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I have been having such issues with the constipation 2 days in a row I had to use a suppository because the poop got stuck it is like a hard brick and my muscles are so sore it hurts to sit I am going to do the Metamucil 4 times a day and the stool softener and up my water even more - it is agony poopong in pain ????????????????????????????I know total tmi but if I cannot say it here where can I ?

Back at work - one question. Is this for real? How am I going to make it through the day. Sitting in an office chair is so uncomfortable! (I know complain complain). Also feel so swollen that I am going to bust open. TMI part. Also - drain complaining again - woke up this morning with my remaining drain totally clogged up to a point where the lack of suction made it open and I was COVEREd in grossness and my sheets. After I unclogged I drained 25 ccs within 10 minutes. How GROSS is that. Can you tell I am feeling crappy like I want to go home? :confused:

It was just as bad for you too then I think one of the greatest godsends for plus size gals are leggings!! They're stretchy and you can dress them up or down. But I still love my leggings! I felt like the plus size stuff at the "cooler" stores was outrageously priced too! Also, being tall and having really long arms I have NEVER been able to find shirts long enough for my arms, it always looks like I'm wearing a baseball tee! LOL It's like most designers assume if you're an overweight woman, you're also short. *GRUMBLE* I'm doing the same, shopping at Walmart for basics like leggings and shirts (I work from home so I RARELY have to look presentable) LOL! But it saves money until I hit my goal. TMI but I did a little splurge at Victorias Secret. As a woman, being able to go in and buy something off the rack was so amazing, I literally cried in the store. HA! But you're right about Costco...I have to check them out. I haven't been brave enough to wear a pair of jeans yet...maybe soon, but you bet they'll be cheap! hahaha!

North dakota forum is alive and kicking. IMHO, I have turned into a great bandster story. Before I left the US, I bought a couple of size 10 outfits thinking I may get into them someday. they hang on me now. If I do wear 12s, I have to safety pin the skirts or pants to keep them on. YYev, where do you live? Missy, I can't remember where you are either. Cindy, I'm not moving back yet just coming for a couple of weeks. Quit eating around the band or else you will have to come live here for awhile. I leave here 7am Wednesday (North Dakota time) and arrive Thursday night.. Friday I am going to have annual dr appointments and see Dr. Schmit. I'm gonna hang around Bismarck for the weekend. Monday I'm going to start riding motorcycle around ND, SD, and Mn, Labor Day weekend I' meeting about 50 of my relatives in Alexandria. After that I will return to Bismarck until Sept 10 - when I fly out. And I get here Sept 12. Gosh, I hate these eternal flights. I am leaving time in case I have any additional dr stuff. There are no approved medical facilities and dr in this country. The closest is South Africa - about 2 1/2 hours by air. Probably TMI but can you tell I'm anxious to have a couple of 'normal' weeks back in the US. But this week I am enjoying living here. Email me phone numbers and stuff and I will try and call when I'm back or if I ride through your town. Celeste

I was banded January 2007 in August 2011 I was in the er for a major gall bladder attack and my gall bladder was removed September 2011. My gall bladder was the size of a fist an hour outpatient surgery turned into 4 hours and I was admitted overnight. Also they had to put a drain in because there was so much bile. DO NOT HESITATE TO GET YOUR GALL BLADDER REMOVED! I had symptoms for years and had no clue I thought it was heartburn. Anyway in January I came in for a fill. The ms took the Fluid out of the band and it was brownish Orange color she scheduled me for an endoscopy the next week for possible band erosion thankfully everything was fine. She said that there was so much bile leaking from my gall bladder during my surgery that the fluid seeped into the band. Everything is fine now thank goodness. In regards to how you will react after surgery, you won't have an appetite for a few days you'll be tired just take it easy. Then your body is going to adjust ie: bowel movements 4 times at least a day. It was so bad I got a hemmerhoid if this is tmi I'm sorry I'm just keeping it honest. The constant bm was about a week. Then after that I ate like a horse and gained 30 lbs! But I'm back on track and lost 20 of that so far. So that's my gall bladder story and I have to say mine was the worst. If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.

