Acadia

While you can buy them they cost a lot and require specific experience about your band and its position, port depth, tubing location, current fill amount, ideal fill amount, and much more in order to be used effectively.
If you buy them and use them you will very likely puncture the tubing or tear the port and you will ruin your band and no hospital will touch you to get it out because you decided to practice medicine on yourself without a license. This will also put your psychological wellness in question.
If you can't find a physician there to give you fills then look for a nurse who is willing (and who has experience and ideally who works with a Dr who does this) or take the opportunity to use one of the great seat sales and go somewhere where someone can help you.
Do not do your own fills. You are taking your band and potentially your life in your own hands.
I speak from my medical experience not just opinion.

Here are three that come to mind. The last one amused the hell out of me.
1.
I was visiting a new Dr. and after getting the results of the regular checks (blood pressure, blood sugar, general blood tests etc. - they were processed earlier in the week) he was performing my rather intimate female tests and with my legs in the air and me completely exposed he said, "You're the fittest fat person I've ever met." I was 180 lbs at 5'4" at the time.
I had no idea what to say, needless to say I never saw him again.
2.
My first husband made the comment, "When I look at you all I can see is my mother, naked in the tub, fat and dead from a heart attack."
This was somewhat amusing since I was regularly running 5 miles and he couldn't run a single mile.
3.
I was working at a company and training a new girl on how to run the front desk, she was very very tiny (size 00 - I tucked her tags in a few times). One day she came to me and asked, "Do you have a tampon?" I said, "Yes." She then asked, "Is it a normal size one or a jumbo one?"
I assured her that it was a normal size tampon and that plus size women still use regular tampons.

Thank you Susan.
I would be very curious why a Dr would suggest not being vegetarian after WLS, it's so easy to be vegetarian these days. And you can get more than enough Protein, which is usually the concern. I was a body builder and regularly got 100-120 g per day, only supplemented with a single protien drink after my workouts (40 g) three days a week. Once you know everything has Protein, including fruits and vegetables, it's easier to get those numbers up. Tools like The Daily Plate help as well as they track it for you and you can enter on the go.
I regularly eat ground soy (tacos, shepherds pie, Macaroni/tomato/fake beef, ground turkey patties), stuffed chick'n breasts from Trader Joe's, chick'n patties for a high protein snack, veggie hot dogs, burgers, seasoned and fried tofu (5 lbs of tofu only uses a total of 2-3 tbsp of oil)**, etc. And that doesn't even include Beans, which are great mixed with pretty much anything.
It's just so easy not to eat meat these days but still get all of your nutritional needs met.
** I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested in it, it was inspired by the tofu preparation at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, the tofu can be frozen, thawed, and microwaved and added to anything for protein.

I've been a vegetarian since 1995; 90% of my meals are vegan, I eat fish 1-2x a year, will eat bread that has milk and eggs in it, and will sometimes eat an egg. Prior to two car accidents I was a body builder and have learned how to get up to 120 g of Protein on a vegetarian diet without using dairy or eggs.
I have dozens of vegetarian recipes, resources, and 16 years of experience for anyone interested in vegetarianism.
As for being a vegan 100% of the time, I love cheese and just haven't found an ideal goat cheese substitute. There are great regular cheese substitutes for those wondering.
So if you would like to talk about being vegetarian maybe this topic will help.

rosebud1963 - Something to think about, grab a handful of potato chips, now splash some Water on them, now bunch them up by making a fist. They will form a clump. That's what they do in your pouch. They will form a ball in your pouch and you will get stuck on them. Tortilla chips do not have that same problem because corn doesn't like to stick to itself in the same way.
Either stop eating potato chips or switch to corn tortilla chips.
As for the swelling, you'll want to drink hot tea with honey to help the Fluid in the band and the tissues loosen up a bit, and drink cold drinks to help the swelling go down. Cold does help swelling go down, but hot fluids will go through your band easier because the molecules of the Water are further apart so it's not as "heavy" as cold water.
Princess Diana<3 - Go get a slight unfill. I don't know how much you had put in but have at least half of it taken out, don't risk the complications from being too full for too long.

A great tofu wrap recipe I created:
http://curvyfitness.com/wrap/wrap.htm

The silken tofu is excellent to add to Protein shakes, it gives them a really nice smooth and creamy texture and you get some good fat and added Protein.< /p>
How have the other vegetarians / vegans in here found dining out after WLS?
Normally I would eat things like Thai, Vietnamese, Sushi, Falafel, but those all have things that I shouldn't eat now due to the potential for sticking (falafel and rice especially).

