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The only thing that might happen is that they could give you gas which might be uncomfortable, other than that I don't see an issue

Bob you're back!

How far out from surgery are you? Shouldn't you still be on mushies? Chicken is definitely not a mushy and you should not eat ahead of your post op diet plan unless approved to do so by your Dr.

Maybe you threw up so hard you burst a couple of blood vessels.

Skip the communion! I wouldn't take the risk of getting stuck.

I had my band at the same time as you. I also had major surgery last year ( a hysterectomy ) and was limited with what I could do for 6 weeks. I must be lucky as my husband also cooked but he can manage more than Soup so the food I ate was not that different to usual. I didn't pick up any weight. I think for me the food is more important than the exercise. I can maintain easily without exercising but if my band is not properly filled I get hungry and start falling back into bad habits like snacking. I suggest you go back to the Dr to check that you are correctly filled. Go through some recipe books and find recipes that are easy to cook ( for you or your husband) that fit in with your diet. As to exercise how about swimming? Swimming is generally good as it takes all the weight and strain off joints and muscles.

there is nothing wrong with having a planned healthy snack between lunch and dinner. I eat lunch between 12 - 1 pm,dinner is usually at 7pm or later. There is no way I can survive that long without something inbetween. Sometimes it is hard knowing if you are where you should be or not. Discuss it with your Dr and let him help you decide. 55lb in that time sounds pretty awesome to me.

Cannot or will not - there is a difference? Generally you should be able to do anything you put your mind to so technically you can, but it seems that you don't want to. You know why you have not been successful but it seems like you are not willing to take the necessary steps to change failure into success. You wish you had the bypass, well guess what - people learn to eat around that too! It seems that you are looking for a WLS that is a magic fix and the rest of us would love that too. However the reality is that no WLS is magic, none of them work unless the patient works with them. Sorry for the tough talking but sometimes people need to be told the facts. All the people here have had to work to achieve success so if it was sympathy that you were looking for you are not likely to get any. However if you want tips from others, encouragement, exercise advice, meal ideas etc then we would love to be of assistance.

I don't see what was so confusing, the instructions look pretty clear to me and btw 2 weeks preop is the normal requirement.

Even if you do eventually decide to follow the anti carb route at this stage of the game it is a bit early. Typically mushies include things such as mashed veg(including potato), oats, weetbix, soft stewed fruits etc. This stage is about healing more than it is about weight loss so it is Ok to eat foods now that you may decide to cut out later on.

People are told to eat slowly once they have a band but i think some people eat TOO slowly. Eating your meal over a period of about 20 minutes is fine but once you start taking longer than that you are more likely to overeat. This is because your band has already started emptying so you can fit more in.The same thing with waiting too long between bites. If as i have seen suggested you wait 3 minutes or more between bites it is going to take so long to eat that your band will be emptying and you will never get that signal that you have had enough. So I think often people think they have good restriction because they have to eat really slowly but in doing so they are then able to eat too much. So again it is all about balance and trying to find what is right for you.

I agree. If I am thirsty I often have a drink just before I eat as I know I shouldn't be drinking again for a while. My dietician did try to explain once. Something about if you are drinking before the liquid may fill you up so you eat less than you need and will then get hungry again sooner than you should. I suppose it does make some sense as we( everyone not just bandsters) are often told to have a big glass of Water if we think we are hungry as it can help to fill you up.

You are at the sweet spot. You are eating less than before, are not overly hungry and you are losing weight. The problem is the way that some people talk about the sweet spot you would think it was some amazing , magical , utopian state and that you would know you were there because there would be bells, whistles, a whole fanfare. It is much more subtle than that. The fact that you have the success you have and can still eat bread etc is a bonus. Surely it is better to lose the weight being able to eat anything rather than having only a small list of foods that you can eat. Congrats on your success.

