Julie*

mnieves: It sounds like you are having gall bladder attacks. The telltale sign for me was sharp pain in my back up between my shoulder blades. I also felt like a vice grip was wrapped around my whole stomach and pressing on my rib cage. Turns out my gall bladder was infected and I had stones the size of golf balls- my surgeon said it was 8 times its normal size when they removed it. The good news is that my band is just fine. It didn't affect it at all. I would get yourself to the doc and insist on an abdominal u/s as well as bloodwork to see if it's your gall bladder. good luck. Julie

I had a blueberry get stuck 2.5 years ago and was admitted into the hospital to have it removed by endoscopy. They admitted me due to a high fever and dehydration. I also had a complete unfill at the time. 6 months later I decided to try a fill again and had a very small amount put in the band- 3 days later I was back in the hospital b/c my band was so tight that I got another fever and couldn't swallow saliva. The band was unfilled again and now 2 years later I haven't even had another fill. My surgeon said that for some reason my body reacts badly to fills. Lucky me. So, the band has not helped me the way I expected. I actually have an appt with my surgeon next week. I had my gall bladder out in October (same surgeon) and then an upper endoscopy. Now I have a hiatal hernia and am having some reflux issues. The bad news is that I blame everything on the band. The good news is that I am FINALLY realizing that getting the weight off is more important than the food. Good luck.

HI~ I just wanted to let you know that I had similar symptoms last week and assumed that my band was the problem. Turns out my gall bladder was bad and I had surgery 2 days ago to have it removed. I could also eat and drink- it just really hurt around my port area and my back. Make sure you get it checked out. My gall bladder was inflamed and full of stones- potentially dangerous and I had no idea. I always assume every little ache and pain has to do with my band!

I have been banded since Feb 2006 and started having these same problems that you described a few months ago. I blamed my band as I always do when something doesn't feel right on me and kept ignoring it. Well, last Wed night I was in severe pain around my upper abdomen and around my back and it would not go away. I paged my band doctor and went in for a barium swallow in the morning. That showed the band was fine. Then I had an office visit with my surgeon who realized right away that it was my gall bladder. He sent me back to the hospital and an u/s revealed that my gall bladder was full of stones and very inflamed. I had gall bladder surgery yesterday (performed by my banding doctor who is also a general surgeon) and I already feel much better. I am very sore from the surgery but the pain, gas etc is already gone. So, make sure your gall bladder gets checked too- I had no clue that something was so wrong with mine and I had lived with it for months. Julie

Hi~ My name is Julie and I was banded by Dr. Forgione back on 2/21/2006. I have lost 50 pounds from my highest weight and have about 60 to go. My situation has been a bit unusual- I haven't had any fill in my band for about 2 years. My body just doesn't seem to tolerate them at all for some reason. So, to make a long story short I have an unfilled band and am trying to lose weight with WW. I still do have a bit of restriction but it doesn't slow down how much I can eat, just how fast I can eat. Anyway, I have been feeling recently like I need to get involved more in the local lap band community. Can someone send me a PM and let me know where/when the support meetings are? I haven't heard from Dr. Forgione's office in over a year and haven't made any appts b/c there doesn't seem to be a reason to since I can't have fills. Thanks! Julie

Hi~ I haven't posted on these boards for months but thought I would check in. I was also Dr. Forgione's first patient (I was banded about an hour after Michelle (iluveeyore). My experience with the band has been love/hate. I have lost 50 pounds and have done that without many fills. I have not had a fill at all now for almost a year and actually still have restriction most days. My band is perfectly in place but my body does not like fills- even the small ones make it unbearable and I PB etc. I have been hospitalized at FAHC twice because of it so now I stay unfilled and lose weight very slowly. So, the band didn't turn out the way I expected but I can't imagine I would've lost this 50 pounds w/o it! My only problem with my band now is that it's finicky. I would really like to eat a meal w/o worrying about how many bites I will be able to have. I'm not talking about overeating- sometimes I just want to eat my healthy meal w/o any problems. Good luck to all of you.

This Friday is my pre-op appt and the first day of my 10 day liquid fast. I find myself wanting to enjoy "every last meal" and then find myself thinking that I am being ridiculous. Isn't the goal a new attitude with food? I have only been working on this for years now! I am so hopeful that the lapband is going to be the thing that finally helps me to get control. I read about others successes and I don't even dare to hope you that soon it will be my turn. I just want to get the show on the road- the anticipation is killing me.

