Ok, here we go on with my band saga -Guys, I am getting really tired of this and just want to let you all know that I couldn't have gotten through this so far with out all of you!

I called the nurse again, 9 days post op and cannot drink hardly anything, and she said that I DO have some, a little, FILL. I did not know that! So, this is one reason why it is so hard for me to drink, but the problem still remains. She said that I could either come in to take some out, and that will be painful, or I can wait until I go in for my post op on wed. of next week. (as long as I do not dehydrate)

I am walking a thin line here. I am choosing to wait until wed., and Not do anything, unless, of course I get dehydrated, which will then meanTHE hospital.

My question: I know that people get fills to become tighter, SO, if I am too tight now, will it lessen some with time? And how? Thanks for the answers to my question.

First, it won't be painful. What a crock. You can request that the numb the port area before they put the needle in and then there's nothing to feel. Just the little sting from the lidocaine needle. Removing any saline shouldn't hurt because it will be an immediate and noticeable relief. I've been too tight once and it was like a giant ball of ice in my chest melting at warp speed.

Yes, it will lessen with time, but how long? Nobody can predict. A lot of your tightness is post-op swelling and no two people heal at the same rate. So you have to decide can you get in enough hydration (I can't stress how important this is) AND enough Protein (which I am assuming you are getting from protein shakes) on a daily basis. If not, go get a bit of an unfill.

Talk to your SURGEON! You need to be unfilled ASAP and they can numb you today as well as next week. Good grief that nurse is a witch! SIGH!

Don't mess with it. You are getting cruddy care, ok? They shouldn't have filled you during surgery.

You may have swelling that is going down but if you aren't getting a little better each day, odds are the fill is irritating you and you WONT improve.

Fills lessen over time as you lose weight and the fat around your stomach lessens. Also you can lose a neglibile amount over time (months and months)

Again...I'm not a surgeon. I just graduated from nursing school. BUT what I'm telling you to do is what I'd do, or do for a loved one. Based on what you've told me. I don't know the surgeon, the nurse, or you....

There are some people who fret more easily over things than i do and if you are a worrier then perhaps waiting is right for you because you may feel it's worse than it is. I don't know of course! But unless (not being tacky, just honest) you are the kind of person where friends and family call you a hypochondriac..:crying: you are getting bad care. You need attention. And even if you are the biggest hypochondriac in Texarkana, if you can't drink 64 oz of Water each day you are in danger! OK?

This is what I think in my limited capacity (NOT A DOC! You need your surgeon...not that nurse) You were filled during surgery and are one of those people who have a large degree of post op swelling...coupled with the FILL you can't drink. And like many surgeons tell us to take it easy after a fill because our stomachs, esophaguses (esophagi? whatever!) and bands can be agitated....your upper digestive tract is agitated and swollen. It is so agitated that when you try to drink you re-agitate it.

If you could be put in the hospital and given nothing by mouth and hydrated via IV it MIGHT calm down.

OR you could get an unfill.

Your SURGEON can give you the best info on this.

Don't feel you are the problem because you aren't. I think he inadvertently caused it by filling you and the nurse has exacerbated it by blowing you off. Now she's trying to scare you. Shame on her.

It may hurt to access your port because you are so soon post op but they can give you drugs to combat that....and it will be cheaper and easier on you than ending up in the ER on an IV.

Having had my rant....IF you can get your 64 oz of fluids in, then yes you can wait until next weds. But I want to tell you this..your port isn't going to miraculously heal so much in 4 days that what would hurt today won't still hurt on Weds.

Your medical team needs to pay some attention to you. Call them and make them listen.

Edited July 31, 200917 yr by RestlessMonkey

Yes it will loosen over time. However, its actually not the band itself thats loosening; its the swelling around your stomach that is going down, and eventually it will be the amount of fat on your stomach reducing. This is creating a wider opening between your pouch and lower stomach.

This is actually why I am SO glad that I wasn't filled at surgery (my doctor doesn't do that). Your stomach is swollen and healing and everyone's stomach heals differently. For some, if there is a small amount of fill in their band, it will make the opening to the stomach much too small (and sometimes it will even close up completely). As your swelling on your stomach goes down, the band will progressively become looser. If you go in for an unfill right now, I am assuming it will hurt because the port has just been sewn into the fascia, and for most, at 11 days it is not ready to have pressure applied to it.

