Needing a slight UNFILL BAD!! But scared to gain weight back!!

[claire0823 0]

I need some opinions...I had a fill in February and have since lost 58lbs. The band was tight right after, but after a few months it loosened and I could eat very tiny meals very slowly. Since then it has progressively gotten tighter. I'm now unable to eat much of anything without it getting stuck and throwing up. Creamy chicken Soup was stuck yesterday! I've lost 123lbs since being banded in December 2008.

My biggest fear is that I get the band loosened some and I start gaining weight back and I do NOT want to go back to being 295lbs! But I know I have to get something done. I was woken up last night from a dead sleep and starting throwing up something I had tried to eat 8 hours before.

Has anyone had a slight unfill and what were your experiences? DId you gain weight back?

[drosa75 0]

I have had 2 unfills and have not gained weight back. Although I was able to eat more, I never did...I stuck to the plan...you have to fight those hunger pangs and the knowledge you could eat more...its def a mental game. I ran accross this on youtube..posted by banded wendy..I love it and use this video to remind myself what the ultimate goal is.

YouTube - bandedwendy's Channel

[LeighaMason 19]

I had a .2 cc unfill 2 weeks ago and I have not gained an ounce. I got to goal and had the unfill so I could stop losing and then I found I was eating less calories after the unfill because I was eating solid food and not hungry so I have added a cup of milk a day plus more starches to try and keep from losing.

Before my unfill I would have a Protein shake for Breakfast and then a Greek yogurt at 10:30 which is 250 calories and I would be hungry again at noon. Now I have 1/2 a bagel thin, 1 fried egg and 1 piece of bacon which is 230 calories and I am not hungry until 1 or 1:30.

Remember, an unfill is not permanent! You can always get it put back in if you start gaining.

[emjay 8]

I've had a .1 cc unfill and then another about 4 weeks later and could not eat any more than I did prior to my unfill. Don't equate an unfill with being able to eat more. It is not necessarily so. Like Leigha said, you may be able to tolerate more foods with a little looser band that keep you satisfied longer.

I was like you when I went to get an unfill, I didn't want one because I enjoyed the progress I was making, however, I was also gravitating towards softer foods and things that went down easy. But I hated pbing and sliming more, so I got the unfill after a flouroscopy showed a slight dilitation. So, I'm much happier now, can eat any kind of food and still have a great restriction. Don't be miserable. Reflux is a sure sign you are too tight. I still lost weight after each unfill since I was eating better and was still satisfied. Being too tight can cause problems...slippage, pouch dilitation, along with the problems associated with reflux like pneumonia from aspiration.

It's a fine line between proper restriction and too much. A slight unfill can make a world of difference. Always be able to get in enough fluids...can't stress that enough. I get tight when I haven't drank enough fluids. It can make matters worse.

Good luck!

[claire0823 0]

Thank you all so much for your input. I feel so much better about making the decision to have a slight unfill. I'm thinking .1cc or .2cc. Like one of you mentioned, I can always have some put back in! I hope you are right about not being able to eat more but just being able to tolerate more foods. That is exactly what I want to accomplish. I tend to eat lots of slider foods because its what I can get down and I'm sure those do have more calories than eating the "right" types of foods. Appt is on September 17th for the slight unfill so wish me luck!!!

Leigha, I'm extremely jealous of you eating a piece of bacon! I've tried to eat every bacon you can buy and NONE of it goes down, not even turkey bacon!

[Manda87 3]

The amount of liquid in your band doesn't determine how much weight you will lose. There is a woman in my support group that hasn't had a fill since her sugery and is losing weight just fine. You need to be able to eat. If you don't eat, you won't lose weight.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Claire:

Glad to hear that you're going to see the doctor for a slight unfill. That way he/she can check to see if there's anything else going on that is causing this.

Take care and let us know how you make out.

Sue

[Mimilou2004 13]

Claire, I had my .15 unfill yesterday and all of a sudden today I realized I am not refluxing or having even 1/2 the amount of stomach acid burning that I have been living with since my last fill. I don't seem to be excessively hungry, either, and am looking forward to not relying on high calorie slider food. I wish that you didn't have to wait 2 more weeks for relief.

Best wishes, Mimi

[dlacny 0]

I need some opinions...I had a fill in February and have since lost 58lbs. The band was tight right after, but after a few months it loosened and I could eat very tiny meals very slowly. Since then it has progressively gotten tighter. I'm now unable to eat much of anything without it getting stuck and throwing up. Creamy chicken Soup was stuck yesterday! I've lost 123lbs since being banded in December 2008.

