HeatherO

I had my band get too tight unexpectedly after being at my sweet spot for 5-6 months. I found out later that I had gotten pregnant and the hormonal changes were affecting the band. Stress and other life factors can also cause occasional episodes of tightness. Some of us are just more sensitive than others. It can definitely happen and it doesnt always mean a slip. Another important thing for me is that I have found that I am sensitive to pb's. If I pb badly, I have to take it easy on liquids for a couple of days. My stomach will swell a little after a pb and if I don't give it enough time to allow the swelling to go down, it gets progressively worse until I can't get liquids down. Is it possible when you got really tight that time that you might have pb'd and kept trying to eat afterwards so that your pb's got progressively worse? If so, it could have been the swelling.

I agree with everyone else. Just let it roll off of you, and it wont be long before you look 110% different then before banding and it is already beginning. You have already committed to making a change so it doesn't really matter so much what other people say or think unless you allow it to affect you. I also agree with calling him out on it. If he is your friend and hurt your feelings, he should know. If you don't say anything but just allow yourself to feel bad, he might do it again and no one is gaining anything.

I agree with everyone else. What is past is past. I am certain you are not the only person who has gone in like this and your doctor has probably seen it plenty of times. The reasons why you didn't don't matter much at all in comparison to what you intend to do in the future. Just go and don't offer additional explanations unless asked or you feel inclined to do so. I definitely agree with scheduling your next appointment while you are there in the office for a few weeks out. Just put it on the calendar so you know it is there and plan to go to it no matter what. It is hard to change course, but it gets easier once you get started. Good luck.

I agree that it could be a hematoma. I really don't think it is possible to have 2 ports but there must be something else going on. I would definitely call your doctors office so that they can get you in to be seen. Is the dietitian that is progressing your diet affiliated with your surgeons group? If she is working directly with them and they are all in agreement with dietary changes then progressing the diet should be fine. If she happens to be a step removed from your surgeons group then I would gather their input as well regarding moving through stages quickly. 10 days post surgery is still fairly early and you have to tread very carefully.

I get this symptom after fills as well. However, it does go away if you give it a chance and if you are not too tight. If you are not pb'ing or in any pain and can ingest liquids, mushies, etc. OK then you should be fine. One thing I had to learn after being banded for a long time is that I had to "relearn" my bandster habits after each fill. What that means is that I would take the small bites, chew to goo and eat slow like we are supposed to . . . but when I got tighter I had to go even more slow and follow the other rules to a higher level as well. This pressure seems to be more of a problem after a new fill if I am eating a little too fast or a little too much. I also found that drinking hot tea or something similar a while before I eat seems to keep pressures down as well. Just go slow and allow yourself a little adjustment time and you should be filling really good in no time. If it gets worse, definitely call your doctor if you start pb'ing regularly or if you have trouble with liquids.

I really don't know about Toronto. However I think it is unacceptable that they won't see you for an emergency (unless the issue is that there is no doctor who can do it in the office). I would call them back and tell them that you can't keep Water down and you need to be seen today. If you can't keep it down at all, it is a serious issue. Ask them if you can just come as a walk in and see if they can slide you in between appointments or if someone is late. In the mean time, pb'ing or bringing stuff back up can increase the swelling in your stomach. I wouldn't suggest trying anything unless it is water, hot tea or something similar. I am sorry you are going through this. I have been in your shoes and I know how miserable it is. I hope they work you in quickly.

Hello Everyone, I have been out of touch for a few days. Life has been busy with finals. I am not sure if I ever mentioned that my sister is also pregnant but her due date was June 5 and mine is June 9. So we got pregnant at just about the same time. She had an emergency c-section today and I was with her for the surgery. It was a surreal experience to be there and see everything. The baby was only 2 pounds 13 ounces with red hair :0). He is doing good with an apgar score of 9.9 out of 10 and was breathing fine on his own. Biggest surprise . . . he was supposed to be a girl but he very obviously wasn't, lol. Surprise surprise!!! Suzanne, what a touching email. My heart really goes out to you. Laura, I wonder if you can recreate the bilibed experience by adding something with vibration and light. I hope everyone had a wonderful Earthday.

Pamela, After all you have been through with the stress of getting your doctorate it is no surprise that you are feeling a little under the weather. I went on a vacation to New York over memorial day a couple of years ago. I was pretty OK but felt the barest hint of a pending UTI the day I left. Within in two days I was sooo sick I could hardly move with fever and sweats and unbearable ache in my back from the ache in my kidneys. I know these things can really knock you for a loop quickly and sometimes when stress is high it seems like it can instantly spread. I am happy you have meds now and hope you recover quickly.

I didn't take it that this person was thinking of Europeans as "insensitive beasts." I am well traveled internationally and I honestly believe that Europeans are more health conscious than the typical American. However in any country (even here) some people feel slighted if you won't eat what they have gone out of their way to prepare. A token bite or two and an "oh that's yummy" should be enough to get you by. However, I can say that no matter where you are in the world, if you tell people you are trying to eat healthy or lose a couple of pounds, they are accepting and accomodating. You don't even have to mention WLS. WLS may be a bit more prevalent in Europe, but just like here, your average person may not know very much about it and might feel certain biases or may have heard misinformation about it.

Hello Kamala, I just wanted to speak from personal experience since I am one of the few people who actually had a partial unfill before going to the Middle East on vacation for three weeks. My reasons for having the partial unfill were precipitated by having an emergency unfill the prior month. I then got a refill and was still pb'ing regularly and had developed reflux issues, so I knew I was too tight. I had also found out I was pregnant 2 weeks before traveling and was worried about traveling in this part of the world with the potential for a medical emergency. I also intended to travel to the countryside during the trip and hospitals outside major cities there are nothing like hospitals here . . . although medical care is great in Europe and you should be able to find great hospitals nearby in most touristic locations. Prior to this I had posted on similar threads to this regarding and unfill like most people here . . . don't do it, it is a mistake, it goes against the reason you got the band in the first place, etc. I did not advocate doing this at all. However, now I have a different perspective since I did do it. I got a partial unfill and did find that I had some problems on the plane (10-11 hours travel) and got sick both there and back, however pregnancy might have had more to do with that then my band. Most meals were taken in peoples homes and not in restaurants. I can tell you that I was continuously offered every possible delicacy continuously and had to refuse food all the time. Even if I could have eaten several plates of food, I realized that it is the nature to keep offering and it would have made no difference. Another issue is that we would have Breakfast . . . and then maybe a mid-morning snack of fruit and tea, lunch, tea somewhere else with pastries (usually baklava of some sort or another), dinner, dessert, and late evening Snacks with hot milk or yogurt drinks which could be nuts or fruit. Even with the band partially filled, I could not eat more than the average child at best. No one was offended because I would take a token bite of anything (except for fermented turnip juice which smelled too bizarre and the smell turned my stomach, fish that still had their heads where I could see their cloudy eyes peering at me, tripe Soup made of sheep intestine . . . I just couldn't bear the thought of looking at it, let alone trying it, lol). I doubt I ever went over 2,000 calories in a day and I ended up coming back a couple of pounds less than when I left the US. Now that I have been there and done that, my decision to do it again would be based on numerous factors . . . primarily how tight my band is to begin with. If I am very tight, I would advocate getting it loosened for safety sake since I do suffer from a fickle band that has changing levels of tightness. However, if I can eat semi-normally I would leave it as is. I would never empty it for the sake of just eating more but I would do it for the sake of having a safer level of looseness to accomodate potential problems. One last comment and a word of warning . . . I have had to have all the fill removed from my band per my doctors policy on pregnancy. I have been completely unfilled for a couple of months now. My hunger was controlled almost completely by the band before and I ate food to fuel my body. With a complete unfill, I am HUNGRYYY almost all day long. After being banded for so long and losing all my excess weight, I thought I had beaten my personal demons of over-consumption. I found this was totally not true . . . they were just hiding, lol. Just keep in mind that every day without a fill may take you immediately back to pre-banding days. I have not gained much since the unfill . . . but this is only after struggling everyday with food choices and quantities. Without my band, I know I will gain some of my weight back even if it takes a while to do so.

Yeahhh Mac . . . great job. I cant wait to get back in the swing of things myself. I love your blog by the way. Beth, Gloucester . . . congrats on the post-fill loss. I don't know what it is but I always get great loss the first week or two after any fill. I miss my fill. Luluc, way to go on that NSV. Baby pygmy goats are just about the most adorable creatures on the planet and you made an excellent choice to go female (even if it was only by chance, lol). My son begged and pleaded for a couple of years to get some but I never conceded. I was afraid they would eat the trim off the house, lol. Happy Monday everyone. It is rainy and dreary here but hopefully a little nicer where everyone else is :0). It is funny, I don't like rainy days when I have to work, but a rainy day at home is awesome. I curl up in my PJ's with a good book and some tea, watch a movie, take a nap, make some really great Soup, etc.

Michelle, I'm sending purple power your way. I hope everything turns out well and you can put this behind you quickly . . . whatever it is. Sometimes these things always seem worse when you are in the midst of them but are no big deal a week later. Laura, How was your first night at home? :0) My thoughts exactly, lol. You can time 'em any closer than that.

I think being that obsessed with a game is awful. I was a bit of a video game addict in college . . . I remember having sore thumbs from pressing buttons all night, lol. Laura, thanks for sharing all the pictures. I am so happy for you and Carson looks great. You did look preggers at the tea party :0) It is Saturday and I just got out of my PJ's at around 4:30 PM, I think that must be a record, lol. As you can tell I am having a happenin day.

It can be adjusted by having fill removed. It should cause you no problem at all if you are unfilled.

I agree with ejmdiva. Since you know you have had a problem in the past, get a complete unfill at the first signs of pregnancy. With an unfill, there is room for things to come back up again if necessary. I can also eat foods that I couldn't eat with fill like toast, bread, etc. I have vomited (definitely vomited, not a gently pb) since pregnancy a couple of times and I feel like I am not banded when I don't have fill. It is also true that pregnancies can be very different. You never know what you might end up with this time around.

