maygoddess

The latest update if anyone is still reading along. After my initial visit back to TJ May 7th for the infection clean up. I was on Cipro for 6 days from Dr Kuri. After I finished that dose, it didnt seem to be clearing up..I was still getting some oozing that was turning yellowish and creamy. Dr Kuri told me to get more antibiotics locally if I could since sending from Mexico would take a few days. Well..since you cannot just call up a doctor randomly and ask for meds, my only choice was head to local ER. Only reason I did not go to an Urgent Care is that I was on MediCal because I was recently unemployed and you can only go to ER with it. But probably better anyway as the doc there wanted to do a CT scan with contrast to see how deep an infection I had. He already swabbed the oozing stuff and determined I still had infection. The CT scan was relatively inconclusive..fluid present but could just be post surgery OR could be infection..They basically just put me on 10 days of TWO antiobiotics now..CIPRO and Clindamycin. About 5 days in, Dr Kuri calls me to follow up. I had been keeping his office abreast of my ER visit and new meds. I told Kuri after 5 days nothing looked different..still oozing a bit and color had not changed. His concern was that my body may be treating the port itself as a foreign body to get rid of along with the infection. He suggested I get back down there for a port removal..let me body heal and come back for port replacement. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but we booked surgery for the next day. My birthday! Since it was memorial day when he called in the morning, we just packed up and headed down to Los Angeles and stayed with my parents overnight and drove to TJ in the morning. Dr Kuri's new office and hospital are literally less than 2 miles in from the border so was easy to cross and get in to his office. They opened me up and removed the port. He said the infection was not that bad, but erring on side of caution to remove the band and heal up. Not really looking forward to yet another procedure but better safe than sorry. Dr Kuri topped off my fill just before he removed the port and sent me on my way with more antibiotics. I am just a few days out from the surgery..wound is still draining out and hopefully with another 7 days of this new antibiotic, I will be on my way to being healed up and can get the rest of this extra weight off. I cannot believe I have had 14 years with this band already. I am thrilled to have lost 130lbs total. Not happy I had to gain 50lbs back through all this mess..have 40 still on to lose. I figure it will be a tough battle to get it off but hopefully the band will do its job of keeping it off..just like it used to...sigh...what a crazy two years it has been! I will update again with the latest!

I think you should stick with the band..yes..the band requires tweaking. I have had my band for 14 years now..we love and hate each other..all the time..I lost 130lbs..stayed stable for years but when I decided 2 years ago "hmm..maybe I should just have a routine check since it has not had any followup for years..it has spiraled a bit..turns out my very last fill years before had been too tight and I learned to compensate by packing my esophagus..stretched it..complete unfill..50lbs quickly packed on me in a few months time...thousands of dollars in new wardrobes later.. I learned my lesson of going to local surgeons for follow up fills and they did me in. I should kept going back to Dr Kuri for follow ups. Doing fills under flouro instead of blind fills that started the spiral. I started getting refills..the last one 3 months ago from a local surgeon infected my port..I just went back to Mexico to have my port removed for now as my body heals from the infection. I have no band erosion thankfully..all goes well I will have port put back in. For now I am filled to where I have restriction but not back where I was too tight. Dr Kuri topped me off before he removed the port. Now...here is my take on the unfill/refill cycle. This is my own opinion based on having this band this long and my recent unfill and refill history. I think this band puts our bodies in an abnormal state of starvation mode. When we first get the band and start getting fills and that hunger gets satiated and you get used to only being able to eat a meal the size of a tennis ball..your body adjusts to this abnormal state. Once the band did its job of helping you get the weight off by basically a self imposed starvation diet..the band now needs to do the job of KEEPING IT OFF. Again..still in the state of abnormal starvation mode..my body is used to the limited calories in per meal..I can handle less calories because my hunger signals were less intensified..I could go all day without feeling hungry! Okay..so now..you take that abnormal state of being..for me it was almost 12 years..and then you unfill the band..wham..you just changed my abnormal state of being my body was used to for 12 years. The volume went back up on my hunger signals. I could get in more calories in each sitting. My body rebelled and I quickly gained 40+ lbsin 3 months. I STARVED myself..I was watching every calorie in and would still gain back 5 lbs overnight. It was brutal. My local surgeon's dietician swore that I must have started gorging on all the things I couldnt for years..eat a pizza..bread...etc..I actually craved salads because those have always been hard to eat for years..they didn't understand it was no longer a simple equation of calories in/calories out. That's for normal humans who were not put into an artificial state of being with a band. On what I was eating and GAINING..a mere mortal would have been dropping 2+ lbs per week. Thankfully I did watch my calorie intake closely and perhaps more of the 130lbs I had lost would have come back on. THANKFULLY only 50..uggh..hate to say that..but 50 is better than 130 back on. So now...I have to try and get my body back to this abnormal state of being with refills. I am also asking my body to get off the 50lbs I quickly gained after unfilled..at the same place I was when I was maintaining my weight for years. Won't be as easy the 2nd time around for sure. I will most likely have to really DIET to get off this last 40lbs and THEN my band will be back to doing what is doing now..maintaining me. While I was maintaining, I always stayed within a 5lb range up or down. I knew when it went up, I was having more liquid calories..more alcohol..more chocolate milk..not necesarily Meal Replacements but extra calories. When I laid off the extra liquid calories..my body adjusted back down a few lbs. This is not normal for unbanded humans who lose weight and then slowly eventually gain it back without a ton of diligence to keep it off. The diet cycle. The band helps stop this diet cycle of lose-gain-lose-gain. I don;t think any doctors can really truly understand what happens physically to your body when banded..being it is an adjustable surgery..we change mechanisms in our bodies and messing with the delicate balance changes how the band works for us.. This is my amateur opinion backed by no scientific research..just my gut and my personal experience. I will work hard if I have to to get this last 40lbs off and I am back to maintaining where I was happily maintaining for years and I can get rid of all these size 12-14-16 clothes and pull out my 6-8-10's again!! The band was totally worth it..130lbs off..gone for 12+ years?? yes!!! Just know you will have quirks along the way!! Rather deal with quirks than the burden of 130lbs!!

