Please Help...to Unfill Again Or Not

[crystaldmm 1]

Hi everyone,

I am in a very difficult place right now with trying to decide if I need to get another unfill or not. Here are the detail: fill to 5.6 cc in a 10 cc band this Mar., perfect green zone until June when I mistakenly thought I needed another fill (ate more than 6 oz. at a sitting, but it was longer than a 20 min. period), had .3 added on June 12. Couldn't keep any liquid down overnight and was sick all night. Went in next day, had it taken back out (lost 4 lbs overnight). From that day June 12 to the following Monday June 18, could only keep liquids down. I was told it would be four days of liquids due to the irritation and swelling of the fill and the excessive vomiting from the day before. Went back in that Monday, had lost more weight over the week from not eating, and then was told 1 whole cc would need to come out to give stomach time to calm down. Told to come back in two weeks to get a refill. I did go back in last Tuesday June (exactly 3 weeks after fill) and he put me back up to 5.6 cc where I originally started and considered my green zone. Since then, I have only been able to have sips here or there throughout parts of the day, most of the day there's a lump feeling in my throat. I followed instructions to a T for fear of inducing additional trauma to my stomach and prolonging the "healing" with the refill. I have had sips of liquid since last Tuesday (July 3) and managed one evening to have a cup of mashed potatoes and nothing else. Since last Tuesday, I've lost 10 lbs the most awful way you can, I think. I don't want weight loss this bad. I feel like the band is getting tighter everyday, I can't get my Water intake...my head hurts, getting dehydrated. I'm not understanding what is going on...I was at 5.6cc from Mar-begginning of June and it was fine. Why is it not even close right now? So, bottom line is...staying where I am isn't healthy and I'm miserable; however, going in just repeats the same process I did last week. It's prolonging this "healing" and having to redo what I just went through. It's been and is the longest three week period of my lapband-life (1 year this Saturday). My kids aren't sure what's going on with me, my extended family have now lost enthusiasm for the band and I am miserable. I'd like to hear from people who have experienced this or something similar and what advice you have. I need to make a decision...to make it worse, my doctor is on vaca for two more weeks (sub is there, though but doesn't work until Tuesday) and I'm going out of town for four days this Saturday! Please let me know your thoughts...gently please...sensitive and not up to par right now.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

If you can't eat and can hardly even sip to drink, you definitely need a slight unfill. Walking around with a band too tight is a big cause of slips, so definitely don't wait on it any longer. Plus, weight loss isn't worth the misery you're going through.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Go see your doctor ASAP.

[Cazzy 725]

If you can't eat and can hardly even sip to drink, you definitely need a slight unfill. Walking around with a band too tight is a big cause of slips, so definitely don't wait on it any longer. Plus, weight loss isn't worth the misery you're going through.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Go see your doctor ASAP.

Totally agree u shouldnt be living with a band that is too tight. U may only need a tiny unfill, i know when i was too tight 0.25 removed was the magic number and i couldnt keep fluids down then either. I lost 10 lbs in a week from being too tight, the relief was instant when i had some removed. Please dont delay get that unfill asap !

[crystaldmm 1]

Thanks for your input. Is it strange to not be able to remain at a fill amount you considered the green zone before? I guess I'm not understanding why it's not ok now but was before. I guess that was why I've been holding out for the week...thinking time will take the irritation or whatever it is away...since the fill amount was perfect in the past.

Crystal

[bandbun 9]

Totally agree u shouldnt be living with a band that is too tight. U may only need a tiny unfill, i know when i was too tight 0.25 removed was the magic number and i couldnt keep fluids down then either. I lost 10 lbs in a week from being too tight, the relief was instant when i had some removed. Please dont delay get that unfill asap !

If you can't eat and can hardly even sip to drink, you definitely need a slight unfill. Walking around with a band too tight is a big cause of slips, so definitely don't wait on it any longer. Plus, weight loss isn't worth the misery you're going through.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Go see your doctor ASAP.

Great advice from Mis and Cazzy, u shouldnt be too tight otherwise i too aso read it can cause many other problems.

[elcee 3,341]

Maybe your Dr should do some tests , to make sure your band hasn't slipped. If they are all fine then yes another unfill is definitely the way to go.

[rhya2k 31]

I only get .05 cc at evey full and that's a lot for me at a time. Take it out and have very little put back in. The pain and misery is not worth it

[lawismylife 41]

You sound just like my husband's situation! I had to check that it wasnt him!

My husband has a history of needing 5 fills at .1 instead of one fill at .5. His body just swells like crazy with too much of a fill at one time. It took him literally 2!weeks to rest his stomach each time he filled too fast (not necessarily too much).