If you want something Water resistant get the Jawbone UP. It won't help you in the pool though. Swimming is a different action. What you can do with the FitBit is press and hold to time the activity then go into the site or app later and mark that you swam and what you did then it will calculate the calories of that time period.
Both are $99 and if you can, I suggest getting both the FitBit Ultra and the Jawbone UP for different reasons. If something is a benefit on one, it doesn't exist on the other. But the two together make for an amazing pair and it's only $198 total for both if you can afford it. Otherwise go with the one that has the better features for your life.
The benefits of the UP are:
-----------------------------------
- Built in alarm (it will buzz your wrist to wake you up when you are in a light sleep between 30 minutes prior to your wake up time and your wake up time).
- Syncs with your iPhone if you have one.
- Allows you to take pictures of your meals then asks you about two hours later how you feel so you can eat better by what makes you feel better (generally lower calorie foods and smaller meals make you feel better).
- Can be worn all the time and is Water resistant so you can shower with it (I'm too scare to).
- Calculates light vs deep sleep.< /p>
- Allows you to set vibration reminders to move every 15, 30, 45, 60, etc. minutes.
The benefits of the FitBit are:
---------------------------------------
- Amazing website with a ton of functionality - same for the iPhone or Android app.
- Wirelessly syncs with the website any time you get near a computer that has a base station connected (so you can get a spare base station for work if you want).
- Is small and no one knows you have it on.
- Counts flight of stairs.
- Shows you, on the device itself, your daily and minute-by-minute stats.
- Shows movement when you're sleeping so you know if you moved a lot (restless sleep).
- There are a lot of products that integrate with the FitBit.
I've had a FitBit for two years now and bought one for my mother and sister. I've had both the original and Ultra - the Ultra is worth it for the stairs. I've been using an UP since its release, and I like the alarm function and light vs deep sleep, and vibration reminders - but beyond that it gets in the way, is out in the open all the time, gets caught in my hair and on clothes, has no online monitoring (apps only), and doesn't track calories / Protein, etc.
If you can only get one - get the FitBit Ultra and use the website and apps along with it.

Are you keeping a food diary?
What are you eating and how much?
Are you exercising?

You're way too tight. Get an unfill. And understand that you will likely have to have 0.75-1.00 cc taken out and not just 0.25 cc.
You've caused a lot of swelling by pbing and by not being able to eat, which is why you need more taken out. If your Dr insists on only taking out 0.25 then you need a new Dr. Get the full fill taken out that you had put in plus a little bit to help with the swelling.
Then you'll have to wait at least four weeks before you get another fill - to allow your body to heal. Do not rush the process.
You should be able to eat 1-2 CUPS of food per meal - not 0.25 cups.
And you should be able to eat a normal bite of food like chicken. If you can't easily eat solid Protein then you're too tight.
If you have to break food down to such a small size (half a pinky) then you are too tight and you will not get enough nourishment.
In summary - you are way too tight and you need an unfill.
Remember, the band isn't about restriction or not being able to eat. It's about staying fuller longer on less food (because you eat slower).

If you want instant and natural relief make a salt Water cleanser. 1 L of Water and 2 tsp of iodine free salt (like natural sea salt). Mix the salt with around 1 oz of super hot water to dissolve, then mix that with the rest of the 1 L of cold water, and chug it. It will taste like crap it will be horrible for the minute or two it takes you to drink it. But, it will clean you out - and fast. It causes a natural sodium imbalance in your intestines which causes your intestines to release Fluid, which gets your bowels moving - FAST.
Seriously - FAST. Be near a toilet and plan on being near one for 2-3 hours. You'll feel great when it's done but it can be a bit tedious. However, it is natural and it works.

She's actually out of line and potentially going against hospital policy to go off on you like that. You really should consider filing a formal complaint about it. It's that kind of bullying that causes people to second guess themselves and make poor decisions.

