NoMoBand

She did. Shirley was a bandster that frequently posted on these forums. She was great with giving and sharing of her lapband knowledge and experience. She is missed by all. What I recall she went in to the ER with medical/lapband issues and was released once or several times and she did pass. I also recall that she was experiencing other medical problems, but, we never found out exactly what caused her passing. A couple of things to keep in mind. Lapband patients are many now and hospitals and especially ER's are connected to a bariatric doctor in some form or another. Secondly and I tell you by experience that your body will tell you when something is wrong or the onset of something not right and we must get checked and never accept a doctor's easy way out! Shirley's dealth was a very unfortunate, but, lapband dealths are very seldom.

Wow, I don't mean to scare you. Please don't let this freak you out. Stuck episodes are caused by eating too fast or not chewing your food well. These are basic rules that a bandster must follow. There are some bandsters that never or seldom experience stuck episodes because they learn from get go. As for me, before the band a meal was downed under 5 minutes, so you can imagine, it took me awhile to rediscover how to eat and take time to chew well and eat slowly. I now seldom ever have stuck episodes. jake

For me, it feels like a golf ball in my esophagus, then a dull like pain all over accompanied by sweating, then comes the slime spit up. Your esophagus squeezes your food in intervals down towards the stomach and if the stoma is holding back food because the entrance to your large stomach is blocked the body's defense is to create slime. If the object comes up with the slime the stuck episode is over, however, if a larger piece of food stays stuck in the stoma, it may take awhile to get it through and the acids in pineapple juice will usually help dislodge the piece. Trust me, you'll know when you've had a stuck episode and will avoid them at all costs. After one or two and the unpleasant feeling, you will quickly learn to chew well and eat slowly. jake

No, liquids go right through the pouch, unless you are way too tight. This is why your doc will have you drink Water after a fill. In addition, food stuck episodes cause your pouch/stoma area to swell and could cause liquids to not be able to go down. Rule of thumb, is when you have a stuck episode lasting 1 hour or more, you should go on liquids or mushies for at least one day. All doctors have different rules and the ones I offer are from my doc. For the newly banded, you should drink water slowly until everything has healed completely. Later on you will know how fast you should or should not drink liquids. jake

For the newly banded, chances of you stretching your pouch this early is probably nil. Stretching your pouch happens over a longer period of time and can cause your band to slip. In my situation I kept a loose band due to severe allergy drainage, thus, I didn't have the tight restriction and I started eating more than I should (about 2 cups of food) per meal. From my floroscopy appointment showing the pouch in good shape to the appointment showing it had stretched was about 4 months. I went in for fill and what a surprise I got! My doc gave me a warning and told me to be seen in 4 months and if she found the pouch the same she would deflate me completely and I would do the 6 week liquid thing. During this warning period I was instructed to measure my food and eat only 1 cup per meal. Well, as scared as I was, I did the liquid thing anyway and was truly hell!!! My follow-up appointment showed my pouch back to normal, thank God! Hope this helps. Jake

It actually takes a long time to stretch your pouch caused by not following the rules, however, the pouch can be shrunk back to a decent size by getting your band completely deflated and on liquids for some time. All doctors are different. My doctor goes 6 weeks on liquids only, then starts the fills over gradually. I know this by experience.

I don't think that True Results is unconcerned and asked you to wait for a couple of things. Fills are done 6 weeks apart and that is because a fill causes your stomach to swell and it takes a while to go back to normal. Second, it sometimes takes up to 3-4 weeks before you get the full affect of a fill, but, because we are all different it's hard to say. You may need a few more fills before you get to the "green zone" restriction, which is called bandster's hell until you get there. Hang in there, be patient, it will happen. jake

My doc does all fills under fluoroscopy and I had one unfuill done blindly by another bariatric doctor. It took a little bit longer, but, no big deal. If they are trained, finding the port should be no big deal. Fluoroscopy can also show if your band has moved or slipped and can will also show how much your pouch has stretched.

I have to throw my 2 cents in. I'm 2 years out and can say that the first 1.5 years was extremely easy with very sucessful weight loss with great restriction and very little hunger. I had excellent control on cravings and had no issues with refraining from the "C" foods (cookies, candy, cake, chips, chocolate, ice cream and my favorite cinnamon rolls). 2 years later, I can tell you that I now know the true meaning of the band being a tool. Restriction is still there, keeping me in check not to overeat , else pay the consequences, but, the food head games try to over take the tool, which becomes the challenge, fortunately, the tool reminds the head games whose in control. In addition the "C" food monster is back for me - darn that "C" food monster, but, that also can be conquered! The eating lifestyle change was easier than expected at first, but, is a little tougher now, but is very manageable. Eating to live is something that has taken me by complete surprise and I now realize what I was doing to myself and was in such denial. I look back and all I can say is "WOW!!!" The new lifestyle of fitness is something that is surreal to me. Who would have thunk such a tranformation from a couch potatoe with a bag of chips and the remote next to me most of my evenings to a 3 mile a day runner, not to mention the energy I have to dedicate to my grandkiddos. Loving life - all thanks to a jewel of a tool. jake