Oh and for breakfast I had a Syntrax strawberry mousse protein shake made with almond breeze (half almond milk half Coconut) also 1 egg. For snack I had a kind strong bar (new obsession) in the flavor smoked BBQ and a huge unsweetened ice tea after the killer hike. Of course I was dying of thirst and drank it too fast so it came back up! (I know TMI) the struggle is real! Here's my tally for the day. I know it's not good. I'm going to try to get some more in. At least another protein shake if possible.

Ali thanks for your post! I am now just 2 weeks post op and some days I feel great and others I am like Vegas, I feel like I am 80!! lol! I have lost 9 pounds since surgery and a total of 21 since starting the preop diet. All in all I would do it again in a heart beat. The discomfort is worth it if I am a healthier person in the end and live not only longer but a better life. Now I really only have a little pain around my port area and I swear that it sticks out even though husband says it doesn't. Oh and sex can be a little bit uncomfortable, it kind of feels like the port is going to pop out...tmi I know but its weird. Rcoleband, thanks for starting this thread, its great to hear success stories!! Keep up the good work.

Ok so what was your Non scale victory for this week? For me, it may be TMI but I was able to take the extender off of my bra! Yeah for losing 3 inches ! ???? So what was your NSV this week????

I just threw up. Not PB’d but the full deal. My stomach rolled and my brussel sprouts and tine bits of turkey reappeared. I actually had 3 stomach rolling episodes. Now I am concerned. Normally if I have an “operator error” I PB, at which time I lean over, open my mouth and a glob of slim reappears with food particles. That is what it is like for me when I PB. This was not a like that at all, I had 3 full heaves. I apologize for being graphic here. What strikes me as odd is the full meal did not come up. My lunch was a turkey burger patty. I had eaten ¼ of the patty. I prepared 5 brussel sprouts and had consumed 2 at most. While eating I was listening to my body, and before this episode, I had stopped eating. Put the remaining lunch I had left in a container. I plan to have liquids the rest of the day. My stomach does not feel sore. I don’t feel the full satisfied feeling either….guess I am baffled as to why I tossed my Cookies. TMI – since I eat lunch as my desk I tossed the cookies in a Water bottle. Because I am a gross person, I looked the contents over good. Bits! Small tiny bits I tell you! I don’t understand it? It’s not like I was chewing away and swallowed prematurely. Anyone have this sort of episode happen to them? On a side note, I am ill with a sinus cold or virus. Could this have anything to do with it?

well i was out of the (fat) category and into the morbid obese terms and soon to super obese...i couldnt hardly walk...was getting harder to take care of myself personally as my arms couldnt reach around my girth (sorry TMI) and i was in size 30 clothes and very concerned if they made them (bigger) and where to buy them... but the turning point was my granddaughter just born. i wanted to be able to push her around the block in a stroller. that is my motivation. my eryn. hope this is a good response to your post maya as its from my heart and 100% accurate.

Hi there, I posted recently in regards to my struggles with food going and staying down. This is after 5 years of banding. I am living in the UK and initially went from 23 st (14lbs to a stone -work it out, because it is too much brain power for me right now to!). And went to 15st5. Then my fibromyalgia took over, and the need to eat food that would go down and stay down with my meds ended up putting me back up to 17st3lbs...due to surviving on the 2 things that would go down...chocolate and biscuits. January 15th I started low carbing. I have had my treats along the way, but have gone from the 17st3lbs to 12st11lbs (as of today). But I seem to have some days and indeed weeks in struggling with food to go down and stay down. Some days it does, no problem, but other days (and days and days) even a spoonful of yogurt can cause a problem for me. Somebody mentioned elsewhere that sometimes out of the blue a band can tighten - is this the case? I thought that as I lost weight it is supposed to loosen. As mentioned on my other post, money is very tight here, and there is no way that I will be able to get seen to privately anymore, which means reliance on the NHS. I was told it could be 6 months before I am seen by a specialist. The other day, I PB'd, and then vomitted...and really vomitted, and TMI here...but it was blackish. And I was wondering if it was some food that had been stuch for a very long time. Since then, I was able to eat my dinner the next night (yesterday) and am in fact voracious at the moment. Any light you can shed on this would be most appreciated, as it looks like getting any medical assistance is going to take a very very long time. The highligh though is I still seem to be losing weight! hurray! But eating Protein on low carb with a band I find I am struggling with as a lot of the time meats just won't go down easily. Thank you in advance for any thoughts. A.