I wanted to add my experience. I will have had my lapband now for almost 14 years come this August. Dr Pedro Kuri in Mexico did my surgery and I will undoubtedly say that because of his experience even back then is testament to his skill and increased outcomes with the band. Back in 2002, the band was barely approved by FDA for a few years and most US surgeons had maybe done a handful of bands. Back then it was all about Gastric Bypass. Dr Kuri had already done 300+ bands when I went in. To date, he has installed 5500 bands. I lost a total of 130lbs over the first 6+ years of banding..don't recall how long it took, but since I was not a "compliant" bandster at all times, it took me longer,but maintained same weight for at least 6 years. What is most important with the band is surgeon's experience with the band and HOW they place the band on YOUR body and the aftercare. I believe now that doctors with less experience with this band probably have higher erosion, slippage rates. Surgeons are "cut and run".. they want to cut you up..be done..move on..the band sucks for them because it requires years of aftercare. Fills, dieticians, etc..bandsters I believe who say they get food stuck or can only eat Soup or liquids get filled too tight with "blind" fills and then live with it. They want to keep eating and thus OVEREAT the band and then you throw up..it basically becomes surgical bulemia. The whole premise of ANY weight loss surgery is to restrict you..magically your brain telling you that you love food will change and you won't want to eat past the point of throwing up. We basically become like dogs who will eat themselves to throw up level if you let them. With our now small stomachs..we cannot mentally wrap our heads around that we now can only eat about a cup of food at a time. Or you resort to liquids and then you think the band sucks and it has failed because you throw up all the time? I unfortunately did not continue to go to Mexico after the first 3-4 years to get aftercare from Dr Kuri who always does fills under flouroscopy to make sure you are not too tight or have started packing your esophagus like I did..after getting "blind fills" from a more local surgeon. Lesson learned! I have more than abused this poor band for 14 years and and still have it..no erosion, no slippage. Unfortunately I just had to have port removed because of an infection I was most likely given by a local surgeon's office who gave me a fill that lead to a port infection. This was after at least 9-10 fills over the last 14 years by three different surgeons..one finally got me an infection. Port will be put back in once I heal but thankful to know my band is safe. Who knows what my total run with this silicone "noose" will be...will pray as long as possible! I would not trust a doctor who discourages one surgery over another..surgeons hate the follow up so the sleeve to them makes sense..cut and run..I don;t like that like the bypass..you can expand your stomach and have no way to adjust it. The sleeve was just the first 1/2 of gastric bypass for overly obese patients to lose some weight before the bypass part. I may be missing something but seems like gastric bypass patients, your little stomach can grow..thus needing to go back and add restriction back..revision. Dr Kuri told me he has been banding sleeve and bypass patients because of this..hmm.. The band is not perfect..I would not take this surgery lightly. RESEARCH your doctor..how many bands has he performed and over how many years. What is the aftercare like? I personally would want a surgeon who has well over 1000 bands placed at this point..16 years after FDA approval. Do they always do blind fills or do they do under flouroscopy? DO NOT go for a surgery based on just what your insurance covers at the moment or your local surgeon prefers. Whatever surgery you end up with make the decision based on your long term future with this surgery. This band has been in my body for 14 years..we have a love/hate relationship..mostly because I love to eat food..and when it is delish I want MORE..but this bitch wont let me eat more. I tell people I got the band NOT because I wanted to lose the weight ( I did of course) but more important was to KEEP IT OFF. Something that never happens with just diets. You have a 5% chance of keeping off weight you lose..that SUCKS! 5%..yup! So look at a lifelong commitment to this surgery...not just what procedure will get the weight off but which one has higher odds of keeping it off. With the band...there is an art and science to proper fills and hunger satiation..hunger goes away when you are at the right fill..BUT you have to get your head right...you need to know that scarfing down a whole hamburger is not in your future...barely even a slider..or enjoying pizza or other doughy breads is a thing of the past..you mentally need to wrap your head around being different from everyone else that has no extra thought as to what foods or combination of foods they can eat. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best. I will end with if I had to do it over again..now with more options..I still would choose the band. I like the adjustability..it can be removed if anything does go wrong..my head has not always been in the game..I want to outeat this thing all the time..I learned the hard lesson when I didnt go back to MY surgeon for proper followup from a more experienced surgeon who cares about his patients outcomes and not just lining his pockets with the latest surgical procedure.

This thread is old...but thought I would try. I moved to Los Osos 7 months ago from SF Bay Area...was banded in 2002. Anyone still around?? Patty

