Alexandra

My hubby has what his doctor has called an umbilical hernia. He's had it all his life. It basically means his navel is a little odd-looking, with a bulge on one side. It's not big and he doesn't feel it at all. Though this obviously wasn't his problem, I imagine pregnancy is one of the primary causes of this situation. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about!

After my first unfill my doctor would have been ready in 8 weeks or so. I had to wait longer for insurance reasons, but that's the amount of time he'd figured we'd give my system to return to normal.

Sophie, it sounds like you and I are in the same boat, fill-wise. The first time I had an unfill the doctor was only able to pull out about 1 cc, and the second time I know there was only .8 in there. I don't think I've ever had more than 1.25 or so. My personal theory (and we know what's that's worth!) is that as time goes by we lose sensation in our lower esophagus, even if we're not losing function (which some do). We take one or two or three more bites because we can't feel that it's too much, and even though we're not eating a LOT more than we were, that little bit more is just enough to fill it up too much. Over time we might start to have reflux, and when that happens the irritation is enough to tighten things up considerably. All of these things happening at once is a recipe for misery. So, an unfill is called for. This last time my surgeon said that if my symptoms don't clear up (which they have, already) he'll want another endoscopy and possibly more testing. But I'm feeling 100% better and know the ball is in MY court as far as not gaining any weight goes. Now that I'm a whole new person -- a NORMAL person -- I'm confident I can control it using the lessons the band has taught me.

Hi Dana, I hope you don't mind, I edited out the extraneous code in your post that was making it impossible to read. Congratulations on your banding and on losing 22 lbs! That's a lot to lose in the first two weeks, but on a liquid diet it's certainly possible. Just be prepared that when you go back on solid food this weight loss will STOP, and you might even put back on a few pounds. IT'S NORMAL, and your loss will start up again--albeit at a MUCH slower pace--as your body adjusts. I don't know about the difficulty swallowing. The feeling may pass, but as with anything unusual if it doesn't go away, talk to your doctor. Welcome to LBT!!

Chelley, this is not an unusual approach to fixing a situation where the restriction may be too much. I'm currently completely unfilled for the second time. I didn't gain any significant weight the first time and I was unfilled for almost 5 months. It actually is a big relief, because you can eat more of the healthy foods your body craves, like vegetables and fruit. We want to keep our bands in long-term, so please listen to your doctor and follow his advice. An unfill is NOT anything to be worried about. Good luck!!

Kirsten, what you're referring to is most likely when people's bodies react to the fill days or weeks later resulting in a too-tight situation. Certainly fluoroscopy during a fill is going to allow the surgeon to be very precise with the adjustment then and there, and many doctors (mine included) swear by it for that reason. But it's not a guarantee that some time later on your stomach tissues won't swell and tighten the stoma up. That's a possibility at any time, even months later. And it's at times like that we need unfills.

Caffeine just isn't the healthiest thing we can put into our bodies. It contributes to dehydration and might actually increase our hunger (or so I've heard). But it's not on everyone's no-no list, by any means. I think it's just a generally recognized thing to try to minimize if you're really going to do as well as you possibly can for your healthy eating plan.

The owner of the board recently made an upgrade to the software, and it's taking some time to get everything re-integrated. He told me that journals would be back with all the information intact. Patience is all that's needed.

Having a private drug plans that has copays for prescriptions wouldn't prevent someone from benefiting from this low pricing. If a drug costs less than the copay, the amount charged by the store is the actual amount of the drug. So if I have a $5 copay for generic (now called "tier 1) drugs but the retailer is only charging $4, I pay $4. It doesn't matter that that the "main" beneficiary of this plan is going to be Wal-Mart employees; they are just a microcosm of many, many underinsured people in the country. If this goes widespread I think it will lower drug costs for everyone. Good move!

We have to remember that restriction is a function of both the tightness of the band, which doesn't change, and the thickness of our stomach walls, which does change. Stomach tissue is prone to the exact same swelling and retraction that the rest of the human body is sometimes. You know how your rings feel tight some days or some times of day and not others? No one thinks the ring is changing in size, and it's the exact same thing going on inside your body. It's all about Water retention, and that varies from person to person. If you know your body well, you might be able to minimize or at least predict fluctuations in water retention. If it's a problem, drinking a lot is the single best thing you can do to flush excess Fluid out of your body. I know for me, not drinking enough is a sure path to increased restriction. Our stomachs are not rigid and we can't expect them to behave as if they are. No mystery about it!

Well, I wasn't until you asked me this. No, actually the thought has crossed my mind. If there's swelling that is so severe that I'm closed off while my band is empty, I guess I'll have to face whatever that means. I'm fairly confident that won't happen though. My my previous unfill went from April through August through the worst allergy season of the year, AND at one point I spent a very rainy weekend in a beach house made of wood (meaning lots of mold--my very worst allergen) with a dog in residence, and I had no problems at all.

Oh Daisy, what a DOLL!! Congratulations on a wonderful job well done! Your family is beautiful and I send all the best wishes for a quick return to sleeping through the night. Enjoy the ride--it's a doozy!!

I'm with Donali (as usual!) Or I would have thought it was an honest answer, that it is literally only capable of some given speed when it is carrying someone of any given weight. Why is acknowledging that reality considered rude? I remember being told--on my honeymoon, no less--that I needed to rent a Sea-doo built for two. (What's the real name of those things? Personal watercraft?) I was personally unhappy about it but frankly glad that the vendors didn't want me risking my life (or a lawsuit) on one that wouldn't hold me up. I certainly didn't think they were being rude for rudeness' sake! [derail] HI DONALI!!! GREAT to see you!! :biggrin1: :biggrin1: [/derail]

Obsession, about anything, is not healthy. I think it's really important to gain perspective about things and take a step back for our own mental health. If thoughts about anything are overtaking our lives, honestly, I think it's time for some help. Counseling? Anxiety medication? I don't know, and of course every case is different. When I first discovered banding I was a little obsessed and came online every day to research; when I was first banded I thought about almost nothing else. It's perfectly normal when we're embarked on such a journey. But never did I think it was overtaking my life, and I'm afraid that's what I hear some people saying. Just a cautionary thought, not a criticism. You're all doing GREAT with the project at hand, but you don't want to lose sight of the rest of your lives!

