kathyinca

Hi Denise, Did not answer you last week. I got a bit busy. Had some good days and bad days this week....but woke up and dropped 2 pounds! So, I'm officially now under 200 lb. So, even though it is slow, this band is still working. About Japan.......moved here for work. It is for a "short" time.....just a couple of years. It was one of those things that just was right for us at the time....so we jumped at the opportunity. We are at the right time of our lives that this was relatively easy right now for us. So far, we are happy we made the move. There are a lot of Americans and other foreigners here. It has not been too hard to get settled.....just the normal stress of a move, I guess. Eating is just interesting here.....I've had to learn all over again in some cases as I eat things I never ate or even encountered at home.

Denise, Don't stress about those cookies....you've probably got some water weight or something. I've been the same weight for a week even though I'm walking like crazy and eating a lot smaller portions....nothing. I really do think you feel it first before you see it show up on the scale. Then, my body will not lose a half pound or a pound....I'll just drop 2 pounds when I finally do. So, hang in there. Eventually your body will just realize it doesn't need the weight. Babygotback, I found that Udon noodles in soup go down....unfortunately, they defeated much of the purpose of the band because I can eat quite a bit of them and it is all carbs. Two or three hours I"m hungry again. They taste fantastic though. I have not been brave enough to eat them without soup. My biggest problem here is that I'm not a big fish eater. I just don't like things that are fishy and I grew up far far away from the ocean......so we just did not eat fresh fish. I need to experiment with some fresh fish here that will probably be fine for me. Everything is so much fresher here and I'm sure there are fish I can find that I will enjoy. Also, when I can cook at home it is a lot easier (as for all of us, I'm sure) to control my diet. Back home, I never went to dinner with the folks I worked with -- and lunch was a very predictable cafeteria. Now, because I'm new and because of the culture I have a lot of lunch and dinner invitations where other folks pick the restaurants. I'm doing my best to just chew chew chew chew. Funny because I'm sitting next to these teeny women and I get all the "you don't like the food?" comments because I'm sure they can't imagine why I'd be eating less than them. On several occasions the waiters asked me if everything was okay -- I just hate standing out so much. So, even when I can eat the food, I just feel so odd. The upside of living here is that I walk to/from a train station every day and get some exercise just by living. I never had to walk anywhere but my driveway back home. I probably walk 30-40 minutes a day just going to/from work and home. So, that is a nice boost in activity that I hope starts showing up on the scale once I actually watch what I'm eating. Anyway, good to be back.

Hi Mominlambert, We are also in Shibuya-ku in Tokyo as well! We are in the Shoto area and will be here 2-3 years. It was an opportunity we could not pass up. I think it will be a great experience. I'm looking forward to learning what Japanese food works well with this band!

Hi baby got back, I just started logging in again last night. Funny you should ask where everyone went....because I disappeared for a few months now. I took a job in Japan and have been busy packing up my house and family and moving here. Unfortunately, the last thing I've focused on is my band....which is why I'm back here online now that we are settled in here overseas. I haven't gained weight over the last several months, just haven't lost what I probably should have by now. I still think that in the past, without the band, my weight would have shot up because of the stress of the job change and move.....I usually ate to deal with that stress. I did (or tried to) with the band as well.....but the band did stop me. It has been difficult to learn how to eat different foods with the band and I have not been doing a great job. Rice, which was something I never ate at home because I had such problems with it and my band, is everywhere here. Noodles as well. There are a lot of things that give my band problems over here and I haven't quite figured out what works the best for me at this point. I had gotten into such a routine at home and now everything is very different. Also, there is so much social eating (and drinking) here. I never really drank that much at home....I still do not, but do have the occasional drink here which I never really had at home. Socially, going out to eat is really hard because I never know if I'm going to have to excuse myself to go and PB because something I tried did not work. I need to get back on track. We are really pretty settled here now and I have time to focus once again. I'm going to try to do liquids for a couple of days just to see how I feel after that -- whether or not I feel restriction once I go back to solid food. I have not felt much restriction lately. Perhaps I need a fill, but since my weight is not a lot different than during the last fill I had, I'm not so sure and am wondering if I've just stretched my pouch or forgotten how it feels to actually feel hungry. I know a lot of my eating is head hunger. Speaking of fills, I have not figured out where to do that here in Japan and it may not be possible until we vacation in the USA. So, I'm going to have to learn how to manage my appetite if it is restriction that I'm missing. Considering I still have times where I PB, I think I'm still restricted. Good to be back.

