UpperWestSide

Thanks. I am sipping hot Water and while it feels ok i can still hear the gurgling. Hopefully this will pass soon. I just spoke to the dr on call. He said that if I could not keep liquid down I had to come in right away. But as long as I could sip hot liquids to just wait it out to see if the swelling would go down. I will go out and try to get the liquid motrin.

I can't imagine eating anything right now. I am scared to try more liquids as I threw up the coffee. I will try some plain hot water in an hour.

My dr. has always said I could drink up to 5 minutes before the meal and not for 20 minutes after. I always figured that they wanted to create some artificial space in between liquid and food so that i would be less tempted to drink with the meal. I basically try to drink a full glass before I eat because I need to get my water in and that seems like a good time to do it. Sometimes that 20 minutes feel like 2 hours to wait and sometimes I totally forget that I am waiting to drink.

Please, can we figure out a way not to have that new "new Hope bariatric Center" ad in the top right corner of the site. Because it is active it screw up how the page and posts look and it uses so much bandwith that even my high speed modem can't make the site move more quickly. I understand the need for ads to keep the site going, but this one really disturbs the beauty of how well this site generally works. It is making part of the page look off to the side 9so i have to scroll over) and it takes more than twice as long to have a page load. Does it have to be on every page? This site works so well in terms of content and format that it is a shame to mess it up with one ad. Thanks

I am sorry to be so blunt but what the hell is a Dr. calling any patient a chicken. Did he get his degree in a crackerjax box? (oh, wait...we can't eat that). No one here is chicken because we have taken the risk of having surgery to finally be able to make our health better. You are no chicken and don't you believe you are. No dr. should ever be allowed to bully a patient into a medical decision. And what is he doing asking you how much you want. He should be able to make that decision based on how you are eating and other factors. He could have said, I recommend that we go to 5. Or how do you feel if we move in a bit more agressive manner. Oooh, this steams me. No one should be filled past the point of drinking Water. That is why it is the test for an ok fill. If this Dr. has been more understanding and met your needs in a more compasionate way before then stay with him. But if this is a pattern....find another doc. (Climbing down off my high horse now)

Yes. Do the liquid diet yourself. If we could just "eat healthy" on our own, we would not be turning to surgery. Do a couple of weeks of shakes and that will certainly take the weight off. I found that having to be on the shakes was actually easier than trying to figure out how to lose weight in the old fashioned way. best of luck to you.

I was surprised at what I could learn about my eating habits after the band. I always thought I was a stress eater. But the truth of the situation is much different. I am a clean your plate eater. If it is there or available I will eat it. But if the portion is reasonable then I will not be looking for more. This has been a very good thing since the band is very effective for this kind of over-eater. I would suggest that you not go into this with a hard and fast belief of why you eat. It may not be true and the band is a wonderful tool to help you understand your eating habits (and yourself) better.

I don't know if this is the same thing but my Dr. looked at the length between my waist and chest and said it was too long to do the single incision method. (so I have little scars) But I have never heard about not being able to do the surgery at all. That does not sound right.

I was told by the dr. that 6 weeks was for going back to the gym but that I should do walking as soon as possible. Now I am back to boxing and i feel great.

Listen to the Monkey :thumbup:. She knows what she is talking about. I pictured myself lying in recovery and them telling me that the band could not be fitted because I had messed up on the diet as a strong motivation for keeping it on track. Also, I did some tricks. Here in new York, where take out is the main form of food, I ordered a salad to be delivered while my partner was ordering a regular meal. At least it felt like I was participating in our every day life. I was only allowed shakes and a salad by my Dr. so it was pretty restrictive. But it really helped to play some mind games with myself. Now we almost never eat take out but when I do I am able to make choices that go well with the band. One trick that I found really helpful (although you are past being able to use it) was what i did the first day of the pre-opt diet. I decided that I would actually make my Breakfast that day my "last meal" and had a wonderful time. Then, at lunch, I moved to the liquids. it meant that I actually got through the first day on shakes without feeling terrible. The next day was a bit harder but then it became quite easy. I am convinced that the last breakfast really helped.

So I had my surgery on June 30th and my first fill one month later. I went to my Dr. yesterday for what was supposed to be my second fill. But I was down 12 pounds since the first one and she said, basically, why screw around with success. I actually have pretty good restriction with 5 cc's in a 10 cc band. I know that some people have been upset when their dr. won't give them more restriction but I am thrilled. If I can continue to lose without more of a fill then That is great. But I know I will probably need another one next month (she also said this). Of course, last night I got stuck on a damm piece of cucumber. Boy was I sick for an hour. Has anyone else else found restriction (at least for a while) with only one fill?

