Pregnant and Banded...come join me!

[punkytres 0]

Hi, Im Emily I have been banded for 13 months and just found out that I am prego, yippeeee. But I want to know others exsperiences with the band and being pregnant, Im alittle nervious about it. Do they have to totally drain your band??? I go to the doc next week to have them drain, I dont want them to take it all out, is it ok to still have some while pregnant?? I have one child already but she is gonna be 10 in september so we have been trying for a long time, it seems all I had to do is drop some weight Any advice would be appreciated, thank you and congrats to all the new mommys

[-acl- 0]

Hi Everyone

I also am pregnant (10 weeks), it was a huge surprise to us as we weren't planning to have any more - our bubs are 13 and 10 years old.... now we have our heads around the fact we are happy.

I am only 6 1/2 months post band, I was using the contraceptive pill - as I have been for many years - but - now a baby on the way.

Anyway, just thought I'd say hi.

Amy

[losingitforlife 0]

I also am pregnant (10 weeks), it was a huge surprise to us as we weren't planning to have any more - our bubs are 13 and 10 years old.... now we have our heads around the fact we are happy.

Amy - Congrats!! That is so exciting. We have lots of fertility issues, my boys are 15 yrs old and 3 yrs old and we are trying for another in Aug through IVF. When people give me funny looks over there being 11 yrs between my kids, I just laugh and say it was "God's timing, not mine" Good luck and keep us posted on your pregnancy.

Im alittle nervious about it. Do they have to totally drain your band??? I go to the doc next week to have them drain, I dont want them to take it all out, is it ok to still have some while pregnant??

Emily, Every Dr. is different with what they want when your pregnant. I knew that if my Dr. asked me to get an total unfill, I would go find another Dr. LOL Now I'm at crunch time asked my Dr. what he suggested... He said a total unfill. He gave me a list of "worst case" scenarios and reminded me that they are only worst case but reassured me a total unfill was safest. After a few weeks of stewing about it, I agreed with him. I don't want to leave a slight fill in there and then run into problems getting the fill out w/out fluro because of the pregnancy. I had such a hard time accepting this suggestion but he was right, I would be so mad at myself if I was stubborn and didn't follow orders and then damaged my band or my body. My total unfill is scheduled for late July and my frozen round of IVF is Aug 7.

Good luck with your decision on the unfill. And a big congrats on the pregnancy!!

[Blessed_gemini 0]

:thumbup:Congratulations to you all!

I just delivered my beutiful healthy baby boy 6 weeks ago. I got pregnant less than a month post-op so I never had a fill. Luckily I only gained 36lbs, and so far have lossed about 22 of it. I'm back at my surgery day weight. I gotta admit I was a little upset when it happened, I mean 3 years of trying( I have PCOS) and when I finally decide to do something with my weight BOOM! there it was:ohmy:.... but I wouldn't trade my baby for anything though, everything happens for a reason. I just hope I can get back into the swing of things. Its been almost a year since surgery (7/17/07) I see people who had surgery the same day as I, and they are already down 70+lbs. I can't weight for that to be me:wink_smile: Pray for me!! I'm going to schedule my aptointment tomorow with the surgeon to get my fill. I sure hope nothing moved around in there during the pregnancy:unsure:

[Tinkerbell77 0]

Hi all, I am 33 weeks 5 days pregnant. I was banded July 18, 2007. In December of 07 I had emergency knee surgery and had to have a complete unfill in case as breathing tube was required during surgery. Then I started getting fills again and as soon as I hit restriction, I found out I was pregnant and was suffering from major morning sickness so my dr had me do a complete unfill again. Once past the first trimester I got a small fill but was told to get a complete unfill about a month before delivery in case of any complciations and needing a breathing tube. I am really worried about the unfill as the port is harder to get to because my uterus is pushing on it. I mean you can feel it, just not as well as before. They talked about doing the unfill under fluro but that is making me nervous too. Anyone experience the same thing? Oh and I have only gained 6 pounds. Anyone have an unfill this far alone?

[lisalu 0]

Hi Heidi,

Congratulations! Many bandsters have had babies without getting an unfill.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant and am at 1.6 in a 4.0 band. None of my docs have recommended an unfill. I'm not a doc so I have no idea how the band affects having a breathing tube.

I wonder how many bandsters have had a C-section without an unfill? Anyone?

Good Luck & ask your band doc!

LisaLu

[juno610 1]

Heidi - I had a complete unfill around 35 weeks (just because I mysteriously got really tight and couldn't eat anything at all). It took my doc almost 30 minutes to access my port and he was about to do flouro. As far as I understand, this far along flouro is OK. It's really when you're first pregnant and the baby is still doing some major development that you would want to avoid it.