I recently talked to a bariatric doctor who pushes the gastric bypass and I asked why they didn't promote the band as much. His answer was what lovethenewme posted. He said that most band complications occur when rules are not followed and follow-ups become fewer as time goes by. Bandsters will go in when they are in trouble and sometimes it's too late. In addition, insurance companies are not wanting to cover the band because of the higher rate of complications. I still have no regrets and I've had my share of complications. Follow-up is the key here. In my case my insurance company will no longer cover checkups and fills and I must self pay. It's tough, but, I get my band checked every 6-8 months. I sometimes have to do the layaway plan, but, whatever works. jake

Any stuck episodes cause swelling around the band area. If you continue to push food through you will only get more swelling. Rule of thumb is if you've had a stuck episode lasting 1 hour or more you need to go on liquids for a least one day or a few meals to allow the swelling to go down. If you have gone days with stuck episodes and PB's you will need to allow the swelling to go down with more than one day of liquids. This has happened to me and I did clear liquids one day, protein liquids the next two days, mushies for one day then regular meals after that. If you are having PB's while on liquids you definatly need an unfill. At all times, make sure you can drink liquids to remain hydrated, otherwise, you need to contact you doc. asap.

I'm a meat person and love steak. The first year of being banded steak was evil for me and I got stuck with it no matter how small the piece or how well I chewed. The 2nd year I was able to eat it with little problem. Now, I'm back to having stuck episodes with it again. The really strange thing is that I can eat pork and other meats with out any problems. What the heck? Anyone else experience this? Jake

Addition to my post. How long since your last Bariatric doc appointment? My last checkup of the band under floroscopy told me that I had stretched my pouch. I was given a warning by my doc and was instructed to do liquids for 3 weeks then measure my food portions to 1 cup afterward, otherwise, the next checkup would be a complete unfill and I would have to go on liquids for 6 weeks to shrink the pouch back. I did everything I was told and now I feel the difference. My next appointment is next month and I'm confident that the pouch is back to normal. My symptoms of my stretched pouch was 2 fold. 1. I could eat much more than normal (up to 2 cups portion). 2. I would start eating and feel the restriction, then would feel a thump and the full feeling went away then I could eat another meal. I thought this was normal, but, what a surprise I got! jake

This has happened to me several times when I started eating desserts and the bad stuff on a regular basis and it got out of control. You need to break the snacking, grazing or processed carbohydrate habits by doing the 5 day pouch test. The 5 day pouch test will put you on liquids for 2-3 days at which time the liquids phase will help get rid of the bad habits and work to cleanse your system of them. Starting on day 3 you will start eating proteins. The whole process gets you back on track and it also helps shrink your pouch and restriction comes back. Here is the website should you choose to try it http://www.5daypouch....com/index.html This is the only thing that has worked for me. I do fine for months, but, then I start with the darn bad habits again and I have to repeat the test again. It's a pain and is hard to do, but, it really does work. I know it's frustrating as heck, but, you can do it! Good luck. jake

Your post brings back memories and I feel your pain. Some of us are the unfortunate ones that have to deal with the horrid gas pain. It will get better on a daily basis and seems to do so overnight. I recall my recliner becoming my best friend and I would sit in different positions (usually on my left side) and was the only thing that gave me temporary relief. Continue to take little walks at a time and also small sips of hot or warm tea/coffee. The walking is critical to speed up the absorption of gas that the body has to rid of. My pain was up in the left shoulder and chest area. I would use both heat and cold. As I said it does gradually get better within the first couple of days. Tomorrow you should be able to tolerate it better. A prayer out your way. jake

Thank you all for the responses. I appreciate all of you and this site! As life goes on I tend to forget the issues and problems with the band and this site reminds me when I have spaced out the small details. I've been so caught up with work and the stress that I forgot that stress will do weird things to the band. The weather has been colder and that also plays a role, which I also forgot about. I also forgot about marinating the meat. The Lowry's salt and olive oil coating I will also give a try. Filet mignon, oh man, I have not had it for awhile! I know what I'm going to have very soon, or shall I say, try to. Carolinagirl, I envy that you can tolerate steak. My first year I would only dream of fully enjoying a medium rare steak and was stubborn about trying it every so often, but, had the same results every time. I recall being stuck for 3-5 days at a time before it would finally go down. :-( Again, Thank you all. jake

