My wife and I are taking a three-week European trip this winter and will likely run into situations where much food will be foisted on us and it will be considered very rude of me to eat only what the band will allow me to eat.

Has anyone had their band emptied so they can eat more when traveling and then refilled when they return? Are there any repercussions of a complete unfill followed by a refill several weeks later (besides the likely weight gain)?

Aurelia: As I already stated, having a discussion where someone poses a question and then pushes back to test the assertions laid out by others does not mean they are "hellbent" on doing something; for me it means exactly the opposite. I have not made a decision. I am an independent thinker and when I want to do something, I choose to do it once I believe I have sufficient information to do so. I don't need baseless platitudes or the validation of other people to support my decisions. What I do need is more information based on the actual experiences of other people (plus my doctor's opinion) to help me make an informed choice.

I understand that saying I don't worry about the validation of other people appears to conflict with my initial point in this whole conversation about eating more than a lap band portion to not be insulting to hosts. We make trade-offs in all things in life. Given my hosts and their likely inability to understand what is going on with me and the effect that being rude will have on my relationships with other people who have relationships with my hosts, I am trying to find a way to accomodate my own issues and the cultural issues. I am not looking for anyone to tell me I won't have to pay a price for the unfill period, I am certain there will be some price. But I want to make the best decision I can by having as much information as possible about that price.

As kglover correctly points out, we're 8.5 months from the trip and I agree with her that my thoughts and feelings about many things will likely undergo significant changes. Talking in absolutes does not advance this conversation unless you have some firm basis for stating that the three-week situation I have laid out will stop and reverse my weight loss for all time even if I am refilled afterwards. I understand and am sympathetic as to why some people need to deal with the issue of their weight in absolutes and if I were considerably older and wasn't trying to use the tools I have to address this issue and get more information months in advance, I'd be right there with you on looking at this as black and white rather than very gray.

On the cow comment: I'm all for comedy and as anti-PC as they come, I was just worried it was in the same vein as the previous commenters who are thinking I'm going from lap-band portions to a trough.

NancyB: Great point about walking more. But to add some more information into the conversation, walking is not an issue for me. I decided on surgery now because I wanted to avoid all the unfortunate co-morbidities suffered by many on the board. I don't have any though. If you looked at my medical record and ignored the weight, you would see a healthy 32 year-old male with acceptable total cholesterol but an undesirable HDL/LDL/Triglyceride balance and slightly elevated blood sugar. I can workout at high intensity for an hour. And I know I'm fortunate that my body has tolerated the weight as well as it has for as long as it has (although the last 90 lbs are only in the last couple of years).

Sweet spot issues and a significant delay in getting back on track do seem to be a real concern though. I am prepared to accept 3 weeks of nil loss or slight gain (10-15 lbs) in return for ensuring I am acting in a culturally appropriate manner and being a good guest. But if the idea I have would result in being plateaued for months afterwards or the end of any lap-band progress at all, I would not do it. I haven't had my first fill yet (4 weeks from now), so who knows what is going to happen with fills at this point anyway.

Just so we're clear (and I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet), I am exploring ways to communicate what I would need to communicate about my eating restriction to our hosts the same as I would with a friend having me over for dinner in the US. If I were confident that would work, I wouldn't be here on the board asking questions. And I would absolutely choose that option over an unfill even if the information I get on the board and from my Doctor convinced me that a 3-week unfill would be okay.

I understand you are saying you would not gorge yourself but... stop and think about something. You are talking about potentially gaining 10-15#. That is 35,000 - 52,500 calories above and beyond your usual food intake for three weeks.

When you are talking to a bunch of WLS vets we are programmed to look at the numbers and see things in a way we didn't before. What are you eating currently? With an unfilled band I'm guessing...1200? Is that reasonable? You are suggesting you'll be eating about 3700 calories a day. For *us* that is a massive quantity. For *our* population that is gorging. I think that's where the adjectives are coming from.

Aurelia: As I already stated, having a discussion where someone poses a question and then pushes back to test the assertions laid out by others does not mean they are "hellbent" on doing something; for me it means exactly the opposite. I have not made a decision. I am an independent thinker and when I want to do something, I choose to do it once I believe I have sufficient information to do so. I don't need baseless platitudes or the validation of other people to support my decisions. What I do need is more information based on the actual experiences of other people (plus my doctor's opinion) to help me make an informed choice.

