Anaed2

Mandy, I recently complained to my doctor about being too tight in the morning, even at midday, then eating too much at night because I couldn't eat the rest of the day. He said that it's absolutely normal to feel extra tight in the morning, and he gave your theory as the explanation (but also said that I shouldn't be making up for it at night!)

Me too. Big cup of hot coffee before anything to eat for Breakfast, Soup or hot tea before lunch, and soup again at dinner time before eating anything else. I didn't have this problem till my second fill (1.5 cc in 4 cc band). I hadn't thought of trying a hot drink to chase the golfball feeling away (Bandacat mentioned above), but I'll give it a try next time. It certainly doesn't help to drink cold Water when something is stuck! Deana.

I'm sorry to hear that some of your work colleagues have betrayed your confidence in spreading around the fact that you had this surgery. As for the person who is angry that they didn't hear it from you, ask yourself just what right they have to be angry? If you didn't want to tell them, that's your business, and yours alone. Office gossip can be really petty. Either you ignore it, or you face it (which may be a waste of your energy) by going to see the angered person and telling them that you didn't want everyone knowing your private business. Anyway, try not to dwell on it because it's really not worth it. I hope they all get over it and that things settle down for you at work. I have not told a soul at work, but since I eat lunch with colleagues everyday, there are many times that giving an explanation has crossed my mind. I'm too afraid of their judgement. Hugs to you, Deana.

My surgeon directed me to go onto solids after only 3 days of liquids post- banding, which I did with much precaution, in tiny quantities. I have had no trouble with my band, but as stated above, do what *your* doctor wants. Imagine how your wife might feel if she has a problem with her band and has to explain that she wasn't following doctor's orders! The good thing about the prolonged liquid and mushie stage is rapid weight loss (which I missed out on), so tell her to hang in there! Deana.

I just had my first fill two days ago, and my doc said to eat soft food for 10 days (not liquids). This is from the same doctor who told me that after 3 days of liquids after surgery, I could go straight onto solids (which I did). I don't really understand the logic behind eating soft foods for such a long time after a fill, but I will follow his orders, if someone could just help me understand the reasoning behind going slow after a fill. Is there swelling after a fill (and does this mean that my restriction level could change as the swelling goes down)? Thanks for your input. Deana.

Thanks NaNa, and all the others for your insight. It's so nice to have answers and other people's experience to rely on in what would otherwise be a very lonely journey. Deana.

NaNa, Thanks for helping me understand the reason for liquids/mushies after the fill. So once the swelling goes away, would this mean that I would lose some of the restriction that I'm feeling now? Should I have had a bit more fill in anticipation of losing some restriction after the swelling goes down? Also, when you use the term 'vomiting', do you mean throwing up food/PBing? I have never actually PB'd before (thrown up food), but have got food stuck on several occasions (often on the first bite of a meal) which has brought on lovely sliming episodes (saliva backing up that I need to spit out in the sink). Although there is an obstruction to the stoma which causes some pain by having the golfball feeling, I don't actually 'bring up' any of the food that I've eaten. It ends up going down by itself, but I do have to get rid of the backed up saliva. I hope this doesn't qualify as 'vomiting' as such that may cause damage to the band? I should also say that I haven't had this happen since my fill two days ago, since I've been sticking with mushies that go down without a hitch. I appreciate your experience and advice. Deana.

You say you've PB'd 3 times in 2 weeks. In comparison to some who seem to PB daily, this doesn't sound like an awful lot, or enough to really be overly concerned (ie. to do any serious damage), but it may be a warning to you now that you've had a quite a big fill to really take things more slowly and be careful with certain kinds of foods. Could you call your doctor and ask his opinion on whether you may be a tad too tight?

Well, I can't feel any swelling, not around the band, nor around the port, but I definitely felt a difference in restriction as soon as I had the fill (I actually had too much restriction - Water was sitting in the pouch before going down - so I had him remove some an hour later). I've been drinking Soup, Protein shakes, eating yoghurt, bananas and avocados and other softer-type foods for the last two days, and even so, I definitely can feel more restriction now than prior to the fill (in the end I only got 0.5 cc more). I could still probably eat anything, but I actually feel satiated now after a small yoghurt and a small banana for Breakfast. I hope that this new found restriction won't go away if in fact I am swollen from the fill. Deana.

