Unfills for vacation purposes

[Carlene 12]

My problems started with my band when they accidentally emptied it during PS

I'm curious...how could someone accidentally empty your band?

[vinesqueen 2]

Carlene, if they don't know what they are doing, it's pretty easy. I was getting "fills" while I was in exile in SE Idaho. My surgeon had talked the interventional radiologist through the procedure.

Because the band is under presure, if you don't get it just right, you can let all the Fluid out. In SE ID they used the floro and still couldn't get it right. I thought I'd ended up with 3cc in my band, because that's how much the radiologist thought he was putting in my band. But each time, he was letting out more and more.

So I thought I had a leak.

No, just bad fill technique.

With Babs, if I remember correctly, they were going to just remove some of her fill, not all of it.

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Carlene,

Vinesqueen is correct. My plastic surgeon was supposed to remove .50 CC from the 2.5 I had in there so I could eat a little more post op plastics. He removed all of it instead, although he claims that he did not and my lapband surgeon says there is nothing in there. I am convinced as a result that my band migrated a little giving me a larger pouch that dilates quite easily. The more you mess with restriction levels, it seems the more problems bandsters seem to report getting their restriction back to either too little or too much instead of just right.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that you get used to a certain level and your throat/esophagus becomes immune (achalasia) or the motility changes leaving you with either a feeling of too tight/too loose or lack of restriction the further you get out.

But of course this is all pure speculation since even my surgeon cant seem to explain why I have little restriction and can still eat salad, a 5-7 ounce steak, bread etc... Never had any problems with any foods at all.

babs in TX

[Sophie 0]

After 2 years the band is as much of me as an arm. It would never even occur to me to have it unfilled for vacation. I am totally accustomed to it being there, filled.

[coltonwade 27]

Mindy....I think people who are self-pay are the ones who take really good care of their bands, follow the rules, etc. It's true that we don't value anything that comes too easily. At the end of the day, you may be the big winner, by virtue of the fact that you DID struggle to pay for your band. If there is any justice in the world (and sometimes there is), you will be a "big loser"....pun intended.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you Carlene, I understand what your saying. I just know that I am on here to learn everything I can . Which means pro's and Con's about the lap band prior to getting it . I do not fault or mean to judge anyone for doing the same. I just think with any procedure it needs to be done with education . I have a friend who has the band and I get the impression from her that her surgeon just did not give her the best info about what to do and not to do . And I think that is a shame. I just want to know what im getting into before I do it. For instance, I LOVE Homemade pizza, My father and I have made it every Friday for YRS. REALLY THICK Crust. I made it this friday and it hit me and I yelled " CRAP IM not going to be able to eat this after my surgery " then my 14 yr old son yelled " CRAP DAD , that means she'll stop making it for us too then cause ya know what that means , if mom cant eat it then neither can we . EAT UP WHILE YA CAN " lol

BUT Tha'ts something I want to know before hand and make sure i can deal with . I can live with out my pizza lol

Mindy

PS Did i make any sense .

[ThunderThighs 0]

Funny that I ran across this thread. I just got back from Hawaii. A week before I left, I got a complete unfill. Now, before everyone gets upset, let me explain why.

Some of you may have read my story in the lapband complication forum about how I went on vacation to Chicago and after I flew there, I was completely restricted. So restricted, I could not drink Water at all. I spent 2 days trying to find a doctor who could unfill me, much less knew anything about the band. This was very scary for me, for my family and made our vacation very stressful. Needless to say, I had to drive to Wisconsin and found a doctor to unfill me, but he was horrible at the procedure! I was severely dehydrated, I hadn't eaten for 4 days and I lost 6 pounds in 4 days. Thank goodness for insurance because this whole ordeal was almost $4000 in medical bills, I paid $50 co-pay!!!! I didn't eat, so it wasn't something that I ate that made me completely restricted. I've been told sometimes the pressure from flying can do this.