I understand that saying I don't worry about the validation of other people appears to conflict with my initial point in this whole conversation about eating more than a lap band portion to not be insulting to hosts. We make trade-offs in all things in life. Given my hosts and their likely inability to understand what is going on with me and the effect that being rude will have on my relationships with other people who have relationships with my hosts, I am trying to find a way to accomodate my own issues and the cultural issues. I am not looking for anyone to tell me I won't have to pay a price for the unfill period, I am certain there will be some price. But I want to make the best decision I can by having as much information as possible about that price.

As kglover correctly points out, we're 8.5 months from the trip and I agree with her that my thoughts and feelings about many things will likely undergo significant changes. Talking in absolutes does not advance this conversation unless you have some firm basis for stating that the three-week situation I have laid out will stop and reverse my weight loss for all time even if I am refilled afterwards. I understand and am sympathetic as to why some people need to deal with the issue of their weight in absolutes and if I were considerably older and wasn't trying to use the tools I have to address this issue and get more information months in advance, I'd be right there with you on looking at this as black and white rather than very gray.

On the cow comment: I'm all for comedy and as anti-PC as they come, I was just worried it was in the same vein as the previous commenters who are thinking I'm going from lap-band portions to a trough.

NancyB: Great point about walking more. But to add some more information into the conversation, walking is not an issue for me. I decided on surgery now because I wanted to avoid all the unfortunate co-morbidities suffered by many on the board. I don't have any though. If you looked at my medical record and ignored the weight, you would see a healthy 32 year-old male with acceptable total cholesterol but an undesirable HDL/LDL/Triglyceride balance and slightly elevated blood sugar. I can workout at high intensity for an hour. And I know I'm fortunate that my body has tolerated the weight as well as it has for as long as it has (although the last 90 lbs are only in the last couple of years).

Sweet spot issues and a significant delay in getting back on track do seem to be a real concern though. I am prepared to accept 3 weeks of nil loss or slight gain (10-15 lbs) in return for ensuring I am acting in a culturally appropriate manner and being a good guest. But if the idea I have would result in being plateaued for months afterwards or the end of any lap-band progress at all, I would not do it. I haven't had my first fill yet (4 weeks from now), so who knows what is going to happen with fills at this point anyway.

Just so we're clear (and I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet), I am exploring ways to communicate what I would need to communicate about my eating restriction to our hosts the same as I would with a friend having me over for dinner in the US. If I were confident that would work, I wouldn't be here on the board asking questions. And I would absolutely choose that option over an unfill even if the information I get on the board and from my Doctor convinced me that a 3-week unfill would be okay.

Are you serious? You just got your band less than a month ago and you're thinking of sabotaging yourself before you start. I've traveled all over the world and dealt with many different cultures. It really isn't difficult to say I had a surgical procedure done and my stomach is now the size of an egg. Please don't be upset if I'm only able to eat a very small portion of food. People are capable of understanding and if anything they'll be curious and have many questions. It's not this big deal that you're making it out to be.

You keep saying you want a dialogue etc but instead it seems as if you're looking for rationalizations for your future bad decision. Maybe, getting banded wasn't a big deal for you or maybe the reality of your new lifestyle hasn't set in. Getting an unfill is a BAD, BAD DECISION.

I understand you are saying you would not gorge yourself but... stop and think about something. You are talking about potentially gaining 10-15#. That is 35,000 - 52,500 calories above and beyond your usual food intake for three weeks.

When you are talking to a bunch of WLS vets we are programmed to look at the numbers and see things in a way we didn't before. What are you eating currently? With an unfilled band I'm guessing...1200? Is that reasonable? You are suggesting you'll be eating about 3700 calories a day. For *us* that is a massive quantity. For *our* population that is gorging. I think that's where the adjectives are coming from.

That's my fault. The weight gain number was a ballpark based on the maximum acceptable gain to me over that time period. I didn't base the gain on the additional calories I would expect to consume. I would not be putting down 3700 calories per day for 3 weeks straight. Of the 3 weeks, there are only 7-8 days that are a concern. The other 13-14 days I will be in situations where I will definitely not have cultural/communication issues related to eating and will be able to make appropriate food choices based only on my own dietary concerns.

