Hoosier Tom

I'm sure it will all be fine. Relax and enjoy the ride you're about to go on!

My son was born at Suburban. It was a pretty nice hospital then so I have no doubt they're still that way. They almost have to be since the competition is so fierce these days.

Dr. Shina is a very competent surgeon. I'm sure you're in good hands. Congrats! Dr. Allen is my doc.

Way to go! I ride my motorcycle thru Seymour/North Vernon and Madison all the time!

To the original poster... I have one suggestion that will help you immensely. Eat right! You, and every other person on this board that asks the different variations of the same question needs to do some soul searching and answer some questions for yourselves. Why did you take the step of getting banded in the first place? Did you honestly think the band would take care of it all without you having to make any changes whatsoever? Just because you have a clamp on your stomach doesn't absolve you from making sound choices. The band is a thinking persons tool. You have to think about what you are feeding the tool. If you keep throwing junk at it, then it's not going to do one thing for you. Period. If you put wise food choices in your mouth, and follow the rules of the band, then guess what? You too will lose weight and become healthier. Most of us here on this board made the choice to be banded because we realized one thing -- we had finally reached the point of being sick and tired of being sick and tired. Just like any other addiction, until you reach that point, you're not ready to tackle the problem. We realized that if we kept on the course we were on, we were headed on a crash course with a 6 foot long box at a far too early date in our lives. Ask any person here who has lost the weight and has been successful at keeping it off, or who is losing their weight successfully, and I'll guarantee you you'll get the same response -- they were sick and tired and ready for the change. What does this decision mean to you? Do you really care about your health? Do you really want to see a difference in your life? If you do, then you'll start making wise food choices. Nobody here can talk you through this. Nobody here can pat your back and tell you it will be OK. Fact is, it won't be OK until you decide it will be OK, and until you make that final, tough decision to change what you put in your mouth, then anything we have to say is beside the point. I wish you all the success in the world.

Yep, get moving!

Many things can cause your band to tighten. Changes in bariatric pressure, weather, seasons, etc. Mine does the very same thing, so I've just gotten accustomed to it as the years have gone by. Personally, I'd consider it a godsend that it got tight on Turkey Day as I hate turkey anyway... :rolleyes2: Just chalk it up as another one of those "learning experiences" where your band talks to you and tells you little things about itself. You'll learn your bands "personality" as time goes by and it will become second nature to you in no time.

OK, I'll bite and be the proverbial bad guy. Why did she even get the band in the first place? Yeah, I can understand someone slipping up every now and then and eating the wrong things, but when someone knowingly and willingly violates the rules of the band, then it is really hard for me to have sympathy for them. What that tells me is that 1.) they were not prepared for this journey to begin with; and 2.) they shouldn't have had the band placed until they were ready. The psychologist that pronounced your girlfriend "ready" should find another line of work. The band is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. It is there to create a small pouch that will enable us to hold a miniscule amount of food, compared to what we were eating prior to having bariatric surgery. Now, with that tool, we can choose to eat the same kinds of crap that we ate before that got us into this mess, or we can choose to eat good, healthy foods that will enable us to shed the pounds that break down our hips, knees and give us high blood pressure, diabetes, and every other malady known to morbidly obese people. My surgeon likes to call the band the "thinking persons weight loss surgery" because, unlike other procedures, having a band leaves you with every choice you had prior to surgery. It requires you to become smarter to make it succeed. I like that. Yeah, we all bend the rules every now and then and have a scoop of ice cream or something to that effect. But it is the exception, and not the rule. The rules say Protein is a mainstay of our diets. Why? Because we want to lose weight the right way. Without protein, the weight we lose is lean muscle mass. Protein keeps our lean muscle mass built up and helps ensure we lose the right way. The rules say we eat protein first. Why? In case we can't get anything else in, we've gotten our protein. The rules say we don't drink with our meals. Why? Because it washes everything we just ate straight through and it doesn't stay with us. The rules say we eat a certain amount of food at a sitting. Why? Prolonged overeating of amounts will stretch the pouch and negate any effect of the pouch, thus reducing/eliminating weight loss. Rules. Now I remember why we have them... for structure and discipline. Your girlfriend can run to her doctor (or every other fill doctor in the country, for that matter) and tighten that band until hell freezes over, but it still will not compensate for her poor behavior choices. Therein lies the key. I'm sorry, but I've had this band for 5 years. I've been highly successful with my band. I've coached others along who have the band and have spoken at various support groups as well. You would not believe the numbers of people who approach me and attempt to justify poor behaviors and choices all in the name of an unwillingness to modify their lifestyles and once and for all -- get healthy! They want sympathy, but sympathy doesn't get the job done. It just tells them more of what they want to hear as opposed to telling them what they don't want to hear. Your girlfriend has a choice to make. Nobody here can make it for her. Unfortunately for her, the main choice is not whether to go and get a fill. Yeah, she could probably use one, but it's not the primary need at this point. The choice is whether or not she wants to change her choices and modify her lifestyle or not. If not, she needs to rethink why she even got the band at all. Yeah, some here are going to think this sounds harsh, but reality is oft times harsh when you take a step back and look at it in unvarnished terms. I'd rather be thought of in this manner now, and maybe have her thank me down the road because I opened her eyes than to pat her on the back and give her misinformation that only leads her further down a road of misery and lack of success. The nutritionist should be her first stop, coupled with a therapist to help modify the behaviors. I'm not so worried about adjustments at this point. Mind you, I'm not saying one cannot enjoy the "sinful" pleasures every now and then, but if she is engaged in the true life/death struggle with weight that the majority of us are, those indulgences should be few and far between, based on her current behaviors and struggles. I'll probably get bashed for this post, but so be it. Underneath the tough talk, I really am for your girlfriends success with her band. Good luck!

