Scared and lost

rockylinx · February 2, 2010

Hello I had my lap-band installed last year. So far Ive lost 100+ pounds.

I vomit at least once a week, I'm trying to eat slow and follow directions but i'm scared that i'm going to mess up a great thing....I mostly eat regular food, it just happens every once and a while (once or twice a week). I don't know what to do- sorta feel out of control. No heartburn the band has been consistent. Please Please someone give me advice i scared and dont want to jack this up.

Cleo's Mom · February 2, 2010

Hello I had my lap-band® installed last year. So far Ive lost 100+ pounds.
I vomit at least once a week, I'm trying to eat slow and follow directions but i'm scared that i'm going to mess up a great thing....I mostly eat regular food, it just happens every once and a while (once or twice a week). I don't know what to do- sorta feel out of control. No heartburn the band has been consistent. Please Please someone give me advice i scared and dont want to jack this up.

Vomiting is never normal, band or not. When was the last time you saw your doctor? And did you discuss this with him? If not, you need to. Does it happen with certain foods or is there no rhyme or reason to it? Do you have pain before you vomit, like something is stuck?

The best advice is to see your doctor who will probably want to do an upper GI to start with.

Do not put up with this vomiting. It could cause problems with your band and your health.

rockylinx · February 2, 2010

Its definitely the getting stuck feeling, mostly with dry food or over eating. My biggest problem is I know its me!!!! I don't know how not to do that. If I eat by the book, im fine- but twice per week i mess up. How do I stop?? need some type of tools. Im a little confused with what exact amount i really need to be eating. 3,5,7 oz?? My analytical mind does not comprehend "when you feel full" anyone please chime in. I guess that's a question I really need to answer. I get it- everyone is different but how much do you eat a each sitting?

Fanny Adams · February 2, 2010

Firstly, congratulations on the weight loss! You've done great already and should be very proud of yourself. However, you're right in that vomiting once or twice a week isn't a good long term situation. Given that most of the time, you are okay with foods, I'd have to agree with you that it isn't the band; it is most likely making "mistakes" when eating, e.g. eating too fast, not chewing well enough.

Here are some tips that have really helped me, when I've been unsure about bite sizes, speed of eating, chewing, etc:

* Cut all your food into TINY pieces - about the size of your pinky fingernail, then chew each piece to liquid before swallowing.

* Don't cut up all your food in advance at the beginning of the meal. Cut one tiny piece off, put it in your mouth, put the knife and fork down, chew and swallow, cut the next piece, and so on. This gives you time between each bite to listen to your body and consider how each bite is going down.

* Don't worry about quantities so much, just eat like that for 20 minutes then STOP. Cover what's left of your food and put it in the fridge.

* After an hour, think about whether or not you're still HUNGRY. If you are really hungry, eat the rest of your meal in the same way (small bites, rest in between). If not, discard the food or save it up for your next meal.

* Don't try to eat until you feel "FULL". The sensation of "FULL" has changed now and it can be hard to recognise. Instead, aim for "not really hungry". If you're not really hungry, you can stick to making good choices for what you do eat and can resist snacking between meals. If your snacking is mostly done out of boredom not hunger (like mine), try to find something to occupy your mouth with, e.g. sugarfree sweets or gum (being careful not to swallow gum!).

Hope this helps!

lisa_hawaii · February 2, 2010

i absolutley cannot vomit with my band -- food gets stuck and i litterally have to force it out... sometimes to the point where i broke all the blood vessels in my face and it looksliek i just gave birth again....

LAP-BAND® 9/2005

02/06 - slip

03/06 - re band

throught the past 5 years I have STRUGGLED and the ONLY time i lost weight was when the bad was so tight I barely could drink Water. One day I would be able to eat yogurt, the next day it would get stuck -- it was this way constantly and Id never know what i coul or couldnt eat unless i tried - so in teh end I have a band with 1/2 fill so i can eat normally but it defeats the purpose of even having TWO surgeries because here I am weighig in 10lbs les then my 1st surgery and 10 more then my second....

Just went to the Dr. yesterday and he suggested I look into the bypass revision. He made it sound really good but he also didnt leave out the fact that because it is a revision - the risks are automatically higher for compications.

I sit here wondering if my body had this many compications with a simple band who will ti react to a bypass?

Maybe I will do great with bypass and i will finally see results Ive been striving to see forever

what is I am the 15% that thigs go drastically wrong

My job now covers this revision - if I waitr health care might change

...................................

I too dont know what to do!

Complications? What kind of complications? Like is its "dumbing" more often.. k I can handle that..

If its leakge... that can cause death.. IDK

I wish I could survey 100 ppl who had this themself!

rockylinx · February 19, 2010

Thank you all

Its been a couple of weeks since applying a couple of the rules you guys recommended. I haven't had any issues of getting stuck!!!!! I was falling into a pattern of getting stuck and never resting my stomach. I slowed down and now a day out of a week I just do Protein shakes to give my system a rest. Thanks everyone...:confused: