MichelleInCA

If you were having trouble swallowing before, it's no surprise it's worse after a fill. I'd say you should try an unfill, maybe .5 cc? You can't be satisfied on liquid food only, because it goes through the pouch too fast and leaves you empty. I'm in the same boat as you... Got fills to the point I felt some restriction to my intake, but was pb'ing 4-5 times/week, while still feeling hungry. Did an unfill of 1 cc, and now I can eat like a horse. On doctor's advice, I eat salads twice/day to fill the pouch, but then get hungry again in an hour or two. Going back this week and will ask for a .5 cc fill, am hopeful it'll be about right. In the meantime have come to realize this is just another diet program, but with a bit of physical help. That's how I see it now anyway.

Thanks so much for sharing that. Very interesting, especially since I'm not really a bypass candidate because I also have Crohn's disease (go figure). So the sleeve doesn't require such a strong esophagus, and you were successful with it? I have a lot of questions but I'll go read up on the sleeve before I bother you with them. :grouphug:

I was banded over a year ago and haven't achieved much so far -- about 40 lbs lost, some of that before surgery. Lately gained a few lbs. As I got filled enough for restriction (about 8 cc in Realize band), then solid food would often get stuck in my throat and I PB'd nearly every day. Yet if I ate mushies I could eat a ton without getting full. The pattern was, either stuck food/medicine and hunger, or overeating of soft food. So the doc did a slight unfill, saying I probably have a "low motility" esophagus that can't push food down against the pressure of the band. Eventually the esophagus would have given up and dilated if I hadn't had the unfill. The 1 cc unfil was night and day -- now it's almost like I have no band. I have followed her advice to eat a lot of salad to fill up the pouch with healthy food, but still I've been putting on weight because it's so easy to overeat. So now I'm going back for a fill again, but I know I'll just be back to not being able to take pills or eat solid food. Sigh. Anyone else had this problem of the esophagus not cooperating? I'm wondering if I need to get a full gastric bypass or something... :grouphug:

I managed the T part of BART just fine. I'm just about back to normal now. Thanks again everyone. I'm not sure I understand how the vomiting thing works with a band in there but it still seems very tight so I guess it didn't slip! Next time I'll know not to force Water if it's not staying down. Dry heaving through a band is a brutal experience!

Actually I wasn't kidding about the Ambien, which shows you how much common sense I have about medical care. Heh. I'll let things chill out and try some gatorade in the morning. Thanks again!

Thanks so much to everyone for the advice. I've stopped the Water even though my sister was pushing it on me! I feel better already actually. The doc hasn't called back so I don't have an Rx for anything. Would it be dangerous to take an Ambien so I can sleep through it? Thanks again everyone -- like my own little ER.

Thanks very much. I have a call into the doc on call. Hopefully he'll have a similar idea.

Hi all, I'm away from home and seem to have the flu or food poisoning. I can drink Water, but I can't keep it down. I keep having waves of nausea followed by vomiting (I already emptied from the other end, too). Of course the vomiting doesn't do much because the band doesn't let anything come up. Meanwhile I'm scared the violent retching is going to hurt my stomach near the band, or dislodge it or something. Has anyone had the flu or uncontrolled vomiting? What did you do? Thanks so much, I'm starting to panic a bit here.

My doc says there can be irritation after a fill, especially if you eat solid food too soon. That would be uncomfortable, and you need to go back to liquids for a day to let the irritation heal. So I think it's normal! I'm up to 7.5 in a 10 cc Realize band and finally at very good restriction, 5 months after surgery! I'm so happy. Now it's very painful and uncomfortable if I eat too fast or too much. And I don't get hungry for 3-4 hours anyway. So I encourage everyone to hang in there, just like people here encouraged me. You'll get there eventually!

Oh my, this is so tragic, regardless of how she got the infection. I'm so sorry for you and your 3 young boys. I hope the military will allow you to stay with your sons indefinitely. My thoughts will be with you, Peter.

I had my first fill on April 15 (surgery March 5), 4 cc in a 10 cc band. For 3 weeks I felt nothing, then suddenly this past week I've felt restriction on and off. The feeling is like a bit of delayed reaction, where I'll eat too much and not know for half an hour, but at least it's something! Going in again tomorrow for more fill; I hope the doc isn't scared to give me a good shot of it. :thumbup: My doc didn't let me see the needle until she was done. I have to say I'm glad -- the sucker is huge!! I was grateful for the numbing shot first.

My doc said she does no more than 3 or 4 cc for the first fill depending on the patient's restriction level. Mine was "none" so I got 4 cc. I felt nothing for 3 weeks, then suddenly a bit of restriction! It went away again though. I'm going this week for another fill; I'll see how much she's willing to do for a second one.

Well done, Rukshanna! Are you feeling restriction? How did you manage to stick to the plan before your first fill?? You must have more willpower than I do!