Are you serious? You just got your band less than a month ago and you're thinking of sabotaging yourself before you start. I've traveled all over the world and dealt with many different cultures. It really isn't difficult to say I had a surgical procedure done and my stomach is now the size of an egg. Please don't be upset if I'm only able to eat a very small portion of food. People are capable of understanding and if anything they'll be curious and have many questions. It's not this big deal that you're making it out to be.

You keep saying you want a dialogue etc but instead it seems as if you're looking for rationalizations for your future bad decision. Maybe, getting banded wasn't a big deal for you or maybe the reality of your new lifestyle hasn't set in. Getting an unfill is a BAD, BAD DECISION.

If I asked "I am going on vacation and will keep my band filled, is that the right thing to do?" would there be any discussion or comments? Of course not. I posed the appropriate question necessary to generate information and thoughts on the issue that I am trying to work through and about which I have not made a decision. As people challenge my question and assumptions and I challenge theirs in return, we all learn more about both positions and their validity or invalidity. That is the nature of a didactic dialogue. If the only thing you can draw from that is that it looks like rationalization then so be it. Obviously other posters are willing to accept this issue as undecided for me, as I have stated repeatedly. You have not explained why this is a "bad, bad decision" without relying on unsupported pat statements.

We can disagree as to whether or not the eating issue is a big deal and whether it is a useful for me to spend my time in Europe talking about my surgery over dinner, but that's not the issue. I already stated that if I can avoid the rudeness problems and not get the unfill, that is the solution I will choose and I am currently working on getting an answer on precisely that point. While I am working on that solution, there does not seem to be any reason not to have a discussion about whether a temporary unfill is something I can recover from in a reasonable amount of time. At the very least it will provide people researching whether to have the surgery some better understanding of what I suspect is an issue for people other than myself.

Edited March 29, 200917 yr by kamala

I'm officially done with this assinine conversation. Apparently people in Europe are incapable of understanding you had a procedure. The fact that you need to have a dialogue about this speaks volumes about you and your commitment to losing weight. Good luck with your trip and your "future weight loss".

For me personally I would not get the band unfilled. I have not told a lot of my family and friends. I was recently out with someone and they asked why I did not eat as much and why I would not take any of the left over food. I told her that I decided to work with a nutritionist, doctor, and personal trainer to lose weight (she did notice the weight loss) for my health and by eating smaller healthier portions I have been very successful in losing my weight. She applauded me for this and said she wished that she had the will power to do what I do. We talked about my exercising routines and what I eat and do not eat. The band was never discussed because it's a personal choice for me. Not everyone needs to know my business. If you explain it to them that what you are doing is for your overall health I do not see how they could be insulted by this. You should be applauded for your achievements.

I know you will probably take this part the wrong way but if they are insulted after you have explained this to them then oh well. I am sorry but I am doing this for me and for no one else. For years I did things for everyone else with no regard for what I was doing to my own health. Now I will not do anything to compromise all that I have achieved because I will offend someone.

By the way we are planning on a vacation (maybe overseas not sure) within the year and I have absolutely no intention of unfilling my band. My DH is 100% in agreement with me on this.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do. Make the decision for you and for no one else.

If I asked "I am going on vacation and will keep my band filled, is that the right thing to do?" would there be any discussion or comments? Of course not. I posed the appropriate question necessary to generate information and thoughts on the issue that I am trying to work through and about which I have not made a decision. As people challenge my question and assumptions and I challenge theirs in return, we all learn more about both positions and their validity or invalidity. That is the nature of a didactic dialogue. If the only thing you can draw from that is that it looks like rationalization then so be it. Obviously other posters are willing to accept this issue as undecided for me, as I have stated repeatedly. You have not explained why this is a "bad, bad decision" without relying on unsupported pat statements.

We can disagree as to whether or not the eating issue is a big deal and whether it is a useful for me to spend my time in Europe talking about my surgery over dinner, but that's not the issue. I already stated that if I can avoid the rudeness problems and not get the unfill, that is the solution I will choose and I am currently working on getting an answer on precisely that point. While I am working on that solution, there does not seem to be any reason not to have a discussion about whether a temporary unfill is something I can recover from in a reasonable amount of time. At the very least it will provide people researching whether to have the surgery some better understanding of what I suspect is an issue for people other than myself.

