Baba Wawa

Hope you feel better soon Donna. I had both types of influenza in December, A and B...knocked my socks off both times.

3 days clear liquids, 4 days full liquids 7 days purees and mushiness Day 15 start introducing solid foods one per day as tolerated. No raw veggies for 3 months

According to the CDC, flu season can extend into May. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

Have your family wipe down every surface in your house with Clorox wipes, confine the sickies to one area of the house and keep them, their trash and all the potentially infectious stuff away from you. If all else fails, go to a friend or relatives house till this passes.

Lifetime partner???

That's too bad, but it is a very fixable problem. I'm sure it will be fine now that it's fixed. I've heard of people needing the entire band replaced because of a leak or other defect. I hope you heal quickly and are back on track soon!

In a couple more days if its still bothering you, you can scrub it off with one of those facial scrubby things that have loofa on one side. Check with your doctor first, but I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive that drove me nuts with itching and my doctor gave me the ok to gently scrub it off in the shower.

Benefiber comes in single serving packets at Costco, dissolves completely in coffee, tea or just water...2-3 per day adds about 10gr fiber. Getting your water in also helps with either problem.

I'm going to throw my $.02 in here...a very loose band is more susceptible to slipping according to my band doctor. At my last Esophogram a couple of weeks ago, as the barium literally dumped into my stomach, the band was just bobbing around, up and down as the fluid settled down. The radiologist and PA were both concerned that under certain circumstances, my lower stomach could prolapse up through the loose band and get caught. When I had a complete unfill last June, I was also warned that loose bands are more easily slipped. I don't believe it's a huge risk, but just thought I'd share.

I cut it into 1/4 in slices and it goes down fine.

I wouldn't recommend the band after experiencing severe complications despite keeping my band loose and and being completely compliant. Here is my history with the band, copied and pasted from my blog. May 2010 Realize Band implanted, hiatal hernia repair, uneventful recovery Aug 2010 fill 3 cc March 2011 fill .5 cc Summer 2011 began to have epigastric pain at night. Sept 2011 stomach virus Sept 2011 pain upper right quadrant, duration 2-5 hours increasing, then subside quickly Oct 2011 barium swallow, band fine, slow esophageal emptying Oct 2011 upper abdominal ultrasound positive for gallstones Oct 2011 gallbladder removal Feb-May 2012 increasing GERD symptoms, nighttime epigastric pain radiating to shoulder, neck, jaw, back. Palpitations gradually increasing in frequency May 2012 had cardiac work up, stress test, echocardiogram, negative for heart disease. BP was elevated, so new drug Rx, resolved palpitations/hypertension. Epigastric pain persisted. June 2012 upper GI with barium shows stoma at band is nearly closed. Barium drips through, but no stream. Barium is backed up into esophagus. PA removes all saline (3.5 cc confirmed, clear, no sign of infection). Under flouro, barium is still in esophagus, emptying slowly. PA and Radiologist are concerned, but decide after I drink 8 oz Water to schedule me for follow up 5 @ weeks. July 2012 follow up, lost 4 lb. still having problems eating anything fibrous, but able to eat, at least. Barium swallow shows smaller than expected stream thru band, but also shows slow esophogeal motility, but not so slow as to require follow up. PA states that since I'm tolerating food, losing and have a bit of a motility issue, she won't fill me, but cautions me to stay on the band diet and if I'm able to eat everything and quantity increases over 1 cup, to come in for another evaluation. Oct-Dec 2012 In early October, became very intolerant to most foods and started having nighttime pain again, GERD symptoms. Symptoms subsided for two weeks, then returned. Taking PPIs for GERD, Probiotics and experiencing extreme constipation. BMs only every 8-10 days. Bloated miserable, having pain, feeling like food is stuck. November, saw GI doctor and he ordered EGD, soft low Fiber diet. December EGD negative for Hpylori, celiac, erosion, Barrett's. Prescribed Amitiza for constipation. Antispasmodic for GI spasms. Symptoms improved. Feb symptoms (intolerance of meals, feeling stuck, etc) returned. Consult with GI doc, schedules GES. Results normal gastric emptying times, but abnormal esophageal retention. GI doctor follow up in 2 weeks. March 2013: barium swallow:Dx achalasia, severe esophageal dilation due to LES failure to open in response to swallowing. Discussed options for removal/revision and further testing. High weight 290 lb Surgery weight 281.5 Band emptying weight 225 Current weight 202 Goal weight 170 At all times my PCP, Gastroenterologist, Cardiologist and Bariatric Surgeon were in communication. Procedures, records and test findings were shared. Preexisting IBSd. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, sleep apnea, GERD. Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction/Spinal Stenosis Left knee osteoarthritis-replacement recommended Still taking all medications I was taking pre-band + amitiza, antispasmodic and additional hypertensive drug

That's great to hear! Will continue to pursue VSG revision.

