allaboutmefl

I had my third fill about 8 weeks ago. The restriction was fine till about three weeks ago. It was like I had no restriction. I could eat anything. I gained four pounds. Because I knew I could eat more, my head was eat eat eat. It was tough. About a week ago my band all the sudden became tighter again. I lost three of the pounds already..Thank goodness. How can my band be tight for three weeks then loosen up for three weeks and get tight again this past week?

The only thing I have been more aware of is sleeping on my right side instead of the left. Now I try to sleep on my right side all the time and sometimes my back. Can that affect the tightness of the band?

Thanks,

Sonya

So now I'm at 3cc in a 4cc band.

I really hope I don't have to go through that again.

.

Ouch on the pin cushion.:thumbup:

I have the Midband and if I'm not mistaken the Midband has 9.5 cc. Check in the packaging your doctor should have given you. Sounds like you need another fill. Everyone reaches restricion at different levels. Depends on the amount of fat around your stomach. I reached my first good "sweet spot" at 5.5. Every time you lose weight you lose fat around your stomach. Then it's time for another fill..

Good luck.

Good luck with your fill Peaches, Phyl and Mango! I'm ready to get another. I had just gotten a cold the last time I went for a fill six weeks ago. Then I was coughing like crazy and stuffy nose. I may have been swollen when I got the last fill. Now i'm started to graze. I'm going on liquids for a few days to see if anything changes then I'll make an appointment if needed.

Good luck:thumbup:

Lynne,

I would go to your doctor and do a barium test to make sure everything is ok. Did you have a fill recently? You may need to get some of your fill taken out and go on liquids for a week or so.

Congratulations on your success Thinkinhealthy! Thanks for posting your experience. I am so with you on the "gassy" problem since surgery.:sad_smile: I'll keep an eye on the gassy foods if the pain comes back. Good tip on the walking.

It's nice we can come to this board and read about other peoples experience. Good luck and continued success.

When I went for a fill at the beginning of March the pain had went away and I forgot to ask my doctor.

Thanks for the update Ghostbuster. After my fill in March, I got a cold and was coughing really bad and the "pain" came back . It seems to have subsided. If I eat meat and don't chew the heck out of it I notice that uncomfortable feeling. Every day is a learning experiece with the band.

Something else I read on another board was if you have been sick and coughing a lot that your diaphragm may have been agitated but the pain will pass. I was sick two weeks ago and coughing like crazy so I think that may caused some irritation. I'm still going to do the liquids just to be safe. I hope your pain passes also. Good luck on liquids.

Is it possible to irritate the band site from overeating?

The reason I ask is that I have been having a burning, gnawing, irritating-type pain for the past week right where the band would be. (Left side, under ribcage) I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago and while on vacation I didn't eat much at all. I ate so little and walked so much that I lost 7 lbs in about 10 days. When I came back to work, a group of us went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. At lunch, I ate some tortilla chips and salsa and then went on to eat way too much frijoles a la charra (bean soup) and for the rest of the day I felt overly full. Since then I've had pain in the band area and 2 days ago I ate a crunchy granola bar and it really started to hurt more and since then I've had the gnawing, irritating type of pain.

If it is indeed irritation at the band site, will going on liquids/mushies for a few days help?

I'm having the same pain again on the left side under the rib cage. A few months ago it was bothering me and it seemed to go away. But last week I started having that uncomfortable feeling again. :thumbup: I think I ate to much of something that doesn't agree with my band.

Anyway..Several people have suggested I go on liquids for a few days or even two weeks. Tomorrow I start liquids. I need to go to the grocery store. I'll let you know how I feel in a few days. I get scared it may be slippage and errosion too. But I try not to freak out. So I'll do liquids and take it from there. Let me know how it works for you.

Sonya

I'm glad that at least the fever is gone. I was going to call her later on today. That sucks that she can't go to the ER to get an unfill done.

OH, my sister just got out of surgery. She's officially banded!! She's in a little pain and kinda groggy. She'll be in the nurse's observation area for two hours and then she'll be moved to her private room. I'll keep ya'll updated with her progess...

Hi Haydee,

I'm so happy for your sister. My sister was banded a year and a half before me. After I saw her success I knew it was time for me to get banded. And to think I was worried about the scar it would leave on my stomach and not the extra 100 pounds I needed to lose. It was nice to have her there with me at surgery. You'll be able to support each other through your weight loss journey. :teeth_smile:

Sonya

YEAH, he put me to sleep and injected a blue dye and sure enough there were TWO needle pricks near the port in the tubing. So he just cut off and inch or so and replaced the port... I think it might be a 'lower profile" port as I could hardly find the sucker??? Plus its two inches to the left of my old one, which is a great position too.