I have a hunch that by the time you have had your band for 8 months or so and when your trip comes around... I think you'll be feeling the same way we do. When you start getting fills you will find that you are forced to look at your food issues in a way you never did before. When your freedom to eat quantity is taken away you will be in for a bit of shock, I think we all are. When you start realizing how much of a role food plays in your life I have a hunch you will run in fear of an unfill before vacation. ;o) It's something we ALL face at one point or another in one form or another.

You are a newbie, as we all were at one time. You are going to find your thinking changing a great deal over the next few months and that's a good thing. We've all been through it, going through it, or will go through it.

I can understand why a noob asks these kinds of questions. I'd be shocked if a vet asked this, but a noob, most of us have asked the same thing.

Just a suggestion, a year from now... or 8 months from now... come back and reread this thread. You'll see just how far you have come. You are not unique in this, we ALL go through this stuff. It's hard to explain but in a year or so you'll be responding to these posts the same way we are. ;o)))

I know you will probably take this part the wrong way but if they are insulted after you have explained this to them then oh well. I am sorry but I am doing this for me and for no one else. For years I did things for everyone else with no regard for what I was doing to my own health. Now I will not do anything to compromise all that I have achieved because I will offend someone.

I could not take that the wrong way, that's the central issue. I definitely understand the perspective of taking care of yourself and everyone else be damned at this point because that is what is going on in my daily life right now. The only difference with my trip is that I'm exploring if there is some cost I am willing to accept for taking account of issues external to myself and if that cost is inline with what cost I am willing to accept. You just decided to stop spending and I definitely understand that decision!

I was going to bed, and this thread kept running through my mind...

WasA said a lot of the same things I said earlier, or tried to say anyways. But there are some other things I wanted to mention...

First: You are a newly banded person. You have not had any fills, so you are probably hungry. Hunger= thoughts of food.

Second: Thoughts of food and that desire to eat make us think in an unhealthy manner.

That being said:

a) If I were a band surgeon and a patient came to me asking if they could be unfilled for a trip they had planned in 8 months, I would really question their level of commitment to the band, and to weight loss in general. The band is an adjustable thing, but it should NOT be adjusted for the sake of a trip, a cruise, or an anniversary celebration at a buffet. I've seen many similar threads, people asking about this type of thing, asking about learning to do self-fills for when they want to eat more, and THOSE people are the people who have more band problems and never get to their TRUE potential weight. Sure, Bandster A may have gotten to a 'dream' size 12, but if she stuck to the rules and lived her life with her band instead of fighting against it, she'd be in a size 6, and out of the overweight category.

:tongue_smilie: If I were your surgeon I'd wonder why you were worried about food that you may or may not consume in 8 months. 8 months is a long time to be mourning a meal you never had, or might never have. If you have some fills and get to a sweet spot and are still thinking about these potential meals, I'd SERIOUSLY go for counseling. Cause there is another underlying problem that needs to be addressed.

Now I am IN NO WAY trying to be condescending or anything like that. Because as I said before, 8 months is a LONG TIME and once that weight starts REALLY coming off, when you look in the mirror and turn yourself on, and when you're not so worried about your next meal, things will probably be VERY different. As Wasa said, bookmark this thread and come back to it in 8 months... you might be surprised how differently you think...

First: You are a newly banded person. You have not had any fills, so you are probably hungry. Hunger= thoughts of food.

...

THOSE people are the people who have more band problems and never get to their TRUE potential weight. Sure, Bandster A may have gotten to a 'dream' size 12, but if she stuck to the rules and lived her life with her band instead of fighting against it, she'd be in a size 6, and out of the overweight category.

:tongue_smilie: If I were your surgeon I'd wonder why you were worried about food that you may or may not consume in 8 months. 8 months is a long time to be mourning a meal you never had, or might never have. If you have some fills and get to a sweet spot and are still thinking about these potential meals, I'd SERIOUSLY go for counseling. Cause there is another underlying problem that needs to be addressed.

