Ok, so I got filled on Thursday and I was doing my day of liquids fine on Friday. This morning (Saturday) I drank some ice tea when I got up and had a smidge of reflux but it went away. Then for lunch I tried mushies (I was at a buffet restraunt taking defensive driving so it was a good chance to try lots of mushies and see what worked) so I had a bite of egg, a bite of mashed potatoes, a bite of ice cream, a few bites of soup, a bite of pudding. Ate lunch fine. Then tonight I decided to have some potato salad (which was a staple for me in the mushy stage after banding) and I got chocked up. Then a few hours later I tried some spinach dip (which was also a mushy staple that I never had any probs with before) and I'm getting choked up. Now I'm eating ice cream and it's soothing. My questions is this, normally I am tight when I 1st get the fill and loosen up a little over time - normally I am also tight in the morning and loosen up at night. So, how long should I wait for this fill to loosen up a little before I get an unfill. Should I stick it out? What should I do?

I can't wait to see the answers you get here! I am going in for a fill this week myself. I have restriction. But I feel like I can still eat too much. I really think I am right on the edge of my sweet spot & I am so afraid of getting too tight. This is why I have waited so long for another fill.

I had a "too tight" fill and it was awful - I really did not eat for three weeks - everything, and I mean everything was making me pb. I had that fill removed and now have another fill and in the am I am tight but by the evening I can eat.

I have found that my band is picky - some days I can eat more than I would like and other days I pb on everything.

But yes, you can be tight and the am and not so much in the pm

i just got my 3rd fill on 1/11/06 and am almost in the same boat. i keep second guessing myself. i've had my band for 3 years, my surgery dr and my fill dr recommend liquids for 2-3 days, then pureed/muchies for 2-3 days then at 1 week soft foods. if at any time you pb more then once go back to liquids. i have always had greater restriction in the am, so i do Protein drink am, Protein Drink for lunch, cheese stick for snack mid afternoon and mashed food for dinner. i have only pb a couple of times but because i gulped too much Water and just had to have 2 chicken nuggets (1 was fine). the only difference is this fill gives my acid reflux at night and it's driving me crazy, it is getting better though. i called my fill dr and he said since i can drink water well and eat softies i'm ok and to be patient. i think the hardest part of this journey is learning our own individual restriction level.

ana

dr kuri 1/25/03

dr kuri 5/03 1.5

dr kuri 4/04 1.8

dr mckeen 1/11/06 2.1

242/193/150

ps. stay away from high calorie/fat comfort foods, i am the biggest offender of the ice cream, dips soft foods.

i think the hardest part of this journey is learning our own individual restriction level.

This is a very good observation. From what you say, Laura, I'd be inclined to give it a few more days. Try to really slow down your eating and really PULVERIZE your bites before swallowing. You may just be swallowing too soon. It really can be surprising with a new restriction level how little food we need to get full, and how small the pieces need to be to go down.

When you get to a tighter restriction level, the little things will start "showing up" as being problematic.

Many people with a good restriction level cannot drink cold beverages first thing in the morning. You had ice tea.

Many people with a good restriction level have problems with potatos and eggs - potatos, for some reason, seem to recombine and clog things up. I still have problems with potatos occasionally, after being unbanded for a year. Over-easy egg was my first PB.

You may want to avoid some of these known problematic items and see if that helps.

Hot liquids in the morning, avoid potatos and breads and eggs until you are more certain of your restriction level.

If you are PB'ing every day and at almost every meal. If you can ONLY eat mushies. Then you are too tight.

My doctor talked to me at length when I was overfilled. He said that when you are too tight, you make bad food choices ("mushy syndrome"). He said he'd rather his patients be a little loose and able to eat a bit too much of the right foods (hard proteins) than be a little tight because that drives bad behavior and bad food choices.

Give it a couple weeks to see if it settles in but DO NOT WAIT to get an unfill. You can do more damage than good be being too tight.

I think that what you feel right now is OK for right now, but should not go on for too long. I have only had 1 fill and I actually called my doc to schedule an unfill b/c I was PBing everything that wasn't a liquid for over 2 weeks. All of a sudden though, as I was waiting 2 days for the appt, it just settled in and now I am fine. I have good restriciton and for the most part I'm fine. I do have trouble in the AM though and eggs are no longer my friend.....but overall I feel like the band is doing it's job and I am happy with the level of restriction I ended up at. It was a process getting here though! I think it's OK to have to be on mushies/liquids for a while but not long term....give it a little longer though...........

I'm going to wait a few more days - I just getting worried b/c I hear people talk about fills kicking in after a few weeks - if this one kicks in anymore I wont be able to drink water!

Please be careful of waiting too long. Last week I was overfilled...I knew it was tight straight away but thought it might loosen up. 12 hours later I was in the worst pain I have ever felt and couldn't even swallow my own saliva...I was getting tighter not looser...possibly from dehydration. When I finally had some out the next day it was INSTANT relief. That was the longest night of my life though

I know now that I should have called the surgeon at home. I don't plan on there being a next time lol.

eggs are a big problem for a lot of bandsters.

How are you doing today?

Laura please be super careful. I had a fill on November 11th and kept thinking things would get better.

Well they didn't, I now know that being to tight caused my aspiration pneumonia. I have had the band since May of 2004 and never had any acid reflux or heartburn. Since my fill in Nov I had it constantly. I was taking all kinds of antacids. Eating things on the mushy side lots of soups and ice cream all the stuff we really shouldn't. If our band is right we should be able to eat pretty normal, but much less.

Just be really careful, I know I wanted my fill to smooth out. I had been stuck on my weight loss and was really hoping that a new fill would just kick it in again. But in reality I just needed to be a better bandster.

Trust me it is not worth getting sick, I am just now since my unfil last week starting to feel better.

I think you will know, I think I did I was just hoping that it would get better.

Be careful!!!!!!

I too am way too tight in the am and mid afternoon it seems as if i can only eat like around 5pm and after i am still choosing items like carb concious lean cuisine and such but i know i am not getting in enough calories i spoke with dr romero and he says to have some hot tea in the am to loosen the band but regardless i could not get down a protein shake in the am if my life depended on it:confused:

I'd get a small unfill. There is no point in being too tight. The point of the band is not surgical bulima.

Be kind to yourself