Leena

It's been nearly a year since my last fill. And I switched to a new doctor for fills. Anyway my band was missing .4 cc. It was supposed to have 3.1cc in it and only 2.7 came out. So that's kind of odd. I've never had that happen in my 6 years with the band. It could be why I felt like I needed a fill and was loose. Also- the new Dr. does fills so differently. He connects a longer needle to my port, then a long hard plastic tube then a syringe with the saline. And he fine tunes the fill from there, leaving me connected while I swallowed Water to see if it went down. My previous Dr would just give me a shot in my port. So what's the norm these days for fills? Anyway- I'm hoping I don't have a leak in my band or port.

If you tense up it makes it worse. Have you tried a heat or ice packs yet on your pouch area? A few years ago I alternated them when I had the stomach flu after a major projectile vomiting day. It helped so that I could get Water in. I would think it would help with pb and sliming. Then the first thing to drink should be hot tea or something else warm. Hope this helps

Congrats on finalizing! I have 3 adopted sons from the DHS system. One of my sons is a major handful.

Don't borrow trouble I had my band slip and was so worried about it. As it turns out I was one of the people who a simple defill worked on. My surgeon defilled me completely, put me on protonix which actually helps heal any damage acid has done in your stomach. And then two months later I started back to small, slow fills. My slip was found because of all the acid reflux / gerd and just plain uncomfortableness. So I had an endoscopy- which found minor ulceration and a small slip. Hang in there

I'm 6 years post-op and still have left should pain. I've been to the cardiologist, orthopedist, had MRIs done and even PT. They diagnosed it as thoracic outlet syndrome, sent me to PT and called it a day. There are days where it's really horrible and days where it doesn't even hurt. Trust me it's NOT gas. Prior to surgery I didn't have this issue.

Holy cc batman. They're making 14cc bands now? Now I'm really feeling old. But I love my little 4cc band.

Mine was 4 weeks post op. The size of the fill depends upon the size of your band as well. Some bands will max out at 4cc.

Keep in mind you're only 15 days post op. Are you cleared for exercise. I didn't get cleared until I went in for my first fill one month post op. One week post op was still a no-no for me. I was however allowed to walk around the block- the grocery store, etc. The only thing I'd suggest from looking at what you're eating is that you might want to cut out the baby food. Replace it with a low carb Protein shake or plain greek yogurt (i add splenda and cinnamon to mine). Try to get your carbs a bit lower. Also, I'm assuming you haven't had a fill yet? And you're probably starting to get a bit hungry. 3 weeks post op all my swelling had gone down and I had no restriction. I could have eaten anything but held back and stuck to my 1/2 cup of food at a time.

If Water is not going down you're too tight and should get an unfill. When I had a slip my endoscopy showed it (my surgeon actually did my endoscopy himself so he knew what to look for). I also showed some ulceration in my pouch. My only symptom was horrible gerd all the time, even while sitting up. So he did a complete unfill and put me on protonix (the magic pill for me). Who did your upper GI? Did you get a copy of the video/pictures?

Years ago I had ones in a test tube like plastic container. I don't remember which brand but they were fruit punch flavored and had an ok taste when cold, at room temperature I couldn't tolerate them.

If you're vomiting you need to give your stomach a rest. My drs rules have always been 3 days of pure liquids after a fill, 3 days of mushy foods and then back to solids. And anytime vomiting occurs 3 days of liquids. The issue is that vomiting irritates your pouch and inflames tissue-makes you swell. So then everything will be tighter. My band has always been tighter in the morning- which means no solids before noon for me. It's how my body is. Vomiting can lead to a slip- I had a minor slip at one point after I had the flu (probably the only time I've really vomited with the band- that wasn't a PB) And at 2 days after a fill I'd still be on liquids, not small meals.

The new doctor repeated pulled the Fluid in and out to get it all out. He also explained why he fills the way he does. It was just very different from my other doctor. My concern is that well, .4cc is significant when I only have a 4cc band. I know some people have the 10cc band, but mine isn't that large. And .4cc makes a huge difference for me personally. Given that I pay out of pocket for each fill it does matter.

I had my surgery just over 4 years ago and have been having a lot of GERD lately, waking me up at night and interfering with me sleeping flat. I saw a GI doctor, followed up with my lap band surgeon yesterday and it's severe slippage. He removed all of my fill. But my current insurance policy doesn't cover bariatrics. Any advice would be appreciated as I can't afford this surgery out of pocket and I can't afford not to have it. The options are to remove the band and covert to a bypass or try to repair the slip and hope it doesn't happen again. But from what I've read once there's been slippage it's more liekly to occur. Any thoughts, advice, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Leena

I'm a little over 2 years out from surgery and am happy with my results. My issue lately, as in the last 3 weeks has been upset stomachs, more like really bad heartburn that wakes me up in the middle of the night. Tums have been my best friend lately. I'm not eating anything different than I was 3 weeks ago. Any ideas? I'm putting a call into my surgeon this morning as interuptions in my sleep really get to me. And I'm starting to eat a whole lot less to avoid the upset stomachs. But then I have no energy. I do feel a whole lot tighter than I was even although I haven't had a recent fill.

