Well, I'm posting this just to let you know why one would get an unfill. I've been 'sitting on the fence' for quite some time and have finally decided to get a bit of an unfill.

• I can't eat much meat unless it's drenched in sauce or mayonnaise, and then only very little. As a result, I feel sure I'm not getting enough Protein
  
• 90% of the food I eat is "mushy"
  
• I'm not eating nearly enough fish, fresh veggies and fruit
  
• I'm eating WAY too much in the way of chips and crackers
  
• I'm starting to feel some reflux symptoms at night, but not too badly...just want to nip that in the bud!
  
• I have had a few esophageal spasms...not pleasant at all
  
• The list of healthy foods I cannot eat is WAY too long; I miss chicken and eggs and salads
  
• It takes me 45 minutes to get in a cup of food
  
• Milkshakes are a little too yummy to rely on for sustenance
  
• I'm growing weary of fighting with my band at every meal :thumbup:
  

SO... we shall see. I'm hoping to feel better soon. :crying: That would be nice.

• 
  

i LUV this thread! thanks terri.

i am SO hungry to eat a meal. a full well balanced meal!!!

i was at 8.5cc's in a 10cc band till last wk and had .5 taken out. since my last fill in mid march all of a sudden i got tighter, and tighter - i can't get enough calories in to workout properly. i hate drinking (protein shakes) my meals and have refused to go to the "soft side" for fear of what "could" happen. it's left me not able to eat a hot meal for well over a month; and it takes almost an hr to eat the smallest of hard protein meals.

well the unfill wasn't enough - i'm going in tomorrow to get more taken out. i just feel lethargic & not nurished properly. i typically work out 5-6 days a wk, and i've only been twice this wk & not much effort put in - cause i got not much in me.

this sweet spot chase is such a cat & mouse game - so much so that when i got there i didn't like it much.

i'm hoping tomorrow night i can have a GREAT hot meal for a change!

Lunasa - yep it sure sounds like you need an unfill! PBing liquids is a sure sign! Glad to see you posting!

Luluc - Why don't you go back to a post-op mushy diet just until your unfill?? Refried beads w/ cheese & salsa, cottage cheese, soups? One thing I do when I'm really feeling the need for some proteiin is to pound some chick breast really thin, cook it, then DICE it real tiny....I add it to soups, mostly. If DH is ordering chiinese I get a cup of hot & sour soup and add that chicken and some carrots, peas and Water chestnuts (all chopped fine) to my soup. It usually does the trick quite nicely.

Has anyone else experienced real restriction a week from their 3rd fill or at 5cc's of Fluid? I have one of the smaller bands and wasn't sure if this was normal.

I tried to have lebanese food tonight, falafel, hummus and egg salad earlier, everything got stuck. That hurts too, I never thought about what "not being able" to eat a food would actually feel like physically.

Any thoughts? I'm so glad to talk to others going thru the same stuff. I always tell anyone in the waiting area at the dr.'s office about this site :thumbup:

You're one week out from your fill? My suggestion is to stay with soups and mushies for another week...then proceed slowly with foods you've heard might be trouble. I can't eat eggs in any form whatsoever, for example. Eat a couple of bites then WAIT. If it goes down ok, then take another and WAIT again. Every time you get a fill it's a whole new ball game.

Luluc - Why don't you go back to a post-op mushy diet just until your unfill?? Refried beads w/ cheese & salsa, cottage cheese, Soups? One thing I do when I'm really feeling the need for some proteiin is to pound some chick breast really thin, cook it, then DICE it real tiny....I add it to soups, mostly. If DH is ordering chiinese I get a cup of hot & sour Soup and add that chicken and some carrots, peas and Water chestnuts (all chopped fine) to my soup. It usually does the trick quite nicely.

had some potato soup last night and it was decadent to EAT & not get stuck!!! hope todays' unfill will do the trick. i had been reluctant to go back to the mushie stage for fear of staying there; not dealing w/the need to really get an unfil. the small one last wk didn't see to have helped - so i was able to get in today for another tweek.

fingers crossed.

Terri, I finally called and scheduled an unfill for this Saturday. I just hope that I can hang in there that long. Today I can't even get liquids to go down. Last night I was able to eat a piece of cheese. I am not hungry at all, but am afraid of getting dehydrated. Sipped on warm tea this morning and it came up. Does anyone have any suggestions to get me through the next 4 days?

Terri, I finally called and scheduled an unfill for this Saturday. I just hope that I can hang in there that long. Today I can't even get liquids to go down. Last night I was able to eat a piece of cheese. I am not hungry at all, but am afraid of getting dehydrated. Sipped on warm tea this morning and it came up. Does anyone have any suggestions to get me through the next 4 days?

Call your doctor right now ... spitting up warm tea is not acceptable at all.

Terri, I finally called and scheduled an unfill for this Saturday. I just hope that I can hang in there that long. Today I can't even get liquids to go down. Last night I was able to eat a piece of cheese. I am not hungry at all, but am afraid of getting dehydrated. Sipped on warm tea this morning and it came up. Does anyone have any suggestions to get me through the next 4 days?

