I'm cranky, I'm clingy, I'm needy, I'm *****y, I'm bloaty. I'm hating everything about being a woman right now and I'm hating my band even more. After all this time, I've learned some ways to deal with my emotions rather than stuffing them down with food, but PMS is hitting me hard this month and nothing is working. All I want to do is eat. I CAN'T EAT!

I figured I'd drive 20 minutes to get a take out salad from the new Saladworks. Normally, I'd just pop through Wendy's or go to Subway or something to get a salad, but I figured I'd treat myself with a trip to Saladworks. I got a nice garden salad with extra cucumbers and broccoli, diced chicken and balsamic vinaigrette. Two bites, gets stuck, goes down after much spitting saliva into the sink.

Decide maybe I need something a little easier to eat. Drive to Taco Bell, get a crunchy taco with fire sauce. Three bites of taco, I'm done. It's stuck. Repeat steps above. Hate to vomit and will happily drool until it goes down or I have no other choice. Taco goes down, the rest gets thrown out and I give up.

I should be happy that my band kept me from binging, but I'm not. Usually I am, usually I'm ecstatic, but damnit, I had NO restriction yesterday, but I wasn't feeling nearly as PMS-y so I ate normally. Today I'm totally PMS-y and I can't eat. Grr. GRRR! I'm sure I'll be happy later that I didn't go hog wild with the food, but right now I'm just pissed. I couldn't even enjoy the food that I did eat, because each bite hurt. Guess the head issues never really go away and the only thing we can do now is deal with them, instead of eating. But, totally whiny, I don't *wanna* deal with them today. Hmmph. Thanks for letting me vent.

I never mind answering questions. I just wish I knew a pat answer for this one. I would imagine that even with your first bite, *some* food will pass through the stoma. It's only natural for this to happen, with normal stomach movement and gravity. I don't know why it hurts sometimes and other times it doesn't. Sometimes liquids go right through without even feeling it and sometimes they "pool" a bit, sitting in the pouch and trickling through the stoma. I guess food would trickle through as well, albeit much slower, but some days it doesn't trickle at all, it just gets stuck.

Am I making sense? This is why we can eat more soft foods, as they'll go through the band quicker, making more room. Solid foods go through much slower, but they usually don't hurt until you've eaten too much, or if it's something that plugs you up right away, like doughy foods. I think that sometimes the stomach is just cranky and all solid foods hurt. Unfortunately, today was a cranky tummy day!

there there, alexis it'll all be ok. one of these days. those head issues are INCREDIBLY hard, and adding pms to the mix.. well, it's just not FAIR!!!!

aside from eating, how have you generally managed the pms? some folks find that extra calcium and b12 help. others like the black cohosh and otehr herbal remedies.

and teh weight loss alone will affect pms.

but congratulations!!! you knew what you were dealing with and you coped the best you could. and that's fabulous!!!!

Hello Alexis.
Hope today is a better day for you and well done for weathering the storm. It's not easy, I know.
I really identify with all that you're saying about the "head" stuff...it's incredibly difficult to come to terms with and on some days really scares me...I feel as if I could sabotage everything I've been through and hoped for. I had some friends to lunch on Sunday and walked around the supermarket on Saturday and my mouth was watering at all the goodies there...pre-op I would have bought something nice to eat in the car and then a little treat for when I got home and so on and so on...
Didn't do it...CAN'T DO IT!!!...and that fact is a source of sadness, anger, frustration and joy...
I hadn't had a period for about 3 years before the surgery and now that I'm losing weight they are back with avengence...I had forgotten what pms was like and now I remember! Like you, my response is to want to eat...
I'm finding that exercise helps to take my mind off the cravings or the other thing I do is to have a sugar free ice lolly and that works...sort of...but I just try to"keep the heid" (as we say in Scotland!) and phone my friend and wait until it passes.
All the best, Alexis...keep going and remember..."tomorrow is another day!"
Heather

Thanks ladies, I'm feeling better today.

I don't usually have to do much to manage my PMS, it's usually not that bad. Just got hit with it really hard yesterday for some reason.

It could possibly be the bloating that causes the extra restriction. My restriction was back to normal today though, hurting only after I'd eaten too much.

