I had a fill yesterday and, while Water or Gatorade goes down just fine, anything thicker (tomato Soup or Slimfast) comes back up withing 15 minutes. Has anyone had a reaction to a fill like this?

I had my first fill (2cc, which is half way) in October and finally found a doc in my area to do another fill. He put in 1cc, which turned out to be way too much; I couldn't swllow my own saliva!. He then unfilled .5cc, which allowed me to get liquid down just fine. I ate soft foods that same evening and all seemed well, but that night I woke up in the middle of the night and was thirsty. So I grabbed a bottle of water and chugged, completely forgetting, because I was half asleep, that I had a band, and ended up vomiting the water back up.

The next day I couldn't get anything down again. I waited to see if it was just some residual swelling, but after 2 days with nothing to eat and hardly any liquid, I went back to the fill doc. He completely unfilled me and gave me steroids to get the swelling down, and in a week I was back to square one.

Yesterday, I had a fill of 2.1 cc's. Water, as I said, goes down just fine. Last night I took a few sips of tomato soup and, while it went through the band just fine, when it hit my stomache below the band, it came back up...not a violent wretching, but like a soft PB, but with all the other reactions of vomiting (momentary chills, watering eyes, etc). I didn't try anything else last night, went to bed, and this morning drank a bottle of water. Again, no problems with the water. So I tried a few sips of Slimfast...back to the vomiting.

So has anyone had a similar experience? Should I be very concerned about the vomiting?

Sounds like maybe you are still too tight. Since you can get some liquid down, but not all. I would consider myself too tight, if I couldn't eat solid protein, let alone slim fast. You may have to go back to a smaller fill, it may have left you with swelling still, especially when your stomach starts trying to digest.

I think I would call my Dr. You don't want to lose weight this way, you will lose muscle---you need nourishment!

Good Luck!!!!

Kat

There can also be some swelling right after a fill, that may go down after a few days.

I thought swelling might be the issue. I know what too-tight feels like, and can actually feel both the Water and thicker fluids going through the band with only minor restriction. The problem is when it reaches the lower stomache (now I sound like a cow!) and gets rejected. I'll give it the rest of the day, just drinking water, then see if I can keep down thicker stuff tonight.

Thanks for the support. It helps!

Are you truly vomitting or just "PBing" (bringing the food from your esophagus, but no stomach acids or anything). Because depending on which is happening, advice may be very different.

I thought swelling might be the issue. I know what too-tight feels like, and can actually feel both the Water and thicker fluids going through the band with only minor restriction. The problem is when it reaches the lower stomache (now I sound like a cow!) and gets rejected. I'll give it the rest of the day, just drinking water, then see if I can keep down thicker stuff tonight.

Thanks for the support. It helps!

Are you truly vomitting or just "PBing" (bringing the food from your esophagus, but no stomach acids or anything). Because depending on which is happening, advice may be very different.

It's from the stomach, though fortunately there's no acid. That's the confusing part. I take a few sips, it goes through fine; no golf-ball-in-the-chest feeling, then 10 minutes later, that un-well feeling and...you get the idea.

I've not heard of that... *thinking*

I do get stomach pain fairly frequently when I eat. Have from the beginning. It just aches a lot of the time. And when something is stuck, I feel it in my stomach and not chest/esophagus area. I've *never* felt a golf ball. Never anything in my chest area, except for general restriction feelings. Everything associated with a stick or PB is in my stomach to start (around the area of my bellybutton, which is actually much lower than the stomach), then progresses to my hips, them to my back, and the last place I feel the "inevitbale symptoms" is in my throat. But I've not had to wretch or heave from the "real" stomach...

Hmm...

Ok, here's a wild guess. And I don't mean this in a "you don't know what you're feeling" way. And I'm not trying to tell you this is what it is. But I'll throw it out there as something to think about. Any chance it's coming from the esophagus, and just feels like the stomach? I know it does for me. Here's why I ask...