Thanks so much for sharing a part of your journey with me! Jello sounds like a good idea, but I am not partial to it at all. I have a problem with certain textures in my mouth, and I just can't eat them without gagging! I can usually handle Jello if I let it dissolve in my mouth and then swallow it and I'm ok with apple sauce sometimes. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to pureed foods. yikes...TMI about my digestive woes!! sorry yall!

Everyone raises very good points that need to be considered. Regarding "the journey" - yes, it's a lifelong one. My anxiety comes from having done this multiple times before - up to 80 lbs on my own - and always gaining it back through the years for one reason or another - oh wait, one reason - i eat too much and make poor choices. My doubts on day 1 have to do with the expectation that we go from eating "whatever" on day 15 prior to surgery to drinking all our food on day 14. that's a tough nut to crack - but has to be done to get through. knowing myself - i know that i find things most difficult in the beginning and they get easier as it goes on. i expect by day 5 i will be more in the groove and feeling good about having lost a couple lbs. VST Addict - i truly appreciate - and enjoy your candor! please keep in touch! never TMI - always good perspective to hear the truth. i've been "fat connie" so long - i'm ready to just be "connie" and enjoy life to the fullest instead of telling myself it's ok the way it is

In your reply you said something important - IT'S A JOURNEY. But so is life. The question is, are you going to be a driver or a passenger? You said you live an active life - well, that may be true to some extent. But that is only active as you know it - active in the eyes and mind of a large person. If you choose to move forward - and I will have more to say on that in a minute - you will find that what you used to think was an active life was a fraction of what lies ahead. The sleeping is better, life is better, you feel good about yourself (maybe for the first time in years) and yes, the sex is better -WAY BETTER and way more frequent. Becuase you want it more, because it feels better and becuase no matter how much you are loved, looking better makes a difference. It just does. I know that because now I am officially a Hottie again. LOLx10. I still enjoy a few beers now and then - I did not for quite a while, but now I do and it is working fine for me. BUT,here is my sage advice. Make sure that you really want to do this. If you are on the fence and not comitted to that journey - with all its ups and downs and rocky roads - you are far far less likely to feel good about your decision, you may even regret it, and may unintentionally (?) undermine your success. What concerns me the most is that on day one of the liquid diet you are having second thoughts. That is really troubling. It gets way worse before it gets better. Heck, on day one I was thinking that it was not so bad. Day 10 -- I was a bit gritchy, but not day 1. After surgery, I had problems eating certain foods and had problems keeping food down for a while, but now a year out all is settled and my body and I are friends again and food is not an issue. I think you need to really decide what you want. I say that becuase it isn't an easy path and there is no turning back. It is a life changing decision and a lifestyle changing decision. So think it through. Now as for me, I can only say this - I look frickin' great, I am not self conscious anymore, I have all new clothes - good stuff baby - Versace, Halston coture, you know why?, because I look good, I deserve it, I have earned it and because I am never going to be fat again. And guess what else, I am chasing my wife around the house like a bad looney tunes cartoon. We have gone from one time per two to three weeks to 3 times a week and some times twice on Saturday - just because I can. And now that I am 100 pounds lighter I can catch her every time. She used run between the sofa and the arm chair and I had to go all the way around and she would get away... not any more. Although I am pretty sure she lets me catch her - because she wants to be caught by her svelte husband. Way more fun than her old fat one. And almost 1.5 inches more of a husband and less of a belly (TMI?). I think that is why she slows down on the corners. So a little humor, a little sage advice, and all the best wishes. Read as much as you can on this site. There is every experience, every perspective, and people that are so willing to help and be there for you as much as possible. THHHH That's all Folks......

