rathsog

Hi all, Has anyone here lost his/her way after being diagnosed with another illness? Surgery for me was 2/24/09 and then I was diagnosed with MS (:thumbdown::frown::sad:) at the end of June which is now a mind-blowing, profoundly upsetting new "normal." It's not that I've totally been derailed but I'm having trouble staying focused on the goal. I haven't gained back any of the 32 pounds I lost, thankfully. But I haven't lost anything either. So does anyone have any suggestions? I really want to continue on this journey, even more so now. Thanks for your input :smile:!

Here's a link for Downward Facing Dog which has alleviated the pressure for me every time. Granted, I haven't ever been seriously stuck and hope never to be but any time I have a hit of pain, I try to get as close to that position as possible. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Hi autigerfan, I was banded on 2/24/09 and had one fill of 2 ccs on 4/6. I have not been losing much weight either but am trying to keep in mind what everyone says about the restriction coming with more fills. After my first fill, I felt really gross and couldn't really eat for a few days. Once everything settled down, I found my appetite returned...BIG time. I'm trying to make healthy food choices and stick to a plan but it's been quite challenging. So basically, you're not alone. I'm heading back for my next fill on 4/28 and will discuss it then. Until then, I'm trying to keep the faith that this will help. Hang in there!

I heard it was not a good food for a banded person to eat. Is that true and does anyone have any advice on how to manage for 8 longs days? :glare:

Hi all, I had a 2 cc fill yesterday which gives me a grand total of 3 ccs :confused::thumbdown:. I easily survived the actual fill but had an odd day and night afterwards. I felt like I had a mini-first day post surgery recovery. My intestines were rumbling and I had a wicked case of the runs. I had no appetite. In fact, I would say I was almost nauseous. I managed to get a couple of Protein shakes in but not much more. Feeling much better today but certainly not 100%. Did anyone have a similar reaction to their first or subsequent fills? I was so expecting it to be a complete non-event. Such is the life of a newly banded gal, I suppose. Thanks, R.

Try flexing your stomach muscles (in my case what little of them there were :eek::w00t:) and see if that pushes it up a bit. I would suspect your doc. won't have trouble finding it. Oh, and by the way, it's not directly under that incision. For me, it's down and over to the right about an inch.

Hi all, Back from my first fill as well. I also got 2 ccs and am glad this whole process of finding my sweet spot is going to be handled gradually. I don't feel anything right now other than a bit sore from all the pushing and poking at the port site. The stinky part of the experience was the PA (that's who does the fills at my practice) missed the first time and that hurt like a motherfather (G-rated spelling). But once she found the spot it didn't hurt, even the needle going in. It was a bit odd to sit up to drink Water with the needle still in my stomach but when in Rome... Anyway, on liquids for a day and mushies for a day. Then the real fun begins. Hope everyone else had a good first experience! R.

I found it really, really hard to cook for my family for the first 5 weeks after surgery. They ate well but it certainly wasn't home cooked meals like to which they're accustomed. The smell of all food was really unappealing to me and they were more than happy to eat the "food" I substituted. In fact, the first time I truly cooked was last night and I was happy they ate something more than slow-cooked, toaster-ovened food.

Hi Shelley, I was banded on 2/24 and i also have my first fill on 4/6! I'm nervous about it too for so many reasons. But I made the commitment to get the band so now it's time to take it our for a test drive and see how it works. Since I started eating solids 2 weeks ago, I haven't experienced the described bandster hell many people mention. I was also really sick with what I thought was a flu which landed me straight in the ER to get rehydrated. So maybe that's offset some of the hunger I might have experienced. Nonetheless, I'm in at 10:15 on Monday and am trying to deal with my feelings, let them swing back and forth like a pendulum from excited to panicked. Let's keep each other posted, OK? R.

Though I'm by no means a yoga expert, the pose is called Downward facing dog and it's really helpful and almost restful. I haven't gotten stuck yet (I hope never to) but will keep that in mind. I love the visual of getting a whack in the back :wink:

New to this journey but since I've eaten tons of Indian food, I think you should be fine. You should have no problem finding vegetarian foods but I would steer clear of the nans, pooris and other breads. As for Protein, eggs should be in abundance. And if you can't find what you're looking for, ASK! Good luck and have a safe trip.

I'm 4 1/2 weeks out and resurfacing from the depth of some really dark places. I too, relied heavily on food. It was my friend, my comfort, my source of enjoyment and solace. I ate for every reason and wasn't able to understand fully the consequences of my actions. The first few weeks of eating pureed food was miserable for me. And the taste of the crushed pills was making me not take them, so the Wellbutrin level in my system was totally out of whack (fixed when after speaking to my nutritionist who said to swallow nothing larger than a tic tac). All in all, I was a mess. Somehow, it has begun to pass. Maybe it's because I'm seeing results, or maybe it's because I am just learning to accept I can feel happy, sad, lonely, confused, joyous without my (former) dear friend Mr. Softee or Ms. pizza. So long story short: I feel your pain, sister. And yes, it is possible to deal with the anxiety around not being able to resolve or comfort your feelings with food. Maybe now you can pursue that hobby you've always wanted to try?

