Missy41

Thank you for all your kind wishes. The op went ok, spent a few nights in intensive care, just under observation. Really pleased to be back home today, a bit sore and weary but ok. Had my first protein shake today, took over an hour to manage 250ml, but that's not surprising since my new stomach has a capacity of just 120ml. Feeling positive, just need a good nights sleep

Hope it went well, all the best for you.

Morning! Just waiting to be picked up and taken to surgery, I'm first up today. John, my band was removed using the same incisions as when it was fitted - 3 small and 1 a bit bigger where the port was. Not sure about the incisions for the sleeve, guess I will find out soon! I have 2 weeks on clear Fluid, the same as with the band. Just want to get the surgery over now.....

I was doing really well with my band in the first year but then started to get bad reflux, however I did reach by target and was very, very happy. The reflux did not get any better so eventually I had to have all the Fluid taken out of my band. This seemed to have worked for a while but in the last few weeks I have reflux again. I am still taking the same meds that I was since it all began. Since having the band emptied 6 weeks ago I have gained a few pounds, as expected, basically because I don't have the same restriction when eating, but strangely I do still have quite a lot of restriction. Previously when the refulx got bad I could have some fluid removed and it would be better straight away now there is nothing I can do to reduce the reflux, which is a bit worrying. I have had several baruim x-rays and an endoscopie, to see if the band had slipped but apparently it is ok. Spoke to my surgeon today to ask advice on what I can do now to reduce the refulx and get back on track. He said that by body does not seem to tolerate the band very well and that I probably have a weak sphincter between my oesophagus and stomach pouch which is allowing adic back up into by throat and mouth making me cough and be sick while I am sleeping (propped up of course), not much sleeping going on either. He has suggested liquids for at least a week and then long term if the situation does not improve I will have to have the band removed and possibly a gastric sleeve in it's place, which seems to be the latest thing. I am quite upset about all this because despite the current problems the band worked so well for me to start with and I don't really want another op. or the cost that goes with it (paid privately). Has anyone else experienced the same or been given the same advice? Just not sure what else I can do........

You could maybe try adding a little oat bran.

I prefer a very low carb, low fat, high Protein & veggies with limited fruit because of the high sugar content, this works best for me. When I have tried Atkins I will put on weight. I had a 4 month plateau from earlier this year and then had a small fill a few months ago, which worked for me. Good luck getting off the plateau.

I had similar probelms with my band getting tighter for no reason 6 weeks after a fill and was told by my doctor to go on liquids for a week and see if the inflamation clamed down, I also had reflux so had to take something for that. I didn't get much better once I started on a mushed food again and I was struggling with liquids. I then had a barium xray which showed that virtually nothing was getting through my band. I had 1cc taken out the same day followed by 0.5cc 3 days later, because it still felt tight and uncomfortable for me. I now have 6.5 cc in my 10cc band and can eat solids again and still have restriction, basically back to normal but with less in the band. Too tight is really no good and can cause other problems if it goes on too long such as vomiting, relux and slips and feeling unfortable and in pain is no fun at all. I would get advice from your dr asap and get it sorted sooner rather than later.

I had a small un-fill over 2 weeks ago, because of really bad reflux and my band becoming too tight to let anything past. This was discovered after a barium swallow x-ray. Since then it has been great, I still feel the restriction of course but I have no reflux, so can sleep lying down again :-) and can eat solids again in moderation, but I have noticed that when I get stressed / hot, that it feels tighter again and I have increased restriction and need to really sip rather than drink Water / tea and struggle with solids. Has anyone else had this? I was doing fine until a really stressful day yesterday & today and now I feel that I can only really manage liquids and maybe mashed / soft food. I also had a few episodes like this before my un-fill and I think that this contributed to my band getting so tight, the Dr said that the stomach under the band was inflamed. I would be really interested to hear from anyone who has noticed the same.

