RestlessMonkey

Try starting your day off with 16 ounces of water; give it a few minutes, then see if you can eat "whatever" for breakfast, if you're tired of shakes. Most people are tight in the morning (and loosen up during the day) because they need hydration (and no, I love coffee, but it isn't hydration! LOL)

Although originally a doubter, I now LOVE the papaya enzymes! Different enzymes aid in the digestion of different things. The "papain" in papaya helps digest Protein (only dead matter; it won't hurt your living tissue) and mine is formulated with Lipase (for fat) and Cellulase (veggie matter/starches) so it covers a broad spectrum. When I am stuck (which happens rarely now thank God) chewing papaya enzymes can prevent a PB and that's a GOOD thing (they can cause slips, and it's best to avoid them if you can, although you don't have to panic every time you have an incident) I usually just chew 2 of mine (they are "NOW" brand), give it a few minutes, and relief! If it's BAD, I chew 4 (a double dose). It has NEVER taken 15 minutes to work for me. I'm shocked at how quickly it does relieve the pain, but at least for me, relief is almost instantaneous. And it's not in my head, either (LOL)...I quit salivating/sliming, the pain goes away, things relax. AHHHH. I truly completely prefer the enzyme route to PB ing. It is less painful, it is less traumatic on the old body. I think they are miraculous!

It's your choice, you know. I can say "no don't eat" but you're a grown up. If a cheeseburger means that much, then do it. I surely can't throw stones at your house because I've been there and made the wrong choice more times than I care to count. At least your husband is cooking for the kids; I know of some poor souls who feel they have to cook for the family while trying to just do liquids. Just to put it in perspective; you could maybe leave the house, go for a walk, go to another room, go ANYWHERE but a restaurant or grocers while they are eating! And this is ONLY for a few weeks. Not the rest of your life. Most women I know are pretty tough and say "I can do ANYTHING for a little while". This isn't the rest of your life, it's just for a little while. I think you can do it! But, you know yourself best. Often when we diet a french fry here or a cookie there makes no impact but pre- and post- op it can make or break you. You can do this. If you want to.

There's nothing wrong with slowing down, 6 pounds to goal or not. And you're right about the GERD (you know you are! ) because it's better to lose slower than to damage your "innards". :wink2: Enjoy your evening!

Apparently my google engine is more adult! :ohmy: I entered "sex change surgery" and SRS came up.

If it works for you, by all means do it! For me, the thought of measuring and weighing and counting each and every bite of every morsel of food I put into my mouth from now until the day I die gives me horrors. And then to have to write it down or journal it or track it? Good god. And then to review it? ARRRRRRGH. No thank you. Life is too short for me. Give me liberty, or give me death, thank you very much. That's why I love the band. I don't have to do all that if I don't want to. And if others want to, they certainly can. The band is an equal opportunity diet aid. All dramatic joking aside; for me when I "diet" I food obsess. Can I have this? Can I have that? Do I have enough calories to eat a good dinner? I overate by 25 calories OMG what will I DO??? Or worse "I blew it at lunch might as well keep on eating like a pig at a trough NOW" I thought about food 24/7. Now I don't. I am free free free and I love it. Food is just fuel for me now; I finally tamed that lion. I'll never go back to that obsessed sad dieter.

I think you should try drinking adequate water and eating per your doc's schedule for you and see if that stops. if not, call the doc. If so, well, you cured it.

Don't get an unfill! Of course change is scary and you've been so successful! But that quick mind of yours can catch up faster than you give it credit for. Your daughter is smart like you are; she knows you had surgery, and a year from now when you are still slim, but healthy and happy she'll be happy for you. Sounds to me honestly like you need to get a work unfill! Check with your doc about GERD; are you eating too late/too close to bed time? Why not keep the fill where it is (if you can deal with the GERD, to me that's the only good reason to get unfilled) and work instead on exercising. And relaxing a bit. Also, if you have or know of a good eating disorder therapist, a couple sessions to help you recognize the "new you" can't hurt. You're doing so well! You deserve a breather but I don't think loosening the band will give you what you need. Just my 2 cents...

