parisshel

So sorry to read this. My thoughts for a speedy recovery are with you. Can you tell us what led to the band removal?

So glad you got relief. What you write here are all signs to me that you were too tight and I'm glad you listened to your body. I had that breathing thing, too, when I needed an unfill.

Has your band/tubing/port been checked for a leak? Does the filler take out your saline prior to filling you to verify that the fill level noted at your previous fill is what they are seeing when they pull out the saline to control it?

I echo all the above posters' comments. Remember: our goal is to keep our bands for life, which means respecting them. I suspect much of the failure rates for lapbands are due to keeping them too tight. But I understand your fear. I'm now up 2 pounds from the day I had my partial unfill; that's one pound a week. I'm hoping this is just the normal thing happening when you drop a lot of weight under abnormal circumstances (you know, like when you have the stomach flu and are thrilled to see you lost 5 pounds...5 pounds which comes back on once you return to your normally-scheduled program). I know that I lost around 5 pounds in the two week period my stoma had closed up, so I guess this weight gain is just the rebound of that. I know I'm sticking to my usual diet, although with larger portions because I'm hungry all the time. I'm still not touching any of the stuff I stopped eating the day I got banded: bread, Pasta, white carbs in general. My goal is to maintain my loss until I get my band filled back to my optimal level. I'm freaked out by this gain, but watching things closely because I sense this will even itself out and I'll maintain the weight I was at before this little complication set in. But I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I really really miss having my band at the proper fill level. I am very depressed being back in the dieter's mentality of always thinking about food.

Oh man I wish I could get a refill in six weeks. Why does my doctor make me wait three months? Anyway, it is horrible to be hungry all the time, but I signed up for this for the long term, right? And that means that I have to deal with this unfill in a responsible way. But man I hate being back in the preband mindset...hungry, trying to finding foods to fill me up so I don't go for the calorie-laden treats. I give myself permission to recognize that THIS IS HARD and I need to keep myself busy, away from my kitchen, and keep looking at myself in the mirror. I will do everything that it takes to just maintain my loss right now. I don't want to have to lose it yet another time. Courage to all of us as we wait this out.

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I just posted on this very same topic, except that they took 3ccs out of my 6ccs and I'm up one pound in one week. Hoping to maintain right here where I am until I can get the 3ccs put back in in three months. I'm not looking to lose weight during this period (in fact, my doctor told me just to maintain my current loss while I'm unfilled) as I'm way too hungry now. But I'd like to not put on more than this one pound. Scary territory, as I feel like I used to feel when I had to diet in the traditional [unbanded] way. I'm hungry, always thinking about food, and having to do all those old diet tricks to keep from going for the "bad" stuff ...drinking loads of liquids, crunching on carrots, seeking out filling, lowcal foods. I cannot wait to get back to my optimal fill level, and be released from this old Diet mindset.

I had to give up caffeine when I got banded...I think with my smaller pouch it just hit me too strongly and I really felt its effects much more intensely. Now I drink decaf expressos and decaf teas...so I still get the pleasure of the flavor but none of the jitters. I do miss the appetite-suppressing quality of caffeine, however.

You sound to me like you are at your perfect sweet spot. The fact you can eat pretty much anything doesn't mean you are not at a good fill level. You SHOULD be able to eat pretty much anything, just in smaller portions and taking small bites. You'll know what your band can't tolerate, even in small bites (for me it's shrimp and red meat) and also what you just don't have the patience to eat, even in small bites (pizza, for example, or a hamburger with a bun). You are losing, you aren't getting stuck, and you aren't hungry between meals. Sounds to me like you are at your sweet spot. Long may it last!

The one time I tried gum, I got horrible stomach/gas pains. I must be one of those gum chewers who swallows a lot of air when I chew. So not more gum for me...it was truly a lesson learned. When I just need to chew something, (like right now), a bag of baby carrots does it for me.

Thanks, @Mikee57. You can read about that here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/302179-grateful-for-the-adjustable-part-of-the-lapband/

It's a shame that the photo you chose to illustrate your thoughts here just enforces the stereotype of the fat stupid female--indeed, she looks almost mentally-impaired-- powerless over food. I personally find this offensive, especially used in an article which is targetted towards people who might be sensitive to this stereotype.

Shoes size will change as will your neck circumference. You'll be amazed at how long your necklaces will become!