I would go for a TT if I could ever afford one. I've never had great legs but my work-outs on my exercise bike mean that amazingly, according to my husband they are best they have ever been! My butt is a little saggy but really not so bad as need need surgery, I'm hoping that more exercise will help with this, my boobs are holding up relatively well and my arms are just about ok, probably about normal for my age, but I'm so pleased to have lost the weight and be able to wear nice clothes that all the rest is not really so important at the moment. By the way I swear by Bio-Oil to help with loose skin and strech marks. Good Luck

Thanks Fran I find that when I get stressed I also get sweet cravings (as I always did) but can only manage a protein shake one tiny sip at a time which never seems to satisfy me (not sweet enough) and I have been known to give up and turn to ice cream, only small amounts but not good at all and usually, not really sure why but possibly because it is so cold it makes the band even tighter. So you're totally right I need to relax somehow and then hopefully it will go back to how it was.......

My port is now sticks out quite obviously, just under my ribs on the left and I have felt it move around often almost as if it is somtimes caught under/over my ribs, I can move it with my stomach muscles. I can also feel it if I lie on my stomach, so I don't sleep like that anymore. I had a barium x-ray recently (for other reasons) and this confirmed that everything is ok with my port, so the dr said. He also told me that I could have it moved to somewhere less obvious (no idea exactly where he meant!) under a local anesthetic, but I'm not sure that I can really be bothered. I'm pretty sure no one notices it but me.

Thank you all for the feed back, I will go and get another defill and take it from there.

I was banded just over a year ago and am soooooo pleased with the results, I feel like a different person. Basically everything was going really well until just over a month ago. I have only had 2 fills in my 10ml band: Aug 2011- 7ml & April 2012 -1ml. After the second fill it took a week or so before I really felt the restriction but then I started losing weight again and it was all good. About 5 weeks ago I had a couple of nights where I had some reflux, throwing up etc, so I went back on liquids for a few days then mushies and then it seemed to be ok again. Then almost 3 weeks ago I had a few nights with terrible refulx, waking up choking on acid and saliva, had to try to sleep sitting up, phoned the clinic for advice and they said it sounded like the stomach under the band was enflamed so I should go onto liquids for at least a week and then mushies for another week, until it all calmed down, plus they advised on some medication and said that if I still had problems to come in to have some Fluid removed from my band. So I did that but found even liquids hard quite to get down, even Water first thing in the morning, although I could if I sipped slow enough, so no dehydration and the reflux calmed right down, I really stayed mostly on liquids and almost everytime I tried even mushies I was sick or felt sick. 4 days ago I finished the course of tablets and that night I had horrific reflux, I phoned the clinic again and they recommended I get some more of the tablets and again stay on liquids, I asked about a possible de-fill appointment and was told that my dr. is now on holiday until the beginning of August and the practice nurse could possibly do it in an emergency but she could not gurantee sucess! This is also a 12 hours round trip and not one I want to make without a guranteed result. 2 days ago I went to see my local doctor in the village who knows that I have a band but usually will not have anything to do with it. He was very concerned and sent me for an xray with baruim swallow, to see what was going on. I took the results back to him the same day and he confirmed that almost nothing is getting through the band, really just a drop at a time. Also the base of my oesophagus is quite distended, which he said is causing the reflux, basically because the hole is so small the food & liquid are just backing up. But on the plus side it's all still in place, no slip. Obviously I needed to get some fluild taken out and thankfully he offered to do this for me as an emergency (before becoming a GP in our village he was a consultant of internal medicine, he also said he has consierable experience with ports used for other conditions). So he took 1ml out with no probelms at all. He also advised me to double to dose of the meds. I do feel quite a lot better now, have no reflux and am finding fluids easier to get down, obviously only fluids at this point. My concern is that 1ml may not have been enough, I hope that it will all calm down soon and go back to how it was before but I'm really not sure this will happen. I am almost at my target (helped along by the fact that the weight seems to fall off when I'm on liquids) and was thinking about at some point after I reach target having a small de-fill, but the plan was to keep most of the fluid in, otherwise I'm worried that I will put weight back on and go back to where I started. Has anyone else had similar issues? If you had a de-fill due to a problem, how much was it? I know we are all different and the band sizes differ too, but I would be interested to know. I have deceided to go back to my local dr. on Monday because I need to ask him about the medication I'm on anyway and to ask if he thinks he should take a bit more fluid out just to be on the safe side. I have read about some people having the whole band de-filled or half taken out after a problem and that then they could only have a tiny bit put back at a time, which must be very furstrating, but if that is what is needed then ok. I actually feel fine at the moment and am getting to sleep fine, no refulx and have not been sick at all. It just feels tight and I'm worried about trying solid food again. Thank heavens for Slimfast, it's about the only Protein shake available here and I think I would probably starve without it, luckily I quite like it too. Sorry for my long post. I would love to hear for anyone who has had a similar issue and find out how it was resolved. What I don't understand is how the hole got so small in the first place since it was 5 weeks after my last fill that I had any problems? I didn't eat do anything different that I know of and it just seems odd.