I follow my docs rules and am having a great experience. HOWEVER...I don't have to do without coffee or tea, I don't have to forgo popcorn. No food is "off limits". I am supposed to "not snack" and THAT I struggle with, I'll admit. But I'm getting better! I don't drink with meals. Ever. I don't take longer than 30 minutes to eat. I chew really well about 99% of the time and am always reminded quite harshly when I forget. It HURTS! I didn't drink anything carbonated and now he says I can if it doesn't hurt. I never chewed gum and now he says I can if it doesn't hurt. I want this to work so I either do exactly as told or struggle to do as told (as in the snacks) to achieve my goals. I even went back to my behavioral therapist to help with the snacking. I'm not giving up and saying "oh that's just how I am"...I'm fighting tooth and nail. I want to be smaller and will do what it takes to make that happen. I will say this though: if there is a rule I really kick at (like no caffeine) I ask WHY. If the reasoning is sound, I comply. If it's not, I explore more completely. Caffeine makes some people hungry so my doc's office bans it. It doesn't make me hungry, so he said I could have it. Instant compliance! :wub:

If you can't drink because you're scared, well, get over it! :wub: liquids generally don't hurt; they go right on through. Unless you are super swollen or overfilled liquids are slider to the max! If you can't drink because it hurts and threatens to come back up, and you still feel that way tomorrow, call your surgeon. Some poor souls are filled during surgery and really have a devil of a time; if you are in that category you may need to have fill removed so you can heal properly. Good luck!

Here's a link to a ticker tutor: I don't remember how I did mine (I just remember I had lots of help! LOL) but I think this will do it http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/ Good luck on your surgery; let us know how it goes! I'm sure you'll do marvelously!

Google it. That's what it stands for.

A 21 day preop diet isn't common so I can only assume you have a fatty liver or are at a greater risk for one. May I say (and this is the voice of bitter experience) either ask your surgeon or DO NOT DO IT. The impression is once banded you'll never eat again and that is NOT TRUE. I can eat any food now. You want meat? You'll be able to have it once you're through your post op phase. I eat a steak (or at least part of one) once a week and don't like crab much but have had lobster. DO ask your doc; he may give you the go ahead. But if you don't want to ask, just hang in there. It is not worth it, coming to in recovery and not getting the band. That steak or crab will taste even better 6 weeks from banding when you enjoy it with pride and the band in place! :wub:

I am going to a behavioral therapist WITHOUT being required to. I can tell you that the band helps with physiologic hunger but it has a cost (like any good tool!) and that the biggest challenge for many of us is that old "brain", not the stomach. I personally think requiring people to do 6 months of therapy instead of a 6 month diet makes more sense. No, everyone does NOT need it. All obese people don't need the band. We aren't one size fits all; but if a person has issues that cause overeating and that are not hunger, then why not get help? As a quote I once saw reads: "If the problem isn't hunger, food won't fix it". Try, if you can, to embrace this as a chance to get healthy, and give it all you've got.

I posted this on another thread the other day and maybe it can help you: Surgery is amazingly easy. They'll give you something to relax you before they roll you in. If you've never had surgery, being "out" isn't like sleeping; you won't really have a sense that time has passed. You'll be "there" and then "gone" and then "back". I find it helpful when in recovery to find a clock (they all have big clocks on the walls) and re-orient myself to what time it is. You'll probably have a mask on, with oxygen. Don't flip! It helps clear the anesthesia from your lungs. Once you're alert enough to concentrate, take several deep breaths (in and out) and it helps clear your lungs and your mind. Deep and slow. Once you are oxygenating well, ask them to remove the mask if it bugs you (it does me) They'll remove it and see how you do on room air. Again deep slow breaths really make a difference here. The soreness, to me, was reminiscent of too many sit ups. I felt a little "odd" but nothing excruciating. Again, breathing deeply helps expand everything, helps you feel normal. If it hurts a little at first keep at it; things will loosen up. A big secret I can share: The sooner you act normally, the sooner you'll feel normal. Walk as soon as you feel able (with the nurse's help, and of course once you're out of recovery LOL). Don't be a fool about it, don't try if you're still dizzy, but walk ASAP. When they give you something to drink pick Water first; less likely to nauseate you. Let the nurses know, in fact, if you feel nauseated or "funny". Surgery is scary. The nurses all know this, the docs know it, so don't feel badly because you are petrified. No mentally healthy person ever says "Surgery? Oh yeah baby bring it ON!" LOL The medical staff will help you through it, and the tips I've given you give you a degree of control to optimize it for you. You will probably be dreadfully thirsty, too. They give you a "anticholinergic" to dry up your mucous membranes so anticipate that; it's normal. A mild sore throat is normal too. Take some chapstick and that helps with the dry lips. I agitated for ice chips and got some before I was cleared to drink water; that helps a lot too. Post op take your pain meds if you need them; liquid tylenol may be enough for you after your first 24-36 hours or so. Or not. Just be aware that if you take your prescription it MAY constipate you so be alert for that; ask your doc what s/he wants you to do if that happens. And follow your doc's post op diet and instructions TO THE LETTER! You'll be through it in no time! :wub: Hope some of this helps!