That is what I hear a lot of posters indicate. I felt like I had little restriction for much of the week. I also did feel like my port was a little irritated though -- and figured that TOM may be the reason. I may just be chewing and eating slower and having a generally easier time eating with the band.......which leads me to believe I'm less restricted since I can actually eat. It is still so early that it is hard to tell exactly what is going on. Thanks for your message. Kathy

Hi everyone, I'm back after the flu got everyone in our house, except me. I've been getting out of work early to come home and take care of everyone. I've had very little sleep and am sure I will now come down with this bug soon. It has been a rough week. I haven't been watching what I eat at all......and surprisingly, I have not gained any weight. Another wonderful thing about this band of mine. In the past, I would have gone up a pound or two during a week like this. I did not lose weight this week......but that is not a surprise. This band is really fickle though. One day it feels like it is there, the next day it feels like I have no restriction at all. It was that "time of the month"...so maybe that is why it all of the sudden felt like I could eat anything again? I'd love to hear other's experience with this. I typically hear that the band gets tighter during that TOM.......what is your experience? I've only had a fill for about 2 weeks now. I had a 1.7cc fill. It is nice to have the flexibility to eat a lot of different things -- but I eat more than I think is "normal" for the band sometimes and am not able to at other times. I wonder if I'll ever figure this out........ Kathy

I was self conscience about this as well. And then, at a dinner party I needed to go to, the darn waiter asks "Didn't you like your meal, ma'am?" Ugh........that is just what I needed. I also was so annoyed -- I figured he wouldn't go ask some skinny lady that. Anyway, it is good you are telling folks you are dieting. I did the same and while I'm sure that some of my portions invite attention.......oh well. I still refuse to tell them all that I've had surgery. It is none of their business. I also did and do skip lunches with colleagues because I work with a large enough group of people that the don't notice when I'm missing......they just figure I eat earlier than them or later than them. It helped me during the liquid stage b/c I knew someone would wonder what I was up to. Hang in there.......it will get better. Then, before your first fill when you have no restriction (sorry......the day WILL arrive), you'll really confuse folks b/c you'll be able to eat anything!! Make sure you schedule some time with one of your cooking friends or your sister those days! I actually laugh now because I must have some folks REALLY confused. I go from liquids and not eating, to eating normally large portions, to small portions. I figure -- this fill will need to be topped off at some point and I'll go back to bigger portions. At least this surgery will keep them guessing. :clap2: My biggest issue now is just eating slow, chewing enough, and eating the *right* foods so that I don't need to abruptly leave the table and PB. That has been a challenge to get all those things right in my first week of being filled. I don't think I'm too tight since if I do all these things, I'm okay. I also have no issues with liquids. But, man -- this is a real learning experience. Good luck! K

I've had the unfortunate experience of needing to call the doctor after my surgery -- and I also was an Ortiz patient. Actually, Dr. Martinez, in his office, answers most of those calls. You get his cell phone number after surgery as well. He is fantastic and it is amazing how caring he is and the follow up he does. The first time I called I wondered about my port incision. He answered my questions and I felt better. The second time......after the week 4 chicken incident. He actually asked me to call him the next day on his cell phone as well and let me know how I was doing after taking his advice to stop all food/drink for the rest of the day and start liquids the next day......and for the next week. I did follow up with him and actually got the impression that he was waiting for my phone call. The day I had surgery there was another woman there that had some complications (not Dr. Ortiz related.....her own personal health issues). She actually was hospitalized back in her home state and Dr. Martinez joined the doctors in her home state by video conference as they looked at her band. So, in addition to being available, they also clearly must have the technology to see their far away patients when needed. So, people should feel they can call -- even if they are too far away to be seen. At least these doctors know when they can wait it out or if they need to be seen at some ER immediately. Tell your friend to take advantage of the fact that these doctors make themselves available to us. To me, it is part of the cost of the surgery. They would not give out their cell phone numbers if they did not get expect to get the occasional call. That sounds crazy in the USA since most of my doctors would never be available to me after hours........but it is not the same for the staff with Dr. Ortiz. Kathy