I can sometimes eat a little bread but it usually comes back up, so I've stopped eating it altogether now and I really don't miss it. For me most stodgy foods (bread, cake, fries etc) just won't go down so they are not worth the pain and I really shouldn't be eating them too much anyway, so in that sense the band is doing it's job.

I just have to ask what is PBing?

I have also started having refulx during the night, it started 6 weeks after my last fill (that was my second fill), I was fine before that. I wake up coughing with the refulx which burns my throat. Last night was terrible, I got no sleep at all because it was worse when I was lying down, so I had to sit up all night. I also get pain between my shoulders with the reflux which makes it even more uncomfortable. Last night I didn't eat or drink for 3 hours before bed and it was still really badn I took some indigestion tablets but they didn't help, just made me feel sick. I'm just 7 pounds away from my target now, so I was hoping to last out a while longer and reach my target, before having my band lossened off a bit, but now I think maybe it's just too tight. Before my last fill I lost no weight for 4 months which was very frustrating. I'm amazed that 1 ml can make so much difference. But was I ok for 6 weeks after my last fill? It makes no sense to me. I have been banded for almost a year and have lost 72 pounds so far, which I'm so, so happy about, I feel like a different person already , but I really wanted to reach my target

I also get air bubbles whenever I eat or drink anything, mostly ok, just annoying, but sometimes a bit painful. I have learnt never to drink anything before, during or after eating, but that doesn't really seem to help with the bubbles. Worst at the moment is when I first go to bed and have had anything to drink within the previous hour, then I have to keep sitting up to get rid of them and occasionaly heave. My last fill was over 7 weeks ago and the night time bubbles have just become an issue in the last week, not sure why??

I can't feel my band unless I'm stuck, but my port is now sticking out under my ribs. It's a fairly hard round lump. I couldn't see or feel it at all at first after I got my band. It doesn't really bother me much and no one else notices, I kind of got used to it, but I could have it moved to make it less visable, once I reach my goal, but this is done with just a local anesthetic but I'm not sure I can face that.

1. How long have you been banded? 11 months 2. How much weight did want to lose? 79 lbs. 3. How much weight have you lost? 62 4. How happy are you that you have been banded: scale of 1-10 (1 being regretful, 10 being elated) 10+ I wish I had done this years ago! I have had 2 fills and now have 8ml in a 10 ml band. Before the second fill I stayed the same weight for 4 months which was annoying. Now I really feel the restriction but I still have to be very carful what I eat. For me it is a physical tool to stop me over eating, I just have to make the right food choices, as long as i do this the weight comes of slowly but steadily. I follow a high protien diet and am never hungry and have loads of energy and do lots of exercise. I feel fantastic and am working hard to get the last 17 pounds off!