Time for an update! It has been awhile and has been a bit of a rollercoaster since!!! So last I posted, I had gone to the Kaiser doctor up in Nor Cal and had refused me a fill because I didn't supply a food diary. Whatever. I was preparing to move down to Central Coast and was coming close to losing my Kaiser insurance but didn't have time to mess around with this doctor and dietician. Also, in September while down on the central coast and chasing my new puppy on the beach..a few days later had knee pain and thought I tore ligaments. I was wearing knee braces and sleeves, had one session of PT at Kaiser before I moved..this went on through March of this year when I went to the massage therapist at the motorcycle track and she did a 20 minute session on my leg..stretching my IT band..and completely got rid of pain! After 7 months thinking it was torn ligaments or strained tendons..turns out it was most likely IT Band syndrome and that torqued my knee and caused all the pain. This prevented any excercise for months..other than going up and down stairs while packing and moving! Uggh.. Anyway...back to band. So after my unsuccessull fill in September, I moved to the central coast on November 1st. I started a new job and just made it through the busy new job, new area, new place and a new puppy. My weight stayed at around 198-200 during this time. I quit my job in January and a few weeks later decided to go get a fill at the doctor that I went to a few times back in 2008-2009 after I stopped going to Mexico for fills. This other doctor had a secondary office a few hours away when I lived up north. Now I was a few hours away from his primary office. Since they only do fills weekdays and I now was not working, I had the time to go. I didn't bother telling them all the recent history. I didn't want all the Kaiser drama to effect me getting a fill. I just told them I had not been filled in awhile and it was time to get back on track. I know..should have given the backstory..but I was desperate for a fill. So this was first time I was filled by a non surgeon. This was a nurse there that I saw. I gave her most of my band history. She pulled out the Fluid and we agreed to add an extra .5cc. This would take me close to where I was before but not there since that was too tight. I figured that would be all I need to get back to the "green zone" again hopefully and be done with this weight! Wellllllll....... This was February 6th..I stayed on liquids 24 hours..and then my boyfriend and I drove up the coast a few days later. It was 80 miles each way on twisty road. We had lunch and I just had a drink, some Soup, 1/2 burger..just the meat..and literally a few of his fries. Nothing too complicated or I thought over eating. Felt fine after meal..and we started our journey home. AS we got closer to home, I was feeling pain in my stomach. It reminded me of the feeling when i did overeat and you would get that referring pain up to your shoulder and that "pulling" feeling as the stitches would pull on my stomach. It got worse as we got closer to home. I went to bed and the next day could barely get out of bed and stand up straight from the pain. I can only describe it as it felt like my stomach had dropped and to walk around I had to hold my stomach. I could barely move from the pain. Unfortunately at the time, because I just left my job and was not yet back on Obamacare..and would now qualify for medical, I was between insurance. I also was scared and didn't want to think my band had eroded or I slipped. I still was feeling the same restriction I had a few days ago. I was not running a fever. I could get food down. And even if I called the surgeon's office I went to for a fill..they are over 2 hours away and there was no way I could get in a car for a few minutes..never mind a few hours. I did manage to get on medical quickly thanks to a local county health worker who was worried about me. I was feeling better so I waited it out. The pain had subsided quite a bit by then and my restriction felt the same, so I waited. Decided since I was still have slight pain I would go to local ER to get checked out. I was thinking that perhaps my port had become unstitched and if they did an xray at minimum could see if everything looked ok. Unfortunately I went to a local hospital where there is no bariatric surgeon on staff and the ER doc was not familiar enough with it. He opted to do a CT scan. I wish I had seen it, but he said the technician looked at it and said the band was in place..he could see the upper pouch, band was perfect..lower stomach ok. Everything to him looked normal.unexplained what the pain was. Doc just sent me home to rest...sighhh.. I called the surgeon's office to let them know what had happened. The nurse who did my fill was a little abrupt on the phone. She said for me to come down to the office..I told her I was over 2 hours away and what would coming in do unless they could do a flouro right there. All she said is "ports never move"..but not much she could do unless I come see her. I went to ER end of February. So most of March, I did okay...only a little discomfort. I headed to Los Angeles for Easter weekend to see my parents and decided to call the surgeon's office and see if they could see me on my way back since we have to pass by their town on my way home. I told them I think the port had moved and perhaps THAT was causing the discomfort. So on our way home, I stopped there and was there about 10 minutes with the same nurse. Explained all the pain..she poked around a bit..she didn't think port had moved but was just perhaps some trauma from the fill...or the pain I had and the inflammation would need time to subside. She was not really worried because I had no redness, swelling and restriction was fine. So that was a waste of time..but whatever. So that was end of March. April went by and I don't recall having too much pain. Perhaps the nurse was right..just needed time for whatever inflammation happened to subside. Given that this NEVER happened with the three different surgeons who each performed numerous fills on me each..I should have been more diligent...but the insurance issue and unemployment at the time was also guiding my decisions. As May weny by, I noticed now at my waistline, I had a hard lump. I thought for sure now my port had indeed become unstitched and finally migrated upwards and was sitting at my waistline. The pain from it sitting at my waist as I bent over or sat down was getting worse. It felt like a sharp hard edge of the band was sticking up towards me and was in the worst place possible. I finally decided that it was time to stop messing around with doctors and insurance issues and call Dr Kuri's office. Now that I lived 4 hours closer to Mexico, it would not be much of a hassle to head down there at minimum for a flouro. Dr Kuri was thinking perhaps a port replacement and/or tubing issue so some minor surgery under local may be needed and quoted me price for that. The plan was to get there early Friday morning, do a flouro and then we would know more. If we needed to do anything, he would immediately do the procedure. So last Friday, I was in Tijuana for my 8am flouro with Dr Kuri. He did the flouro and showed my port and tubing were in tact. He pulled out the fill to make sure was still there and put back in. Weird thing when I asked how much was there he said 1.2cc...but should have been more. I also swear he squirted some out on the floor or me..so I am thinking I now have less restriction than I did going in..BUT I think I may have been too tight after the last fill but with all this pain going on, was hard to tell. I was not going to argue..anyway...Dr Kuri had me do barium swallow and the restriction looked good..fluid passed through nicely.no problems with esophagus..everything was as it should be..great..BUT now about this pain at my waist that I thought was the port. He swears it had not moved. I told him the port was ALWAYS below my belly button. SOMETHING was now at my waist. He argued that it "changes" position with weight loss BUT since I gained 50lbs..there was no explaining this. He said he would put me under local, small incision and move the port so it was not at my waist...OR SO WE THOUGHT!! This is where the "fun" began. They had made the incision right where the "port" now was and it turns out to be a nasty infection right there instead. I have no clue what it looked like..but since I was just under local and awake..Dr Kuri was nice about the "uh ohs"...making sure not to alarm me..but told me there was an infection there and the other doctor assisting him was busy cleaning it up while Dr Kuri explained to me that this infection could mean that my band had eroded into my stomach. An erosion can present as a port infection because the band and tubing is connected and infection can travel to the port. Yikes!! He calmly told me that they would stitch me after cleaning out infection and do an immediate endoscopy to confirm the erosion. From there, I would have to schedule full band removal for a later date. I was fully prepared to be leaving there that day with a surgery scheduled. Uggh... Thankfully, the endoscopy confirmed I did NOT have an erosion. WHEW!!! So leaving that out, why was my port infected. He is thinking my last fill may have been the problem. No way to know, but given all the pain and weirdness after the fill.what else could it be?? SO I left Tijuana with one incision, a prescription for Cipro and a huge sigh of relief I had not eroded. I think Dr Kuri may have been surprised too! I think he figured after 14 years...could be likely!! So I am just 3 days post surgery and back home. That huge "port" at my waistline is now gone. Of course that pain is replaced by the incision pain which is not that bad. At least I don't have 5 incisions like post band placement with tons of air in my tummy. I am tender around the area so have to wait to start pressing around to see if my port is really where it should be. I don't feel it..so hopefully that infection being gone now, I can feel the port better. I will have to see about my restriction once I am all healed. I think I am back to where I was before I went down for this last fill. Perhaps karmic revenge for not telling them about the last few years drama..but for now on, I am not messing around with U.S. surgeons..only going back to Dr Kuri..for more regular checkups..and if fill is needed. I am down to about 190. I had dropped about 8-9lbs just after that fill in February but was probably when I was in pain and not eating as much. Before I mess around with more restriction, I really need to listen to my body..watch what I eat and if I get this knee back in shape..move a bit more!! Lessons learned!! I forgot to ask Dr Kuri about band erosion statistics. He did tell me HIS statistics are low..less the .001% of his patients have eroded..he has done 5500 bands to date. I was 300 something back in 2002. But I would be curious to know amongst all the eroded patients to date, how long they had the band before they eroded. I wonder if statistically, you erode if prone to..but if you have not eroded by now..you are less likely. Sheesh you would think in 14 years, I would have by now if I was going to..I have seen some here that erode quickly..so who knows!! I hate to think I have a ticking time bomb in me..but I guess that goes with being banded and having a device in your body! WIll post updates here more frequently!!

