JoJo1

Try using your pain meds for night time. You may just have an unusual gas pain too. I think it will pass. Try some gasX strips. It takes several to get relief so try that and see if it helps. If not, and you are still worried, try giving your doc a ring tomorrow... Hugs!!!!

Yep sounds like you found out what it feels like. I often have trouble when I am out to eat with other people. I become distracted easily and don't chew so well. I am always working on doing it better, but it happens. Hope you are doing better now. Hugs!!!!

You will be tighter in the morning. If you must take your medication in the morning, either crush it or cut in smaller pieces so you won't get it stuck. Anytime you have a stuck episode, you need to go back to liquids for 12 hours, then mushies, then gradually add back solid food. We often do what you did, and keep trying to eat after a stuck episode thinking we just didn't chew it well enough, or chose the wrong food. This sets up a chain reaction which is hard to break. Sometimes we follow the Docs instructions to the letter, and it doesn't work for us because we aren't like other people. We have to listen to our own body and work with it. If you go through the steps to get healed, and still find you can't eat real food, you are probably too tight. Try not to worry, you are not alone. I still screw up at times and have to go back on liquids for a day. Hang in there it will be fine!!!! Hugs!!!!

I think your biggest challenge was lack of knowledge. You went for so long being too tight, and did not know it was too tight. You just need to keep reading everything you can about band life. Get a book, read forums, take part in chat rooms, etc. In the mean time, you need to pretend you just got your band. Allow time for healing to take place and go for smaller fills to allow sufficient healing in between them. My daughter can not tolerate very much of a fill. At less than half of the amount of fill I have, she is too tight and can not eat at all. It is never good to not eat, and it is never good to eat stuff you know will go down easy. You can turn over a new leaf, and you need to do it for you, not anyone else in the world. Even proving someone else wrong, is in itself the wrong reason to improve your situation. When you do get stuck, go back to liquids for at least 12 hours, then go to mushies for a day, then gradually add back food so you can allow yourself to heal. When you start to eat again, be sure you take very small bites. This is the most important thing for me. If I remember to take small bites, and chew chew chew, I can tolerate a pretty tight fill. Now just forgive yourself, and start again, this time armed with all the knowledge you need to be successful. You are worth it!!! Hugs!!!!

If you do happen to start eating a little too early, and you get stuck, you really need to go back to liquids for at least 12 hours. If you don't and you stay swollen, you set up a chain reaction. Then nothing will work. Try liquids for at least 12 hours, then mushies for a day, then carefully start food a little at a time. Remember small bites, the size of a small ice cube like you get at the convenience store. Don't forget to chew chew chew. You will loosen up in a couple weeks so I hope it all goes well..... Hugs!!!

I'm not sure if you need one or not. You could increase your physical activity and see if it gets you losing again. You won't lose if you are too tight so you may want to just have a talk with your doc about it.....

Plus over the years, the sizes have been getting bigger. I remember 38 years ago, I got down to 130 after the birth of my first child. I was thrilled to find an unusual size 11 pair of pants I could get into. Not I am 168 and easily fit into a relaxed size 10!! I know they are getting bigger because women will buy clothes if they think they are smaller!! Doesn't matter to me anymore but it is interesting..... Hugs!!

After I placed the last post, I remembered a time when I was on a trip that I was unable to keep even water down. It got started on a day when I had some wine the night before. I didn't know I would be tighter in the morning after drinking, so I swallowed my regular vitamin tablet. That is when the trouble started. When I got to Salt Lake, I tried to have soup for lunch and no way. It didn't stay down either. My next flight was 7 hours so I decided not to eat or drink anything until I got there. I was worried about being sick on the airplane. I spent time on the plane worrying that I was going to have to find a fill center when I got there to unfill me. When I got to my destination, a remarkable thing happened. I was finally able to keep water down. I stayed on water and liquids until the next day, and I was fine after that. I think the key was just resting my stomach for that 7 hours. You might want to try this!!! Especially if you can't get to the dr for a few days!!! Hugs!!!

I love the positive threads the most!! Thank you!!! I feel the same way about the band. I am struggling with getting it paid for, but I do not resent the payments at all. I feel so fortunate to be able to accomplish the biggest thing I have ever done. 48 lbs does not sound like a lot, but for me, it is huge. I am glad to hear you are doing so well two years down the road. Here is to many more great years!!! Hugs!!!

The loudest squeak always is the first to be oiled!!! Years ago I had to show up at the Navy hospital and throw a fit, because my blood sugar was very high, and they did not have an opening for three weeks. I was seen that day by the head of the internal medicine department and put on medication. Hope you get some action soon!!!

You don't need to eat baby food. Yuck!! Just put what ever your family eats in the blender. Taste wise it will be a huge improvement over baby food. I used meat, vegs, cottage cheese, regular cheese, eggs, and whatever else I could think of. (Not all at once) Come to think of it, it would probably be pretty good all dumped there together.... LOL Hugs!!!!

LOL I am a size 10 and I still keep finding myself in the plus size section of the store. When I realize it, I leave and go to the appropriate section, but after wandering around for awhile, I find myself back in the plus section again. It is really funny so I decide to laugh about it... I also have issues with too many choices so I hate big stores. I haven't been in a mall for 30 years because I am too overwhelmed with the millions of choices. Hugs!!!

