Another Crazy Lapband Ponder

[LapbandKAB 22]

Hi all. I recently had 7.3cc in the band and was doing frequent vomiting though I was losing weight. After about a month, I went back to the Dr and he took me down to 7.1 when I told him about the vomiting. In a month at 7.1, I didn't lose a thing and felt no restriction so I had to call him back and go back in. This time, I saw a physician assistant. After explaining everything, he added some Fluid and brought me back to 7.3cc. I was a little ticked because I had told him that was probably too much and that 7.2 was likely what I needed. But, because I hadn't lost an ounce at 7.1cc, I decided to just give 7.3 another try and chew, chew and chew some more. However, before I could leave, he told me I needed to drink a bottle of Water. My previous Dr only had me do a few sips. The office is not convenient to me and I had to get back to work for a meeting. So, I ended up drinking faster than I should have and immediately had to throw it up. So, they wouldn't let me go. Instead, he removed some and put me at the 7.2 which is what I thought he'd do in the first place. I finished the damned Water but it took me a long time and I missed my meeting. So here I am now at 7.2cc and I feel no restriction like I did at 7.3. No circling the drain sound anymore which is how I knew the band was working. No burping which was another sign for me. Seems I can eat with no restriction at all. I'm going back in on Monday and will ask to go to 7.3cc again. Obviously, making me drink a bottle of water when I had to get back to work was a bad idea and that's why I vomited. I guess at 7.3, I probably was eating too fast and not chewing until I had mushy consistency. It would appear that 7.3 is my losing zone and that I'll just have to eat more slowly and less. But, at least I will be losing. At 7.2 now, nothing is happening. No restriction and no losing. I'm thinking 7.3 might be my green zone but I didn't recognize it as such. Does this sound like it could make sense and that if I am very conscious about chewing and Portion Control, 7.3 could be my magic number? Gosh, I wish I could just get acclimated to this band and be at the proper level in a continuous losing mode. Hopefully, it will come. Thanks!

[Kitt3000 757]

It's such a fine line for some of us! The elusive green zone. I suspect there are a few who have walked in your shoes. Don't give up! If there's one thing I have found out with the band, it's unpredictable, just like life when you think about it. Here's hoping you find your shade of green!

[terrydumont46 1,954]

if you are having trouble sipping or even just drinking the Water you are not going to do well with a tighter band. the idea is to not eat until you feel restriction but to eat the same amount of food just this side of the restrictive feel. there is such little difference between 7.2 and 7.3. for me if I hit the feel of restriction I have gone to far and it feels the same as being stuck. also you can begin eating more and more because you don't feel restriction and the food is actually moving from your pouch up your esophagus. I wish you luck. being in the green is a wonderful place to be. I hope you find yours.

[2muchfun 8,927]

The PA was right to have you drink your Water that way. Almost anyone can sip Water even if they're too tight.

It sounds like you're judging the efficacy of your band by restriction and not satiety. IMO, that's not how this is supposed to work. I can eat anything too but I watch for the satiety signals. Waiting to see if I get stuck or throw up is not how this is supposed to work.

I've seen far too many people post here who have lived their band lives as you do, and now their bands have slipped, pouches dilated or have their bands removed or revised to sleeve. jmo

tmf

[B-52 7,113]

It is a fine line between restriction, and he foods and how we eat them....

My last fill, many years ago, I felt I was too tight and battled the same issues as you....when I called and asked my Dr. to come in to get some taken out, he talked me out of it...convinced me if I get that small amount taken out, I would be where I was before...in other words it was clear I needed that last small fill...I could not be going back and forth over the fence so to speak. There had to be another element and my Dr. knowing me, knew what that was....

So if it wasn't the band being too tight, then the answer had to be it was the food and how I was eating...and once again I HAD TO CHANGE...I was forced to alleviate yet again more foods, I had to yet again start applying more of the rules taught early on such as drinking while eating, etc,

That was over three years ago...everything has been as smooth as glass since, EASY as can be..a new and NORMAL life......and I am a different person in terms of how much I eat, and what I eat, and junk I will never eat again....

If someone showed me how little I would eat daily, and the types of foods I'll eat when I do....I would have said they were crazy, no one can survive that way.

Yet here I am as healthy as can be, being at my optimum weight, going to the gym everyday, even taking up running?

It's now 5am , I am having my coffee before heading out to the gym....what's everyone else doing this time on a Saturday morning????

They say the band will change your life...it's not cliche....and not in terms of being skinnier and happier (only)...it TOTALLY transformed me in ways I never thought imaginable....there was much of my old self I had to let get go of...if I was to have the band do it's thing.

