TheGh0st

Michelle - No great advice here other than I'm going through the same thing right now. Was banded Sep of '05 and have probably been too tight for over a year now. I did have the acid reflux and heartburn at night but was also finding I could slowly eat more than I use to without pain (except at nights).

My doc said that this almost always corrects itself given enough time without most or all of your fill. Then they can start to refill us.

I had over 1/2 mine removed nearly 2 weeks ago now and haven't gained any weight "yet" but the reflux and heartburn are completely gone. I have also noticed I'm able to eat more solid Protein rich foods than I had been for ages without even realizing it and I'm back to drinking a good 5 bottles of Water a day when before I could barely manage 2 bottles.

I tell you it has been very humbling. I've been one of the first to advocate someone getting an unfill just to be safe and here I was limping along with too much of a fill telling myself my only problem was not following the bandster "rules" better.

The Old feeling so many of us equated to full that involved the wish to unbutton the top of our trousers should NOT be the new feeling of full. That feeling came from the fact your stomach was literally stretching and pushing against other organs. The "New" full is more in your upper chest. I relate it to a feeling I use to get pre-band where I wasn't yet "full" enough to wish someone would just roll me out of the room but was full enough that I felt I couldn't take another bite without stretching, yawning or burping to make room for that "one last bite".

It can take some getting use to but as the OP Mikochan stated you can still feel "satisfied" without needing that old bust a gut feeling.

Good luck all!

I'm glad the doc was able to reassure you. I hope I didn't come across as trying to intentionally scare you or be over dramatic. I've just had a couple friends recently with some serious complications to being too tight. On the other hand I've known many that put up with fill too tight for months like myself with minimal problems.

In my case I could drink cold drinks but it would quickly give me terrible heartburn, and after being too tight for so long I found I was slowly being able to eat more but still suffering from the bad heartburn and acid reflux at night. My weight loss was non-existant and I was very frustrated. When I finally went in and spoke to my doc in depth he said that it sounded like I had streched out my esophagus and took out nearly all my fill. Sure enough I haven't had a single case of heartburn or reflux since then and he will start refilling me in about a month after giving my esophagus a chance to heal.

We are obviously not doctors but you definitely sound too tight to me. I lived with a fill that was too tight for over a year even though I knew better. Trust me it is NOT worth it. Despite common sense it slows or even stops your weight loss and can put you at higher risk for serious complications such as band slippage.

Please do as I say and not as I did and talk to your doc about whether you need an unfill.

Found this link below to his website.

Dr. Jesse J. Lopez, Jr.

I was banded by Hoehn but I actually use to attend Lopez' support group meetings as well. For a while there I was attending around 3 different groups a month. (Great excuse to get out of the house and leave the toddler with the DH) They meet the second Teusday of each month at the surgery center.

I also had my surgery there (albeit with a different doc) it was a great facility.

Hey there Jessica!

Where are you getting banded?

There is an area wide group called KCBandsters that's next meeting is on August 11th at the Antioch Library on SM Parkway and Antioch at 6:45-8pm. It is a non-doc specific group with around 12-20 people each month. Ranging from pre-op to 7+ years post-op.

Most docs also have their own support groups. Some of them are open to patients like Doctor Malley's others are closed to only there own patients like Dr. Hoehn/Hitchcock.

I know many women that have ended up with more than 10cc in a band labeled for 10cc. From what I understand I guess that is just a guideline not a unbreakable rule.

Speaking of "unbreakable" I have heard stories of doctors playing with unused bands in their office trying to see how much they could put in a band before it burst like a Water balloon. Supposedly the doctors were able to put in over 150cc and it never broke. I'm not saying the band couldn't break just that it would be impossible for a doc to put enough saline in a banded patient for it to burst.

Mmmmm Beer cheese Soup!

Also on the Isopure. I like them as well but the flavors are quite week. They taste better if you mix in a Crystal Light packet. My favorite is the Grape Frost with lemonade mixed in to boost the flavor.

saima - sorry you are having difficulties. Personally, I ended up with about 12cc in my 10cc band before feeling I had gotten to a restriction level that didn't "dissapear" after a few days. HOWEVER, each person is completely different. I have another friend that was banded over 7 years ago (albeit with a 4 cc band) and only ever had one fill.

It really all depends on how much "fatty tissue" is between your band and your stomach. They use to tunnel through that fatty layer to place the band directly against the stomach wall but found that the complication rate was much lower if they left the fatty layer intact.

My own non-medical you get what you're paying for it opinion is that the trade off for fewer complications unfortunately seems to be the need for more fills that first year than with the old technique.