Glad to hear you are doing well without the band. I tell people I felt like a mere mortal again when I was unfilled..for me it was not just the restriction I missed, but the lack of hunger with the band. It puts us into an abnormal state of starvation mode. Doctors cannot explain it and tend to go by the book on care of the band. The doctor at Kaiser and his dietician just assumed I was out of control eating while unfilled. She just treated me like a newly banded patient with textbook advice on what to eat and how much..etc..I wanted to punch her..really!? I was counting every single calorie and was staying at 800 or less calories..any normal person would have been dropping weight like crazy...me..I was gaining! It all happened pretty fast then stopped. Once I started getting refilled slightly that helped. I am scared my results tomorrow..hoping it is port only issue. I really don't want to lose my band..nor revise to sleeve..uggh..we shall see. Thanks for updating and best of luck with whatever your next move is!

Hi! Curious to know if you had the removal. I had the band installed in 2002. I took awhile to lose all the weight, but was pretty steady for years. Almost two years ago decided to just to a routine check as I had not been to a doctor in years. Well upon a fluoroscopy at my Kaiser, my esophagus was also double its size. My band had been too tight for years. I just learned to live with it. I could eat and drink..although slow to move down. So they did a complete unfill a few weeks later and then waited 3 months and rechecked. My esophagus with was back to normal..so another month later did a small refill. By then..I had already quickly regained 50lbs. Your doctor is full of himself if he thinks you would actually lose weight because you are now eating right..blah blah. I hope that is case, but with unfill so I have seen the opposite around here. I was gaining lbs per day even with severe calorie restriction..it was a free fall..no matter what I did..I gained! Your body goes into an abnormal state with the band... I think a prolonged starvation mode...any upset in that delicate abnormal balance and your body just does what it wants. I literally could have gained on drinking Water only. It did finally stabilize at the 50lbs..I had lost a total of 130 with the band so at least it was not 100% gain..but still bad enough. Cost me thousands in new wardrobe for work, casual and motorcycle gear! My doctor told me that if I expanded the esophagus again then would have to consider a removal. I won't see that doctor again as I am no longer at Kaiser or even near one now that I moved to central coast. I am headed to Mexico tomorrow because after a fill with a doctor near by I had used for fills when I didn't want to go to Mexico anymore..something happened most likely with my port. Probably became unstitched from the muscle around my lower abdomen and has now migrated to my waist area. Dr Kuri will be checking with flouro first thing in morning and then will determine was is wrong and what surgery I will need and will go under immediately..Hoping it is just a simple port replacement and stitch down. Would love to know how you are doing. Sucks to have to remove the band. I am praying I can keep mind. I since had lost 10lbs since the last fill. It may be a little tight but this port issue caused a lot of pain and could swelling.. I really want to lose the 40lbs BUT more importantly the band is there to help me keep it off. Praying!

Hi!! Sorry to hear about your gain. Why did you have it removed? Same issue as mine? So I decided that I wanted more fill afterall so made an appt with the band doctor at Kaiser. Well..in order to get a fill, you have to first talk to their dietician gal. Well I did a phone call with her and told her my struggle. All she wants to know is what I eat because she still assumes I am eating the wrong foods..not eating foods to keep me full, etc. I told her that I was diligently watching calories and any normal person would have been losing or at least maintaing. I told her the hunger is back again. They are just "by the book" band doctor and staff. They don't get it! I had an appt 3 days later already scheduled with the doctor. She told me to bring him a food diary for those 2 days before the appt. uggh..I didn't because I didn't eat that much. Had not been feeling well. Anyway..after him lecturing me on solid food choices AGAIN, he refused to do a fill. He said to schedule another appt in 2 weeks with the dietician and give her a food diary. Then we'll see. He proceeded to SHOW me what .50cc looks like which is what would take me ALMOSt back to where I was..I don't want to be too tight again. I really just wanted .25cc/No..if you look at it in a syringe it is not much, but even that last .25cc was enough to help that hunger signal go away. When I was originally filled, Dr Kuri only filled me in .50cc increments as I didn't need much. How f'n condescending that was to how me what it looks like. I was PISSED I did not get a fill. I took off early from work and drove over an hour each way. I really do not think doing a food diary will help. What makes them think I couldn't make up the perfect food diary to show them what they said I should be eating. I DO!! For god sakes, I told her I was eating some tritip and was hungry while eating it!!! I am supposed to do the phone appt with the dietician this Friday but will probably just cancel it at this point and give up on getting a fill from these folks. These doctors and their staff need to learn more about the band when unfilled and no we are not eating all the high calorie foods we couldn't while filled. Something happens once I unfilled that takes us out of the abnormal state we are put in the first place. Gaining 50lbs in 3-4 months even if I indulged daily on high fat, high calorie foods 24/7 would be barely possible for a normal human.; So I struggle with my weight. I am at least stabilized at 196-198 depending on the day. I desperately want back to my old 150. I am a moose at this weight!! Once my life stabilizes and I am moved, I will have to right to get this weight off..the fill is just not going to happen!!

