Hi Ana, I want to take you for all your entries, you've been such a major source of inspirational and a wealth of knowledge! Your blog and entries helped me made up my mind, so thank you! I had my plication on march 28 and I'm in the middle of major mental cravings, painfully bloated and constipated... I haven't had a vm since the day before my surgery. The pressure in my stomach is so great that I feel I could burst at any moment. Did u have this problem?

I am so thirsty I feel like downing a whole glass of water, then reality sets in as soon as get a painful pressure pain in my chest after my third little sip... How did you managed to stay hydrated??

I would be so forever grateful if you can shine some light down my path cuz I'm not feeling very good right now, please!

Hi Magpie

Congratulations on having your plication on March 28th!! So you're now on day 13.

First the precursor, everything I say here is from personal experience and in no way meant to replace the medical advice the OCC can give you. If you feel like something is wrong, please please contact the OCC. I know I did when I just felt like something seemed too intense. Don't feel like you're bothering them (I did at first...) that is what they are there for and they are good at responding.

Ok, so what I experienced. The bloating, it was the worst! I could not believe how painful GAS could be! Wow. Walking as much as I could helped to bring up the gas. Also I relied quite a bit on papaya enzyme. I still do take it when I feel gassy or bloated (like I do if I eat too much cheese) and it helps to productively get rid of the gas.

Please call the OCC though about feeling the pressure is so great you feel you could burst. Just the language makes me feel like you should call just to have them ask you questions they know to ask to make sure nothing else is going on. Better safe than sorry always.

The constipation is the worst too. No fun in addition to gas. When I was still on liquids, drank milk of magnesia (that helped me) or more naturally 2 glasses of prune juice a day. That with water may help you to have a bm.

The problem I had my first couple of days was that the gas was so bad that I felt like something was wrong. As it turned out for me, it was the gas, I just could not believe that something that painful could be gas. As for bowel movements, I think it took me a couple of days to have one, but not over a week. And constipation was something I battled on and off until I found prunes and almonds once I was on regular solid foods. I would ask the OCC though if it has been over 10 days since you've had a bm, that seems long.

The constant thirst you are feeling may be dehydration?? How much liquid (in ounces) are you taking in a day? The way my restriction dictated I do it, was I would have water with me all day long and then I would sip it every, at first 5 minutes or until I felt the drink go into my stomach and settle enough for me to drink more. It's really the time that I began the relationship of listening to my new body and what it needed, so if you get bloated too fast with the drinking, it could be to fast.

Also, one thing I learned was that at first, when I was drinking, my sips were too small. I was afraid to drink too fast with my new little banana stomach! Dr. SO told me that I needed to take a bigger drink because taking sips that were as small as I was taking in were going to make me gassier. I guess if I could describe the sips I was taking, it would be like 1/4th of a tablespoon at a time... yep.. I was that concerned to drink too much!

I went through a period of 3 weeks or so where I started to get dehydrated. I drank pedialyte for that and then found other drinks with electrolytes that specifically addressed hydration. After 3 -4 weeks I was able to finally drink steadily all day long (with breaks in between of course) so my hydration was much better. My friend though, that I met at the OCC who is a nurse ended up getting a hydration drip (I-V) at her hospital (work) because her dehydration was more severe than mine, so again, I would call the OCC.

For the mental hunger, what I did, was when I would get that, I would outside and get fresh air. Writing what your triggers are helps too. For me, mental hunger was a way to distance myself from uncomfortable feelings, so, once I started to understand that I could say things to myself like, "you don't have to eat to feel good inside..." that kind of thing, it really helped to minimize it. Protein is also great at taking away the hunger pangs for me. It's all a learning process about ourselves.

Keep in touch Magpie, and please please do call the OCC. I"ll check back here for your reply. Take Care, *HUGS*