jenagirl

Hi, relatively new here so just trying to get some like-minded folks' opinions. I'm 3 years out from my band...in fact I havent had an adjustment in over 2.5 of those years. Been under quite a bit of stress the past few months; however...the past few days have had an unusual amount of difficulty eating...ANYthing. Today I'm having trouble even DRINKING anything!? So weird. Yes, I daily have the slime-times..still. And yesterday and today, there hasnt been a time with a BITE of soft food or drink that the saliva hasnt just accumulated so much that I have to get it out. So I'm figuring by now, I'm pretty dehydrated! Grr! I dont know what caused this, stress, sleep, choice of food/drink..this is all nothing new to me. Anyone have any suggestions??? Please!?

So today has been really odd for me. One CC gone from my highly restrictive band yesterday, and was able to DRINK finally!!! Today, I am sooooo hungry! Ive had liquids and some yogurt and made a protein shake even and, this is a sensation I have NOT HAD IN 3 YEARS...no restriction whatsoever. Everything is just slipping down like nothing! It is like, liberating and extremely scary at the same time. I am scared to death to try anything solid-solid. Should I wait to talk to my dr first? I think I will, but it really is SO odd. Not one day goes by that I dont get at least a little "reminder" restriction, and slime, if I eat too fast, too much. Appropriate food and portions work ok, depending on the content. But other days, my morning coffee takes an hour. Now I'm kinda scared the OTHER way - I've been so trained to eat 3 bites and take the rest to go...such is my life; I feel like I need that fill again before too too long?!?

It does suck!! To say the LEAST! And it is SCARY as hell! I think (and I work at a hospital every day) I am always in denial that although statistics show complications, they will ever happen to me. Same reason I got squeamish when he stuck that long a@* needle into my port today. AMAZING what ONE CC of Fluid can do!? I don't know if this is the fix, the end, I doubt it. I can't believe how many people say they dont get that slime every day? Makes me feel abnormal...sometimes it is just a bit when it does happen, I think the food goes down but the slime doesnt follow. Has been manageable, and by that I mean, I would NOT live in discomfort every day if that was the case. I knew right away yesterday that someTHING was not right. If nothing else, this was a wake up call for me. Call me stupid, but I work with drs every day. I waited until it was scarily not right and then I called and I was glad I DID! (just a symptom of taking care of everyone else in your life and assuming YOU will just be ok I promise to do better with eating what I SHOULDNT, and the WAY I should. I usually do well but I veer off from time to time. I've developed my own personal system of making it through dinners, lunches, DATES ARE THE WORST! But this definitely got my attention. And got me realizing that thousands of people are out there just like me experiencing the same thing. Thanks for your support, all

Thank you! And what an amazing job with your weight loss! So inspiring! Thanks for taking the time to comment on my dilemma Appreciate you all! Jena

Did I say sticking to solids??? LOL of course not...sticking to liquids of course.... Thanks all of you for your support!!!!!!!!!!

Well I am happy to report things are MUCH BETTER!!!!!! I met the on-call dr in ER and in 5 min was able to drink much easier. Sticking to solids for the next couple days, but he suggested a follow up next week and then if needed, slight refill. He also thought, as opposed to a slip, that it was perhaps a gastritis causing inflammation, thus causing my band to feel that much tighter. ??? I did feel like I had the flu or food poisoning or somthing...who knows. The liquids are going down and I am SOOOOO happy! So relieved to feel like the world is not ending. Thank you SOO much for your advice and support Jena

Denise, thank you so much for your reply. I tried to have some coffee and again, just a sip or two, so I called. He said it could be gastritis or lots of other things irritating it, making it tighter too...no matter the time out from surgery. He said if I cant get a few quarts down per day then this is where we should start. Whew. He's meeting me at ER to take fluid out of the band, I feed relieved and I'm glad I called. And glad i posted to get some support and advice. Thank you again. Keep you posted!! Jena

Thanks Melissa, I appreciate your reply. No I am not in any pain, it was just uncomfortable, you know. And as a banded patient, I think we all know what our personal comfort levels are. Well this was different. As I told another member, I last ate (half a taco and a drink) Wednesday night out. After that, my whole dinner party didnt feel well on Thursday, yet I had my birthday trip so I did drink coffee and some OJ but didnt eat much (cant do both, you know). I attributed it to my stomach being irritated from that, but time will tell. I dont really "throw up" every day, but depending on what, how, much, etc I eat...(AND I NEVER KNOW THIS FROM DAY TO DAY), I will have that slime. If I give it time, it goes down, but its uncomfortable sitting there for sure, so I get it out. I did have some dry heaving in the middle of the night Wed and Thurs both, I attributed to that eatging out meal...so who knows? Who knows what our stomachs look and act like at this point? Today I will try liquids and yes I will definitely call on Monday. Thank you so much for sharing. You have to talk to like-minded people to get support, I think. No one else understands. Its awfully scary though! Thanks again, jena

Thank you for the in depth explanation! Im in Eastern IA, and the temps here are about 100 the past 2 weeks. Today I wake up and it doesnt feel so uncomfortable, but I will start with liquids the next few days. Thanks for the suggestion. At least today I feel a little hungry, whereas yesterday, I really didnt. And I did attribute that to something I ate Wednesday night, the last time I went to dinner out and ate and drank like normal. Woke up Thursday with a cramp like something died in my stomach, but continued to eat and drink through that day too (it was my birthday and we went to a ballgame, so....) Keep you updated and thanks so very much!!! Jena

Its been almost a year. As I said, havent had any problems whatsoever. The usual daily stuff of course but pretty routine. Now, however, I'm scared to death. If it IS a slip, can they just reduce the fill? I mean, its only been today - ONE DAY - that its felt different...and I was on a bus trip all yesterday drinking and eating (a little only of each) full of germs. Attributed to food poisoning of some kind? I guess I'll call on Monday and see....??? if not better by then. Did I mention, very scared? Thank you for your responses!!!