Audree, I'm also an Ortiz patient, and like you -- did not have a mushy stage. However, if you'd like to learn from my mistakes -- please do so. One of my first meals on day 22 was chicken. NOT a good idea. I got stuck and did not only PB, but vomited over and over again. I had to get on the phone with Dr. Martinez and he put me on liquids for yet another week. So, I would suggest that when you get to that day 22, that you do mushies for a few days and see how it goes before going right into solids. k

Silry, I also started at a BMI of 39.7 and now am around a BMI of 35. Yes, you are a lower BMI patient. As for surgery, I arrived on a Wednesday and had surgery on a Thursday. I could have departed on Friday -- but the hotel stay was part of the cost, so I stayed another night until Saturday before returning home. I am within driving distance of my surgeon. I could have easily gone home the day after my surgery. However, if I was flying home -- I think I'd stay the extra day to make sure I had no complications before getting on an airplane to go home. Good luck with getting your surgery set up. I'm really happy I did this for me. Kathy

Susan, Sorry that you needed to act. It is better than giving in and eating the steak though. You'd be sorry about that, for sure. I hate lying, but I did not tell people about my band and I would not hesitate to pretend I was sick instead of eating something at a time where it was dangerous to me or my band. Great news that you still feel full. I love that about my band. I also found that at the stage you are in that I started not thinking about food morning, noon, and night. That is still the case now and the biggest change for me mentally since banding. Kathy

Hi ladies........I updated my ticker this morning!! My plateau ended and the scale is moving. Actually, it is moving faster than I expected -- which is a nice surprise I think it is the combination of the fill and also the exercise that I've been doing for the past few weeks. When i updated my ticker I also added my *real* starting weight, which was about 5 pounds heavier than when I started to consider the lapband. It all was work......and I want to remember where I really came from when I get to the other end of that ticker. I realized that I have already lost 1/3 of what I want to lose......when I look at it from that perspective I realize that I can do this. Also - the daily changes in my body are the reward along the way. I know that I have days where my body shape changes even though it doesn't get reflected in the scale. The biggest benefit of this weight loss thus far is my energy levels and my ability to keep up with my toddler son. I did eat some ice cream with my family today -- not a great choice. However, I also ran 3 miles tonight to burn off all those calories. Oh well, I'm not going to beat myself up for a treat once and a while. It was good and it satisfied me as I deal with PMS. All in all, the fill is working pretty well. I still have some tough moments where I wonder if something is going to get stuck or not. Every new food is an adventure! I will never, never, never eat a hard boiled egg ever again with this band. I ate slow, it was chewed in tiny pieces, I started my meal with some sips of hot tea to "open up" the band......and that darn thing still came up. The salad and veggies in the salad were fine.......it was just that egg that did not agree with my band. Sounds like you ladies are doing good. I really like this thread Audree......thanks for starting it. I read this every night even if I don't have anything to add. It is freezing here in California (literally, freezing........cannot imagine what the temps are elsewhere in the country).....so I'm headed to bed, under the covers, early tonight. Have a good evening everyone! Kathy

Supergenius......... The scale finally moved. Down 2 pounds this morning!! Finally! Also, I had a great day where everything I tried to eat went down just fine.....no stuck feelings all day. I'll have to update my ticker soon. Hope I'm getting the hang of this! Goodnight all!

