might already have left this world. One of the reasons I chose the band is that we can unfill if needed during medical treatment such as this. If you need more nutrtion during treatment, get unfilled, but not before. I agree with your decision! I do hope you keep the board posted as your treatment progresses, and keep on being a positive influence around here!

I have also heard of surgeons who will charge a revision fee to a new procedure if insurance pays for removal of the band due to complications. On a different forum I saw a quote of $1100.00 for revision to RNY during band removal. That might be a possibility for switching to a sleeve.

Beautiful, Stacie! And ouch. Congrats.

Thanks Elfie! Today, so far so good! And c.diff. is a literal and figurative PITA! Wah. HB, great NSVs! woohoo!

Everyone tolerates pain differently. If you were only given pills, call and ask for a liquid pain medication. Walking is truly one of the best things you can do to help the gas pain. You don't have to leave the house or have great speed, just do circles in your living room or go up and down the hall for a few minutes at a time several times a day. Heating pads also go a long way to help. If the pain is intolerable to you or something doesn't feel right, call your surgeon. That is what we pay them for.

HB, that is too funny! I was awake from 3-5am. Fell back asleep 20 minutes before the alarm went off. Yippee...NOT! When I was doing shift work, I showed up at 10pm for an overnight shift, only to find out that I had the morning shift the next morning instead, had to go home and come back at 6am! wah! Not much new to report around here, except possible symptoms of the c.diff. coming back :smile: I am 4 weeks off the last round of antibiotics for my gum surgery. Here's hoping it was an isolated incident!

Finding what foods work for us as individuals is a bit of trial and error. I can still eat some breads, some people cannot eat any breads. Take each new substance slowly until you figure out what works for YOU! Also, be very careful when dining with a group, I tend to get more into the conversation, and forget about paying attention to my eating rules. Next thing I know...stuckage! Nowadays, after 2 1/2 years being banded, almost all of my stuck episodes (which are rare) are due to pilot error. I find myself hitting my forehead saying, stupid, stupd, stupid! :smile: Getting the habits ingrained early is a very good idea. Even so, what went down fine yesterday might not go down today. It is a truth of banded life. My doctor says it is due to the stomach being a muscle and moving a tiny bit within the confines of the band. Plus our bodies hold differing amouts of fluids, so the band is naturally tighter some days than others. It can be a bit of a toss of the dice, except that highly processed junk food ALWAYS goes down well, drat it to heck and back!

Woohoo! Doing the happy dance for you! Keep up the good work. You are doing fantastic!

I guess I focused on the toasted part of the sub than the 6" part. I could eat far more of a sub that was toasted than untoasted. But either way, I usually use the bread as a handle and tear it away as I go, just eating bits of the bread as I eat the meat. But if it's untoasted, it would be more likely to get stuck. I'll update soon on how much of one I can eat...hubby is at Subway now picking up dinner! :smile2:

If it was breast meat, that is the most likely culprit. I don't even attempt breast meat any more. It is just too dry and sticky for me. Also, it might not have been chewed well enough, or it could have been too big of a bite. I've never tried papaya enzymes, but many bandsters swear by them and carry them always. You will eventually learn what techniques work best for you for getting unstuck. But for certain, it is no fun at all! For a while after I got to restriction, I'd pause before a meal to remind myself that I was now banded and I needed to take my time, take small bites, and chew, chew, chew! I still sometimes run into trouble if I get over hungry and dive into my meal.

Well, what happened?? I was at about your BMI, I lost 8 lbs on my 2-week pre-op. So, you'd most likely lose that little bit you gained. My previous post was not too clear (and had a typo :smile2:). My surgeon would only cancel if I had gained on the 2-week diet just before surgery, because there is no way I could have gained while being in compliance with his orders. Otherwise, after my initial consult, he did not have a requirement for me.

My surgeon would cancel if I gained during the pre-op diet, because it proved non-compliance. The pro-op is meant to shrink the liver and make the surgery quicker and safer. Did yours say he would cancel if you gained after the initial consult? Mine did not.

Can you have gatorade? You can get potassium supplements. Also Vitamin E can help with muscle cramps. Take as directed on the labels. The headache is most likely due to the drastic change in your diet. It lasts 3-4 days then relents. I hope you feel better soon. It will be worth it!

Oh, and maybe you can put some tissue under the underwire to pad it. Then get a loose sports bra!

Oh dear! I am laughung with you, not at you. That was a speedy return. You could say you injured something on vacation, thus are moving slowly. Seeing as I usually get sick or hurt on vacation, that would work for me. Make up a good and outlandish story about bungee jumping off the Great Wall or something. Or you could use my true story, you went on vacation and ended up in the hospital having your appendix out! Or the time I went away and broke my wrist. Or had the flu on my honeymoon. Bronchitis on a cruise. Sinus infection on a work trip, after which I ended up with a horrible intestinal infection (c. Diff.) after the antibiotics. Ok, enough of that, I hope you are feeling better soon!

I hope it helped :laugh: Finding our exact sweet spot is like walking a tight-rope. A bit of trial and error.