Overtime, the band will also become looser because as you loose weight, fat will also get burned off of your stomach. So what was once a good fill level at 244 pounds, may not be tight enough at 210 pounds. However, in this case, its the swelling (primarily) that will go down and will make the band feel looser.

Good luck!

Your restriction level will change as you lose weight. As you lose the fat around your stomach your band will become looser. Hence the reason for fills over time.

I would think that your tightness now is also coming from the swelling from surgery, not just the small fill they gave you. If you do decide to wait it out be sure to stay hydrated. Being dehydrated can also make your band tighter so you will really want to stay on top of that.

I wonder why she tells you the unfill would be painful? That is weird! You can ask to have the area numbed, the only pain would be the sting from that. I wonder if she mean because they would be pushing on your stomach area to find the port and you might hurt from being sore from surgery??

Good luck.

Thanks so much. I don't think she was trying to scare me or discourage me...she was kind of like thinking out loud. I believe that she was just trying to give me options. I do think they are concerned, but the doctor is just not there. I doubt that they would call the doctor unless they thought the problem was ciritical. I just wanted to know if the chances of the band becoming less restrictive is a possibility and I see that according to the amount of swelling that goes down, which it should some? that I will be somewhat ok, but I am definitely watching my fluids. Nothing about this has been easy for me and I am just tryig to get by hoping that time will make things better. It is two hours round trip to see my doctor -I just don't want to have more problems than are necessary under the circumstances. I still regeret this decision. I think if I had known all of this, I would have chosen to take a defferent action, even though I know I needed something drastic...I probably would have shipped myself off to an obesity clinic...don't know,,,it allseems to be too much...I just wanted to have a better life....maybe even a date now and then? :crying: Now all I want is the old me back and a barbeque sandwich...

My surgeon filled me during surgery (3 days ago), about 2cc. I was surprised by this, because I know most surgeons don't fill you because of the swelling.

I haven't had any problems drinking, other than it's kind of painful - like drinking gives me a big bubble of gas stuck in my stomach/chest. But I haven't regurgitated or anything. It's just been kind of a pain to drink Water, because it makes me so uncomfortable. And then I feel like I'm bloated.

Wonder why my surgeon didn't tell me about a fill before the surgery. Do they not do that? Even give you the option of choosing whether or not to get one? Or was it like a spontaneous decision to give me a fill?

Hi holli,we are about the same weight and everything! Just to update: I talked with the nurse and she said that they only put a small fill in to check to make sure that the port and all are working. But I am going in on Monday to have that removed. I hope all of you will keep your fingers crossed that I do not get dehydrated this weekend. I am looking forward to feeling good again -maybe after Monday...Keep up the good work!

Hi holli,we are about the same weight and everything! Just to update: I talked with the nurse and she said that they only put a small fill in to check to make sure that the port and all are working. But I am going in on Monday to have that removed. I hope all of you will keep your fingers crossed that I do not get dehydrated this weekend. I am looking forward to feeling good again -maybe after Monday...Keep up the good work!

Hey, pretty cool!

I remember being told that they do put a fill in to make sure everything works, but I think they remove it most of the time.

My surgeon filled me during surgery (3 days ago), about 2cc. I was surprised by this, because I know most surgeons don't fill you because of the swelling.

I haven't had any problems drinking, other than it's kind of painful - like drinking gives me a big bubble of gas stuck in my stomach/chest. But I haven't regurgitated or anything. It's just been kind of a pain to drink water, because it makes me so uncomfortable. And then I feel like I'm bloated.

If you don't have a lot of internal fat then often the band is inserted with some fill in it to make it fit. Most of my fat was round my bottom and thighs and my surgeon told me thatas I had so little abdominal fat he decided to put 1.5ml in to make sure the band was a good fit.

I was banded in November 08, now have 5mls in a 10ml band and am only 7lbs from my target weight.

Woohoo, I didn't have a lot of internal fat!