Lol. On this diet I could appreciate a little laxative tmi

Hope you are doing better now than earlier. Just a few tidbits. I had to wait in the pre op area for my surgery for FIVE, yes count 'em-5, hours! My surgery time was supposed to be at 10 am, arriving at 8am to get checked in a prepped. Well at the last minute my surgeon's partner had an emergency case that took my booked OR room and I got pushed back. The hardest part? Smelling coffee at the nurse's station and not being allowed any! LOL After surgery I had a very, very hard time waking up. It was early evening before I finally came to and after 10pm before I was coherent. I too was extremely sick to my stomach. In fact, my first memory when I regained consciousness was throwing up lots of blood. (Sorry- TMI) It was gross and totally freaked my visitors out, but that is all there was in the tummy to come up after major surgery - duh. Turns out the pain meds made me sick. They had to give me an anti nausea chaser with each dose of the pain meds. I still felt queasy but it helped keep it in check. I could only manage ice chips until the day I was released. ( Surgery on Monday, released late on Wednesday) I was given some apple juice on Wednesday and only managed about 1/4 of a small plastic cup of it. My initial swelling/ restriction was EXTREME. But as with all good things that ended and now I long for those days again. ( Made the weight loss a lot easier) I tell you all of this to let you know...this too shall pass. ( speaking of passing....the first BM takes a while) I wish you a speedy recovery, lots of success in your weight loss and hugs and kisses from your baby!!! Enjoy the new you!

hey! i'm getting banded on july 24th, day 4 of my pre op low carb diet...dude, its TMI but i've been peeing like crazy! please oh please tell me thats good! i went into lane bryant today to make a payment...usually when i pay $50 on my card, i charge up $200 in the same visit:biggrin:...not today my friends, i'm like psssh if i buy something today it wont fit in a month! oh yeah...i'm optimistic!

I went through the same thing. I felt perfectly fine too. I was told by my Doctor to take Magnesium Milk but it tastes terrible. I finally went on my own on the 8th day (I use a bidet -- definitely helps), but it was just ED -- Explosive Diarrhea, TMI... (I'm sorry!)

I wear a cpap nightly and my wife is very happy about it. I used to stop breathing in the middle of the night and it would scare the hell out of her and she would wake me up. Some nights I would suddenly stop snoring and she had to check to make sure my chest was going up and down. Just remember the cpap is for sleeping, not relations although I did ask my wife once if she wanted to have a 'go round with the elephant man'...probably a little TMI there...LOL sleep apnea can kill you and it is no joke. Look on the bright side...you are married. Think how much it would suck if you were single.

TMI alert! Not to scare you but my experience with post-sleeve constipation led to rectal surgery. I should add that I'd had intermittent problems with constipation prior to the sleeve. By four months post sleeve I had developed an anal fissure that would not heal and having any form of bowel movement was like pooping shards of glass. I ended up having a fissurectomy at seven months out and the recovery was nearly unbearable. Everything is fine now because I take sugar free Konsyl fiber, one dose in the morning. I take it religiously because I never ever want to have that pain ever again. Also, getting in your Water will help. Taking fiber requires a lot of water. Best of luck to you!

Well, I weighed myself at the gym yesterday afternoon and wasn't happy with the results. I thought my...um...constipation might have something to do with it. I took the laxative and it had its desired (plus) effect. I weighed again today first thing after riding my bike to the gym. I was wearing lighter weight clothes today as well. Hmmm, I don't know if I'm making things better or just digging the hole deeper. Probably TMI.

Has anyone who had a panniculectomy/TT also had their FUPA (sorry! Don't know a nice way to describe it) also modified/trimmed up during surgery? Is that done? I haven't had sleeve surgery yet, but I'm expecting there to be extra material there and didn't know if that's considered a separate area to tweak ($$) or if it's pulled tight enough with the TT/panni? Thanks in advance!

