RestlessMonkey

Why didn't the bishop ask YOU if you were ok because you were missing meetings? Since they are trying to keep gossip down? Just curious.

You can't "poo out" enough in advance to make it ok to go 10 days without a BM, if you're planning on doing what I think you are. As to the constipation, call your banding doc. He'll tell you what to take to fix it.

I think once you get restriction you learn pretty quickly that you'd better pay attention and chew. It happened for me that way, anyway! :scared2:

I have never taken a chewable. In fact I take a potassium pill that is HUGE. And I'm well restricted. I wasn't told "nothing larger than a dime"....I have great restriction and no issues with any pill or capsule.

Head hunger aside....speaking only of physiologic hunger, which the band does "control".... who would want to NEVER be hungry? That's the flip side of ALWAYS being hungry and neither one is healthy! The band shouldn't take away ALL HUNGER...but it should make it easier for us to be hungry at more appropriate times (instead of always, or almost always). I used to be physiologically HUNGRY way more than I am now. Anyone who thinks all hunger is permanently removed is wishing for something that isn't a good thing!

As long as you didn't advance your food faster than your post op diet, you are fine and normal. You don't have to keep eating like it's your last day to eat because it isn't!

Austindoll while you wouldn't want to chug your drinks, liquid should go through the band evenly and quickly. I can drink probably 4-6 ounces of water pretty fast....and no issues or bad aftereffects. I think most bandsters who aren't too tight can drink fine, especially if it's in the afternoon/evening. A "small sip" of water should NOT take 20 minutes to go down. Something's very wrong in a situation like that; either swelling or too much saline in the band.

Well maybe if you're asymptomatic, you'll stay that way? I'd probably get the sleeve instead, if it were me. But honestly before I even got the band it all scared me so much I probably wouldn't have done it at all! :scared2: if that makes sense. Now, having had the band almost a year, it's totally do-able and WLS in general isn't as frightening as it was. Good luck to you, whatever you and your docs decide! :wink2:

I don't know about prime but my paperwork wasn't submitted until I'd had a psych consult a nutrition consult a meet w/surgeon and some blood work. Then it took 48 hours for tricare to approve it.

I get hungry just about 30 minutes before it's "food" time. I still get bored and occasionally find myself in the kitchen, but I can usually catch that and stop it. I don't snack any more and I feel wonderful, and more in control of my eating than I ever have in my long life! :scared2: As long as I choose the right foods (that is part of the key, the band is another part, and restriction) I can go for about 5 - 5 1/2 hours before I get hungry again. Apparently it does work that way for some of us! :wink2:

For me personally? NOTHING. Seriously. Compared to all the diets I tried and how absolutely MISERABLE I felt after suffering and struggling and striving and measuring and charting and journaling and yada yada to lose 30 measley pounds only to relax and gain it back in 1/2 the time it took me to lose it? This is heaven. So I've had to learn to chew well, so I can't drink with my meals, so it took a while for the fills to finally give me restriction. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I think my band is wonderful. Even having to have TWO surgeries (my own fault) it's the best thing I've ever done for myself. And as for bandster hell? I've gone through similar things before (a liquid diet of some weirdo liquid Protein shots that I did in the early 70's comes to mind) ... bandster hell was nothing compared to that, because it has an end. :scared2:

The gas hasn't roamed to your shoulder. There is CO2 pumped in during surgery (the body absorbs it just fine) and sometimes it pushes against the diaphragm. The diaphragm, being pushed around by the gas, pushes against the phrenic nerve and THIS causes muscular pain/cramping in the shoulder area, usually the left. (the gas stays in the abdominal cavity; it does not roam around the body). Time will take care of the pain... and personally having someone RUB my shoulder (thus relieving the cramp caused by the agitated phrenic nerve) also helped. Short answer; it's referred pain from your diaphragm. I found that as I started to exercise post op (and breathe harder) it hurt worse...but it does settle down! :scared2:

Depends on many factors. I am tricare standard and it was 1 month from seminar to surgery. But you may have a busier surgeon, or tricare may be backlogged, or your psych consult write up may take longer etc. etc. Your surgeon can give you a good "guesstimate" that will be most pertinent to your situation.

I don't know about the flatus but I've burped a lot more post op. Tell your doc if it's really problematic. Gas X should help it if you catch it early enough!

I slept on my left side the night of my surgery (left side=side where my port is) and on my stomach, as per usual, from night 2 on. The big difference in us is that I don't think there's anything wrong with it and don't feel bad about it.

I don't understand. ? Did you advance your post op diet too quickly? Of course, until you have restriction, it will be as if you didn't have the band. Once you've healed, and usually for the first few fills (depending on how aggressive your fills are) you WONT feel anything. During this time, those who lose (I was not one of them) just diet and "white knuckle" it.

