ok guys i am about ready to pull the plugs on my optimism with the band. this (insert curse words) band is giving me problems AGAIN and i really dont know what to do!!!

i had been partially unfilled since may when i recieved a tiny fill that was fine for a few weeks but got progressively tighter to the point of closing me off. the dr took out .4 cc's SWEET RELIEF!

so i waited 3 months till after the wedding to get a small refill. .1 and 1/2 but definitally NOT .2. (my dr said a .1 fill is so small its hard to give one that tiny so it was a smidge more than .1 but not more than .2.)

so i go home things are great. eating solids no PB's this goes on for a few days. i do notice that my meals are getting smaller and smaller. yesterday my caloric intake consisted of:

BREAKFAST: yogurt

lunch 4 bites of mushy mexican (barfed up)

NEW LUNCH slimfast

dinner 2 bites of mush cooked veggies (barfed up)

NEW DINNER yogurt and a 90 calorie juice

i am SO DAMN FRUSTRATED i dont know what to do. before my fill i was WIDE OPEN. i had no restriction on portions and none on textures.

HOW can a .1 - .1 1/2 fill SEAL ME OFF????

if i cant EVER get restriction again how can i be successfull with the band? in november it will be 2 YEARS that i have gone WITHOUT restriction.

i have had so many fills and unfills its RIDICULOUS. my Fluid level is constant. i have never had them draw out less than they thought should be in there. my band hasnt slipped. WTF IS WRONG THEN???

ok enough complaining. i have to figure out if i can wait a week till my scheduled unfill or if i will have to in sooner. (MORE CURSE WORDS!!!)

****** for newbies...this is not a typical problem. usually the answer to being overfilled is to get an unfill wait a few weeks and get refilled slowly.

Shelly, it sounds to me like you might be suffering from esophageal spasms. There are anti-spasmotic drugs but they won't be prescribed until you have some testing done. The person to see now is a GI specialist for answers.

elisabeth, thanks i will defintially check it out.

Are you loosing weight? right now, yes. but my calories for yesterday were like 500?!?! NOT HEALTHY! since my fill 1 week ago i am down 8 lbs

Are you hungry? not now. before the fill YES i would wake up with a growling stomach and be hungry before meal time.

Other than eating issues, are you in any kind of physical distress? no not really. i just remodeled calvins office and our downstairs bath and i pulled a muscle in my back but that has resolved itself

Are you near your weight goal? HAH i wish. i dont have a # goal. i EASILY need to lose 50 lbs. my weight today is 235 from 350. my lowest was 207. the most i regained after all my unfills was...270 i got back to 240 through EXERCISE and determination. when i get a fill i can easily lose 15-20 lbs but as soon as i get to the point where i am *to tight* i have to be unfilled and as i rehydrate and start eating again i gain what i lost.

Just for information purposes, is it only the act of eating (anything) that produces misery? What liquids can you manage without problems? well this varies. the first few days after the fill i could eat anything just a small amount 1 cup roughly. mushies obviously more.

today i have been on liquids after 3 PB's yesterday. i have some lentil Soup that i am gonna run though the blender (because of the hulls) the liquids are going down fine today- and thats GREAT i will stay on them for a few days, then progress to mushies. the problem IS/HAS been that instead of ever moving to mushies my band keeps getting tighter and tighter to the point that i am spitting my own saliva in a cup. this has happened EASILY 10 times over the past 2 years.

Is it the unpredictibility that the Band continues to do what it does that is the problem? the problem is i can not get STABLE restriction. it might be fine for a week or 2 weeks but it gets tighter and tighter till i am reduced to liquids only, then even those will not go down.

before my fill i was TOTALLY unrestricted on amounts, textures etc. and i was hungry ALL the time. so i went for the smallest fill i could get .1 cc.

Have you charted out on a daily basis for a month or two to correlate with possible other factors (period, etc) that may affect you so much? well i havent charted it out but i can tell you that my period doesnt seem to effect my restriction. in almost 3 years since banding it never has. i am not on it now, i am about 2 weeks from starting it.

the ONLY thing i have noticed is when my nose/throat get dry my band gets tighter. my dr thinks that does not play a role. i am from humid TN and now live in the desert of WA state. i have a industrial humidifier at home that puts off 15 gallons of moisture a day because my nose/throat is SO dry. i drink 2 gallons of liquids a day.