Good Morning, I have been banded since February 2006 with moderate success but many small complications. Basically, my surgeon now believes that I cannot tolerate any fill at all. I have a 4cc band and have never had any fill above 1.5cc- that only lasted a week and ended up with me being hospitalized for dehydration. I had .5cc for the past few months and have nothing but problems eating. I have never found the "sweet spot" and basically struggle to get anything down that is not mushy. So, today I had the band emptied and am hoping to just continue on w/o any fill. So, is there anyone else out there who has been successful with no fill? My surgeon said that recent studies are showing that 20% of bandsters have enough restriction with just the band. I don't have any sources- this is just what he told me. Thanks for any insight that any of you may have. I feel like I have been on a fill/unfill roller coaster and I'm looking forward to eating REAL food in smaller portions instead of trying to force the mushie of the day down. Julie

Thanks for the responses! Mary: Yes, I have some restriction without a fill but have to be careful b/c I can eat more than a bandster should if I'm not careful. What I find when I had fills (even just .2cc at one point) is that I can't eat at all in the morning, can barely tolerate lunch, and then PB or can barely eat dinner unless it's very specific mushy foods. I have decided that it is not a way I want to live and I wasn't really losing weight anyway b/c I was overeating on liquids. I feel better already eating smaller portions of REAL food. mbanja: Thanks for your input too. I have been banded for 1.5 years so I am all healed up. My surgeon just believes that I don't tolerate the fills based on my experiences this past year. I have been eating real food and chewing well and things are going down fine. It's such a relief to me. Julie

I just posted on your other thread.

Yes, I have had this same problem and it's not been slippage. You need to stop eating any foods at all right now and focus on sipping small amounts of Water or any other clear liquid. I don't know if you are able to but you should also start taking children's liquid ibuprofen around the clock. If you have severe edema (swelling around the band) like I have had 3 times now then you need to just let your body heal. I'm not saying you shouldn't see a doctor but if you don't have access to medical care for a couple of days then these are steps to take to begin healing. The last time this happened to me I stuck to Clear liquids for 8 days by doctor's order and then slowly introduced foods. Good luck to you.

Any other Vermonters out there? I was banded by Dr. Forgione at FAHC on 2/21/06 which was the first day of banding in the state. I know that there have been many others since then and was hoping that some of you are online. Julie

I started PB'ing too much and ended up in the hospital earlier this week. Thank God I haven't slipped but my stomach was swollen so much that it sealed off my band. I was in overnight and now am on clear liquids for a week etc. I know now the danger that I put myself in. Please be careful.

I was having problems holding things down too and it came on very quickly after I vomited last week when I was sick. I made the mistake of not sticking to liquids and ended up in the hospital yesterday morning. My stomach got so swollen around the band that I couldn't even swallow my own spit. So, my surgeion had me admitted due to dehydration. First I was completely unfilled and that helped a little bit but I still couldn't swallow and keep anything down. I had an upper GI done that showed no obstruction but massive swelling around the band. Thankfully, nothing had slipped though! I was also given anti-immflammatory medicine through the iv for 24 hours and now am home and on Clear Liquids for 7 days et etc. So, I guess I have learned the hard way now to chew and chew and chew and if I vomit or PB to stick with clears for a couple of days. This is the second time I've had to be hospitalized for something similar. Last summer I had a blueberry stuck above the band that they ended up scoping out b/c none of the tricks to remove it worked. I have to say that I am quite nervous to have any fill put back in now! Julie

Hi Michelle~ I have resolved to lose 20 more pounds by the end of April b/c that is when we leave for Disney World. I've just been maintaining and maintaining and need to start up the exercise again to get things rolling. Julie

Well, I've been doing better with food but things have just remained stagnant with my weight loss. I seem to have been lacking the full motivation to take things to the next level. DH and I decided to do nutrisystem for the next month to help us out a bit. I still struggle with portion control and get really flustered when I don't have the foods I need on hand. We thought that this would help me get the portion control down pat while stopping the struggle with menu planning. I think that I'll only buy the food for a couple of months and that should help me out. Already today it's been a relief to just go pick something out and eat it- the best part is that both of the things I've had have been satisfying and filling. I get bummed out sometimes that weight loss is still such a struggle with the band. I thought it would be easier but it's not for me. Thank God for my continued therapy. It is shocking to me what a hold food has had on me- I never understood how much I hid behind it and how much it kept my emotions in check. Now I am a basket case all of the time but Elena says it's years of suppressing things finally being resolved. I hope that getting all of this under control will be a route to happiness for me. I have such a good life and I just want to enjoy it more.