I am 168 right now and I wear a size 10 jeans. I never wear dresses so I don't own one, but I will need one in October when my daughter gets married. I hope to be 150 by then, so maybe a size 8 or 10 dress? I'm not buying one until about september so I won't know until then.

Our perception of time gets screwed up for awhile when we get banded. The amount of time it takes to recover varies from person to person anyway but then when we hurt or we are anxious to lose weight, we think things should be happening a whole lot faster. I promise you it will get better. Try to move around as much as you can and try to find things to distract you from what is going on inside. It helps the time go by faster. You absolutely did the right thing and in a few months, you will have almost completely forgotten about what is going on right now. Hugs to you!!!!

I am also very happy with my 4cc band. I do not get the Whole new band stuff, and neither does my doc, but I also know that there is probably a reason they developed them. I am also very happy so far. I am only 7 Mo out at this point but my daughter has had her 4cc band for almost three years. She is also very happy. Time will tell. I don't want to do any bragging or anything yet because I could be the one to complain in the future. I am happy today, and today is what I want to focus on. Cheers!!!!!.

You are supposed to be healing right now. Relax and just do that. Do not get the idea that it is not okay to eat. Thin down protein like meat, tuna, salmon, eggs, cheese, etc, in your blender. Some get the idea that liquids means, you need to drink Water or fruit juice. That is not the case. The more sugar you use, the hungrier you get. Try to just do protein, in the form of the former, or Protein Shakes. You will not be thin tomorrow, it takes a year or more. Please try to be patient.... Hugs!!!

Restriction will help a lot. I gave up all carbs about 12 years ago, because I am a diabetic and need to do it to get my blood sugar under control. I had to become educated and then become totally convinced I was doing the right thing. Once that was accomplished, I started doing it. The first few weeks were hard but I noticed that over time, the cravings started to subside. I got my blood sugar under control and now I don't have the cravings at all. Once in a while though, I will let myself have a low carb icecream bar made by Breyers. I always notice that I immediately want more, so the sweet taste is the culprit. I don't do it, but I always notice this. It also passes in just a few minutes. If you can make yourself stay away from sweets for a period of time, it gets easier. Once you have restriction, and you aren't hungry all the time, you will find it much easier to fight the temptation.

I'm a self pay so I didn't have to get my records, but it is a good thing, because all of my medical records were lost when they went to the archives. I never received them. They appologized........ Nice huh? Hugs!!!

I stayed only because I traveled. I could have easily gone home, and would have if I had the choice. I'm sure it will be fine...... hugs!!

What are you including in your liquid diet? You can make protein into liquid by placing meat, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs etc into a blender and then thinning the mixture with chicken broth. Also many soups qualify as liquid. I used cream of chicken and added cheese, and thinned it with chicken broth. You probably need to get some real nutrition in there to fight the hungries.... There is more hunger on liquids no matter what because they slip right on through so there isn't much satisfaction. Hang in there, it will pass by quickly!!!!

I am 7 months post and still get this from time to time especially when doing my long walks. Yours could be from just all the work your body goes through to heal... hugs!!!

Yes my doc that put in my 4cc band, said the same thing. Not just the stomach size but also the fat concentration around the stomach. I have a friend who got the 10cc band from my doc, and she thinks it is not near enough restriction. I don't think she gets all the fills she needs but she has decided that it will never work, because it is too big. Personally, I think attitude is everything so I don't agree with her. Oh well I can't fix her issues so I just work on fixing my own. I do think it is interesting though, that the thread starter says her doc does all the same size band now. Gotta hope it is progress!!!! Hugs!!!

It isn't unusual to feel no restriction 3 weeks out. Especially since you are still on mushies. These slide right through so you will be less satisfied than when you get to eat real food. Also your swelling is diminishing now, so you are likely to be more hungry until your first fill or maybe the second or third fill. Get more protein and less carbs and it helps with the hunger. You can eat meat on mushies, just put it in the blender and thin it to mushie stage with Chicken broth. It really does help with hunger. You can also eat eggs, string cheese, and cottage cheese. Greek yougurt if you can find it without too many carbs is also a good source of protein. Best of luck!! Hugs.....

I think you should try real food before you worry about it. It makes a big difference. Shakes go straight through, and mushies are slider foods. If it is okay, I would start with solids before you decide how much restriction you actually have. Hugs!!!

The original bands were smaller. They held between 4cc, and 10cc. They started making them bigger with the intent that they would be more durable and last longer. As far as I know they do, but I'm not sure they have been out long enough for anyone to be sure about that. As a non medical person, it looks like they would be worth more money also to the surgeon since you need more visits to the doctor for fills to reach restriction. There may be more reasons. My daughter and I have a 4cc mexican band, and I reached restriction with my first fill. All together I have had two fills. The lasting-longer issue won't be obvious to me for years, so I guess we will all need to hang in there and see what happens. We have to hope the medical community has the health of the patients on the top of their list of reasons to change a product. Everything improves with time, so for your sake and everyone's sake, I hope it is the case.. Hugs!!!