Band Filled to Capacity, still no restriction.

[4everyoung 16]

I was banded in March of 13, and now, over a year and a half later, my band is filled to capacity, and I can eat whatever I want. I've been through all the tests, upper g.i., floro. I figured my pouch had stretched out, it hasn't. I thought maybe the band slipped. It hasn't. Maybe I've had an erosion. I haven't. Maybe there was a problem with the band, like burst pillows, or ruptured tubing. They're ok. Everything appears to be as it should be. My doctor is scratching his head, and I am very frustrated. I lost 55 lbs. at my lowest, and now I've gained back 20. I'm hungry just like I was before the surgery. I had stopped drinking sodas years before my surgery, and have never been a junk food eater, Cookies, cakes, ice cream, chips, etc. My problem was over eating of southern cooking. I'd skip dessert, and have another plate of steak, potatoes, and whatever else the meal consisted of.

Basically, there seems to be a lot of pressure on the band. When my doctor goes to inject saline for a fill, the pressure of the band actually pushes the syringe out 6cc's. He said that's not normal. Thinking there may be blockage in the fill tube, or the check valve, he completely emptied the band, and refilled it several times. Nothing has worked.

At this time, my band is filled with contrast, as my last fill was done in x-ray, so that we could see if there was any kind of leak or blockage. I now have to go get another x-ray to see if the lap band has pushed the Fluid from the band back into the fill tube, or port.

I had asked my doctor at the 8cc range what happened when we got to 14cc, and he said, "You go to the hospital, and we feed you through a tube, because nothing gets through." Well, at 14cc, I just had two small steaks with all the trimmings, and 2 hours later I'm looking real hard at a sandwich. Not good.

SO......Anyone else had similar experiences?

[KarenWB 20]

It's demoralizing to hear such stories about the lap band. I have high hopes and am now feeling discouraged.

However, I wonder how many who aren't making progress NOT following the plan? I mean... eating two steaks (even if small) isn't supposed to happen unless it is one half cup's worth. Plus we are supposed to be doing a lot of exercise.

I can't imagine if we follow the plan and increase our activity levels we won't lose. It can't be all about the band. It also has to be about US, too. Our willingness to follow directions and cut back and start getting active, right?

I don't know... maybe in a few months I'll be groaning and moaning, too, even after following the plan! LOL

Just my two cents worth.

[Jack 855]

story filled with unusual events I've never heard before

Wouldn't know what to say about your situation.

If it were me, I'd be looking for a second opinion on everything.

I've lost track of even wanting to eat the quantity you mention. If you find a solution please post details.

[2muchfun 8,927]

catfish87 had something similar. His band was unhooked and it took a fluoroscopy to find it.

Here's his story:

I initally did very good with the band for the first few months. Then I noticed that I had no restriction. After several visits and discussions with my Lap band surgeon, I started gaining weight back. His office started using fluro for all fills about a year or so after I was banded. My first fill under fluro and my Dr. verified that my band had come undone! I was the first one out of the many, many patients he had done to have this happen. He was very nice about it and got me in for surgery ASAP to reconnect it. Now I am back on the right track and have good restriction. I think i have 9.0cc's in my band. Its the AP Large. Overall, i am Thrilled with my band! I could do better with my food choices, no doubt about it, but I am satisfied being a slow loser. Not losing as much in the winter, but doing more outdoor activities in the summer ( I love riding my bicycle!! ) Im not a gym person, outdoors for me please. My Dr, My Dr's office personnel and support staff are GREAT to work with. I'd highly recommend them to anyone.

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

sorry to read of your (trouble). like jack, get a 2nd or 3rd opinion if need be

your body, your health, your life..

now what i am going to say is not being mean.or nasty but i must say this ..just because you can eat 2 small steaks and trimmings does not mean you should...if you are hungry, eat but eat smart (protein) and def drink a lot to help offset and sometimes just drinking solves an issue of (being hungry)..at least it does for me...it mainly head hunger from being bored, upset set....i am a southern girl..if in doubt, fry.....we must eat better....having a WLS is not a miracle solve all..i was a binge eater as i did not get up near 350 pounds by eating only lettuce.....3500 calories is a pound ate or drank and if we eat more than we can burn off (exercise/movement wise) then we will gain weight..

i wish YOU all the luck..keep going back to the doctor for answers

and get yourself well...we all are rooting for you 4everyoung.