I'm sure I'll open a can of worms, but, what the hell, here goes. In addition to forgetting where some have started, I get disgusted with some of the attitudes and comments from some people that become judgmental of others with things like spelling, grammer and insprirational posts. First of all, I'm sure many of us go to the the "New Content" button to see new posts. Does it matter at this point which forum you posted under? You have the choice of either reading a post you are interested in or not reading it!! The spelling issue? There was one post particularly concerning spelling that still bugs me and I lost respect for some of the negative participants. Forgive us if we don't spell everything correctly or use grammer to meet your expectations or language. "Walla", I said it! If I need help I'm going to ask the best way I can and if I am ridiculed over my spelling I will probably never ask anything again. I thought we were here to help one another on the lapband journey. I know, I need to get over it, but, where's the compassion of some? To be honest, I've kept away from this site because of the few bad apples.

I'm guessing that it is the sweet that you are sick of? I recently went through this as I was placed on liquid diet for 6 weeks. I've heard of Proteins in form of Soup (maybe the unjury brand ??) Anyhow, out of desperation this is what I did (do) just to break away from all the sweetness in the Protein Drinks. I do very much like whole pinto Beans, so, I take 3/4 cup of pinto beans along with it's juice and blend it (puree) it with a tad of beef broth with a few slices of jalapenos. Probably not the highest in Protein, but, what a break from the sweet stuff. You probably don't want to do this often, but, a break sure does help. I am editing this because I just realized that you are newly banded. If you choose to try this I would get the OK from your doctor. jake

Wow, that's tough!! I was very lucky that my wife supported me 100%. On the other hand I had 2/3 sons that were totally against me going forward. My sons are now very supportive, but, it took awhile. I understand why you don't want others to know. Opinions are broad, especially from loved ones. Just my 2 cents and only my opinion. I do have to agree with Sojourner's comments concerning your wife, trust and marriage. In addition to what she posted I will add my opinions and please take them as just opinions. As you already have heard that this is a life changing decision and I'm not just talking about the weight loss and health. This will affect both yourself and your wife's life and marriage, in both good and bad. Starting your band journey without your wife's input and yes permission will cause hard feelings and insecurities. Think of it this way, if you went and purchased a new house on your own and did it without your wife's input and approval........... When I say life changes, here are a few examples. You will have physical and mental good days and bad days and you will need your primary support system whom is your wife and you do need her by your side. Your diet and eating habits will change tremendously and if your wife cooks she will have to be sensitive to what you can and can't eat. When the weight loss becomes very noticeable she will possibly feel insecure. Trust me you will get attention. You will need someone to talk to when you are scared out of your wits due to stuck episodes, fills, PB's etc. Whom better than a supportive spouse. I would have a heart to heart talk with her and take her to one of the seminars and a doctors appointment. As far as others opinions, I would ask her to keep it quiet until closer to your surgery date. All the negative opinions will change - trust me, unless they become jealous of you. If you wish to talk some more send me a pm. Good luck. Jake

I'm going through this right now. I posted on another forum and have copied and edited it a bit below and hope I can help anyone in preventing this. As far as your question, yes you can get the pouch back to normal but you and you only can make that happen. It's difficult, but, it can be done. If the pouch is really stretched badly they will un-fill you and place you on liquids for a period of time. My doctor told me 6 weeks of liquids. Holy smokes!!! Here is my post from another thread: Under floroscopy my doctor told me that my pouch was bigger than it should be. She told me that I would get a warning this time, but if next checkup showed the same, she will un-fill me and I will go on liquids for 6 weeks. For now I have been instructed to measure my portions. I did get a slight fill, so, I'm thinking that I'm not that bad yet. I keep a loose band because my allergies and drainage cause the dreaded lapband cement on the pouch that is only dissolved by drinking lots of hot liquids and is very unpleasant, thus I have to be a bit more careful with my portions. I have decent restriction and my portions have been at least 1 cup of food and sometimes 1.5 cups, however, I got into the habit of not chewing well and eating too fast. I rarely got stuck because of my loose band. In my opinion, not chewing well and eating too fast is what caused the dialation. I was also doing way too much exercise and was feeling more hunger and I would eat way to fast and not chew well with the hunger I felt at times. Someone asked about symptoms. First of all my weight loss stopped for months. My weight would go up and down by 6 lbs. and went on like this for at least 8 months. I tried increasing calories, longer work outs etc. etc. and nothing! My biggest symptom was more hunger in between meals and was getting hungry every 2-3 hours. The most obvious symptom that I should have never ignored was feeling satisfied (full) and would get that uncomfortable feeling of "no more" at meal time then all of sudden I would feel a thump in my pouch, due to food going thru quickly, then I could eat another meal if I chose to and honestly sometimes I would. I thought this was because I needed a fill, however, this was not the case and Doc said that a enlarged pouch of course holds more food and will push everything down quickly. Since being warned I have gone on liquids 2 times consisting of 4 days of Protein drinks and 1 can of Soup a day. In addition, I have modified my drinking and wait 1/2 hour before a meal and 1/2 hour after a meal. I now feel a huge amount of restriction and can only handle the 1/2 cup of food at mealtime. So, yes you can reverse the stretched pouch. I will continue to do the liquid thing at least every other week for a while just to be on the safe side. Since doing this I have lost 10 lbs. Lesson learned? If something doesn't feel right get it checked. I knew something was wrong, but, I was embarrassed to see the doctor because I had not reached goal. I think the biggest disappointment is first myself and second, being banded is high maintenance, but, we are the culprit to our own complications in most cases. I still love my band though! Hope this helps anyone who may be experiencing some of my symptoms and have ignored them. jake

