Any June 2008 Bandsters?

I'm so sorry to hear you're still having a rough time of it but at least the surgeon has removed some fill. Hopefully in a couple of days your body will be back on track. When I wasn't well and not eating (unrelated to the band) I found gatorade and those kind of drinks helpful too.

Good luck

Em

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Em
Banded: 19 March 2008
SW: 119.5kg (on Band Day)
CW: 74.7kg
Goal: 72kg

Blog: http://lapbandlife.wordpress.com

Hi Katydid

My heart goes out to you. I don't know how you are keeping going. Thank goodness the surgeon removed some fluid. Hope that helped. I couldn't believe that he wanted you to keep going in that condition for another 2 months. I don't think anyone could tolerate that.

Best of luck on Monday. I will be sending you good thoughts on the day.

I have been in horrendous pain with constipation. Far worse than childbirth I reckon (or maybe my memory of that has faded as it was so long ago!) . Nothing worked and it lasted 3/4 days. Better now and when I weighed myself this morning I was 1.6kgs lighter. No wonder I was in pain!

I drink fresh vege juice in the morning - celery, beetroot and apple and take Metamusil 2 a day and I will now add the prunes as advised. Hope that is the last of it.

Lost 6.6kgs in 3 weeks. Very happy with that.

I have a question though of you folk that are further down the track. I have been able to eat everything. Will that change when I have my first fill next week? Is that when the problems can occur? Don't really know what to expect.

Good luck everyone and Cheers.

Wade the metamucil is constipating you...it absorbs all the fluid that you are drinking and it will make your movements hard and painful.

You have to take in large amounts of fluid when having metamucil...trust me...take the fibresure or ground flaxseed these will soften the motion not make it hard like a brick as the metamucil does.

Also people with a band arnt supposed to have metamucil as it forms a gel that can go solid before passing through the band and it can block it. My dietician told me to stay away from it at all cost for its constapative and blocking powers when you have a band.


Oh Katie I am so glad he took out some fluid.... can you get icey poles down... you can make ice blocks out of the gatoraid you might find it will slip down easier

oh I missed your last question Wade... I am nearly 4 fills downt the road and can still eat everything comfortably.... just in smaller portions. Steak etc is no prob provided I chew it well.

Depending on your docs approach to fills (mine has a conservative approach) you could be like me and take a few fills to get there.. I think generally its about 3 before you really feel it.

Just take it slow after your fill and stick to fluids the first day.. and make sure you chew your foods to mush ... you will soon know if you have any restriction.

Thanks so much for the advice Pigglet about the Metamusil and eating after fills. I will definitely take that advice and go with Fibresure as the whole experience was dreadful and I don't want that again.

It would be a dream come true if I could just eat everything but in smaller portions. Have to wait and see how I go. I will take your advice here too and not go for too much fill. Getting sick is the last think I want.

Cheers.

good luck with your fill Wade and I really hope you get some restriction with it... the early days can be difficult finding the elusive cut back button.

Re the metamucil... my doc told me to take it if I get diareah with my diabetic meds he said it will absorb all the fluid in the bowel and harden everything up so I wont have watery motions....

It took me ages going once a fortnight with fingernail marks in the toilet bowl to take the docs advice and cut the stuff out...soon as I switched fibre sups it came good after a few days....tho I did start taking some coloxyl to soften what was already in there and a drank 2 cups of sienna tea to really clean it all out too. It felt really good to get rid of the house bricks from my belly!

I recon some of those weighed over the 2 kilos too

Thread Starter

Hi Wade,

That would be my dream too. I'm still feeling giddy but not as bad as I was a few days ago. I'm drinking the rehydrating salts = Gastrolite and also electrolite drinks from the deli.

Took my grandaughter to a Chinese resturant for Halloween (all dressed up as Spiderella, she, not me) as we don't allow her to Trick or Treat anywhere else than family.

It was back to the old me. My eyes lit up at the menu. I ordered Sweet and Sour Combination, fried rice, Lite Beer and Fried ice cream. It was delicious, as if I'd never had a feed in my life. I couldn't finish the combination, hardly touched the rice, left half the beer but pushed the ice cream down. Soon after coming home it came up, several times.
Boy was I suffering and yet dying of thirst at the same time. I just can't be trusted. Give me a inch and I'll eat a mountain. Another learning curve I guess.

Working again today, still dizzy as but trying to hold out.

