ok. so here it is my friends. i make myself pb b.c. i can't take the pain after i eat anything. i am not overfilled. it is just that this has been going on so long i think i am terribly irritated or something b.c. it is so hard to even eat small ammounts of food. i am in pain but here is where i feel like a sikko...the dr. told me i should drink only liquids for like a week so i can get things back to normal.... does anyone relate to this cycle of trying to eat something, getting sick.... waiting a few hours and once you feel a little better, you eat something again (!) and pb and on and on.... any it seems i am incapable of not eating (and following my dr. advice...) i know i am supposed to go to mushys etc. to get this stopped (i think that's right?) but instead i will try sucking on some cheese curls, or will try to eat 2 small pieces of sushi--and then i wind up in the sink feeling so miserable for hours....

it is driving my husband nuts but i keep compulsively not do what i know i should---go to liquids and mushies only.... has anyone had this problem for like weeks on end (so you can relate to the pain and insanity of it all?) obviously the people who will just drink Protein shakes and warm liquids after they pb once , won't be able to relate... i pb 4-5 a day (please don't yell!!) and this has been going on for a couple of months on and off.....

and i'm just so hungry b.c. once i pb...i have nothing in my stomach so i always feel hungry!!

can anyone relate and offer any adivce (besides see a shrink asap!!) has anyone ever been this irritated and knows this cycle i'm talking about???

please please write if so, because i feel all alone as no one knows what i'm going thru, and i never told anyone about my surgery.....

god bless us all,

rachel

Hi,

I started taking Prilosec. My internist suggested I take it for 6 weeks to calm down the irritation. I take generic Rx so it's cheaper and I take it most days.

Try that, might help.

Jewel

Rachel, that cycle is going to lead to your band being removed. That's simply the way it is. Eventually you will cause yourself damage--either by making the band slip down further on your stomach, or by causing a hernia or erosion, or by irritating your esophagus so much it leads to a pre-cancerous condition. All three of those situations may eventually require band removal to correct. And if you continue the behavior without correction, you could seriously injure yourself, even permanently. Why go that route?

I think we can ALL relate to how hard it is to accept the new "full" feelings, and how difficult it can be to believe that the small amount we can eat is actually the correct amount we should be eating. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. But there is no happy ending if we continue to fight the band, which is exactly what you are doing.

You KNOW this is causing you harm. How can we help you get through this? Maybe you can start by telling us, right here in this thread, what made you decide to get the band in the first place? What was your experience that led you to bariatric surgery? Let's go back to the very beginning. Tell us how you heard about the band and what made you think it would help you.

I've had nothing but problems since I had my baby. My is totally unfilled and I'm having the same problems you are having. I have a scope scheduled on June 28th. Some days, I just do liquid and live with it, other days I get so upset that I'm ready to yank it out. One thing I know for sure, I will gain all of my weight if I yank it.

I think this band just doesn't agree with some people. I keep trying to deny that I may be one of those people, but for all of the reasons mentioned in the thread above this one, I need to get real.

thanks for writing back. the problem i have is that i am compulsive with food.. that's how i got to be so heavy.... i got banded in jan. (self pay!) and have lost over 50 lbs. which sounds great on paper, but in reality it's been a million times more difficult and frustating that i would have thought. so my problem is i get sick.... after the horrible feeling goes away in a 1/2 -3 hours (!) once i "feel" ok, i seem intent on trying to grab a dumb thing to eat instead of mushies or liquid.... (thinking i will eat just a bit, chew etc... and i'll be ok.... which i'm not... onto the next meal etc...) so i'm really really hungry because there is no food getting down and staying down.... i am jealous of all of you who are able to give up eating for the necessary time as when my dr. says i need to be on liquids for the next week, i nod my head but i know it's not realistic. i want this to work so badly. am really feeling down and just fed up with this thing.... it's not like i'm going out eating a plate of Pasta, i tried a few bites of tuna on a scooped out bagel today for lunch (literallly three small bites...) i've been sick all day. literally feeling like an acid or something all the way from my stomach up to my throat. it is a horrible feeling. i just can't seem to get on track here...

thanks for writing back though as i know i must sound like a retard, but i'm really hurting and hungry and just feel overwhelmed now....

thank you so much for writing back and caring....

rachel

Rachel, I've always found it's MUCH easier to give up food entirely than to try to stick to a diet of any kind. If you really make a commitment to stick to STRICTLY liquids even for the next one full day, then you can maybe make it two days and then three. Finding a way to avoid solid food entirely was, for me, a lot easier than trying to eat just a little bit.

This is not about dieting for you right now, and not about weight loss. You really need to take drastic steps to preserve the health and integrity of your esophagus. This is WAY more important than losing a few pounds. Please do yourself the immense boon of trying to stick with liquids for a few days at least. And take Prevacid or Nexium if you can get a prescription for it--you really do need to heal before you think once again about eating the bandster way.

thanks alexandra for your support. it is 2 a.m and i am still in terrible agony from tying this afternon to eat 2 teaspoons of tuna.... i am throwing up acidy bile stuff and the pain is just overwhelming.....i can't believe how long this episode is lasting....

well.... this is rock bottom for me. i pray i haven't already screwed myself up with this and will gladly stay on liquids or whatever if only this pain would stop.... this is just awful.

thanks guys.

rachel

Hi Rachel, just reading your post and feeling for you. God I know that feeling when you can't stop even though you know it will hurt you. I'm not banded yet but have eaten many times to the point of extreme pain.Alexandras advice is right on, take a HCL inhibter like nexium and also take tums (sucked) or some other antacid which will have a more immediate effect. Good luck on the liquids, you will fell better soon.

thanks alexandra for your support. it is 2 a.m and i am still in terrible agony from tying this afternon to eat 2 teaspoons of tuna.... i am throwing up acidy bile stuff and the pain is just overwhelming.....i can't believe how long this episode is lasting....

well.... this is rock bottom for me. i pray i haven't already screwed myself up with this and will gladly stay on liquids or whatever if only this pain would stop.... this is just awful.

thanks guys.

rachel

I sure hope you're feeling better soon, Rachel. Have you been back to the doctor to have a fluoroscopy exam? You're describing the way I felt when my band had slipped. Ultimately I was able to treat the irritation but the slip was already there and medication did nothing. Please stick to liquids for as long as you can (a week, at LEAST) and try to get back to your doctor soon. It may be more than just irritation.

