Kari D

Hi All! Just checking in here, looking for a little "yes, that's normal" feedback. I had my fifth adjustment yesterday afternoon around 4pm. I was at 8cc in my 14cc band and had 2 cc added, now at 10cc. Before this adjustment, I would experience restrictive eating but was not staying full in between meals and my portion sizes were getting larger, a good indicator that it was time for an adjustment. Yesterday's adjustment was very different from the others and I have not experienced this sensation before. I feel a slight tightness sensation and I'm feeling very burpy. liquids are going down and I'm not having a hard time swallowing. I drank two dixie cups of Water before I let myself leave docs office. I'll be on full liquids for the next 48 hours. Last evening I had an Atkins Protein shake and was done for the night. Today, I had my morning coffee, and then about 30 minutes later started to sip on another Protein Shake. I tried eating a little bit of Soup about 1.5 hours after the shake and got a solid case of hiccups. Honestly, I'm still satisfied from the shake, which is freaking me out a little bit. I've been spending the morning scouring websites about whether or not the band is too tight. However, I don't have any of the classic symptoms like coughing, reflux, etc. Has anyone experienced a post adjustment tightness that freaked them out at first but eventually went away? I can definitely say I'm experiencing a satiation that I have not experienced before. Usually, the 48 hours after an adjustment was hangry hell. Can anyone speak from experience of post adjustment tightness? Thanks! ~Kari

@Send2Steph-- how have you been feeling? Sorry for not responding sooner. I had some physical reactions as well when my band felt too tight. I was having heart burn and I couldn't get anything down, even water, without feeling stuck. After my band was a bit too tight, I had some fluid removed and I felt so much better. The experience taught me that I shouldn't feel discomfort at any time because of the band itself. Unless it's inflicted by me, like eating too fast, the wrong foods, etc...nothing should feel weird about the band itself. Did some of your physical discomfort go away?

Hi Everyone, I wanted to put some closure to this thread and share my resolve in this situation. Just to recap, I got a fill on Thursday and left the docs office feeling tight. I thought the feeling might go away and that I would try it out for my 48 hour post fill liquid diet. After 48 hours, the band was still too tight. My stomach was becoming increasingly gurgley. I was having difficulty swallowing liquids and even those liquids were feeling stuck. Also, a classic sign of having too tight of a fill, the tightness manifested into reflux. I felt very burpey and uncomfortable. I decided to go see the doctor on call on Sunday. He removed 1 cc and I felt almost immediately relief. I went home and started having liquids without any problems and will now be on another 48 hour liquid diet. I learned several lessons from the experience. First and foremost is to take the adjustments slow. Basically, I went into the doctor and asked her for 2cc, somewhat against her recommendation. Reminder, I am not the doctor/expert. Also, once you are getting close to your green zone, it doesn't take must to tip you into the right spot. Asking for 2cc's was greedy. Second, to my credit, I am new at this. Sometimes you have to have a difficult experience to understand the effect of the new device on your body. I had no idea the band could create that sensation, or that it wouldn't go away after awhile. It's all trial and error until you have more experiences that indicate a better gauge. This experience widened my gauge of lap band sensations. I now understand that if the band feels tight when leaving the office, then it probably is too tight and will not go away with time. Ultimately, the band should feel comfortable inside of you. Third, although the band was too tight and created discomfort for a couple of days, I understand what the band is now intended to do. I barely ate anything for those two days and still never felt hungry. Now, I'm not suggesting this was a healthy experience, but I now have personally felt the power of this device. If adjusted properly, the band will create a sense of satiety for a long time. This felt like a miracle. Now, with the 1cc removed, I feel the satiety without the discomfort. This device works. Stick with it, and get the adjustments you need. It will take time, but once in the green zone, it's amazing! Thanks everyone. So glad to have found some community to share these experiences with. Even the doctor's don't really understand when you discuss what you're going though. Nothing quite like comrades who can truly empathize. ~Kari

Thanks for the feedback ya'll! I just got off the phone with the doc. He did not seemed concerned at all. He said what I was experiencing was normal sensation and actually the restriction I'm feeling is what they're looking for. He said if I'm not happy with the feeling they can always take some out. The challenge is that being new to this, I am not yet keen to the different post fill sensations. So far, I've had a Protein shake and a yogurt and I'm not feeling hungry at all. Who am I!?

Thanks, TMF. That's good advice. I would agree with you that 2cc, especially at this stage in the process, is an aggressive fill. I plan to take extra precaution in regards to reintroducing solid foods. I feel like some of the rules that I've bent need to be followed more closely now that I'm moving into a more restrictive zone. If I still feel this sensation by Monday, I might call my doc for a little unfill.

