vluckey

The good news is, at it's worst, it's still not Gastric By Pass. My best friend has the same problem and she can't do a thing about it. Not to mention, she had a Iron deficiency that almost killed her. It did make her not able to work which caused them to lose their house. How's that for perspective!?!

One thing you can do is get Nexium. I personally am one that HATES prescriptions and prefer to go the natural wellness route. You can get digestive supplements that can help, but, what we have done to our bodies is not natural. We have to work with what we've done. The best thing we can do is have the band be the least amount of tightness to get results. That may mean either 1) Diet and exercise with our band or 2) being satisfied not being quite as thin as we want. I personally have gotten to the point where either one is ok with me. I've been having problems with band tightness since I've had my daughter. My biggest fear was losing my voice again. It's seems to be improving, but I had decided before I had her that my band would stay much looser.

Not only can it cause sore throats, but my Dr. is Dr. C and he says that they think it's the main cause of erosion. It's reflux that causes it. You can have reflux and not know it. People who are professional singers know that reflux can cause them to lose their voice very easily. (Some of you might recall that Ashley Simpson blamed her lip syncing fiasco on Saturday night live on reflux). Reflux can literally burn your vocal chords. You can go to an ENT (ear nose and throat doctor) and have them look at them. Here's the thing, I knew that my band was too tight but I was ADDICTED to my weight loss. I say addicted because it was affecting my life in an unpossitive way and I was hesitant to fix it. I knew it had to be the cause. Now, I had said before that I had a previously undiagnosed vocal polyp, however, that didn't cause my sore throat or hoarsness in my speaking voice (unless I sang too hard). The band made that problem worse. I wanted to be thin to the point that I almost lost my voice. Now that's just stupid. So, I've not sung publicly or even in church for over a year, and my band has been completely empty since Oct (pregnancy). Everything has recovered. I'll NEVER be that tight again. I don't care if I don't get to my goal weight. It's just no worth it. By the way, I almost had surgery on my vocal chords because of it. Imagine, not being able to speak or whisper for 7 whole days. I have a 3 year old and an infant.

I have recently had the exact same problem as far as no fill in my band and not being able to eat. I had a baby on March 8th and from that time on my band just seemed to get tighter and tighter. I attributed it to post op swelling (had a c-section) and waited for improvement. I had reflux, gurgling, couldn't drink, certainly couldn't eat. I could force down a Protein shake in the evenings sometimes. I got really scared. My doctor kind of said the same thing, go on liquids, let's wait. Eventually he said we might have to replace my band with a larger one. Had an upper gi, yes it was tight, no we don't know why. I had my post baby visit with my ob/gyn. I had mentioned to her my problem and she said that when she opened me up she had noticed "edema" (swelling) in my organs. I looked up edema in a natural nutrition book and it said the #1 cause of edema is a LACK OF PROTEIN. Makes total sense because I had stopped really being on top of my protein toward the end of my pregnancy, plus being pregnant meant using a lot of protein. Then after that, I couldn't get it down. SO, I made a decision to get as much protein in as I can. Two to 3 shakes a day (50-75 grams from that alone). Plus as much Water as I can muster. I would literally work a Protein Shake for 2 hours. I also found that my Vitamin supplement was contributing to reflux. Also, it mentioned a B vitamin complex specifically B6. I got a herbal supplement that had B6 and other herbs to help not retain extra water. I didn't do that very much, because I had make sure that I was getting enough water in. But I am seeing a definite improvement. I am certainly not where I was prior to my c-section, but no reflux or gergling, I can drink my shake and water pretty easily. This week I've done full liquids to give my band a total rest, not even trying to eat solids. I don't expect that I will need a band replacement if I'm really careful for a while. Hope this helps.

I'm a singer who almost lost her voice. Long story short, I had a pre-existing problem (unknown) that was aggrivated by an overly filled band. Had a complete unfill (due to pregnancy) and wallah! My voice has recovered. I'll never get that tight again. Hope this helps.