HI! I really did not have any symptoms that the esophagus had stretched. I had not had a fill for I think 3-4 years at that point..decided I probably should just get a routine check since I had not had a flouroscopy since my last fill in Mexico..I had gotten my last fills done "blind" by a doctor here in California. He got me restricted enough to get off the final 40ish lbs and then from there I maintained my weight for those last 3-4 years. I was probably living with whatI just considered quirks of the band rather than thinking I was too tight all that time. Since I didn't have time to get back to my band surgeon in Mexico and realized my Kaiser would cover me seeing a local surgeon or at least getting a flouro done to make sure all was okay, I scheduled it for August of last year. WHen I swallowed the barium, it would not go through.. AT ALL! He had me walk around for about 10-15 minutes and still..a trickle if that. He then also noticed my esophogus was twice the size it should be..so basically I just turned my esophagus into an "upper stomach". I obviously had been getting fluids and food down all this time, so was shocked to see no barium going through. The fluoro doctor then passed my results on to the band surgeon who about two weeks later said my band would have to unfilled and allowed a chance for esophagus to return to normal. If it didn't, the band would have to come out. After three months and another flouro, the esophagus had returned to normal and the refills began. I am not fill to where I was..but still could use a little more..I think. I waffle about it because I don't want to get too tight again..I want to get this weight off but more importantly keep it off.I also need to decide because I am moving soon to new area with no Kaiser and will be self employed and most likely have togo on Obama Care..so not sure when I would be able to revisit this and get a fill if I don't do in next 30-60 days!! Decisions!! Anyway..hope that helps. I HIGHLY recommend you get the band checked under flouro on regular basis so you and your doctor can SEE what is happening in there. If I never got this checked out, I would be 50lbs down from where I am now, but still have a stretched esophagus and cause permanent damage to it. I would just be dealing with the "quirks" of the band with no pain or symptoms otherwise..

Hi! Sorry to hear you are in same shoes. The dietician and surgeon think it is just me going hog wild right after my fill. Wanted to punch her. I was starving myself and still gaining. I don't know if wise to get a fill so soon. If your esophagus is stretched it won't heal in a few weeks. My fill surgeon gave it three months. My band surgeon in Mexico patient coordinator advised longer. I recommend going to as low of calories as you can. Eliminate liquid calories. I went strictly to Water. Really watch your calories and get in some exvercise. You may not stop it but hopefully slow it. Best of luck. Hating life with this extra 50lbs.

I hear ya!! I miss my size 8's too! I recommend cutting your calories waaayyy down. Drink lots of Water...stay away from caloric beverages. Count calories honestly. IT is soooo easy to eat way more than you think you are. This diligence probably helped me not gain back double of what I did. I should have been losing weight on what I was restricting myself too, but at least stopped it from being worse. I feel like a tank right now. I am happy to be keeping off 85lbs, but gaining back 50 of the 135 I lost in total just sucks!!! Best of luck tomorrow. Keep us posted!

Hi all! Thank you to everyone who posted recently. Been a crazy month since my last post! As I mentioned, I dropped weight on the heartbreak diet as my boyfriend decided to leave. We have since reconciled and I will be moving down to central coast of calif with him..so currently in transition with location, job situation, etc. I have since gained back some of the heartbreak weight..dammit! But that was me just not being as diligent as I had been with calories. I don't think I want to get any more fill as I think I may wind up stretching my esophagus again. The hunger definitely subsided. I think I have enough restriction. I just choose to ignore it and want to eat more than I should. After seeing a picture of me this past weekend..I am just disgusted with this 50lbs. I am going to try and rejoin the gym for the next month or so before I move just so I get some exercise in..that wasn't seeming to help much before..but wouldn't hurt to just get some muscle strength back. My poor body is just confused on a daily basis. I get into food ruts. With my boyfriend already down south, I am not really wanting to cook for one. I think the "green zone" is a fantasy after an unfill. This is going to be hard work to get this weight off. But my goal as always is to keep it off and stay at the weight I have been for years before the unfill! We shall see..will come back and report when I get settled down south! Hoping that happens in next two months.

