Re: too tight

Quote:

Originally Posted by christa94

donna,

you mentioned that you were losing before the fill. why did you have the fill? did you feel you were losing restriction? you mentioned that the fill is too tight. what makes you say that? are you still losing?

Hi Christa,

I got the fill because I had lost and regained the same pound four times over a two week period, which my doctor said is a sign you may need a fill. Additionally, I was at twelve weeks post op, by which time most bandsters are already on their 2nd or 3rd fill. LOL, I was afraid I was going to be left behind.

Let this be a lesson, listen to what your body says, not what other people are doing or saying. What I needed to do was reexamine my caloric intake and increase my activity level.

The other thing I did wrong was to try to be accomodating. I had my surgery in Mexico so I'm using a local surgeon's facilities for fills. I had already scheduled a fill and even though I had recently had a bad PB (my first) which caused swelling, I didn't want to cancel my appointment because I didn't want them to change their mind and not accept me as a patient - so I went for the fill. Big mistake.

Having a too tight fill is miserable. After the PB swelling and the fill (1.4cc) I had constant pressure/pain at my sternum front and back. In the morning it hurt even worse and it even hurt to breathe deeply when I first got out of bed. I couldn't eat anything until 1:00 in the afternoon usually. To complicate matters, by the time I got in to the Dr.'s office for an unfill, my PB swelling was finally going away and I was almost comfortable with my fill level, so I wasn't sure if I wanted/needed an unfill. This was my first fill, I wasn't sure what it was SUPPOSED to feel like. I was already at the Dr.'s office so I decided I'd just have them check my band to be absolutely sure it was still in the right place - of course it was, but you hear so many nightmare stories here on LBT . . . . The surgeon was doing fills on that Saturday (!?!) and insisted on checking the band by removing all the fill and putting it back in - I still don't know why he didn't just look at the band on the fluoroscope. I didn't really feel like I had any choice, so I went along. He was terrible at giving fills - I've only ever had one and even I could tell he wasn't good at it! - the Lydocaine shot HURT. My first fill Lydocaine shot didn't hurt at all. He pulled the fill out, checked it, and then SLAMMED it back in! I had excruciating pain in my sternum till he pulled back on the syringe a bit. I was laying on that F'ing table gasping it hurt so bad. I don't know what he was playing at, but when he put my original fill back in - HE ADDED .5cc's! I went for a possible unfill and he added .5cc's! WTF? To make it worse, he didn't tell me he added .5cc's, in fact, he told me there was only 1cc in the band. Since we've all heard that it's very common to lose some or all of a first fill, I wasn't alarmed by that and was actually grateful because I was finally getting comfortable again. When I left his office I felt tight but was able to swallow easily - I just thought the tightness was because of disturbing the stomach area again.

That was on a Saturday and by Saturday night I could barely swallow my own spit. I could only take in water in sips amounting to the size of a pea. I tried to have LITTLE TINY slivers of sugar free, fat free, frozen yogurt which sounded soothing to my swollen, hungry belly - it caused me to slime for about 40 minutes before I was able to swallow my own spit again! Forget about eating. Not even soup! Not even clear broth!

Because that visit was on a Saturday, I had to wait until Monday when the doctor's office reopened before I could get in for an unfill - which irritated my stomach more. Fortunately, the surgeons fill nurse was there on Monday. She's awesome. When she pulled the fill out, sure enough there were 1.9cc's of fill in there. My original 1.4cc's PLUS the .5cc's that idiot of a surgeon added at the time of my SUPPOSED unfill! I was furious. I went the whole weekend in MISERY because this jerk-off thought he knew what was best for me - and didn't even inform me of what he was doing. I'm furious about it still. The fill nurse took my fill down to my current 1.2cc's and I'm beginning to feel better today but I'm still on liquids and will stay on them until this Sunday - 7 days of liquids just to be sure I don't cause another PB re-irritating my already irritated stomach!

This has been a horrible experience and I don't plan to have another fill until I can't lose another ounce no matter how much I restrict calories and increase my activity! I will never again compare my fills with anyone elses, nor will I agree to have fills on any kind of schedule. Needless to say, I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, let that surgeon touch my body ever again. If the fill nurse isn't there, I'll leave. Even if I have to pay for an office visit he'll never touch me again. I'd never use his facility again except that his fill nurse is wonderful (compassionate, careful, HONEST - pick whichever one you like, she's all of that and more), and, because I didn't have surgery in the U.S., I don't want to go around looking for another local who'll see me.

Here is my advise for anyone wanting to know about getting fills:

1) If/when you get a fill, do it in slow increments - more is not better, or even cheaper. It will cost you in the long run to need unfills and refills when you could have got to the same place COMFORTABLY by sneaking up on your sweet spot.

2) If you think you might be too tight, GO GET AN UNFILL! It's not worth the misery or the irritation and possible damage to your stomach to try to keep your fill in an attempt to lose weight faster. That's not what I was doing, but I see that on LBT frequently.

3) Make sure YOU call the shots - not some numb-nuts doctor who thinks he knows everything. Once again I must learn to trust my own instincts (a lesson I thought I had learned long ago) and listen to what MY body is telling ME!

Sorry to go on and on, but this is the first time I've written it all down and I'm still pretty steamed about it.

LOL - Um, what makes you ask?

Good luck with your band and weight loss journey. __________________

DonnaB

Adversity introduces you to yourself. - Anonymous

Donna - though I am NOT banded - I learned so much from this post - if it isn't already - could you ask that it be made a STICKY??? I think it is very important information and something ALL visitors and posters shoulder read....well said, thank you for sharing this!

Numb nuts ha ha ha ha ha ha

Thank you for sharing your story. (huggggg)

Venting is good. Your information was very helpful. I think I'm going to delay my first fill as long as possible. I've heard a few people go for months and months without needing one. I'll take your experience to heart.