Kayford

Can anybody help me upload my pic???????? What am I doing wrong?

So if our fill doc punctures it, does the physician feel responsible to cover a new one being inserted? How do you know if it was the fill doc or a defective device? Does Inamed take any responsibility? I am a self pay and this worries me. Kay in St Jo Mo. :think

I bet you are just too tight. Dr. C has told me that a little loose is waaay better than too tight. I react after every fill and I am currently only at 1.6cc in a 10cc band. I can't eat breakfast at all. I do soup for lunch and then I can get some meat down in the evening if it is cooked right or in some juice or gravy. I have just decided this is how it will be until I get to my goal. I am losing slowly but I am getting there.

I don't think you better mess around with this. I would get an unfill. Better safe than sorry. You sound too tight. Good Luck.

I can't get more than soup down at lunch. Believe me If I could get anything solid down at lunch I sure would!! Usually I can't even get crackers down with my soup. I usually do egg drop soup. It is choc full of Protein but also has plenty of FAT Thanks for the hints. I am just a difficult case. :biggrin1:

I have noticed if I "sleep in" on Saturday for an hour extra then it sets me back on eating dinner at my normal time. If I take a nap then I am really screwed!!!! I wish I could be normal but I guess it is not going to happen. What does happen .............when I can eat at dinner I can actually overeat and just have to tell myself NO. So I am just a difficult case but it is comforting to know others suffer just like me. HAH!

I think I just went into the tab start new thread.

Thanks for responding so quickly. Last week I had a morning where my saliva would not go. I had to go in for an partial unfill on the 5th and I do follow your advice. You had told me before that you would rather have a patient a little loose than too tight. When the nurse removed some she told me that is good advice. In the practice I go to in KC they have had 4 slips. She said all 4 had been puking/PBing and not telling them how tight they were or how many of these episodes they were having. So less is better. I will try another fill on Nov 01. I am only at 1.6 cc now in a 4 cc band. But if they make it tighter then I am clamped down too much in the a.m. I can't stand not being able to drink. We will keep trying to sneak up on my sweet spot but I think I am just a difficult case. I will just deal with my issues day to day and I just may have to use the band as a tool in the evening and work harder myself. Thanks for all you do for us. I think the world of you. Kay in St Jo Mo

Hi Dr. C, Just wanted to know if you have any patient's like me. I am sooooo tight in the morning that my coffee or warm tea hurts but will finally go if I sip it. Then lunch is Soup. Egg drop usually goes. Then by dinner my band is almost too loose and once I get food going it does not really stop me. I just have to make healthier choices in the evening but I can get a serving of meat down (never chicken or dry meat) and 1/2 can of green Beans down without feeling totally satisfied. Then I am hungry a few hours later. I take Avalide for hypertension and it has a diuretic in it. I can't take it until noon and I still break it up or crush it. Can you give me any directive on how to handle my band and appetite? I am still getting fills but have had an unfill with every single fill. They usually take 1/2 of the fill back out. I am down to 1.6 cc in there now and still can't get morning liquids down very easily. I have lost about 45 since my first fill in Jan. Kay in St Jo Mo

What was the technique they used that Inamed does not approve of? I know Dr. Ortiz proctors for Inamed and he did my banding in Tijuana and used the "pars flaccida" technique. I checked my op notes and he used 3 stitches in mine. Just wondering what they did that Inamed does not recommend. Thanks. So sorry that this happened to you. I am self pay and would just literally "die" if something goes wrong. Kay in St Jo Mo

:clap2: DR C, My endocrinologist just took me off insulin. YAHOO! We did start me on some Byetta injections, Avandamet and Avandaryl. So far the Byetta seems to be helping me lose. I have lost 9 lbs since my last fill on Sept 11 and I usually only snail along at a pound a week. Have you heard of any contra-indications for Byetta and the lapband? Kay St Jo Mo

It sounds like the anesthesiologist should have been watching for aspiration. I hardly had any pain after my banding. I was Banded by Dr. Ortiz in Tijuina and he has a wonderful anesthesiologist there. I wish things had gone better for you. Your surgeon should have also caught the clues since you had sx's of an aspiration. HANG IN THERE.

I am the QUEEN of unfills. I have had 6 fills and 4 unfills. Dr. Malley says my stomach is just super sensitive to adjustment/fills. When we have done the unfills he usually backs off about 1/2 of the last fill. I got a fill Monday and have done great this time,,,,,,,,,,,,,then this a.m. my coffee came back up.................I just got some warm tea down an it is 4:11. I am now trying little nibbles of a Protein bar........This band is so fickle. Good Luck. Don't stay too tight as I ended up with an IV and magnesium infusion the last time I tried to TOUGH It out. Keep us posted.

Poodles, I agree with you. When I lay down at night it lets me pull fluid off.................and my ankles are the least swollen in the morning. So I know there are many theories out there but I think they do not really know why we have this syndrome.....no breakfast ......with our band.