Not knowing your doc, I can't say what his attitude will be on how aggressive to fill your band. My personal take would be that if I knew how many cc's you had before, I would want to 1.) steer clear of that amount; and 2.) slowly creep up on an amount close to that and see how you do. You don't want your reflux coming back, and if you get too aggressive you may find yourself back in the same boat without giving yourself a chance to see where your body will be happy at. I think patience will be your best friend when refilling in this situation. Just my .02 cents worth though...

Very good discussion here on the subject of fills and the possibility of being too tight. I think too many times there tends to be a "panic mode" that sets in, when in reality there needs to be some patience. My experience in 5 years of being banded has told me that I've never been too tight to the point of needing an unfill. In fact, my personal preference is to have my band on the tight side (but that's just my preference). Yes, I've been very tight after a fill, but time and experience has shown me that even though I may have thought I was too tight, that as I nursed myself through those days following the fill, the band adjusted itself accordingly, the stomach adjusted itself accordingly, and I adjusted my eating habits accordingly and then I went on with my losing weight. The most important thing is if you get to a point that you consistently cannot get even fluids down, then you need to get to your doc for an evaluation. I've had periods right after a fill where, even though fluids went down in the docs office, that fluids would sit and not go down after I got home, but the situation always resolved itself after a period of time went by. As always, warm liquids are often a help in loosening up a tight band, and after a fill I always take extra care when taking those first bites of solid food to sort of "test" the band to see what its new "personality" is after getting the extra juice. Some days the band has multiple personality disorder, ya know... :thumbup: Hope this helps!

I too pretty much adhere to the low carb way of eating. Since I do this, I pretty much just keep a running total of my protein in my head. If you figure about all I eat is protein and veggies, then the protein is really easy to track on a given day since I'm not having to worry with carbs to any given extent.

There's a whole ton of variables that can be leading to that tightness though, and to just run out and get an unfill automatically without considering all those variables first is irresponsible. I've had the band plenty long enough to know this for sure. As long as she is getting fluid in, she can nurse enough fluid to keep from getting dehydrated, even if it means sipping continuously for a period of time to see if the band loosens on its own or not. If not, then seek the unfill. This is in no way, shape or form "challenging the band". But, I'm sure that as you age with your band you'll learn that as well.

Give it time. Fills have a way of "settling in", so don't be too hasty in getting any taken out. Now, if you absolutely cannot get ANYTHING down at all, then you need to take action. But as long as something is going down, give it some time to settle in. Also various factors can influence the tightness of your band as well. Time of day, barometric pressure, time of month (in females), and so on... Be patient, if you feel tight, drink some warm liquids and see how it goes over the next several days before you make any decisions.

It all takes time, folks. Your body is adjusting to having a piece of hardware inside it, restricting your stomach down to a pouch about the size of an egg. All the pains and gas and what have you will either subside or become second nature as the days go by. You'll learn to live with the band and you'll learn how the band "talks" to you and signals you when you goofed up. Remember, you took this step to improve your health. Keep it focused on the big picture and you'll do fine.

