Hi, I am 1 1/2 years after surgery and I have lost about 80 pounds. I have had about 4 fills and my last fill was about 9 months ago - where I had a very good spot. Restriction but not too much... About a month ago maybe a little longer, I have been having major problems keeping simple foods down. Almost EVERYTHING I eat, comes up very quickly. The things that I use to be able to eat, now are giving me H-ll. I finally called the doctor's office but they do not open unitl after Christmas.... Would anyone know or have had this type of problem???? I have been ovulating over the past few months now but have taken PG test and it is negative.. However I am about a week late.. Would this have anything to do with my band??? Has anyone had trouble without going to the Dr.?? :confused::w00t::cursing:

To add to the message above.. I just read a post and the poster talks about self-tighting!!! What causes it to self tighten? Why ? Can it really do that??

Just trying to find reasons or understand this that is happenig to me !!!!

OMG IM IN THE SAME SITUATION!!!

im a year and a half out, almost 2yrs and my restriction had gotten tight all of a sudden, like over night! ive lost 76lbs so far (i didnt have any restriction at all in the first 6months after my surgery)

but a couple days later, im fine

i feel i have PERFECT restriction, i think ive reached my sweet spot:thumbup:

i have no clue why this happens though... a week ago i had made an apt to get tighten!! now i dont need it

Anytime I am experiencing extra stress, my band gets tighter. I have also heard if you become slightly dehydrated (very easy to do) then your band can tighten. However, if this has been going on over a month, get to the doctor's office after the holiday and have them look at you and take a little of your fill out. It should bring you immediate relief and then, once you are doing better, you can get some added back.

Also, if you are constantly getting sick, you are probably experiencing some swelling which is aggravating the situation and continuing the cycle. You can always try going on liquids (full) and take a little children's ibuprofen for a couple of days and that will help reduce the swelling. This may alleviate the problem itself, but I would still call the doctor. Good luck and post an update!

I'm almost 2 years out and have been below my goal for about 5 months, however I have a fickle band. I will be working fine with a fill and then I'll get a cold with cough and I become so tight I need an unfill. I had some bad acid problems(Barrett's Esophagus) this summer and my stomach had swelled so much I needed a complete unfill and then after medication I got filled back to my sweet spot. Then at the end of Nov I had my gallbladder out. In the month since then I have become very tight. I had to wait it out through Christmas but had only .2 ccs out today and I feel great. I have also noticed I have tight days when stressed or really busy. Maybe I don't drink enough water on those days. Good luck.

I'm 6 and 1/2 years out, and I have to say that the lap band is one hell of a pain in the butt! lol! I mean seriously! I cannot even count how many times I've had problems with it self-tightening. One day I can eat a 6 inch sub, the next day I can only have 4 bites. There are 3 main factors that I believe influence the tightness of the band:

#1. Altitude - it's true! The higher the altitude, the tighter it gets! I can't give you the scientific proof behind this, but it's just one of those weird things.

#2. Too much Fiber. Normally, fiber is a good thing because not only does it help with regularity, but it also expands in the stomach, creating a feeling of fullness. However, a banded stomach is a little different. When something expands in our banded stomach, it creates discomfort, and it causes our stomach to swell around the band, which in turn creates the tightness.

#3. Vomiting. Any heaving that is associated with vomiting, just pushes the band up against the stomach, causing it to swell. The more it swells the tighter it gets. I have had many instances where I ate too much and threw up, then had a tight band for a couple days just because the vomiting caused swelling. When this happens, the best thing to do is to just back off the food for a day or two and be very careful. The swelling will go down, you just have to give it time.