Hi friends,

My 4cc band is currently filled at 2cc's. Dec 15th I had my last adjustment (a .25 unfill). I believed I finally was at the so called "sweet spot". :clap2: However, I experienced a few occasions where where it felt like I could eat almost like prior to banding :hungry: without much problem and I wondered if my band was restricted enough. Knowing there are tight days and lose days, I felt I was probably at a at a good restriction point. BTW, I'm down 25 lbs in 3 months and 3 adjustments. :huggie:

Things have really changed for me this past week. :think I have been in pain and cannot eat or drink at all. The last few days I have been really sore. It feels like I am all burned up inside and swollen as a result of a bad habit of self-induced puking and from acid reflux. I feel better standing than sitting. My surgeon thinks this is the result of throwing up too often and recommends that I have a slight unfill. I have one scheduled but must wait 10 days for my appointment.

This probably all stems from some bad habits that I developed. If I ate something that felt uncomfortable in my stomach pouch, then I would simply go off to the bathroom, put my finger down my throat and force myself to throw up. Then I felt immediately better. I did this at least once a day if not more. Most of the time I think the discomfort was the result of me failing to chew just 1 of those bites well enough. Or maybe I ate too fast. Or maybe it was just a bad food choice.

My recent problems with pain seemed to begin right after this particular event.... Last Monday night, managed to eat half a bag of Smartfood popcorn :pop2:with no problems (bad, bad - I know). Later that evening I drank a shot of nightquil to help me sleep. :notagree I do this every night practically. The nightquil didn't go all the way down and just sat in my pouch and gave me an icky warm sensation. In an attempt to better wash it down I drank about 6 ozs. of aloe-vera juice. I made the mistake of drinking the aloe-vera juice it too fast and didn't consider the fact that it was cold right out of the fridge. The cold sensation made it feel like it was expanding in my chest. Moments later the pain - yowsa - major chest PAIN!!! I ran to the bathroom and purged out the whole nasty concoction. Later that night, matters were made worse when I experienced acid reflux followed by a coughing fit.

The next day I found my band was too tight to eat Breakfast or even drink coffee, but this isn't all that unusual for me. I had a lunch date. I ate small meal of 4 little shrimp from the top of my uneaten salad. I came home feeling uncomfortably full and and increasing sensation of pain in my pouch. But I didn't purge. I haven't been able to eat or drink since then without major pain. :tape2: It feels like a pulled muscle in my chest. Not even Water, tea or Soup. This situation continues still today and it's now Friday.

Besides puking, another nasty side-effect of my band that I should mention is this... After food or drink, I often will convulse my esophogus and then spit out slime. :spit: I know slime is not all that uncommon with bandsters, but this happens several times a day. I imagine this convulsion thing cannot be good for me either.

Here's the thing, a week ago I felt like I was at the sweet spot. Maybe I don't need a slight unfill. Maybe I just need to heal and really work on improving my eating habits. I self-pay so it will cost me $150 for another slight unfill, so I hate to do it and then need a fill (another $150). What do you all think? :noidea:

:help:Have any of you had problems with burning pain and inflamation similar to this? I know some of you are going to suggest that I might have slipped my band. Geez, I don't even want to consider that possibility.

Thanks in advance for your advice and feedback.

Sincere regards from SweetSue (who's lovin the smiley's)

Good Lord! what are you trying to do to yourself! All this induced vomiting may have caused your band to slip.....stay strictly on liquids next few days and see if that will stay down..........shrimp is bad in itself also....much too fibrous....and can cause issues...........and for goodness sake stop with the self induced vomiting!

Sue, first, let me congratulate you on your honesty, and for seeking help. :clap2:

And, girl, do you need it! I sincerely do not mean that in an ugly way. But, if you have not already damaged your band, you're certainly headed that way. I read back to a few of your old messages to see what else has been going on with you. You posted on 11/29 that you might be too tight, yet you went and got another fill. No wonder you're getting a lump in your throat when you eat. You. are. too. tight. (Edit...whoops, misread your post. I see you did get an unfill in December. Sorry!)

There's not much you can do right now except stick with liquids until you heal or until you see your doctor. If you can't get liquids down, head to the ER. Hopefully, you are just swollen from acid reflux, vomiting and coughing, and will be able to get an unfill and get back to normal eating. But, I really think you should see a nutritionist and/or a counselor. The daily barfing *and* the nightly Nyquil (which also is loaded with sugar) are just not good for ya, darlin'!

Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

Tami

First of all I think you are overfilled. You should be able to eat far more than you are. Second, I think you need to address the acid reflux. I would get on some Pepcid AC or one of those drugs. That should really help you out. Good luck.

Your honesty is great, and you're going to get some tough love.

Inducing vomit does beyond your esophagus, and vomitting can cause bands to slip. I think it's the #2 cause, actually, but I can't say for sure. You shuldn't ned to purge - how long have you been banded, and what are your eating habits like?

I've experienced something similar, but for much different reasons. I got a fill Monday that was a little too much. I only know that inhindsight. Yesterday after eating a small breakfast and being fine, and doing a chewable Vitamin and 23 chewable calciums, the third Calcium got stuck. Once I'd PBed up the calcium I continued to PB saliva, and then progressed to thick foam. I swelled to the point that I couldn't keep my own saliva down. When I got the doctor's office, I heard all about the people who WON'T go in to get it taken care of. Trust me, you don't want to do that. Why do you have to wait 10 days? Doesn't the office you use have an emergency contact or someone on call? This is more than "I need an appointment", and they need to act urgently to treat you.