Don't give up! This is only a short stop at a rest area on your journey. Once we get this dialation back to normal we'll figure out a way to make this work. I'm sure there are methods to get your metabolism working better. Once you get over this hump you can see a nutritionist to get advice. I will have to be more careful with my meals and more cautious with how I eat them. As far as battling the weight we must remind ourselves how long it took us to get big and all the bad eating habits that we've acquired. It will take us awhile to re-learn good eating habits and the band is there to help. This is a big investment that we have to make work. I know I have to be reminded every so often that the band is a slow weight loss system and I want results today and the final outcome tomorrow. We've got to be patient. For now, we've been given some lemons and I choose to make lemonade. We can do this!!! Hang in there! jake

I'm in the same boat. Under floroscopy doctor told me that my pouch was bigger than it should be. She told me that I would get a warning this time, but if next checkup showed the same, she will unfill me and I will go on liquids for 6 weeks. For now I have been instructed to measure my portions. I did get a slight fill, so, I'm thinking that I'm not that bad yet. I keep a loose band because my allergies and drainage cause the dreaded lapband cement that is only dissolved by drinking lots of hot liquids and is very unpleasant, thus I have to be really careful with my portions. I had decent restriction and my portions have never been over 1 cup of food, however, I got into the habit of not chewing well and eating too fast. This is what I think caused the dialation. Someone asked about symptoms. For me the biggest symptom was more hunger in between meals and no weight loss. The most obvious symptom that I should have never ignored was feeling full at meal time then all of sudden I would feel a thump in my pouch, due to food going thru quickly, then I could eat another meal if I chose to. I thought this was because I needed a fill, however, this was not the case and Doc said that a enlarged pouch of course holds more food and will push everything down quickly. Lesson learned? If something doesn't feel right get it checked. I think the biggest disappointment is first myself and second being banded is high maintenance. I still love my band though! Hope this helps anyone who may be experiencing some of my symptoms and have ignored them. jake

Really good to hear from a male that is willing to share with such a good attitude about paying it forward. I feel that same as you do about helping others and in addition I will never deny anyone of help regardless of their questions or grammer or spelling or.........on these forums. Thank you! I do have a question for you. I'm still at a halt on weight loss (plateau) for months. I have 20 more lbs. to go to meet my first goal of changing my BMI from Obese to overweight. I exercise daily and have tried decreasing and increasing my caloric intake and still find myself at the same weight. Recently I injured my foot and had to stop exercising for a few weeks and put on 8 lbs. I have decent restriction and have an appointment soon for a possible fill, however,I probably won't need one is my guess. My question to you is, along your journey did you experience any plateaus lasting longer than a couple of months and is there any advice on how to break the darn thing. Jake

Did you mean 1 lb. a week maybe? Anyhow, this happens to me occasionally and I have a difficult time getting things down at the start up of a meal. I have to stop otherwise I will get sick. After I wait a few minutes I can continue with my meal, then will usually feel like I can't have another bite, I stop, then the strangest thing occurs when I actually feel the food go through my band (stoma) with the feeling of a thump, then, I can eat a larger amount of food if I choose to. I can't explain it, however, this only happens occasionally to me. If this is happening often you should see your doctor about it. I have an appointment coming up in 2 weeks and will be asking my doc why this happens. Hope everything turns out good for you.

Here's a strange one, but, works for me. After a stuck episode I will go on 2-3 day liquids and because I am lactose intolerant and also so tired of the sweet proteins, I will take 1/2 cup to a cup of pinto beans, add the juice and a little beef bouillon and puree in the blender. I find it very filling, but, can only handle it once in a while. Probably not the best in nutritional value, but, just a change from the sweet stuff.