I'm from the UK but live in Austria and was banded in Germany 11 months ago. Very happy so far but need to refocus and kick start my weight loss to get the last 21 pounds off, after a long period of not losing anything, so have just started the Dukan Diet..........tricky but definatly working and not hungry at all. Good luck in your journey to a new you!

I usually have a shake for breakfast, because I find liquids easier to get down at that time of day. Solids are not so easy for breakfast for me because they take ages and ages to get down and it can make me really sick, which is then a waste of time. I like Slimfast in vanilla, it's tasty satistying and only 218 calories, it will keep me going until lunch. I tried it first in the post-op 2 weeks of liquids and normally still have it now, almost 11 months later. It has been a life saver. Now, since last week, I'm trying the Dukan Diet where shakes are not allowed, which is a bit tricky for me at breakfast.......

I think that 600 calories / day would be too low for a lot of people and would leave no energy to exercise. I was told not to count calories but I think that when I am making good choices I have around 1000 and I exercise for an hour 5 times a week, any less and I would be too tired. Also severly resticting your calories for long periods can slow your metabolism and then also your weight loss. I was told to eat 3 small meals until I'm full which is quite soon, plus a few healty snacks, also drink loads. When I drink over 2 liters of water a day, I eat less and feel better. I always eat the protein in amy meal first, in case I can't mange much more, which often happens. I can't drink during meals or just before so the challenge is to remember to drink as much as possible inbetween.

I am currently on the Dukan Diet with my band...... I had my band fitted 11 months ago and so far had lost 56 pounds (24 to go) but since January I have lost almost nothing so I had a second adjustment to my band which is now as tight as I think I can take, quite restictive, but still lost nothing so I deceided to try and get a kick start and the Dukan Diet looks good - very high protein, virtually no fat or carbs. I am now on day 4 of the Attack phase and have so far lost 4 pounds which I'm very pleased with. My only issue is that I can't eat as much as I possibly should be, but I'm not hungry at all which is great. I went for this diet because it is a long term plan with a Consolidationa and Stabilisation phase, not just a short term thing. I was finding that with just the band I can still cheat too much and need to refocus on what I am eating and not expect it to help me lose weight just because it is there. This works to start with, it is hard not to lose weight but as time goes on and you have less to lose it gets a lot harder. I'm pretty sure that I could actually put on quite a bit of weight with the band if I'm not careful.

Hi there! I would really like some advice / feedback from a few who might have had the same experience. It's now 10 weeks since I had my band fitted & have lost 24 1bs so far). I had it filled 3 weeks ago because I stopped losing weight after 4 weeks. I was on liquids for first 2 weeks then mashed food for 2 weeks after which it felt as though I had no band really and could eat pretty normally, the band was not filled when it was fitted at the op. After the adjustment with a 7ml fill, I had 2 days on liquids and 3 days mashed food. Since starting to eat normal food again I often have pain when I eat the first few mouthfuls, like gas in my chest or that the food is stuck, although not always. It's worst in the morning, so I have a Protein shake for Breakfast which is fine. At lunch it could go either way, sometimes fine or painful, so that I either have to take a break and walk around a bit or have to throw up a tiny bit (not nice). If this happens I might be able to eat after a while or if it continues I give up and don't eat, which is one way to lose weight I guess! By dinner it's usually ok and I can eat a small portion with no problems, but not always. Basically some days are better than others and I don't really know why, sometimes even mashed food can hurt, but more solid food goes down just fine. If I can manage the first few mouthfuls ok then the whole meal is usually fine. I know all the basics like not drinking at the same time, eating slowly and chewing everything a lot but this does not seem to make any difference. Has anyone else had the same experience? It would be great to hear from you.

I had similar and was told it was the effects of the anesthetic as well as the band and it did get better within the first week. I lived on Soup and protein shakes for 2 weeks, then had mashed food for another 2 weeks.