Katwmn63 it is not something we all need to do (apparently! or bunches of us would have clots) Different patients have different histories and such measures are indicated for some, not others. I'm shocked though that they have prescribed heparin and not lovenox (which is newer and causes less bruising) but they both do the trick. As long as you are up and walking and doing well, don't fret! As to the OP...yes, it happens. It will protect you and get you through the initial healing! :scared2:

Yes, me me me! :scared2: And no pain. I can eat solds am/pm, no problem. I don't have to take tiny bites, either, although my bites are about 1/2 to 2/3 the size that I used to take. I DO chew things really really well (about 40 chews per bite; yes sometimes I count just to entertain myself while I'm chewing things to mush). It took a good deal of tinkering to get here, but it is WORTH it. And I CAN eat anything including white bread, chicken, red meat, etc. I get full after about 1 cup of some things, a little less or more of others. Stay full for 5-6 hours. It is wonderful.

Do you have any symptoms? Difficulty swallowing food, pills, liquids? or chest pains?

Jacqui is a great success... here's my take (a success in progress! :scared2: ) Yes, it really works, but like any tool, you have to use it, and use it properly. You have to hold a pencil properly to write with it, you have to start and drive a car (and maintain it) and so on. The band is no exception. You have probably eaten when you were full...? You will still have to struggle with that urge. You've overeaten? Still can happen. You have to make good choices. The BIG difference, as I see it, is the fact that if you do overeat, it often HURTS. You have to bring up bites of food. That makes an IMMEDIATE connection between overeating and pain. Does that make sense? Used to, for me at least, I overate. I got too full. But, my thighs didn't automatically expand, I didn't get another chin, etc. In an odd way, there wasn't much to stop me. Now, there's PAIN. And it is GREAT! It's almost like my band spats my hand and says "you've had enough. Stop now!" LOL (I mean, if a real human tried that, oh man. But, I chose the band) Ultimately I have more control now over my appetite than I ever have. It is "easier" to make good choices because the better I choose, the less hungry I am later. I don't count/weight/chart/measure a darn thing. I just follow the band rules and live my life. I LOVE it. It is just about exactly what I dreamed of. I can eat anything I CHOOSE (no WW guidelines, no Jenny prepared food in the freezer) and I eat less of it and lose weight. That I usually choose leaner meats, things without breading, etc is because I want to lose. 3 oz of lean steak keeps me full longer than, say, enchiladas, rice and Beans. I think it is wonderful.

I said that papaya enzyme only digests Protein....and that is true! (enzymes are like keys, and the food is like different locks; enzymes only work on the food they fit with) BUT...I had to whip out my bottle of papaya enzyme tonight I see that in addition to papaya, it has some protease, lipase, and cellulase in it. Don't know how effective they are, but that would explain why papaya breaks down other things too...IF you have papaya enzyme that is formulated with other enzymes. Just wanted to update my post....

You may fail at the band. Seriously, it does happen. But statistically, if you're willing to watch what you eat (make healthy choices) and exercise, odds are WAY more in your favor with the band, than without it. I personally like to play the odds, and after YEARS of diet and exercise I knew it wasn't working for me. For me, the band, while not an "easy way out" (good grief to those who think it is) is a great tool. Once you learn to use it (that's the restriction part...chewing well, getting your liquids in, etc) you'll be amazed at how well it will work. Think of something you learned to do, like driving maybe? There was a learning curve but now that you've mastered it, it is second nature and while you CAN walk when you want to, it's nice to jump in the car and get across town? The band is like that. You'll need to learn to use it, but once you get it down, odds are it will do for you exactly what you dream it will. Some people have crashes (keeping my little analogy going) and have to have the band removed, some don't master it and it just sits in their garage, but many many learn to drive and then: go, cat, go! So research. Seriously. And turn it over in your mind. But don't fear failure so. It's not like dieting. If you're willing to learn the new skill (banded lifestyle) it will serve you well.

CALL YOUR DOC! As soon as s/he opens tomorrow. Ask him if he thinks it will loosen. How much a fill did you get? Maybe you just need some taken out. Yes you are way way too tight. If I were you I'd already be back pounding on his door! Don't wait over the weekend; it MAY loosen up a little but if it doesn't you could wind up dehydrated in the ER. So keep sipping your Water, and call them tomorrow. Hang in there!

We're all different, but until you have a good amount of restriction in the band, odds are you'll struggle, not lose, get hungry in between meals, etc. My surgeon is very conservative with fills and for me, after getting banded 8/29, I didn't really "find" restriction until March. Some personal school stress issues arose and I had a slight unfill, and the tightened back up May 7. Since May 7 I've lost almost 50 pounds. You can see from my ticker before that...not so much! So yes restriction makes a huge difference and yes it can take a while to "find" restriction. Hang in there. Many who lose early on do it just through sheer willpower and dieting. I opted not to do that; you'll have to choose what method is right for you. But keep the faith, when restriction happens you'll see what all the fuss is about!

I hear you, elcee. When I was in school there literally were not 2 days (except Sat and Sun) where I COULD eat 3 meals at the same time each day. That is harder than it sounds, isn't it? Right now I'm good w/lunch and supper. Breakfast is still a no-go... It is taking an effort but I think it will be worth it. However I totally hear you; sometimes what we want to do and what we can do are two very different things!