Goodnight Audree! You know, when I was eating like 700 calories a day while on liquids, I just gave up and went to bed early every night. I honestly think the rest got me through it. I did not have the energy during those weeks. I would work, come home and play with my son, talk with my husband and go to bed at around 8pm. My energy came back when I was able to get in more calories. Day 2 of food after fill #1 was better. You know what, I had coffee this morning (with skim milk) and I completely forgot about eating until 12:30pm. No hunger pains, nothing........I only finally went to lunch because I realized that is what everyone else around me was doing and it was lunchtime. I think I ate too much for lunch. I felt really uncomfortable afterward. I have to slow down -- it is hard for me at work b/c there is so much going on around me. Tonight, dinner was better. I ate the inside of a taco -- beef first, then a little cheese, then lettuce. Not bad. I am amazed how the feeling of being satisfied lasts for several hours. That never happened pre-band and is so nice. I used to think about food from the minute I woke up until I went to bed. Now, I only think about it when I am eating. I did make it to the treadmill......a very very short walk......but I did get on there. Better than nothing. I still feel I have a long way to go to learning what works with this band and what does not. I have to create new habits.....eating so fast at lunch just plain hurts -- but you don't realize you are eating too fast until you are in pain! I guess a few days of this should start to remedy this. Tonight I was able to slow down and get a hiccup (which I've read on this board is a sign for STOP EATING), which signaled me to stop. I felt more comfortable after dinner after getting that "signal". Please keep teaching me what all of you banded with fills are eating during the day and evening. It gives me ideas. The other thing that I've noticed is that many of my old food choices (pastas, bread, rice, chicken) have not worked for me with the band thus far. I love hearing what others eat b/c it lets me think of foods that I am not normally eating. Oh......and the scale moved a whopping 0.2 pounds. My goodness......I'm ready to scream after 5 days of being filled and drinking liquids and then struggling to eat, and not eating nearly what I was before my fill -- this scale has to move soon. I know I'm doing the right things......so it will come soon enough, I'm sure. Goodnight! Kathy

Hi ladies, Glad to hear you are doing so well post-op. You will soon be past these soup days. I hope it goes fast for you. I had my first fill on Saturday. Today was my first day of solid food after that fill. It was.......interesting. I had a tough time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I did get some food in at each meal though. I had to stop eating at breakfast since I was feeling that stuck feeling after a couple of bites of fruit (cafeteria was unexpectedly closed......so no protein available, otherwise I would have tried some scrambled egg). I had that slimey feeling in my mouth -- but never did PB. I stuck with liquids until lunchtime. Lunch was okay......I ate slow, but it was comfortable after the first bite and a few minutes of waiting. I had a couple of bites of chicken tortilla soup before I started eating solids and I think that the hot liquid may have opened my band up a bit before I ate -- I ate the steak and salsa inside a tortilla. I skipped the tortilla as I didn't want to try that today. Dinner was more difficult. I tried to eat little bites of chicken breast and that did not feel good. When that feeling went away, I ate the insides of an apple (did not want to try the skin today). So, I have a bit of work to do on nutrition and getting enough protein......but considering I've been feeling under the weather the last few days and have not been getting many calories (only liquids when I felt up to it), I was just happy to get something down. Anyway, after day 1........I'm convinced that this is hard work. I have a lot of learning to do about this band. Tomorrow I'm going to try to have some hot liquids before I eat and see if that makes those first and second bites more comfortable. Hope I did not make you ladies hungry......It is funny because I wanted to throw in the towel tonight and just eat soup. Then, I realized that all the money I spent for this darn band would just be a waste. I'm dying to eat soup (because it is easy) and you ladies would give anything to eat food . The good news.....I'm not hungry and I've had very small quantities today. The amazing thing..........for the last few days I have hardly been able to get any calories........I had my fill on Saturday which required me to fast a couple of hours before and drink liquids after. Then, I was feeling sick on Sunday and Monday and drank liquids -- but not nearly what I should have since my stomach was really queasy and I was getting afraid of getting sick. Today......I get on my scale and it has not budged since Saturday. Hard to believe, but true. My body is hanging on to every pound right now. Hopefully since I was able to eat some real food today I will see some changes on the scale soon. I did have a NSV today and was able to wear a brand new jacket that I purchased a month ago. It was too small for me at the time and I figured it would take 2-3 months for me to be able to wear it. I was able to put it on and button it up this morning. So, I'm getting smaller even if I'm not noticing it on the scale. I'm going to head to bed soon. I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow morning and get up and go running. I'm hoping that one of you here will hold me accountable and ask me about it tomorrow Kathy