I already posted this earlier, but I was hoping to get some more info if there is anyone else out there who has experienced this. I had a c-section on March 8th. Since then I have been extremely tight. My band is empty, and prior to surgery I had very little restriction. Some people have mentioned post surgery swelling and/or hormones being the culprit. However, it is now 11 days post surgery and there seems to be no relief. I emailed my doctor who said I could come in and see if there is any residual fill still in my band. I'm more fearful of band slippage. I don't exactly know what happens with a c-section, so I don't know if they "messed with" my stomach. I don't want to waste a trip to my doctor if this is just a matter of waiting it out. Any input is greatly apprectiated.

Well my doctor wants to do an upper gi next week. I'm supposed to call the hospital and schedule it but I'm going to wait and see what happens this weekend. sgrennan has made a point that I didn't think of regarding the IV. I spend extra time in recovery because my urine output was too low. They gave me extra IV Fluid to see what would happen. I ended up being fine, and putting out tons of urine. But, that could explain the additional swelling. I personally don't feel especially swollen, but my perspective could be ascewed. I wouldn't think it would take a lot of swelling to affect my band. I'll keep ya posted.

I already posted this earlier, but I was hoping to get some more info if there is anyone else out there who has experienced this. I had a c-section on March 8th. Since then I have been extremely tight. My band is empty, and prior to surgery I had very little restriction. Some people have mentioned post surgery swelling and/or hormones being the culprit. However, it is now 11 days post surgery and there seems to be no relief. I emailed my doctor who said I could come in and see if there is any residual fill still in my band. I'm more fearful of band slippage. I don't exactly know what happens with a c-section, so I don't know if they "messed with" my stomach. I don't want to waste a trip to my doctor if this is just a matter of waiting it out. Any input is greatly apprectiated.

Wow. It does sound like you're too tight! I got my band last December '05. I got pregnant in July. I knew I would. I lost 50lbs 3 years ago and got pregnant with my son. I was glad, though, because I'm 34 and ready to be done with pregnancy. I got my boy and my girl, my husband's calling DR. Snip Snip tomorrow. I had her on March 8th. How long have you had your band? Do you have it filled? I'll tell you what, if you do, you might want to get an unfill. Mine was really tight before I got pregnant. I almost ruined my voice from reflux. This time, when I start to get filled again, I will not get that tight. I don't care if I don't lose anymore weight. I was more focused on losing weight then the fact that I was really miserable and hoarse. Since I was unfilled, my voice has fully recovered.

Thank you! That really helps! This is my second c-section, but my first since being banded. So how tight were you after your section? Can you give me some examples of what you struggled with? Right now, I'm living on Protein shakes and yogurt. And lets be honest, ICE CREAM! I'm able to drink in the morning now, but I'm really struggling at night with reflux, which is really freaking me out because I almost lost my voice prior to pregnancy due to my band being too tight. I was so worried about losing weight that I didn't realize I was very hoarse. Since having it emptied my voice has recovered, I just don't want to mess with it again. I sound anal don't I????? I guess I really didn't expect this to happen. I will have to tell my ob/gyn about this so she can warn her patients who've had bariatric surgeries. I was their first lap bander. By the way, I'll be seeing my lap band doctor on Thursday, not my ob/gyn.

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --> I had a c-section last week to give birth to my daughter. My band has become even more tight than when I first got it. My band has no fill in it. Prior to surgery, I had very little restriction. Since the surgery, totally tight. It's been 7 days and it doesn't seem to be improving. Has anyone else had this or anything similar? Is there anyone who's had a c-section since the band? I emailed my doc this morning, but I thought I'd get some more input. PLEASE HELP!

Did you also get super tight? Did you have any fill in your band when you had your c-section?

I had a c-section last week to give birth to my daughter. My band has become even more tight than when I first got it. My band has no fill in it. Prior to surgery, I had very little restriction. Since the surgery, totally tight. It's been 7 days and it doesn't seem to be improving. Has anyone else had this or anything similar? Is there anyone who's had a c-section since the band? I emailed my doc this morning, but I thought I'd get some more input. PLEASE HELP!