You need a new bariatric surgeon who is experienced at revisions. Best of luck to you

It sounds like you're retaining food in your esophagus. Need a barium swallow to check the status of your band and esophageal function. I've been experiencing exactly what you describe...what I found out is my band is very loose, but the sphincter at the bottom of my esophagus fails to open when I eat. I'm having a manometry test next week to determine next steps.

I'm interested in how this works out. I'm almost 3 yrs out with band, lost 90 lb. I developed esophageal dilation, achalasia and a general GI Motility disorder over the last year. My UGI showed the LES did not open in response to swallowing, so the barium distended the esophagus. The esophagus spasmed trying to push the barium through and it could be seen sloshing around in there. When I eat, I have to eat very slowly, eat half a band portion. I sometimes regurgitate food eaten days before. I only had 3.5 cc in my 11 cc band and had it all removed last June, because nothing would pass through the band. After removing the Fluid and allowing the stomach/esophagus to heal a bit, the UGI showed normal function, other than a bit slow in emptying. No dilation, slip, spasms. 9 months later its another story. I've had a gastric emptying study, showing mild gastroparesis, endoscopy with negative biopsies, and I'm scheduled for manometry testing next week. I want to revise to sleeve, but have been told it could exacerbate my motility problems. I'm working with my GI, Lapband and PCP doctors with this. The other significant issue is that I often have palpitations when eating due to the close proximity of the heart to the esophagus and the violent spasms I experience. I've had a full cardiac work up that was negative for any cardiovascular disease. I'm not a candidate for RNY for other medical reasons.

Good to know!

Sodium came it at about 600mg per serving. I don't do artificial sweeteners, so Splenda won't work for me. I would opt to reduce the brown sugar by half, which would = Splenda brown sugar.

I entered this on my fitness pal, thinking it would be sky high in carbs (entered regular brown sugar), and was pleasantly surprised that it was only 16.6 carbs and has 25 gr protein! I wonder if reducing the brown sugar would affect the flavor??

I agree, see a nutritionist. You probably can increase your protein and healthy carb calories and start to lose. When I first saw my nutritionist, I was eating 1400 cal. She upped me to 1800 and had me cut out the "white" calories. I lost weight.

As a person who didn't drink for 30 minutes following meals and now has been told to drink with meals because of GI dismotility, I have experienced no difference in the amount I can eat, nor in satiety. I still go 4, 5 or even 6 hours without feeling hungry and can eat 1 cup of food, max. My band is empty.

You were throwing up before you started the Prilosec? Why did you start taking it? Were you having heartburn or other symptoms besides vomiting? Did you start Prilosec because your doctor recommended it? Sorry for all the questions, but it's impossible to give relevant advice without more information. If you haven't called your doctor for the vomiting, you should ASAP.

Congrats Jim!

Ask you doctor.

If you are having chest pain, you should call your doctor.

Josh, if you're not feeling hunger, that is restriction. When a fill is given without considering satiety there is a risk of causing damage. It's better to be a bit cautious with fills, fully understand how the band works with your body. Many people are too aggressive with fills because they think restriction is the band stopping them from overeating or eating the wrong foods. When I go to my band doctor they ask me the following questions: How much can you comfortably eat? (1/2 to 1 cup) How long are you taking to finish your meal? (20-30 min, stop at 30 even if there is food left) How long after eating do you feel hunger?(4-5 hours) Do you find yourself looking for food? (Head Hunger) Are you drinking at least 64 oz Water per day? (I drink about 90 oz water per day) This is how my doctor determines the need for a fill, along with weight loss. If I'm losing a pound per week, no fill is needed. I don't exercise and due to band complications, all my fill was removed last June. I still eat band friendly foods to the extent my motility disorder allows and per my GI doctor's instructions and I'm still losing slowly. First bite syndrome has nothing to do with the band itself. It's an irritated LES that spasms the lower part of the esophagus closed. When it relaxes, you can eat. My doctors are finding a correlation between first bite syndrome and later esophageal issues. The first bite is retained in the esophagus, feeling a lot like food isn't passing thru the band...it hasn't even reached the band. Just my $.02