Hi ladies, Wondering how your surgeries went?? Hope you are feeling good and everything went well. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Audree, You will probably be gone by tomorrow when I arrive at Dr. Ortiz's office for my fill. However, I'll keep my eye out for you. Hope you get some rest and start recovering now. Kathy

Hi Skinnymom, I started exercising at week 5. I know others that did it earlier. I think the combination of the surgery side-effects subsiding and losing weight, which increased my energy levels -- helped me start exercising in the last week. Also, it depends on the exercise you want to do. I wouldn't lift real heavy weights or do anything very strenuous at first. You'll feel better soon. I think by day 6 or 7 my port pain was subsiding and I was feeling okay. Kathy

Supergenius, Glad you found your birth certificate. I thought you needed a passport to get into Mexico starting in January, 2007? I'm not sure if they relaxed those dates a bit or not. I'm not sure when you appointment in Mexico is though.....perhaps the dates have been relaxed as the air travel dates are 1/23/2007. I'm just curious and also don't want you to make a trip that you are not prepared for. I'm sure you've probably done more research on this than I have. http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html Our entire family recently got passports. I had one...but my husband and son needed one. We have family in Baja Mexico and realized that we would need passports to get back and forth eventually. Anyway, glad you found your birth certificate and I'm hoping that is all you need for your upcoming travel. Kathy

Audree, I'll keep you in mind for my next fill.........who knows when that will be though. I'm actually a little bit afraid for my fill on Friday. I had some problems around week 4 when I actually started to add solid food to my diet. So, I am not jumping up and down awaiting restriction right now. I'm not even sure I'm ready for a fill.......but I do know that I want the doctor to check the positioning of my band since I had some episodes of very violent vomiting (as well as PBing....big difference between the two) when I went to solid foods on 12/14. I had to go back to all liquids and work my way back up to mushy stuff and then solids finally. Dr. Martinez indicated that they would want to check the positioning of the band to make sure that nothing had gone wrong when I had those problems. I am able to eat larger portions in the last few days....and am hungry enough to do so. So, I think I finally am feeling the loss of restriction. We'll see what they say when I get down to TJ though. If they send me home without a fill, I'll be fine with that. I'm just hoping I did not do any permanent damage to the band with that episode. I'm willing to take very small baby steps with this band and make several trips to TJ to get the proper restriction. I don't ever want that PB feeling again. It is pretty horrible. My advice to you is to follow the post-op diet religiously. I did okay with it and was lucky in that I wasn't really all that hungry when I was on it. Then, when you start to eat solids.......do not attempt chicken or other *problem* foods right away. I did eat chicken, and it was probably too early to start to do that. I've eaten it again in the past couple of days with no problem. I probably did not have the practice I needed with chewing my food a lot and it was one of the first things I attempted to eat when I went to solids. It was NOT a good idea........get comfortable with other, softer foods that need chewing first......then move on to the foods that some of the people on these boards have a tougher time with. I was so happy to be off liquids that I took the doctor's advice quite literally and jumped into solid food rather than easing into it. Bad idea. So, my fill is supposed to be at 11am on Saturday. However, I'm trying to change it to later in the afternoon so that I can take the train down to San Diego (Amtrak) and then catch the blue line trolley to San Ysidoro and then walk over the border, and catch a taxi (that sounds really complicated.......but it is not). If I can't change it to later in the day, I'll just drive down there. We took the train when I had my surgery and it was great. It happened to be Thanksgiving weekend and I did not want to battle Mexico, San Diego, and LA traffic on a holiday weekend. If I stick with the 11am fill -- then I may see you before you leave the clinic unless you get out of there earlier than I did. For some reason it seemed like it took forever for us to get out of there the day after surgery. However, you are not going back to the hotel......so perhaps it will be more fast for you since you won't be waiting for all the other patients to all go back to the hotel at the same time. I ran for 2.5 miles this morning.........slowly building up my speed and endurance!! That is 4 times in one week -- and yet the scale won't budge. I'm definitely in a plateau right now. I've had this treadmill for 7 years now and it probably has had more use this week than ever :party: I always had good intentions......... Happy New Year everyone! We are off to Pasadena to see the Rose Parade floats. My husband has never seen them up close.......and I still am amazed every time I do see them with all those flowers, seeds, and other living things on every square inch of them. Kathy

