Band Is Too Tight With No Fill......help!

[Carole Zurick Radney 3]

I had my lap bad done on April 27th and have been through hell ever since. My surgeon told me the band is too tight and there is no fill in it....none. After giving me 8 bags of IV fluids over one week, he had to take me back to surgery and do an Endoscopy to see why I couldn't hold down any fluids. He found fungus on my esophagus related to my lupus and I had to start taking a heavy duty anti-fungal medication (Diflucan). I would love some help on how to get the band to be a little looser. Does drinking hot fluids help? Is it just going to take time? I can't even take a few sips without them coming back up. I can't get any Protein in because everything gives me nausea. Has anyone else had difficulty like this? Any advice would be appreciated. Right now I am surviving on popsicles, ice and tiny, tiny sips of tea and Water. Please, please help!!!

[honk 780]

drinking hot liquids does help loosen the band. Could the fungus be between the stomach and the band? And once the fungus is gone the band will sit better on the stomach?

[Carole Zurick Radney 3]

The fungus is all over the esophagus and comes up like bits of stuck food. It is absolutely horrible. It will set better and I will have less pain once the fungus is gone because it is just traumatizing the esophagus right now and I can't get the swelling to go down. I will try the hot liquids more often. Thank you so much. I feel like all I do is cry and I begged him to take the band out, but he says give it time and all will work out. I just want some other ideas on how to loosen the band a little.

[Cazzy 725]

i imagine that u cant eat much at the moment, i wonder why your weight isnt falling off, the more weight u lose the more visceral fat u will lose around your stomach and the band should loosen as u lose wieght , warm drinks definitely help the band for me when i was too tight, also u may find different times of day are easier to get fluids down than others so if your best time is afternoons then get as much in as u can when its easiest to keep down, I would look at drinking some hot milk or diluting some premade Protein Shakes so that they are very thin and not so thick to swallow. u can also do this with greek yoghurt 0 fat and low calorie Soups .. u can add milk to them and then heat up .. It sounds awful this fungus u have and i really hope it clears up for u soon, i am sure that if u can get some good nutrition down u stand a chance of getting rid of this fungus quicker .. good luck !

[Carole Zurick Radney 3]

Thank you so much and I did forget to mention I lost 29 pounds in one week and still losing. So I hope it will help in the end. I cannot thank you enough for your help.

[michelles01 0]

Lupus pt's is not a candidate for lap band.. Im a lap band pt as well and that is one of my surgeons requirements is not too be a lupus pt. I would do some reseaching. u might need your band out!

[Jess55 97]

If you can't eat anything at all, you need to have your band out like now. Losing 29 lb in one week is not healthy at all! Most of that will not even have been fat, losing that quick you are no doubt losing muscle.

[Lose100 178]

I also have the dreaded lupus. I was banded on 4/3/12 with no problems (so far). The band can cause problems for pts with lupus. I am sorry to hear about your complications. I would stress to my doctor to take the band out immediately. You are losing alot of muscle not fat.

[jennifer1 180]

i dont have lupus so i can not really speak to how it effects the band, but i am very concerned about dropping 29 pounds in one week. my band was too tight for 2 weeks and i dropped 9 pounds, but gained it back once my band was loosen. like a previous poster said you may need you band out if you have that much tightness and no Fluid in it. i dont think the "regular tricks" of looseing may work for you. your doc isnt concerned with your current situation. i would be afraid of becoming dehydrated. i mean in the beginning we live on liquids to let our band heal, but we arent supposed to live like that. i pray that you have gone back to your doc, cuz this just sounds really bad. best wishes and please keep us posted.

[Cocoabean 430]

Is your surgeon aware you are still not keeping liquids down? If not, make him aware. If he is, what is he doing to keep you hydrated? That should be your first concern. If he is and you are dehydrated still, and he is not addressing it, contact your primary care physician.