Hi! Sorry to hear this happened to you as well. It sucks! So it appears you have only been unfilled for less than 60 days? Did you have an upper GI that determined your esophagus was stretched out? My doctor insisted on three months before they started the refill process. That improved my esophagus, BUT I think it will be easy to fall back into the habits that stretched it out. I am not back where I was when too tight of course. BUt I can see myself getting back into a habit of overeating and thust most likely stuffing my esophagus. I am still 50lbs up from when my complete unfill happened last September. I started getting refilled in December. I did lose about 8-9lbs recently due to split with my boyfriend. Lost that in a week because I was too heartbroken to eat much. Lived on my Meal Replacement shakes because I didn't have the desire to chew. Not recommended way to lose weight but I was happy to see the scale finally drop. But my eating habits have slipped since then quite a bit and I have not been as diligent and disciplined as I was and since gained back about 5lbs+. Soooo depressing to see myself in pictures look like this. This is still 85lbs down from my pre-surgery weight, but this really sucks. I miss my smaller clothes. I hate being achy again! I don't think I will ever really get back to the "green zone" that will allow me to easily lose the weight like I initially did. I really hoped it would just prevent me from gaining any further weight. I think my poor body has just been confused this past year now with the unfill and refill. I believe I am going to have to be like any mere mortal and really work hard to lose this weight. Hoping that the band will assist with that on its own is not going to happen. I am determined to lose the weight and get back to where I was and then pray I keep it off. I hope your results are better than mine. My mexican surgeon thought me getting refilled after only three months was too soon..but my local doctor at Kaiser was okay with it after he did another upper GI and esophagus was improved. This whole mess has been very depressing! Patty

HI all! Just wanted to give an update on this as it seems there is definitely some commonality here with unfills and getting back to the "green zone"..I don't know if we can ever really achieve where we were before. I think the initial fill series and weight loss is our chance to do it. From there the band, for me, was a tool to keep the weight off..and it did that for quite a few years. Turned out I lived with being too tight, stretched my esophagus..but my weight was maintained. Who knows what my caloric intake was at that time. I did get food and drinks in and didn't count calories..but I stayed within a 5lb range usually. Now I am approaching almost a year since my unfill..it was September of last year. So 10 months later I am still up 40lbs. I got my last fill a few months ago..I was up 50, but my boyfriend of over a year unexpectedly left me in May. I lost almost 10lbs on the "heartbreak" diet..wouldn't recommend it, but it finally pushed the lbs down. Now..I am maintaining that loss. What I will need to do to kickstart the rest of it...not sure. I don't think I want to get any tighter. I don't want to go back to where I was. I was talking to someone about this last night..explaining my journey over the last year of rapid gain even though I was severely restricting calories. I think I am back to almost "mere mortal" status where I really have to restrict low, exercise my rear off and work harder to get off these 40lbs..and THEN..let the band do its job of keeping it off. I don't think these last 40lbs will come off solely relying on the band. My hunger has dimished to back where it was pre-unfill..of course the stress and heartache also help curb the hunger..I have lost interest in food, but still eat and maintain. For now..letting myself heal from the breakup and other things going on before I start full force to lose again. I also am kinda waiting for track season to wind down as my larger motorcycle suit I got to replace the one that no longer fit will be dangerously too big if I lose another 10-20lbs now and it is too costly to have it altered again and again..so waiting until I am back to my normal weight before I alter it one last time..so torn about losing too much before November comes....ahhh priorities!! Keep sharing stories..I don't think the surgeons REALLY understand what isgoing on with the unfill process. They assume we are all gorging on the things we couldn't eat when we were filled. Sheesh I gained 5lbs on air!! Seriously..the initial few weeks were scary fast weight gain..even on nothing!!!

HI! SOrry to hear about this incident. The band can definitely be quirky..filled or not. My band can get tighter when I am sick, when I go up in altitude..though the doc and his nurse thinkI am crazy because it is a "closed pressure" system..blah blah..but yeah whatever..I know what I feel!! WHen I got unfilled, I didnt know what to expect really. I had a really bad painful experience the first weekend..felt like air pressure was releasing and it sent me to ER. Turned out to be nothing..could have just been a release of pressure or air between the two parts of my stomach and the band..who knows. It was pretty scary how quick the weight piled on. The dietician just assumed I decided to go out and binge on all the things I could not eat beore like pizza and bread and yummy carbs! NOPE! I actually craved salad because that was always hard to get down. I didn't gorge..I am sure I was able to get in more calories than before...but I was not pigging out. It just piled on no matter what I did. I think our bodies hit a set point and when it can..it will try and get back to where it was before.. It is super easy to pile in calories..even if you are careful. I switched to water only..no calorie drinks other than milk in my Meal Replacement shake in the morning. Even counting calories and eating only what I SHOULD lose on I was gaining. The weight gain has stopped with an additional 45lbs on my body. Most of that was gained in the first few months! Yeah quick!! Right now I am bouncing up and down between a few lbs. That would be GREAT if I just wanted to maintain where I was! The worse part for me during the unfill period was having a normal person appetite again. The hunger pangs..I missed my loss of appetite from the band being filled. As I got refilled that finally has gotten back down to where I can forget about food for quite awhile. I am considering doing a pure liquid diet like HMR to control the calories I am taking in and get this weight off. It is not as easy as 48 as it was in my 30's when I was first banded. I would suggest REALLY watching your calories. Eliminate ALL caloric drinks and go to water only. No diet drinks either. I never liked fake sugars anyway..but stay as "pure" as you can without adding chemical crap to your body. Go to my fitness pal and enter your daily calories. Don't go off your maintenance weight calories..go off of calories for your body that you would need to LOSE on. If you see the scale going up rapidly, cut down further! It can be tempting to eat stuff that may have been hard while filled properly but don't tempt fate!!! So not worth it! I don't even want to think about how many hundreds of dollars I have spent on having to quickly replace an entire wardrobe in a few short months including expensive motorcycle gear! Sigh.. Best of luck with the band..praying for you that it is not anything serious and you can get refilled! Hang in there!!