Audree, You are doing great on the pre-op diet........and it will be over soon! I've been on these boards since before my surgery on 11/23 (Thanksgiving). I was also banded by Dr. Ortiz. I found the clinic to meet all my needs.......and more. I've had to call the Doctor a couple of times since surgery. Dr. Martinez usually takes those calls....and he has been fantastic. I ended up going to Dr. Ortiz when I recognized that I'd have to gain weight and spend 7 months getting a doctor to document everything in order to get the surgery approved by my insurance company. When I started researching things, I recognized that I'd be more comfortable with Dr. Ortiz and his staff than anyone else.....so I decided to self pay. I'm one of those folks that actually had some restriction after surgery. When I finally started on solids at the start of week 4, I could not tolerate them and went back to liquids for another week. I've lost a total of 20 pounds from the start of pre-op dieting to today (7 pre-op and 13 post-op). I've been fortunate in that it is staying off and my first fill is Saturday -- January 6th. Lately, I do feel as if I can eat larger portions and that I'm ready for a fill. Hopefully you won't need any medicines to control your appetite after you are banded......at least not early on. My appetite was gone almost immediately after surgery and the liquids I was drinking did fill me up. The mental "head hunger" is what I had a problem with after a long, hard day at work! I noticed that I would go to bed earlier once I was banded. That wasn't a bad thing for me since I finally started getting 8 hours of sleep a night......but I did it because I was depressed that my friend, food, wasn't around for me!! Going to bed got me out of the kitchen. I'll probably be arriving at the clinic for my fill as you are leaving. Maybe our paths will cross while we are there. I live near Los Angeles......so not far away from you. I did not find a need for a compression garment of any sort. The only area that feels any pain (for me) after surgery was where the port was stitched to the muscle. It hurt for about a week......and then at 2 weeks I suddenly felt it again for a day or two. I think I picked up my 2 year old son too early and aggravated something. The hardest thing was getting up and down from bed. I found that if I simply held that area of my abdomen while sitting up, I did not feel the pain. The incisions are so small that I already feel like I never had surgery. I ate light the night before surgery.....just some soup. I also had a really easy time with gas pains. I did take the GasX strips and had my heating pad with me in the hotel. So, perhaps that helped things. I never felt the terrible gas pain that a lot of folks describe. As for exercise......just starting down that path now that I'm 5 weeks post-banding. I got one of those Nike plus sensors that you wear in your tennis shoes for Christmas-- it connects to my ipod -- and it measures distance, calories burned, etc. The great thing about it is that you can use the Nike website to sign up for challenges with others using the same technology. No way to cheat......since connecting your ipod to the computer uploads the data from your run or walk directly to the Nike site. So far, so good. I really want to get back into shape and have a strong body once again. I'm looking forward to that! Well -- hang in there......only 4 more days of your pre-op diet!! :clap2: Kathy

Audree, Looks like you've gotten through yesterday and dancing I just wanted to tell you that I was also banded by Dr. Ortiz on 11/23/2006. The pre-op diet was really, really hard for me as well. It made me so crabby that I'd go home and go to bed early! I did not want to see anyone or do anything. I think I was moody and feeling like I was being "punished" since food, my friend, was being "taken away". My husband was great during this.....thank goodness. It really is good that you have family support since this pre-op diet is tough. I was able to join people out to dinner and breakfast soon after surgery...I just drank my liquid soup or Water or coffee. You are going through the toughest time......but you will feel better if you can follow the pre-op diet and stick with it up until surgery. It is a big sense of accomplishment to know that you did all you can to have a safe surgery. You are almost there....... Kathy