Pookie, to answer your question about friends...This hasn't happened to me. I can still go out and have a good time and eat most of the fun things that everyone else is eating, just a lot less. The only time that I'm a pain in the heinie is when everyone wants fast food. There aren't a lot of fast foods that I can do, and sometimes it's hard to watch everyone eat their burgers and not be able to have one. If I have to do a drive thru by myself, I'm okay, because I get what I can eat and don't have to watch anyone else. But fast foods are what I lived on before surgery, and my days off rituals were to have at least two value meals at the fast food restaurant I was craving that day. We don't do fast foods too often though, so I'm normally not a problem!

Hope that answered it. I'm heading off to bed now...was a horrible day with my dog and we both need some rest. Thanks again, you wonderful ladies!

Hi Alexis,
I was just at my other favorite WLS forum and saw a post on PMS there and it took me til now to figure out it was yours! I can be so dense sometimes.

Anyway, it kind of helps me to read this post because I am in the middle of PMS right now and still on mushy foods. I can't eat the way I want to and it's just pissing me off! The weather is sucky, my head hurts, I'm too busy, the Rockies are stinking the place up and I have cramps. Poor me! Anyway, I feel your pain and will have to learn how to deal with it too. I'm sure that's not helpful, but at least you're not alone.

Chickadee

Hi Chickadee
I've been away from home and am just managing to catch up with the forum...hope you're feeling better now and have survived the PMS on mushy foods...yuck...used to love sloppy, "nursery" food but I do believe you can get too much of a good thing. Hope you're on to things that CRUNCH...
It is good not to be alone in all of this...the support from other people who've gone through it has been invaluable to me...keep on posting.
2 questions for you...who are the Rockies and what's causing the stink? (that's 2 rolled in to one!) Bear in mind that I'm from Scotland...
The second thing is this...Tell me about the flying monkeys...I'm dying to know!!
Heather

oh heather!!! you've made my day!!! my weekend!!! can't wait to see how chickadeedee explains that expansionist, overpriced collection!!!!!!

<settling back into my comfy chair to enjoy this one!!!!>

Oh Heather, my bonny lass, I would be happy to answer your questions and any more you have. And, yes, I am finally on real food. I am enjoying the crunch, especially the one when I finally bite Ms. Jif on the...oops, never mind.

1. The Colorado Rockies are my beloved baseball team, the boys of summer resplendent in purple and black. They cause me much sorrow and consternation, but I love them. The most important thing to remember (no matter what you may hear from other posters on this forum) is that they are the best team in all of MLB (major league baseball). Both the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves stink. Which brings up you next question - stinkin' it up means to be playing like a bunch of mamas boys i.e. can't hit, can't field, can't play - stinkin' it up out there (the Yankees and Braves come to mind here).

2. Flying monkeys - get your wee bum to a video/dvd place and rent "The Wizard of Oz". Watch the Wicked Witch of the West (no relation to Jif - I think). Watch her command her flying monkeys to do her evil deeds. I own a t-shirt that bears that saying and used to wear it to coach softball. Somehow I got more respect from the girls when I wore that shirt.

I would be happy to answer any other questions. I have opinions on most everything and am always happy to share.

Chicka-baseball-lovin'-dee

Chickadee...thank you for taking the trouble to reply...even though I could tell that the stinking up question caused you some pain.

Of course...the Wicked Witch of the West...it all makes sense.

I find that women with opinions are the most interesting to be around...I like to think of myself as one of that happy band and am willing to express opinions on a wide range of issues regardless of my degree of knowledge on the subject. My current favourites are politics and modern music (doesn't a song only qualify as a song if it has a TUNE?!!) and my motto is "...never knowingly hindered by research..."
Looking forward to hearing more from you, Ms Chickadee and I hope things are on the up regarding the Rockies...

Heather

ps...not sure that there's much left to bite in Ms Jif's whadyamacallit...and I'd look out because I reckon that with all her work she may have developed buns of steel!!!!!

<tee hee> now heather... don't be so sympathetic to those rockies... ya gotta be a REAL fan <and please remember that i'd rather watch paint dry than watch a baseball game, unless one of my nephews is playing - then i'm a fan>

and don't worry, there's plenty of my <...> to bite... at least until after the plastic surgery.

i'd also add that since i live on the east coast, i could conceivably be the wicked witch of the east, but she had a house land on her... i'm not willing to risk it.. at least, not during baseball season