So, move ahead 2 months. My son was playing high school football in Hawaii (We live in California). What an opportunity for the whole family to go to Hawaii. I was scared to death that this would happen again, where I would become completely restricted. So, I made the decision to get unfilled. Not so I could enjoy food while in Hawaii, but so I wouldn't experience something again like I did in Chicago. I wasn't willing to risk it again.

I am fortunate enough to be able to drive to Mexico and back home in a few hours and I went today 2 weeks after getting unfilled and got my fill back. I feel much better. Being unfilled, I felt like I was missing something, I was constantly thinking about it.

Now, did I enjoy food? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes and No. Yes because I had no scary episodes of being completely restricted. No, because I did gain weight and the food wasn't all that great anyhow.

Would I unfill for vacation? No, never, not unless I am flying. I don't fly hardly ever, it just so happens I went on two trips this summer. I would never get unfilled for a cruise, for a vacation, etc. just so I could enjoy my food. That isn't the purpose, as I think most have expressed here already.

[Randi 0]

To Randi:

I hope we weren't too hard on you, but to give anyone the answer that we might assume that they want to hear is doing a disservice to both that person and this forum's reputation. I can only speak for myself, but I feel that honesty is more important that being friendly, though hopefully advice can be given to the point without animosity. Truth is more supportive than sympathy.

Thanks, Tired Old Man, I expect nothing but the truth from LBTers. If at times I felt flamed by a particular post, I gleaned what I could, if anything, and moved on to the next post. At this point, I need to get and consider as much infomation as possible before I continue on my lapband journey. Not being able to get unfilled is no longer a show stopper in selecting a surgeon.

[Randi 0]

Funny that I ran across this thread. I just got back from Hawaii. A week before I left, I got a complete unfill. Now, before everyone gets upset, let me explain why.

Some of you may have read my story in the lapband complication forum about how I went on vacation to Chicago and after I flew there, I was completely restricted. So restricted, I could not drink Water at all. I spent 2 days trying to find a doctor who could unfill me, much less knew anything about the band. This was very scary for me, for my family and made our vacation very stressful. Needless to say, I had to drive to Wisconsin and found a doctor to unfill me, but he was horrible at the procedure! I was severely dehydrated, I hadn't eaten for 4 days and I lost 6 pounds in 4 days. Thank goodness for insurance because this whole ordeal was almost $4000 in medical bills, I paid $50 co-pay!!!! I didn't eat, so it wasn't something that I ate that made me completely restricted. I've been told sometimes the pressure from flying can do this.

Thunder,

Do you happen to recall how long before the Chicago vacation did you have a fill? Also, did you and the fill doctor collaboratively make the decision for the complete instead of a partial unfill or did you just request the unfill and it was granted?

[Woodys 0]

I'm not so sure I agree with the statement about self-payers taking better care of their bands. From posts I have read at this forum there are a good number of self-payers who spent an endless amount of money on every weight loss gadget, pill, book, tapes, dvds, cds and were not successful....obviously the money part of it didn't have an effect at that time. Also, it seems that the majority of non self-payers have been very successful with their weight loss.......that didn't happen because they were disrespecting their bands.

Just my observation.

Carol

[Fauxnaif 1]

There is a school of thought that more fills and unfills lead to complications.

Wow. This makes sense. Any more info?

[Fauxnaif 1]

I think the conversation just kinda trailed off after that or someone else had a question. I don't really remember. But, I do remember thinking that I wouldn't necessarily want my band unfilled for a vacation, but I didn't necessarily like the fact that the surgeon's plan was to control the band (and therefore me) by not allowing the option.

Whatever happened to the band being MY tool?

Now, in my mind, the question becomes should I even consider this surgeon? Obviously, if we disagree on who really controls MY band, then is he the surgeon for me?

To me, this guy sounds like a GOOD surgeon and follow-up doc. One who is looking out for your health, not trying to control you. Your suggestion was a bad idea and I would really like doctor who would not do something that could potentially damage my health or send me backwards on my journey just because I asked him or her too.