:rolleyes2:

Hi Peaches,

Congratulations on your surgery! Did the surgeon say if it occured when you had a past fill, defective tubing or maybe it was pricked during your initial surgery? Just curious. I'm sure you posted before but did you have to pay for this surgery or did the doctor cover it.

Glad you feeling good.:teeth_smile:

Sonya

Ok Thinner me and allaboutmefl. We see you guys peeking in all the time. Come and join us. You'll like it here. I guarantee it. Tell us all about yourselves.

Hi Suzie and Terri, Thanks for the invite. I check your thread all the time and find you are a very motivating group. About me... My surgery was done in July. Last week I finally made it half way to my goal. Yeah! :wub: I live in Florida. My sister and aunt have both been banded. After seeing their success I decided it was time for me to go for it. I wish I had done it years ago. I'll post more later.

Sonya

Allaboutme, when my DR. gives fills she just uses a needle with saline no extension thing. Take it out has me sit up for a couple minutes then has me drink a glass of Water to see how it feels. It usually takes about 10 minutes to get out of there then right before i leave she asks me again if i feel okay because its easier to take a little bit out then to go home and realize im to tight and have to come back.

On the topic of fills... the NP who does the fills sometimes said to me last time "Kristin this is fill #5 and you now have 3.5 in a 4cc band that should be VERY FULL so if you dont start drastically losing weight we are going to do an upper gi to see why you arent feeling that much restriction" I was slightly annoyed because my actual DR said that they do the fills very slow because everyone is different and you might need to be filled up to 3.8 in a 4cc band it all depends on the size of your stomach etc. She just sort of made me feel bad like it was my fault my band was getting so full and I wasnt feeling restriction. bleh...

Hi Kristin

Does you doctor tell you how much they took out before adding the new stuff? Or are they just adding up how much they inject each time?

My doctor tells me how much was remaining from last fill. I had a fill in October that put me at 5.5. When I went for a fill two weeks ago, he told me I had 5.0. I guess the .5 just dissipated?? So..he started the fill with 6.0. I drank water...waited.. it was to much. When I finally was comfortable enough to drink water and still have restriction I was at 5.5. I guess 5.5 is my magic number.

The next time you get a fill ask your doctor how much is in there before he adds Fluid. I don't see why the NP was nasty. If 3.8 is what is takes, then that's what you need. Tell the doctor you want him to do your fill next time. How's your restriction now?

Sonya

My fill is done under fluoro so I have to drink barium. This is the second time that the fill has tightend up after getting it. quote]

I saw some videos on youtube that show people getting fills. One doctor looked like he just stuck a needle in injecting saline. My doctor uses the needle with something that looks like an extension so he can add or remove Fluid. Not sure what it's called. On the youtube video he didn't even have the patient drink Water or barium. Like a blind fill.. Crazy.

I too had some candy this weekend and then realized why I can't eat the sugar free candy as I spent an hour in the bathroom:scared2: Funny those would go down but Jello wouldn't. This fill is RETARDED!! .

!

Does your doctor make you drink Water before you leave the office? Crazy that the band is that tight. Does he leave the needle in so he or she can remove or add Fluid to make sure you are not to tight or loose?

There are several websites that you can track your calories that are good out there. I just found this one that is pretty interesting. They are adding exercise to it soon.

CRON-O-Meter

You know those morningstar veggie sausages? They taste and smell so real that my dogs go crazy for them when I am heating them up. I checked out the box and they have a huge amount of Protein and Fiber and are low calorie. It's health food that actually tastes like junk food and I love it!

The Spicy Black Bean burgers are yummy with a slice of cheese on top. 200 Calories and 16 grams Protein. YUM.

I AM IN WEST PALM BEACH AND GETTING BANDED ON 5/23/08. I'M TRAVEL TO Mexico FOR MY SURGERY AS A SELF PAY. WOULD LIKE TO GET MY FILLS HERE BUT PRICE SEEM EVEN IF I WENT FOR MY FREE FILLS IN MEXICO MINUS PLANE RIDE. IF ANYONE HAS A DOCTOR THAT WILL TREAT MEX-BANDERS PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I LOVE THIS SITE!! HOPE TO TALK TO YOU ALL AND AS I GET CLOSER TO MY DATE, I KNOW I WILL BE ASKING FOR A LOT OF ADVISE.

