Stress & Lap Band

[bandedgorJESS 16]

In the process of buying a house and bc I'm so stressed my band is SUPER tight! I can barely get anything down! Which makes me go for the damn ice cream bc it goes down just fine and a comfort food! Anyone else's band get tight w stress?! Is this normal or in my head?!

[honk 780]

Normal yes but you need to stop using it as an excuse to eat ice cream. Buy some ready to drink Protein Shakes or some powder.< /p>

[judych 225]

Normal yes but you need to stop using it as an excuse to eat ice cream. Buy some ready to drink Protein shakes or some powder.

from what i read here it seems that the band is very sensitive.. to time of day... even time of month, air travel, even road travel where there is elevation ... so stress would definately be a factor id say... what do the others here think??

from what i read here it seems that the band is very sensitive.. to time of day... even time of month, air travel, even road travel where there is elevation ... so stress would definately be a factor id say... what do the others here think??

..a bit more here. why not just go back onto liquids for a day or so??

[Kiskis 56]

I have been in the same boat many times! Keep trying to get your Protein in and stay hydrated. Choose protein puddings, oh yeah & supreme Protein Bars are softer. I also make protein pudding. Even puree your meat so that you get your cals you need to get though your day & to continue to lose weight. Good luck!

[bandedgorJESS 16]

Protein pudding? ! This sounds good! Where can I get the recipe?! Thanks for all the advice!

[Helmut 9]

My docs office actually told me yesterday that stress will make the band tight. I was suprised by that.

[EspeciallyKK 12]

OMG, this is the story of my life. And let me tell you, it's led to bladder infections, hemmorhoids, etc. I am always dehydrated when this happens, as it becomes impossible to even keep down Water. Im working through it now, but I find relaxation & deep breathing helps me combined with Protein Shakes & as much water as I can get in. I will admit though, I def sometimes use it as a milkshake excuse.

[EspeciallyKK 12]

PS- this post made me feel so much better. I get major anxiety when I am at the stress level that prevents anything from getting in.

[Kiskis 56]

Protein pudding :

1 pkg sugar free pudding

1/2 scoup Protein

1 serving high Protein Drink instead of milk for box recipe. Just shy of the 2c required top with milk or Water

Low fat & sugar about 100 cals for 1/2 c

Love it! And fills me up! Great with ice cream too for a weekly treat.

[Jen75 33]

Stress always makes me tight! liquids will help and that pudding does sound delicious!

[dert 17]

My blog reader Kris was able to link me to an article explaining why our gastric bands feel tighter when we are stressed (or PMSing). How very interesting! The article can be found here. The answer is that the gastric band is a semi-permeable membrane that actually can absorb fluids in the body!

Often times patients will come in because their Lap-band feels too tight. They find more difficulty with some foods, and are uncomfortable. They ask me “does stress cause the band to tighten?” The answer is, yes, it does.

The biology of stress is this: when you have stress, be it physical stress (like an illness) or mental stress (like your mother-in-law coming by for a short two week visit)…the body reacts by retaining Fluid. You may notice that wedding rings are tighter, and there is more swelling in the legs at night.

The balloon of the adjustable Lap-band is a semi-permeable membrane, meaning it is osmotically active. In plain English: the more Water you retain, some is transmitted to the band, so it swells.

If a patient has 5.5 cc in their band (we measure it) and they come in and it feels tighter, we find they have 6 cc in the band. Where did the ½ cc come from? That is from the extra water the body is carrying. Since the balloon on the band is semi-permeable it will retain more water also.

This is the same reason that most people find the Lap-band to be tighter in the morning. In the evening you may notice you have some swelling of your ankles – by gravity your body water has gone down to the legs. In the morning that swelling is gone, and the water has gone back to the central compartment of the body where the band is. If we measure the band in the morning it can have 0.25 to 0.5 cc more in it (which can make a difference).

This is also why we don’t like bands being too tight. People need room for stress – of all kinds. Leaving room in the band to allow for this, means that patients will have fewer difficulties.

Upon further web searching, I see that there are several scientific studies that have been performed that have verified this claim, such as this one here.

This knowledge makes me realize two things: (1) When your band is too tight or too loose, don’t go running to your doctor to get it fixed right away. Give it a little time to see if the saline levels balance themselves back out. Also, (2) If you experience a “looser” band, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your band is leaking or is broken. First try increasing your fluid consumption and see if that fixes the problem. If there is a noticeable decrease in “restrictive feeling,” then go see your doctor.

[Mom2many 33]

Very good information and makes sense!