And Tired Old Man posted that maybe you are not ready for the band if this is such a huge deal for you. I have to say this, although with kindness. I agree. The band is a lifetime committment. The truth is, if your band is working right, you simply cannot eat the same amounts of any food anymore once you get the band. You must deal with this. Many of us (myself included) have fought the band. Once we surrendered to it, we were much happier and continued along toward goal. It will be psychological torture for you if you go in with this kind of mindset.

[ThunderThighs 0]

Thunder,

Do you happen to recall how long before the Chicago vacation did you have a fill? Also, did you and the fill doctor collaboratively make the decision for the complete instead of a partial unfill or did you just request the unfill and it was granted?

I had a fill, my third fill 5 1/2 months prior to my trip to Chicago. That is why it was so strange. I wasn't having any problems or complications, my restriction was perfect!

I requested the unfill and it was granted. Although it wasn't encouraged, it wasn't discouraged either. I was advised to watch what I ate and to remember that the band was still in place and I needed to remember that.

[NewSho 20]

SCENARIO: Let's just say you're going on vacation (e.g. a cruise, Hawaii). Anyway, you know there will be a lot of new tastes that you would like to explore unrestricted by your "implanted tool." Would your Doc unfill your band?

In my case, no...

Would I give up comfortable restriction just to 'ease up' before a trip? No, Absolutely not !

Now, would I schedule a 'fill' like 2 days before a big trip? No, probably not.

But I make sure I have good, steady restriction in the weeks before a trip or vacation. I am loving my life, loving dragging around less weight and as much as I enjoy food - I don't look at vacations as "all you can eat" opportunities anymore. I have different focuses - so getting an unfill just to eat 'new things' is totally just out of the question for me. I fight for every single .01 cc of restriction - so I wouldn't take a chance on an unneeded adjustment if it's working for me at the time.

But that's just me! (And I'm not a self-pay so according to this thread, what do I know, right? :heh: ) No seriously, I'm kidding. :biggrin1:

Good Luck and enjoy your trip...

[Jachut 487]

I've just been on holidays during which I ate out a lot more than usual and enjoyed a bit more alcohol than usual. I also enjoyed far more exercise than usual. I got home and had lost 2kg.

I cant see why in the world you'd want to be unfilled and risk gaining. I got to enjoy everything, but not to excess like I would have done in the past. I know I'm one of the lucky ones who can eat anything without a problem, but my quantities were limited. Once we went out for dinner and it just happened to be a night where I was tight. We paid $200 for the meal (there were 7 of us) and I ate nothing more than a bite of it I care more about my weight and health than I do about wasting money int aht sort of situation. Big deal, who cares?

I would consider an unfill if I had problems with flying but I dont. I know you were just posing the question, not thinking seriously about it but to consider an unfill for the purposes of digging in on vaction, well that would suggest to me somebody not mentally prepared for the change in lifestyle and not really ready to be banded. Where do you draw the line?. What about Christmas, Easter and all those other occasions? And although the band is YOUR tool and I've always been a strong believer in that, I think that's just not using it properly and I'm not surprised at all that a surgeon would refuse to just unfill you simply because you wanted to eat more.

The thing is with the band, its kind of all or nothing but then its all or nothing without the band too if you really want to get control of your weight. People who have been a normal weight all their lives may very well tend to eat a bit more on holidays but you do that with a band too. Your food choices will be different and you'll probably drink more too. But you have to do so in moderation.

[patty6418 1]

I hope I am posting this is the correct area. I have made up my mind to have the lap band surgery. I have been researching surgeons. I would like to know who is good and who isn't... I have read on Dr. Kuri's website (Mexico) that he has done more lap bands than anyone. Although, the sites I have gone to in the U.S., all seem to claim to have performed the most lap band surgeries. Obviously, someone is lying. I can believe that U.S. surgeons have less experience than in other countries due to all our restrictions and regulations in this country. Also, I have an additional concern which is that I have Factor V Leiden, a blood clotting disorder. One of the patient facilitators for Dr. Kuri states that they have had two Factor V patients. Please help!! I am not at all worried about the surgery itself as long as I feel secure about my choice of surgeon. Thank you in advance to all replies!