Im either too loose or too tight:(

[spoiltmom 44]

I've been banded 2 1/2 years. I have gotten down to 160 so yes I've lost weight. The problem is my diet is all over the place. I'm either too loose or too tight. I've spent the last week so tight that I threw up at least once a day and had nighttime vomiting and reflux. Now suddenly my restriction is gone and I can eat normally again. I can eat anything I want including vegetables, bread, chicken and fruits, nothing is off limits. I go back and forth like this constantly. When I'm tight I can only do soft crappy foods like cereals, Soups, crackers, Ice cream or sometimes liquids only, no food at all. When I'm not too tight I eat lots of grilled meats, chicken breast, fish etc and lots of green veggies.

I've regained 15 pounds that I cannot get off.

Also, if I have a headache and try to take something for it I get an intense burning that I'm assuming is coming from my pouch. It will last 45 minutes to an hour. My surgeon suggested liquid Advil but I get the intense burning even with that, even liquid Tylenol is a killer.

I've had a love/hate relationship with my band for a while now but I think the hate is now outweighing the love. I'm considering removal.

Advice?

[hely88 883]

I like to be looser then tighter. I am able to eat more food then I do but I am careful to measure so I know when to stop eating. Every time I get a fill it seems like I need to have some taking out and my fills are .25. That is why I always say there is not Green zone for me. Hope you figure it out soon. Wish I had some advice for you. Hang in their I am sure others will reply.

[this sucks 557]

I like to be looser then tighter. I am able to eat more food then I do but I am careful to measure so I know when to stop eating. Every time I get a fill it seems like I need to have some taking out and my fills are .25. That is why I always say there is not Green zone for me. Hope you figure it out soon. Wish I had some advice for you. Hang in their I am sure others will reply.

I'm in the same boat as you hely. Each time I had a fill in the last year, I ended up going back and having an unfill. I have decided that my body is much too sensitive to live with a tight band. I end up eating slider foods to keep my blood sugar levels from crashing and end up gaining weight. Plus, I get reflux and sure don't want to damage my esophagus with the acid.

[laureneastland 8]

I'm having the same problem....Was just wondering about a fill this week...I'm anxious to know the answer to this one!

[Maddysgram 6,159]

You really need to speak to Dr regarding this, but in the mean time, are you eating too big of bites, or too quickly? I have problems when I do those things. Most the time in my car,eating & driving,lol. I don't do that anymore. Do you have allergies? Will cause tightening.

Once you throw up (not good) your stoma will be swollen and stop you from solids for a few days.

Even on tight days, stay away from Ice Cream, nothing good in that for you. Drink Protein shakes.

Please talk with your dr.

Good luck!

[2muchfun 8,927]

The band does not prevent you from eating any foods unless it's too tight. You may need a small adjustment.

The times you can eat whatever you want are the times you need to look for the satiety signals. Just because you can eat whatever you want doesn't mean you should eat all that you want.

Eating like a bandster includes chewing your small bite of food to a mushy/soup like consistency very similar to Soup or yogurt or Cereal. If you can't eat grilled meats it may be because you aren't taking small bites and slowly chewing it enough? Any meat cooked for just a minute or so too long can cause the meat to be too dry which may cause the band to reject if not eaten properly. jmo

tmf

[Maddysgram 6,159]

I'm having the same problem....Was just wondering about a fill this week...I'm anxious to know the answer to this one!

Talk to your Dr too. But if I was vomiting,I would not get another fill until that was settled. Eating too fast,too big a bites?

[B-52 7,113]

The way I was taught from the begining, was that I neded to learn how to follow the "rules" about eating...small bite, chew chew chew, put the fork down between bites...time between swallows, etc, etc....

I was taught that these rules were not put in practice for me to loose weight as with a traditional diet, although they are taught with diets, but I was taught that the only way I was going to get my band adjusted to the point where I would be in the green without having adverse effects, was to live by these rules.....othewrwise I would have to have my band looser....if I stray from those rules, I would experience problems.

In my experience, when I was at that point where I thought I was too tight, it was my Dr. who insisted I pay more attention to what and how I was eating...told me to try it for another week or so and see....I'm glad he told me that, and I'm glad I did learn a whole new way of eating......

What I thought was too tight turned out to be me still wanting to eat like I did as afat person....cannot be done.

I have not been stuck, etc in well over a year now.

Everyone has different experiences, but this is what has been true for me.....it is the band that is in charge, not me....the band prevents me from overeating.....and because of that I had to change my old ways in order to make it all work....eat the right foods, and stop when the band says stop....also setting my portions for me...