I just started facebook and it is like a new addiction, lol. I have only been setup for a few days but have been active for me. That is all I need while in graduate school, one more excuse to procrastinate on the computer when I should be writing a paper (Beth I feel your pain, lol).

Pamela, maybe she is paranoid because she is "closeted" and doesn't have the self confidence to put herself out there. I don't think it should matter who you wish to acknowledge. This kind of reminds me of something. My son was hanging out with some kid he had just met last year and I overheard a conversation. The kid pointed out a couple and said something like "oh look those people are so gay" and my son just looked at him with a bored, aren't you rather lame kind of look and said "so what." I just thought it was interesting in that he doesnt even care enough to notice one way or the other. The kid could have said "oh look at those people, they are wearing jeans" and it would have elicited the same reaction. I think the days of having to keep everything top secret and hiding who you are as a person are just about over. It is funny that someone would make that suggestion in this day and age.

Laura, I wanna hear all the details and am curious how you ended up with a c-section . . . but please wait until you are up for it and have had some time and rest and lots of snuggle time with baby Carson, lol.

One more thing I should have added for background, my DH wasn't sold on banding prior to me having it done. He was worried about complications, or maybe it wouldn't really work, and he was very concerned that it could potentially have a negative impact on having a healthy child in the future. I really had to convince him that it was the right choice for me . . . he never became my strongest supporter until I arrived back in my bed at the hospital post surgery. His initial doubts were based more of concern than really being non-supportive.

Sometimes it goes the opposite direction. There is always the possibility that banding will bring you closer together than you would have though possible. My husband and I are so much closer after having gone through this experience together. He helped me with wound care and dressings (to my utter astonishment, btw), brought me things when I was feeling down, helped remind me why I had this done in the first place, went shopping with me for new clothes, and would go biking or walking with me for hours with me to stay active even though it wasn't something he would have considered fun on his own. The other part is that self-confidence has improved our love life 150%, lol. Neither one of us knew that it would have been this way because it was a new experience for both of us. We did have a solid loving relationship going into it and I am sure that helped. I think the likelihood of how well your relationship will be affected post banding has a lot to do with what brought you together with your SO in the first place. Just keep an open mind - this is a complete lifestyle change and no matter what your expectations are to start, it will affect more than just you, for good or bad. Everyone deals with these changes differently . . . and sometimes your SO needs a little help with the changes as much as you do.

I can't help but side strongly with Kat on this issue. Patty I just don't understand why you feel so jaded about this subject and seem to fall so much on one side of the fence after having experience in the field. I am not sure what requirements you had to become a foster parent but perhaps our experiences were very different. When I became a therapeutic foster parent, I had to go through a lot of training first. My house had to be inspected from top to bottom, they researched my history, did fingerprints and went through what is called a "home study" that cleared me not only on foster care but also for adoption. I was then required to have ongoing training every year to be able to maintain my certification. Training was on a variety of topics ranging anywhere from child safety, cpr, to recognizing signs of abuse to even the best way to speak with a child regarding their parents in a way that is supportive (belittle or make negative comments about a persons parents can be very harmful to a child), and on and on. First and foremost, the training was on recognizing signs of abuse - which could be unbelievably blatant or easily hidden. A couple of bruises on the face or extremities are easily reportable, but children suffer even more by psychological abuse. What about a child forced to stand on their tiptoes in a corner all night, or made to kneel on sand, or having hair continuously pulled, or being made to do things that rip their self-esteem to pieces and don't leave any physical signs of abuse. What about children that are told from the smallest age that they are worthless until that becomes in their mind the universal truth of their existence. Some of the children placed in my home had gone through horrific abuses . . . and some had suffered for years before anyone was any the wiser about what was going on in the home. What is worse is that some of these children suffered abuse before being taken into custody only to have more abuse bestowed on them in group homes or even, sadly and unfortunately, in foster homes. When you know what some of these children have suffered, how can you be so concerned that someone complaining about a screen, it is so insignificant in the overall scheme of things. Abuse isn't always obvious, especially if a child is resilient and can maintain a more normalized composure when with others. So, DCF or CPS is still there to help children even if these agencies are imperfect. Show me any government agency in the world and you will find some bad apples and processes. Sometimes people make trouble for the sake of making trouble. However, there are also plenty of caring and dedicated adults in this world who feel that a childs rights to freedom from abuse and neglect supercedes the rights of an adult to feel inconveniened because nosy people are butting into their business. As I have said before, I am willing to sacrifice a little personal annoyance if it is to support a system that might help to save a child that deserves it. Every child deserves a supportive life free from abuse, neglect or exploitation . . . even the 14 that initiated this discussion in the first place.

Another little birdy told me that it is indeed a boy, 7.5 pounds, 19 inches born at 7:51 Central time by c-section. :0) Congratulations and Happy Birthday to baby Carson!!!!

Woo hooo . . . I am sooo happy to hear the news. Congratulations to Laura, Russ and little bitty Carson!!!

I guess I should clarify. :0) How about 8 pounds 11 ounces at 7:12 PM Laura's time (Central)?

How about 8.11 at 7:12 PM? :0)