Sick and Stuck?

[Bungle69 0]

Questions, Questions, Questions!!! Today after eating a very minute amount of canned tuna with mayo, I felt like I had eaten a whole 20 lb. turkey. (I still feel that way, but may be a bit better). I feel like there is a bowling ball sittin on my stomach. Coincidentally, I had my first fill last week on 11/1 and this was only the third time since banding on the 10/10 that I had tried "solids". Also I seem to have a temp, not quite a 100. So what is the consensus- do I have some food stuck and happen to have a temperature due to another cause? Or can being stuck cause you to have at temperature. I already called my doctor about the full feeling, however no temp then. They said to go to liquids for about a day and if I don't feel better call back. Any input to being stuck?

[Parvathi 2]

Sometimes it takes a while for a fill to "kick in". I've had it take nearly two weeks, then WHAM - I could feel heaps of restriction.

Going on liquids after getting food stuck is always a good idea, just to let things settle. I would call the doctor regarding the temp though. Its probably just a coincidence, but better safe than sorry, as I've never heard of a PB and temperature coming hand in hand...

Hope you're feeling heaps better soon.

[the best me 6]

Let me get this straight...you got your first fill and have not even been eating solids at all...except this time which is the third time you have eaten solids at all?!!!!! Can't you just read the shock?!!!! Tell me if I have this right before I go on...spill the Beans on your menu since banding.

AND the temp is from something you have...an illness, not a stuck or PB. The illness and temp could cause swelling which caused your 20lb.turkey feeling, though.

More info please! Oh, and feel better. Liquids is a great idea.

[Bungle69 0]

Interestingly I really haven't been hungry, and my doctor pretty much says in his material to move onto more solid foods when not full on mushies. So...once my fill was going pretty good I decided to make the big step and try some solids. I really did try to chew, chew, chew, but maybe not enough. I know that I am going to call my physician's office first thing in the a.m. and get an opinion from them. I still fill full and temp!! Afraid to take anything for a temp, all I have is children's motrin and Advil liquigels which is what the doctor and suggested after surgery. EEK, this is a little frustrating.

[the best me 6]

IMO, if your doc suggested children's Advil after surgery, I'd take that for the fever (adjust to the adult dosage and wash it through with plenty of water) If you are too tight for tuna, I'd avoid the liquigels. Let's don't add stuck upon stuck and make a PB.

Now, you say you tried the tuna after doing well on mushies after your first fill. Back up farther than that for a sec. After your surgery...before your fill...what were you eating? Did you try any solid foods? Were you ever able to eat well chewed and lubed chicken breast before your fill?

I'm asking because you were banded 10/10. That's 4 weeks ago today. Your first fill was 3 weeks and 1 day post-surgery? What size band do you have?

Most bandsters get their first fill after 6 weeks of healing. A 3 week fill is very odd, indeed. And most bandsters spend the first week on liquids, then soft mushies, then very slowly move to solids foods and by 6 weeks, the ones who need a fill are the ones who complain about "that wide-open feeling" where they can eat ANYthing well-chewed. I'm talking burgers WITH the bun, etc. Otherwise, they slowly move into the solid foods and stay there until the weight loss is substantial enough that they lose restriction. Your body loses weight on the inside, and the stomach and inner organs shrink with weight loss and cause the loss of restriction.

I didn't get my first fill fro 3 months! This concerns me! You shouldn't be getting a fill if you haven't even tried solid foods with any real success, and certainly not 3 weeks post-surgery when you are still healing. No wonder you are stuck on a small bite of tuna!!!! I have a word for you... UNFILL!!! Plus, you are apparently sick, since you have a feer, and that can't cause anything but trouble with swelling when it comes to your band.

Do you have any symptoms that indicate the reason for your fever? A cold? An infection? How's your port and other incisions?

Sorry for the grilling. EEK is right! Glad you can call the doc first thing in the am. Hang in there!

[the best me 6]

Another thought...at only 4 weeks post-op, you still may have stoma swelling from healing. And a fill can certainly cause some swelling there, too. Let me know what you were eating before your fill and I can tell better. Unless you can convince me otherwise, I'd say you need an unfill. Definately. My opinion.

[Bungle69 0]

Well to make everyone feel better, my doctor did unfill me yesterday, before I also had an x-ray of my chest and another "yummy" swallow study. I followed up with my PCP today and she seems to think that I have some kind of virus causing pleuritic pain (the pain I was having with my chest and collar bone and the fever. She started me on a medrol dose pack today. I feel better. The question is now is... How do I tell me doctor next time if I don't think I need a fill? I was actually kinda telling him last visit that I hadn't started solid foods yet, because I had reallly only been hungry a couple of times. So... I trusted his judgement, I guess maybe I had better trust mine more. I have definitely been successfuly in the weight loss category. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts and opinions. This is a great place to hear lots of different things.

[vinesqueen 2]

You must take control of your band. No one else is going to have a journey like yours. Every band is different, every bandster is different. Don't let your doc take a one-size-fits-all approach. I mean, we all know that when it come to clothes, one-size-fits-all actually fits none.

I'm with Kathy, I think you need an unfill. You hadn't been eating solids before, so it isn't surprizing that you are not able to eat solids now. The band is designed to work with solids, not mushies or soft foods. In fact, one of the ways to eat around the band is called "soft food syndrome." Where you are too tight to eat solids so you just eat soft foods, which of course, we don't feel full on for long.

[the best me 6]

Okay Bungle. Glad you got your unfill. Just be a bit more assertive with your doc. They get busy and don't have all the info. It's up to you to give it to him and give it to him straight, not just kinda. Do your follow-up visits as scheduled, but if you aren't successfully eating solid foods, please don't get another fill. And be careful not to get into the habit of the soft food syndrome that Vines mentioned. At 4 weeks out, soft foods are certainly FINE!! Just venture slowly. Good job Bungle. Hope you feel better soon and get through this virus you seem to have. Plenty of rest! Take care and keep us posted!