Oh good! I'm glad to hear that things will return to normal.... It's bad enough having to deal with periods when everything is going smoothly, never mind when they're out of whack!

Yes, judging by all the different recommendations that the people on this board get from their doctors, it would seem that just about every one of them is different. I just don't understand what they base their recommendations on, especially when they don't seem to be in line with the general trend (I'm also thinking of recent discussions on drinking before/during/after meals, drinking diet coke, length of liquid/mushies/solids stages after banding....)? I'm still wondering about swelling after a fill - does this happen, and if so, does it affect restriction? Why do I read so often about a fill not really "kicking in" until a week or so after? Would all this be reason for recommending liquids or mushies after a fill?

I ditto what Paula has just said. When I see posts from Elizabethsew I never pass them by - so clear, calm and insightful. Thank you for being one of my favourite posters on LBT! Henderson925, I haven't been taking any form of BC for years now, but have had completely regular periods all my life, 5 days long, 28 days apart. Anyway, a week out of surgery I had an unexpected period, so much heavier than usual, and shorter than usual, then instead of the usual 28 days interval, I had to wait much longer for the next one. Weird, but the cycle being messed up must have something to do with the surgery. Deana.

Which god are you talking about here, and in which part of the world???

Me too, coffee with caffeine in the the morning, one cup early afternoon, and decaf while I'm watching TV at night. Nobody told me caffeine was out, and I was also served coffee in the hospital! I don't see why we would need to change something like this for the sake of the band? Deana.

I think I know what "aggressive" means now. I just had my first fill (second really, since 1cc was put into my 4cc band at the time of surgery). The doc said he would only put in .5cc to bring me to 1.5cc, then when he stuck the needle in, he changed his mind and put in 1cc for a total of 2cc. I drank too fast when they tested me afterwards. I was in pain. I tried again 30 minutes later and still had a golfball feeling just from drinking Water (really slowly this time), so the doctor took out .5cc and I'm now at 1.5 cc which is so much better. With the 2cc, I could feel myself swallowing saliva. I think I'll be taking my fills in small increments from here on :scalesno:! Deana.

As Jachut said, we're all different, but I found that in the first 10 days after surgery I was still bloated, tender and not able to move all that fast. By two weeks post-op, I truly was as right as rain.... At the first signs of pain, tiredness, ease up and you'll soon be back to normal. Deana.

Malice, sorry you were in such pain. When I had gas pain after surgery, and once when I had a terribly sore tummy from food poisoning, heat was the only thing that really did anything to help me - especially lying on my stomach in a hot bath. K@t, I read on another thread about diet coke to add some Water to reduce the carbonation. I've been doing this and it really works! I put about one quarter cold water into my diet coke and I still have the taste, the pleasure, but not quite as many bubbles. It goes down w/o a problem and there are no gas troubles afterwards. Deana.

I used to drink my one and a half to 2 litres of Water a day all during meals (came from years of doing WW where they said to fill up your stomach on water during meals). It was really hard for me at first not to drink during, or straight after a meal, but now I seldom do, possibly at the cost of not drinking enough water during the day. I just don't think to do it between meals, even though I carry around little half litre bottles with me. Lately I've been getting food stuck (I think it's from major life stress at the moment that I feel tighter, or that I'm not being careful enough about chewing), and my instinct is to swig some water down to move things through, but this makes it even worse ! So, the answer is, I seldom drink during meals now, but really regret it.... Deana.

I started out with tiny, tiny bites (banded 6 weeks), but have found another technique which suits me better: normal sized bites that I chew and chew and chew, then I swallow little bits of it at a time, not all at once. This way I can really taste what I'm eating, and I don't feel so silly if I'm eating in company, putting tiny bits of food on my fork! The thinner the consistency of what you're swallowing, the better. I've learned that the hard way (think golfball:rolleyes)!

I wasn't told not to drink before or after meals but my doctor did say not to drink during meals. The explanation was that it (the water) would fill up my pouch and I wouldn't be able to eat enough food, which would make me want to snack later. I'm just wondering whether the doctors who say not to drink half an hour before are thinking that a full stomach would be sending the wrong signals to the mind as you're about to sit down to eat?

