Acadia

A natural solution is to get 1 L of Water, take out 1/4 c and heat it up, add 2 tsp non iodized salt, mix well until dissolved, mix with the 1 L of cool water to make a salt water mix. Drink it (you'll want to chug it becaues it tastes like crap). That will naturally clean you out - quickly. Be near a toilet and stay near one for at least 4 hours.

If you're not able to eat 4 oz of solid Protein then you are too tight. The band is not meant to restrict the amount of food you eat. It's meant to reduce how hungry you are between meals. If you can only eat certain foods then you're not getting enough nutrition and while you'll lose weight, you're not doing so in a healthy way. You're basically starving yourself. Get your fill taken out - eat your veggie salads, enjoy life, enjoy food as fuel, and lose weight in a healthy way. This way you'll also be able to increase your calories as necessary based on your increased activity.

Remember - sometimes it only takes 1 cc for you to go from no appetite suppressing to green zone. It can even take as little as 0.1 cc. While some people on here get 5 ccs at a time or it takes 10 cc for them to get to their green zone, some of us are perfect with just a couple of ccs.

It sounds like you are a bit too tight or your band has started to slip. You shouldn't have extreme restriction, you should have little to no appetite for 4-5 hours between meals. That's what you should be aiming for. If you can't even get down 8 oz of Water in one shot - you are too tight. Go into your Dr. and ask them to do an unfill under fluoroscopy with a barium swallow so they can see exactly how the Fluid is moving. It should sit in the pouch for a split second before moving through. If it sits there for longer or only trickles through then you are way too tight.

Make sure you're allowed to crush the pills you're taking. Any time release or 24 hour pills CANNOT be crushed. Contact your pharmacist - not your Dr - to find out if it's safe. It's also unlikely that you have any restriction right now so you should be perfectly safe taking any pills the size of a tic-tac or M&M. If in doubt, take one pill - have a hot cup of tea nearby - swallow the pill with some cool Water, wait. If it feels stuck, drink some tea. I have no issues with taking over 12 pills at once including a large "horse pill" sized omega-3 and I'm in my green zone with restriction enough so that I can't eat bread, Pasta, rice, etc. and stay full for 4-5 hours between meals. Even right after surgery I had no issues with my pills. I didn't want to take them but they were fine.

Using a straw is perfectly safe. It's no different than drinking from a cup where you start to sip before the fluid hits your lips. While you may get some extra gas for belching if it helps you drink more then it's worth it.

Tell your psychiatrist to contact your surgeon's office to ask what format they require. You should not be the go between. If you are the go between, there is liability there if you tell the psychiatrist the wrong thing.

If you're taking BC pills you need to continue them for at least 1 year after surgery. The risk is too high to you and the baby if you get pregnant before you lose all of your excess weight. Plus it's very unsafe for a baby to gestate in an overweight mother. While those babies survive just fine, they have many issues as they grow up so it's to your advantage and your future child's advantage for you to get on birth control (no reason to stop taking it 4 weeks before surgery - say on it the entire time - talk to your surgeon about that) and stay on it for at least 12 months following or until you've lost all of your extra weight then about 3 months after you've reached your goal. Once you're at that point you'll know how you should eat. This is crucial because it's very likely you'll have your Fluid mostly - if not completely - removed if/when you become pregnant and if you already know how to eat you'll be able to minimize weight gain outside of the necessary 20-30 lbs for your baby.

As your Dr for an exact list of what you can and cannot consume. Does liquids include Soup? Does it include Protein shakes? Milk? Crystal Light? Tea? coffee? Jello? Popsicles? If so, then you'll be fine. It won't be easy, don't get me wrong, but you'll be able to survive if you think about it as one-day-at-a-time and as preparation for surgery and post surgery. Plus, you'll likely lose around 20-30 lbs doing this, which will make surgery much safer and recovery easier. A Protein shake for Breakfast (or Isopure Zero Carb if you don't like milk like shakes). A bowl of soup and a protein shake for lunch. High protein Jello for a snack (instead of cold Water you use 1 c of cold IsoPure - makes it high protein) A bowl of soup and glass of milk or protein shake for dinner. A popcicle for dessert. Protein Shakes for Snacks. Definitely look into IsoPure protein if you want something more like Crystal Light. Drink a lot of ice water, green tea, crystal light, sugar free popsicles, etc. You'll get through it. And remember, if you can't make it through this - you'll have a hell of a time with life after surgery.

