2muchfun

I saw and felt no difference with my first 2 fills. Not till my 3rd fill did I start to feel more satiety.

Seven, I sent you a message to see if you can see that there are many responses to both topics you started? Like this post so we know you're seeing responses?

It's OK to be concerned with pouch or esophageal dilation but it takes a lot of food over a long period of time to make this happen. Just a few meals and a few months won't be enough to cause dilation imo. For me and I think most of us, to eat so much that we stretched our pouches would be very painful. You would have to experience daily stuck and slime episodes to cause dilation so soon. Just follow Lisa's advice and all will work out.

I see you're coming up on your 1 yr anniversary? You gotta post some new pics? We're all so happy for you. Loving the band right with ya!

I like that! I think I'll rename/label this response to "While you were Sleeping". I love this movie and have to watch it every Xmas!

A repost and my apologies if it's too descriptive: So I'm sorry to be too graphic here but remember, someone filled your body cavity full of gas, they pumped fluids, medications, antibiotics and anesthesia into your body. They punched 5 holes in your abdomen, moved all your inner body parts around, shoved a tube down your throat, took an electric scalpel and burned away excess fat and tissue wrapped around your upper stomach, then wrapped a plastic strap around your stomach just below the lower esophogeal sphincter, stitched it in place with 5-6 sutures bringing your lower stomach up and over the band and then snaked a tube out of your body and sewed another plastic piece to the muscle tissue on your rib cage. Now, thinking about all that has been done to your body, you're doing quite well aren't you?

It's all about the fills. I lost 12 lbs the first two weeks and then nothing for the next 3.5 months. My 3rd fill seemed to do the trick. But others feel some satiety with just 2 so keep an eye out for the soft stop signals. BTW-I was not a happy camper those last 2 months myself.

I've been reading here for years so let me take a shot at your questions? Every doctor has different protocols and some prime the band during surgery. Some don't prime at all. Every doctor has different protocols for fills. We have some here who only get .5 CCs per fill. Some fill with 5 CCs and ask the patient to swallow some Water to make sure it goes down OK. Allergan or Realize bands aren't that much different. Some of us got to the green zone with no fills and some with 13. I'd say the average is around 5. Usually it takes 2-3 before we feel the first satiety signals. Some doctors fill with fluoroscopy. It's an X-Ray so the doctor can see how fast Fluid flows through the band. This way they can fill the band only once or twice to get you to some kind of restriction? Most of us have no complications with fills? Sometimes the port can flip but it's rare. Occasionally some nurses or nurse practitioners may have a hard time finding the port. Hope this helps till someone more specific answers your questions?

I'm 2.5 years out and I got stuck on some broccoli myself just this last weekend. It happens.

Your topic is a long shot. If you run a search in the forums and use the search word "realize" or "realize band" you may find others who have your type of band?

Erosion is less than 1% of complications with the band. It's usually caused by stomach ulcers at the point of pressure from the band. And can be exacerbated if the patient eats too much too often. Filling the pouch with too much food consistently can cause dilation, erosion and slips. Sometimes it just happens that the patient's body is rejecting the band. All WLS options have risks but most can be mitigated if patients follow doctor's orders and behave wisely. You have to realize that we're a patient population with eating problems and disorders. WLS does not always eliminate those crazy eating demons we all share. The alternative is to not have surgery and go on more diets that fail. Of course, remaining obese has it's own long list of complications and health issues. tmf

If food is stuck in your pouch, stomach acids will break it down in about 4 hours. If you got it stuck real bad, the swelling can cause it to feel like you're stuck because of the inflammation caused by the food pressing against the stoma. If you can drink fluids, the food has passed. Don't gulp, sip some Water to see if it's clear yet? I recommend chewing on ice or having something with ice chips in it. Ice can help with the swelling/inflammation just like it does on sprained ankles. Good way to get your fluids in and helps reduce the swelling at the same time. tmf

My doctor requires 24 hours liquids or Soups. No chewing. Then slowly work back into solids. Your phlegm is what we call slime. When food gets stuck in your pouch your esophagus creates phlegm to allow the food to slide through your band/stoma. Try very hard not to throw up. Throwing up can cause band slips. You may be PBing(productive burps) instead of vomiting. Vomiting also will cause additional swelling.