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@4everyoung you got some pretty spot on advice above. These are long time successful banded patients. I would question, and keep on questioning until you get an answer. Not just your doctors my friend but question yourself as well. Put yourself on the witness stand and as @@☠carolinagirl☠ said just because you can eat something doesn't mean you should. Our bands no matter how tight we make them aren't going to stop our minds, and that is probably the most powerful thing on the planet. Only you can make the choices of what to eat when to eat etc. Our minds can and often do dictate our behavior and how our body reacts to stimuli including food.

Explore every option open to you, ask another doctor about the state of your band not because you don't trust your own doctor but because 4 eyes and 2 minds are better then one and someone might see something that your doc doesn't.

The band won't take away your "hunger" and I could eat 2 steaks a whole bucket of southern fried chicken and lord knows what else..but you know what it would probably take me a week or more to do it. That is because I have good restriction in my band and I couldn't cram that much food down no matter how much I wanted to it would come right back up. Trust me I have tried it, when out eating a delicious meal I think oh I just want that one more bite even though I know I have had enough..and then that one more bite...makes what was so good I couldn't get enough dreadful as I pushed it too far with one bite and made myself sick.

I will give you this pearl of wisdom that my Nutritionist gave once and has stuck with me. It should take you 20 minutes to eat a meal. No more and no less. If you are eating for less than 20 minutes you are eating too fast and not practicing good band eating mechanics. (cutting thing small and chew chew chewing putting your fork and knife, spoon down between bites allowing food to pass the band.) If you are taking LONGER then 20 minutes to eat then you are eating into your next meal. So if your eating Breakfast for 30 minutes you have just eaten part of your lunch as well.

Now that is food for thought

@@KarenWB don't be discouraged there are MANY people who have had GREAT success with the band, and what one person's experience is does not mean that will be yours in any way. We all have our own journey and every WLS has it's good bad and ugly stories. My advice to you is to do your due diligence. Research, read, speak to your Dr. your friends and family (if applicable) and read the many many posts good and bad on this site and decide what's right for YOU. Only you would know that answer. Your doctor can guide you based on your medical history but YOU live in that body, and only you can make this decision.

Don't give up!

[labwalker 1,177]

The doctor "scratching his head" is NOT acceptable. I'd be demanding answers. I feel so bad for you--there is no reason that you should have to come here looking answers that your doctor should be providing!!! Something is wrong, and he should be providing answers. If you are eating properly, watching calories while maintaining Protein requirements you should not be hungry for at least four afters after a meal.

Have you tracked your calories and Protein intake on daily basis for a period of time? Are you avoiding slider foods like chips and fries?

Edited September 16, 2014 by labwalker

[catfish87 3,471]

Somethings not right...

You say "Everything appears to be as it should be. My doctor is scratching his head, and I am very frustrated." And you say you have "no restriction". NONE????

I'd be interested in seeing the copy of the fluoroscopy. Does it show ANY restriction....is your band "buckled" correctly still?

I hope you get some answers. Its frustrating when you do your part, and the band isn't doing it's part.

[Jim1967 3,569]

@@4everyoung

Sorry you're going through this but do not give up. Press your Doctor to work with you to find a solution. Like others have said after 14cc you should have some form of restriction if even only a little.

One thing is certain you should not be able to consume that much food in one sitting and in regards to "band rules" it's not a matter of what you should or shouldn't be consuming at this point it's about your band not doing its part to aid you.

Band rules can be followed but if the tool is not doing it's share of the work for you then your just on a diet and guess what....we all fail at diets long term.

A solution must be found for this problem. Maybe it came undone like it did for Catfish? Maybe there is a blockage in the tubing which is why Fluid is being pushed back out?

At this point does your Doctor have a plan moving forward? I know he's stumped but there has to be answer and if he cannot come to a conclusion then he should be collaborating with peers to find you one and if he's not doing that then a new Doctor needs to be sought out.

