I had my LAP-BAND® placed in August 2006 and after 9 months had only managed to lose 25-30 lb. The other issue besides being a slow loser was severe restriction with only the most minimal amount of fill. The first fill was 1 cc and I had to come back and have half removed. Over the next few months I moved back up to 1 cc. with an ambulance ride to the ER for being stuck. They basically stared at me and kept insisting that I must have food poisoning since my vitals were going haywire and I couldn't stop vomiting; and boy were they amazed when the food moved down into the stomach, the pain stopped and my vitals stabilized like magic.

Nevertheless I persevered and when I went for the next fill I wanted 1.5 cc but they urged me to go to 2 cc. The result, severe tightness and even with tiny amounts and extreme chewing, I found most Protein unless "blenderized" resulting in stuck episodes, the last one resulting in another emergency room visit. This time I went to the "home" hospital of Dr. Spivak, thinking they would be more knowledgeable about LAP-BAND® issues and more supportive/useful. Alas, they were just as uniformed and stared at me until the food passed into the stomach on its own and the pain magically stopped. At the doctor's office the next day they removed all the fill and told me to come back when I had lost another 10 lb on my own . I haven't gone back.

I still have trouble with meat protein and get stuck about once every 1-2 weeks but throwing up seems to take care of the issue. Needless to say the weight has returned and brought its friends. I could blame the recession and job loss as well as stress from an intense family issue and an unwanted but economically essential home move as factors for increased appetite but I know I could have made better choices.

Question: Has anyone had this problem and what did you do? I'm pretty certain the port has flipped and there is no money for band removal surgery. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I had my LAP-BAND� placed in August 2006 and after 9 months had only managed to lose 25-30 lb. The other issue besides being a slow loser was severe restriction with only the most minimal amount of fill. The first fill was 1 cc and I had to come back and have half removed. Over the next few months I moved back up to 1 cc. with an ambulance ride to the ER for being stuck. They basically stared at me and kept insisting that I must have food poisoning since my vitals were going haywire and I couldn't stop vomiting; and boy were they amazed when the food moved down into the stomach, the pain stopped and my vitals stabilized like magic.

Nevertheless I persevered and when I went for the next fill I wanted 1.5 cc but they urged me to go to 2 cc. The result, severe tightness and even with tiny amounts and extreme chewing, I found most Protein unless "blenderized" resulting in stuck episodes, the last one resulting in another emergency room visit. This time I went to the "home" hospital of Dr. Spivak, thinking they would be more knowledgeable about LAP-BAND� issues and more supportive/useful. Alas, they were just as uniformed and stared at me until the food passed into the stomach on its own and the pain magically stopped. At the doctor's office the next day they removed all the fill and told me to come back when I had lost another 10 lb on my own . I haven't gone back.

I still have trouble with meat protein and get stuck about once every 1-2 weeks but throwing up seems to take care of the issue. Needless to say the weight has returned and brought its friends. I could blame the recession and job loss as well as stress from an intense family issue and an unwanted but economically essential home move as factors for increased appetite but I know I could have made better choices.

Question: Has anyone had this problem and what did you do? I'm pretty certain the port has flipped and there is no money for band removal surgery. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have 10 cc's in my 11 cc band so it's pretty tight. I was having trouble getting protein down as well... chicken especially. I like to eat lunch meat in very thin slices and lots of cheese. If you do eat the drier stuff such and chicken and steak and it gets stuck my doctor told me to take a sip of seven-up and the bubbles will actually help move it. He also said to take a meat tenderizer tablet. Not sure how that works but the pop actually helps a lot. Best of luck!

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/116176-given-up/page__p__1513819#entry1513819

I don't know if this link will work but if it does it is a similar situation and I have my story here. If it does not work I will copy and paste to here for you. You are not alone. I think there are many of us and we are shamed to keeping silent.