Too Tight? Advice Needed!!!

[AngieO 0]

I think I'm too tight right now, but I'm not sure if I should wait it out or go get a small unfill.

I'm having a hard time eating solid foods and I'm PB'ing several times a day.

After my 2nd fill (1.7) I had good restriction for a few days and then I was hungry again. I went in for a 3rd fill and they explained to me that as I lose weight the band will get looser and I will need adjustments. They were able to increase me to 2.2 and they even checked me with the fluoroscope. I was ok at first but now I'm having more trouble eating. I'm wondering if I should stick with the theory that as I lose weight the band will get looser on its own and it'll all work itself out. I've been too tight for a couple of weeks now.

Has anyone else gone through this? What did you do?

Also, I need to update my weight loss ticker. Can anyone tell me how to do that?

[Nana~ 4]

Can you do liquids and mushies? Do you pb on them? I'd ask the nurse at your Dr. office for advice.

I was too tight so tight could not swallow my own spit, it almost put me in the er.

The ticker you have to go and make a new one with your new stats.

[AngieO 0]

I can do liquids, although not first thing in the morning. I can eat ice cream:) and yogurt.

We had spaghetti tonight for supper and I was eating only meat and sauce. I took a bite, PB'd and then a few minutes later was able to eat about a 1/4 a cup of meat and sauce.

At lunch today I was trying to eat vegetable Soup and I couldn't eat the first bite. I PB'd and then about an hour later ate about 1/2 a cup of soup.

I'm taking small bites and chewing very well.

How would I know if I was close to a real medical problem? I am trying to drink Protein Shakes. I'm not hungry and I really don't feel weak.

[Nana~ 4]

I'd call my Dr in the morning, "My" dr says if I can drink liquids I'm okay. However pbing at every meal is not good it causes swelling and can close you off completely. If "I" were you I'd call my Dr. in the morning and do a full day of liquids maybe 2 to let my tummy heal from the irritation of pbing so much. I've been completly closed of twice it sucks REALLY SUCKS, please be careful. Your fill seems like a big jump to me, you may need to ask about taking out a cc or 2 if you continue to pb at every meal, againCALL THE Doc! Please

[AngieO 0]

Thanks for your advice. I guess I should call the doctor. I'm a teacher and it's very hard to get an appt. that works without having to get a sub. The kids are crazy this time of the year and I hate to leave them with someone else. I'll try liquids for a couple of days and see if that helps.

Thanks!!

[DonnaB 3]

I'd do it the other way around. I'd try staying on liquids for a couple of days just in case you are swollen currently. Give your stomach a chance to rest and shrink down, then, if I still couldn't get down solid food I'd call my doc.

Of course this is just my opinion and your doctor is the only one who can offer medical advise. I really need to add a standard disclaimer to my posts! lol How's this one:

The post you have just read is a personal opinion and is meant for entertainment purposes only. Only your doctor can determine medical necessity. If you are experiencing pain, swelling, fever, halitosis, are covered in boils, growing mold, bleeding from the eyeballs or are generally making the people around you nauseated or uncomfortable, you should seek prompt medical attention.

[DonnaB 3]

LOL

You posted while I was wording my medical disclaimer!

[leatha_g 4]

Just so you know.. the general rule is once you have a PB, you are done eating solids for the day. Anytime you PB, vomit, etc, you should go directly to liquids for at least the remainder of the day to allow for irritation of the esophagus to heal, otherwise, you could wind up in a vicious cycle of PB, agitation, swelling, PB again - over and over until the next thing you know, you have chronic esophagitis, etc.

Hope you're doing better !! Good luck!

[AngieO 0]

Donna....I love your disclaimer. If I start growing mold I'll definitely call my doctor.

Donna & Leatha...I agree with both of you. I need to go on liquids. Maybe I'm just irritated and swollen. I had a hard time staying on liquids for the first 48 hours that my dr. required. Maybe since I have restriction now it'll be easier to stick to liquids.

This is why I love this site. I only know 1 other person who has had this procedure and I really don't talk to her very often. I'm so new at this and I appreciate how fast people reply to my questions.

Would yogurt or Jello count as liquids?

[the best me 6]

Would yogurt or Jello count as liquids?

Small bites of smooth yogurt squished in the mouth alot before swallowing would be liquid. Swallowing a hunk of unsquished yogurt doesn't qualify, I'd think. Same with Jello. Try your jello warm and liquidy.

And since I'm the Aloe Vera juice Junkie, I'll recommend a few ounces of that several times a day for a few days. It's very soothing and healing, even though it doesn't taste...well, it tastes like crap. LOL Okay, it isn't horrible, but it's not grape juice either!!! Good stuff though.