My "full time" lasted for about 3 weeks. Once I started on Mushies it came to an end. I was even saying I was worried that I would never be hungry again. Well that ended and now I am two months post op. I have had one fill and am doing well with hunger. What is most facinating to me is what I have learned about my own eating habits. They are actually quite different that I thought they were going to be. That is a great lesson. Best of luck with your journey.

I think that generally you will find the pre-made shakes in the cans have a very chemically flavor. I have found that the powder (I use the Unjury which I order on the internet) is much smoother and does not taste bad at all. I even add a little peanut butter or espresso instant coffee to switch up the flavor. I just ordered powdered Peanut butter which has much fewer calories and fat to see how it tastes in the shakes.

Thanks for your answer. I have seen some people who say that their drs. start them off with a small fill and it takes a while to get to 5 cc. I was surprosed but happy when my dr. gave moved me to 5 at my first fill. There was actually about two in there from surgery. Best of luck to you. Ilene

I am beginning to feel like an advertising for this company but Unjury makes a chicken soup flavor that really cuts the sweetness from those shakes. I wouldn't eat it if it were not for the pre-op diet but it is better for you than bullion cubes because it has like 19 grams of protein. They deliver really quick and it is a great change. Now that I am post op I use it after I have had a fill and need to be on liquids. Good luck to all of you.

I had the same problem. By the end of the first few days I thought I would go into sugar shock from the shakes. But then I found a good alternative. Unjury makes a chicken soup protein mix. It has the same amount of protein as their shake. It was really a savior during the post op diet. I would not say that this would be something I would eat on a normal day but as an alternative to the shake, it was divine.

The real reason many people lose that much during the first month is from the pre-op diet and post ope diet. Counting the two weeks on shakes before and two weeks after, I lost about 23 pounds. But when i started mushies I gained about 5 back. It took me to the end of the first month post op to lose that back. Now, 5 weeks after my first fill (and scheduled tomorrow for the 2nd one) I have lost 35 pounds. It just takes time for your body to get over the surgery. Good luck.

I have to eat out because of work quite a bit. I was scared at the begining, thinking I would get stuck in front of my boss. But I started off by having soup and then an appetizer like tuna tartar (if it was a nice place) or a crab cake. When faced with chinese I usually take the dumplings because they are pretty much ground up and the dough is not so thick that it is an issue. I never count anything. In my head I know that I am probably eating between 1000-1200 a day and it is ok,right now, if I go a bit over or under. I am steadily losing and feel great.

It also depends on what size fill you get. My dr. told me that I had 2cc at the time of surgery and then added another 3 at the first fill to bring it to 5 cc. I am having my second appointment this Friday and I think I will be getting a small addition. Sometimes I am hungry but I am nervous that much more in the band I will be getting stuck too often. But I am losing and feeling great. I have read a lot of people who only get 2 cc's at the first fill and their dr. may add only a little at each fill so it takes them several fills to get to where I am at one fill. Who knows why?

First of all, it may not be food from last night. I don't know what time you ate but I would think that the food would have passed. It may be that you are having some reflux since you began eating yesterday. I would call your Dr. and get it checked right out. While it is not something to panic about it is vital that you check in about things that are outside what they decribed might be the experience. Reflux can be very hard on the band (although I doubt one night of it) but it is a sign that you should follow up on today. Best of luck and let us know what happens.

Like Restless Monkey said, check with your Dr. But if it is ok to have broth, you also might be able to have the chicken soup flavored Unjury protein mix. That has the same amount of protein as a shake (which broth does not have) and it tastes like chicken soup. It was a life saver for me during my pre-opt since I also could not just have something sweet.

Kerri: I am glad to see that you have provided some backup for requesting that people participate. You have even changed the original post on this board to be much clearer and different from the original (with a new email address too). Still, as a researcher you should have approached your original ask with the same care and proof you have now provided. But I do appreciate your quick response.

I am sorry to be questioning your motives but I would caution anyone from doing such a survey which may ask you personal questions regarding your health or medical care. We don't know who you are or what you will be using this information for. And saying that this study will help "assist you emotionally, physically and socially - after your surgery " is not a realistic promise. You can't be helping personally all the people who choose to take your survey. You very well may be doing something with the best of intentions but I am sure that many of the medical experts on this board would question the motives of trawling for survey participants. (especially with a hotmail email address).

I have never had an endoscopy but the barium swallow was so easy and I was also scared before it. The just made me lie down on the table and drink some liquid while thye filmed. The only thing hard about it was it is just not natural to drink on your back. The one I had for post op was actually standing and was as simple as drinking a glass of chalky water. It is really no big deal.

I think most people seem to have a 1 to 2 week pre-op diet of protein shakes. Some have some lean meat added for dinner but my Dr. said only some veggies. I see you were at Lenox Hill. I was at NYU and everyone there goes for the more restrictive pre-op diet. That is probably why you ae losing so quickly. I would not worry about it. it will slow down.