Men often don't know how to word things. He may have simply been saying that you are looking looser (this is a good thing, it means you're losing weight) and oddly, that extra skin can make someone look like they are gaining weight because the skin isn't tight. Working out with weights will help bring your skin in and fill you out with muscle instead of fat.
YOU may want to go apologize to him for jumping to conclusions and tell him that it hurt when he made those comments because YOU interpreted them negatively and didn't take the time to ask him what it is he was seeing that seemed different.
You are too close to how you look to see what others can - he was simply being honest, regardless of how you chose to take it.
Instead of being insulted you could have said, "Really? I'm looking flabby? I hadn't noticed since I look at myself everyday, but that's good! That means I'm losing more weight! You're probably right that it's time for me to step up my workouts to try to pull some of this old skin back in."
Instead, you chose to be insulted and chose to take it out on him. Had you been positive, and if he really meant it as an insult, that would have made him rethink what he said to word it better or to not say it again. Being negative and overreacting in response just makes the situation worse.
No one can make you say or do or feel anything - they can only present you with a stimulus, it's up to you to respond.
The second you go on the defense, you've already lost.

You're losing more than 1 lbs a week so you're completely on track for healthy and normal weight loss.
While that's not comforting - you are losing. And if you've stopped losing then you need to review what you're doing.
Getting another surgery may not help if you're over eating or eating horrible food.
A lot of people who get more invasive stomach altering surgeries end up gaining all the weight back - and more - and stretch their new stomach to a larger size.
Just keep at what you're doing, monitor your calories closely using something like The Daily Plate and your activity using something like the FitBit ($99 / free website with tracking, tracks your sleep, your activity level, your steps, mileage, and food) and see where the discrepancy is.
Since you're doing this for 3 more months make the best of those three months and write down every single thing you eat and the amount (measure it). And invest $99 in a FitBit and track your activity effortlessly so you can see how much you're really moving every day (you may be shocked).
You need a caloric deficiency of 500 calories per day (either by less food than your height/weight needs) or by burning via activity to lose 1 lbs / week. Chances are, at your weight, you need around 2,400 calories to maintain your weight (with no increase in activity). So drop your calories to 1,400 / day (a comfortable amount) and walk at least 5,000 steps a day (it's an achievable goal for most people - whereas 10,000 steps can put some people off initially) and you'll see movement.

If you want instant and natural relief make a salt Water cleanser. 1 L of Water and 2 tsp of iodine free salt (like natural sea salt). Mix the salt with around 1 oz of super hot water to dissolve, then mix that with the rest of the 1 L of cold water, and chug it. It will taste like crap it will be horrible for the minute or two it takes you to drink it. But, it will clean you out - and fast. It causes a natural sodium imbalance in your intestines which causes your intestines to release Fluid, which gets your bowels moving - FAST.
Seriously - FAST. Be near a toilet and plan on being near one for 2-3 hours. You'll feel great when it's done but it can be a bit tedious. However, it is natural and it works.

You're losing more than 1 lbs a week so you're completely on track for healthy and normal weight loss.
While that's not comforting - you are losing. And if you've stopped losing then you need to review what you're doing.
Getting another surgery may not help if you're over eating or eating horrible food.
A lot of people who get more invasive stomach altering surgeries end up gaining all the weight back - and more - and stretch their new stomach to a larger size.
Just keep at what you're doing, monitor your calories closely using something like The Daily Plate and your activity using something like the FitBit ($99 / free website with tracking, tracks your sleep, your activity level, your steps, mileage, and food) and see where the discrepancy is.
Since you're doing this for 3 more months make the best of those three months and write down every single thing you eat and the amount (measure it). And invest $99 in a FitBit and track your activity effortlessly so you can see how much you're really moving every day (you may be shocked).
You need a caloric deficiency of 500 calories per day (either by less food than your height/weight needs) or by burning via activity to lose 1 lbs / week. Chances are, at your weight, you need around 2,400 calories to maintain your weight (with no increase in activity). So drop your calories to 1,400 / day (a comfortable amount) and walk at least 5,000 steps a day (it's an achievable goal for most people - whereas 10,000 steps can put some people off initially) and you'll see movement.

You may have slipped the band up, you may have expanded the pouch, you may have moved around too much and disconnected the tubing causing your fill to leak out, you may have done all sorts of things. The only way to tell is to go to the dr and do a barium swallow under fluoroscopy. Do it now or suffer the next two weeks. An hour now seems like a smarter decision. And don't drink and don't eat crap food. You're just priming yourself for future incidents and ultimately failure. And I think you are aware of this, otherwise you wouldn't have posted. It will be fine but you need to get checked out and get back on track.

