Alexandra

There's also the body's movement to push the food through, which the Coke bottle doesn't have. The esophagus and stomach work to actively move through the system, and it's the band that slows that process down. It's not supposed to stop it completely, though, and that's what you're seeing with the Coke bottle. These visuals will stay with me a while, sad to say. Yuck.

When you think about it, the only reason we drink during a meal is to wash the food down. Drinking a lot makes it easier to eat more, even though we may not even realize that's why we're doing it. After banding the same is true, even though it may be in smaller quantities. Drinking during a meal won't hurt you, but it will sabotage your weight loss efforts. And sometimes you will discover that drinking can backfire, since if something is stuck drinking won't help it go through and you'll just urp the liquid right up. So there are two reasons to stick to the no-drinking-while-eating rule, and if neither of them are sufficient for you to change your behavior you may find that you're not losing weight as fast as you'd hoped. But it's not going to damage your band or anything if you drink while you're eating. So think more about why you're hoping to get banded. And then think about whether you're really willing to change your habits to achieve your goals. I'll bet you'll discover you're not as attached to those habits as you think. :biggrin1:

Hi Michele, I agree, you should try to see your doctor as soon as possible. Maybe nothing serious is wrong, but the longer you let this go on the greater the chance that you might be doing some damage. Your esophagus and stoma are irritated and that has to be allowed to resolve and heal up. Stick to liquids as MUCH as you possibly can, and when you see your doctor don't be surprised if he or she recommends a slight unfill. I had a similar situation crop up back in February of this year; nothing had been wrong since the prior fill six months before that. But in February I had an allergy exposure and for four weeks after that I had reflux, pain, and heartburn all the time. I finally had an endoscopy and it showed a lot of irritation. The band was fine, though; all that I needed to resolve the situation was an unfill and some Prevacid for a while. Good luck, and take care of yourself!

My docs say one day of liquids after a fill, then on to soft and regular foods in the next two days. A fill at 24 days out is pretty early; maybe they want you on the post-op diet because you're still pretty close to post-op, still.

The port is really what you'd need to think about; the band is internal and I don't think there's much in the way of physical activity that could endanger it. But the port is right there under the skin, and a good hit or repeated impacts could, I'd think, do some harm to the tissue around it. It's certainly something to discuss with your doctor.

Well, we already have a forum for support, so I'd think that's where those threads would go. Or maybe in the general discussion area. It just doesn't seem, to me, to be necessary to have a separate place just for good-wishes threads. Why not have them in the mix?

Congratulations! :rockon:

IMO it's because our bodily tissue is not made of plastic; it's living tissue and reacts to increased pressure in various ways. I have the exact same experience with fills kicking in weeks later; I think my stomach tissue "retreats" or thins out directly after the fill in response to the pressure, and then "returns" to its pre-fill thickness. THAT'S when I feel the increased restriction. I have no medical background but I've shared my theory with several surgeons and they all think it's as plausible as any other explanation.

I'm all for people posting threads like "Jane's Big Day is Monday!!" so others can post their thoughts of support and encouragement on them. But to my mind starting a separate prayer forum (or for that matter calling them "prayer requests") is unnecessarily exclusionary. Not everyone prays or feels comfortable offering prayers, but I'm sure ALL of us want to offer our support to people going in for surgery or who have other trying situations arising. Let's try to be a big tent, OK? Another board I'm on is really big on support, and every day you'll see threads by and for people who can use prayers and good wishes for various reasons. But the threads aren't labeled as such; the prayers are offered in the threads by those who are so moved. Other people send whatever thoughts and wishes feel right to them. It seems to me that putting "prayer request" in the titles might not invite everyone to participate. I'm certain that's not the goal, right?

I'm sorry for your loss, Carlene. I'm sure it was a very difficult decision but you did the right thing for your love.

Everyone Is Different! There is no way to predict how much Fluid will result in restriction for any given person or how many fills it will take to get there. Comparisons get us absolutely nowhere. Rant over. :biggrin1:

Northernsun, beverages with caffeine are worth about 2/3 of what non-caffeinated beverages would be worth with regard to your fluid intake. Go ahead and indulge, just be aware that the diuretic effect means you need to take in even more liquids.