Most of us have to adhere to a low carb diet initially and juice is very high in carbs and calories.

Your level of success is mostly up to you. It's similar to high school where the scholastic average is around 3.0. You can be a 4.0 student if you work hard. You can also fail and be much less than 3.0. That's why it's called an average. We have many 4.0-4.2 students here but we also have some 2.0 students too. Sometimes it's not how hard you work, but life can throw a lot of curves.

Anything you drink goes against your 64 ozs so count your shakes as fluids. And Colleen is right, just drink what you can. It's a goal, not a mandate.

Welcome to the forum Jade. Don't be afraid to ask questions? You'll find people here who love their band and those who were not successful with their band and revised to other WLS options. I won't sugar coat it, for some folks this journey has been a breeze and for others, very difficult. Just be ready to make a major lifestyle change for the better.

Having a good doctor is golden. X fingers this work for you this time? The lifestyle change can be overwhelming and I know years ago we weren't prepped as well as we should have been.

The best exercise is the type that you enjoy. Hiking, tennis, biking, walking, racquetball, swimming, gardening, skiing, X-country skiing and basketball are all types of exercise that can change each time you participate. Where, gym memberships, treadmills and ellipticals are all great exercise, they can become tedious in a short period of time. Mixing it up with machine type exercising, strength training, yoga and your favorite fun exercise should offer the biggest bang for the buck. tmf

You may have some issues with the large pills after your band is adjusted to the green zone. I struggle sometimes with a couple of my meds but they do eventually go down. Some meds do not dissolve so you may have to take two smaller versions. Some meds remain intact and the drug leaches out of the pill in a time release fashion. Ibuprofen will be off limits. NSaids allow the stomach to create ulcers if you use NSaids. A pressure point such as the band area could be the worse place to start an ulcer. Band erosion is a huge concern when using NSaids. Best to talk to your doctor and pharmacist?

There's an entire forum for what you ask for: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/394-band-to-gastric-sleeve-revisions/

Why not just go back to your current surgeon and talk to him about your situation. Not only does the lap band not work for everyone, you can say the same for all forms of WLS. I doubt most doctors will just pat you on the back and tell you it's OK to gain weight. But if you graze, I doubt you'll find much success with any form of WLS? All WLS requires a change in lifestyle. With the band it means no grazing and eating Protein first. It means watching for the satiety signals and obeying these signals. It means chewing all food to mush before swallowing, it means eating slower and taking smaller bites. It's a big change but for most of us, but it's worth it to be healthy.

Yes, the sleeve is drastic but it works. I personally know two people who have had their bands removed for the sleeve and are quite successful. They still battle the eating demons of course but love the fact that there is so little upkeep, no stuck or slime issues and they're both keeping their weight down. But, then I know one who did not have the band, went straight for the sleeve and has only lost about 45 lbs of her 145 she needed to lose? She's been stalled for 6 months and can't control the cravings You might want to dig deep and try to understand why your band slipped? If it's due to eating or lifestyle behaviors maybe the band isn't a good choice? I know I'm hypersensitive to any changes in how food goes down or if I can suddenly eat lots of food or big bites with no notices coming from my band? I guess I'm trying to say that slips are a drain on my brain at times but it's so much better than the obese alternative? tmf

Don't just assume this is related to your band. Sounds more like a gall bladder problem and any doctor or insurance will cover this. No need to be in pain, call your PCP and go in today? http://www.medicinenet.com/gallbladder_pain_gall_bladder_pain/page2.htm

BMI is used for lack of a better measuring tool. Since it's a general calculation a good doctor can see beyond the BMI figures. For instance, athletes who are very muscled will have higher BMIs. BMIs also don't take into consideration people who are quite active vs. people who do nothing but sit most of the time. For lack of a better tool insurance companies have to have some measurement to rely on so BMI is it. How else could it be done?