I hate to say it but this may just be what many refer to as bandster hell. Still you need to be proactive and ask your doctor questions, ask if he has checked that your original fill is still in the band or if there seems to be less Fluid than the charts say there should be which could indicate a leak. And if you truly can eat absolutely anything in any quantity such as an entire pizza in one sitting you may want to push for tests to make sure there aren't any problems with the placement of the band. In my 2+ years on the board I have heard of around 4 people who found there band had not been properly "locked" and was therefore not giving any restriction whatsoever. With over 30,000 members on this site that's a pretty uncommon problem it is still worth checking like I said if you can still really everything in site and not just more than you think you should be able to. (though I don't read every post and not all bandsters post here)

Its more than a little out of your way but there is a great doc in Kansas City who is a proctor for Allergan and has done over 1000 bands. He only charges $100/fill, takes patients banded in Mexico and uses the Floro at no extra charge. If you don't find anyone in the DFW area it might be worth the travel.

Karey, I can't believe this happened to you!

I am so glad you are alright and got into the doctor quick enough. Please let me/us know if there is anything we can do to help. I wish you were in the KC area I'd offer to come over and help around the house.

Interesting idea, I never thought of trying that before.

Going down means the food that is blocked manages to pass through the band and the discomfort goes away

Coming up is referring to the concept of PB'ing (or Productive Burp) a PB can mean different things to different people. For some it is a simple and painless as the term suggests, a burp that happens to bring up some food with it. For others it can be more like throwing up. But it should NEVER be the gut wrenching, praying to the porcelein god type throw up. If it by some chance it was that would be a major red flag that your band was too tight and you needed an unfill.

Try not to let all this talk scare you too much. It is good to know that if you don't chew well enough or eat certain foods that they can get stuck and feel uncomfortable. But you have to realize that this is very different from person to personThere are some bandsters who never really have a problem with this. For some it is just a mild discomfort that tells them to back off for others it hits like an unsuspecting freight train.

But how many times does it really take a person jumping off there deck and crashing down below before they realize they can't fly no matter how many beers they drink?

OK couldn't refuse that bad analogy. :wub:

The item that is stuck like the above poster said is stuck down in your stomach not able to pass through the band. With the possible added complication of too much food being stuck behind it and backing up against your stoma.

Though it really can feel like you are choking or having a heart attack. (Not always and not for everyone, but for some people.) You just have to stay calm and keep reminding yourself that you really are able to breathe even if it doesn't feel like it.

I've been banded nearly 3 years and this has only happened a very few times. I'd say 5 or less. It doesn't take too many negative re-inforcements like this from eating too much or not chewing well enough before you realize you need to change whatever behaviour caused it or to get a slight unfill.

Tina, I've been thinking and praying about you a lot recently. But haven't heard anything. How are you doing?

Indigo, Sades - thankyou so much for responding to Shortgal's posts. I think support for those that are or have had problems with the band is probably even more important than support for those who it is currently working for. Sometimes when you are having problems it is all to easy to feel as if you are the only one, especially on a site that sometimes seems full of people determined to only look at the positives.

Your input is very important to us all. As we never know if or when we may have to face our own complications.

Here ya go i hope this helps its a great link for the lap band. I have the AP large 14CC

LAP-BAND Central - The LAP-BAND AP System

Great Post!

Only thing I'd like to add is NO MATTER which size band you have they can ALL be tightened up until you couldn't swallow your own spit.

I've physically held each of these bands and "played" with adding and removing Fluid to them outside of the body and I repeat they ALL can be filled to the point there is no opening whatsoever.

The only real problem associated whith fill adjustments between the 4cc & the 10 or 14cc bands are there are some people who's stomach wall and surrounding fatty layer are too thick for the smaller 4cc band. Which is why it should always be the doctors decision as to which band is placed. I have one friend who had the smaller band placed before the larger ones were even available. The first few months were difficult for her as she was a bit too tight until she lost enough weight to shrink some of the fatty layer around her stomach.

Hi there. What area are you from? I'm originally from the Fremont/Lincoln area myself.

I think its unanimous. Let us know if your band doc gets you in today. He really should if he understands you're having problem with even Water.< /p>

I think you are right about the whitening. The kit was NOT cheap but it was suppose to do it all in 2 hours as opposed to over several weeks. It involved rinsing with a special rinse then painting my teeth with something and holding a special light that came with the kit up to my teeth for several minutes then repeating the process over and over for 2 hours. Very tedious and towards the end my gums started to feel like they were "popping like popcorn" strange description but I swear thats what it felt like and everytime I felt a "pop" a small part of my gums would suddenly be swollen and white. By the time I was done my gums were all white, extremely swollen and bleeding. I thought it had to do with high levels of hydrogen peroxide in the kit but not positive. My teeth were a bit whiter but my gums didn't recover for several weeks.

As far as which is closest I live near downtown KCMO but on the KS side and my son goes to Montessori School out by the Legends. What is the name or phone number of your place? You can PM it to me if you like.

I have another friend who was able to ask her doc to have photos taken during surgery. It was just for journaling her initial band placement but maybe you could insist pictures or even a video is taken of your surgery. She had to provide her own camera and film but they didn't refuse her. It seems worth a try, and it just might make the doc nervous enough to concede paying for the re-surgery.

