RestlessMonkey

Tyler, see if you can discontinue the codeine (yes it does constipate!) and switch to liquid tylenol. Are you getting at least 64 ounces of water in each day? Are you walking frequently? If not, try water and walking and no more codeine. If your problem doesn't resolve by this evening, you may need a stool softener tonight.

I usually DONT bring things back up but that makes me very persnickety about what I DO swallow! I think i'd have to try tums or something before I hit the vinegar! I'm too wimpy to be healthy I guess LOL

Becky do you usually drink caffeine?

So it's like fighting fire with fire! Interesting! I am afraid I'd vomit if I had to drink vinegar, no matter how diluted....but maybe want2beme can do it! Thanks for explaining, kelliebelly

Vinegar is acidic...so I would think one wouldn't want to take it for GERD because the problem is stomach acid comes up....seems like that would be like throwing gasoline onto a fire to put it out! I know many think apple cider vinegar is healthy and it may be, but not in this instance!

that's so fast! Congratulations! :thumbup:

Wow. Glad I don't have all those! :thumbup: Take care and I hope your reflux settles down. Better add "OJ with pulp" to your list of no-nos!

I lost 41 pounds ....32 during my 5 1/2 weeks of preop dieting and 9 post op. It's stalled right now while I'm on mushies but I'm not worried like I would've been before I got the band. Now I know I've got what I need to take weight off forever...I get my first fill 10/9 and I am so excited you'd think i was getting a pony! LOL

i can't help you with that either. I was told to avoid carbonated beverages and gum. That's it. I was told I would be able, most likely, to eat anything if I chewed properly etc. And I was told if I try something and it doesn't "work " for me, wait a month or two and try again. I'd be scared to death, too, to have my surgeon too far away. You are braver than I!

Our surgeon said that while the USA is lagging some, data from Australia (they've had the band longer) indicates that 3 years post op, both groups, RNY Bypass and Band, lose an average of 80% of their weight. Bypasses lose more quickly but then level off while bandsters keep on losing. So starting weight isn't really a good reason to pick one over the other!

If you have a recliner you may want to try sleeping in it tonight...

I wish I could help you. My DH has GERD and when it acts up there's nothing he can do but sit up until it settles down. And he doesn't have a band; add that into the mix and you've got another situation! I hesitate to tell you to try Tums; they don't really help him. Wish I could tell you more; but Monday you might want to get a slight unfill. I've read that GERD happens when fills are too tight. Won't help you now though....:thumbup:

I don't think you need a therapist...no more than the rest of us actually! LOL I mean honestly a fat 53 year old woman sitting holding a can of Old El Paso Refried Beans and sobbing is pretty, um...odd? LOL What did you eat? You're probably fine....and I have learned that slippage hurts like the devil so you're probably good. Just hang in there. You may feel alone but you really aren't. It will get better and soon it will be behind you! :thumbup:

As to the rest of your questions...many surgeons feel the first 4-6 weeks are for healing. Take time, do what you need to, progress through the stages, etc. You probably won't feel restriction until the 3rd or 4th fill; it just depends on you, your body, your band, and how much your surgeon approves for each fill. However your hunger should get much better once you can have pureed food; whenever your surgeon approves that.

PLEASE Stick to the post op diet. When you eat any solid (pureed, mushie, baby food, just one bite even) of food, your stomach churns like a little washing machine. That churning action can literally rip your stitches loose where your band is sewn into your stomach. Your stomach is pulled up or down, depending on your surgeons' preference, and your band is stitched into place. This helps prevent slippage and erosion. IF you eat before it's healed, you will tear it loose. I know you're hungry; most of us were. I sat and held a can of refried beans and CRIED....and I am not a crier. BUT I didn't eat them. You need to be tough on yourself now, in order to be good to yourself.

I don't know if you are asking me or another post or just "anyone" but I'll answer...if you are an adult female of average height, in my opinion that is an unhealthy diet to do any lenght of time. Undereating is as damaging and dangerous in it's way as overeating is. You seem to have traded one eating disorder for another! You need to up your calories. You need AT LEAST 60 grams of protein a day, plus some carbs and fat. As I said, your body will pull protein from your muscles including the heart (that's what killed the 60's song superstar Karen Carpenter) if you don't eat enough. You'll end up with the constitution of a prisoner of war camp survior. I can't imagine that's what you want. If you truly can't eat more, you need to drink a supplement or get an unfill. If you are just doing it to lose faster, you're losing the wrong way and can harm yourself. You need to discuss this with the nutritionist at your surgeon's office or have him refer you to one so you can get a better plan that will keep you losing but in a healthy way. You won't even look good as you lose; that austere a diet will cause your hair, nails and skin to suffer. It's a no win, IMHO. Please take care of yourself!

