greyhoundmom

hi! not sure i can help but i can empathize as i'm the same boat! banded 6/08, lost 40 lbs and then after 6 months stopped cold. i was a bit overfilled, got acid reflux, had some Fluid out, on and on and more problems. i haven't had to have my band changed or anything but 51 weeks after the band - i had gallstones that were not there before the band and had to have gallbladder surgery - same surgeon 1 year minus 1 week to the day of my banding! anyway, sorry you are struggling. you are not alone if that helps! i stayed off this site for a long while because the success stories were actually depressing me! at my peak, i had 7+ cc's in my band and now i have 5.5 and can't seem to get up there again. just had a small unfill today due to vomiting - i have no idea why because i eat slowly, chew chew chew, stop when i'm full. it's frustrating. ah, well, good luck to you and to me and i hope we both find a way to make his work for us!

hi army! it sounds like you don't have enough restriction! the band only works with restriction. i wonder why you've only had 2 fills? without good restriction, we are fighting the same battle we were fighthing before getting the band! i know for me that didn't go well for the last 10 years! i think i had a good fill level for a short while until it got overfilled slightly and caused acid reflux that i can't seem to shake since october. i've had a sore throat all day today - deep down in my esophagus. drives me nuts. so it's just as important not to get overfilled! i had some gurgling going on when i drank and i should have known that was not right but i kept it for a couple of weeks without knowing better. have been going thru little unfill, ok feel better so do a fill, oh, unfil again, ok, fill. sheesh. seems like we have to find our sweet spots with our bands! once that happens, from what i hear from everyone who's losing, the weight comes off. this sure can be a long process! hang in there! those who are losing are very inspirational to me in that i feel hopeful i'll get there and those who feel stuck are inspirational to me too for sticking with it and plugging away at good habits that should serve us well in the long run. we'll get there. sounds like you have some good habits and just need more help from the band. i wish your dr. would be more understanding and realize you are probably under-filled and need his help not unfair judgement.

so sorry to hear you are broken-hearted kizzie! i hope you feel a little better each day. and you really have to eat some nutrition or you'll be very weak and you'll feel even worse! allie, 107!! WOW! you must be totally psyched!! congratulations!!

hi everyone! Addy, i'm right there with you. i've been saying 40.5 lbs for a while now and i'm ready for it to be more! my in-laws are VERY supportive and this weekend they said you look wonderful and are definately losing again. well not on the scale but that was nice of them to say that! i see them every 2 weeks or so. i'm up at 3am having a sugar-free pudding cup because i'm starving. i exercised hard today and my legs ache which isn't helping sleeping. every day i get up and say just keep working at it and it'll work. i appreciate all of your support as well - i was doing so well until about october when acid reflux started. i'm underfilled now and i can tell i have less restriction but i do feel better (the ulcer-ish pain is gone for about 2 weeks now) so i think it's good to stay like this for a short while. scale is the same. hope that root canal went as well as it can! i've never had one but have had a lot of fillings and have 3 crowns. it's a root canal that i dread tho! take care! anyone get the feeling of being full but then having their stomach growl like you are hungry? happens to me all the time - and it's weird because my head says, oh i must be hungry but then i feel full up at the top of my stomach and i know i don't need to eat. my husband thinks i'm nuts on that one. it's like i have 2 stomachs, which i guess we sort of do. going back to bed. tylenol and the pudding cup should put me back to sleep! bye for now! ps hope those 60 degree temps are heading my way! usually we get MI weather a day or 2 later. sounds nice!!

Addy, hi, i'm struggling too. i have read that we tend to go to liquids but they don't help because they go thru the band too quickly. i know you say you are full but i don't think it stays there long enough to stop you from getting hungry sooner than if you ate solid food. i try to force myself to eat solid meals that wind up being pretty small and they definately keep me feeling full longer than protein shakes do. there is a thing called 'soft food syndrome' that is what bandsters do and wind up with too many calories. the band is supposed to work best with solids. that said, i'm stuck at the same weight since october, so i'm no expert! i've just read all that stuff in this book: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Laparoscopic-Adjustable-Gastric-Banding-Achieving/dp/0595311148/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234274767&sr=1-4]Amazon.com: Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding: Achieving Permanent Weight Loss with Minimally Invasive Surgery: Jessie H. Ahroni Ph.D. A. R. N. P.: Books[/ame] and i tip my hat to you for having ANY slimfast! i think that stuff tastes so nasty i can't get past 1 sip. hang in there! we'll find the right mix of diet, exercise and band fill and then the weight will come off again.