Hi Dr. C! Happy New year! This is pregnant Vanessa! I was in your office 2 weeks ago for my last unfill with your new (to me) nurse practitioner. Nice lady. Unfill kicked my butt though! So, I hadn't been on LBT for a while and now that I've been checking back, you're all over the place! I was curious as to why that is.. I know people sure do sing your praises.....that would keep me checkin' in!

I send Dr. Curry and email last Dec. 26, 2005 (not long after my surgery) at 8pm. He responded at 10pm. That's my kind of Doc!

Dr. Curry rules~!

You doctor really isn't the problem as much as the insurance coordinator (I would think). The thing is, they generally know what it takes to get approved and I think they wouldn't want to get your hopes up and/or waste their time if they know that there is no chance of approval. I truly was shocked that I got approved, even though my bmi was 42, I had no health problems. I got a diagnosis of sleep apnea as a part of my approval process, but I had never had a problem with it. My doc's insurance coordinator was very good and thought I had a good chance from the beginning. I will always sing the praises of Dr. Trace Curry and his staff here in Cincinnati. He's Dr. C on this web sight. You might want to talk to them.

Sara, Are you in Cincy (Cincinnati)? Are you sure you want Mexico? Dr. C, who is a big Doc on this web site is in Cincinnati. He's my doc, he's fabulous!

If you are only taking BC to regulate periods I have a healthy and successful alternative (at least for me). There's a product called Fem20 at www.Advocare.com that regulated my period naturally in about 2 months. Be careful though, I got pregnant after 5 months on this product (after being married for 10 years and off BC for 7) and got pregnant again the last time I took it after 2 months. Each time I had lost over 50 pounds prior to. The last time is right now. It's not marketed to get women pregnant. I took it because it was supposed to regulate hormones, especially for pms and bad periods. It just regulated me to pregnancy. Just an idea. By the way, the product is 100% guaranteed with no time limits. It's a very good nutrition company.

Congratulations! I'm six months pregnant now. I got my band a year ago tomorrow. I had lost 60 lbs before getting pregnant. I've done pretty well, only gained about 16 lbs. My doctor had told me from the beginning to expect the band to get tighter as the pregnancy developed. I've been unfilled twice and I'm thinking about 1 more, which will empty me. He told me that it had to do with the baby taking up space. It's amazing how doctors can have so many opinions that are so different.

It's hard.....honey I know. But even if you just leave it in and don't have a fill, eventually you'll get a decent appetite back. Trust me, I know. I got pregnant after losing 60 lbs in 6 months. I'm almost empty now, and have put on 20 lbs. (10 last month). After everything, it can be disconcerting. But I have the rest of my life to lose this weight and only now to take care my baby. Listen to Dr. C. He's my doctor. He's good and he knows what he's talking about.

I'm not surprised. The more doctors I've come acrossed, the more I realize that they really don't know as much about most things as we think they should. I've really become a health advocate for me and my family because most doctors don't reach outside of the typical areas of specialty they are in. For example, when I became pregnant 4 years ago, I developed "gestational diabetes". They wanted to immediately put me on insulin shots. I told them no way! I wanted at least one week to manage it with diet and checking my blood 4 times a day. End result..... no shots, and no need for them. My baby was perfect, 7lbs 8oz. Another girl I worked with started taking glucofage for gd. She was passing out in her car. I HATE prescription drugs and do anything to avoid them. Most docs just want to give you a pill. Right now I'm being treated for vocal cord polyps and nodules. I probably had them before the band, but having the band probably aggivated it because of reflux when I'm too tight. What did they precribe? Nexium. Result, super constipated. I'd rather be hoarse.

Yep, I'm calling for my unfill today. My husband kinda insisted. I'm kinda glad. He told me to consult my ob/gyn, but most doctors I've come across have no idea what a lapband is, so I'm just going to do this...

yep, Dr. C is my doctor. I love him!

I just found out on Wednesday that I'm pregnant. I can't get in to my doctor for 2 weeks. I have no clue as to how far along I am. I'm thinking around 4-6 weeks. I've not always had regular cycles so I've not gotten in the habit of keeping track. Stupid me.