Hi everyone,

I had a fill last Monday & thought I was fine. I went from 1.2cc's to 1.7c's, she added .5 cc's.

I did 2 days liquids only, then got to the tuna stage, even had a hard boiled egg around 10:00 a.m. on Friday & was looking forward to a lovely dinner of cornish hen. Then around 3pm on Fri I had some lentil Soup. I've always sort of just drunk it, not chewed it, cause it slid right down. Well, this time it got stuck, I PB'd & haven't been able to get down much since, besides Water (which gurgles a LOT) a few Protein drinks (maybe it's hard cause they're cold) and chicken broth. That goes down the best, with no gurgling.

I'm reluctant to call my nurse pract. tomorrow (the only day she's on long Island) cause then she'll want to take some out & I was really forward to getting real restriction. But i'm also scared I'm damaging myself. Can this cause slippage? I'm not PB'inb, but sometimes if I drink too much of the Protein Drink at one time, some comes right back up, like a burp. Should I try sticking it out one more week? I know my period is coming on, so that might be contributing. I've been knocking my brains out trying to figure exactly when I'm due, but I never really keep track.

I know if I were really in agony, i could see nurse p. in NYC or Westchester if need by later on in the week. I also know I have till 8:00 tomorrow night to see her when she's nearby.

Now I'm rambling...I'm pretty upset. All advice, suggestions welcome. Thanks.

Karen

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Karen, I just copied and pasted this reply, which was orignally to Kelly.... I had to get an unfill Mar 11, I waited 9 days, thought it was swelling, NOT. I could keep Water and coffee down, but soup or anything else came back. I couldn't even eat my all time safe food...chili, not even pureed. If you're not more open by tomorrow I'd definately call for a little to be taken out. It's really weird, but since the unfill most of the time I can eat anything and too much of anything, but at the darnest time, like when I was at a restaurant yesterday, the first bite and I was done, had to go pb in the restroom. Now today, wide open again, don't think I could get a pb if I tried, lol.

I will mention when I apologized to my doctor for having to get the unfill, he said that's the wonderful thing about this band, adjustment is so easy. I hope he feels that way when I call him and tell him I need more tomorrow .

So remember, that is the good thing about this band we don't have to be miserable, don't suffer if you don't have to.

Be sure to keep us posted and good luck.

PS Karen, its a scary thing after a few days, I don't think your period would have that much of a bearing on the huge amount of restriction your experiencing.

I'm inclined to agree with Pat. Being too tight is not something you want to go on for too long. And if you're having real trouble eating solid food, you're too tight. Even a little taken out now can help, whereas if you let it go too long you may end up having to have ALL your fill taken out for a time. Or worse.

See how it is in the morning and midday. And good luck!!

I guess you two are right, I just needed to see it in print. I've put off even posting cause I kept thinking it would go away. Just ate a few bites of really, really pureed squash, warm, and it acutally hurt, even though it went down. I guess that's my answer. Do you think something could be damaged?

I'm one who misses restriction, If I could just get water and Protein shakes down was all I was concerned about, with No reflex!!!

It was always my greatest weight-loss stage.

It's such a fine line.

You have to know Your own body.

I went to see my doc this past Monday because I had trouble with proteins (meats mostly) going down and needed to get them in. Chicken, beef, pork, anything. I chewed till I was blue in the face but they got stuck. I know at the beginning, they said that if you have a problem with sticking your esophagus will swell a little from the problem and to wait a bit before trying again. I have been losing consistently so he did not want to do an un-fill. He said to try liquid protein supplements once a day or so for another month...and see how that goes. Plus I really needed to take the time to eat....i was eating way too fast. I am so glad I waited....I have been taking more time eating (reading books or magazines while I eat) and i have been fine all week! I do drink a Boost when I need to. Also heard that you have lots more restriction in the morning for some reason, so I try to have oatmean or a yogurt, something that goes down easy. Good luck!

