Four weeks After

[Cloud_dance 5]

I had Lap-Band Surgery four weeks ago. It seems like eternity since I started this journey. I am up to eating mushy/solid foods with broth. I am eating much less now since the food is staying in the pouch.

About every other day or so, I forget to chew something, even a tiny little squishy turkey meatball the size of a small olive, something gets stuck and it hurts so bad I feel like I want to pass out. Insofar I have managed to prevent doing this in public by not eating anywhere public or unsafe. The first few times I got something stuck, I spent the rest of the day in bed, just wrecked.

I had a scare a few weeks ago when I thought I had a port infection and ended up spending five hours at the urgent care in the middle of a flu explosion. Turned out I was just pretty constipated and it was pressing on my port side.

It is hard going through this alone. I had to fight with my doctor to accept I could not mentally handle a gastric bypass and that I wanted the Lap Band. My provider hardly does them anymore because I feel (after much thought and watching them) they don't think fat people can control themselves enough to handle a lap-band anymore. They also cost 20,000 dollars less.

I fought the gastric bypass because I did not want to be crippled for the rest of my life and all the people in my support group looked thin, but they also looked sick too, with thinning hair, and ashen skin. A good example is none of the people in our support group even have a Lap-Band. I also had a simple thought that I am in my 30s and that in the span of my life something better will come along if the Lap-Band is not totally effective for me. I want to be able to take advantage of that w/o half my stomach cut out.

So there was a lot of angst in the process. I had to keep reminding everyone I was getting a Lap-Band right up to the anesthesiologist who STILL thought I was getting a Gastric Bypass. I had this sick sense that if I had not kept repeating that to every single health care person, I would have woken up five hours later with half my stomach gone.

So I am impatient. I want to get on with this. I went swimming for the first time in 12 years last week. I am walking. I also feel a bit off, I take meds for my depression and they still haven't stabilized since I take chewable now. I have yet to break the 300 barrier and I want to badly!

Eating was really hard. I stuck to soymilk and yogurt, then purreed Soups and unsweetened smoothies. I've still been eating Soup mostly and I find soup goes right through me so I can eat 15 oz of unchunky soup. However when I eat something dense like chili or oatmeal, I can eat 4-10oz of it. I'd think I want a band adjust ment but many things still keep getting stuck so I can't imagine the hole getting smaller at this point. It is most hard to remember early in the morning because I used to sleep eat too.

Should I have a fill? I feel like making the hole smaller might make things worse?

[stephmccurley 2]

I am still pre-op but I would talk to your surgeon and see what he says.

[♕ajtexas♕ 3,771]

Welcome, cloud.

After reading your story I would recommend you work on the band rules before getting a fill. Small bits, chewing to mush and waiting a minute between bits. It sounds like you might be eating too big a bit too fast and not chewing enough. This would cause food to get stuck.

Good luck on your journey.

[dee257 1,516]

I agree with Ajs post....

for me learning to chew lots and slow down was the key to winning !!!