I am so SORRY for what you are going through. I applaud you have been able to lose even without the assistance of a properly functioning band but how discouraging it must be for you to feel this time has been wasted. It hasn't really considering you have lost not gained but it I can sure appreaciate how it would feel that way.

Do you know which type of band you have?

As you can tell some have been "un-locked" but as a complete non-medical professional I too wonder at how that is possible at least with some of the brands unless it was never properly locked to begin with.

I would definitely be pushing for the doc to cover your expenses. Document EVERYTHING!!! Even if he won't cover it, a friend of mine recently had some trouble with a leak due to the doc puncturing her tubing with the fill needle and it looks like she is going to be able to get her money back by going through small claims court.

Hopefully, this thread will bump some more responses for you. Keep us posted on what happens

I know some that did eat baby foods but personally YUCK! and a lot of my band friends threw stuff in the blender like roasts and said they tasted great again I just couldn't get past it. Once I switched over to the creamy/mushy phase at the 14th day I was all over the various cheese Soups if they had veggies in them I either gummed them to oblivion or fished them out. I couldn't be bothered to do the whole blender thing like I should have. I also made a variety of Protein puddings by mixing whey Protein powders with instant sugar free puddings. (Chocolate, Cheesecake, Lemon or Lime, etc..) Later I discovered an even healthier option where I would blend Cottage cheese until smooth and replace most of the milk called for in the pudding recipe with that instead. It had a much higher protein to carb ratio and tasted great. Most people think it sounds disgusting but really it tastes very creamy like you made it with whole milk (no hint of salty at all)

Oh and if you freeze the puddings for a while before you eat them and stir them up they taste like eating soft serve ice cream. Yummy.

Right now one of my favorite protein rich foods is Cottage Cheese with some Yogurt and a Cherry or Rasberry Crystal Light bottle Water packet stirred in. I've just been feeling too lazy to take the time to blend up the puddings and mess up the kitchen. But I'm not sure if cottage cheese would be considered "soft" enough for the 14 day mark.

This stage was SO HARD for me but I just kept repeating to myself I can put up with anything for just a couple weeks and being self pay I couldn't risk the possibility of having to pay for any complications much less the loss of money with more time off work without pay.

Speaking of work, one of these days I may need to talk to you about the whole teeth whitening thing. I'd love to do it but always assumed too expensive. Tried one of those home kits once and was VERY sore and dissapointed though I managed to get my money back. I personally think I would need veneers to do any good on my teeth. (though I'm not nor ever was a smoker)

I'd say if you are still feeling weak, you may want to go ahead and "eat" somemore food. However with this being the start of your 3rd week do be carefull about sticking to mushy foods. Even Soup can be a bit too lumpy with the pieces of chicken and such.

OK Honestly, I'm really not a food nazi, problem is it is hard not to come across over the internet as either a over critical know it all or someone that sounds like they are practically encouraging behaviour with potentially dangerous consequences. And even when you are sure that the person you are writing your response to would understand the difference you never know who else is reading and how they will take it.

Truth is even I ate some slightly chunky Soups at this stage but I was extremely careful that the chunks have been chewed to mush and watered down with the soup before swallowing. (Think baby food)

The reason has to do with the healing process of your stomach and the band. Not just some jump start to your diet.

I seem to remember you mentioning that your Mexico doc hadn't given much/any aftercare advice which is part of why I may be coming across a bit preachy. Feel free to tell me to back off if I am. But iIf you are interested you might check out the link below to the manufacturer's post-op guidelines.

Lapband.com - The First Few Weeks After Surgery

I've also heard fantastic things about a Interactive Patient Education Program called "Emmi". If you call Malley's they can set you up to view it over the internet. It shouldn't matter if you have seen them yet or not. I was actually banded by someone else as well but am using his office for fills now and they've always treated me well.

I'm not a fan of the Protein shots either. I'm also a bit unsure of the quality of Protein some of them are based off of. But I do like the Slimfast if it is the Low Carb variety with 190/20/2 (Cal/Prot/Carb). The other Slimfasts have too many carbs for me and not near enough protein. I've only been able to find them for sale at Walgreens & Sams Club (Not CVS, costco or anywhere else so far)

I also like the Grape Frost Isopure drinks from GNC but ONLY if I add a Crystal Light Lemonade packet to it to boost the flavor. 160/40/0 (Cal/Protein/Carb) I usually would only drink 1/2 bottle at a time as I've heard the body can't absorb more than around 30g of protein at a time and the rest would just go to waste.

Not sure about the dizzy/confused issue. I'd call Dr. Malley's office and ask for their opinion or your doc in Mexico. You were banded just 11 days ago so you are probably still just recovering but its better to safe than sorry.

Good Luck and feel free to ask any questions. I may not always have an answer but I'll always try.