My biggest fear is that I get the band loosened some and I start gaining weight back and I do NOT want to go back to being 295lbs! But I know I have to get something done. I was woken up last night from a dead sleep and starting throwing up something I had tried to eat 8 hours before.

Has anyone had a slight unfill and what were your experiences? DId you gain weight back?

Claire--

I was banded in July 09. I've lost 72lbs and have had 4 fills. The last fill was in March 2010 and was way too tight, so I got an unfill the first week in April 2010. Things have been going well until about 10 days ago. I'm not sure why, but all of a sudden I can't get anything down including Water. I ended up meeting my surgeon in the ER last nite to get a slight unfill (again). He took out 1/2 of a cc. I waited for over a week because I kept thinking it was going to get better plus I, like you, feared gaining weight with an unfill, but what happened was that I dehydrated myself. The other posts are so true....it doesn't matter how much is in your band as long as you have restriction. I'm on this site all the time, but rarely post; however, this just happened to me last night and thought I should share.

Take care,

Dore

[claire0823 0]

Thanks for all the input. I have actually been toying with the idea if NOT getting the slight unfill because I have been able to get some food down and i'm still worried about gaining weight, but I'm still having the horrible acid reflux. I'm not even sure if its acid reflux but waking up in the middle of the night with food coming up is NOT cool. I've even started throwing up foam which is extremely scary! But then I've realized that eating potato Soup is not really considered a healthy diet! For awhile I couldn't even get that down but its finally going down and staying down. I'm ashamed to say it but I havent kept food down in so long that yesterday I ate 5 bowls (small bowls) of potato soup! I've been living on slider foods for so long and still losing weight that I've forgotten what beef tastes like. I'm hoping that with just getting a few CCs taken out, I'll be able to eat normal foods again, just small portions. After binging yesterday, the scale showed a gain which freaks me out a little but I think my body will need time to adjust to having some food in it versus nothing. Plus, its a good time to try out the tennis shoes I bought and do a little exercising!

Now if I could just convince my fiance that he needs a slight unfill.... Between the two of us we have lost a fat person! Lol. He's lost 170lbs and I've lost 125lbs.

[LeighaMason 19]

Claire if you are trying to be a normal BMI you have to start eating like a normal person. 5 bowls of potato Soup tastes good and on occasion is not a big deal, however, it has almost no nutrients. Your on the right track with exercise, you need to start building muscle to burn the last few pounds that you are needing to lose but you are going to need to feed the machine if you are going to exercise. My .2 unfill was almost a month ago and I have actually lost another pound or 2.

Plus you might want to read some of the posts for people who have had to have their bands removed, a lot of them start the story with " I was too tight, for too long, acid reflux, etc." Acid=erosion.

I'm not trying to be mean, but I feel the need to speak plainly. Fills do not always equal weight loss, and unfills do not have to equal weight gain.

[claire0823 0]

Leigha, You are not being mean at all. You're telling me everything I already know but need to hear from someone else. For the record, the Soup did have lots of cheese in it for some Protein. And i totally agree that it has almost no nutrients but after not being able to keep things down for so long, the potato soup was heaven sent. Eating liquids and slider foods is no way to live. I need the unfill to eat protein and meat for energy to work out. I've been on an unhealthy path the last month or so and that needs to change. I'm looking forward to having some Fluid removed and hopefully being able to eat more solid foods and incorporating working out into my daily routine. I definitely do not want to have my band removed ever so I need to start taking better care of it. ONE more week until my appointment. It seems like its taking forever to get here. My doctor is 4 hours away which makes it hard to get there at the drop of a hat (just for clarification of why I'm waiting so long to go!).

[emjay 8]

Claire - I'm glad you are getting a slight unfill. .1 or .2 - whatever it takes will be well worth it. After your unfill, do what your doctor recommends as far as slowly going back to solid food as tolerated. Then try a moist meat, even if you have to add a bit of gravy, and see if that sticks with you. The whole idea is to be able to eat solid food to keep you from getting hungry.

It will be a learning process to see what you can tolerate. But luckily, the darn acid reflux should go away for sure. If not, get more taken out. That is a huge sign of being too tight and causing possibly damage.

Good luck next week!

[Saraboo 21]

PLease keep your appt for an unfill-I'm one of the ones who put it off for far too long-and the result was having, instead of a slight unfil, I had to have a complete unfill, and I had to go for an upper GI to see if my band has slipped. Looks like it hasn't, but I won't know for sure until Tuesday. Staying healthy is your #1 priority

[claire0823 0]

May not make it until Friday...can't get liquids down AGAIN. UGH! I am so frustrated with this band!