LENA23:smile:

Hi Lena,

I know you are excited. Congratulations!! I'm so happy with my band. I'm not sure about the Palm Beach area doctors. Check my above post about Broward and Dade.

Do any of the surgeons you are discussing or any of the Fill Centers have flouroscopy around here? I don't want to keep going to TJ or St Petersburg. I hear they have an excellent Fill center there! Will the surgeons fill patients of Dr Ortiz?

From reading some of the posts, though, even with the flight to San Diego is sounds cheaper than the local fills!!!

Dr. Gomez does fills in Miami for $300. Fluro is more. Fill Center USA is opening a location in Miami and they will be able to do it under floro. Also Cleveland Clinic in Weston will do fills on patients who had surgery in Mexico.

I went for my third fill yesterday so I'm on liquids today. Restriction again...Thank you!

After my second fill I was at 5.5. When he took all the Fluid out yesterday I had 5.0. Guess the .5 dissipated.?? So he started out with 6.0 and it was just too much. I don't like that feeling in my throat. Lot of girgling in my throat. So he keep taking a little bit out at a time and waited to see how long it took for Water to go down and finally got to a good spot. When I asked what I was it.. He said 5.5. Odd.. That's what I was with the last fill.

Anyway. I am very happy to have this restriction back.:biggrin2:

Thanks Janet and Karri. I normally make pretty good food choices, but this weekend I made a lot of bad ones. Thank goodness I didn't gain any weight this week but I didn't lose any either.

I'm so happy to have my band to help me control my food portions when my old food habits take over. I do a lot better when I just don't have those "evil" foods in the house.

Well I decided to get the fill tomorrow. Last week from Sunday to Thursday my band was good and tight. It was like I had just gotten a good fill. Well I decided to see if I could eat more this weekend because I had a fill appointment for Tuesday and was trying to decide if I should cancel it. I made the appointment 2 weeks ago when I started eating more.

Saturday... I was able to eat more. Breakfast.. 2 oz of chicken and 1 oz cheese. pizza rolls mid day. My boyfriend made them and I wanted to see if I could eat them. I ended up having about 6. Then I made a homemade chicken pot pie for dinner.. yummy. Ate about 1/6 of it. No problem with the crust. Plus candy was in the house so I had some of that. I know it's terrible.

Sunday. Ate more again. Breakfast. Fried egg with cheese on one slice of toast. Lunch- piece of chicken pot pie 1/6 of 8" pie dinner - half a pork chop, 1/4 cup peas and 2 tablespoons of rice. Not to mention about 3 pieces of candy (mini reese) and 1/2 avacado.

I know I shouldn't have pushed it. But I wanted to see if I could eat and really needed the fill. I need to start spring cleaning so I stop grazing or looking for food during the day when I'm bored. I'm not working right now and it seems like I'm always concerned about what I'm going to eat next. Can you say Addiction!!!

Needless to say I decided to go for the fill tomorrow. I can't wait.

Sonya

Congratulations MsPris. I wish you continued success with your bypass surgery. Those are some big numbers in a short amount of time. Good for you

NSV ....Last night my boyfriend and I met some friends to watch a local band. I was getting hit on. Yeah... That hasn't happened in awhile. One guy I walked past said "come over here pretty girl". Made me smile.

I've noticed more guys look at me instead of acting like I'm invisible. Feels good.

Hello all my July band friends:

I'm trying to decide if I should go in for my third fill. The past month my weight loss has stalled and I noticed I was eating larger portions. I called and made an appointment for a fill which is scheduled for Tuesday. Now the past three days my band seems tighter. I ate three little pieces of beef last night and thought it was going to come back up. It feels like I just got a fill even though I didn't. Now I'm trying to decide if I should cancel my appointment for next week.

Has anyone ever noticed their band being looser during TOM? What do you think I should do about my fill? I pay for my fills and would hate to waste $300. Just looking for an opinion.

Thanks,

Sonya

What kind of elastic support band? I didn't have one of those after my surgery. Did the doctor say what the advantage is to wearing the support garmet? Sometimes I notice when I wear a "support" top that goes to my waist, I get uncomfortable on the left rib cage area. That has to feel good that the garmet didn't fit.

I'm glad the band has been good to you with the second surgery.