muscleband

Hi! Did you find a fill doctor in SC close to you? I'm going to be spending the winter there and might need to see somebody. I was banded in Italy, and have trouble finding doctors who wil do fills here in the states. Thanks.

HI! Have you found a fill doctor in Boston yet? The only one who would take me charged $195 for a fill with his P.A., which came with a compulsory "office visit" (consisting of a greeting, a weigh-in, the fill, and a drink of water) that cost another $250!! And it didn't do the job, either. Needless to say, I won't be going back there! Hope you've had better luck!! Just call me "Cheated at Tufts."

Good luck -- and keep us posted!

Please tell who did your surgery and will he do follow-up care. I will go anywhere to make my band work, as I am getting no help here!

Your problem isn't weird -- it isn't even a problem! Generally speaking, a band that's working right gives you trouble with food that's hot (and some people have trouble with cold food, too). It's a small price to pay for being healthier and more attractive! I had the same symptoms with my original band. I lost 140lbs and kept it off ten years with that band. I never could eat hot meat or hot pizza or warm bread, but I got used to having them room temperature. I felt comfortable stopping with a small amount of food. How I wish I had that band back!! If you have that good a band, and the right fill, the benefits will soon make you see that room temperature food is a smalll price to pay. If you need to eat warm food (at a business lunch, for example), have a couple of sips of warm liquid first; try ordering things with gravy (the warm food doesn't stick as much); or eat a few bites of the salad or veg first while the Protein cools. Good luck!!

I had adhesions from my original band, which had become entrapped due to a car accident. My new band is around my stomach muscles (hence my handle "muscleband") and I'm having nothing but trouble (difficulty swallowing, nausea, referred pain in my shoulder/neck)and don't know if that's the reason why. If it is, I sure would NOT recommend going this route. Hope you have better luck than I've had....

Sorry you are having problems. Can you swallow small sips of warm liquids? For some people, the difficulty swallowing goes away after a few sips of something warm (even warm water). (This worked for me, although it left me with no restriction, so I've got a useless band.) Good luck, and let us know what you find out.

You can call your surgeon? I need a fill doctor that will communicate. I'm miserable and only get to talk to the PA, a lifetime skinny who listens with half an ear and blames everything on overeating -- even though I have pain with my first sip of water. Can you please recommend your doctor? I'm retired, and will move if necessary to get help! Thanks.

Dear Teachntots, Thanks for your reply. I'm glad they found the source of your problem, and I hope everything works right when they re-buckle your band. Please keep me posted -- I care. Supporting each other makes the band twice as effective (as I know from my previous band). My LapBand was put in eight years ago, after a previous band had become entrapped due to a car wreck, and had been removed. I had so much trouble then that they deflated it, thinking that my stomach needed a break. It has been "resting" for seven years. Recently, I had it filled, a little at a time. Until .5 cc ago, there was no reaction -- and suddenly, this nausea and choking, even with swallowing just a sip of Water or my own saliva. After I defuse the symptoms (by sipping hot liquid), there is no restriction at all. Your response tells me there are other people out there with similar problems, and maybe someone can solve mine. I don't know what unbuckling is; sounds like it might be a good thing to do to mine, but mine doesn't have a buckle as far as I know. They just deflated it, and now reinflated it. They can't seem to find anything wrong -- everything looked okay when they did the upper GI before reinflating. They did say I have an "irregular" esophagus, but didn't seem to know why or think that it mattered. There has been no vomiting in my case, but there is acid reflux. Part of my problem is that the wonderful doctor who saved my life, and put in my new band, is in Italy. I don't think the doctor here cares about anything but the fees, and I need to find somebody who will look for a cause, instead of (you guessed it) blaming me and telling me that I'm overeating, when this happens before I eat at all. If we're allowed to say, can you tell me who was so diligent in finding out what causes your symptoms? Thanks -- and again, best of luck!!!

Wish I could help, but my experience has been similar. I never felt anything like restriction/fullness/satisfaction. I went from feeling nothing to a horrible choking sensation on the first bite (or even first sip of water). If I sip something warm to ease the nausea and choking, I'm back to no restriction.. My "sturgeon" is no help -- he has us see a PA who doesn't "believe" in this problem. Have you had any good advice or help? I don't know how to follow threads or reply to the peiple who answer me -- and I sure need some help! Thanks!

Hi, I wish I still lived in Dallas! I miss Texas, plus I'd love to go to that conference. Would you please ask a question for me? My band was filled slowly; .5 cc at a time. Only .5cc ago, I had no feeling at all: no restriction, no discomfort, nothing. Now, I can't take a bite without a choking sensation and nausea. Some days, even a sip of Water or swallowing my own saliva triggers this. I 'm miserable, and nobody (least of all the doctor) has any help to offer. ( Except, of course, that he'd be happy to remove the band and do a bypass charging for both, of course). Somebody online said this is called first bite syndrome. The solution of sipping warm liquid helps -- but then there's no restriction at all. There seem to be other people out here with the problem, but no good answers. I've sen people blame a too-tight band, or blame themselves for panic and vomit -- but that's just not it! What I would like to know is this: Is this what restriction with this band feels llike? Or are there people who just feel full (not stuffed) and put their fork down? That's what I was expecting. It's what I had before (with a type of band no longer used), when I was successful at losing all the way to goal and keeping it off ten years. I want this band to work, and I'm tired of feeling miserable. Is there something I can do??? Any advice for those of us who can't seem to find proper restriction??? Thanks! (nd I hope you're having better luck than I am!)