It sure doesn't seem uncommon, Babs. But I refuse to see it as a bad thing. It's just the way it works. How many times in my life have I said "if I could just lose XXX pounds I KNOW it would motivate me to greater control?" Well, now it's time to put the pedal to the metal as far as that goes. I've lost more weight than I ever, ever, ever could have done on my own, and now I have learned so much about what my body really needs to stay healthy. I can eat whatever I want, it's all about putting the brakes on WRT quantity. The band is still in me, still creating an hourglass, still dampening my hunger and giving me a leg up on this job. I'm forever grateful and so blessed to have found the band when I did. :biggrin1:

Hee hee! I know exactly how you feel, Pianoman. I'm at a little below the weight I was at my first "grown-up" doctor's appointment, at the age of 15. It's great to feel like a kid again!

Oh, my, what a wonderful smile and how happy you look! Congratulations again, Kellie. The pix are gorgeous and I LOVE the dress!! (Your DH isn't bad either!!)

I debated putting this in "Complications" but I decided not to; it's not a complication, just a reality of my progression on the banding road. To recap, I was completely unfilled for several months earlier this year. About a month ago I tried to have a little fill, getting .8 ccs of saline replaced. All was fine for a couple of weeks, until the weather changed. Then I started back in with the reflux, heartburn, inability to eat, inability to sleep. I tried medicating it away but after several days it just was getting worse. So yesterday I went in for an unfill and all the saline was taken out. Last night I slept in bed all night, waking up at 5:00 with just a little coughing and reflux in my throat. But it was a BLESSING to sleep in bed again! I feel so much better and know without a doubt that even the tiny amount of Fluid that was removed from my band made all the difference. So it looks like this is the end of my band being adjustable. Lord knows I don't need any more fill, EVER, if I'm going to suffer afterwards. Having restriction is nice, but being too tight is just miserable. And Dr. A agrees that it's likely my allergies that sets it off--allergies cause swelling, and it seems to hit me internally--so I'm going to go on Claritin full-time to keep the episodes away. I joked that if I ever need to feel greater restriction, I'll just go off the allergy meds! I'm fine with this, he's fine with this, I'm healthy and weigh 130 lbs less than I did when I started. My band is still there, still keeping me from pigging out. It's really a better result than I had ever imagined ... now I have my life back. That's what it was all about in the first place. I'm just a normal person now, which I never could have imagined myself being.

I agree with Babs, Bright. The endoscopy can go a long way toward easing any fears you have and that in itself can be a healing factor. You should be glad you have restriction this far out that feels as it always did! That's an excellent sign that your esophagus is working as it should be.

In my experience, heartburn and reflux are self-perpetuating situations. They don't go away by themselves. Medication and behavioral changes can help, but each time it's happened to me I've had to have an unfill to resolve the situation. I don't mind, though; it's way easier to deal with a little extra hunger than it is to go through life sleeping in a recliner or worse, not sleeping at all. I just had a total unfill to resolve reflux, again. I think these episodes are brought on by allergies, but once they're in swing there's just not much I can do about it. The swelling seems to get worse and worse until I can't get medication or even much liquid down, and that's unacceptable. Michele, unfortunately the band does require maintenance and it's something you really will have to get checked out at some point. There are many reasons you might be having reflux now; it's not necessarily that you have a slip or something like that. But you won't know until you get it looked at. Good luck!

I do believe all the information will be intact, yes.

Sounds like things are where they're supposed to be for you, Babs. That's wonderful! Take it very easy and fingers crossed you don't get reflux!!

Leigh Ann, an unfill would DEFINITELY help and I really think it's in order. The longer you let things go on the way they are the greater potential for problems later on. Don't be afraid of an unfill: it will let you eat better food and take better care of yourself and your life. It's impossible to operate without a good night's sleep--I know!! I'm going for an unfill tomorrow morning after a week of being marginally too tight. It's just not worth it to be so uncomfortable. You've done a REMARKABLE job with your weight loss and now your focus has to turn to the long term. Band health means stomach health, esophagus health, and brain health, so don't compromise everything because you're reluctant to adjust your band. Find a doctor as soon as you can, or if you have no options perhaps your surgeon can call a physican and you can find someone to take some Fluid out. I mean, that doesn't have to be done by a band doctor, necessarily. It seems to be a very common experience that as time goes by we need less and less fluid in our bands to maintain the same restriction. That's certainly been true for me. It may just be time for you to have a small adjustment to make it a little looser and you can move along in your new body. Good luck!!

You have taken the most important step you could POSSIBLY take to improve your health, Seppi. Congratulations!! No question the first few weeks are the hardest, but I promise the day will come when you can't believe you ever were so cruel to yourself as to smoke. Good job and keep it up!!

Barbara, every state's laws are different regarding insurability. In states where there is medical underwriting, people who have had major surgery are often shut out for a period of time, obviously because the new carrier doesn't want to pay for any potential complications. Even if people aren't denied completely, procedures related to surgical followup might be excluded for the first year or something. Call your state insurance department (or possibly the department of health) and find out what your rights are. There may be a pool you can join for the "uninsurable" population--a state-sponsored pool that offers basic coverage for people who can't buy private policies for whatever reason. Get something like that and in a couple of years you should be good to go with private coverage. Good luck!!