Sorry, haven't been here in a while! Dr. Foster did my surgery at El Camino on March 5. Everything went really well, and I found ECR to provide great service. It doesn't seem as busy as other hospitals I've visited, so you don't wait hours for a nurse or anything. Dr. Foster is very competent, very no-nonsense. If you need a lot of emotional support from your surgeon, she probably isn't the best choice. She's more down to business. :thumbup: The whole experience was less traumatic than I envisioned for years beforehand, that's what I'd say. I had my first fill April 18... 4 cc's now in my 10 cc band. Unfortunately I still don't have restriction, so going again next week. I've been losing very slowly as a result, but I'm hopeful I"ll get to that sweet spot!

June is a very long time after your surgery -- have you asked your doctor to fill earlier, or why he/she won't? I would even consider finding another surgeon if mine told me to wait 4 months for the first fill! I'm having my first on April 18 (7 weeks post-op) -- a bit longer than I'd like but it's a scheduling issue. I feel some restriction, as in the first couple of bites can cause pain if I'm not careful about chewing, but honestly I can eat quite a bit still if I don't stop myself. I find a bit of a delayed reaction -- I get uncomfortable some time after I eat too much. I hope a fill will make the reaction speadier.

I didn't have any port pain right after surgery. A couple weeks later I had a bit of soreness for a few days, but that's gone now. I bowled 3 games 3 weeks after surgery, if that gives you an idea. :smile: I'm not sure if the choice of band affects your post-surgery pain that much. I've seen such variations here for all of them!

Yeah, I think the two companies are in fierce competition, which is good for us! I got the Realize on March 5. My surgeon said, in the end, both devices are quite simple and the differences aren't very important to their functioning. My doc also likes the fact that J&J is so big...but most of all the support website, which J&J must really sell hard to surgeons. I have been using the RealizeMySuccess site. It's pretty good, but honestly it has some minor but annoying bugs. Like it sent me two alerts -- one that I've gained weight and one that I've lose 25 lbs and should ask my doctors about changing my medication dosages. Neither alert is true based on the weight data I've put in! Also for the daily food diaries, there aren't enough foods in the database. Like, the Protein powder I use is not in there. So... I would say the site needs improvement, but yeah, it's got a lot of useful stuff and great potential.

I guess it's wrong, but I really want my first fill to restrict me like crazy! I know I'm eating about 25% less food than before, but it's not the band stopping me, it's just me "being good". Even so, I'm hardly losing any weight. Waahhh. I was so hoping I'd be one of those who lose 10 lbs/month all along. It's hard to adjust expectations w/o feeling like I'm blowing it already, 3 weeks out. Anyway thanks for the reality check and encouragement, it does help a lot.

Oh my, I think I would have lost my mind eating nothing but Protein drinks for another 3 days much less 3 more weeks! The bad thing is I'm losing very slowly if at all, because I am "able" to eat about 80% of what I could before surgery. So yeah, it's about forming good habits now.

I'm a big user of diet pudding with a dab of lite cool whip. :thumbup: My doc was so relaxed about the diet stages compared to what I read about here (and compared to the dietitian's warnings!). After 8 days the surgeon said to go to "Stage 3+" in other words mushies, but trying solids too. So now 3 weeks out I can eat just about anything. If I start too fast I get an immediate pain in my chest, but if I chew well and go slow, it goes down fine. I feel a bit of restriction and really suffer after a meal if I eat too much; I just wish the warning that I've eaten too much would come sooner! I hope I haven't rushed it, I really do.

It's so great for me to read these thoughts from everyone, because I've stopped losing too. Banded on 5 March, lost 8 lbs in a few days, and nothing more for the last 6 days. I'm able to eat just about anything and quite a lot of it, so now I'm back to relying on willpower, which was never my strong suit. I'm glad I'm not the only one waiting for the healing and first fill to come. It's just hard when you see people reporting big weight losses from day 1 on!

Having been treated for depression myself (successfully!), I would urge you to get your depression treated first, then plan the removal of the band. The depression is the dangerous thing for you right now. Your surgeon could perhaps give you a referral to a shrink?

I have to say I agree that seeing the original surgeon could be really bad not to mention, just too late. This sounds like a life-threatening condition, and that Crazy8 could find a surgeon to just remove the band so she doesn't die of dehydration! Perhaps if she signs all sorts of papers not to blame the new surgeon he/she would do it. I can't believe an ER doc would refuse her!

This is so terrible! Can you go to an emergency room in Oregon just to get the thing removed??

I got my Realize band implanted yesterday! Home from the hospital and so far, so very good. Not much pain at all. Did the x-ray imaging thing, and fluid is flowing through just fine. My doc said the fact the band is not pre-shaped makes it easier to fit around the stomach loosely. And I can have my first fill as early as 4 weeks if I'm not feeling any restriction and heal up well. Happy camper, here!