Last time, He didn't listen to me (had to get that in there) and did a .25 fill because it was a while for a fill and he was on a plateau. He swelled and could not drink. Didn't take care of it right away. Ended up in the hospital for dehydration. Dr did X-ray to make sure band didn't slip. He took out only .15 thinking he should be back to where he was supposed to. Wasn't good enough. Had to remove .5 a few days later to even get anything down.

Now he can plow through too much food. He needs a good few fills at .1 now to get back to where he was in the green zone.

We learned that you can't just do the math of what goes in, what goes out, and a certain fill mark is the green zone. There is human error with how much try are filling you with. The liquid may stay in the needle and some might not come out. To get to the perfect level you need lots of itty bitty fills to see how it is. Otherwise you will swell and set yourself back a few months when you need a major unfill to heal.

As a previous poster said, .05 cc even makes a huge difference.

Wishing you luck!!

[MeredithMcFee 98]

Great advice from all here which I am taking literally. I've been having some difficulty lately as well. Only have 3cc's in my band and after my fill 5 weeks ago, I've had a few stuck episodes, blaming my not chewing enough, but not sure if it's that or the band. Finally this weekend, ate some blackened filet tip which went down well after consciously chewing, then 20 min later had 2-3 sips of coffee and I've felt that feeling in my throat all weekend. The meat was real spicey which I like but wondering if the spice set off some irritation and swelling. Stupidly, I ate spicy almonds yesterday and some spicey chips last night, yes, I did say stupidly, and I had a major PB. Still feel the lump in my throat and tightness this morning but the latter is normal for me. Thinking of calling surgeon today to get an unfill.

Crystal, I hope we both are able to get the relief we need. Good luck to you and again, thanks to all with the great advice. I thought I was the only one with such a small amount of fill in me since my surgery in late January.

[sasp35 17]

Good morning. My doctor explained to me that fills are "fluid," meaning that when Fluid is removed (such as to check fill level) and then re-added, it can refill the band differently so an adequate fill level may change. I had to have Fluid removed once and when he refilled it, it was less than a previous level where I had actually been hungry. Hope this can help.

Stephanie

[jennifer1 180]

i am going through a very similiar situation..i have lost 18 pounds since my fill 2 weeks ago. got a slight unfill on friday,,still not enough..last nite i woke up 4 times literally choking on stomach acid. i havent eaten any real food since wed on the 4th...still dont know how i was able to do that with no problem since then i've been living on soup(broth really). finally getting to see my doc today. this happened to me in nov. i think 1cc is too big of a fill for me..so friday he took out .5cc's i'm gonna ask him to take out at least .3cc's that way my fill will actually be .2cc's praying all is well with you..i am starting to feel crappy..couldnt work today. i did make sure my blood sugars were fine..havent worked out in 2weeks! ugh!

[RUready4me 2]

You need to contact your doctor do barium swallow test and have them adjust your band accordingly. Also you want to make sure your band didn't slip.

[Skyvic 226]

Ouch that's my worst fear because I'm getting a fill from a 5.5cc -10cc banded. So I go to Vegas Aug 7-12. So I'll be on full liquids for three days cause my appointment is Aug.1... Not much time to tell how it will behave with a small fill. It sounds like the full is too tight. Frustrating you went thru this....maybe Protein drinks, definitely hydration, full liquids but I would still call your doc or sub.

[crystaldmm 1]

You guys are so helpful! Thank you for taking the time to respond and offer your thought and experiences.

A couple of notes...he did the fill last Tues under x-ray and with barrium...band was fine and barrium went down okay. That's why this is even more confusing...why would it go down fine and then suddenly tighten more. But alas an end is in sight...

I did call today for an appointment and as I suspected will not be able to go in until tomorrow afternoon but at least I'm able to be seen. After reading the posts, I will certainly opt for a bit more taken out than less because I can't risk being like this again when I'm out of town this weekend. I will post back what happens and what the dr. says.

Continued comments and experiences are welcome as well...the more info the better, I think.

[Cyndie B 17]

I had a fill last Thursday and I really only wanted .4 cc's but the doctor said that if I got .7 cc's I would be in the green zone at 6.1 cc's. I understood what she was saying and it made sense so I agreed but since the fill I can only eat small bites of Protein but not enough for my daily allotment. It's rediculous...I guess I will just start back up on the Protein shakes. What's really strange is I start getting this horrible pain in my left shoulder when I have ate too much or too fast...literally two bites of ground up meat loaf. I am not sure what to do at this point...one part of me says this will help me lose weight quicker but at what cost to my health? I will have to evaluate in the next couple of days how I'm feeling.

My advice to you would be to get another unfill. Life is too short to be miserable and like you said you don't want to lose the weight this way. Maybe they can take out 1 cc so you will start feeling better.