HI there! Welcome to my world. I found out right away that I could not eat any breakfast and usually have to do Soup for lunch to get restricted enough for dinner. They did NOT mention this at Seminar but I am learning there are a lot of us in this club. I call it the no breakfast syndrome!!!! Dr. Malley says there are a lot of us with this. There are NO scientific answers for it and many have theories. Hang in there. Kay in St Jo Mo

I bet the gained weight is due to higher calories in the mushy food. When I can't eat I resort to creamy Soups and yogurt and even ice cream (I can't believe I just confessed to that). I just can't live without eating something!! HAH! I really think IF we can get the Protein down to satisfy us then we don't need to even try to get the more high caloric foods down. It is so strange that they do not tell you this stuff at seminar. They really should tell you that you might not even be able to eat the first 2 meals of the day :hungry: OR @ least tell you that you might be drinking SLIMFAST with the band. Take Care. I love chatting out here. Kay in St. Jo Mo aka Kayford

I have learned to eat everything really slow and when I feel too tight I just go with Soup until I get an unfill. Those creamy soup calories can add up so I would much rather be adjusted correctly so I can get my Protein down. DR C -- Thanks Again for all you do for us bandsters. You sure have earned your golden crown for answering all our questions. My band is probably fine and some of my fellow bandsters have had unfills but not as many as me. The more I read the more educated I get and then sometimes the more I read the more paranoid I get! I will keep you all posted after my next fill. I will visit a little more with the doc and see what he thinks. It seems as if I react to the fill every time and my stomach swells and then once it is grumpy there is nothing to do but unfill. Kay

This is exactly why I was asking about what contributes to the slip. Is it the doc, is it our eating habits, is it leaving a band too tight for too long, etc. I thought maybe DR C could help us out. I did get a response from NANA if you look at my question out there about a week ago. Kay

Seems this happens to me. It is usually the first food of the day that does this. I am not open until evening. If I am patient the food will finally start going and then I can go ahead and eat some of my meal. Glad to hear it happens to others.:clap2: That makes me feel NORMAL I guess. Kay

My first fill did NOT give me much restriction and I think that is how most are. I could not eat dry meats but a lot of things went thru. I could even eat 1 slice of pizza after my first fill. I bet you will notice a big difference after your 2nd fill. I think you are pretty normal so don't stress just yet. Kay

:faint: Thanks NANA for the cool info. I really don't think I have a slip. I go back for a fill on 09-11 and right now I am tight in the morning, a tad loose at lunch and by evening very loose. I have never had any REFLUX but just wondered if 5 fill and 4 unfills = NOT GOOD. As soon as they do the unfill I can tell but it takes about 3 days for the swelling to go back down. Then gradually I can eat more and more and know I need a new fill. Dr. Malley always reassures me and says we will find my sweet spot. I have accepted the part that breakfast and lunch will be tight to make me about right in the evening. Right now lunch is just right. So I think I know what my sweet spot will feel like but I may not have for 3 meals a day. Thanks to all for the info.

Good Luck. I am so happy things are under control. You take care and keep us updated.

DR C, Can you give us some pointer's about slips. Can you ever definitively say what caused it? Is is sometimes poor surgical technique and sometimes our fault for not getting an unfill when we need one, does excessive "PB'ing" contribute? This issue FREAKS us all out and we want to be compliant and do right things right. Help us out if you can. What advise can you give us? I was banded last Nov by Dr. Ortiz and did not get a fill until late Jan. I was 9 weeks post op. Get my fills in Kansas City and have had 4 total. The only one that did not require an unfill was the first one. This isn't leading to a slip is it? Thanks in advance for your help and time. You are a legend and an ICON to us bandters. :faint: Kay

Hi Kelli, I was banded last NOVin TJ Mexico by Dr. Ariel Ortiz. I had a hiatal hernia repaired with the band placement. Dr. Ortiz asked me about reflux in a preop visit and I said not much. I realize now that I really did have quite a bid of reflux. NOW- I never have indigestion type symptom's. I had one pain shot right after surgery and that was it and did not experience any hernia repair related pain. I know that probably does not make you feel any better does it? I had a great experience. I had very little port pain, no gas pains, a little pain in my shoulder that was gone in 24 hours. It just seems we are all so different. Did you ask the doc about your pain? I wish I knew more about it. I just wanted to let you know that I did not experience what you are going thru. Hang in there. Maybe when you get thru this pain you will not have any reflux and will get to enjoy that bonus benefit. Kay

Thanks. That makes me feel better. I have not any reflux but have been unfilled every time except my FIRST FILL. I put off the unfill last time for 3 weeks and got dehdrated and then had to go get magnesium infused. I complained to my PCP about how fatigued I was. He checked my level and it was low. I felt better as soon as I had the unfill but it took awhile to get my energy level back. Thanks for all you do for us bandsters. WE can tell you really care. Kay