I feel your pain. I have had the band 13 years this year and had to have an unfill last September because after a routine check after many years of maintaining, my esophagus was double its size and my band was too tight. Doc said an immediate unfill and 3 months to heal was necessary before he would look and refill. So from September 19th to December 19th I gained almost 50lbs! Most was gained in first 2 months. I was watching what I ate and didn't matter. It was a moving freight train. I have had two fills since the unfill. I was unfilled at 2cc. I am now at 1.25cc. I will probably stay here as I feel getting too close to where I was before means too tight. Even with watching my calories, I was gaining or just maintaining. What little I was eating, any "normal" human being would have been losing. It is SOOOOOO easy to eat alot of calories. My maintenance calories are around 2300 for my weight. My weight loss calories is around 1400..if I was "normal". I was counting at less than 1000 calories and still just maintaining! I would really look at your exact calories because it takes so little food but some things can be calorie dense no matter the portion. I think my body is just confused..I was doing well for years maintaining where I wanted to be with no issues. Then I go and get unfilled and my body just wanted to go back up to where I started! I fought hard and still gained! We are just putting our bodies from one abnormal state to another abnormal state. Normal calorie rules do not seem to apply when it comes to being unfilled and refilled. But I would recommend seriously counting so you know exactly what you are putting in your body. You may THINK it is say 1200 calories but may be 2000! I hate diaries, but I did myfitnesspal and just did a few days to see and was surprised how much I was undercounting! I THINK my body is finally at that place where the moving freight train has come to a complete stop and is ready to reverse course. I have managed to drop a few lbs and keep it off with doing a few days of Meal Replacement shakes and a little bit of food keeping my intake below 1000. Hoping for a turnaround. Wish you the best of luck too!!

Thank you Julie for stopping in and sharing your kind words. I totally get that..some of my friends have even looked at me and didn't think I gained or look bad..BUT my whole life is at 150lbs. Sounds wierd..but my life revolves around motorycles. I have three. I ride one on the track that requires a tight one piece leather suit. I quickly grew out of my one piece and was lucky enough to be handed a suit that fit at my bigger size with some alterations. I hate it as not as comfy as my smaller one. The extra 50lbs is a burden on the bike as well. None of my motorycle gear for the street fits me and I feel less safe with what I am making do with. It has cost me at least $2000 in casual, work and moto gear since I gained this weight. I find it harder to ride street or track. So It is very hard for me to be at peace with this weight and patient with my body deciding what it wants to do. I don't feel as confident as I did because I don't feel I look good. I feel sloppy fat and hate seeing rolls and fat hanging where I had none before. I am a confident person regardless, but I guess I am knocked down a few notches now because of this. Health wise..yeah overall I feel okay..but my joints ache more now..the extra weight is hard to carry around. I don't want to settle and feel comfy here for very long..the more I "buy" into this size, the more chance I feel I have I will just settle here. I am fighting it all the way!!

Well..thought I would come in for an update since it has been almost a month. Thankfully the appetite suddenly went away. No longer in "hangry" mode all day. I can go longer without food. My body is still stuck and just bouncing up and down..196, 198, 200, 197, 198...sigh...watching calories and working out and just maintaining where I should be seeing scale drop. I am just figuring my body is confused with all the changes and being stubborn and holding on to what it just quckly gained. I figure I just need to relax and give time to adjust and perhaps it will let go and start to lose again. It has been very frustrating to have two sides to my closet where most of what I want to wear is too small and I don't want to buy much more new in my current size. As for my fill, I think my current fill of 1.25cc is good for now. I was too tight at 2.00cc when I was unfilled. I don't think I could take any more at this point. I wanted to achieve that "lack of appetite" feeling I had before and I think I now have that. I do have restriction. I am worried I may start packing my esophagus again, so I have to be mindful of that and not ignore the STOP! I pray this stubborn body of mine gets with the program again and let's go of this weight!! I miss my size 8/10. Size 14/16 is NOT fun!!!

I don't want to scare you, but I just had a complete unfill last September. I was banded in 2002, lost all the weight I wanted to lose and had been stable at same weight for at least 5 years.I figured I should get the band checked by flouroscopy because it has been awhile..even though I was not really having any issues. Probably adjusted to the usual band quirks..which turned out my band had been too tight and I started to stretch my esophagus. Doctor recommened a complete unfill and wait 3 months. I was refilled from 2cc total to only 1cc. I had 2nd fill a month ago and now at 1.25cc. I quickly gained weight..it was crazy..even with little food, my body just back on, 10, 15, 20..all the way up to 50lbs where I am stuck now. I really have to fight to stop the weight gain. I think our bodies go from an abnormal state to a new abnormal state. Calorie restriction and calorie burning that "normal" humans can lose weight don't seem to be working. Do EVERY thing you can to not overeat and get in lots of exercise. Watch calories like crazy. I drink mostly Water other than Protein drink or milk that does in my Protein Drink. Count calories and stay as low as you can. I know that if I was not watching every bite, I would have packed on another 50. I am at least not back where I started which is another 85lbs up. I am eating and working out to the point I should be losing but my body is just maintaining. Very frustrating. Figuring my body is just trying to adjust to its new set point and will eventually start slipping back down again. I am hoping your unfill jourmey goes smoother than mine. I am so depressed to be this size now..even though I am not back where I started, it's alot of extra weight to suddenly cope with after years of being the same weight. I felt "fat" when I was up 3-4 lbs from my usual weight!! Sigh..wish I had THAT problem now instead! Seriously get into "battle" mode..do not get complacent about food and get moving!!

Just wondering how you are doing? I have Kaiser too and was wondering about your experience with them, Im in San Diego....where are you? Gosh...sorry...did not see your question to me until now! I am in northern california..my batriatric surgeon is at Kaiser Richmond, CA. I live in Vacaville. Quick update..Was refilled in mid December after I was rechecked in November and esophagus had shrunk down in size with the complete unfill. As I sit today, I had gained 45lbs since last September. It was quick and was devastating. I had a 1cc fill back in December and 5 days ago had another .25cc fill. That one is settling in place and I finally..hopefully managing to drop lbs again. I NEED this weight off!! I am constantly hungry since this last fill rather than lower my hunger as it used to! SIgh..been quite a journey with this new body and new banded self!!!