Hi Peaches~ Welcome to band land. Please feel free to ask any questions. I only check in here once in a while though so you can also PM me b/c it gives me a notification now in my email. Michelle: My fill is the same way. I can barely eat in the AM and then can eat fine by the evening. I have been reading around these boards and I think that it's pretty common. I have started to get used to eating a yogurt slowly or very very thin oatmeal. The hard part about it is that when I can eat more I do instead of trying harder to keep things in check. So, I have to be careful in the evenings to have a healthy and filling dinner to keep me from grazing like the pre-band days. Hope you had a Happy New Year- I'm really going to try hard now to kick start things into action. I really want to be at 50 pounds by our bandiversary date so I have to get cracking! Julie

Well, I've been doing better with food but things have just remained stagnant with my weight loss. I seem to have been lacking the full motivation to take things to the next level. DH and I decided to do nutrisystem for the next month to help us out a bit. I still struggle with portion control and get really flustered when I don't have the foods I need on hand. We thought that this would help me get the portion control down pat while stopping the struggle with menu planning. I think that I'll only buy the food for a couple of months and that should help me out. Already today it's been a relief to just go pick something out and eat it- the best part is that both of the things I've had have been satisfying and filling. I get bummed out sometimes that weight loss is still such a struggle with the band. I thought it would be easier but it's not for me. Thank God for my continued therapy. It is shocking to me what a hold food has had on me- I never understood how much I hid behind it and how much it kept my emotions in check. Now I am a basket case all of the time but Elena says it's years of suppressing things finally being resolved. I hope that getting all of this under control will be a route to happiness for me. I have such a good life and I just want to enjoy it more.

Hi Michelle~ This has been a strange fill for me too. I can't eat at all in the morning, can only have a bit for lunch and then can eat too much in the evenings. This is hard b/c I'm really hungry by the end of the day and find that once I can eat b/c then all I want to do is EAT. I have maintained my weight since the fill too but I also haven't been exercising enough. I have had my band tighten up before like that too but it's usually right before my period and then it goes away. I would go slowly with solid too- that last thing you want to do is throw up. Yuck, I hate when that happens. I'm kind of muddling through my days right now just trying to get through Christmas. I have all of next week off and am going to use that time to try some new recipes etc so I don't always feel like I'm eating the same old thing. Have a great Christmas and thanks for checking in. Julie

Well, I continue to struggle with foods that work or don't work. I know I'm not too tight b/c I can eat but I'm finding that I can't seem to eat many different things. So, I am struggling b/c I want and need to feel satisfied with my food choices for the lapband to work. I guess it's time to start really looking at some recipes and see what other bandsters are doing. I also need to exercise- time to get moving.

Well, I continue to struggle with foods that work or don't work. I know I'm not too tight b/c I can eat but I'm finding that I can't seem to eat many different things. So, I am struggling b/c I want and need to feel satisfied with my food choices for the lapband to work. I guess it's time to start really looking at some recipes and see what other bandsters are doing. I also need to exercise- time to get moving.

So, today I thought I'd have some soup from the dining hall at lunch and there was a winter vegetable garden soup. New food that doesn't work at all is MUSHROOMS. I guess I can't chew those up no matter what. It got completely stuck and I had to spit it back up. Not how I wanted to start my day especially when trying to figure out the portions. I guess the rest of the day will be liquids.....

So, today I thought I'd have some soup from the dining hall at lunch and there was a winter vegetable garden soup. New food that doesn't work at all is MUSHROOMS. I guess I can't chew those up no matter what. It got completely stuck and I had to spit it back up. Not how I wanted to start my day especially when trying to figure out the portions. I guess the rest of the day will be liquids.....

Thanks for commenting in my journal- I think the salad plate is a great idea. That would just help from the start not to overload the plate.

I'm finally starting to figure out how to work with my band instead of against it. I finally have restriction, this is what I wanted but I have still been trying to eat too much. I realized today that I have to change my mind set and down grade my portion size. Sounds silly but for some reason I have been taking the same old portions and then getting upset when I couldn't eat them even though I really didn't want to. Head hunger is a hard thing for me. Thank God for therapy.