Go to a boxing gym or HIT gym or an ultimate fighting gym and ask them. They can give you all sorts of effective tips and blocks. Just make sure to tell them that you have something in you so they don't try to train you without knowing that. The most basic step is to learn to tighten your entire core and bend forward a bit, it will soften the blow to the internal organs because your muscle will take the hit and the bending forward a bit allows your muscle to become more compacted in that area. Should anyone actually try to punch or kick you in the abdomen, the more you can bend the better, it's basically like forming a pocket for the impact. If someone tries to punch you there the fastest way to disable them is to break their arm. Let's say someone is using their right arm to punch you in the gut, you take your left hand and put it down over their hand and grab it, and put your right hand behind their elbow and pull on both really hard. You'll snap their elbow and could break their wrist as well. For a leg, turn toward the kick, put your arms down like you're catching a log being thrown at you, and grab their leg and flip them back. That will likely break their hip while completely deflecting the blow. You can also attempt to break their knee by grabbing their leg with your arm (on the side they are kicking you) and by jamming your other arm down on their knee.

If you are training for a half marathon and eating fewer than 1,500-1,800 calories then you are putting your body in starvation mode. Think about it - if you're running even for 1 hour a day you are burning between 500-800 calories (depending on your weight and speed, this assumes 5 mph). So if you're only consuming 900-1,000 calories then you're really only consuming 200-600 calories. That's starvation. That means that your body is retaining every single calorie that it can because it thinks that you won't be able to eat for a while. You will eventually get sick and you are currently cannibalizing any muscle you're trying to build because your body is starving. Up your calories - a lot. If you're between 100-150 lbs you're burning around 500-650 calories running for one hour, so eat around 1,400-1,800 calories on those days. That will give you a good amount to live on. If you're between 150-200 lbs you're burning around 650-800 calories running for one hour, so eat around 1,550-2,000 calories on those days. Sounds like a lot but it's not when you're burning 800 on top of daily activity. If you're over 200 lbs you're burning over 800 calories per hour running, but you're safe to keep your calories between 1,600-2,000 like above because you have more fat reserves that will be tapped. If you continue the way you're going, you will lose weight, but you will also get quite sick. Up your calories and watch the weight fall off.

While little sips of soda can be fine, you should not drink an entire can or two at a sitting. You may even find that those little baby cans (an actual serving) are ideal because you probably won't want to drink the whole thing. And, add some ice to it. It will Water it down a bit and will help it lose some of its carbonation. Ideally you should stay away from them, but if you drink something carbonated once in a while (once a week or so) then you should be fine. Just remember, it's not as easy to belch so you may get some serious gas pain.

Oddly - on days when I can't eat much, tomatoes are one of the few foods that always go down easily. It doesn't help that I like to pair them with fresh mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar

faz1988 - a fill level cannot be seen on fluoroscopy. You can see how Fluid flows through the stoma created by the band if you do a barium swallow but you can't see the amount of fluid in a band, the fluid - like air in a tire - distributes around the band equally. That said, a fill done under fluoroscopy offers many benefits - especially for your first fill. It will help your Dr. see the position of your band and will allow them exact positioning to hit your port so they'll know for future visits. Without that, you're risking having your Dr. puncture the tube or miss the port, or or or. Lots of potential complications with a blind first fill. While a Dr who has done a million fills could do your first fill perfectly blind - your Dr has absolutely no idea how your port is sitting, if it has turned over, if it's on its side, etc. Wait - and get a good look at your band and its position. And don't make the mistake of getting a massive fill to start. If you ask your Dr. to do a barium swallow while filling you can get a really nice and accurate fill the first time where fluid still goes through well but you have some pressure.

jennifer1 - go get a slight unfill. Whatever you had put in, have half of it taken out. Ideally under fluroscopy. And ask for a barium swallow at the same time so you can be sure your band is still in the right spot (and hasn't slipped) and that Fluid is going through okay. A Dr should never say "you're really tight" and let you leave the office. You should always be able to eat 1 cup of food and at least a few bites of solid Protein (Beans, meat, tofu, whatever).

rosebud1963 - Something to think about, grab a handful of potato chips, now splash some Water on them, now bunch them up by making a fist. They will form a clump. That's what they do in your pouch. They will form a ball in your pouch and you will get stuck on them. Tortilla chips do not have that same problem because corn doesn't like to stick to itself in the same way. Either stop eating potato chips or switch to corn tortilla chips. As for the swelling, you'll want to drink hot tea with honey to help the Fluid in the band and the tissues loosen up a bit, and drink cold drinks to help the swelling go down. Cold does help swelling go down, but hot fluids will go through your band easier because the molecules of the water are further apart so it's not as "heavy" as cold water. Princess Diana<3 - Go get a slight unfill. I don't know how much you had put in but have at least half of it taken out, don't risk the complications from being too full for too long.

