send2steph

You are still healing. Your port will settle in and get less wiggly as it heals

Went to the doc. They said I was just too tight. They removed half of what they added last week. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

I've recently visited my surgeon after two years. This time, he gave a different theory as to why the band is tighter in the morning. Maybe they are all theories and no one really knows for sure. What does your surgeon say or what do you think is the reason? Here's some of what I've heard. #1 is what I was told pre-surgery and #3 is what he told me this time. #2 is something I read on here. 1) When lying down, the Fluid in their body shifts ups and the stomach tissues swell causing the band to feel tighter. Once up and about, the fluid shifts down, the tissues becomes less swollen and the band fits more loosely. 2) Since nothing is going through the band overnight, an almost sticky substance forms over the opening and it takes a while for that to wear down and go through. Drinking a hot beverage in the morning should help break that down and "loosen" that feeling up. 3) The esophageal muscles relax overnight and are not as good at pushing food through the band. As the day wears on, they do their job better. Does anyone actually know?

Hi all, Background: I was banded over two years ago. I had a total of five adjustments in the first few months and then I didn't go back to my surgeon until a little over a week ago. Over the two years between adjustments, I have maintained my initial loss, but hadn't lost any more weight. I was being non-compliant you might say. Eating what I could get past the band most of the time, trying to eat healthy, but failing a lot of the time. To be honest, I was more or less in mourning for losing my friend I had in food. If I tried to eat "healthier" food, I would often regurgitate it up as something would get stuck. My husband was tired of all my regurgitating - at least twice a week. So, I went into my surgeon, finally. I wanted to get a slight un-fill so that I could eat healthier food.He told me that the average number of fills he sees before getting to the "green zone" is 11. He said that I'd given up early and he'd actually like me to recommit, eat even slower, and get a fill. After listening to him, I agreed. He also gave me a printout of Dr. Fielding's "13 Things" article (which is sleeping along just fine, then out of nowhere I am forced awake by liquid in my throat, sometimes up my nose, coughing and choking. It's almost always after 4am. This morning, it was 5am. I have one pill that I take before bed (but I sit up for a while after I take that to make sure it's made it through the band), but otherwise, I don't generally eat after 8pm. So this is several hours after I've last ate. It's almost as though my band gets so tight overnight that my own saliva can't pass through. There's a little bit of acid reflux type feeling after (burning in throat) as well. It's been nine days since my fill. I've waited a little while, hoping it was just because of the new adjustment. But I think this is more than that. Has anyone else had this "waking up choking" issue?

@@verna2197 Hi Verna, I wondered about your outcome as I seem to have a similar problem. Thanks, --Steph--

Look for your largest scar and then feel about two fingers up from that. Mine is on my left side and sometimes feels like it is right next to my rib. Now more than a year post-op , it is finally settled into where it doesn't feel like it obtrusive and moving and painful from time to time. I'm surprised how long it took to become part of me. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

All I can say is start practicing now. Chew until it's applesauce consistency.

...you take a sip of water during a meeting and then the liquid gurgles past your band, loudly!

...you're chewing your food and think you have it chewed enough and your mouth starts to swallow part of what's in your mouth and you can feel that there's a chunk in there that might be a little too big (in the middle of swallowing) and you can't stop it, it's already half swallowed. And then it's gone down your throat and all you're left with is that feeling of regret mixed with fear that it will get stuck! UGH! So you wait, and stop eating for at least five minutes and try some liquid only after that first to make sure that the pea-sized chunk made it through. For me, this happens with squishy but firm type things quite a bit, like eggs, bananas, or cooked mushrooms. I'm six months in and it's still work for me to break my quick eating, barely chewing, habits of old.

How do you know you are hungry? The RD at my doc's office said that a growling stomach doesn't always mean you are hungry. It could be just working on something. Gurgling, maybe... but growling to me means hungry! Lately, I've been very tired quite a bit. I'm trying to get better sleep. But it occurred to me that back in the day, when I was low-carbing in the late 90's, being tired was a key indicator of hunger for me. I'm wondering if fatigue=hunger with the lap-band. Anyway, here I sit, it's 11:30, and I could seriously lay my head down on my desk and take a nap. I don't feel "hungry" per se, but I'm soooo tired... I hate to eat when I'm not hungry, but maybe this is hunger? Your thoughts?

What about the burping and noises? Or, heaven forbid a pb is coming? I REALLY have to watch first bite syndrome, and "keeping up with the Jones'". I'll find myself three to four bites in, eating at the table's pace, and then remember when my band says whoa! Thanks for the comments. Hubby and I do the plate switch thing a lot too.

I have the hardest time eating in public. I feel like the wait staff is hovering over me because I keep laying my utensils down and am eating so slowly. I'm always in fear of a pb. And even if things go smoothly, I often need to burp. Do others relate, or am I too tight? Your thought?

Agreed. If things are right, there shouldn't be discomfort. I had half a cc removed. Hardly any. But that tiny amount has made all the difference.

I've kept a food journal many times before. I particularly love MyFitnessPal for food and meal tracking for calories, macro-nutrients, etc. However, I'm now wanting to keep track TIME as well - of when I eat, and when I get hungry after I eat - to better gauge how well my band is working for me. Does anyone do this in an organized way or with a specific app? Would love to know calories and volume of food and then know how long that kept me satiated... with all the graphs and fun stuff that other apps do with calories and so forth, only with the time element added in.

I also agree. The shoulder pain was the worst part. Mine wasn't 12 days but I will concur that it just all of a sudden wasn't there. One day it is, the next it wasn't. Hope your "poof!" comes soon!