Hey everyone my name is Racheal and I had my band done April 2008 and have lost 64 lbs..I started at 217 and now down to 153 with my goal wight being 145..the problem is that I get so swollen at different times of the month, regardless of periods or that its so tight I can't eat..then it will be fine..so weird...If I get it filled to much I am sick and if not en ought its too loose..I can never find the right balance...anyone have this problem?

I have 7.5cc in my band and no restriction but I do have problems with a too tight band in the morning. I just do a Protein Shake and by lunch, it's fine.

From reading other posts here, it sounds like this is pretty normal. I think the only thing we can do is to take that first bite cautiously...small bite, chew well and then wait to see what happens. If that bite seems to go down hard, I stop eating and wait for it to resolve itself. Then, depending on why I think it went down hard (forgot to chew enough or maybe band is too tight because that particular food shouldn't have gotten stuck), I'll either take another bite of just head for a Protein shake, Soup or something else that will go down ok.

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My band is fickle in that some days or weeks it is quite loose and then it will get tight for a period of time. I am post-menopausal so it has nothing to do with that. If I am stressed it does get tight, but sometimes there seems to be no reason. I just don't mess with it. It's not worth getting filled and unfilled. I feel it's doing it's job because I maintain my loss and could lose the 5 additional pounds I decided I would like to lose if I tried!!