Not everyone loses with the band and not everyone gains with the bypass...but most insurance companies, if they will pay for the band will also pay for bypass. Mine does. Obviously I chose the band, although not for the reasons you listed.

OK! Maybe your husband is right...or maybe you just have "fibroids" that are nothing and you couldn't feel them before. Best to confirm though! I'm sure you'll be fine! :thumbup:

Go in for a check up. There's nothing in the surgery that should make you lumpy...at least nothing I'm aware of. I'm large breasted and haven't had any issues at all...Best check with your gyn or primary care doctor to make sure it's nothing to be worried about.

Like you I think I'm going to need to find a workable protein supplement. I'm thinking of getting some "unjury" (I heard of it on this site) ... it comes in a "no flavor" flavor. YAY. I'm not used to ALL my food being chocolate and coffee and strawberry (shudder) LOL You'll do fine. They call the period before fills "bandster hell"...and we'll get through it! :thumbup:

Call your surgeon tomorrow, describe your symptoms, and see what they say. It could be nothing, but it could be something they need to treat. Better to be safe!

Sure! Because the body doesn't recognize liquids as food (maybe one reason we all starve when we have to live on those nasty Protein shakes LOL). The point of the band is satiety. So when you drink too close to, or during, or right after a meal, that liquid can wash the food through your upper smaller stomach and through your lower larger chamber and you literally negate the positive effect of the band. The point is for the food to stay there long enough to trigger satiety...to fire the hormones and neural transmitters that tell your brain and body "That's a wrap I'm full I'm outta here" When you drink the food goes through and those signals don't get sent. Docs vary about how long you have to go without; trying to balance that desired satiety with desired hydration. Mine says 15 minutes before, during (and we're to eat over 30 minutes) and then 15 minutes after (total of 1 hour) but they all put their own spin on it.

OK! My bmr calculator says, for light activity, you need about 2700 calories a day. No wonder you aren't losing on 700-900! I am no professional (unless doing about 1000000 diets qualifies me as one LOL) but I think you need to get probably 1000 - 1200 cals a day. Eat Protein first and it doesn't have to be tuna (I hate tuna, the proverbial diet food i burned out on it in the 70's LOL) Fix hamburger, chicken, fish, shrimp, turkey, ground turkey, whatever! OR even refried Beans in a low carb high Fiber tortilla. Eat your protein first, a good 3 ounces...then veggies, then some fruit. That's what we're taught and that the protein and veggies are most important. (and that makes sense...again because if you don't get enough your body pulls it from muscle and that includes your heart) Your body can use fat/adipose to make glycogen but it doesn't provide protein and you need that to rebuild cells etc. So make sure you get enough ... 60 grams a day. Then fill in w/veggies and only occasional fruit. I think if you try that a week or two you'll start losing again. Does it sound doable to you? You should lose 2 1/2 to 3 pounds a week that way. Of course bodies don't understand "math" and can trick us but it should work better than what you're doing now! OH and make sure you get 64 ounces of Water. You need it for fat metabolism too!

Wow please forgive my many typos and my dangling parenthese... I have a cold and I think it MAY be time for tylenol, mucinex, and bed! :thumbup:

I'm glad I don't have those issues with eating. Of course, I can eat like I did..no restriction etc. But that's what fills are for! I thought you were still just on liquids since you said you drank Protein shakes to feel full. I love refried Beans and cheese (and even those don't give me gas! LOL) and pureed split pea with ham Soup (and crackers soaked in the soup) ... those kept me going. Barely sane. LOL And seriously I during my liquids I did not watch ANY tv that I hadn't already DVR'd so I could FF thru food commercials. My doc's attitude is the first 6 weeks are for healing, not weight loss, so I'm eating enough mushies (mashed potatoes, baked potatoe, those are good too. and I don't like cottage cheese but lots of people do) to keep hunger at bay. I've also pureed stuff I fed my husband and had it (spaghetti and meat sauce worked wonderfully pureed. It wasn't pretty but it was good...just overcook the spaghetti) You'll get through; you're past the worst already!