Persimmon

Your esophagus/stomach area is banded, not your windpipe...not the same part of the anatomy. If food gets stuck in your band, it doesn't affect your breathing. Anatomy 101... Metamucil is nasty regardless...Fiber from real food or Benefiber (which doesn't get thick and nasty) is better. Nancy -156

Doesn't matter...biotin doesn't address the causes of post-op hairloss regardless. It can't counteract the body's reaction to general anesthesia/shock of surgery and it can't counteract the excess hormones floating around due to shedding weight (we store extra estrogen in our fat). It's temporary. As long as you're getting enough Protein and eating a balanced diet, you can rule out nutritional causes...it's extremely rare for bandsters to lose hair due to malnutrition...takes a lot of work (and a big lack of common sense) to achieve that. Nancy -156

Any doctor telling you that you as a bandster should be eating 1/4-1/2 cup of food per meal has been improperly trained about banding. Period. That is from RNY protocols. Properly restricted bandsters eat between 1 to 1 1/2 cups per meal, get 50-60g protein from solid foods, 1200-1500 cal/day, sensible healthy balanced diet. Anyone feeling full on 1/4-1/2 cup meals is basically too tight which leads to banding complications. Banding is about sensible loss...attempting to starve it off with these instructions will put the body into starvation mode and make proper loss difficult if not impossible. The RNY confuses the body so that this is avoided during the initial honeymoon but that is not the case with bandsters. Gah...doctors...they get no education in nutrition in med school then are too big of control freaks to deligate that patient education to the people who DO have the education. Nancy -156

Well, first you have to eat like a bandster to get any accurate idea if you have proper restriction. You cannot test restriction on mushy or junky foods. A properly restricted bandster should be eating between 1 to 1 1/2 cups per meal, which means 3-4 oz solid Protein, 1 serving (1/2 cup) nonstarchy veggies and up to 1 serving (1/2 cup) starch if there's room...eaten in that order. Small bites, pause between bites (put the fork down if that helps), chew to almost liquid. If you're getting discomfort after just a couple of bites, you might be experiencing "first bite syndrome" aka esophagal spasms. To test (and fix) this, before you start eating, have some hot liquid...hot tea, broth, something light, but hot. If that allows you to eat your meal comfortably, then that's what's going on. If that doesn't help, and you know you're chewing and not rushing, you probably are too tight. Chef Boyardee Ravioli...not a good choice...it's a mushy. Fast food sandwiches...not a good choice. First adjust the eating habits then, if those are fine, adjust the band (either fill or unfill, as warranted). If you're unsure of how to eat a healthy balanced diet based around solid foods, get a good nutritionist to help you ASAP...a bandster's diet is really something any sensible weight loss diet will have already taught you...basic nutrition, based on healthy solid foods, treats/junk very sparingly. Nancy -156

"I can eat more than I think I can"... That's part of the problem...you're putting too much in front of you. It's really important, especially during this learning phase and while you're working toward proper restriction to make sure you're putting proper portions on your plate and not expecting the band to force you to stop midway through a too-large meal. This is one of the most common mistakes new bandsters make. If you're feeling like you're about to PB a lot, you're doing something wrong. Give up the crutch of washing the problem away with drinking during meals and address the problem. You're either not chewing enough or rushing your bites (put your fork down between bites to help slow you down), taking too-large bites or eating foods your band doesn't tolerate, or simply too tight. It also might mean you are ignoring your actual full signals. Full post-op means something different than pre-op. Pre-op, full meant stuffed/uncomfortable...post-op it means "not physically hungry anymore". We need to look for our "soft stop" which can be something like a burp, runny nose, sneeze, hiccup, a little sigh. Evaluate physical hunger levels after every bite (another reason not to rush) and see if you notice anything like that...that's the point where you need to stop eating. Ditch the Water at meals...you're sabotaging your band by continuing to drink with meals. Nancy -156

I never drink with meals...haven't for over 10 years. It's a bad habit and a major cause of heartburn and can allow you to cram more food down. As a bandster, I knew from the get-go that it was one of the things that was the most likely to prevent my band from doing its job...it washes food through the stoma faster thus allowing us to eat more...and if the pouch is already full, it can cause puking. Neither a good thing. So it's actually really important. Drink a glass of water/fluid right before your meal then remove the glass from the table. As the Nike ads say, Just Do It. You've got to go cold turkey on it. If you're properly hydrated, you won't be "thirsty". It's just a habit. Nancy -156