:pound:

Hi Sarah, Thanks so much for sharing your story! If I were in your shoes I think I too would be seriously considering band removal. You're absolutely right; it's not normal or healthy to be unable to eat solid food. You're not the only one who is unable to tolerate much fill. I'm completely unfilled right now and have been for most of this year. To my surprise, it seems that I've never had a fill of more than about 2.0 in my 4cc band. But even in my empty state I still have SOME restriction, though nowhere near what you seem to be describing. My issues seem to stem from allergies; times of more allergic irritation to my sinuses are the same times that I have needed unfills in the past. Fall and spring have both been problematic for me this year, but I seem to have reached a happy place with allergy medications and have hopes that in the next few months--if I need it--I'll be able to get and keep a super-tiny fill. Perhaps you could benefit from having your band replaced with the newer version, the VG band? One size does NOT fit all, which is precisely why Inamed designed the larger band. If you'd been banded later, maybe that's the size your doctor would have chosen for you in the first place. Your anatomy may just be a sort that needs a larger band. In the meantime, please take care of your health! There's no reason you should have any malnutrition issues; Protein shakes and supplements are adequate for the most malabsorptive RNYers so you should be able to prop up your own intake that way. Congratulations on your terrific achievement with the band! It's an ongoing challenge, though, and you're doing the absolute right thing by investigating and considering your options. Please let us know how you're doing!

Hi Cowgirl Sue--welcome to LBT! Sounds to me like you might just need another fill. Sometimes after we've lost weight we notice our restriction lessening a bit; that's the reason people may get multiple adjustments along the way. You don't say how long ago your last fill was, but if it was more than a couple of months why not ask your doctor about adding a little bit more? If your last fill was very recent, give it another couple of weeks and see how you feel then. I know that when I get a fill, the immediate result seems to be a lessening of restriction, followed by increased restriction as much as three or four weeks later. My theory is that my stomach retreats in the face of increased pressure, and slowly goes back to "normal" as time passes. So it takes several weeks for my fills to "kick in" and I know I'm not the only one who experiences that. Congratulations on your loss so far!

We can't vote until the 7th. I can't WAIT to go, though; this is the first election in my adult life that I am passionately hoping will really change things.

The First Amendment protects us ALL, even those who think Christ was just a good man. Back in the late 18th century no waves of immigrants or revolutions of social thought had yet changed the fabric of American society, but our Framers had the amazing foresight to allow for that possibility.

We have a member who relocated to Malawi after being banded. If she can do it, ANYONE can. :biggrin1:

Normal, normal, normal, normal, normal, normal, normal. Got it? NORMAL! :cool: What's not normal is 26 lbs in 9 days!! That's three months' worth of loss right there; if you don't lose another ounce until next year you'll still be ahead of the game. Congratulations on your banding!!

Another New Jerseyan here applauding the decision!! Of course, it remains to be seen what our legislature comes up with by way of regulations, but at least the principle has been affirmed. State-sponsored discrimination is FINALLY going to go the way of the dodo....someday.

Congratulations, babs!! That is wonderful news, and gives hope to all bandsters that perhaps we can keep it long-term. Thanks for letting us know!!

A healthy marriage is a healthy marriage, before or after the band. Losing weight might give room for other issues to grow and become more prominent, but IMO if the couple is on a good strong foundation weight loss (or gain) shouldn't make any difference. Sure, things will change. My husband has had to adjust the amounts he prepares for dinner, and has learned that I'm not always interested in big Pasta dinners. But these are minor things, and we've never had problems with them. At one point before my surgery my husband did confess to being a little concerned that he'd be insecure if the rest of the world found me more attractive, but as soon as he said it he realized it amounted to an insult and retracted the comment. He knows and trusts me, and realizes there is no reason to think I'd be a different person just because I'd lose weight. Many things come into play here, of course, and not every situation is the same. But in general, I believe that a strong foundation of marriage has nothing whatsoever to do with the partners' body types.

The key words here are "medically necessary" and "emergency." Insurance, if it's any kind of responsible coverage, will pay for medical care any emergency situation no matter what the cause. It probably won't cover fills if it didn't cover the band in the first place, but if you're having a serious complication it should cover the steps to correct it. That said, it's unlikely that you'll ever experience that sort of situation related to your band. Will your insurance pay for removal if you have erosion? That might depend on the light in which your doctor casts the necessity of removal at the time it happens. You could call and ask the carrier what their approach would be if you had another sort of implant, a breast implant or something like that, and it ruptured. Would the cover the medical care in that situation?

Congratulations, Kyleigh! You're doing wonderfully; best wishes for a long and happy band life!!

It's a mystery to me why doctors seem to gloss right over the importance of sticking to liquids during the healing phase. If they told us WHY we have to do it, it wouldn't be such a burden! Obviously we want to give our bands the best possible chance to succeed and stay with us over the long term, and healing in place properly is KEY to that. Mark, your stomach is a muscle and if you've ever injured a muscle you know that immobility is called for. solid food makes the stomach move around, and you want it to stay as still as possible during the healing phase. So follow your doctor's advice and stick to liquids as long as necessary. Congratulations on your banding!