Oh! By the way...I broke 300! Yay!

Hey Bandista, I looked at the content from both of those links. Excellent information. My take away was powerful, especially considering I'm going in for my fifth adjustment today. It made me reconsider why we get adjustments. The doctor in the videos explained that we don't get adjustments for restriction, we get them for hunger suppression. He said many people come in looking for an adjustment because the restriction of a freshly adjusted band helps determine how much food to eat. On the contrary, we should not be using the band for restriction, but to tide us over between meals. This helped me for my appointment today and to be able to explain to my surgeon what my needs are. Truthfully, I'm fine when it comes to the "restrictive" aspect of the band, but I'm not being held between meals. This makes so much sense and leads me to believe I was correct in knowing I'm ready for another adjustment and have not yet reached my "green zone". Thanks again for the resources.

I just posted this under another topic, but I'll repeat what I said here too. I had a lot of trouble sleeping for the first couple of weeks due to middle of the night soreness. I couldn't sleep any which way to find comfort. It was causing me even more aggravation the next day when I was sleep deprived, and also freshly post-op. I blew up an air mattress and started sleeping and lounging on that for the first couple weeks. It helped so much. It has much more give and really helped eliminate soreness. I felt like the princess and the pea and could practically feel every spring in my mattress post op. Give the air mattress a try and see if it improves your sleep for a few nights.

Something I found helpful for the first two weeks after surgery was sleeping on an air mattress. As much as I loved my bed, it suddenly felt like sleeping on rocks. The air mattress was soft and allowed for ease of movement. I was waking up in the middle of the night with a very sore torso and could not get comfortable. The air mattress helped so I could sleep and not feel crazy the next day. Good luck!

Hi Lola, I was banded 10 days before you on June 19th. I too have had 4 fills and am going in for a fifth tomorrow. So far, I'm at 8cc on a 14cc band. I completely understand what you're going through. About a week ago, I was feeling as though I was getting close to the green zone. The signs indicated that I needed to eat slowly, small portions, and was not feeling hungry in between meals. A few days ago that started to change and this indicates to me that I will be ready for another cc or two at my next fill appointment. Suddenly, I'm able to eat a bit larger portions, and am not feeling full between meals. I have also been dying to know "what does green feel like?!" I know that I'm getting closer to this place, but have to believe my intuition that I'm not fully there yet. I start to think that it'll never work and somehow I'll be the one that slips through the cracks. But, I know how dramatic I can be when things don't go my way. I keep reminding myself that the beginning is going to be a shit show. Let's keep in mind that we are both so early in this process. Don't lose hope!

This looks absolutely brilliant. I must try!!

At my very first appointment with my surgeon they asked which surgery I wanted to have. Obviously, they look over your weight to make sure you qualify. I was handed a packet of things I needed to do before I came back the next time. This packet included needing a thyroid test, upper GI x-ray, nutrition and psychology appointments (depending on how many your insurance requires), and possibly a few other blood tests. Upon completion of all of those assignments, I went back to my surgeon to go over all of the results and assure that I still qualified for surgery. After that second appointment, my request for surgery was submitted to the insurance company. I received my "yes" 4 weeks after submission and had a surgery date shortly after.

Hi! I would like to comment that many of the things folks have considered "cons" were actually the "pros" for why I chose a band over the other options. I am 27 years old and felt that making a decision like the sleeve or bypass was too scary at a young age. I've never had children and definitely consider that to be a future option. I need to know that if I decided to host a child in my body someday, that I wouldn't mess with my capacity to receive the nutrition I need to be a healthy host. I didn't want to have a portion of my stomach physically removed or have any of my organs rerouted. That just seemed too serious of choice for myself. There was comfort in knowing that the band is reversible and more controllable. I like knowing that in 40 years, I still have the option of adjusting my band. Once you've expanded your stomach with a sleeve or bypass, all that can really be helped is to coach you nutritionally. I know there are people who revise their surgeries from bands to sleeves, but also know there are people who have sleeves and bypass who end up getting a band placed over that surgery. The band is always adjustable, I like that. Another reason I chose the band was the fact that I don't have the luxury of taking off 6 weeks from work just for recovery, which is what my surgeon suggests/requires. I basically took off a long weekend to recover from band surgery. I had surgery on a Thursday and was back to work (with light restrictions) by Monday. The band gave me the comfort of WLS surgery, with the control of a less invasive option. The other two were too drastic, scary, and permanent for me. I love my choice!

