2muchfun

You're only 6 days post-op so your body is still healing. The bloating can be just an inflamed stomach but is most likely abdominal gas like Helen suggested. It will dissipate soon and you'll feel better.

I'm nearly 2.5 years out and I still have these episodes. Went to an Italian restaurant to split up Colorado Rockies tickets with my group tonight. I ordered something soft. Lasagna and ravioli. I spent nearly the entire time waiting for each bite to pass through my stoma. One bite, wait 3-6 minutes, then another bite. I ate about 1/3 of my food and took the rest home. Go Rockies and there will be no polish sausage or footlongs for this kid this year

I've seen dozens of studies and not one person failed to wake up from surgery. This surgery is more serious than most doctors portray but it's safe. You don't know if WLS will work for you? No one does. And every one of us failed at so many diets before so the fear is normal and universal. I think I had similar fears but mostly it was my fear of giving up my security blanket(food). But, ya know, we don't have to do that with the band. I only knew this, without the band, I had 0% chance of living a normal pain free life. With the band it was closer to 90%. I'll take 90% over 0% any day. I haven't posted this story for a while. I copied this from another site and don't know who created the thread: "In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old b***h layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try"

What are fresh made diet foods? I don't understand? Did you go ahead and have your band removed?

I don't have good news for you! You may have only lost 7 lbs since the beginning of the year, but you may have lost 15 lbs of fat and added 8 lbs of muscle? Losing fat is not a linear line on a chart. It seesaws with the food we eat and the exercise we do. Fitness is good but it can rob you of lbs lost. But again, it's a good thing. 10 lbs a month is usually much more than most any bander loses. Usually it's in the 4-8 lb range so you're pretty close to where you should be. It's so much easier the first 3 months post surgery to lose more weight but as we progress it gets harder. The math doesn't lie. 3500 calories equal one lb. You must burn 3500 more than you consume to lose 1 lb of fat.

These are questions only your doctor can advise you with. Sorry.

Don't take this the wrong way and I mean it in a positive way. "LOSING WEIGHT AFTER SURGERY(30 DAYS) IS NOT IMPORTANT" So much has happened to your body since your pre surg diet, that comparing your self to others at this point is so non productive. Wait till after your first fill to be concerned with losing weight. This 30 day period after surgery is a healing time. Your body was pumped with saline, antibiotics, anesthesia and so much more. It's swollen from a major operation and will take time to heal. It will retain fluids until it is healed. tmf

There is no one definition of being in the green zone or sweet spot. We all have to find what works for us. For some, it's impossible to eat more than a half cup of food and to eat more would cause stress and discomfort. For me, it's being loose enough that I mitigate stuck episodes and tight enough that I feel the satiety signals when they present themselves. I think my band tightness would be too loose for some but it works for me. The green zone can change over time due to things like the fat around your stomach melts away making the band a little looser. Or, your esophagus and stomach rely on peristalsis to move food through the stoma so those muscles can become stronger over time making it appear that your band has become loose when it's just that your body is more efficient at moving food into your lower stomach. Sounds like you're approaching the green zone. Good luck.

^5

Watch this video. It explains when you're too tight, just right or not tight enough. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3Lwt6ElIs&list=UL Part 1-There are 3 other parts that are very good too.

Shrimp can be very difficult to pass through the band. It doesn't break down in your mouth like seafood so it can easily get stuck if you're very early in your journey. It takes so long to learn to chew your food to mush but shrimp doesn't mush too well.

CC..No, I don't know much about them but I've seen them posted before from people who have had them. Here's a thread where it's discussed. If you type in spasm or "esophageal spasm" into the search bar under forums you'll see several discussions about it. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/297322-went-to-the-er-with-chest-pains-guess-what-it-was/?hl=+spasm

Sounds more like esophageal spasms. You might want to get a .25 CC unfill?

So, 2 very inspiring stories in one week. I'll be bookmarking this one for the many newbies who come here asking if WLS works? Obviously, in spite of ourselves sometimes, it works. Congrats to you.

You don't have to be banded or have WLS to come back here for advice or support. Don't be a stranger and let us know how the knowledge you learned from your journey has helped you?

I don't recall where I read this, and I don't know if it was a study or survey? But, many people who opt for the band, would never have elected to have any WLS had it not been for the band. I believe when I became interested I was only interested in keeping my body intact. Call me silly or call me an idiot, but that's just how I felt at the time. Now, years later, I think I would look at all WLS options. But, I can understand the mental block to not having your body rearranged. So, my point is, thank God for the band, as some people would go on dieting(and failing) if not for the band. And I do recognize that the other 3 options provide faster results with more weight loss on average. tmf

^5

Well, that explains the stuck episode. Pork is notoriously one of my dreaded stuck inhibitors. In the grocery stores I frequent, they have pulled pork, pulled beef with bbq sauce usually in the bologna, hot dogs, Johnsonville franks area of the store. I used to love the stuff and usually it goes down with no problem since it's floating in sauce I've had it maybe twice in two years. Sometimes I have to give in to a craving to remind myself how much I never missed it.

"You've learned your lessons well, grasshopper: See the way of life as a stream. A man floats, and his way is smooth. The same man turning upstream exhausts himself. To be one with the universe, each must find his true path and follow it." -Master Kan-Kung Fu Sorry, I'm a Kung Fu geek

You'll have to read the label to know the nutritional values. There's a lot of sugar in pulled pork since it's marinating in a barbecue type sauce. As long as you factor the calories into your daily allowance, should be no problem. But, some of the pork are just big chunks and can be dry which can cause a stuck episode.

Ezekial Bread, yikes. Yeah, I had to stop eating that kind of bread. I used to eat the sprouted breads but they're a little too rough for me to get down and have been for quite a while. Be careful and keep getting those fills till you can go 4 hours without feeling hunger.

I guess the hernia is a possibility but I don't see many forum members who have had one(watch the posts come in now ) Don't wait, this could be your only window of opportunity?

This sounds like so many of my past stuck episodes. I still have one like yours every 3 months or so but after all this time(2.5 years) I've learned to slow down but still make a mistake now and then. Now I can feel one of these coming on after a couple of bites and just stop. And, like you, it takes a couple of minutes for the food to work it's way through. I've never found that my stoma swelled up after one of these stuck episodes and I usually try to drink ice cold Water to avoid any inflammation. No need to be scared, just be careful and try to avoid distractions in the future. But, it'll probably happen again, only next time, you'll know how to handle it. Oh yeah, don't do this at a restaurant. Folks will assume you're having a stroke or heart attack

I can eat bread. I have to be careful and still eat small though. If you're looking for the band to stop you from eating bread or carbs, that's not how the band works. The band helps you feel satisfied with smaller portions of food but it's quite easy to eat around the band with bread, rice, potatoes etc. The band is not a restrictive tool like the sleeve. The sleeve literally will not allow you to eat more than 4-6 ozs since that's the size of your stomach. Adjusted properly, the band will allow you to eat one or two bites at a time before you get stuck. If it's not adjusted to the green zone yet, you will remain hungry and be able to eat more food. Your lower stomach is still the size of a small cantaloupe but the pouch is only about 2 ozs. If you drink with meals and wash the carbs through, you can eat till the cows come home. Are you looking for satiety signals like burping, runny nose, hiccups? Do you feel that food is sometimes unappealing? Those are the signals you need to look for. Full or food stoppage is not something you want. tmf

I joined the Denver group a few years ago and had to be invited. So, I messaged the admin person and she allowed my membership. Maybe this page explains it? http://www.bariatricpal.com/groups