Of course it's a personal decision, but my band is making me miserable, and I would advise you to check all the strugglers and unhappy people out here before you take on the time, pain and expense. I had a band that worked for ten years, but my doc says "all bands fail eventually" -- they slip, become entrapped, pouches stretch, etc. If I had it to do over... I'd get my first band -- but they don't use that kind anymore, and this one goes from no restriction to misery and nausea with no middle ground. If I can't get help (and I'm cxertainly not getting it from my doctor!), I'm through with this -- and too old for a bypass now.

Congratulations on your accomplishment. You're just the person I've been looking for. There are a bunch of us out there on varius threads who are not succeeding, and we'd like to know what restriction is supposed to feel like. I went through a process of gradual fills, and suddenly reached a point where even a sip of water makes me feel like I'm choking Is there a point where you feel satisfied but not choking or nauseous? Should I keep spending money ($500 per fill) to try to find it? Thanks, and good luck on your second half way!

Hi! I posted before, but I'm still a newbie, and I've got lots of questions. First of all, where should I post problems if I want advice from somebody who has solved them? I notice a lot of "strugglers" have the same problems I'm having, but there are no solutions posted. Also, I don't knkow the terminology: What is "slimed"? What is pb? They sound awful, and as my first band was trouble-free, all this struggling is new to me. Thanks!

Hi, Jack, Hi Jack, What is the signal, if not "full? I get pain, choking, and nausea from the first bite. With my old (surgical tape) band I felt full after a tiny portion (10 bites or so, depending on what I was having) and I quit eating; took off 140 lbs and kept it off for ten years. I even taught classes on successful band management. With this band, I don't feel full or restricted, just miserable. Is there something I'm missing? Thanks for your help -- I just want thisd band to work!

Hi Tammy, Did you ever solve your problem? I'm going through exactly the same thing, and I couldn't talk to my doctor if he would help -- he has negative bedside manner, and has a PA do all the fills. I'm sick of choking, pain, nausea -- and not losing weight!

Hi fellow "strugglers": Like all of you, I was relieved to discover that I'm not the only one with these problems -- -but I wish we all were free of them. In so many of these "struggler" messages, y'all seem to be blaming yourselves. It's not your fault! I had a successful band (old style - just a piece of surgical tape) for 10 years. After eating a small normal portion of almost anything, I felt full, satisfied. (I couldn't eat corned beef, nor steak unless it had gravy, nor pizza unless it cooled a little). If I ate past the full feeling, I got referred pain in the "saddle" between neck and shoulder, and a bit of a choking sensation. I never pushed it to the point of vomiting (I hate to throw up), and I lost 140 pounds and kept them off for 10 years. With my adjustable lap band, I feel nausous, and experience the referred pain and that choking feeling from the first bite. Sometimes, I just feel as if I have to vomit - even though I've only eaten a bite or two and nothing will come up. It's a miserable, panicky, disgusting process. If I drink a bit of warm liquid (brandy's the best) the side effects go away -- but that defeats the prupose of a band diet. Have been through adjusting the fill from empty to this point, with still no restriction - but plenty of bills for all the "office visits" -- even though I never see the doctor. It has been expensive and inconvenient. I am miserable, and it sounds like a lot of you are, too. It's not your fault! Restriction should provide a point whre you feel full, satisfied - not sick and pained and choking and vomiting. Is this the way these bands work? Does anybody find satisfaction rather than misery? My doctor has no answers, and I'm MAD!! Is anyone else angry? Or, better still, can anyone give me a way to work with this band so that I won't be angry?

Maybe it's not a panic attack...I have the same sensation, on the first two or three bites. KAT817 told me it's called "first bite syndrome" and that a coup;le of sips of warm/hot liquid first might help. I don't know, but I didn't have this with my old band, so it's real, not panic. Good luck!

I had about 1 cc in my band, nowhere near feeling any restriction, and my weight "skyrocketed" a whole six-tenths of a pound. The "lifetime skinny" P.A. my doc sics on us (at the rate of about $400 for five minutes and a .5 cc fill of water) actually chewed me out for gaining weight!!! Maybe only people who have "been there" should advise - like "walk a mile in my size 24's"?

Hi! Is anybody out there successful with a band around the stomach muscles? :biggrin: I'm having real problems with mine! The first time it was filled, it caused a result like the Heimlich manuever on about the fifth bite. This time they're filling more slowly, but have reached a point whre I feel the choking sensation on the first few bites. Then it disappears, but there's no restriction either, so they're going to have to do more fill. I'm really down about this. :svengo: All suggestions welcome. Thanks!

Hi, everyone, and congrats to all who are successfully losing weight! It can be done -- I know, cause I'm an old veteran with 140 lb loss that I kept off 10 years. An accident entrapped it, and I had to have it replaced. But I have an unusual problem: my new band is around my stomach muscles, due to adhesions from my old band making it impossible to use the regular site. This band seemsd to work backwards: with the most recent filll, it began to cause pain in the shoulder and a choking sensation on the first few bites -- but after that, it just gets better and better! After a few bites, there's no pain or restriction! Has anybody experienced this? Does anybody know howl to get around it? Thanks and good luck to all!