Misery of a too tight band.......

I've been back in the UK for almost a week.  My band has remained very tight and - to be honest - it is total misery!

I tried to get an appointment for an aspiration with THG on Monday but was told there was no nurse at my local clinic that day.  They could have potentially offered me an appointment for Tuesday or Thursday; due to being away on business all week I had to decline.  

I very much understand that - from their point of view - it would appear that my need cannot be that great if I choose to not attend when they are able to offer me an appointment.  I run my own business however and I am away from home much of the week. cancelling work would have a devastating impact on my income, my professional reputation and ultimately my business.

I am struggling to get even water to go through the band and food is pretty much impossible - ice cream, chocolate and crisps are all I have eaten in two weeks!  Not good on any level and certainly not good band / weigh maintenance foods!

It is taking me all day to drink - tiny sip by tiny sip - half a litre of water and half a litre of milk.  Both have to be ice cold to go down.  Usually I drink, at least, 5 litres of water and black tea per day.  The weather even here in England is hot and humid so dehydration is a significant risk.

The situation has improved very slightly over the last 24 hours but is far from tolerable!

It is also difficult trying to work and travel with the constant risk of my needing to regurgitate the last sip of water (and other sips that are sitting above the band).  Getting ice cold water when I'm driving the length of the country in a heat wave is also tricky (especially when it takes hours to drink small bottle so even if its ice cold when I purchase it, it isn't by the time I've drunk an eighth of the bottle).

I am also RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY!!!  I guess because the band works, in part, by stimulating the nerve endings at the top of the stomach every time a piece of food travels through the band (and each swallow of food can take numerous peristaltic motions of the oesophagus) that with my stomach having swollen to effectively 'close up' under the band the brain has stopped listening to the nerve endings' signals because they are constantly being triggered!! 'Satiety' is effectively absent for me right now.

Red zone is a bad place.  I don't ever want to be here again.

I'm looking into other options for getting an aspiration.  I am out of my aftercare package with THG and I do have choice with regard to the provider I use.

I need to get this sorted - and sooner rather than later; as well as it being miserable, ultimately, I am also at risk of band slippage and/or pouch dilation.  

Eeek....  I don't want to think about that.  Will look at some lovely photos from my holiday instead:

    

I'm missing the sea and the swimming :(

Mexico band hell

¡Hola!

I'm in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on holiday with my lovely husband.

Today is our last full day of a two week break, we fly home tomorrow evening, and I will be relived to get home. Don't get me wrong this place is glorious. The hotel is pure luxury, the people are very friendly, the area is stunning, the weather is scorchio and the food and drink are superb.

The problem is the heat has caused my band to tighten. I was fine for the first few days, and okay for the first week (although I did have heartburn towards the end of week one). For the past 5 days however the temperature has soared and my band has become unbearably tight. Food is a no-no and at times even water won't go down.

Yesterday and the day before it was taking me 2 hours to drink 500ml of water (usually I can down a pint of water in seconds) and even then I was usually regurgitating it back after all the effort of getting it down.

That is no trifling matter in this heat! I'm constantly on the verge of dehydration. Today I realised that hot drinks make the issue worse (in the UK a cup of tea in a morning eases a tight band) and that milk is a godsend! I have had 8 glasses of milk today (as well as 2 litres of water).

I have barely eaten all week and today out of desperate concern husband bought me a magnum ice cream. He said the look on my face as I ate it and felt it go through the band was priceless! Ice cream and milk go down easier than anything else (even water).

I'm gutted this has happened here in Mexico. I feel ill with it and my band is actually hurting me at times. And aside from all of that the food and cocktails here are to die for! Mexican food is my absolute favourite and for the first week I was loving the chilli peppers, guacamole, salsa and scrummy meats. Not now though :(

I am avoiding alcohol too. Don't need to be dehydrated further but also it causes horrible acid as it sits above the band.

In short Geldof is causing me misery! I will definitely have a complete aspiration before travelling somewhere hot in future.

Despite that husband and I have had an amazing holiday.


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