[lisalu 0]

Juno,

Did your doc indicate whether there would be any problems if you were not tight and just didn't get an unfill?

I am 31 weeeks and am at 1/6 in a 4 cc band. No one has mentioned that I need an unfill or that there will be complications if I don't get one.

Should I request an unfill?

Lisalu

[Daisalana 33]

Guess I'll make my official post in here :biggrin:

I'm 1 year/5months banded.. and I found out I was preggo Aug. 19.. I'm 8 weeks this week. First ultrasound is Thursday..very excited..anxious..and nervous.

One of my 'symptoms' was that suddenly my band was too tight to eat (the weekend before Aug 19).. I was unfilled the following Monday, but only .5cc.. my doc is logical and doesn't want me getting fat during pregnancy.

I keep thinking about my friend, whose first ultrasound is where they told her it wasn't growing and it would be a matter of time before she miscarried.. and that was her 8 week appt. and she miscarried at 11 weeks. I'm a negative nancy, blah blah. And then all the statistics..

[juno610 1]

Lisalu -- Actually, he would've let me stay with my original fill the whole time if I hadn't had problems. So, I guess that makes the answer no. I started my pregnancy with about 1.9cc, got unfilled to 1.3 at 6 weeks (super tight then too), then made it almost all the way before I got too tight again. I am at high risk for a c-section, so I'm feeling pretty good about having it empty at this point. I've also only gained about 5 more pounds since my unfill. Believe it or not, I still have halfway decent restriction with the darn thing empty!

Laura - Congratulations!!! I'm so excited for you! :biggrin: Positive thoughts now! I've really had to watch what I'm reading lately -- I keep coming across all these horrible stories about things going wrong very late in the game. It makes me just want her out NOW. I know everything will be fine though. My doc was logical too, LOL! I still gained about 20, but I don't think that's too bad considering!

[lisalu 0]

Congrats on your pregnancy FF -

I was so scared about miscarriage. I told everyone I knew that I was pregnant at 5 weeks. Because if you know me, you know that I can't keep a secret. I said to my friends "What if I miscarry & then I have to tell everyone I'm not pregnant anymore", they said "so what, then you have all that support from the people who you have told". Which is true. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought I would look foolish for telling everyone I was pregnant and then misscarrying and not actually being pregnant anymore. I guess because it happened to me so late in life (39) that I had a hard time believing that I actually was pregnant. Maybe I felt that people wouldn't believe that I ever was if I had a miscarriage. Plus, I had wanted a baby for so long that I felt like anything I did would jinx it. What pressure I put on myself!!!!

Well, if you could see me now at 31 weeks. I am sporting a big baby mountain. I didn't get the cute little baby bump, because I was never little. I had lost 75 pounds with the band, but had gained some back because it had loosened up. I was at 185 when I found out I was pregnant and am now at 230 something...... I was 246 when banded in May of 05.

It sucks so bad putting all the weight back on again. But, I know with the band I will be able to lose it again. It will be a long, hard battle. But, it wasn't easy losing it the first time either.

I am so happy for all you pregger ladies out there. It's awesome. Every bit of it. Even the fat & bloating & ankles as big as my calves. Although clothes have become my enemy. No cute little waist band elastic maternity pants for me. I need the full on front polyester panel in my pants. So sad :biggrin:. But, TOTALLY WORTH IT!

[lisalu 0]

Juno,

What are the complications of having a c section with the band. I'm thinking about calling my fill doc today to have her check with the sugeon to see if I should get a complete unfill. I'm getting nervous now. That I should get the 1.6 cc taken out. None of my docs have said anything. But, sometimes you have to take charge & be responsible for your own health care decisions. I don't know what to do.

[Daisalana 33]

One of my biggest worries is that I have no morning sickness!!

I know some people don't get it, but I want everything to be 'by the book' so it feels normal. Until they show me it's all healthy and good, I always have a scared feeling it's not alright.

I gained 7lb the first week I found out, not sure why, I don't think I ate anymore than usual.. but since then I just bounce around my current ticker weight, I've not been back up to 219lb in over a week, so that's good.

[lisalu 0]

Laura,

I had NO morning sickness either. Maybe that's why I worried so much. Just consider yourself very fortunate. I gained 10 pounds my first week or two (also, don't know why), after that I didn't gain any more weight for 2 months. I did have to have a slight unfill because I was choking at night. I've gained 45 pounds, which is irritating, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

Now, that I'm in my 7th month. I eat a lot less & get full faster because the baby pressure makes my stomach smaller (or something like that). Anyhow, all is good ........except for the decision about whether to get a complete unfill or not.

[Daisalana 33]

Thanks lisa, I'm glad to hear that & that everything is going fine for you :thumbup:

48 hours from now I can officially celebrate!!