Fruit, Protein bars, nuts, cheese, individual packs of Peanut Butter, crackers. This is my typical long-haul flight food, since I never trust I'll find anything band-friendly in an airport or on an airplane. I'm sure it will work for a long car trip, too.

How old are you? This happened to me when I went through menopause. Actually, I'm finished with menopause and still want to be alone all the time. But that's just because I have teenagers. . But the mood swingy thing was hormonal for sure, and calmed down once I finished with menopause.

This will be a long post, but I encourage you to read it if you are interested in how NSAIDs (specifically Advil) may affect your lapband, and why it's important to not be stubborn about getting an adjustment when it is needed. In early February I slipped a disk in my back. This happens to me every five years or so; either I bend over incorrectly or I lift something incorrectly. Anyway, I know how to treat it (anti-inflammatories) and I know my recovery curve--usually a couple of weeks and the inflammation dies down and the disk slides back in place. This time, however, I could not get out of the pain. The general rule for bandsters is no ibuprofen (Aleve, Advil, etc) and no heavy-hitting prescription oral antinflammatories. My surgeon specifically told me that if I needed any antinflammatories, I should first get an unfill. These medications can cause the stomach to swell, even if one protects the stomach with another med such as Nexium or Prilosec. My GP said that since I couldn't be treated the conventional way, I should just do bedrest and take tylenol with codeine, and some Valium for its muscle-relaxing properties. Well, things got worse and worse to a point where I was in excruciating pain. So I decided that "just a little bit" of Advil...the lowest dosage possible for the shortest amount of time (1200mg total each day for three days) would at least allow me to rise from my bed without clenching my teeth and howling like woman in labor. I did tell my GP I was doing this, but I didn't tell my lapband surgeon. I could not physically get to the clinic to get an unfill; I could barely walk and knew I couldn't get into a cab or a car. Long story short--this wasn't powerful enough to reduce the inflammation, so I ended up getting a epidural steroid injection (five weeks after the initial slip) which was instantly effective in getting me out of pain. I should have done this first, as this type of treatment does not affect the stomach; the steroid stays localized. However, about a week after I had taken the Advil, I noticed that I was way too tight. Everything I ate hurt...even Water hitting my stoma just sat there until it slowly filtered through. I called my surgeon who got me in to have a barium swallow (I always do my fills under fluroscopy anyway). The barium swallow showed my normal restriction...6 cc, and the band was not too tight. In effect, the band was not too tight against the outside of my stomach, but the inside of my stoma was swollen almost shut. But I was not at risk of a slip or erosion, which was good to hear. So I was advised to wait it out. Things got worse. I could not eat anything solid, and just a bit of tuna fish mushed up with mayo would take me 2.5 hours to eat, most of that just spent looking at it and willing myself to eat it. I was getting extremely tired, a bit disoriented, and even thinking about preparing a meal for my family and sitting at the table make me upset. The only thing I could slightly get down was extremely hot water (even tea had become too irritating to my stoma) which seemed to kind of "flush" open my stoma. I went to my surgeon's office to ask him what was happening. Why, after one month of a tiny bit of Advil, was this happening, and what should I do? He explained that anti-inflammatories irritate the stomach. In turn, the stomach will produce mucus to combat the irritation. So basically my stoma had become its very own sliming machine, perpetually renewing mucus and plugging up the small opening into my pouch. (This explains why the hot water was giving me a little relief...it was acting as a kind of "Drano" to the mucus, at least for a minute or so, until the stuff reproduced itself and plugged me back up). He said I could get an unfill if I like, or I could wait it out...estimated two-four weeks on double doses of Nexium to get my stoma back to its normal-size opening. I was still on work stop for my back issue at that time so I thought I could wait it out. So everyday became a trial of drinking hot water, eating a little bit of yogurt, drinking more hot water, rinse and repeat. Everything that passed my stoma caused me immense pain. I would undo my bra, hunch over my shoulders, lean over diagonally, tap on my sternum..anything and everything to get water/yogurt/soup down. My hair started to fall out again, and I had no color to my skin. Everytime I stood up I saw stars. At least I was out of back pain! (But couldn't walk around to enjoy it.) After one week things were getting even worse. I started waking up in the night choking on the slime, which was increasing...not only was it plugging up my stoma, but it was coming up my throat. Now usually I can wait stuff out. I wait out fills that seem a little too tight. I waited out the initial pain of my slipped disk. But I was not going to live like this another 2-4 weeks to see if things would settle down. They clearly weren't. Time to tap into the power of the "Adjustable" part of the gastric band! So yesterday I went back to the radiology clinic where I do my fills, gave the doctor a copy of the barium swallow he had done a week previously, and told him I wanted a partial unfill. He took me from 6.0 to 3.0. WHOOSH! A giant mass of organic material released itself from my stoma. *Imagine a toilet being flushed* I got into my car and glanced at the water bottle on the passenger seat. My reflex was to anticipate pain. But I took a small swig of it, and OH MY LORD IT WENT DOWN NORMALLY. I was SO happy I sipped and sipped and sipped during my entire drive into work. You'd think I'd never drunk a drop of water in my life, I was so thrilled. I was drinking without pain! About an hour after I had been partially unfilled, I had a hunger pang. I had forgotten about those, too. I'm talking hunger pang like when we were in Bandster Hell. Of course! Because I am now back to Bandster Hell. But that's ok. The alternative was not an option for me. My surgeon's protocol is to let my stomach/stoma rest and recover for three months. So I'll be brought back to my sweet spot in late June. Until then, I'm going to let you all carry me through this Bandster Hell version 2.0. I feel right now I can do this on will power (I'm going to have to, since my band is so open) but I know I'm going to be coming in here often to help myself to your ever-present motivation. I don't wish a similar experience on anyone, but I'm really glad I choose a WLS surgery that could be adjusted for circumstances such as this one.