Allie, AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!! you must feel so darn good!! good for you!! thanks for sharing your pics!

i don't know for sure. the dr. explained that the band is not at the esophagus - it's lower. so if it's stuck (which i have had that happen and i get local pain (at the band) and 'sliming' until it frees up - hurts but nothing like the spasm situation) it shouldn't trigger the esophagus. people without the band get these spasms. i just don't know. i'm trying extra hard not to get stuck tho just in case!

glad you are feeling better, strike! i have definately gotten sick (pre band) working out early in the day on an emtpy stomach. not exactly sure what is going on with that phsycially but i felt like you did and wound up taking a sick day that day. you guys are kicking butt weight loss wise - way to go!!!!!! you must be so proud!! i can't wait to be just plain overweight! i just love that you've posted pictures! i had the upper endoscopy test and my refill. she put back in what i had before the test but i couldn't swallow water. so she took out 1cc and the water went down. i'm kind of low on fill level but at least there's some back in there! the test went fine. i might have barretts esophagus from acid reflux but i really don't know. i just looked up what he told me ('abnormal z-line') and found out that that indicates barretts which is not really good but probably not too bad - he took a biopsy to be sure it was ok - don't know results but i'm sure i would if it wasn't good news. that and spasms and 'dismotility'. basically my esophagus is not happy right now. on medication for a month then go back and see how it's going. i was happy he ok'd getting my band refilled! on liquids so far and that's working out ok. the pain in my stomach is gone. just have pain up behind my breast bone and an irritated feeling that i think will subside with more time on the medicine. happy sunday everyone!

CONGRATULATIONS! 'onderland' is my dream! 16 lbs from there. WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and thanks for your support!

hi jillrenee15 - i have been reading up on this and it seems the cause is officially 'unknown'. tho just like you, i had a fill in october that was too tight and i had more acid reflux than usual so i had it taken out. then i had another one in november and same thing - had to go back and take it out. i've had 2 'spasms' in december and january (if i remember the dates right!) and the first one was absolutely the worst one. i remember it took my sight away for about a second or too and my whole body was shaking afterwards. i remember thinking this band must be too tight and yet i was saying to myself that was VERY different than anything i've had before. i've read very hot or very cold foods can trigger then and the first one - i had lobster salad and it felt a little stuck so i was sipping on ice Water to try to help it down. the 2nd time, i didn't chew a piece of chicken enough and i felt that stuck feeling and most likely - i did the same thing - sipped something to help it down and wham! i drink iced tea all day long. i'm thinking of not using ice cubes and see how that goes. i take anti anxiety medicine at night to help me sleep and i had stopped it in december to see how things went. and bam, got the spasms. i would never have thought that was related but my dr. told me the anti-anxiety medicine is a muscle relaxer so possibly it has been preventing these spasms for me and when i stopped they cropped up. just like you - i'm in a 'wait and see' mode to see if it happens again. maybe it will, maybe it won't. but know at least i know what it is. that helps a little. take care! i saw this pic of the esophagus this morning and that is exactly where my ongoing chronic 'low grade' pain is daily - all the way up to my ear. do you have that? a dull ache that is just there? not to the point of spasm? (click on the little pic to see the full pic once you click on this link) Esophageal spasms: Symptoms - MayoClinic.com i am afraid to get my band refill tomorrow but i'm doing it to see what happens. i got this band for a reason and i won't leave it empty! i am wondering if this is a complication of the band that is just not well documented. and i really hope it is NOT!

hi all! had that upper endoscopy test today. had my band unfilled yesterday (scary thought! didn't hurt - just like a usual fill or unfill). the conclusion seems to be 'esophageal spasms' that may be more instense because of the band but it's probably something i've had going on for a few years. i've searched for that and lap-band on the web and found some postings here and on obesityhelp.com about the same issue. seems it can be treated with muscle relaxers if the protonix doesn't do the trick. friday i get my band re-filled back to where it was. only was at 5cc - it has been up to 7cc's - so no wonder i'm not losing any weight. luckily i'm staying the same weight - not going up. just up/down within a 3 lb range. i'm envious of you losers!! i see the dr. again in 1 month to see if things are better with double the dose of protonix. i'm a bit afraid to get re-filled friday - afraid it'll kick this thing off again but i'll do it and will see how it goes! he said the band can stay put and be re-filled. i don't know what my surgeon thinks - haven't seen her since 6/10/08 when i had the surgery! i see her physician assistants for fills and they've had no idea what's going on. we're doing well so far on our mile a day challenge (my husband and i). we were both just over 31 miles for january! it's fun to track it and know the numbers like this! i'm -.5 miles behind right now for february but will make that up quickly! hope you are all doing well and losing losing losing!

thank you Tquad64! it sounds awful i'm sure but for me it doesn't happen every day - few times a week in a minor way - only 2 times really bad. i'm hopeful this will clear up once i get on the right medication. i really want the band to start working for me again so i'll do whatever i have to do to get past this roadblock! thanks for your concern and support!