Perhaps you just have a defective band, port or tubing or the whole thing? It is not unheard of after all they're human made products.

I wish you well and I hope you find answers and please let us know how you're doing.

Edited September 17, 2014 by Jim1967

[Jim1967 3,569]

I think some of you are clearly missing the point. His band is not working at all...period. Telling him consume less and follow a band plan is great advice but if the band is doing absolutely nothing then he is on a diet.

I implore you to show him a little compassion.

So he can consume two steaks with 14cc in a band. First thing that jumps out at me is a serious band function problem not a 'band compliance' problem. You have to fix the band and get the restriction then you can modify the consumption. Otherwise....it's a diet.

I can't even eat steak at all because of my band. I've gotten stuck every time after only consuming a very little and that is with a partially filled band.

For once we have someone posting a real band issue where it is clearly NOT working BUT he has not given up on it and he WANTS it to work. He is not eating around this band...it is just not working.

Is it possible some of us have been banded so long that we forgot what it was like with out it?

Edited November 6, 2014 by Jim1967

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@Jim1967 I totally agree with you here. @@4everyoung is having a serious issue with her band and needs a solid answer on what's going on.

That said all the comments about band basics and counting calories are in reference to the regain. Yes it's a diet, it was a diet for me prior to surgery and right after surgery for about 7 months until I was able to reach that correct level and even now I vacillate between right and too tight depending on day, pressure stress life etc.

I understand where @@4everyoung is at. She is upset and frustrated and not only wants an answer but needs and deserves one! I wish I could make it better for her, but I can't other then to say get thee to the a doctor and if the one you have can only scratch his head get thee to another until there is something found we can only speculate.

Until then it's best to keep to those basics so that she doesn't hurt herself internally, and not worry so much about the regain. We all care what happens here...I think everyone with a band can relate to this post, it's something we all question and worry about I bet.

@@4everyoung please let us know how you are doing??

[4everyoung 16]

Update: After taking another x-ray and nothing has changed with the band, we're going back into surgery next month. I appreciate all the input, and 2muchfun mentioned the band coming unbuckled. I feel like that is all that is left, as we have checked everything else. My doctor says he's never had that happen before. Dr. Kureshi has been very supportive, and open about this. He is over the bariatric unit at TMC in Denison, TX, and they've just received awards for their efforts that rank them above others in north Texas. I have confidence them.

I have read enough forums to know that when I made this post, that I would get the usual, "Control your eating" responses. Because, that's why I shelled out 15 grand in cash, to get a surgery that I didn't need, because all I had to do was watch what I ate! <sarcasm> I have tried it all. Atkins, juice diet, Zeal, Plexus, etc, etc. Even after the band, I walked 3-5 miles every night. At the end of the week, I had gained 2 lbs. "It's muscle!" everyone said. I could care less! Weight gain is weight gain to me!

I had an episode Jan. 4. The wife made a meal of red Beans and cornbread. All I can figure is that after I ate, it expanded in my stomach, possibly forcing the band to unbuckle. I had intense fever that night, and then again 2 days later. For the next few days, I had to go back to liquids, broths and Soups. Before the event, I had normal restriction, and just a cup of food would keep me full for hours. A cup of coffee, and about 3 of the Peanut Butter toast crackers is all that I could get in for Breakfast, and that would keep me full until lunch. I was losing weight steadily. After the event, when I could start eating, I noticed that I could eat foods that before I couldn't. Rice, potatoes, heavy beef, etc.

So, back under the knife I go. If the band has simply come unbuckled, then the doctor will re-buckle, and stitch it so that it can't come undone. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again for all the support!

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

YES PLEASE keep us informed as I just got another fill because I was feeling a little loose again and now I have 10cc's in my 14cc band , this was getting me worried also , because I still eat healthy but I do get my cravings , but my cravings I still get are like grilled cheese, peanutbutter sandwiches or Salads with nuts, of course I am not able to do most starchy, carbohydrate foods because they give me the slime , stuck swell feeling but the other day my kids had fries & for desert they had doughnuts , I thought well let me try a fry and I chewed it slow but that's all I could eat for about a hour then I could have my meal but I am not feeling that restriction I had a couple months ago that fry would have came right back up so I was also getting worried I just had everything check also & everything seems to be fine , so I know but I will wait & see if this fill helps because the Doctor & I don't want to be filled to much where He & I are not cable , so I am only 4 n 1/2 centimeters from being at full capacity in the band also and I a not trying to get there either, so this hit me also, I am sorry you have to have surgery again but hopefully they just have to buckle it a little tighter and that's all it is , also I just thought I would ask you and you can let me know but ought they can go back through our scars laprascopy again to tighten & buckle it back, good luck and let us know what happens .

