clpascoe

A stretched pouch won't cause any pain, the esophagus is designed to be able to stretch and retract to some degree, only if you stuff food down your esophagus that rests above the band or pressure from liquids not being able to pass through the food will cause continual stretching of the pouch...

The only way to possibly repair this is for all the saline to be taken out of the band along with a liquid diet to see if the pouch will retract back to a normal size, if it does not the only option for repair is surgery...

Again none of this is known to feel painful to a bandster so maybe you can explain more about the pain you are having so we can help to figure out what's going on, as always if it is really severe I would contact your doctor ASAP!

Hi there,

Thank you for the reply. The pain is in the middle of my chest and it started around 430pm today. It feels like there is some pressure where the sternum is. Kind of like someone is sitting on my chest and it hurts when I breathe in and out. Not a sharp pain, but a dull, naging pain.

How do you know if you have stretched your pouch?

Hi there,

I was wondering how I would know if I stretched my pouch and if I did what can I do to make it go back to normal? I am having a little bit of pain and I am concerned that I did.

Thanks for your help

Cindy

Does anyone know what you can do if you missed the show? I did not think this was going to air so quickly.

Cindy

That is so wonderful that you took the time to realize that your daughter could not fight her obesity on her own. I grew up most of my life overweight and I wished my mom would have taken that extra step to help me. YOU ROCK!! I was banded on January 10th by Dr. Ortiz and it was the best experience ever and the best thing I did for myself.

Cassie is such an inspiration to yound people everywhere. You should both be proud of yourselves!!! =D>

Cindy

Hi everyone,

I received my band on January 10th and to date I have lost 21 pounds. I feel a lot better and I am starting to exercise at the gym. Belive me this was the best decision that I ever made and the nurses and staff at OCC are absolutely wonderful!!!! It was the best experience and the nurses are soooo sweet and caring. You will have a great experience so don't worry too much. You made the right decision . =D>

Cindy

Im due for surgery feb 28th and im trying to make a list of what kind of protein shakes I should stock up on. Which ones work the best and dont taste too bad?

Hi there,

Congrats on starting your new life. It is well worth it!! I used the SlimFast Optima and it tastes really good. I really liked the chocolate flavor the best.

Hope this helps!

Cindy

Hi there,

I know exactly how you feel. I went with having the surgery financed by Citerra Financial which is one of the companies Dr. Ortiz works with. I had them finance $10,000 which covered all my travel expenses and the surgery. The payments are about 280.00 per month and it was definitely worth it. Maybe you could look into that....

Hope this helps.

Cindy

So, the way you can tell what you can and can not eat is by trial and error? So, if your stomach does not agree with something will you know by the pbing? Thanks

I would just shake some potato flakes into chicken or beef broth so it was still liquid (I could drink it from a mug) but it was thicker than just broth alone. The nutritionist says anything that will go through a straw is okay, so be creative!

Thank you

Thank you so much for the insite. So, you can add the pototaoes to the chicken broth for substance? That's a great idea!!! This is all new to me so i am just making sure that I am doing the right things . Take care.

So it sounds like you haven't really been keeping to the liquid diet?

Actually, I have stuck to the liquid diet as I stated before. I am just starting to feel more hungry as my stomach heals. I was just wondering if there were some liquids that would keep me full longer. Also, since I am feeling more hungry, I was wondering if that is just because the swelling is going down or if I did something wrong. I have not had any solids at all. As you can see, I have lost quite a bit of weight. Another pound yesterday so 14 pounds in 8 days. Hope that is normal as well. Thanks for your help.

Hi there,

I was just banded on the 10th of January and I have lost 13 pounds in 7 days. Really excited about that, but I am starting to feel like the liquid diet is not filling me up anymore. I am not supposed to have solids for 14 more days but I am starving. Any suggestions? I don't want to do anything that will hurt the band. I hope I have not done anything wrong like stretch the band out or something.

Hi Helena,

I was banded on the same day by Dr. Ortiz. Congrats to you. I have not had a problem with my sweet tooth, just feel kind of hungry in general. I think it may be mostly mental for me. Maybe try some jello with whipped cream. That is if we can have it. What are you allowed to have? Just wondering if I am allowed to have more than I think I can have.

Cindy

I arrived on Thursday and was scheduled to have surgery on Friday. They got

me in right away on Thursday which made it so I had more time to recover

before going home. The experience was wonderful. The staff, doctors, and

especially the nurses were the best I have ever dealt with. The nurses,

were so caring and very responsive to my needs. When I was scared they

rubbed my shoulders and arms to calm me down. I have never had an

experience like this in the United States. I am very glad that I chose to

have my surgery here and would recommend Dr. Ortiz and his staff to anyone.

I also, made a group of new banster friends. Thank you to the staff at the

Obesity Control Center for making this a wonderful experinece. I am very

excited to start this new chapter of my life.

HI there,

I have done both Jenny Craig and Nutra System. Jenny Craig's food is much better tasting than Nutra System. It is a little more expensive but worth it!!!

Hi there,

Since you are in Oregon, where do you get your fills done at?

Thanks!

Cindy