chubster808

I actually scheduled an appointment with my fill doc for tomorrow to discuss this. I am thinking that a slight unfil may be in order?? Maybe .25 or .5 ml. Im at 9.5 so bringing me down to 9.0 may be more tolerable. My band got tight even before with less in the band even my last fill when I was 8.5 ml. But I could still eat a cups worth of food. Now it is just 1 or 2 tablespoons and thats it? I dont know if my 6 foot 3 inch large frame can make it on that? Maybe I am just being a crybaby but........

BY pain, Are you talking about that "golf ball" feeling where something you ate is clearly going to come back up (PB)??

I dont think pain is normal. I would check with your doctor ASAP. My band is very tight and I cant each much but I have never experienced pain. Gas, yes. PBing, yes. Pain, never.

Doesnt sound normal to me at all Susan. I would see your doctor ASAP. Bands that are too tight can lead to slippage. Better safe than sorry.

In interpret my "aggressive hiccups" as a definite warning sign to quit eating. Sometimes I dont listen to my body and proceed to eat which just makes it worse. Hard head so I learn the hard way.

I had the same thing. I stopped eating a good 4 hours before bed time which helped. I was always on an acid reducer even before surgery. Prilosec OTC has helped me. Protonix was even better but my HMO discontinued it. Cheap bastards. Good luck!

That sounds wretched GraceUtah, but I like that you see the positive side. Its all about the weight loss.

Hey Carol: I just got a fill and now have 9.5 ml in my band. I can't eat very much--maybe a couple bites of something or 2 tablespoons, basically, next to nothing. In the morning, I cant eat at all and can only tolerate liquids and even liquids seem to go down slow. But I am not PBing or anything, so I think that I am going to stick with it. It has been 11 months since I was banded but I then had to have my access post removed due to infection and then put a new one back in a month later so even though it has been 11 months, I feel like a newbie since I am only experiencing this drastic restriction. But hey, the weight will come off faster I hope. But I will miss Thanksgiving too. Guess I will make due with a bite of mas potato and a bite or two of turkey. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I have 9.5 ml in my VG band and can barely eat much, though no PBing or anything so I am going to keep it at this level. But that early morning tightness sure feels weird. Guess I will get used to it. Thanks again.

Gas X has helps. For me, it is not so much pain but this pressure I feel in my esophogus. From what Ive read, it can be a common thing after fills. The stomach is literally being squeezed. Mine rumbles away at times but if I take a Gas X, it settles down.

I was banded 12/13/06. I have no restriction yet which has been hard. I had to have 2 other surgeries since my intial band surgery due to an infected port. I do kinda regret having the surgery. I think that I could have lost the weight on my own if I got therapy to deal with the issues of why I eat. But I decided to go for the band. Maybe if I had the restriction that everyone talks about, it would be worth it but 3 surgeries to date and still no restriction? I also found out recently that they may just have to remove the whole band because my infection has persisted. 3 months of heavy duty antibiotics so far. I also considered gastric bypass but now I dont think I would want that if they have to remove my band. I guess it just wasnt meant to be for me.

I can eat it at this point.

Walking helped me alot with the gas. The pain went away for the most part after 4-5 days.

I got the VG band on 12/13/06 and I have yet to experience any restriction. I am up to 5cc. I can eat whatever I want as if I never had the sugery, which I am trying not to do. I have had other complications with the port but that would have happened with any band size.

about 6 weeks. Apparently, it is the tubing that tested positive for staph infection and the tubing was never replaced.

It could definately be an infection. That is how mine started. Go see your doctor ASAP.

I just had my second port put in due to infection and I just found out that the infection is still going on. I see my doc on Thursday and I want to tell him to just take the whole band out. Enough already!

Wow. I thought I had complications. Thanks for sharing your story.

Thanks for the words of wisdom. Just had my 3rd band related surgery to have a new port put in and I FINALLY feel like the band is working. Hurray. But I will follow your suggestions.

I can drink beer without any problem. I am not resticted at all yet though. Had some problems with my port which meant that they could do the fills. Had the port removed but having it put back in on 6/20/07. I hope that I wont be able to tolerate beer but at this point, I can drink as much as I want and eat as much as I want. Its as if I dont even have a band.

No not yet. They want to clear up the infection first. Turns out that the tubing also tested positive for staph infection so thats not good. I really wish that I just demanded that he remove the lap band system all together but he didnt want me to give up on the band. I am so sick of taking 7 antibiotics every day and I have to take them on an empty stomach which complicates things. He claims that the antibiotics should clear up the infection in the tubing. Who knows. Pretty discouraging but a complication I have to face.

Yup, my surgeon said he would repair the hernia and put in the band at the same time. Get a new surgeon!!

I am so glad that I had this procedure close to home since I, too, have had infection problems and recently had my port removed due to Staph Infection. The thought of this happening and the having to return to a foreign country to get it taken care of, is beyond me. I am having to see the doctor every 2 weeks. Good luck to those of you who had to go to Mexico or far from home to get this done.

I am still undecided about a 2nd port. Much of my decision will be based on what happens in surgery today. If the tubing is infected, they will remove the band in addition to the port. But if the tubing is ok, they will assume that the band is ok and leave it in. I guess I would get a 2nd port then. I just want this damn thing to work for me like it does for so many people.

No, I am scheduled for surgery to have the port removed on Monday. He said that he would check the tubing to see if it was slimy, etc. and if so, he would remove the whole band. *Sigh* But I never really felt much restriction from the band since I had it. They were filling it up very slowly. They took X-rays today to make sure the band didnt actually migrate into my stomach which is another cause of port infection. Hard to say. Good luck with your port move. Definately dont mess around with any infection, it could ruin your whole band system.