Best wishes.

Thread Starter

Hi emma,

It took a while to get used to the taste but now I rather like it. Blackcurrant and Lime are the ones I get. My toilet problem is fine now but the dizziness I just can't seem to shake. I don't think seasickness could be any worse than this.

Best wishes.

Thread Starter

Hiya Pigglet,

Lucky I read about the Metamucil in your post as my GP had recommended me buying some. I wish the GPs would do their homework before telling people these things. The Gatorade iceblocks sound like a good idea because I have a real thirst and the colder the better.

Best wishes.

I love the story of the chinese feed Katy... I can really relate. I dont think we will ever be any different and sometimes I sulk like a 2 year old cos I cant finish whats on my plate due to loveing the taste...

How are you Katy? It's a week now since your op. Let us know how you are going. Hope the vomiting has stopped now as that won't be good with stitches.

I've had my first fill - 3mls and I don't feel much different. I suppose I'm not as hungry as I was the last week before the fill. I can still eat everything which is great.

I went out for my first social dinner last week, the night before the fill. I just had an entree (4 scallops) while the others were having their main. I also had a taste of their entree and a taste of their dessert. Oh, and 3 glasses of red wine. It was fairly hard but not as bad as I thought it would be.

I had a bad night last night. I wasn't hungry as had too much for lunch so I drank over a bottle of red wine instead. Of course that made me want to eat so I had about 20 Ritz crackers and a bag of microwave popcorn. It's come to that as there was nothing else nice in the house!

Boy, did I have an hangover this morning. So I had to go to the local Asian to eat something for a cure! Just had chicken and a little rice but feel very uncomfortably full now. Guess that's another lesson learned - stay away from the booze. I have actually been very good since banding (4.5 weeks). I have had some red wine but not too much and about 3 beers. I have found that I haven't wanted beer (and I was worrying about missing this before I started this journey).

I guess this gets easier when you see the weight going. I can't notice much difference at the moment.

Hope everyone is OK.

Cheers.

I was thinking bout Katey today too Wade and yes it is to be hoped that she is ok and feeling fighting fit.

Its hard isnt it Wade. And you know the head hunger never really leaves us, it takes time to do battle with it and learn to quieten it down and ignore it.

I had a bad day today I seemed to be looking for and finding food all day.. I hate days like today. Most days I am just simply not at all hungry but today I was bubbling hungry in the tummy...must be time for another fill.

Sad thing is it can take a few fills to get to the place you need to be, just make sure in the mean time you keep practicing your small bites chewed well and pacing yourself and also you cup measure. I didnt do that and the fill that gave me good restriction was a rude shock because I was still trying to shovel and swallow.

Its a battle ...but one worth fighting.

Hi Pigglet

Thanks for the advice about the small bites and the chewing. Yes, I'm not doing that really either as I don't have to. However, I am keeping my portions smaller.
I'll take your advice and start practising for when I need to do it. When you say the cup measure - do you eat a full cup or a 1/2 cup? I'm amazed to read on here that some people can only eat 1/3 or 1/2 of a Lean Cuising meal. I can eat the whole thing!

Great to have the advice and suport on this site!

Cheers.

Hope Katy gets in touch soon. We're all sending you good wishes.

In the early stages when my restriction was next to nil... I would eat an entire cup...remember that this is the capasity of the pouch so any more would stretch it and you dont want to do that.

After a few fills you will find that you will eat less because you will get tight signals..like burning or a runny nose or discomfort from the band. This is why people say the stop at half a lean cuisine etc because they can feel that if they dont stop pain will ensue.

But for now you will be able to eat more and a whole small lean cuisine isnt too much....but the general rule is no more than a cup measure in a half hour so you dont stretch your new baby sized tummy.

Hi, my name is Chris from Tasmania, i got my band done on 26th of June, i lost 12kg in 2 weeks, then only 4kg over the next 3 months, including a fill to 5ml, i compained to my Dr. he eventually gave in and gave me a fill to 7ml total last Wednesday, i have since lost 3.8kgs in 4 days, i am now at a total of 20kg or 44lb, i am so pleased, i was a baby whale at 181kg, now i am just a baby elephant at 161kg, lookout by January i wanna be a baby hippo at below 150kg lol, stay strong u are doing well, we r all on the right path, just its got a few bends in it, but ive gota GPS lol, allthe best Chris