Gummiebear, I was banded 6 weeks ago. I didn't have to do any pre-op diet since the sonogramme they did of my liver showed that it wasn't too large. All the literature my surgeon had given me months before my surgery, plus all the info gleaned from this website stated that I would have to do liquids for 2 weeks then mushies for 2 weeks, then solids after week 4. Imagine my surprise when on my 3rd day post-op my doctor discharged me from hospital and told me to go home and eat anything I liked in very small quantities and tiny bites! He said that the general recommendation now (here in France) is not to put people on a post-op liquid diet, but rather to start them on solids ASAP so that they don't become too accustomed to liquids and soft foods. He said solids weren't going to do any harm to someone newly banded if they were careful to chew a lot before swallowing, and that the point of getting the band was to eat "normally". In all, I did 3 full days of liquids, then began solids. I had no trouble at all, and I only started getting food "stuck" several weeks post-op when I started being negligent about chewing properly or taking small bites. I had read of one other person on this board, months ago, saying that her doctor had only required one week of liquids after surgery before moving on to solids. I, too, felt confused about all the contradicting info I was getting and was concerned that I was going to mess up my band, but I'm sure my doctor wouldn't have told me to go onto solids so soon after being banded if it could in any way harm my newly placed band (he has quite a lot of experience in doing lapbands). The only downside to starting solids so soon was not having a head start on the weightloss - I've only lost 6 kg / 13 lbs in 6 weeks (which is really not bad considering that I wouldn't have lost any more if I'd been following WW, but disappointing when I compare with others who were banded around the same time as me and who did a month of liquids/soft foods). If I were you, I would try to speak in person with your doctor very soon to clarify exactly what you should be doing, then just do what he wants you to do and try not to worry too much about the contradicting information you're getting from other sources. Deana.

Mmmm, brings back memories of the couple of years I lived in Taipei. The most memorable quake for me was one that hit on an Easter Sunday (it was a 5 on the Richter scale where we lived, but we weren't at the epicentre). It lasted about a minute, and we were swaying around in our 14th floor apartment, with the bookcases and TVs and all else crashing down around us. I got under a bed with my 5 month old baby while DH rushed around trying to cut gas and electricity. Ten minutes before that earthquake, I had just discovered that I was pregnant with baby no. 2 - talk about a double whammy! And as if the earthquakes weren't enough, they have plenty of typhoons in Taiwan too.... Life is so boring here in France in comparison!

Good for you for not pretending not to hear what the jackass was saying and for giving him a taste of his own medicine! Congratulations too on your new-found endurance level. The hard work is starting to pay off - yay for you! Deana.

For those of you who aren't too familiar with the metric system, I thought it may help to post information on the measurements (length and capacity or volume) that are used to describe the different bands: cm = centimetre. This is the measurement used for the length of the band, or its circumference. 1 cm = 0.3937008 inches. cc = cubic centimetre. This is the measurement used for the Fluid capacity of the band, ie. it's volume. 1 cc = 0.03381402 fluid ounces or 0.2705122 fluid dram. 1 cc is equal to 1 ml (mililitre). Sometimes the capacity of the band is represented in cc, sometimes in ml. The volume is the same for these two terms. Inamed makes the Vanguard (VG) band which holds 10 cc/10 ml of saline. Inamed makes 3 other bands: - 11 cm band that has a 9 cc capacity, - 10 cm band with a 4 cc capacity, - 9.75 cm band that also has a 4 cc capacity.

I'm 5 weeks post op right now. I barely even remember having had the surgery! The stitches came out after 10 days, 2 days later the wounds were totally healed over. I was a bit sore at the port site and bloated for about the first 10 days, and by 2 to 3 weeks post-op, I was ready for strenuous activity (not that I actually did anything that strenuous)! I would concur with what previous posters have said about the timing of your vacation being just about perfect. You'll be feeling really good and you will be able to eat (almost) normally if you put off your first fill till after the vacation - a bit less and slower than before. My doc put in a fill at the time of surgery, but after the swelling went down (14 days post-op) I was able to eat quite big portions (time for another fill for me). Good luck with everything! Deana.