Leatha's right about the liquids after a PB. It also sounds like you have the "first bite syndrome" going on so if you can do a Search on that, it might give you some ideas. I'm pretty sure there's an entire thread on "first bite syndrome". Many folks sip hot tea or hot lemon Water 10 min or so before meals to "open up the band" and that seems to help. Also, they will take the first bite, then get up and walk around, wait a few minutes, then sit back down and eat fine after that. Read up on that...

Don't get stuck eating soft foods. There's a soft-foods syndrome (a bad habit of only eating soft foods that go through easily) and a soft-foods technique (eating soft foods temporarily for a purpose such as easing back onto solids after a fill or at that TOM when many women are tighter than usual) Did you understand that? Keep yourself in line for max. weight loss and band health.

Good luck!

(insert Donna's discalimer here-that's a good one!!!)

[Jachut 487]

I really fail to see how any doctor could think that drinking liquids but not being able to eat solids is OK. That is no way to live long term. If you cant eat a reasonable variety of solid foods, then I think you're too tight. If you cant eat entire food groups, you're too tight.

Its personal choice, some people want and need to be tighter than others to lose weight reasonably but for me personally, there's no way I'd tolerate even for a week not being able to eat a relatively normal diet without having fill removed.

I've just had .3ml this morning on top of the 1.3 I already had and I'm very very nervous about so big a fill, eeek. I'm about to have lunch, will see how that goes.

[ogodawg 0]

I had a fill about a week ago. I was not able to eat for 5 days and now about 7 days later I tried a little piece of scrambled eggs and threw up, and now about 10 hours later I still cant keep any liquids down and now I am throwing up bile. What do I do?

[Jachut 487]

Get unfilled! You have a problem there, and you're probably really irritated by the PBing too. Not eating for 7 days is not a healthy way to lose weight. There's just no need to do that to yourself.

[DonnaB 3]

I had a fill about a week ago. I was not able to eat for 5 days and now about 7 days later I tried a little piece of scrambled eggs and threw up, and now about 10 hours later I still cant keep any liquids down and now I am throwing up bile. What do I do?

Ohhhhhhh. ogodawg - I feel so badly for you. I went through the same thing yesterday and I can so feel your pain. I can't really help you except to say, call your doctor and see what they recommend for tonight. Go and get an unfill tomorrow and give your stomach a chance to unswell and heal completely before getting a fill again.

The patient facilitator at my doctors' office suggested a small sip of warm Water with a bit of meat tenderizer desolved in it. She said it MIGHT help as the stuck food particle is Protein. She also said that, being Protein, the egg would begin to break down on it's own and eventually pass through the stoma. She said this at hour number 6 for me. I sooooooo feel your pain and I'm sorry for it.

My doctor called me back last night to check on me to make sure Water was able to pass through the band and, after lots of questions about the incident and determining that I was able to tolerate it, he put me on Clear Liquids yesterday, full liquids today and possibly tomorrow, and then moving on to super soft mushies on Thursday. He also said that I should drink LOTS of super cold water. He said it soothes and helps reduce any swelling. He also said I should take Malox Plus - the plus part is important four times a day and that the Malox Plus liquid should be kept in the refrigerator too. He warned me that Malox Plus might cause Constipation.< /span>

Scrambled eggs are from the devil. They are on my never ever ever ever again in my lifetime list. Having said that, I tolerate eggs over easy just fine - great in fact. Boiled eggs mashed with a bit of mayo - no problem. Just no scrambled eggs. The patient facilitator explained to me that the protein in eggs, when heated to a high temperature quickly, binds together into very dense, dry, solid blocks. All the classic ingredients for a PB.

I'm sorry I couldn't help you more. Please come back on tomorrow and post so I'll know how you're doing. I'm waiting to hear from you.

(The usual disclaimer goes here - I'm not a doctor and am not offering any medical advise. You should contact your doctor as soon as you can and find out what he/she recommends for you specifically.)

[DBarrett8 0]

Thanks so much for all this info. I had my second fill on Monday (today's Thursday) and I have had problems with each meal. I tried scambled eggs...no good. A chip with Salsa went down fine...put I probably chewed it to sawdust stage. Tonight Soup got stuck. I'm new to this so I need to go find out what you guys mean by PB....but I have probably been doing that since Monday afternoon. I think I will try the liquid diet through the holiday weekend. If I still cannot get any solids in without the "stuck" feeling, then I will call the doctor on Tuesday. Thanks for all the great in-put!