Sorry you were hurt in the accident and hope you're better soon! I'm just beginning this journey and though I feel like a novice on whether or not to fill, I can't help but think your body is working overtime on fixing whatever got hurt. Also if you're on pain meds, they have a way of messing around with other metabolic actions within your body so now wouldn't be the best time to determine how to proceed. I would sit tight, heal yourself and then address your band. Regardless, I hope you feel better soon and are back running around soon.

I was also crushing the pills right after surgery but the taste was making me sick even with pudding, SF cool whip, jelly, you name it. Also, having to crush everything was making me a little more lax about taking the pills which for me, is not a good thing. So I asked my nutrionist how to deal with this and she said to use the guideline of nothing larger than a tic tac which helped me immensely. I do not crush anything anymore and break what I need to. Even if I get a tiny hint of bitter taste, it's nothing compared with a fully crushed tablet :tt1:. I hope this helps.

I've just started on this journey and am also much colder than I've ever been. I was also always the one who would sweat in the winter. In fact, we even got married in January because I didn't want to be sweaty when I got married. So yes, I'm much colder too. Someone suggested to me that the change in the amount of fat/oil I'm ingesting is contributing to the internal thermostat change which does make real solid sense. I went from a very high fat diet to one with very little and even those are healthy more nutritionally based fats. I hope this helps!

2/24 banded here. Lost 24 lbs so far. I'm dealing with some sort of flu right now so I've been incredibly nausea for the last 3 days. Otherwise, I've been surviving on soft mushies and am getting tired of eating Soup. Going to the dr and nutritionist on Friday 3/27. Looking forward to hearing what they say.

Help! I've had this odd dizziness and nausea and can't tell if I'm sick or if there is something wrong with my band. I was banded on 2/24 and have been following the doctor's orders religiously. I eat no more than a cup of very soft food but most "meals" I can only eat about 1/2 cup. Since Thursday, I've been dizzy and feeling like crap. I vomited on Friday after 1/2 cup of cream of asparagus Soup. I haven't eat much since then and still feel gross. Does anyone have any thoughs about whether I could have done something to my band or did I merely catch a bug from my kids? Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the heads up! I was also banded on 2/24 and am still to scared to eat anything solid. I've had tuna and egg salad and all the other standard mushie fare but nothing that required extensive chewing. Sorry you had to experience that. I hope you're feeling better now.

I need some input from the experts ! I'm miserably making my way through the mushee stage and was so bored with my pureed lentil Soup with some cottage cheese that I decided to add some hot sauce. Little did I know the hot sauce I used was really hot :confused:. As my husband watched me mix the whole mishmosh up, he simpathically said "are you sure hot sauce is ok?" and I had no response. All I could muster was a blank stare filled with wonder. So to the question: is hot sauce ok to at the early stages (I'm 12 days out)? Is it Ok ever or should this go onto the no-way-no-how list? Thank you!

Checked in at 5:45 AM, had surgery at 7:30 AM, was in recovery by 10 AM and into my room by 6 PM. Stayed overnight which for which I was relieved. I was in a lot of pain and loved having the pain pump (which i called a Nurse in a Box) for whatever magic drug they put into the bag. Frankly, if I had the option to stay another night, I would have. I was MISERABLE when I got home and couldn't find a comfortable place to sit/lie down, stand. The hospital bed was much more comfortable than mine. But i stayed overnight and left at 3 PM the next day. Good luck!

Another question for the experts! As my swelling goes down, what I thought was the site for my port seems to be moving. There's something directly under the incision (maybe that's just the wound itself?) and about 3/4 of an inch to the right is the port. I could have sworn it was directly under the incision. :thumbup: So is it possible the port has moved and should I be concerned? Thanks for you help!

Thank you all so much! That really puts me at easy.

Hi, I'm in the 'burbs but went to Weill Cornell for my surgery. You might want to check with Dr. Pomp who is the Chief of Bariatric Surgery and who I happen to like very much. In as much as we like to think of our doctors as mini-miracle workers, they are all still in business. It just happens to be that their business is medicine. Good luck and protect those kidneys. :thumbup::tt1:.

Way to go! Congrats for the perseverance!

Hi. I had my surgery on the 24th and I too am pretty nervous about what I'm eating, have I done anything wrong, whether or not i've made the band slip, you name it. I can't see that it's rational though because I'm following my dr.'s instructions exactly. But still, I'm worried. I feel your pain.