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Band Changes During Pregnancy

I have been having some band problems since mid-September. My last fill prior was obtained in April and I was at my sweet spot forever.

I then got super tight which got progressively worse until I could not eat or drink a thing over a few days. I went for an emergency unfill (-2) and then got a small refill (+1.5) about 10 days later.

That small partial refill has been much to much and I am getting another small unfill next Tuesday. I can get things down, but not the things I want to eat (healthy Proteins & salads). I am still maintaining a healthy diet but am starting to understand the risk of going to slider foods when things wont go down . . . because it really just sucks not being able to eat anything comfortably.

Anyway, I realize now that my band problems happened at pregnancy, I just didn't know I was pregnant at the time. There is a perfect correlation with the timing. I need another unfill, not for morning sickness . . . because my band is much too tight. I go for my partial unfill next Tuesday.

Have other people noticing band tightness changes with pregnancy???

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Top Posters In This Topic

How has the tightness of your band changed during pregnancy? 1 member has voted

  1. 1. How has the tightness of your band changed during pregnancy?

    • No Change
      12%
    • Tighter
      63%
    • Looser
      9%
    • Fickle - Moves Between Tight & Loose
      15%

Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Featured Replies

Congrats on the pregnancy. I hope one day I will be posting to say I am pregnant also. How are you doing, being banded and pregnant? Any complications? Best of luck through it all!! Cute baby ticker

  • Author

I am doing really good so far. No morning sickness, only band tightness problems. I feel fairly normal, no complications or symptoms other than being moodier than normal.

I voted for "tighter" as well. I noticed that I got A LOT tighter right around when I probably became pregnant (around that couple of weeks anyway). It was so bad that I could barely eat anything and I was probably getting about 800-1000 calories per day, which is not enough for my large, 6'0 frame. I made an appointment with the doctor to get a small unfill, not knowing I was pregnant (but hoping I was), and on the morning of my appointment, I found out I was pregnant (and I was 3.5 weeks along at that point). All of this is to say that the tightness can seem to happen immediately after implantation for some reason.

The doctor took .6 out of my 3.5 cc's, and so now I'm at 2.9 in a 10 cc band, which isn't much, but I definitely feel restriction and I'll probably end up getting another unfill. I've noticed that I have to be super careful with what I eat, especially in the mornings because it can set me up for painful eating for the rest of the day. So, I've been eating things like cream of wheat and oatmeal.

Right now, I'm eating hummus but that's also because it's the only thing that sounds good right now. I swear this fetus is going to be vegetation. He/she won't let me even look at meat right now. I'm now 9.5 weeks, so I can't wait until the nausea lets up.

So, we suspected I was pregnant when the nausea and tightness last more than the normal 2-3 days before my period (oh yeah and I am 5 days late and I've been like clockwork since coming off the pill in April). So I went to the ER to get the dehydration treated and after 4.5 hours it is confirmed, I am pregnant! We have been waiting just over 4 years to hear those words I thank my band for this blessed occurrence.

Any tips you have will be greatly appreciated, I don't know if I can handle morning sickness, but I'm hoping that once I get my defill (I actually just happen to have an appt in the AM) I'll feel tons better.

Thanks for placing this post because it eased my concerns until I had confirmation.

Congrats to you on your pregnancy. My story is kinda like yours..we have been ttc 4EVER!! I have yet to be banded, still waiting on insur approval, but hopefully I will hear something soon. Keep us update don how things are going

I had no problems with my pregnancy and felt no difference in my band. During my pregnancy I kept the fill the same amount I did not have any removed or added.

Healthy boy 3.5 years ago now.

Got tighter partway in and received a partial unfill. Have gotten really tight in the last 2 or 3 weeks and can no longer get unfilled, so I'm just eating really late dinners and lots of liquids.

Makes sense for the added tightness when you consider the fetal positioning in relation to our anatomy.

  • 3 weeks later...

wow im so glad i found this thread. I just found out i am pregnant 2 days ago! Unexpected for me, a bit of a shock but im delighted. However, unlike most of you my band has actually been looser, and it just happened overnight, about a week ago, before i knew i was pregnant. I just woke up with a ravishing appetite (obviously due to the pregnancy), started eating (healthily!) and found i could eat alot more than the day before (or the last 6 months for that matter!). For a few days i just ate huge salads with lean proteins as i usually do but much more! its been great. I wasnt sure whether i was gonna need an unfill, but i guess not!

I got really tight right out of the gate, which all went away.

Head changes though, wow. The ounce of will power I use to be able to muster.. it's gone.. gone gone gone.

I got really tight right out of the gate, which all went away.

Head changes though, wow. The ounce of will power I use to be able to muster.. it's gone.. gone gone gone.

OMG Fairy... i know!!!!!! went grocery shopping yesterday... walked past French Cheesecake in a pie tin... 'yum'... i said to my DD...

how much is left?? :tongue: errrr, uhhhhh.... ummmmm.... about 1/4 of it. it was just SO amazingly good, i literally could not stop eating it.

needless to say, i wont be buying it anymore.

  • Author

Just a quick update . . . I went to my slight unfill appointment and the fill nurse wanted an immediate complete unfill. I pleaded and bargained for a partial and ma down to 4 cc's. However, amazingly, even though I could eat a horse at 6.8 cc's in the past, I still have some restriction. I just came back from a 3 week vacation in Turkey, and I also took a band break and ate the things I usually don't, but I only gained 1 pound and still had very limited capacity. A few bites and I am full and bread in any significant quantity is impossible.

There is no doubt, I am definitely tighter than normal post pregnancy.

Now that my pregnancy is over, I was tighter. I had to get an unfill (first adjustment in over a year) in my second trimester. I had them take out 1cc (had 2.75cc). I'm now 3 weeks past delivery and needing another unfill unless something changes drastically. Immediately after delivery I could eat as expected, but in the last 2 weeks I've gotten very tight - much tighter than before my 1cc unfill.

I'm not pregnant :tongue2:...(sadly I have to wait at least another year or so before I can even consider another baby, due to problems that I had with my son), but my surgeon said that they will just about completely unfill patients when they become pregnant...I guess everyone's surgeon has a different way of doing things though :lol: Good luck and congrats!!!

  • 5 months later...

I just found out this past week that I am pregnant. Yippee!!! Only 5 weeks so I'm sure things can change, but I've noticed that I'm able to eat more! Very strange.

I have found it worse as the pregnancy progresses. I had to have a complete unfill as I could keep nothing down. Even now with no fluid in the band I am still not able to keep food down unless it is very soft. Should settle once baby gets here though.

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