elcee

My Dr explained that what they used to think was a stretched pouch can often be a problem with the oesophagus. That for some reason it weakens and cannot push the food through the way that it should. It is a complication that seems to occur quite often.

So long as someone is driving you you should be fine. Take a pillow to put between your stomach and the seatbelt for extra comfort. I had about the same distance to home and I had no problems.

My band has felt as though it has nothing in it for months now.I know that is not the case but I can't wait to get back to where my fill level was previously as this sucks.

Some people notice hair loss after surgery but not everyone does. A lot of people think it is because they are not getting enough Protein, often it is just a reaction to anaesthesia. I think the most important thing is to eat a well balanced diet with foods from all food groups. If you do lose hair don't worry it will grow back. It is perfectly normal for hair to go through growing and resting phases.

I drink tea. With no sugar and just a dash of skinny milk it is pretty low cal

You should never force yourself to eat. If you have had enough you have had enough. Not listening to your body and eating when you didn't want it would have been one of the things that made you (and the rest of us) fat in the first place.

Apparently this can happen, no idea why but lots of people that have said it has happened to them.

Hiccups are cause by pressure on the vagal nerve. Usually they are a sign that you have had enough but it could also mean that you are eating too fast or taking too big bites. You should not be full after 2 - 3 bites as then you will get hungry again quickly. I think it is a case of after a fill you need to relearn how to eat - make sure you are paying lots of attention to size of bites, chewing and waiting between bites. If this doesn't settle it could mean that this fill was too much and you may need some taken out, but give it time, don't rush back to the Dr.

Well done

If you are a grinder you can get a special shield to wear on your teeth at night. Tooth grinding is not only bad for the teeth but it can lead to neck and head pain as well.

Well then your expectations are not going to be met. A band is not a magic wand. It is a tool that helps you with your hunger so that it is easier for you to stick to a healthy diet. It doesn't make the choices for you, it doesn't stop you putting junk food in your mouth and it won't make you exercise. I suggest you do a bit more research of what to expect before you go ahead with your surgery.

I would love to have an easy to stick to calorie controlled plan so this thread is a great idea. However i read it and get very confused. egg whites with oatmeal!!! How does that work? I have always eaten oats with a dash of milk and some form of sweetener and maybe some fruit or cinnamon. Also eggs are so quick and easy to cook I cannot understand how you could make a batch for the week! How do you cook and store them? Surely by the end of the week they would taste like rubber? There must be a huge difference between US and Aus cooking methods as I am obviously missing something here.

There is not a huge difference between protein bars and candy bars. I would also look forward to something if it tasted good and was covered in chocolate. I think that protein bars should only be used on the rare occasions that you are out, hungry and there is nothing else suitable that you can eat, other than that you should stick to real food.

Although the plication is supposedly reversible, I very much doubt that. I am sure that scar tissue will form in the areas where the stomach is folded making it impossible to reverse. That is a question that you might like to discuss with your potential surgeon.

This doesn't sound band related. Maybe you have some kind of food intolerance or an issue with your digestive system. You need to go and get it checked out. http://www.medicinenet.com/gastric_emptying_study/page2.htm

Good luck, I hope there is a happy solution .

I only used Protein shakes for the pre and part of the post op diet. Since then I have got my protein from the food I eat. It is quite easy to get more than enough protein from a varied diet even with a band. I eat meat, chicken, fish, eggs, yogurt etc. I also eat bread, Pasta rice albeit in small quantities.What most people don't realise is that a lot of foods that we think of as being carbs actually have protein in them as well. e.g 2 slices toast = 4g protein 1 small potato = 2g 2/3 cup of oats = 3g The only time I will use a protein/meal replacement shake is if I am in too much of a hurry to be able to eat a proper breakfast. Generally I find them really unsatisfying - I can drink 1 and be hungry again almost immediately.

I would say that he is not experienced and he didn't have the needle in the right place. It is easy to find the port but not so easy to hit it in exactly the right spot. When I ended up in emergency and needed an unfill the surgeon that tried to unfill me couldn't. He is a highly qualified surgeon, a partner to my Dr and knew how to do it in theory but in practice it wasn't quite so easy. After trying twice he decided to send me to have it unfilled under fluoroscope.

I never had one and never had any breathing issues either.

There was a person on this site a couple of years ago that the same thing happened to - Restlessmonkey.

maybe your port has flipped. This is something that does happen to quite a few people. Hopefully the fluoroscope will clarify what the problem is.

I took Multivitamins for the first couple of months after surgery but haven't done since. I eat a varied diet and do not think I have any nutritional deficiencies. My hair hasn't fallen out, I am not exceptionally tired, I don't creak any more than your average 49year old etc. If I was on a low carb regime then I might take a supplement but I think my diet is varied enough not to need one.

Interesting graphic in 1 of the links that Helen posted. It shows the modern placement of the band which is in a completely different position to where most of us believe our bands to be. I wonder how many of us have bands that are in this position and how many bands that were placed in the position shown in the other pic and what effect it has on how successful we are with our weight loss.

I agree, I think a lot of the theories are just that at the moment, theories. A bit like the hygiene hypothesis and allergies - although the theory has been around for ages it has still not been fully proven which is why it is still a hypothesis. Thanks Helen for giving us more clarification, unfortunately the questions I asked in my first response were still not answered. I think the funnel concept is correct but what we are not looking at is what happens to the last food that goes into the funnel. Yes the initial food that gets put in there goes through quite quickly but what goes in later goes through slower - "like sands through an hourglass".

I agree that the more solid the food the better, which was why I queried the frittata. I suppose it depends what is added to the frittata that makes the difference. I also think that soup is a good choice if it is homemade, full of veggies and blended to a thick consistency.