BearSpiritGuide

Thanks everyone. No more surgeries for me - I did not handle coming out of surgery well, it was a major struggle for me. So I will be avoiding surgery at all costs. My plan is to join Weight Watchers and exercise to lose more and keep it off. Odd thing about this, the last upper GI showed that the scar tissue that formed around the band left a ring of scar tissue in the same place as the band, so I have like a natural lap band in place. Definitely not as constricting as a band but I am sure it will help in reducing my intake. -BSG

I have been suffering for six weeks: having some good days but mostly bad days. Good days = able to eat and drink small amounts of food. Bad days = nothing goes down at all. We had been working with my surgeon from the very beginning to figure it out and frankly I was starting to get the feeling from my Dr. that he was a little pissed off at me for not trying harder. The tension was getting so bad between him and my wife that he stated that he could not communicate with her anymore and would only speak to me - she was very forceful in pushing for a solution from the Dr. About the 4th week into the ordeal my stomach shut down all together and I spent 6 days in the hospital - Upper GI showed a partially slipped band and an upper pouch 5 times bigger than it should be with fluids and gas - nothing was passing the band. With drugs and and going back onto a liquid diet I was able to start taking food again. My Dr. again asked what I was doing differently to cause this. A week and a half after getting out of the hospital, I was no longer able to take anything down. I was sent to the ER by my Dr. and an another Upper GI - my 6th in 6 weeks - showed a very slipped band, it had slipped down. My Dr. suggest exploratory surgery to fix the slippage and get the band re-seated. My wife and I had already decided that if I had to have surgery again the band was coming out. After going back and forth with my Dr about keeping the band he finally conceded that we were not going to keep it. On the surgery table: As soon as he looked inside of me to see what was going on he was quoted as saying, "Holy Crap" My body was allergic to the plastic from the band and it had tried to encapsulate the entire band, line and port in scar tissue and fat. You should see the pictures, he gave us a snap shot in HD of my insides. He knew that the band HAD to come out then - and my wife said that when he came out to the waiting room to tell her what had gone on his attitude had been drastically changed. So my band is out, but I had lost 55 pounds in the 6 week starvation diet and that combined with the 30 pound loss in the pre-op diet makes me at a total loss of 85 pounds. My attitude about food and taking care of my body is so very different now that I have no doubt I will continue to lose and keep it off - besides my wife said she would kick my ass if I gain any back. Moral of the story is - don't wait too long if you having issues, keep pushing your Dr for answers. -BSG

Nothing appeals to me, even the bad stuff like ice cream or milk shakes. I can go all day with out eating anything and be ok with that. Though my body is suffering for it. I have to force myself to eat something and it is a struggle. I can tolerate most solid foods, but nothing sounds good. I am drinking a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast just to get nutrition. Anyone else having issues of lost appetite? -BSG

I know that I my story is not very typical - due to complications and a stomach that stopped working properly I have lost 50 lbs in the 6 weeks wince my surgery. But I have also spent about 1 week in the hospital eating primarily from tubes stuck in my arm - oddly enough that was the only week I did not loose weight. -BSG

Actually, no... All 40 pounds is since the day of surgery, I lost 29 pounds prior to surgery. -BSG

Today is 1 month after my surgery. I have lost 40 pounds exactly today - but things are not well. I am never hungry. I cannot eat, but very little amounts of food - averaging about 450 cals a day. After eating I feel ok for about 15 or 20 min then I have gas pain and spend the next 3 to 4 hours holding my stomach and burping. I am tired all the time and am unable to walk for more than 10 min without having to sit down because my legs are shaky - this is from a man who would do 30 - 45 minutes on the cross trainer every morning. I can't wait to go to sleep at night, I get in bed around 8pm and sleep till 8am every night. The first thing in the morning is when I feel my best and that is only about 60% of what I used to feel like. I saw my doctor last week and told him, but he just said, "you probably just have some swelling still, it will go away." I am thinking I am over filled, and when I see my doctor tomorrow I am going to insist that he take the fill out. I have had no fills since surgery, so whatever is in there is just what the tech put in. Anyone else in this boat? -BSG

Update: My wife and 10 year old are sick as well. So it looks like we have a bout of the flu going around and it just hit me at the same time. -BSG

So I thought I would try some potato salad with my lunch yesterday. I had 1/4 cup potato salad, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, 3oz of tuna - I am still in mushies stage. I could not eat it all, but there were no issues. Then about 4pm I started to have a lot of gas and heartburn. At 6 I tried to eat a little something to see if it would calm my stomach - made it worse. I took to bed. I got a fever of about 100.8 which persisted most of the night. As well as an upset stomach all night. This morning my stomach still hurts a bit - its a lot better - but, I do not feel like eating. The fever is gone. And yes, I am calling my Dr. today. The weirdest thing about the whole ordeal, is that it happens about once a week and I tend to loose 2 or 3 pounds during one of these episodes. Anyone else have this kind of thing? -BSG

Lately it is about 1 time per week - due to the band and stuff. But when I was feeling better, we would try 3 or 4 times a week, and succeed maybe 2 or 3. It never fails, Close and lock the bedroom door and the kids (we have 4 from 17 to 4 years old) have all these issues that demand attention right then. Leave the door open, and you never hear a peep out of any of them. Good thing I work from home when most of the kids are gone. -BSG

Flintstones Chewables - Take two a day -BSG

My Doctor told me to stick to about 1300 for the first month or two after banding, but I am just not hungry ever and I seen to average about 880. I am getting enough Protein - I supplement with Isopure - but I just can't eat enough. How many calories does your doctor have you on and how many are you actually eating? -BSG

I've been taking 2 Flintstones Chewables for years. Whenever I mention it to a Dr. they all say the same thing - Perfect. -BSG