I'm starting to hate my band:(

[spoiltmom 44]

Almost 2 weeks ago I went for a fill. He added .5 cc's. After that I threw up constantly and was in pain. I went back this past Monday and he removed .2. After that I drink easier with no pain so I thought that fixed it. He said to do liquids for 24 hours and then eat after that. So 24 hours later I tried eating some soft food. It went down fine but the last little bit got stuck and I started throwing up again so I went back to liquids. On Wednesday I could only drink very small amounts. By yesterday I was able to drink more and I managed to get all my Protein shakes in for the day. I thought I had finally turned a corner.

Then this morning I slowly drank my Protein shake. I got half of it down and started sliming and threw up. Now nothing wants to stay down-again. I called the docs office and they said Monday is a holiday so they will see me Tuesday for an unfill.

I'm starting to get worried. I mean is un fill really all I need? Before that initial .5 fill that got me too tight I was able to eat everything and anything and was hungry constantly. Now I can eat nothing. I've gone from 176 to 165 and I'm still losing.

Since my shake was liquid shouldn't have gone down instead of getting stuck?

I'm not in pain so that's a good sign right? No pain just vomiting?

TMI but ever since this started my urine stays dark and thick so I'm assuming that even though I can get some liquids down I'm still not getting enough down.

[vlp1968 83]

Sorry you are having trouble. That stinks you can't get in until Tues. I had times were a slight fill sent me from being hungry to getting sick. It's very frustrating. Hang in there. I had times when the surgeon took out more than he had put in and I still had restriction. Go figure. Try to get in as much Fluid as you can and take it easy. I have found watering down shakes when I was really tight helped. They don't taste too good, but go down easier. Feel better soon.

[WEESIE 5]

Amanda,

I suggest that you make sure you aren't sick with something else before you just assume it is the band. When you say your urine is dark, there are different degrees of dark. You can try getting more fluids down, especially Water and see if the urine looks more normal. If not, you might visit your PCP before jumping into any additional unfill. Good luck.

[size10again 11]

I was having the same issue and had to have 2 deflates. I suggest you take tiny sips of liquids whenever you are awake, literally every few minutes take a sip. You can hopefully get enough in this way. Also, have you tried warm drinks? They might help as well as pineapple juice which can help too I was told.

Instead of shakes you could try pureed Soup that is thin?

Hang in there!

Joan

[Mimilou2004 13]

I personally think you need to go to the ER and not wait til Tuesday...no wonder your urine is dark, you are dehydrated as evidenced by your losing about 10 pounds!!!!

Mimi

[spoiltmom 44]

He's not concerned though. He says as long as I can swallow my spit then I'm okay until Tuesday.

I just called the ER and they said all they would do for me was IV fluids. They don't do unfills and they said they will call the surgeon and let him know I'm there but he still won't come there and unfill me. My surgeon isn't even on call this weekend. It's someone else instead.

[Acadia 20]

If you can still swallow your saliva then, fortunately or unfortunately depending how you look at it, you will be fine until Tuesday. It won't be comfortable but you're not in danger of anything.

Drink hot tea, sips of it, with honey added. The honey is for calories and for healing (if your stomach and/or esophagus are getting irritated the honey will help) the hot tea will go down easily in tiny sips.

Go to the drug store and get glucose tablets, suck on those every now and then to keep your blood sugar up.

Don't eat anything, don't even try. The less vomiting the better.

When you go in have the rest of the fill taken out, ask the Dr. to leave the needle in while you drink 0.5 c of Water, if that goes down well - without any pain or issues - then he can stop. If you have any discomfort at all - have him take more out.

[thu1976355 0]

I had a fill Thursday and My surgeon saw me Friday befre the holiday weekend.. I love my surgeon.. I am able to keep fluids down when they were clear but when i advanced to full liquids on day 2 i felt how tight it is.. So i decided i need fluids.. how about sugar free popicles.or sugar free waterice.. i had some yesterday day and it was good.. I am going to try full liquids and mushy foods today because the surgeon said by sunday i can go back to food as tolerated... alittle nervous about that. I am shcked that there is not a dr on call for your surgeon though.. you may want to call back and ask. otherwise the iv fluids may be needed before tues...

[Tally23 0]

Amanda- I am right there with you. I was banded Aug 10th 2010 and I have been following you on here since then. I have vomitted before and swelled my band shut so much that I couldnt even swallow my own spit. I had to spit into a cup until I eventually passed out and slept it off. I went in for an unfill the next day but I have been there. I just had a .5cc fill on monday and my pills are giving me trouble. I have been throwing up a good part of the day. My throat BURNS. It is going away but I have been unable to drink or eat anything since this A.M due to the burning. Even my spit burns but I can still swallow that. I keep thinking- why did I do this. What is better being fat for the rest of my life or throwing up multiple times a week. It is such a struggle and I am struggling with it too..

Hang in there.The urine is likely due to you being dehydrated. If you can get anything in even Water then good. The ER isnt going to do anything for you- They wouldnt for me. Best to wait for your doc on Tuesday. Have a unfill ( Not all of it) and let your stomach swelling go down.

Good luck hun! Hang in there!

[Hungrybetty 0]

Almost 2 weeks ago I went for a fill. He added .5 cc's. After that I threw up constantly and was in pain. I went back this past Monday and he removed .2. After that I drink easier with no pain so I thought that fixed it. He said to do liquids for 24 hours and then eat after that. So 24 hours later I tried eating some soft food. It went down fine but the last little bit got stuck and I started throwing up again so I went back to liquids. On Wednesday I could only drink very small amounts. By yesterday I was able to drink more and I managed to get all my Protein shakes in for the day. I thought I had finally turned a corner.