Hi! Congratulations on your banding! I'm 3 months out and I feel fantastic. It's definitely an odd adjustment in the first few days. Take it easy, and you have permission to baby yourself a bit. I took a long weekend for surgery (Thursday-Sunday) and was back to work by Monday. That Monday at work was disorienting and I felt super crabby, but ultimately it was best to get moving and back into the regular routine. I had a hard time sleeping in my bed for the first week and half. If you find that sleeping in a bed makes you sore (as I am also a stomach sleeper), try sleeping on an air mattress for a while until some of the initial pain and swelling goes down. That's what I did and was able to get restful nights of sleep. As others have said, a lot of the discomfort is from the residual gas from surgery. This will ease up everyday. My doctor told me it could take up to two weeks to feel completely normal again from surgery. So, this is going to be the most physically uncomfortable leg of the journey. Once you can start eating food again and feel the difference in restriction, it will be a far out experience. I wanted to cry tears of joy the first time I ate and actually felt the fullness and restriction of the band. Even though I didn't receive my first fill until week 6, you can still feel more restriction that you felt without a band. It's an enchanting experience. As odd as this sound, enjoy this early part of it too. As you start to feel better, you'll know this was the best decision you could've made for yourself.

Hello All! This is my first time posting to this forum. I am to be banded this Thursday, June 19th. My surgeon requires a 5 day clear liquid pre-op diet. I started two days ago. Saturday and Sunday were good because I have the weekend off. Now, here's Monday, I'm at work, and I'm a chef! I'm struggling. I haven't felt this jittery yet. I kept telling myself that by the third day everything would be downhill. I was able to avoid food this weekend by staying home, out of food social situations, and finding alternative forms of entertainment. As a cook, I knew to anticipate a bit of struggle. I'm not suggesting that I can't handle this, but I knew that the nature of my livelihood could create an additional challenge. Here are my thoughts from the experience so far: 1. Food is first and foremost a form of entertainment for me. My biggest challenge this weekend was find other things to fill my time. I love to cook big meals for myself and sit in front of the tv. This is how I relax. Suddenly, I found I was bored and had to find other things to do. I read a book and went to see a movie in a theater. Just had to keep myself busy and avoid my usual triggers. 2. I pray that whatever is on the other side of this surgery feels far better than food. I'm struggling today. 3. I'm having thoughts of self-sabotage. Well would happen if I just took a bite...(but I won't!) 4. This is the first time in the process since I've questioned whether or not I'm doing the right thing. 5. Struggling is ok. It is OK to struggle. Struggle comes before success, not just in the dictionary. These are just some thoughts I'm having and I thought I'd put it out there. If anyone has any words of wisdom, guidance, or compassion to share, it'd be most appreciated.

For anyone on here who is interested, here is my recipe for vegetable broth. It's much healthier,tastier, and more economical than buying it at the store. I tend to be a person who just throws in a little bit of this and that, but I'll give a rough guide for a homemade stock. If you have further questions, just google "vegetable stock recipe" and that should give you some more information. I would also recommend acquiring organic ingredients, at least for the vegetables. 2 lbs roughly chopped carrots, just wash and cut off the tops, cut into large chunks, no need to peel 1 large bunch of celery, tops and bottoms cut off, cut into large chunks 2 red onions, peel off first layers, cut tops and bottoms off, large chunks 5 or 6 cloves of fresh garlic, don't even bother to peel 3 tablespoons of whole, black peppercorns 2 bay leaves kosher salt to taste Put all of the roughly chopped vegetables, bay leaves, and peppercorns into a large stock pot, 12 quart pot works well. Fill the pot to the top with warm Water. Cover, but only until it starts to boil. You can start the pot on high just until it starts to boil, then turn the heat down low so the pot is lightly simmering. You don't want it to rapid boil. Then, just let it simmer for 2 hours or so. Once it's done, strain the vegetables from the broth. You can toss out the vegetable matter. Add a little bit of kosher salt to the broth, not too salty, it will taste odd like salt water. Just enough to bring out the flavors of the vegetables. Let it cool and then store it in glass jars or plastic containers. I drink at least 1 quart (4 cups) a day during my 5 day liquid diet. It's a life saver! Enjoy! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Hi Bandista! Thank you for the reply. Actually, I made some amazing vegetable broth using carrots, celery, red onions, peppercorns, bay leaves, and a little Kosher salt. It's my absolute life saver. I can honestly say that I'm not hungry, but my mind is. I can actually feel my brain expanding and contracting as I think about food. It's so weird. Thanks for the kind words. I want this hunger monkey off my back too.