KateP

No. The band is behind the rib cage and so cannot be felt by touch and is securely stitched into position and so cannot move. The port, however, is closer to the surface and so, especially after weight has been lost, can usually be felt by touch. That is also firmly stitched into position and so should not move. However, the stitching must be less secure as some people (not many) find their port can turn or tilt making it harder to fill. It can also that people sometimes feel a slight pulling sensation in the port area.

Another Brit here. You sound way too tight. I am paranoid about being too tight - I think that is part of the reason I still have my band after nine years!

People often say eating more can speed weight loss. I am not one of them. I can quite believe that changing things so that you eat more one day and less another might somehow affect chemicals/systems etc (I am no biologist!) but I fail to see how eating too few calories can physiologically stop the body burning stored energy. The old starvation mode idea has been much misquoted. It never suggested under-eating stopped loss - just that the body might become more efficient in using and storing energy and so there might be a slight slow down and, if the higher calorie intake were to be restored, a faster regain. But dropping calories would start loss again. Until death intervened! If starvation mode theory were true, there would be no stick-thin models! A six month stall cannot be due to taking in too few calories.

Certainly doesnt look a lot! I never actually counted calories regularly while losing. I used to check every few weeks to make sure I was on track and it was always around 1200. I never counted carbs. I think I ate more than you do. I think you are right - talking it through with a nutritionist might throw up some ideas.

No! And that may be one reason why I still have my band after almost nine years!! Not many people keep them that long. I hope to keep mine for a very long time!

This is going to sound harsh but please believe me - it is meant to be helpful. A calorie is not a calorie, different foods have different effects on the body, for example in encouraging insulin spikes and fat storage. But, however you look at it, if you take in fewer calories than your body is using, your body has no choice but to use stored energy - fat. That's is! That's how the body works. Some of use calories more or Jess efficiently, some take meds or have a condition which predispose them to weight gain, so some may lose on 1500 cal a day, some may need to drop to 800. But the basic equation holds true. So to stall for six months, you are taking in at least as many calories as you are burning. Exercise is excellent but unless you are training at the level of an elite athlete, diet counts for 80% of loss. Have you spent a week measuring and recording every singie thing which passes your lips? The only reason being too tight causes stalls is if oeople resort to soft slider foods which are often higher calorie.

My suggestion. Work very hard at getting it right, after a time, it becomes second nature, Put the approriate amount of food on your plate. No more! Don't have a serving dish with more food there! Start with dense Protein, Cut a piece the size of a large pea. Put your knife and fork down on the plate. Chew, swallow, cut another piece and so on. Stick to moist foods, not sliders but not dry. Sip if you need to. When you have eaten what is in front of you, walk away from the table. We don't feel full as we used to pre-op. And the band should NEVER physically prevent us eating. We have to make that decision. But, if properly adjusted, the physical desire for food should go away. It is always possible to eat more! You have to say no! But if you are eating properly and still having issues, IMO your band is too tight,

There is no reason not to drink with meals. In the " olden days" we were told food had to stay above the band for a while; now we know that it should pass through within a minute. So the old rule changed. As long as we allow food time to pass, I.e about a minute after each mouthful, we are not preventing the band dimming hunger. In fact, we know now that food must NOT remain above the band as that puts strain in the oesophagus. Unfortunately there are still a few docs out there putting forward th old, discredited view! But I am concerned you are finding it difficult to swallow food. Most of us have some foods we find difficult but it should only be a few. Is the meat too dry? Too fibrous? Re-heated? If you can, avoid these foods. And if there are so many of them you find that hard, you are too tight!

I can't see why it would have made you feel any tighter. It is worth taking care though for several reasons. Empty calories Low food intake means it is like drinking on an empty stomach so it often has more effect Lowers inhibitions so we may eat more or carelessly Very high quantity of alcohol may cause vomiting which is to be avoided. I did have the occasional drink from about three or four months post-op and I am relaxed about it now. But at so far post-op, I really know how things work for me.

Sorry you are having these issues but getting them sorted is crucial to success. After-care with the band is essential as without regular fills, most people do not achieve the desirable level of restriction. And, even more importantly, you need after-care in place in case you need fluid removing which can present as an emergency.

This post concerns me. Can you only eat sliderts? If so your band is dangerously tight. We shouid, except for during the immediate post-op phase, be able to eat solid foods - that's how the band works, not by physically limiting our food intake. Well chewed ( and needing to chew a hot dog to mush is excessive) should pass through the band in around one minute. A tight band is dangerous. It can cause serious complications, done of which are irreversible even if the band were to be removed. Hopefully I have misunderstood you.