Karen, if some of your drink is coming back up, you ARE pbing. You should stay on liquids for a day or so after a pb episode to allow the swelling in your esophagus to go down. Otherwise you're just repeating the damage over and over. That can lead to serious problems. I had to have only 0.2cc removed once because I was pbing on water. It made all the difference in the world. Best of luck to you!

Karen, Marie offers good advice.. did you do 24 hrs of liquids after your PB? The reason I ask is when you PB your esophagus can become swollen giving you more restriction the next time you eat any kinds of solids, if you do not do liquids it can become a vicious cycle. Ortiz always reccomends 24 hours of liquids aftera PB.

Probably not damaged but it could be sore/swollen as the ladies before me mentioned. My doc also recommends fluids after PB for 24 hours.

Try warm liquids... they can be quite soothing and help decrease restriction in most cases.

You can always call your doc tomorrow, right? Just to get his/her reassurance if nothing else.

Hugs.... let us know.

I did stick to liquids after I pb'd on Friday. I've not gotten off them yet. I think it's getting worse, if that cough plus spit-up is pb'ing, then I'm pb'ing liquids now. It is a vicous cycle, and I'm only on liquids. The squash puree is a soup sold in a cardboard container...totally liquid! Not good. Damn. When am I going to get this fill thing right? I guess I'm having some taken out tomorrow. I'll ask for .2cc's out & let you know how I make out.

thanks to everyone for your help.

Karen

Yeah, I think you are right Karen.

That slime stuff is a good sign something is up.

These fill things are so much more complicated than I expected. I thought it was a matter of how many fills... not thinking about all the variables of each fill.

When I had mine they asked how it felt... I wasn't sure and said it felt like it was in my throat. I think they took some out - I don't ask. I watch on the screen but try not to be wrapped up in numbers (works for the fill, not for getting on the friggin scale).

Hang in there. You'll get it right. It's so hard to go through when it's not the right amount (too little or too much).

Hugs,

Karen, if you DO get it right, will you let the rest of us know what that's like? We're still working on it. (I didn't tell my dr. how much to remove. He was the one that made that decision.) Hang in there, girl! (Hey, 32 pounds is nothing to sneeze at! Great job!)

Marie, you have such a way with words. I really appreciate it. My tummy sure does hurt now, I think it's telling me not to ignore what's been going on!

My heart is hurting too cause i just found out about Blossom. I feel kind of selfish w/my problems, but I know she never would have thought of it that way.

What a wonderful family we are, understanding each other like no body else every could. And boy, did she understand. What a terrible loss to her family, and what a wonderful person Philip is for sharing with us.

Thank you all for your help tonite, and may G-d comfort Carolyn's husband, family and friends.

karen

Karen, please take care of yourself and let us know what you find out. (((Hugs)))

Hi everyone,

I have a question is PB just feeling like some food or drink wants to come up a little or is it just throwing up. I experience (when I forget to chew or eat too fast) the feeling of it coming up but I don't always throw up. What kind of damage can this do? At times I do actually give it up to Ralph but its usually from lack of chewing well. I got my fill 3 weeks ago and it really has made a difference but this week I am able to eat more comfortably but the scale went up 1.5. could this be to the fact that I was consuming so very little after the fill and now my body is adjusting to more realistic meals or is my metabolism so shot that any bit of food makes me gain. By the way, this is a serious question.

Aurora

Aurora, are you pbing (throwing up - like baby spitup) often? If you are, this is not good and could be because you are filled too tight, eating too quickly and/or swallowing too big of bites. Were you doing this before your fill -- as often? Bites of solid food should be no bigger than a pencil eraser and chewed to a pulp before swallowing. If you're doing this since your fill, then a very slight unfill (even 0.2) may make all the difference in the world and still give you good restriction. How about tracking your calories on www.fitday.com for a few days? This is a good way to see what types of food choices you are making, calorie contents, etc. Are you getting consistent (routine) exercise? Are you getting your daily water load in? Good luck and please let us know how you're doing.