I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through this. I'm 2 1/2 years post op, have lost just about all of my weight. I wear a 4 in clothes and do have more muscle mass so get away with weighing more. At this point I struggle with getting in enough calories. I take in under 500 a day, most days it's about 300- and I know I burn most of it off through exercise. (I see a trainer 3x a week for an hour). I don't have a tight fill, but do have a fill so I do get full easily. I know my body is probably in starvation mode. Yes, I'm in therapy for it with an eating disorder and anxiety specialist. My questions to you, for those who are years post-op and just maintaining their weight: -how many calories to you consume in a day? -are you still using Protein shakes? -how much of a fill is in your band? -Any thoughts on having the remainder of my fill taken out? thanks- leena

Seriously, I don't wish this on anyone. It's a serious issue. Your issue of eating junk food is completely separate and unrelated. I have no idea why you even bothered to reply to this thread. Something you may want to ask yourself.

Thank you so much. I called my surgeon; he's calling in a prescription for me and seeing me on Thursday. Apparently it's not all that uncommon. Just as long as I get in my calories and hopefully the meds kick in. I guess I'll know more on Thursday. I haven't been pbing at all. I did actually throw up two weeks ago from it. And since then have avoided solids as they tend to upset my stomach more.

I'm 2 years out, my weight has been stable since May. I'm ready to find a plastic surgeon. I'm thinking lower body lift or mons lift and tummy tuck. I'm debating the inner thighs and am willing to hold off on those for a while. My insurance isn't going to cover any of it, which really sucks. But it's something I want to do for me. So which docotrs should I consult? Any recommendations? Thanks- Leena

I have a 4cc band at the moment have 3.1cc in it. So far it's worked wonders. It needs a slight adjustment right now probably just another .1 in. I've had very few fills in 2 years and they've all been rather small. I went from now until May without a sweet spot, so I'm trying to find it again. I miss my sweet spot.

I'd love to know how everyone is surving dating with the band. I'm married but bi and poly, so dh and I have agreed that I can have relationships with other women as well. I told him on our first date, btw I'm bi and really tend to date more women than men. So this is nothing new at all. Anyway, what is it with women freaking out over me having the band? I was seeing a woman, let's call her N. Anyway N our relationship was going well she's also poly and bi. Anyway she knew I was having surgery, didn't ask what type and I didn't tell her because it was only a few weeks into our relationship. Anyway she knew I was on a diet, exercising and trying to loose weight. N is also obese, not quite as big as my highest, but she's tall so carreis it better than I did. So a few weeks pass and she notices I'm loosing more weight. So I told her well I did have surgery. Then told her what kind I had. She seemed okay then. But as I got closer to her clothing size she freaked out and ended the relationship. I just don't get it. Obviously there are some nderlying issues on her side. Well, now I feel like dating while I still have 100+ pounds to loose is somewhat pointless. Any advice? Thanks, Leena

Body Issue 1: This morning in the shower I realized that my belly flop/apron/deflating stomach/etc is getting really deflated, looks like a beat up loaf of uncooked bread. Anyway, I never paid a whole lot of attention to it before but my pubic area is still really fat and chubby. I look like a Ken doll. Ok, I know this is not normal what so ever. Do I need to call my obgyn, or has it been this way. I don't want to ask DH because I know he'll end up laughing about it. It definately doesn't look like Jenna Jameson there or any other woman in her line of work. Am I normal? Body issue 2: So then I'm looking in the mirro as I dry off and realize my nipple are pointing to the floor. This is something new as they used to be where they were supposed to be. What is going on? Thanks!

I have a meeting tonight with some online friends. I've been active online in the group since August but was busy wrapping up grad school work before my surgery in September. So tonight it's a discussion over Snacks just after 7pm iwth about 9 of us. I will have already eaten my dinner and be mostly digested by then. I don't want to eat there because I tend to burp a lot after I eat and my stomach is a musical organ with loud sound effects. I know I won't be able to snack on anything there as I'm pretty much full of food by then. So I'll politely decline, but if I'm asked for an explanation I don't know how I feel about coming out of the band closet. Any advice? I went out to eat with my family this past weekend (for my commencement dinner) and just ate a bit of my hubby's food. The waiter was shocked I wasn't ordering a meal, and the people at the next table kept on looking at me eating super slow tiny bites. Thanks, Leena