Isn't it funny that our in our minds we are still heavier than we really are? I keep grabbing sizes off the department store racks that are too big for me. It is a great feeling though. I have an appointment with my closet today. I want to go through all the old stuff in there that is likely to fit now. It all seems so small.....but it is the same size that I bought yesterday at the mall! Kathy

I did not have any specific instructions to do "mushies". I progressed from liquids, to creamy Soups, to thicker liquids that could still fit through a straw. So, I wasn't really warned against trying certain foods. Also, I had been in touch with other patients that were banded at the same clinic.....and they were eating the same types of things I had tried on Friday. I really did not expect a problem. I did eat the dark meat of the chicken......thought that would be better. Also, I did chew and chew......I don't think all the chewing in the world could have allowed me to avoid this. I just don't think I was ready for that type of food. That is why the doctor asked me to go back to liquids for a solid week -- suspecting that I'm still swollen and healing from surgery. Kathy

Hello all, I just posted on the November challenge thread. I'll post here as well..... On Thursday I was able to eat "real food" for the first time. I chose to eat chicken......bad idea. After chewing and chewing and chewing.....it still got stuck. I learned what "PB" means, I learned what "sliming" means, and then it progressed to about an hour or two of vomiting. At some point I was able to get comfortable again instead of that feeling of being "stuck". On Friday morning I stuck to liquids. I had a holiday lunch to go to, so I tried to eat lunch that day. Not a good idea.....ran to the restroom a couple of times during those couple of hours. By the end of lunch on Friday, I could not even keep liquids down. I started to get scared that my band had slipped and that I would continue to have problems, so I called the doctor. My doctor asked me to avoid eating and drinking for the rest of the day and night. He asked me to stick to liquids all morning on Saturday and give him a call and let him know how I was doing. I did call him on Saturday and told him that I was able to sip liquids (like immediately after surgery). Since I was able to do that, there was no reason for me to visit him. Anyway, he suspects that I am very swollen from getting that chicken stuck on Thursday and wants me on liquids for another week. I thought that 3 weeks of liquids would never end......although after those rough days, I'm willing to do just about anything to make sure it doesn't happen again. What a horrible feeling! Hopefully I have not done any permanent damage to this band. I have been so impressed with my doctor. I, along with many, had questions about going to a doctor in Mexico. However, the response I got from Dr. Martinez, who works with Dr. Ortiz, has been great. I did feel better knowing that I was only 3 hours away from Tijuana if I really did need to see a doctor. I had his cell phone number and was able to be in touch with him a few times this week/weekend due to this issue. It was really comforting to know he was a phone call away if I needed him. It sounds like most of you are not feeling restricted. I do feel for you. I thought I would be in your shoes about now. I'm actually feeling pretty full on liquids for now. Let's see how I do when I begin to actually eat in about a week. Sorry I have not posted much.....I read all your messages and love to hear how everyone is doing. Kathy

Hi November bandsters...... I have not checked in for a while. Last Thursday was my first official day of "real food" and not "liquid food". It did not go well. I ended up having what I now know was a PB.....and that was followed by severe vomiting for an hour or two. It was bad news. The next day I was able to drink liquids until lunchtime. Then, I tried to eat again and again, the food got stuck. By the end of lunchtime on Friday, I could not even keep liquids down. I called my doctor and he asked me to stop drinking and eating anything until Saturday morning and check back in with him. Well, by Saturday morning I was able to tolerate liquids again. The doctor thinks that perhaps I got pretty swollen from the stuck chicken on Thursday and asked me to do another week of liquids.........ugh!! I thought that 3 weeks of liquids would never end -- so this is going to be a challenge. However, I guess I am lucky in that I still feel relatively full with liquids -- so it is not killing me. I just hope that I did not do any permanent damage to the band. So, My modified challenge is to get some exercise in since I'm clearly getting all the Water in since I cannot eat yet. I haven't gotten on my treadmill since surgery. My port pain is finally gone and I feel pretty decent....so this is a good thread as it will remind me to actually start exercising. If I can fit it in this week -- right before the holiday, I can fit it in anytime. Hope you are all doing well. Catch up with you soon, Kathy