painful empty stomach feeling

[Alexandra 55]

Yay Norma! You go girl...thanks for taking all the tough love on the chin like a big girl...you are cool! Please post something as soon as you know...wer'e thinking of you!

I was going to say exactly the same thing. Norma, you're inspiring me with your attitude.

[Scotty 0]

I agree too that you might want to try giving wheat and the complex carbs like potatoes a miss for a while. They can feed the yeasty bacteria with the sugar they love and give you terrible flatulence.

My doctor said that the liquid phase can alter the balance of bacterias in your gut and recommended a drink called Actimel - I don't know if you can get it in the US - it's a yogurt drink that has all the good bacteria in it that your gut needs to kill the bad bacteria. Other brands are Benecol and Yakult. They come in little capsules and have 65 cals each. I wish I had found them years ago.

I haven't felt like eating potatoes or Pasta since my op - don't know why. i have been eating rye bread - the black german stuff - which is delicious and doesn't have wheat flour. Yummy with a poached egg, thin sliced lean ham and chopped cherry tomatoes for Breakfast.

Hang in there...don't do anything rash.

[the best me 6]

The pain you are describing sounds very similiar to the ulcer pain I had about a year ago. I had a peptic ulcer in my stomach and when my stomach was empty it hurt after I ate It would temporaraily feel better. I would suggest getting your PCP to do a h. Pylori breath test(culprit for ulcers). You may also want to start taking Pepcid or Prilosec which are both Over the Counter now for relief until you see your Dr.

Okay, here I am giving you a hard time and you may very well have some legitimate medical condition causing your discomfort...

It would be nice to find out it's h. pylori and all you have to do is treat it, and take Pepcid or Prilosec. But I don't mind feeling dumb as long as you are okay!

Good call Madeline's mom...you just might have this pegged! Don't you love LBT?

[the best me 6]

I agree too that you might want to try giving wheat and the complex carbs like potatoes a miss for a while. They can feed the yeasty bacteria with the sugar they love and give you terrible flatulence.

My doctor said that the liquid phase can alter the balance of bacterias in your gut and recommended a drink called Actimel - I don't know if you can get it in the US - it's a yogurt drink that has all the good bacteria in it that your gut needs to kill the bad bacteria. Other brands are Benecol and Yakult. They come in little capsules and have 65 cals each. I wish I had found them years ago.

I haven't felt like eating potatoes or Pasta since my op - don't know why. i have been eating rye bread - the black german stuff - which is delicious and doesn't have wheat flour. Yummy with a poached egg, thin sliced lean ham and chopped cherry tomatoes for Breakfast.< /p>

Hang in there...don't do anything rash.

Hey, more good advice...I'm not sure about the Actimel yogurt drink, but in the US there is "acidophilous" (check spelling, I probably have it wrong) and you get it from the refigerator in the pharmacy, so you have to ask for it. It's fairly pricey, maybe 10-12 bucks for a dozen packets. You just sprinkle the contents of the packet onto some food, yogurt, or whatever and eat it. Check with the pharmacist for what to sprinkle it on and how often. It's good to take when you are on antibiotics and the medicine eats up the bad AND good bacteria, leaving you with an overgrowth of yeast (hence, yeast infections).

This may be a real issue with you because I remember you mentioning somewhere about laying off the dairy to help with the gas...maybe you could replace the dairy with the acidophilous so you don't get too out of whack.

Just concerned...thanks for updating about your appointment on the "who had it removed"? thread. Keep us posted!

[Scotty 0]

Hey, more good advice...I'm not sure about the Actimel yogurt drink, but in the US there is "acidophilous" (check spelling, I probably have it wrong) and you get it from the refigerator in the pharmacy, so you have to ask for it. It's fairly pricey, maybe 10-12 bucks for a dozen packets.

There are a couple of different strains of bacteria you can take - acidopholous is one and L-Casei Immunitas - as I understand it they do the same thing. Here you can buy then in the supermarket. Usually near the milk or yogurt. They are big in Europe and are really taking off here. They make me much less bloated and I certainly am less gassy than I was before the op.

I'm another lb down today! Hurrah.

[Norma Jamerson 1]

Hello everyone.

You guys are great! Yes, I went to the doctor yesterday. I got my first fill... so far nothing of restriction, so I called the doc and I am scheduled for monday for some more. He only puts in 1cc at a time to limit the increase risk of erosion. To many fills and unfills create to actual possibility for more risk. I like my doc..he's really nice. Anyway, I bought some organic-lactose free- skim milk yesterday. Let's see if that works. The ulcer thing actual sounds about right. I remember a friend who would have to drink some milk for the pain to go away. I am glad that was mentioned..I will definately bring that up on Monday. You know, the fill wasn't all that bad. I just laid over a pillow, got a numbing injection first(that stung a tinny bit-not bad and I am a big baby) then he dug around with the fill needle to find the way the port lies and then filled it. The only bad part about the whole procedure of 10 minutes or less, was my 16month old crying bloody murder because I wasn't right next to him, I was 4 feet away. Next time I need to find a sitter. He was asleep and all would have been fine, but the doc came in with a loud voice, "Hello Norma, How are things going?" then the baby, "Waahhhh!!!!" So you can imagine. But I didn't have to do any of the floroscopy or whatever stuff. I am honestly glad that I have had so much response on this thread....It is probably the first time that I have felt understood. I have had some private messages too that have confirmed others feeling are same as mine, and that helps me feel better knowing that I am not the only one who has douts now and then. I do look forward to being 135 pounds again! The doc says---you have not thrown up, you aren't really have problems with specific foods--so you are doing far better than most. So I told myself, "Self, quit being a sissy, you can do this...take advantage of this opportunity to be healthy, beautiful, energized, confident, etc. If down the road you honestly feel the same, then get a job and pay for it to be taken out. But for now---keep with it!" So okay---I'll stick with it!

[Getterthere 0]

Hi Norma,

Just wanted to let you know yes its a good idea to have a check over if you think something is wrong but you are eating all the wrong foods for your band.

I would recommend buying a book and see what the suggested foods are and try going onto softies for a while.

eggs in the form of an omelette are very hard to chew small enough and post banded people have problem with bread, Pasta and potatoes and rice. In addition things like chilli have Beans with thick skins and other fibrous ingredients which again stick in the band.

Good luck.