The best way to heal is to get an unfill. Sticks, PBs, etc. can cause a lot of swelling, and swelling around the stoma = blocked opening. I would suggest going with the unfill at least for 2 or 3 weeks, giving yourself a good period of time to heal, then getting refilled. Being unfilled for a few weeks is a LOT better than losing your band.

Holy crap! PBs, slime, thick foam? I'm really getting nervous about this now. I'm a known cheater and rule breaker -- with everything. This forum might just scare me straight (at least with my eating habits).

"another nasty side-effect of my band"

This is not so much a lap band problem, it has to do with issues of a food addict. What you are doing to yourself are the same things food addicts do when they're still trying to control the food and what it does to them. The help you need is not just the initial step of going to your doctor (your health is at least worth the $150), but getting into a good support group or to a good therapist that specializes in eating disorders. You're on the right track by confiding in us.

And who am I to tell you all this? After all, I just got banded, too. Many of us could write a book on diets, the books we've read, the doctors we've seen, and programs we've been in. I am pretty sure that any success I have with the band will be because I can no longer fool myself about what the real issues are. It's not so much the food I choose (feel compelled) to eat, or how much of it I consume. It's about why and how I'm feeling at the time; what the food actually does for me. You need to figure that out - soon.

And, sweetsue, the name of the disorder you have is bulemia. Admit it, use it, and you'll get help.

Thank you on all your feedback. Here's an update on my situation...

After being unable to eat or drink for 3 days because of too much restriction I spoke to the on-call doctor later on that evening. I was growing concerned that I would be in the emergency room for dehydration over the weekend. I couldn't even swallow Water without throwing up & sliming. I managed to get an doctors visit for an adjustment the next morning.

Now here's a medical mystery. The doctors notes showed that I had 1.75 cc's in my 4cc band. When he removed the saline only .75 cc's was found to be in the band. 1cc got lost in the last 30 days somehow. Also, the band had no pressure in it as would be expected. All the saline was drawn out and removed. Mystery - How was I growing more and more restricted with so little saline in the band? And what happened to the 1cc of saline?

Anyways, I feel 100% better. No more pain. No more difficulty swallowing. No more slime. After the unfilled I had a small lunch - 1/2 a roast beef & cheese crepe (delicious!). After lunch I called Dr Ortiz in Mexico for his advice & opinion. He said don't worry about the leakage, there could be so many causes. He said because I was able to swallow that lunch without much difficulty it was unlikely that I had a slip. He also said I should stay on a liquid diet for 3-5 days and delay another fill for at least 2 weeks. I am sticking to my dr ortiz's orders. I love Ortiz & Martinez - they are the most knowledgable, professional and they make themselves so available for advice and support on the phone!

Now, by the way.... Some of you have gave me grief over the self-induced puking. You are absolutely right! This is a bad-bad habit. I only did it because it was the only way to relieve the pain I was feeling. I believe it was a vicious cycle which was causing my inflamation and gradually made the stoma tighter and tighter and the food more and more difficult to swallow until eventually I ended up completely restricted. I still don't know what happened to the missing saline though.

Also, regarding food choices... It's best to eat healthy. But when you are eating small portions anyway, I think it's ok to treat yourself occasionally.

Thanks for your feedback!

Sweet Susan

WOW SweetSue,

I have been getting ready to have the LB. And you said you were losing the fill somewhere? Sounds like you might have a leak? I was told by my doctor that it is rare but does happen. And when it does it needs to be replaced-ASAP. Have you asked your doctor about this possiblity?

After the unfilled I had a small lunch - 1/2 a roast beef & cheese crepe (delicious!). After lunch I called Dr Ortiz in Mexico for his advice & opinion. He said don't worry about the leakage, there could be so many causes. He said because I was able to swallow that lunch without much difficulty it was unlikely that I had a slip. He also said I should stay on a liquid diet for 3-5 days and delay another fill for at least 2 weeks. I am sticking to my dr ortiz's orders.

Sweetsue, I do hope you'll follow Dr. Ortiz's orders. Goodness...you're so tight from swelling that you need a complete unfill and then you follow it up with a lunch of roast beef and cheese crepe?! Yes, you can indulge yourself occasionally when you're eating very little, but being banded is also about changing your eating habits. For most people, if they're that irritated that they need an unfill, they're usually still pretty careful about eating choose liquids...which is exactly what Dr. Ortiz recommended.

Honestly, you sound pretty self-destructive, not only with your food choices, but the nightly dosing of Nyquil, vomiting, and just plain out NOT managing your band properly.

For any newbies or soon to be bandsters reading this thread, this is NOT the normal life of a bandster. Yes, I've pb'ed...but I've been banded almost a year and I've pb'ed an average of once per MONTH. And most of those were soon after a fill when you're having to adjust to the new restriction. I do not regularly slime or cough up mucous and rarely experience any pain with the band.

Sweetsue, please be careful. You don't want to lose the band, but even more importantly, you need to figure out WHY you're doing these things.

Cindy