If you can't eat solid Proteins and can only eat mushies then i would say you are too tight. If you are too tight then you are probably eating sliders which do not satisfy you and are often high calorie so can lead to weight gain. It is possible that you ended up too tight as you thought, as many mistakenly do, that a tighter band equals better weight loss. The converse is actually true. A band needs to be tight enough to help slow down the passage of food and increase levels of saiety on smaller portions but it also needs to be loose enough for a person to eat the right types of food . It is also possible that you thought that a tight band would stop you wanting/eating all those bad foods but that is something a band can never do. I think you need to go and have some fill out so that you can eat proper foods again. You should work with your dietician to see what and how much you should be eating. You will need to realise that the control is in your head or hands and that you are the "driver" of the band. You have to make the correct choices for it to work. If you have a problem with this as many do then you may need to see a food psychologist to find out why you eat when not hungry and techniques for managing it. Hope that you are able to get back on track and achieve the success that you want.

I eat ground beef frequently. Burgers can be more of a problem as they are dry. Fish can also be dry so no I don't think it is the way you are cooking it.

You have lost 60lb, I would say that is quite an achievement and it is one that you probably would not have made without your band. Time and time again there are threads here about being too tight and how dangerous it is but a lot of people ignore them believing that the tighter they are the better. Be aware that if you have your band removed without revising to another form of WLS you will probably very quickly regain the 60lb you have lost and possibly even more.You may need to see if you can work with your band for a while, if not then research the alternatives.

You have been living on mash and soup since 2010 and only ask now if this is normal?? I'm shocked. Who is your Dr, what did your Dr say. What kind of support have you had? Presumably you live in the UK somewhere, I don't know if that means that you were banded in the UK or if you went to Belgium and as a result have very little contact with your Dr which might explain things a bit. If you are not in regular contact with your Dr then you need to either start seeing him or find a new one. Cazzy is from the UK she may be able to help. The band is designed to work best when you eat proper foods such as solid Protein and veg and healthy carbs. If you can't eat those you are too tight and you need some Fluid taken out.You have obviously lost weight but I dread to imagine what your health must be like if that is indeed all you have been eating. You must have the patience of a saint to go this long without complaining , either that or you belong to the generation that do not question their Dr's. Fortunately these days that has changed. It is important for a person to look after their own health and if something does not seem right to question it and if you don't like the answers you get do more research and if necessary find a new Dr.

Just found this which explains it pretty well and it seems the main cause is GERD. http://www.ehow.com/about_5146728_esophageal-erosion-symptoms.html

So Mis73 can you please explain for us what oesophagal erosion is and what causes it?

Just confused as to whether your thyroid levels are high or low. Hypo in front of something always refers to a low level e.g hypothyroidism,hypothermia,hypotension etc If it is high then it is Hyper. Not trying to be picky just trying to clear up which you have. And listening to Dr's, newsreaders etc it can be difficult to tell as they never seem to enunciate this well which means it is easy to confuse what they have said.

Generally if they are doing something like that I would have thought they would have used tests such as x rays or ct scans first to determine if it was necessary. The band shows up on these quite clearly.

Even without a band don't you think you will worry? You don't need a foreign body inside of you to worry about what may or may not go wrong.

To answer some of your questions:- If you can't swallow it means your band is too tight. You will not feel full the way you used to. Full is no longer felt in the stomach it is felt in the chest. You want to try to stop eating before you are full as it may feel very uncomfortable. The band puts pressure on various nerves which gives rise to the sensation of feeling that something is in your throat. It is a referred sensation. Often if you can feel it in your throat it means you have probably eaten too much. With a well adjusted band you should be satisfied ( not full) after eating a small portion of healthy food (protein/veg/good quality carbs). You should not feel hungry again for an extended period. For some this could be 3 hours for others it is longer. Although you may not technically be hungry you might still desire food. That is because a lot of "hunger" is in your head not your stomach. The band will not make you magically lose weght. It will not make the correct choices for you and it won't make you exercise. Those things you have to do for yourself. HTH and keep asking questions.

It does worry me as there are a number of bandsters from a few years back such as wasabubblebutt that converted from a band to a sleeve because of problems with reflux. At least I think that was the reason.

It started happening to me just before Christmas. It wasn't every night but probably a couple of times a month. I was also waking up quite often with a sore throat which can also be a sign of reflux. I have no idea why It happened but it seems as though there are a number of people having a similar issue. Mine is OK atm as I had a blockage and had to get an unfill and am being slowly refilled. I am hoping that I can get filled to a reasonable level without it recurring.NB. I wasn't tight when it was happening and could eat just about anything.