allisonpaige

I've had my band for just over 4 years now and at one point was down nearly 150lbs from my starting weight. About a year ago I had a problem with my band being too full and I was unable to eat for several days, I ended up taking some fluid out (for the first time in over a year) and ever since then anytime I try and have more fluid put back into my band even if I add less than what was initally taken out my band tightens up to the point where I can't eat/drink. For this past year I have kept my band on the loose side and just tried to maintain my weight with diet and exercise, but I recently stepped on the scale and realized that I've gained back nearly 60lbs! I just had more fluid put back into my band because clearly I was needing some restriction but now yet again my band is too tight and I haven't been able to eat or drink anything for the past several days. I'm getting exteramly frustrated now because it's either I can just leave my band loose and gain back weight OR I can fill my band and be unable to eat... I don't know what to do, and really dont have anyone to give me any advice on this but it really is getting to the point where I almost regret getting my lapband all together. I've gotten a taste of success and what its like to be at a healthy body weight and now it seems that my body is just completely rejecting my lapband all together. I've gotten several xray's to see if I had any sort of complication at all as recent as last week and nothing is abnormal about my band and so far my doctor has no idea why I am having so much difficulty with it.Any advice at all would be extreamly helpful at this point, or even just someone out there to talk with about whats going on, I really am starting to get discouraged.

So my goal over the holiday season was to maintain my current weight, BUT I broke 3 of my toes on my left foot yesterday so the treadmil is not really an option for me right now... Anyone have any good workout videos that dont require too much feet time they would recomend?!

I've had my band for just over 4 years now and at one point was down nearly 150lbs from my starting weight. About a year ago I had a problem with my band being too full and I was unable to eat for several days, I ended up taking some Fluid out (for the first time in over a year) and ever since then anytime I try and have more fluid put back into my band even if I add less than what was initally taken out my band tightens up to the point where I can't eat/drink. For this past year I have kept my band on the loose side and just tried to maintain my weight with diet and exercise, but I recently stepped on the scale and realized that I've gained back nearly 60lbs! I just had more fluid put back into my band because clearly I was needing some restriction but now yet again my band is too tight and I haven't been able to eat or drink anything for the past several days. I'm getting exteramly frustrated now because it's either I can just leave my band loose and gain back weight OR I can fill my band and be unable to eat... I don't know what to do, and really dont have anyone to give me any advice on this but it really is getting to the point where I almost regret getting my lapband all together. I've gotten a taste of success and what its like to be at a healthy body weight and now it seems that my body is just completely rejecting my lapband all together. I've gotten several xray's to see if I had any sort of complication at all as recent as last week and nothing is abnormal about my band and so far my doctor has no idea why I am having so much difficulty with it.Any advice at all would be extreamly helpful at this point, or even just someone out there to talk with about whats going on, I really am starting to get discouraged.

Hello Dr.Hernried, I recently moved to the Sacramento area and am currently having a little bit of trouble with my lapband being too tight. Are you willing to do unfills as well as fills? I had an upper GI done last friday (12/03/2010) with my surgen up in Seattle, WA that showed no complications but my tightness has only gotten worse since then and I am hoping to find a doctor in my new area to help with my current issue. Thanks so much for your reply! Allison Derr

Cindy I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one that has the magically tightening lapband problem! The thing that it difficult for me this time is that my last fill was friday (12/3/2010) and I was fine, able to eat and drink and keep it all down until this Wednesday (12/8/2010) which is why I'm not understanding what happend... Do you normally swell up right after a fill or a few days later?

It is interesting that you ask this, because its the first thing my parents asked me once I told them about my "relapse" I guess you would call it... Over the 3 years that I was banded I developed a list of "danger foods", things I had once loved but learned that because of my band I could no longer eat, it mainly consisted of carbs (Pasta, french fries ect) but also ice creams and high fat Soups (baked potatoe soup for example). I learned to enjoy more fruits and veggies, partly because they were healthier but mostly because I could eat them without getting food stuck. I have to admit that once I origionally had the fluid taken out of my band I fell into the "I can eat anything" mindset. Pasta's, milkshakes, mongolian BBQ took over my diet for the first while my band was empty and by the time I leveled out my eating and started avoiding my "danger foods" again alot of the damage had already been done. My mindset about food has definatly changed over the years, through the lapband and also because I was only 17 when I had my surgery so alot came with maturity. I made poor choices when I was first loosened but I knew that I was making them, I was just making up for lost time I guess you would say. I made myself fall off the weightloss track and now I'm just trying to get back on it. Though, I did also find that even once I stopped eating those "danger foods" and started dieting and exercising again I still didn't loose any weight because the band really did help with portion control for me. I hope this helped answer your question, I'm sure I'm not the best lapband success story given my current weight gain but I am always willing to answer any questions you may have.

I have noticed that it does coinside with my monthly cycle, so at this point I'm kinda hoping that that is the issue at hand, but that in itself is disconcerning because the thought of having my band tighten up every month for a week is worrisome, isn't that a big cause for slipping/errosion?

Hello all, I just joined this online forum today because I've been having a bit of a problem with my band and was wondering if others out there were experiencing the same thing... I was banded about 4 years ago in June of 2006. At first everything was easy, eat until your full and still some how loose a bunch of weight. I found a good fill spot that allowed me to restrict my food intake but was still able to eat without having anything get stuck. I hadn't had any need to go into my LB doctor for well over a year when all the sudden my band tighten up on its own, so much so I couldn't drink Water even. Needless to say I went into the doctor and he took pretty much all of my Fluid out and told me I had a case of gastritus, well alright then problem solved I thought. Came back into the doctor and got my band refilled pretty much to the same place it was before. Ever since then my band will tighten up to an uncomfertable point every month around the time of my cycle. Does this happen to anyone else at all?! And how do I prevent from this happening every single month? I've a college student for crying out loud, paying for defills and fills every month is not really an option for me since my insurance doesn't cover anything so it's all coming out of my pocket... Also, I just transfered to U.C Davis in northern california so I no longer live nearly my lb doctor, so does anyone out there have any tricks to help loosen things up when your band is acting up like this?