Good luck!! :hug:

Hi: Perhaps, you are not chewing your food properly. Take a bite the size of a pea and chew it 30 times. Don't swallow until you have made the 30. After 20 minutes stop eating, (use a timer) whether or not you have finished your food. Under no circumstances do you drink water until at least 20 minutes after your meal. 1 hour is better. Make it your goal to not puke. If you make one day, try for two. I am now up to 2 weeks without puking. Also, how much fill do you have in your band. Have 1/2 of it removed. When you are no longer inflamed and have your eating under control then go for another fill. Doddie

thanks doddie for your advice. it's now 1 pm... was up all night and here we are and it is still so miserable. i'll burp every 15 min. or so and this acidy bile stuff comes to my mouth. i called my dr. yesteday, aside from chiding me for my insanity she suggested i come in for a slight unfill, but i'm only at .7 anyway so she doesn't think it's a restriction problem.... she told me what you all said...this is a dangerous game and i will end up having to have surgery again if i don't stop this....(consider that done! wow, this is so horrible, i definately learned my lesson....) but does anyone tell me how long this is going to be lasting... it's never lasted lasted this long and i am kinda scared to be honest. i am keeping down small sips of Water but like i said i get these horrible burps which just are driving me nuts.... i just want to be able to sleep a bit tonight and pray that this whole thing will end. (i haven't pb'd at all although part of me thinks it might help in the short run to not have this pain, but i'm too scared at this point....) this is insane!! oh and i am taking the prilosac stuff too but it doesn't seem to do much....(last nights dose came up 10 min. after i took it and it was awful....)

ok. i'm whining now. i'm so sorry guys. i just don't know how much longer this could hurt.... my dr. said it probably hasn't slipped (yet!) if i can hold down water etc.... so this is just a terrible esphogus thing or something from being inflamed and irritated for so many days now-and not doing what i needed to do.

has anyone had a smilar experience? (for your sake, i hope not.!) this just flat out sucks. and i can only be angry at myself, but wow. do i really really hurt.

whew... big sigh..... i think i can..... i think i can....

thanks to you all!!

rachel

Rachel, I found that Prevacid really helped a lot with the pain and discomfort. In my case I really did have a slip, so I absolutely think you should go in for an x-ray to see what's up. But in the meantime sticking strictly to liquids and using an acid blocker should calm things down in a couple of days.

Go for the precription. Prevacid makes a chewable which was the only thing I could get down when things were at their worst. OTC stuff never did the trick for me.

Rachel, listen to Alexandra--she really knows what she is talking about. I don't see where you said when you were banded. Is the band really new to you or have you had it awhile and had some past success and are just having problems now? I'm glad you are committed to following your doctor's orders--you CAN do this. We are all routing for you. Remember that if you follow your doctor's advice, things will get better.

I'm self-pay, too, and I constantly tell myself that I CAN NOT waste this money! Maybe that will help motivate you, too. It's too expensive to give up too soon or to not do what the doctor tells us and risk complications and many more $$$. Argh. It's definitely something we must have succeed, right? And I believe it will but we have to do our part. Hang in there and good luck! I hope you feel better soon.

I had the same issue when I was first banded, so it's a little different. I think your esophogas is really inflamed. Try your best to do liquids for just 1 day. If you can't do that, just eat really mushed up foods in teeny tiny bites. IE the tuna you had? Try it without the bread and eat it with a shrimp fork. It might go down better. BUT you would be better off with just liquids. If the Prilosec won't stay down, try to dissolve it in some Water maybe? Call the pharmacist and see what he/she says.

I hope you have called your doctor to get an x-ray too. You'll get better. You just have to try to break this cycle. Have you tried to talk to a therapist? I was bulimic as a teenager and you're doing the exact same thing I did only it's MORE dangerous now because you can have that band slip or erode. It's a very difficult habit to break but you MUST break it.

I'm praying for you. I hope you feel better soon.

guys thank you SO much from the bottom of my heart for all of your support. it means so much to me and is so helpful.

i actually went in today to nyc to have a complete unfill... i already feel better...(i can take a deep breath without sharp pain etc...)

wow. i was banded in jan. so yes i am new to this, but i learrned my lesson this time (finally... the hard way.) i need to follow the rules and stop fighting this band....although i'm the first to admit it's a lot harder than i thought it would be.... sign me up for when they have the "head" surgery to go with the band....

anyway. you guys are truly wonderful!!!

thank you,

rachel

.....so glad you feel better. My heart was breaking for you as I read your thread. I came online to ask a question, and this caught my eye and I decided to read. I'm glad I did.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do what you have to do to get well. Have you called the counselor who approved for you to have the surgery? Maybe you can talk to her/him also. I was just banded May 31st and my counsler made me sign an agreement to have 4 visits with her the first year after being banded. The wonderful thing about going to this therapist, she had weight loss surgery 8 years ago, and can relate to my struggles. I suggest you get in therapy, as well as continue to come to this AWESOME website for support.

Please keep us posted on your progress. I pray you will not loose your band, but if you have to, YOUR LIFE is more important.

BE ENCOURAGED!!!!