I was banded 12/04/2004 in TJ by Dr. Kuri...9.75/10.0 cm band. I followed all the guide lines after the operation. I must say I was hungry, but kept following the diet I was given of soft foods....A few weeks on that and I was ready to eat a little, but couldn't get chicken or beef, rise or pasta or bread or anything with fiber to stay down...In two months I got my first fill, I wasn't restricked enough so on Feb 23, 2005 after only losing 14 pounds I went for a more restrictive fill. 3.1 after that I couldn't hardly eat anything...I lived off of tomato soup and broth..and was told it was perfect and it would hit the sweet spot just wait you'll see. I counted calories to around 600 per day and drank liquid vitimins...In october I had 3 kidney stone attacks and now I'm suffering from Bladder attacks of severe stabbing pains.....Ive never been sick before in my life...I went to Dr.Brandeis who has a radio talk show in Arizona 1010 am on Saturdays 2-4 pm. I thought he would be the best and he is....He took tests and told me I was in a very dangerous state of Ketosis beyond the scope of measurement and I was dehydrated below a dangerous level and that causes kidney stones..He also told me I was starving myself and that my body was attacking my internal organs and I WAS NOT BURNING FAT!! I told him about the lap band he told me to go get it losed up and eat...Of course that scared me...I went to TJ on Sept 2nd for the Labor day bash and while I was there I had the fluro and the band losed to 2.1 the doctor there told me what Dr. Brandeis said was not true and I should leave the band tightened where it was. He told me to eat chicken and beef but chew it better I told him listen I grind it up and then chew it and it still wont go down I throw it up mashed potatoes wont even stay down. It takes me 4 hours to get 7 ounces of water down this thing....He said thats good....Well if its so good I said how come Im not losing weight he said your not exerciseing......I told him I belong to curves I go 3-5 days a weeks if you don't they call you at home and ask you why you aren't going to workout.... so in six months since the last fill Ive lost 7 pounds!!! Altogether about 22 pounds down from 252lbs....After I got the band let out in Tj I could eat a little meat after chewing it very well about two ouces on the food scale and maybe about 1/4 cup of green beans and now I can have a little brown rice which would never go down before...What I want to know is there anyone out there with this same problem...That your not losing anymore weight with the band than you could of done starving yourself the old fashion way....Oh and since I started eating around 1000 calories Ive gained 4 pounds back.....I dont cheat and Im lucky I don't like sweets.....I feel depressed and once again a failure...The doctor's don't want to hear from you when your not excited about how wonderful they are for helping you lose weight....Its the same old thing its your fault your not telling the truth your cheating somehow in their minds.......This was my last chance..I took all my money out of savings to pay cash for this operation...Seem's I should of tried Jenny Craig like Cristy Alley she has lost more then me and she didn't have to get cut open.........Help! is there anyone out there that has found a solution to this problem???? Octavia

....After I got the band let out in Tj I could eat a little meat after chewing it very well about two ouces on the food scale and maybe about 1/4 cup of green Beans and now I can have a little brown rice which would never go down before...

....Oh and since I started eating around 1000 calories Ive gained 4 pounds back.....I dont cheat and Im lucky I don't like sweets.....

This is the good news since your unfill. You can eat real food, hard protiens, good carbs , all in small quantities without it coming back up. Puuleeease don't worry about the 4 pound gain. I promise, I promise if you keep eating your 1000 calories of real food you will drop weight.

Go to www.room42.com and put in your stats. That site is very handy for telling you how many calories, fats, carbs, and protiens to eat and either maintain, gain, or lose weight. You seem very dedicated and attentive, so this info would be very helpful. I'm wondering if you even need to increase your calories by 200 a day. Check on Room 42.

What about gall bladder probs? Have you been vomiting or PBing at all since your unfill? Many folks with gall stones have trouble keeping food down. Just wondering if you think it was the band or if it could possibly be gall stones.

Drinking your Water and getting in healthy carbs is the best way to deal with Kidney Stones. A very high protien diet without the veggies and fiber can really be hard on your kidneys. Eat your veggies.

I'm so glad you posted this. I hope you get a really good response and good advice. I don't know what to think about Dr Kuri's office. I know that fill day in TJ is very very hectic and probably not the best time to discuss your banding journey in detail. So many people, so little time. I'm happy you insisted on a slight unfill, and your flouro showed no band probs like slippage.

Oh, and starving yourself the old fashioned way is not a good way to lose weight. Losing weight involves eating less, eating good foods, exercising, drinking water. The band just helps. It's obvious you have the skills and self-discipline to eat properly. Just give your poor ole beat up body a chance to re-nourish and you will do well.

I know that fill day in TJ is very very hectic and probably not the best time to discuss your banding journey in detail. So many people, so little time.

Not even the case with my Dr. in TJ, he will take all the time you need once you get in that fill room and it is just you and him. He will answer any questions you have , he will not make you feel rushed one single bit regardless of how many are out in that waiting room. I have spent 30 minutes in that fil lroom with him asking questions after my fill

Octavia, so glad you had an ufill..it is normal to gain wieght now that you can eat more, it will taper off once your body gets used to it, did you have weight gain post op when you went from liquids to solids? I did and so did many others, what you are going through is the same concept. You havent eaten well in days, weeks, now you are able to, it is normal, not to worry. I'm just glad you did the responsible thing and went to see your Dr and got the help you needed before it was too late and too much damage was done and non reversible. One question though , I always thought being in Ketosis was being in fat burining mode, you said you wre in ketosis but not burning fat. I'm confused. Any Dr. who will tell you to leave the band alone when you tell him you cant get food down without it coming back up, well that would concern me. If I PBed more then once a week my Dr. in TJ wants me down there immediately to remove some fill. Exercising is not the sole answer to weight loss, I will tell you that in my 17 months, I have barely exercised and have lost 95 lbs my starting weight was 265 I'm now 170... If you have to grind your hard Proteins to get it down you are too tight! PERIOD!

I hope this slight unfill will work for you and you can get the nourishment your body needs, forget about the weight gain ,right now focus on getting well, you have the rest of your life to lose this weight, this is not a race. Best Wishes to you

He took tests and told me I was in a very dangerous state of Ketosis beyond the scope of measurement and I was dehydrated below a dangerous level and that causes kidney stones..He also told me I was starving myself and that my body was attacking my internal organs and I WAS NOT BURNING FAT!!

.....After I got the band let out in Tj I could eat a little meat after chewing it very well about two ouces on the food scale and maybe about 1/4 cup of green Beans and now I can have a little brown rice which would never go down before.......Oh and since I started eating around 1000 calories Ive gained 4 pounds back.....

I went for an unfill and have to say that Dr. Kuri second guessed my choice as well. I got it anyway just like you did and feel much better.

If Dr. Brandeis said that your organs were being eaten by your body, it's likely that most of the rest of your muscle was too, and he said you were dehydrated. Getting rehydrated and building muscle are going to cause you to gain weight. I know you don't like to see it on the scale, but it's good weight. And you should probably try and get up to 1200 calories a day. You are going to need to fix your metabolism now, which is going to be difficult, but it will help you in the long run I think. My non-medically-educated opinion is that you should spend the next few months getting healthy, and worry about the weight loss after that.

There are also machines that can tell you your body fat and muscle %'s, so you can see if you are losing fat while gaining muscle even if the scale doesn't change. Does that make sense?

Hope this helps.