Then this morning I slowly drank my Protein shake. I got half of it down and started sliming and threw up. Now nothing wants to stay down-again. I called the docs office and they said Monday is a holiday so they will see me Tuesday for an unfill.

I'm starting to get worried. I mean is un fill really all I need? Before that initial .5 fill that got me too tight I was able to eat everything and anything and was hungry constantly. Now I can eat nothing. I've gone from 176 to 165 and I'm still losing.

Since my shake was liquid shouldn't have gone down instead of getting stuck?

I'm not in pain so that's a good sign right? No pain just vomiting?

TMI but ever since this started my urine stays dark and thick so I'm assuming that even though I can get some liquids down I'm still not getting enough down.

A friend of mine who has had lapband for five years can't eat in the mornings.usually 1 to 2 hours after she wakes up. And liquid may go down very slowly maybe this is true for you as well. It's worth experimenting with.

[54Shirley 105]

Amanda- I am right there with you. I was banded Aug 10th 2010 and I have been following you on here since then. I have vomitted before and swelled my band shut so much that I couldnt even swallow my own spit. I had to spit into a cup until I eventually passed out and slept it off. I went in for an unfill the next day but I have been there. I just had a .5cc fill on monday and my pills are giving me trouble. I have been throwing up a good part of the day. My throat BURNS. It is going away but I have been unable to drink or eat anything since this A.M due to the burning. Even my spit burns but I can still swallow that. I keep thinking- why did I do this. What is better being fat for the rest of my life or throwing up multiple times a week. It is such a struggle and I am struggling with it too..

Hang in there.The urine is likely due to you being dehydrated. If you can get anything in even Water then good. The ER isnt going to do anything for you- They wouldnt for me. Best to wait for your doc on Tuesday. Have a unfill ( Not all of it) and let your stomach swelling go down.

Good luck hun! Hang in there!

You are either in THE RED ZONE do to swelling from constant throwing up, or you need to see a Dr. do to the burning.

Whenever you are throwing up, don't try to eat just drink liquids for a couple of days. If it's from a fill, then liquids for 3 days, mushies for 1 day, then try food. Otherwise you will forever be miserable, and you could even cause that band to slip.

You should also go to your Dr. and have it checked under Fluoroscope. That's a xray that shows moving parts, it will also show your fill level, and you will see it on screen, they will know if they are over with the fill. Or if you have acid reflux.

If your throat is burning from acid, get some prilosec or omeprazole for the stomach, and stay on shakes, and liquids.

You should still be looked at though.

[Jachut 487]

The thing is, when you have a stuck episode, particularly a bad one, you can get swollen and inflamed from that, and that makes you even tighter and can really hamper your return to normal eating. Sometimes a total unfill is what is needed to let things calm down.

the thing is, and i can hear people say "oh, if i could do this unfilled, I wouldnt need a band" but you need to realise that it IS in your control whether you let an unfill affect your weight loss. I agree, its almost impossible to do long term, but until you get back to restriction just focus on eating small meals, not eating between meals and getting your exercise in and you wont regain a ton of weight, its that simple. If you try to persevere in the state you're in, you could damage your band, and at the very least make yourself totally miserable. Go and see your doc and get it sorted, being unfilled is not that scary and it does not have to mean you'll suddenly pack on weight.

[spoiltmom 44]

FINALLY! I guess I was still swollen. Yesterday I was able to get all my Protein drinks in, 4 small servings of soft/mushy foods and my daily meds and it all went down with no problems. Today I will try the same thing and if all goes well then tomorrow I may try something else. I'm hoping maybe I was just extremely swollen and won't need an unfill.

My vehicle is currently in the shop AND my babysitter is tied up Tuesday. Getting another unfill would entail borrowing a vehicle and dragging all 3 of my kiddos with me. I was not looking forward to it. It will be a long time before I get another fill, that is for sure.

[size10again 11]

FINALLY! I guess I was still swollen. Yesterday I was able to get all my Protein drinks in, 4 small servings of soft/mushy foods and my daily meds and it all went down with no problems. Today I will try the same thing and if all goes well then tomorrow I may try something else. I'm hoping maybe I was just extremely swollen and won't need an unfill.

My vehicle is currently in the shop AND my babysitter is tied up Tuesday. Getting another unfill would entail borrowing a vehicle and dragging all 3 of my kiddos with me. I was not looking forward to it. It will be a long time before I get another fill, that is for sure.

I am so happy to hear you are able to get your shakes and mushies in! From my experience, I think you still need a little unfill but it can wait until later in the week when you won't have to take all your kids with you.

Joan

[KathySoxFan 0]

I'm happy that things are looking up for you and that hopefully by the end of the week, your problem will be resolved.

I had a similar situation happen, but in the other direction. All of a sudden, I was able to eat everything in sight, including Pasta, bread, etc. Nothing seemed to fill me up. I panicked and thought all the Fluid had leaked out of my band, so I scheduled a fill for this past Tuesday. Well, the weekend before this, I had trouble eating and threw up a couple of times. I thought I'd never say that I was happy to throw up. It made me realize that I wasn't leaking and that my level was okay for now. The hunger has dissipated, and I'm still able to eat most things, just at smaller amounts. I have my next fill scheduled for June 17th, so we'll see what that brings. They tried to do a fill at the end of March, but even though it was only 0.5 cc's, it was too much and I could barely get the Water down. I think I have about 5.25 cc's in a 10 cc band. The thing that drives me crazy is that the band seems to have a mind of its own--why can I eat huge quantities (relatively speaking, of course) one day, while the next day, I feel very restricted. It makes no sense to me. The good news is that I got banded in December 2010 and I've lost 64 pounds total (lost some pre-op). And this is without any exercise becuse I had both knees operated on during separate times. I'm actually looking forward to physical therapy and moving to jump start my weight loss again as I've hit a plateau.

Good luck this week!