No hunger on 3 properly-sized meals a day (about 1 cup), no Snacks, and no Water 1 hour after or 20 mins before meals. Despite all this talk about meals on the board today, I had to remind myself to go eat dinner. I haven't written too much about my lap-band experience on the board because I have had zero problems and I know many folks here have problems and I don't want to be all woohoo about it in their face. Insurance approval, surgery approval, three week pre-op liquid, surgery, hospital, liquids, post-op visit, mush, now starting solids, all good. Part of that has to do with being younger without co-morbidities, part with following my doctor's instructions to the letter, and part with finding the right Protein Drink.

I understand how thinking about a meal 8 months from now would be cause for concern, but I don't think the timing is anything more than I had surgery two weeks ago and we have been booking various travel accomodations every other day for the last few weeks. So it is only natural to be thinking about some logistical issues. But I agree the fixation issue is definitely something to monitor and keep an eye on to make sure it doesn't crop up.

I think we need to change the name of this thread to "empty band ignorance" I can understand everyones fear and thoughts of relapse, but good night how many have actually had an unfill? As I have stated before when you do unfill you are still un able to eat like you did before the band was put in. Your stomach is still small. You don't see ethiopians get more food and are able to gorge themselves. You will have your limits. you will still get full quick. I think everyone is wayyy over thinking this. Get your unfill, go have fun. The only problem you will have is say you're at 6 cc's right now when you come back they will only put in about 2 to 3 cc's to work you back to your 6. That may take some time but you will continue to lose weight and still remain full. My last thought on this. When you reach a point where you're due for a fill you can eat more you, get hungrier more ( you can gain weight again), Am I right? So to anyone that doesn't rush and get a feel do you say the same to these folks? You're cheating yourself etc... Hell no its just usually about lack of time or if the place you go to has openings etc...

Hello All,

I was banded at the end of September and travel every week for work. Right now, I'm in Chicago one week and San Diego the next. This has been the norm for me since being banded. We also travel quite a bit ~ Hawaii at Christmas, London the end of April and then three weeks in New Zealand in July. Yes, eating out every meal is a challenge and yes, people ask if the food is 'ok' when I eat a small portion. Sometimes I explain that I've had stomach surgery and am limited to what and how much I can eat. I have never experienced any server or host or relative negatively react to my comments. They generally ask if there is anything else they can bring me and I just appreciate their generousity and thank them. During vacations, as others have mentioned, we generally linger over meals and enjoy the company. My husband and I are foodies and really enjoy a good meal and a bottle of wine. I find I can thoroughly enjoy a couple of bites just as much finishing the entire plate. I understand you don't want to be rude but I think you may be under-estimating your hosts. I decided to make the band part of my new lifestyle - travel and all. You need to evaluate all of the eveidence, comments and recommendations and make your own choice. Please remember...people can surprise you.

My wife and I are taking a three-week European trip this winter and will likely run into situations where much food will be foisted on us and it will be considered very rude of me to eat only what the band will allow me to eat.

Has anyone had their band emptied so they can eat more when traveling and then refilled when they return? Are there any repercussions of a complete unfill followed by a refill several weeks later (besides the likely weight gain)?

Wow!! What you are asking for here is to be given the okay to eat like a pig just because you are on vacation. Why should going on vacation be a reason for you to pig out? Why cant you continue to do what you have been doing all along? I am Italian and we love to eat, but I couldnt care less about insulting my European relatives because I wont eat their food? You are trying to justify an unfill because YOU want to eat more on your trip. Why cant you just eat what everyone else is eating anyway? You just will get full faster? So what? why would you need a complete unfill? Isnt our band a way to keep up in check so we can eat like normal people, eating normal food without eating till we explode? Think about what you're saying. My doctor would never do an unfill because I'm gooing on vacation and dont want to insult people. If these people truly cared about you, they would understand and NOT be insulted. Admit it, you want to eat alot on vacation and using these relatives as a good excuse to do so. Sorry if your offended, but you need tough love, man!:thumbup:

I think the consensus has been established and it's overwhelmingly recommending you keep the fill level when you travel. The reasons have been numerous and on targert. At this point, it seems like rehashing the same points.

You've got the opinions you wanted, should get the opinion you need (your surgeons), and stop worrying about something that isn't happening for over 8 months from now. Geeeeeeeeeez... get on with life!