What would your idea right now be, of 'perfect performance' of the Band

this is EASY. during my banding i have had 9 months of *sweet spot* (for me) restriction.... i lost 90 lbs during this time.

i could eat:

breakfast: 1 egg scrambled OR 1 yogurt OR 1 packet of oatmeal

lunch: roughly a cup of food. i would eat 1/2 cup of veggies of some sort then roughly 4 oz of solid unprocessed protien

dinner: same as lunch maybe a little more not more than 1.5 cups of food though.

i LIKE to be able to eat solids for most of my meals. i would say the restriction *i* desire is not as tight as what most people want.

currently i am going from one extreme to the other. i was WIDE open so i needed a fill. my band was offering no restriction. a .1 cc fill has reduced me to liquids. WTF!?!?!

Hi Michelle,

I agree with Leatha. I think that the esophagus becomes immune to some extent for long term bandsters and we can no longer tell whether we have too much or too little restriction. FYI: I just went to a new lapband surgeon today who sent me downstairs for fluoro and a fill when I described how much weight I was gaining and how hungry I was. They removed all my fill instead and put me on liquids for three weeks because they think I either have a true slip or pouch dilatation when looking at the floro. I cried and now I am trying to be realistic about the situation. If this doesnt resolve, I will be having another surgery to repair the slip. Its frustrating because I was not symptomatic other than feeling like I could eat more than usual and getting pissed that I am gaining weight.

I feel your pain girlfriend. I have no idea how I can get through 3 weeks of only liquids without killing someone. So I kinda have the opposite problem where I can eat a cow, but I am not able to.

You got some good advice from another poster about going to a GI specialist. Maybe you have some form of achalasia or dysmotily which can be fixed with a happy pill!!! LOL Keep your chin up.

Babs in TX

Yikes. That is terrible. I'm sorry you're having all this trouble. I hope it works out for you soon.

I had surgery on May 8, 2006, in Mexico. 1st fill July 25, 2006. Have lost 48 pounds. A few days ago, I began to have pb's eating some solids. Like broiled chicken, it goes down and seems to take volumes of air with it. HURTS like the devil. I cannot continue to eat. After 30-40 minutes, the air works it way up. Any ideas? Sheryl

Shelly, Leatha, and Babs, I too completely understand your perplexity. I too think it's an ever-evolving situation with long-term bandsters, and our own experience is the only guide. What's true for one person just will not be true for another.

Shelly, I hope and pray you find the answer and can reach a settlement with your band! Babs, you too. I'm heading in for another fluoro test and maybe small fill next week, and am determined that this one will be my last. If there's any hint of a problem on the fluoro, I'm going to say no thanks to the fill and go about my merry way, facing a lifetime of not-restricted enough to lose weight but restricted enough to help me keep my weight stable...

...for the rest of my life. *crosses fingers*

Hi Alex,

I figure at 210 ish you must look awesome cause you are 5' 10 arent you????

Michelle: I am on day three of liquids and so far so good. I hate this, but at least I will drop weight! LOL

Babs in TX

and am determined that this one will be my last. If there's any hint of a problem on the fluoro, I'm going to say no thanks to the fill and go about my merry way, facing a lifetime of not-restricted enough to lose weight but restricted enough to help me keep my weight stable...

...for the rest of my life. *crosses fingers*

Alex, I have done the back and forth "do I need a fill?" for months now. Thankfully, I haven't experienced any "real" problems with reflux or a need for another unfill. So I do know that I'm enjoying good restriction, though my band could go tighter if I wanted it.

Somewhere along the way, I'm convinced that fill after fill after unfill after fill and yet another unfill isn't good for the band or the esophogus. I know it's so hard to get that fill spot just right, and one certainly can't live with the problems of a band that is too tight.

I have decided to leave my band alone. I will work with the restriction I have and have no plans to get another fill. Ever. However, I will get the rest of my weight off. I simply will! Please don't underestimate the power of a (healthy) band, even unfilled. I just KNOW if I could shovel food like I used to, I'd be right back up there. I'm convinced of it each time I watch my sister down a chick-fil-a sandwich in 6 bites in under 2 minutes. The fact that you (and shelly and babs and leatha) still have bands does, in fact, help you. It HAS to!