When you vomit, the contents of the stomach are going to come up. Your stomach doesn't hold things separately...so if you're only bringing up the Water, or the soup, I don't think it would be coming from the stomach... because once it hits the stomach it's part of the "melting pot" of stomach contents, and would no longer be just soup or just water.

So maybe you're feeling part go through, even enough to cause a temperature change, but then something is clamping down and not letting the rest through?

I know when I PB I get the chilld, watery eyes... and I'm shaky afterward, and often get a runny nose and feel like I just need to go take a nap. Sometimes it's the *yak* -- ok, so what were we talking about? But not always. Depends (I think) on what has to make it's way up, and how stuck it is.

You may have a point. I've had lots of PB's in the past, and this felt nothing like them. But maybe it's a different kind of PB?! It does feel like my stomach though (it is both Water and soup coming up).

However, this may be a moot point. I've been sipping Slimfast for about 15 min now and so far, so good.

Maybe It's just a crazy coincidental flu bug! Who knows... We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Thanks Again

Since you say it is going through your band and hitting the bigger tummy then coming up...sounds like a tummy flu or...don't know if it's possible...could you be pregnant? To me it's less of a band thing since you say it's the larger tummy, not the pouch it is coming from.

However...no matter how it's coming up your stoma is inflamed! I suggest getting some aloe juice RIGHT AWAY. Take it soon. It will get the swelling down. It's an amazing help to a bandster. When I have a PB I take it right away and recover so much faster. Only need a couple small sips. It tastes terrible...hopefully a couple small sips won't come back up.

Wow, aloe... didn't know about that. I'll check it out. I have NO IDEA what it was, but it seems to be gone now. Had Slimfast, then tomato Soup....YEAH!

Thanks

SeaBreeze,

It might be that tomato soup is just too acidic, especially after a fill. I can't ever tolerate tomato soup, or spaghetti sauce. It makes me vomit. So I have to stay away.

Geeze, this is not the easiest road to take, is it? Being a bandster is tough, and kinda trial and error. Some of us are hungry, some are just right, others are too tight.

I wish we could all just hit that happy medium, who knew going in that it would be like this?

I should have read more support group stuff, before surgery; or then again, maybe it's better I did not!

Ok folks I NEED YOUR HELP!! I had my band tightened a week ago Monday. Its the first time I have had any restriction. ( besides the post op swelling! ) I don't know what is too tight. I can basically only drink liquids. I can drink soup put thru the blender. Late at night I can sometimes eat a little. Other wise it keeps coming back up in a slim form. ( not trying to be gross ). I don't know if I am eating too fast or what. I am worried about protein. I don't really understand it just know its important. I don't do well with the shakes. I have an automatic gag reflex when I try to drink them. Is there a pill form of protein. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and God Bless, The New Me

:help: Ok folks I NEED YOUR HELP!! I had my band tightened a week ago Monday. Its the first time I have had any restriction. ( besides the post op swelling! ) I don't know what is too tight. I can basically only drink liquids. I can drink soup put thru the blender. Late at night I can sometimes eat a little. Other wise it keeps coming back up in a slim form. ( not trying to be gross ). I don't know if I am eating too fast or what. I am worried about protein. I don't really understand it just know its important. I don't do well with the shakes. I have an automatic gag reflex when I try to drink them. Is there a pill form of protein. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and God Bless, The New Me

New Me,

I just went through the same thing. After trying to eat a salad with chicken (actually, just pick at it), something got stuck. I PB'd and then went back on liquids, thinking it would heal and be fine. No, it didn't heal on its own. The band was SO tight it took an entire day to down 20 oz. of Water. I decided to see the doctor (which is in Mexico.) On the way, I began vomitting blood. The band area had gotten so swollen and irritated, it was bleeding! I had to have a TOTAL unfill. It will take three weeks now to heal up for another fill.

I don't EVER want to be too tight again!!! It is NOT worth it. The doctor told me that being too tight is risky for the health of the band also.

Please get a slight unfill. It is better to be safely eating healthy salads, veggies and fruits, than choking on Ensure the rest of our lives.