I've been banded 2 1/2 years. I have gotten down to 160 so yes I've lost weight. The problem is my diet is all over the place. I'm either too loose or too tight. I've spent the last week so tight that I threw up at least once a day and had nighttime vomiting and reflux. Now suddenly my restriction is gone and I can eat normally again. I can eat anything I want including vegetables, bread, chicken and fruits, nothing is off limits. I go back and forth like this constantly. When I'm tight I can only do soft crappy foods like cereals, Soups, crackers, Ice cream or sometimes liquids only, no food at all. When I'm not too tight I eat lots of grilled meats, chicken breast, fish etc and lots of green veggies.

I've regained 15 pounds that I cannot get off.

Also, if I have a headache and try to take something for it I get an intense burning that I'm assuming is coming from my pouch. It will last 45 minutes to an hour. My surgeon suggested liquid Advil but I get the intense burning even with that, even liquid Tylenol is a killer.

I've had a love/hate relationship with my band for a while now but I think the hate is now outweighing the love. I'm considering removal.

Advice?

A new doctor won't touch me without an upper GI first. Since my PCP doesn't know much about the Lap Band she will order the upper GI if I can convince her/show her why I think I need it even though my surgeon says I don't.

Spoiltmom....just to clarify, are you vomiting ( emptying your stomach from below the band ) or what we sometimes call "PB'ing" ( spitting up the food above your band )?

I agree 100% with the above about vomiting....I don't understand how the band can cause vomiting from your stomach.

I'm not really sure. I assume it's vomiting because sometimes it is an awful large amount. IDK.

For example, Saturday at 8 am I slowly drank 8 oz of JUICE. I didn't have anything else. At 10:30 am, 2 1/2 hours later my chest started hurting and it all came back up.

If it's just juice shouldn't it have gone down?

I've ended up dehydrated twice over similar episodes.

Yes, definately after 2 1/2 hours it should have long been through the band. If it was juice, much sooner than that. I certainly wouldn't think of that as a PB episode. I'd be looking for a barium swallow using fluoroscopy...immediately! I'm not familiar with the other test mentioned above, but something is def amiss.

Basically he said that throwing up and being tight is just the new normal for me. He said its a problem I got when I traded my old problems off, like my excess weight and my high blood pressure.

He said when I'm tight like that just do liquids for a week.

He also feels I have some esophageal dialation but he said to fix it would require deflating my band which would make me gain weight. He said every banded patient has it so its not a big deal. His advice was just to leave my band alone and not mess with it.

I'm frustrated. I have 3 kids that have ADHD. When I'm throwing up and living on Protein shakes I just don't have the energy I need to keep up with them.

Was this your PCP or your bariatric doc?

A new doctor won't touch me without an upper GI first. Since my PCP doesn't know much about the Lap Band she will order the upper GI if I can convince her/show her why I think I need it even though my surgeon says I don't.

That's not true, either. Is your current doctor the one telling all this misinformation?

A new doctor will see you without anything other than walking in their office and having your medical records transferred to their office. People switch bariatric surgeons all the time. You don't need an upper GI to switch.

Was this your PCP or your bariatric doc?

My bariatric doctor. Actually my "bariatric doctor" is just a general surgeon.

I'm in a very rural area. The closest surgeon that does only bariatrics and nothing else is 85 miles away. He is supposed to be an awesome doctor but HE REQUIRES the Upper GI first.

I'm also looking at another doctor but he is 120 miles away and I'm not sure yet what his requirements are.

The other doctor requires that I get all my medical records and let him review them first to see if he will accept me as a patient.

He also wants to read my op notes.

How mad is my current surgeon going to be if I request all my records? I mean, if I can't find another doctor then I may HAVE to stick with my current one and I don't want to make him mad.

Honestly? I wouldn't care if he was mad. Let him be. He has zero say over it and can't do anything legally to stop you.

You deserve the best treatment and care possible. You owe that to yourself!

The other doctor requires that I get all my medical records and let him review them first to see if he will accept me as a patient.

He also wants to read my op notes.

How mad is my current surgeon going to be if I request all my records? I mean, if I can't find another doctor then I may HAVE to stick with my current one and I don't want to make him mad.

You won't make him mad.....it is a normal day to day practice for one office to request records of a patient....happens everyday........you should not have to do the asking....just sign off and the office can contact the other office and request your records.....to speed things up you may have to be the courier and dothe running around.....

Next time you see him he may inquire what you 're up to......the best to do,is be perfectly honest and frank......that is how it is preferred...... way you can deal with it and move on to the next topic.....VERY black and white...the less grey the better....

I've been in clinic all day and believe me you just want to keep things moving like a machine.