Now, I don't know that I have EVER experienced that "wide-open-I-could-eat-anything-do-I-even-have-a-band?" feeling, so I don't have a clue about what all of your restriction is like. I understand that. But we can ALL get to our goal weights! Perhaps we raise our goal weight along the way to something more realistic (145 pounds ain't happenin' on me...165 is realistic) but if we want to lose more, we can!

I think 210 looks great on you, btw. I think we all look great! But if there is more weight to lose, even without perfect restriction, I think we can do it!!!

Please tell me my optimism isn't misplaced!!!

Good luck shelly. everyone!

Sheryl Kay, I used to frequently get a lot of air trapped under my food, especially after the first bite, and I would be uncomfortable until I burbed. Then the rest of the food would go down fine. I still have problems if I eat too fast. I also have problems with particular types of food, like shrimp and lobster, which are hard little pieces of cooked Protein that don't dissolve easily.

A couple of ideas. As you have become more confident with your band, maybe you have become less vigilant about chewing food up into tiny pieces or eating slowly? Also, sipping Soup or tea (any warm fluid) before eating seems to relax the stoma and help get rid of the air. I've seen this recommended a couple of places. Also, maybe eat one piece very slowly and then wait.

I love my band, but if I don't pay attention to the rules I regret it. (That being said, everybody is individual. I drink soda every day and don't have any trouble with most breads, rice, and most pastas.)

Hey Shelly!

It was an AHA! for me when you said that you originally didn't have restriction until you were at 3.4, but at 2 was too, TOO much after an unfil. We know from the reports of countless bandsters that after they have been unfilled, they require much less fill, in fact many cannot tollerate near what they had had before.

Just so you know, 2 ccs in my band choke me off too.

I think it is a good idea to get checked for the hernia too.

Hugs!

Hi Alex,

I figure at 210 ish you must look awesome cause you are 5' 10 arent you????

Well...I don't know about awesome , but I am not at all unhappy. (I hover between 210 and 220 and that is a range in which I can't even detect the shifts. That's why it's so funny to me when people freak out about three pounds up or down, because I routinely go 5-8 pounds up or down and can't even tell.)

I have decided to leave my band alone. I will work with the restriction I have and have no plans to get another fill. Ever. However, I will get the rest of my weight off. I simply will! Please don't underestimate the power of a (healthy) band, even unfilled. I just KNOW if I could shovel food like I used to, I'd be right back up there. I'm convinced of it each time I watch my sister down a chick-fil-a sandwich in 6 bites in under 2 minutes. The fact that you (and shelly and babs and leatha) still have bands does, in fact, help you. It HAS to!

Oh, I COMPLETELY agree!! My inclination was to do the same, but my doctor wanted a followup fluoro to see how the issues I had back in March have resolved. So I was going to do that anyway when my new insurance kicked in (which it did, August 1.) But over the last couple of months I've been aware of having to consciously fight hunger more frequently, to the point where it's actually interfering with my life. And I'm eating too quickly again. I'm hopeful a teensy fill will help with these things and NOT make me so tight that it's ... interfering with my life. If I can't get that fill I will absolutely be satisfied and happy. What would be the worst is if I get the fill and in two weeks am suffering through my vacation with heartburn, reflux, inability to eat and sleep, and have to go crawling back to my surgeon for an unfill and possibly risk a slip or more esophageal problems. THAT is totally not worth the few pounds I would lose in the process.

My appointment is the 17th, and I just bought a bunch of Protein shakes and even aloe vera juice for the few days following. I am going to be as careful as humanly possible about babying the new fill so as to avoid problems.

What would be the worst is if I get the fill and in two weeks am suffering through my vacation with heartburn, reflux, inability to eat and sleep, and have to go crawling back to my surgeon for an unfill and possibly risk a slip or more esophageal problems. THAT is totally not worth the few pounds I would lose in the process.