[catfish87 3,471]

Update: After taking another x-ray and nothing has changed with the band, we're going back into surgery next month. I appreciate all the input, and 2muchfun mentioned the band coming unbuckled. I feel like that is all that is left, as we have checked everything else. My doctor says he's never had that happen before. Dr. Kureshi has been very supportive, and open about this. He is over the bariatric unit at TMC in Denison, TX, and they've just received awards for their efforts that rank them above others in north Texas. I have confidence them.

I have read enough forums to know that when I made this post, that I would get the usual, "Control your eating" responses. Because, that's why I shelled out 15 grand in cash, to get a surgery that I didn't need, because all I had to do was watch what I ate! <sarcasm> I have tried it all. Atkins, juice diet, Zeal, Plexus, etc, etc. Even after the band, I walked 3-5 miles every night. At the end of the week, I had gained 2 lbs. "It's muscle!" everyone said. I could care less! Weight gain is weight gain to me!

I had an episode Jan. 4. The wife made a meal of red Beans and cornbread. All I can figure is that after I ate, it expanded in my stomach, possibly forcing the band to unbuckle. I had intense fever that night, and then again 2 days later. For the next few days, I had to go back to liquids, broths and Soups. Before the event, I had normal restriction, and just a cup of food would keep me full for hours. A cup of coffee, and about 3 of the Peanut Butter toast crackers is all that I could get in for Breakfast, and that would keep me full until lunch. I was losing weight steadily. After the event, when I could start eating, I noticed that I could eat foods that before I couldn't. Rice, potatoes, heavy beef, etc.

So, back under the knife I go. If the band has simply come unbuckled, then the doctor will re-buckle, and stitch it so that it can't come undone. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again for all the support!

I just seen this followup post....Glad to hear you are continuing to search for answers as to WHY YOUR BAND ISN'T WORKING the way it should. I gained weight TOO, when mine came unbuckled.....but then again....why wouldn't I? I had reverted to eating too much....A footlong subway one time and a whopper from BK.....I knew it wasn't on "the plan". But I had surgery to fix all that....or so I thought. I don't succeed by dieting, watching calories, self Portion Control, etc. My band has to dictate my portions....LONGTERM. I gained over 30 pounds in the months mine wasn't working. I didn't go to my surgeon for over a year, because I was embarrassed.....bad mistake.

I still don't know the answer to this in your case....Does the fluoro show restriction of the barium? On mine, when my band came unbuckled, my doctor could easily see it. And like you say about yours....my surgeon HAD done over a 1000 lapbands. I was the first one he'd ever had that happen to. Lucky me! LOL.

IF....IF your's turns out to be a similar issue, my experience went like this:

For me, he got me scheduled for surgery ASAP....he was ready to get me in the next day!....I was in and out of the hospital in about 4 hours.

And my band has worked great ever since. So as you may see me refer to on here....I've never had any "band" caused problems. Mine was an installation "issue" we think. Correctly installed bands shouldn't come unbuckled....per my surgeon, Who I consider a GREAT doctor...and friend.

Best wishes and I hope you find the issue and get it corrected asap. Keep us updated!

David

[4everyoung 16]

When I did the upper GI, and the floro, the barium and contrast went straight through. The band looks fine, but the opening looks like it's the size of a quarter, and I'm completely filled. Nothing should be getting through. Being a food lover, and going into surgery two days before Thanksgiving, yeah right! I'm excited! It's my favorite time of the year! It was either that, or two days before Christmas. Figured I'd rather enjoy my Christmas, and putting it off for food is why I need the band in the first place! I'll let everyone know post op when we find out what the problem is. Thank you!