What are your docs rules on eating after a fill? I realize the rules vary from doc to doc, but it could be that you are pushing it after just getting a fill even with the yogurt. Maybe liquids for 24-48 hours or so will give that fill time to settle in. I know my doc requires liquids for 48 hours after a fill for that very reason.

How are you drinking? Are you sipping or are you drinking like you used to drink prior to your surgery?

I used to religiously track how much was in my band, but since my abdominal surgery last month and subsequent refilling of the band, I've decided not to even mess with it. I'm simply going to go by how it feels restriction-wise. If all is good, then I'm good to go. If not, I'll go see doc for some juice.

I pack a water bottle around with me all the time. It has been my constant companion for 5 years now. Protein, there are any number of protein supplement products on the market. Probably the best known among bandsters is UNJURY, and comes in chocolate, vanilla and unflavored as well as chicken broth flavored. I do use Atkins shakes on occasion as well. I try to shoot for around 60 grams of protein intake a day, sometimes I get that sometimes I don't, but its a number that works well for me. You learn your hunger as you move along. As I was first banded I wasn't as hungry between meals either, but I just set myself up on a schedule and made sure I got my calories in for the day, as well as get myself moving. As I lost, the hunger showed up! Good luck on your journey and if I can be of any help, feel free to PM me. Tom

You need to do one of two things. Get somewhere and get the vomiting stopped and/or get the band unfilled ASAP. If you continue to heave and not get anything up you risk a couple of things. First, you risk the obvious possibility of displacement of the band, and second, you risk the possibility of a bowel obstruction, which can lead to septic shock, and if enough pressure is placed on the bowels, can lead to a perforated bowel. Don't ask me how I know. I just went through this a little over a month and a half ago. Had a major intestinal virus hit me, started heaving, couldn't get anything up but thought I might be able to ride it out thinking it wouldn't last long. I wound up in the ER with a bowel obstruction, stomach and intestines triple the size they should've been, and on the operating room table at midnight facing emergency surgery. The first thing the doc did as they wheeled me into the ER was stick a huber needle in my gut to drain the band, then down the hatch with a N-G tube to get the pressure off the upper side. I was in the hospital for a week after surgery to relieve the obstruction. Long story short, it ain't worth it to heave with no hurling. Get some Phenergan or other powerful anti-hurling drug, keep it in stock, but also have you a fast escape route planned to get yourself to your doc fast in case you have to get that band drained. Hope this helps, sorry for the TMI, but I lived it and I darn near died (per my doctor).

Hey all, I'm in Southern Indiana as well. My surgery was in 2003 at Norton Hospital. Been at goal weight for a few years now, but its good to see other Hoosiers here!

911 Dispatcher in Southern Indiana, work the night shift. Been trying to get them to put me a treadmill in right beside my desk but no luck yet... :laugh: :thumbup:

No real difficulties with the band mechanics per se. My major surgery was 4 weeks ago due to a bowel obstruction, surgeons are mystified as to what caused that. I came to work one night feeling fine and 2 hours later I was doubled over in the floor. They did emergency surgery on me after determining there was an obstruction and ruling out a perforated appendix. The only thing they can offer was that they feel that I was attacked by some form of wicked intestinal virus which made me want to throw up. Of course with all of that being below the band, all I did was heave. That forced everything down lower, everything was swollen twice to three times its normal size, which they feel caused the obstruction. This is the first time in the 5 years I've had the band that I've even remotely had any kind of intestinal virus which made me want to barf. Trust me, compared to a PB, you don't want to go there. At all. They were going to wait about 12 weeks to start the process of tightening me back down again, but decided to go ahead and start now. My surgeon (also my band doc) said that what happened to me is extremely rare, and out of the hundreds of bands he has placed he has only had one other case like mine. So, other than that my process of losing and life with the band has really been uneventful. It's all about keeping the Protein up, keeping the junk out, and getting moving. Once it begins to come off, you become naturally psyched to do more. Pretty cool process, if you ask me! I've got one of the old bands, 4cc, and laid in the hospital for 6 days after getting it because I was "supertight". Not even Water would go down. But that gave me one heckuva jump start on the losing process, so I guess it was worth the headache of an extended hospital stay.