DOn't know if this OP is still looking for replies, but for other visitors...I didn't stretch my pouch, but stretched my esophagus! I was too tight for too long and overeating and managed to make my esophagus an extra part of my stomach. I didn't realize anything was wrong for years..just thought I had usual band quirks. Decided last summer to finally go and get a routine check. My surgeon is in Mexico, but luckily I have Kaiser and they covered me getting checked out. WIth a routine flouro, I had barely any barium passing and the next week, I was completely unfilled to let my esophagus rest for 3 months. I gained 45lbs in that time waiting for a recheck. I went back and esophagus was back to normal. surgeon waited an additional few weeks to get me refilled. I am on the journey back to where I was before..hoping I can get this weight off. So I recommend getting a flouro check routinely. It had been at least 5+ years I was down for a check to Mexico. My last fills were done "blind" by a northern california doctor who accepted mexico patients. Last saw him for a fill 3-4+ years ago and had been stable at my goal weight all those years. Glad I decided to check it out. Hated the weight gain, but hoping I reversed the damage and will be more vigilant now!!

So 5 days out from my extra little fill and I am HUNGRY!!! ALL DAY AND NIGHT!!! UGGHH!!. I am not sure what happened, but I was hoping to get back that lack of appetite and now I am feeling like I am not eating at all. I am in HANGRY mode all day..even after eating something. I swear my calories are the same as before this fill. I counted 1400 calories yesterday..probably missed a few hundred so I know my calories are not in starvation zone, but feels like my body just is rebelling this time around. Good news..I think and hope...is that I am down "about 3-4lbs" since the fill. I weighed 200.2 the morning before my fill. I of course started my period the next day,so figured scale would pop up..I went to 198.6, then down to 197.0 and then back up to 198.6. This morning I was 196.4. I am cautiously optimistic because my body has been doing this up and down since my complete unfill..well mostly up, up, up and then I got stuck in the 190-200 zone no matter what I did or ate or excercised. So will give it another week. If I continue to drop, I know this fill is working..just wish I was not constantly this hungry...not belly hungry as much as the low blood sugar, head dizzy hungry.. This has not been fun at all!!!!

Thank you Jewels! WiIl definitely keep you all posted on how this works. I just know in my heart that our bodies are no longer normal after being banded for so long. The doctor and nutritionist are just assuming "well you can eat more now, so you must be overeating like a pig, so stop it" Well..maybe..but even with really watching calories and excecising, I am still struggling. I really feel my body is trying to get back up to a higher "set point". Where I was for years...200+ lbs..285 at my highest pre banded. I am sure if I was NOT really calorie counting and working out, I would have walked into the surgeon today close to 250 than 200 I am at now. I am now 50lbs over what my body has been used to for many years. It really has mentally and physically put a toll on me. I know my confidence in the world out there has dropped. I am more self conscience. In my eyes, I feel like an elephant. I have friends when I tell them I gained 50lbs in 4 months look at me like I am crazy and say I look great and don't look like I gained. Well probably because I don't gain in my face as much so I look thin in the face. Given that I stayed at 150lb for years and BMI shows I should be close to 130ish..I was still considered overweight for my height..BUT never could imagine being THAT small. Now that it is Spring and already getting warmer here, time to strip off the winter fat clothes..but I have no Spring fat clothes. Been wanting to resist having to buy more fat clothes, but unless I get at least 1/2 this weight off, my old clothes won't fit at all! So bummed! This has been an expensive journey since unbanded. I know for my health it was necessary, but still hard to deal with it!! I will be back..hopefully with good news that the scale is finally moving back down in the right direction!!

So just got back from my fill appt. Took all of 5 minutes since the nutrionist just went on maternity leave..just me and the surgeon. He asked what was going on..I had gained 8+ lbs since my last appt 4 months ago. yup!! So after a few cursory questions, he at first was going to give me .5cc but after I mentioned that I was just at the tail end of a chest cold, he decided to go with .25cc. Uggh. At first I thought "I shouldnt have said anything"..why waste my time here..BUT I am glad I did. This puts me to 1.25cc back in my band. I was at 2cc when I was completely unfilled because I was too tight. 1.5cc may have put me too close to the danger zone. I came back to work and am struggling to get a yogurt down. I figure there is usually some swelling and adjusting going on after they suck ALL the Fluid out and put it back in with some extra. I have to remember this is how I was originally filled..in tiny increments. Once I started going to a fill doctor who does blind fills is where my trouble started of being too tight. Perhaps Dr Kuri being conservative with me all along because of my distance from TJ was correct! I am hoping that this teensy fill helps get that balance back of harmony of hunger and restriction. I never had that "hangry" feeling when I was filled. I was bored with food and could go all day without eating much. Now that I am trying to really watch calories and excercise, I am always hungry..so if I can get back to that lack of appetite again, I would be happy!!! Only time will tell..will report back after I had time to adjust to my new fill! Crossing fingers it gives me a boost in the downward direction by making this dieting crap easier to do! Sigh..that is why I have the band!!!

I contacted my surgeon at Kaiser (well not really my band surgeon, but now my band caretaker surgeon) and asked to see him for a little more fill. Turns out the nutritionist you have to see first is out on leave so just have to see him. Sure he will ask what I have been doing, but not badger me like she did! Uggh! I don't think they truly get the band intricacies if they don;'t have one. I wish it was as easy as just counting calories..yup..calories in vs calories burned..create a deficit to lose..must have 3500 excess calories to gain 1 lbs..yada yada...BUT in this case with me..I can put on 2lbs overnight after a week of eating at 1400-1600 calories a day AND doing 45 min to hour cardio and weight training..no I don't think I am gaining muscle. No it's not Water gain. It is just soooo inconsistent since being unfilled. Normal dieting pre band was never this hard and frustrating. I should be at least dropping some ounces and not gaining. I was fighting the urge to get more fill..but realize now I can eat more than I should which I am resisting but the hunger is getting in the way again. I was getting to the point of being bored with food like I was pre unfill..but now I am back to always thinking about food again!! Time for a teeny fill!! Have my appt in 3 days to see the doc!! After doing my first motorcycle track day yesterday with the 50 extra lbs on bent up on a sport bike, I am more determined than ever to get this weight off. I felt like an elephant on a tricycle yesterday. muwhhhaah!!