How long is the Diflucan supposed to take? I know for yeast infections the oral is one dose and it takes a few days to clear it. Doing a quick search it looks like you'll be on it for a few weeks, but do you know when the symptoms will subside? Is it like with an antibiotic that you start to feel better after a day or two but must complete the entire course of treatment?

If you can get any liquids down, try for some clear Protein like Isopure. It won't be as thick. Also gatorade to get electrolytes in.

I hope you feel better soon!

[Carole Zurick Radney 3]

Thank you everybody for all of your great advice. Yes I have been back to my doctor many times. He is the kind of person that holds your hair while you are throwing up. He has seen me or talked to me almost every other day, so he is on top of my case. I have had many bags of IV fluids to keep from getting dehydrated and I am able to keep things down more and more each day. Dr. Bagnato knows he put in a band that was on the small side and it just needs to loosen up. I was just asking for help with that. Right know getting up in the morning and drinking some hot tea is helping some. I do pretty well during the day, but it tightens back up in the evening. I have to stop taking anything in by 9 pm or I end up choking all night long and cant sleep. I wake up so thirsty during the night and that is the most frustrating because I have always been a Water guzzler. Just curious as to what everyone is eating on week 3-4 post op. And again I thank everyone for all the good wishes!

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Below is a chart that shows how the Lap-Band should be as well as how it shouldn't. Have a look, you are without a doubt in the Red Zone, which is a problem.

The reason so many surgeons are hesitate to put a Lap-Band in a Lupus patient is because it's not just an autoimmune disease, it's a disease of the connective tissue. That makes you a much higher risk of your body having an autoimmune response to the foreign object inside of you. The fact you now have a fungus in your esophagus may very well be the start of your body rejecting the band.

Losing 29 pounds in one week is also a major problem. Having to repeatedly go onto IV fluids just to live is also a big problem. Your band isn't just "a little tight", it's dangerously tight.

If I were in your shoes, I'd be going to another surgeon and getting a second opinion. I seriously question your surgeon's judgement in the way this is being handled.

Best wishes to you- I'll definitely be keeping you in my prayers.

[Cocoabean 430]

Thank you everybody for all of your great advice. Yes I have been back to my doctor many times. He is the kind of person that holds your hair while you are throwing up. He has seen me or talked to me almost every other day' date=' so he is on top of my case. I have had many bags of IV fluids to keep from getting dehydrated and I am able to keep things down more and more each day. Dr. Bagnato knows he put in a band that was on the small side and it just needs to loosen up. I was just asking for help with that. Right know getting up in the morning and drinking some hot tea is helping some. I do pretty well during the day, but it tightens back up in the evening. I have to stop taking anything in by 9 pm or I end up choking all night long and cant sleep. I wake up so thirsty during the night and that is the most frustrating because I have always been a Water guzzler. Just curious as to what everyone is eating on week 3-4 post op. And again I thank everyone for all the good wishes![/quote']

Hi Carol, glad you are feeling better. It did sound as though your surgeon was very aware of you issues, you mentioned the IV fluids in your first post. Your case is different from what i experience with morning tightness, and that is why I gave the response I did. Yours is tight for a different reason than just morning bloat. The band itself will not loosen. It has a fixed diamter. It is the tissues underneath it that flex. It the fungal inffection was causing swelling or just taking up extra space, I can understand your surgeon's desire to watch over you closely and see if it gets better. Why reoperate if it is a time limiting condition?

My understanding is that surgeon's choose bands based on patient anatomy and his experience with bands in his practice. I have the smalled band being installed in the US these days. My guess would be he used it based on you anatomy, then you had an unexpected event, and he is medically handling it with the expectation that once the infection is gone and swelling is down, you'll do well.

Beware of that night cough. You might want to elevate your head at night until this is controlled, reflux can be dangerous if you aspirate it into your lungs. Stopping food and liquids is wise...elevation is another tactic in the battle.

Hoping you continue to improve! What does your surgeon say to be eating now? Yours is a special case, think I'd follow that. I was back to normal diet at three weeks.