Jacqui is absolutely right. The human body simply isn't made to sustain itself on so few calories. It can survive for a while - while consuming muscle, thinning out bone (pulling calcium), and sure - burning fat, but muscle is so much more desirable when a body is starving.
1-2 cups of food (depending on the food) per meal is a reasonable meal. 1 cup of chili may be more than sufficient for a meal, but 3/4 c of vegetable Soup and 1.25 cups of salad may be more appropriate for another meal.
If I only ate 1.5 cups of food a day ... well, I'd be skinny all right. And committed for therapy.
If a 'healthy' person eats that little they're called anorexic. Even more so if they exercise regularly.
Unless you're eating 1.5 cups of animal fat = 2,773 calories.
1.5 cups of vegetable oil = 2,890 calories.
1.5 cups of nuts = 1,422 calories.
Then 1.5 cups of any other foods will fall well below 1,000 calories and 1,000 calories is the general set point for a moderately active person and putting the body into voluntary starvation.

This is very normal for abdominal laparoscopic surgery of all sorts and can last the rest of your life.
This happens because there is a particular nerve that goes up your body from your diaphragm to your spine and the fibers of that nerve (which touches almost every organ) also pass through your shoulders ... and your stomach. When you eat, you apply outward pressure on the pouch which causes the band to apply inward pressure on certain nerve fibers, those same ones talked about earlier, and all of that pushes down a bit on the diaphragm, and all of that combined sends pain signals (referred pain) to your shoulders and back.
Even for non lap band, nerves are damaged in the process of surgery (it isn't done delicately - watch a few videos, it's violent) and when someone eats or moves or breathes deeply, or bends funny or all sorts of things it can trigger that referred and displaced pain.
Unfortunately there's nothing you can do about it. For lap band people, just try not to over eat to reduce the pressure.

1-2 lbs a week is a good loss goal. 6 weeks out - six HEALING weeks out and 16 lbs, that's huge. You probably do need to eat a bit more - what's your caloric intake currently?
Have a goal of 6-8 lbs a month. Knowing that some weeks you'll lose more some less. You won't be disappointed. Expecting 10-20 lbs a month is a fool's game. While some people can and will do that, it's not safe or healthy.

Talk to another doctor.

Removing fill can help you lose weight. You can eat healthy foods. Being too tight will cause weight gain because you resort to sliders and on the odd day you can eat you over eat.
The band isn't about restriction. It's about making it so you eat until satiated (not full) and that you don't eat again until hungry.
If you're eating more than 1-2 cups per meal ask yourself why. Are you doing it because you can or because you're actually hungry. If you're doing it because you can then no surgery will help you.
Write down everything you eat, everything you feel before you eat, how long it takes you to eat a meal (30 mins minimum), did you eat more because it tasted good? Are you eating white carbs? Sugars? Drinking fruit juice? How active are you really? Get a FitBit $99 to see how much you really move. Take a photo of every meal before you start and when done. Remind yourself about what you're doing. We often overestimate our calorie burn and underestimate our intake.
It sounds more like it's you that is not working -- not the band. It's doing its job sitting there. You have to make the conscious decision to stop eating when you are no longer hungry, to slow down, to drink 8 oz of Water 15 before a meal to help fill you up and hydrate you, to make the right food choices, and to use your band as it is intended -- to make you mindful of hunger.

Sounds like gallbladder to me too, not band. Ask for an ultrasound for your gallbladder to see if you have stones.

I've been a vegetarian since 1995; 90% of my meals are vegan, I eat fish 1-2x a year, will eat bread that has milk and eggs in it, and will sometimes eat an egg. Prior to two car accidents I was a body builder and have learned how to get up to 120 g of Protein on a vegetarian diet without using dairy or eggs.
I have dozens of vegetarian recipes, resources, and 16 years of experience for anyone interested in vegetarianism.
As for being a vegan 100% of the time, I love cheese and just haven't found an ideal goat cheese substitute. There are great regular cheese substitutes for those wondering.
So if you would like to talk about being vegetarian maybe this topic will help.

Any time your body goes through a trauma you'll shed the hair that is ready to be shed (hair sheds in 3 phases), so you may lose a fair amount all at once, but it's completely normal and to be expected. Biotin can help, but only if you take it daily and for the long term.
The amount of hair you lose will not be noticeable in a few months.