My appointment is the 17th, and I just bought a bunch of Protein shakes and even aloe vera juice for the few days following. I am going to be as careful as humanly possible about babying the new fill so as to avoid problems.

i never get a fill with a trip looming. with the way my restriction fluctuates its scares the hell out of me! i agree that its not worth the few pounds you lose.

if i new THEN what i know NOW i would have left well enough ALONE! the first time i got overfilled i had been at my sweet spot for 8 months and lost a TON of weight and my restriction had eased up a bit- but at least i still HAD it!

my next appt is for the 17th as well. my dr is going out of town so i scheduled an appt before he left 'just in case'. i HOPE that he wont have to remove anything but if tightens up to where i am struggling with mushies i will get it unfilled.

since my last puking episode on tuesday I AM HAPPY TO SAY i havent PB'd again or even hiccupped!! i havent really had any solids but that means i havent tightened up since then! :clap2: i hope it wont change anymore.

yesterday i ate pretty decently and i am gonna try to work solids in for ATLEAST dinner, i can eat softer lunches.

yesterday i ate:

b: yogurt

l: bowl of lentil soup, i saved the bits of ham for last and they went down fine!

dinner- cup of lentil soup, and 1/2 cup of ham salad (meat ran throught the grinder then mayo added)

if my restriction does start to fluctuate again i am sure this will be the last of my 'fill-unfill' fiasco's. i dont think i can go through this again.

calvin has asked me if a new band would help, my thoughts too are that the problem is with my esophogus and not my band.

IF i had to get another surgery for a new band i think i would pass on that and look at 'other options' like RNY. of course just TYPING that scares the hell out of me so i would probably pass on that too. who knows!

Shel, I am SO glad to hear you're doing better!! My fingers are crossed for us both on the 17th. Let's get through those appointments with no forecasts of doom, leave with perfect restriction, and NEVER have to fiddle with this puppy again! :Banane27:

Hey -- I am brand new (today) but the reason I went ahead and joined was to reply to this post

I feel like I could have written exactly what Shellyj wrote here. I am in the same situation.

I had my lapband surgery done around 2.5 years ago. For the first year I did great. I lost about 90 lbs. over the course of that time. Then, I went in for a fill one day and it was too tight -- that's when it all went downhill. Of course I went back to have him take some out and thought everything would be fine! -- WRONG! I have had nothing but problems ever since. I have been filled/unfilled and over and over again. The first time he put a little more in I was FINE for 2-3 months and then all of the sudden -- for no apparent reason -- it started getting tighter and tighter and I could get less and less down. When I say less, I don't mean less quantity -- I mean there were less TYPES of food I could get down. I pretty much had to start sticking with mushies and then it got to the point over the next week or so where I couldn't even get liquid down. It was awful. I went in and they did the thing where you drink the barium (I guess) to watch it go down. Sure enough, you could see plain as day, it going down my esophagus, but as soon as it got to the band it just sat there and trickled down. So, my doc did an endoscopy but found nothing wrong. Nothing indicates it has slipped and nothing appeared to be wrong on the inside so what the H*#@($#%& is wrong? He took the Fluid out completely -- I told him I couldn't deal with this anymore-- the pain is awful and it was really wearing on me. So I went 10 months with no fluids in my band. I could eat pretty much anything but I was really good about it....I still wanted to lose more weight (about another 40 pounds). I maintained my weight with no fluid for about 10 months and then decided I wanted to give it a try again. In June, I went back and asked him to put a LITTLE bit in so I could see if we could start from square one on this. Everything was great -- I had a little bit of restriction now-- this lasted about 3-4 weeks and then the SAME thing began to happen. Gradually it got tighter and tighter to the point where the only thing I could get down was liquids (not even soup with stuff in it). I now have the fluid out but I ask myself....WHY??? There is no reasonable explanation -- atleast not that I've gotten. Now I am questioning if I want to leave this "thing" in my body -- this great THING that helped me in the beginning -- but now seems to be all screwed up. I think my doc has run out of ideas -- I don't think it's anything I did. In fact I always felt stupid going to the doc and saying I was having problems because I know so many people who eat the wrong stuff and end up with problems -- I figured he'd just think I was one of them -- who did this to myself -- but I really feel like I was doing the best I could. It is a little comforting to know I am not the only one, but DANG -- what do I do now?

banded bandit- we must be twins,

i posted that last week and since then have been able to eat decently i havent had an unfill. but right now i am still working on my a.m. yogurt! *shrugs*

my appt is for tommorrow then my dr goes out of town. i will see what he has to say....i am hoping he can order the test for hiatel hernia. i know he just loves it when i come in with all these ideas from *people on the internet* hehehe

i dont know what i am gonna do but i know i do want to lose this last 50 lbs!

i also have a call in to my original band dr, who has been doing bands 4 yrs to see if they are having folks with similiar problems and if so what are they doing.