It usually means you're too tight. I'd go in and ask for 0.10-0.25 cc to be taken out. That can make all the difference - and you won't gain with that little bit out so don't worry about that, you've learned how to eat and how to monitor your restriction. And, you'll be able to actually get all of your fluids in without issue.

I would also ask: What are you eating? Are you having pain when this happens? Do you have your gallbladder? Are you getting too much Fiber? Not enough fiber? Are you eating dairy when this happens? Does this happen when you eat raw fruits or veggies?

You won't lose any nutrients by drinking, your stomach doesn't absorb nutrients - your intestines do. The issue with drinking during meals is that it will help float some food in your pouch and will help slide other food down through the stoma (hole) faster. It's like having a funnel full of grains of rice - they'll go at a certain pace and may slow down here and there, pour Water at the same time and the rice will never slow or get stuck and it will flow freely. The best thing to do is to stop drinking before you eat (whenever) then don't drink or only drink super tiny sips during the meal (once you hit your green zone you likely won't be able to drink), then avoid drinking any fluids for at least 20-30 minutes after. Once you're at the right spot you likely won't have any desire or even the ability to drink during or immediately after a meal.

HmDiiva - you're way too tight, you really should get a small unfill. Being too tight can cause a lot of problems including band slippage and band erosion. Cocoabean - I'm similiar to you. When I was first banded I used to drink with meals because I didn't have a problem doing it. But now, drinking with a meal is a recipe for stuckage. So I may take super tiny little sips (maybe 3-4 drops of fluid) but never a gulp while eating. And usually for about 30 minutes after I have no desire to drink Fluid. Pink8671: I find that the closer you get to the green zone, the less you'll want or be able to drink during meals. It's a good idea not to drink during meals and to help that, someone on the board told me a great idea. Fill up a glass with some ice when you start your meal, throughout the meal you're only allowed to drink what's melted. That gives you just enough to whet your palette but keeps you from drinking a whole glass of something. About 20-30 minutes after a meal, then go ahead and start drinking normally again. Aim for 8-10 oz per hour.

I too am shocked your Dr. would say go and eat. After a fill I'm on liquids for 24 hours then mushies then back to normal. Something to keep in mind - if you're tight now, chances are you'll be much tighter in a few weeks. It can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks for a fill to really show itself. If - at any point - you find that you cannot eat a normal bite of food, cannot eat 1 cup of food, cannot keep food down, have to vomit, etc. Get yourself to your Dr. immediately and get a partial or complete unfill of your recent fill. You do not want to be too tight. Trust me.

If your Dr didn't already tell you, you should be on a protein pump inhibitor (like Prilosec OTC) for at least 6 months after surgery. That will help retrain your stomach to produce less acid than what it's used to and will limit your acid issues (will minimize belching, potential band erosion, PBing, etc.).

You should be fine with calcium pills, even the longer ones can be broken in half. I use those or Citracal petites. As for B-12, you'll likely need it for the rest of your life (mostly because you won't be able to eat the same amount of animal products you could before and B12 is only in animal products). You can get a B-Combo that should have enough, or a sublingual B12 (usually in cherry or raspberry flavor that you dissolve under your tongue) - pleasant enough and they usually dissolve in less than 20 seconds. I use mine as a little sweet treat before bed. You should also be taking Vitamin D and a Multivitamin if you aren't already.

Your tape should be off at 7 days. Beyond that it could attract too much crap and cause infection. Go to your Dr's office and ask a nurse to remove it if it isn't coming off.

Two incisions - navel - about 1.5-2" across the top of the navel, then a tiny 1/4" incision under my right breast to hold the liver back. At this point the 1/4" one is totally gone. The navel one is healing all over again from gall bladder removal at then end of June.