You should have a followup appointment around 6 weeks out at which you can then discuss with your doctor if a fill is warranted. Most people need to go through 3-5 fills before getting properly restricted. Then, a new fill should be given a good 4 week try to see if it's working (restriction isn't really a "feeling", it's more a result...proper weight loss (1-2lbs/week on average) and your sensible bandster meals (3-4 oz solid Protein, 1 serving (1/2 cup) nonstarchy veggies and up to 1 serving (1/2 cup) starch if there's room) are making you full (full = not physically hungry anymore, not discomfort/tightness/about to puke/stuffed) and not get physically hungry again for 3-4 hours. No office person on the phone should be refusing to let you have an appointment. Even if you're still losing, if you're experiencing hunger and lack of satiety, you need a fill. Proper restriction results in both things. Nancy -156

Um...cuz somehow whoever gave you that card doesn't understand the difference between RNY patients and bandsters? Properly restricted bandsters eat between 1 and 1 1/2 cups of food and even that much can make it hard to get into the proper 1200-1500 cal/day range. 3 oz chicken = 1/2 cup. To even just get in the 50-60g Protein you'd need to eat 8-9oz chicken. That would put you under 400 cal/day and not allow for any sort of healthy diet. It's basic math. Bandsters put on RNY protocols do not do well...without the rearranging that confuses the body (so that it neglects to go into starvation mode because it's busy with other things), weight loss will be poor as will health. If you blocked off both ends of the pouch, it would be about 1/2 cup in size...but food is always trickling through as we eat. Part of the trick is learning to eat slower than we did pre-op but not so slowly that we allow too much trickling, thus meals should be no longer than 20-30 minutes. Once you're fully healed and back on solids you should be able to eat a proper bandster meal comfortably....discomfort and difficulty aren't the point. Nancy -156

Typically, bandsters start transitioning to solids around 4-5 weeks out and should be fully back on and tolerating solids for at least 1-2 weeks before deciding if a fill is needed. You cannot judge restriction on anything but solids and you cannot judge restriction on feel. New bandsters tend to obsess about "feeling" restriction and that's not the point. A properly restricted bandster will be losing 1-2lbs/week on average and have their sensible bandster meals (not teeny tiny micromeals...3-4 oz solid Protein, 1 serving (1/2 cup) nonstarchy veggies and up to 1 serving (1/2 cup) of starch if there's room) make them full (full = not physically hungry anymore, not tightness/stuffed/uncomfortable) and not get physically hungry again for 3-4 hours after a meal. So you can't see how things are going with solids until you've been on them for a little while first. Surgeons who fill prior to patients getting back onto solids haven't been trained properly and show a lack of understanding of how the band works. I can't tell you how many people I've seen end up too tight with problems because of surgeons who do this. Nancy -156

Well, to some degree your doc is right...many people experience some swelling from a fill and that goes away after a few days. However, if you cannot comfortably eat solids a week after a fill and get in 50-60g solid Protein and 1200-1500 cal/day, you are too tight and need a tweak out. Fills don't always loosen up, however...some people get kick-ins a week or two after a fill so end up even tighter. There are 3 ways it can go: what you have is what you get, swelling that loosens, or a kick-in/tightening a week or so later. As long as you can get all your fluids in, it's ok to wait it out for up to a week...but if you can't eat solids by then, call your surgeon and insist. Too many docs don't understand that being too tight does NOT help weight loss...soft food syndrome is usually the result and that is one of the most efficient ways to stall loss. Nancy -156

Muggle, I'm really sorry to read about all your difficulties. It's quite evident you are much too tight. It's impossible to eat like a bandster when you're too tight...you must be able to eat solid food comfortably. Your doctors have done you no favors in allowing you to stay this tight and I'm sure that's contributing to your emotional distress. All WLS requires drastic lifestyle changes...the RNY is stricter than the band, I'm sorry to tell you...but it's not easy for anyone...most of us fight old habits every day in some way or another. But what matters now is that you're fighting your band and it's causing complete disruption of your life to the extreme. You need to insist on a complete unfill. Restriction isn't a "loud" thing...it's surprisingly subtle, if it's right. Bandsters should not be puking regularly, unable to eat solid foods, etc. That doesn't result in weight loss...it only results in damage and stress. Being too tight doesn't result in any benefit whatsoever...not even in weight loss...it's nothing but misery. Hang in there and stand up to any doctor who doesn't listen...get that fill out. Nancy -156

Most erosions are generally asymptomatic...usually the patient experiences a loss of restriction...it's a very slow thing. If you have any concerns, of course, you should be calling your surgeon and getting it checked. Pain is more likely to be something like an ulcer. Nancy -156