You aren't a failure. You were smart enough to realize that dieting doesn't work in the longterm and you opted for a band. Unfortunately you had to have a six month break, which allowed the hunger to come back into the equation. Now you are back on the road to a good banded life, and those 45 pounds will come off, because you've got your tool back and will soon be at a good fill level once more. I'm glad you were able to rectify the pouch dialation with the unfill, and did not have to get your band removed. I had to get a temporary (three month) partial unfill, going from 6 cc to 3 in a 10 cc band. I can totally relate to what you are saying here about hunger and always having food on your mind. It really is night and day, isn't it? I can't believe I even was ever successful losing weight without the band, because being constantly hungry and triggered by every single food ad is a state I'd forgotten about with my lovely lapband. I wish you another round of success now that you've got the band up and going, and please be gentle on yourself. The weight you gained back will come off just fine.

Yes, getting a head cold with the resultant post nasal drip and congestion can make one feel tighter because of the stuff sitting in your stoma. I read a pdf from a lapband doctor who suggests using an OTC decongestant as well as a mucus fluidifier to help reduce this. It makes sense to stay extra careful with bite size and foods at this time, certainly.

WTH does "Option apple, banana, cherry" mean? If you don't define your questions properly, you risk losing participants.

Whoa. I must say there are a lot of impressive losses on this board, but I think you get the prize for most weight lost in shortest amount of time. Well done, that's a lot of hard and dedicated work, day in and day out. Keep motivating us, and I wish you continued success with your maintenance.

I already had a will in place, but I did tell my BFF that, should I die in surgery, she should go to my closet where my private paper journals are hidden, and destroy them all. It's one thing to have a public blog, but I'd hate for anyone (especially my children) to read my paper journals, which date back to my college years! How embarassing would that be?

@ABLOND: Celebrex may be one of those anti-inflammatories that doesn't affect the stomach as ibuprofen does. I don't know what the difference is in their molecular construct, but I did see on this forum other posts regarding Celebrex and its lack of side effects for certain bandsters.

@ccjll: First of all, I'm so happy you were seen quickly and before damage had been done. And I'm thrilled to learn action was taken immediately to get you out of pain and back to normal. Your post is important and I agree should be read by all. I'm not sure what forum this is under but you might be doing everybody a favor by reposting it in Fills and Adjustments? Just a thought... I totally agree that fast weight drop is too high a price to pay for those who love to keep their bands tight. I just shake my head at the lapband blogs I read when the blogger describes loving being too tight to do anything but Protein shakes, or PBing with each meal but "hey, that's ok", or the daily vomiting. This all leads to (at the least) band failure/revision surgery or worse, damage to one's body. Glad you are babying your band and out of pain. What a relief, right?

I need to get one of these. I never get to finish a hot drink hot. Or a meal, for that matter. Thanks.

Well done! What a wonderful marker of your hard work.