You sound exactly like me 1 week ago. I was PBing just about everything..even tea and yogurt. Cheese was about the only thing that would go down ok and stay down. I went in a couple of days ago for a slight unfill (they took out 1cc) and I feel SO much better.

I had to wait several days like you to go in for my unfill (not because of the doctor's office but because of the weekend and my schedule). Meanwhile I just took verrrrry tiny sips and not too close between or it came back up and I ate tiny bits of cheese here and there and sipped on Protein drinks the best I could. Those came back up too at times. I was pretty dehydrated by the time I got my unfill. You don't want to let yourself get that way. If there's any way you can get in sooner, you should.

Well, called my doctor here in town and she saw me right away. To make a long story short.... Ended up in the hospital to get rehydrated and the radiologist took out 1 cc using flouro. Can't wait to see how much all of this is going to cost! But after he took out that 1 cc, instant relief! Feeling much better today. Staying on liquids for a day and then mushies for a day. I hate it that it came to this, but my advice to anyone out there that can't keep down liquids "DON'T WAIT"!

Well, called my doctor here in town and she saw me right away. To make a long story short.... Ended up in the hospital to get rehydrated and the radiologist took out 1 cc using flouro. Can't wait to see how much all of this is going to cost! But after he took out that 1 cc, instant relief! Feeling much better today. Staying on liquids for a day and then mushies for a day. I hate it that it came to this, but my advice to anyone out there that can't keep down liquids "DON'T WAIT"!

When I was in a similar situation after an overfill the on-call surgeon met me at the office after midnight and told me that if you're vomiting liquids or your own saliva you shouldn't let it go on past 2 hours. I waited 10 hours before I called. brandyII

Well, called my doctor here in town and she saw me right away. To make a long story short.... Ended up in the hospital to get rehydrated and the radiologist took out 1 cc using flouro. Can't wait to see how much all of this is going to cost! But after he took out that 1 cc, instant relief! Feeling much better today. Staying on liquids for a day and then mushies for a day. I hate it that it came to this, but my advice to anyone out there that can't keep down liquids "DON'T WAIT"!

you went to your regular doctor or your band doctor?? How far away is your band doc??

Scary stuff but so glad you're ok! Just think how bad it would have gotten by Saturday!?!

Thank you all so much for your posts. I appreciate reading and learning what is happening to others.... I had my 3rd fill 3 days ago (5.5 total in a 10cc band), and am way too tight...PB'ing during every meal that I DON"T CHEW CHEW CHEW, or take VERY small bites. Wow, what a difference a .5 fill makes.

I have to learn to remember and plan snacks between meals, so I am not too hungry at a meal and take too big of a bite in the beginning... that is what does me in...Even drinking my protein milk shakes takes much longer... I can only sip and not gulp!!! My kids have always teased me(previously) that I eat too big of portions on my fork and gulp my drinks....now I understand what they are saying.

I want to give my body a chance to settle down... I don't want to go for an unfill yet.... I have resorted to taking a little plastic bag and many napkins with me at a meal, in case, I don't make it to the bathroom... Last night the ouside door of the restaurant was closer than the bathroom, so i took my little bag, hid myself from anyone in the street, PB'd, felt a whole lot better and sat while my husband finished dinner.... what a way to live!!!! My little secret is that I am LOVING eating less!!!!

Had my surgery 3/20/08, lost 17 pounds; 2 pounds to go to break 200!!!!

cc

Well, I FINALLY went in for the unfill and they took out 0.5cc. I went from the dr's office straight to a vacation with friends and I cannot tell you what a relief it was to be able to eat ANYTHING I wanted! Salad! Grilled chicken! Corn! Steak! Cantaloupe! Sandwiches! It may end up that this is "too loose" now....but I needed a break from this band more than I realized!

I'm gonna eat salads for a week solid! I missed them so much! Yea!!!!

Well, I FINALLY went in for the unfill and they took out 0.5cc. I went from the dr's office straight to a vacation with friends and I cannot tell you what a relief it was to be able to eat ANYTHING I wanted! Salad! Grilled chicken! Corn! Steak! Cantaloupe! Sandwiches! It may end up that this is "too loose" now....but I needed a break from this band more than I realized!

I'm gonna eat salads for a week solid! I missed them so much! Yea!!!!

terri - i LOVE my unfill. i too am a bit "Loose", however i needed to eat & ironically the scale is going down w/the more i put in.:tongue2:

my dr took out 1.3cc over 2 unfills and i probably need .5 back in to put me just where i need to be. i'm going to hang here another 3 wks though, as i have my wisdom teeth due to come out next wk & my surgeon thought it best me hang at this level till after that recovery.....

enjoy the salads!!!

I have been having a terrible time...I haven't been able to eat meat in almost a year. My GERD is constant. I practically live on liquids. I ate one deviled egg yesterday and had the fist in my chest feeling for 3 hours until I was able to throw it up. I don't have the money to keep going in for unfills and fills. I had one unfill 6 mos. ago but it didn't really change anything. I can eat a big bowl of cereal at one sitting, which makes me think my "pouch" isn't small enough anymore. Any ideas? I can't eat much of anything, AND I've quit losing.

Edited June 9, 200818 yr by Halobabe
spelling