I would personslly question the need for fluoro for a standard fill. Several reasons. It exposes you to unnecessary radiation. Not much but ANY unnecessary exposure is too much! It is expensive. It only shows how tight you are at that precise minute. For example, if I had a fill under fluoro at 9 in the morning, my band would seem tight. With the exact same amount of saline, three hours later, it wouldn't!

I have no sure way of getting unstuck as I have never had a probiem anything like as bad as that! But I strongly recommend having liquids only for at least 24 hours as you have probably inflamed the tissue at the base of the oesophagus. And whatever it was you ate, don't eat it again!

Not sure how to reply as I never had to eat that slowly! If I was unable to eat my small portion in the time it took my husband to eat his full portion, I would have had some saline taken out! Are you perhaps a bit tight?

I did try! But on my iPad, this post is unreadable! Fancy fonts just don't work well on tablets!

It is normal practice after a gap for the fill doctor or nurse to withdraw all saline before putting new saline in, so not knowing how much you have doesn't matter. Then it is back to Protein first, crunchy (I.e. not over-cooked) veggies, carbs if room. If you were banded four years ago, it may be you just came into the time when doctors were still saying don't drink with meals. Research at various hospitals and universities has shown that well-chewed food passes through a well-adjusted band in around a minute. Do you can drink with meals as long as you leave long enough after swallowing. If you feel you may be out of touch, check out the website of Dr Terry Simpson. I know nothing whatsoever about him! He may be a first class surgeon, he may be a quack! I have no idea! But his website has an article on what restriction is and is not which reflects very well the Information now being taught to doctors doing bands. Understanding as to how the band works changed about 2010 but these things take time to filter through to all hospitals! I actually came across a newly banded person the other day who still thought foid needed to stay above the band for 20 minutes! Oh dear! Recipe for disaster!

Well I more or less eat what I want in small portions and lost all my excess weight! If what I wanted had been nothing but ice cream and chocolate it wouidnt have worked but as long as I made healthy choices around 80% of the time, it worked!

I may be misunderstanding you. But it seems you are saying that much of the time your band is so tight that you get GERD. So I assume you are probably having to eat slider foods. That could be a very simple explanation for the diarrhoea. The band shouid never be so tight it makes eating uncomfortable.

I'm afraid it is not unusual as a previous poster has said. Over time scar tissue can build up around th band and cause it to tighten. This is beyond our control and is one of the known complications of the band. It has happend twice to me in my nine years and both times a very small unfill sorted it out. Others are less lucky and need a total unfill or even removal. You must see your doctor. From what you say, you are much too tight. Being too tight forand length of time puts pressure on the oesophagus and can cause damage.

My very best wishes

Can you keep liquid down? If not, this is an emergency. Either see your bariatric doctor today or go to ER. If you can keep liquids down, it is still urgent but not an emergency. Dehydration is very serious and happens very quickly. Getting this much worse so quickly may mean you have a slipped band.

See your doctor, your band is much too tight. It is very common for scar tissue to build up over time causing the band to tighten. This has happened to me twice. I am paranoid about being too tight and so both times I went to my doctor at the first sign of mild heartburn. Both times a tiny amount of saline out solved the orobkem and still left me with enough restriction. The build up of scar tissue is one of the things we were not waened about when I was banded in 2006, maybe doctors simply didn't know about it. But it seems to be one of the most common issues.

I can eat all foods, some require a bit of extra care but none is impossible. I bring food back very, very rarely, maybe once every few months and it is always because I ate too fast. I have only once in my nine years had a painful stuck episode, once when I was learning - about two months post-op - and once about three years ago. My band never physically prevents me eating more, stopping is my decision. If I am doing things, I never feel hungry but if I am not busy, I think of food. If I feel hungry, I eat. If I don't I will start to want food more and more. But I don't have a snack in that case, I have a extra light meal.

I'm not having problems! I am almost 9 years post-op, lost all my excess weight in 15+ months, have more or less maintained for 7 1/2 years!!!

Why can you only get in 900 calories a day? We should never be so tight the band physically stops us eating. The starvation mode myth is generally assumed by medical professionals to have been discredited as a theory but 900 is low for a balanced diet. With other surgeries they eat less than that but they take more supplements to compensate. It is also generally said that it is unfortunately the case that exercise equipment tends to over-count by around 25% but I don't know if that is true!