I'm freaking out a little. I was banded about a month ago, and I have zero restriction at all. I can eat whatever I want, as much as I want: pizza, rice, Pasta, chicken, bread, diet soda, etc. I don't even have to chew all that well. Only one time did I get a twinge of pain, and I had eaten more than I should have (holiday dinner). TMI alert: I burped and felt better right away. My band is in the right position - I had it checked by esophogram. Is this normal? I get a fill in 2 weeks. Will that help? Is my ability to eat anything and everything a sign that I could fail on the band? :Yawn:

Wow, they day time flies when you are having fun! Well, I MUST be having fun, cause today is the 3 WEEK anniversary of my surgery! It seems like the 3 weeks have just flown by, and I have to say, I feel SO much better than I did three weeks ago today!!! When I woke up from my surgery I was sore and hurting (mildly) in the area of the five ports (incisional areas). It hurt to cough or take a deep breath. I felt like I had a huge gas bubble in my stomach that I couldn't belch up, and I just wanted to sleep, but my doctor and nurses kept telling me to "get up and walk, walk, walk!" I was SO tired to boot. But today I am three weeks out, I have lost a total of 44 pounds so far (20 lbs pre-op and 24 post op) and I feel so much better. Initially I had trouble with getting enough water in. And it is still a small battle. I sip most of my waking hours, trying to get my 64 oz of water in. Some days I come close, some days I don't do so well. But this morning, I woke up at 5:00 AM (!) and was thirsty, so got up and got a ProJoe out of the fridge and drank the whole thing in just about 15-20 minutes! (ProJoe is a coffee protein drink from www.mybariatricpantry.com ). I ordered a sample pack of 12 and they came yesterday. This is the first one I have tried, and I was amazed that it was so good, and I could drink all 9.5 oz in that short of time!!! It usually takes me an hour or two to get 9 oz down. I am sure that my swelling (internal swelling that is) must be going away, allowing me to drink more fluid at a time. ProJoe also has 20 gms of protein in the 9.5 oz, which is great. I have been really struggeling with getting my protein in every day(usually without success!). I was a huge Starbucks drink fan prior to my surgery, so am looking to substitute ProJoe for Starbucks. The drink I had (Magnifico Mocha) had 110 calories in the 9.5 oz, which is about the same as a Small Starbucks Skinny Iced Carmel Macchiatio (my favorite Starbucks drink). Also have to report that I am swimming daily with my roommate. Yesterday I got up to 22 laps in the pool. (We have a pool just 1/2 block from our front door). My roommate swam every day in June, while I was home on vacation, and is up to 60 laps. Wish I was able to do that much. But am happy that I can add two laps per day! Am hoping that the swimming will help firm up my upper arms and thighs! I really want to improve my stamina and get some cardio exercise in, and hope that swimming will do that for me too! In my opening paragraph I said I feel so much better today. I neglected to say that the "Gas bubble" sensation has finally gone away. I am finally having some bowel movements (sorry if that is TMI!) without the aid of a stool softener or laxative, eating a little bit without feeling miserable; in general, everything seems to feel better "all of a sudden"! Now if I could just get my energy back (I am still tired a lot of the time) I will feel REALLY GREAT! So all you newbie VGSers out there, take heart! It seems that time does heal most things! Have a great day and GREAT weekend. I am off work this weekend, and am anxious to do something fun! Later.........

I have tried alot out there. The Ortho tricyclen made me a crazy woman. I tried Merena...made me crazy too. I could be sitting on the cough watching TV with my hubby and all of the sudden get pissed off for no reason. I mean teeth gritting, ears red, wanting to throw something pissed off. I also tried the diaphram, my hubby didn't like it cuz it would rub the head of his penis raw....sorry I know TMI, but its true. Plus it is a pain to put in and take out. I liked today's sponge. I used it for about a year after I decided it was the Ortho tricyclen making me crazy. Again it is a pain to put in and take out. My doc finally believed me when I told her the hormone birth control and others like it were gonna eventually make me kill somebody so she changed me to Ortho Novum which has the opposite hormone that tricyclen does....I have been on it for about 4 months now and it seems to be working out good for me. Every one is different though. The trick is finding what is best for you!