[spoiltmom 44]

I see my doctor today and yes I do have horrible allergies. I've read that can cause swelling but my surgeon does not believe that at all.

I go for weeks just fine and then overnight I get so so tight that I'm throwing up for the next week.

I know there's nothing good for me in ice cream but I'm hungry and some times when you go for days on just Protein shakes you want something different you know?

[spoiltmom 44]

I also have sleep apnea and I'm on a cpap at night with a full face mask. TMI but I threw up in my sleep Saturday night. I felt like I was draining. It ran all in my mask and down through my tubing. It was the Protein Shake I had drank 6 hours before:(

[dfav3412 116]

Just my thoughts but I think you need to have an upper GI to rule out slippage or esophugal (sp) dialation. Throwing up like you have stated, burning sensation, reflux indicate a problem. Now, on to the so called green zone....again my thoughts but it doesn't exist as most people's understanding of it to be. Most people equate being tight, not being able to eat most foods, as being the the green zone. That isn't, again in my opinion, what the green zone means. The green zone to me is being able to eat most anything healthy, meats, fruits, and veggies, in the recommended amounts 1/2 to 1 cup (depends on the amount your doctor dictates) and that amount last you for 4 hours or more. Most people think they should never feel hunger-that is not true because you should when it is time for your meal. The good news is, atleast for most people, the hunger isn't the starving type you felt when you were on a strict diet but more of a nagging kind which your body is telling you that it needs fuel. One last thing, although you should be able to eat most anything there will be some foods your band doesn't tolerate because some foods like bread and rice tend to ball up no matter how much you chew and cannot go thru the small opening. Again, this is my thinking and my experience, banded almost 6 years .

[New Nina 40]

I dont think my band is too tight. I just think that a lifetime of inhaling my meals dies hard. I still eat like its my last meal in a family of 12. I dont need as much food as i shovel into my mouth. It's only coming back for a visit in the bathroom! Will eating slowly and chewing throughly ever become second nature for me? I dont want to get any Fluid removed because i feel that it will give me a red light to eat like starving pig. I'm right...right?

[spoiltmom 44]

Basically he said that throwing up and being tight is just the new normal for me. He said its a problem I got when I traded my old problems off, like my excess weight and my high blood pressure.

He said when I'm tight like that just do liquids for a week.

He also feels I have some esophageal dialation but he said to fix it would require deflating my band which would make me gain weight. He said every banded patient has it so its not a big deal. His advice was just to leave my band alone and not mess with it.

I'm frustrated. I have 3 kids that have ADHD. When I'm throwing up and living on Protein Shakes I just don't have the energy I need to keep up with them.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Basically he said that throwing up and being tight is just the new normal for me. He said its a problem I got when I traded my old problems off, like my excess weight and my high blood pressure.

He said when I'm tight like that just do liquids for a week.

He also feels I have some esophageal dialation but he said to fix it would require deflating my band which would make me gain weight. He said every banded patient has it so its not a big deal. His advice was just to leave my band alone and not mess with it.

I'm frustrated. I have 3 kids that have ADHD. When I'm throwing up and living on Protein Shakes I just don't have the energy I need to keep up with them.

I'm no doctor but if I were you, I'd be looking for a new one.

Throwing up should NEVER be "normal" for someone with the band. In fact, most reputable bariatric surgeons will tell you to avoid vomiting at all costs. Even one episode of vomiting can cause a slip. Regular vomiting makes you a ticking time bomb for a slip.

Saying esophageal dilation is no big deal and that every band patient has it is flat out wrong. It's a very big deal and it can lead to problems a lot worse than a slipped band. And I guarantee you, every patient does not have it. If we all did the FDA would've pulled the Lap Band from the market years ago.

Seriously, please find a different doctor and get a second opinion. I'm sorry to sound so harsh but your doctor is so misinformed it's downright scary. If this is how he treats his patients I'm shocked he doesn't have a pile of malpractice suits against him.

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

Basically he said that throwing up and being tight is just the new normal for me. He said its a problem I got when I traded my old problems off, like my excess weight and my high blood pressure.

He said when I'm tight like that just do liquids for a week.

He also feels I have some esophageal dialation but he said to fix it would require deflating my band which would make me gain weight. He said every banded patient has it so its not a big deal. His advice was just to leave my band alone and not mess with it.

I'm frustrated. I have 3 kids that have ADHD. When I'm throwing up and living on Protein Shakes I just don't have the energy I need to keep up with them.

this is surprising to me to read also.

i have been banded 10 months and not thrown up once.

i was told by my dr it was bad/dangerous for that to happen and to try not too if at all possible (of course you get sick/flu, it can happen)

i agree with missy, a new doctor maybe in line here for you.