Ok first the caveats: I am not a pro, just a person! Not a surgeon. I AM a newly graduated nurse BUT I'm not posting this because I am a medical expert, ok? Just a fellow bander who's going to share what I know from reading, google, my surgeon, and my experience. None of this replaces what your doc tells you. :wub: Firstly; are you getting AT LEAST 64 ounces of Water each day? I don't mean tea or coffee (even decaf) or crystal light but water? Are you on any medications that would require you to have more water (like allopurinol for high uric acid, for example) One thing I have learned is this: if you aren't overfilled, a tight band happens in a dry person. Dehydrated=tight. This ties in with your problems starting in the AM. Most people aren't well hydrated and if you wake up, drink a little coffee and then try to eat, BAM! too tight. IF you aren't drinking 64 ounces of water each day, DO IT. I drink 4 16oz bottles spaced several hours apart. Some sip all day long. Do 8 oz an hour, whatever works for you, but get it in. Secondly: how large is your band? 3ccs in a 10cc band is pretty aggressive for a first fill and aggressive fills have been linked to esophageal spasms. (I'm not dissing your surgeon; again I'm not a pro. Many people get fills that much, or more, and are happy as clams because they lose and don't have your issues. I'm just saying that it could be what caused them). Once unfilled, as you are, can you eat ok? Thirdly: PB'ing often causes swelling. If you eat/PB and then eat again without giving your stomach and esophagus time to settle down, then the next time you try you'll be even tighter. You might have exacerbated your problem unintentionally by trying to eat again too soon. IF I were you, I'd start over. I'd review the "rules" of small bites, well chewed, eat slowly, over 30 minutes (that last one is my doc's rule...he says no eating beyond 30 or you're grazing). DO THIS NOW even if you can wolf down a cheeseburger. PRACTICE!!! THEN once you feel like you are following the rules, getting the water in, and your doc agrees, get a fill, but a SMALLER one. Get 1.5 ccs. See how you do. Give it 3 weeks or more (because some people need 2 weeks for a fill to even be perceived, odd but true). If that works, get another cc. CREEP UP ON IT! Always practice the small bites, well chewed, eat slow, no drinking during or after meals (per your docs order) and see if you can ease back into it. I have found that if I PB then I am tense and tense=tight, so mastering the eating habits while still open will give you a weapon to fight that. You'll know, once you start getting filled, that you CAN do it; you know how to eat properly, etc. It does become 2nd nature but not as fast as you'd think. I can get distracted by conversation or an interruption (and God forbid I let myself get too hungry before eating!) and then can get into "trouble" but if I chew well (I counted once; it's 40 times for me. way more than I thought it would take! of course it depends on what I'm eating but 40 is a good number for beef and poultry) and watch my bite size (for me it's about 1/2 to 2/3 of my old norm. cut stuff up, then cut it AGAIN. Do it before you sit down to eat so you won't have to think about it) then I can eat anything. I hope some of this helps. Hydrate, follow the rules, ease back into fills, and I hope you'll be on the road again!

Have you asked your surgeon?

I didn't follow my surgeon's preop diet and did my own thing. I lost 15 pounds, but not the right way. So I always tell people to do what their docs tell them and they'll be fine! Once I did what my doc said I got the band just fine! :wub:

Try getting enough water and eating all you're allowed; if you don't feel better on Monday call your surgeon.

You need to follow your doc's advice on when to advance your diet. If you are unclear, or he didn't tell you, call Monday and find out. It's very important to follow his instructions to prevent slips and problems down the road.

Yes you can stretch out your pouch but it takes a pattern of overeating, not one wild meal of two taco fillings! :wub: Odds are that made you ill because it's been a while since you've eaten anything with that much spice/fat/fiber. You don't need to feel guilty; there's nothing bad about carne asada! Just watch it, listen to your body, try to quit when you're satisfied instead of full.

Isn't that just a modification of Stephen King's "shitweasel"?

You aren't taking care of yourself. You aren't eating well, you aren't getting the proper vitamins and nutrients, and you are paying for that. You need to step up. It's not that hard to get the protein in. Have a shake in the AM instead of some coffee, for example.

(using startled deer look) Headhunter? Who on EARTH is that? blink blink

I think so. She was going to bed.