But that' MY EXPERIENCE...people have complications for different reasons, and you need to seee people face to face to accurately know what's going on...like your Dr.....

One should never do what people on the internet do, of all places....

[LapbandKAB 22]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I'm going to go back in on Monday and talk to the PA. My signals for satiety at 7.3cc used to be the gurgling sound, hiccups, mild burping. So, I think the band was doing what it is supposed to do by acting as my tool to let me know to stop eating. I think I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do. I probably took one or two bites more and, therefore, would go to the sink and make myself vomit it up because it felt stuck. The vomiting was always a voluntary action on my part. At the 7.2cc level I'm at now, I'm not getting any of those signals. It's like there's no band in there. So, I'm just looking to get the signals back and then make a conscious effort that when I get those signals, STOP EATING immediately. I think 7.3cc was the right number for me. I just didn't realize it and wish my Dr had perhaps taken the approach B-52's Dr did and recommend I stick with the 7.3cc because I was losing, but to be much more mindful of the signals. I think I blew it by going back for the unfill. What I should have done was work harder to listen to the signals I was getting. I'm trying to live my life with the band the right way and I do know vomiting is not a part of it. I'll keep at it and will hopefully be in a good place with it very soon.

[labwalker 1,177]

I've always been able to guzzle down Water. In fact, after a fill, the APRN gives me a glass of water and tells me to drink it. I can down a 16 oz bottle of flavored water with no restriction. I could be out to lunch, but I can't imagine having a band set to such a critical point where passing water would be an issue. I'd suspect the hour to hour variations in our stomachs would cause major issues with any foods if the band was that tight??????

[LapbandKAB 22]

Yeah, I agree it sounds weird but that's what's going on with me. I've not ever been able to guzzle Water since I had the band. In fact, when I took all the pre-op classes, I was given a medicine cup and told that's how much I'd have to sip at a time after the band was placed. I can still get my Water in when I'm sipping, it just takes many, many sips throughout the day and I can't guzzle it like I did at the Dr's office. I know this all sounds crazy because how can there be such a difference between 7.2 and 7.3 for me right now? But, it is what is happening to me. I suspect the band is a bit different for each one of us. I'm not losing at 7.2cc and I'm not getting any signals whatsoever. I don't want to go another 2 months at 7.2 and not lose anything. I've had this band in almost a year now. I was 233 on the day of surgery and I'm 204 right now. Probably most of you had lost more than that after a year. So, I've gotta get this thing right for me. 29 lbs is not a whole heck of a lot. But, I will talk to the PA in detail on Monday before he does anything.

[Andy1 16]

Hi. Had my band fill last week only one ml added. Haven't been able to eat a meal since been one week now. Lost count how many times I have thrown up.

[2muchfun 8,927]

Hi. Had my band fill last week only one ml added. Haven't been able to eat a meal since been one week now. Lost count how many times I have thrown up.

Throwing up is one of the main reasons bands slip and pouches dilate. You should call your doctor asap.

Why are you throwing up?

[Andy1 16]

Hi band adjustment last week from 10.5 to 11.5. I think my worst enemy is myself eating to fast and not following the rules. However that 1 ml adjustment has made a vast change. Not sure if I like it very much.

AB

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

I was eating too fast and not chewing enough. I discovered this trick by accident. I took a phone call at work during my lunch and it was a revelation :

Interrupt your meal. Three or four bites of Protein first, then STOP for five minutes. Get up. Go to the bathroom. Walk around the office. Make a phone call. Just interrupt the eating for five minutes and then resume slowly. The extra time starts that clock in your brain that signals satiety. Listen hard for those body cues. The sigh, the hiccup, the burp. Stop eating as soon as you think you are no longer HUNGRY no matter how delicious it is. Promise yourself if you want the rest of it at your next meal you'll have it.

Slowing down is the hardest thing for many of us. Definitely for me. Also with my band in the green, if I don't slow those first bites a LOT and chew to mush, I now get stuck. I don't know how many times I need to learn this lesson.

Good luck!

[bamamom911 26]

I have also had a similar issue with an unfill. I kept getting stuck and having acid reflux to the point I had to start taking OTC meds. I felt satisfied with about 1/2 cup (sometimes less)of food just had bad acid reflux. Dr said I might be too tight so he took out 1 cc. Needless to say, I had hardly any restriction. I gained 10lbs. I had a 1/2 cc fill which is where I currently am. I still don't have hardly any restriction and I am not getting satisfied when I eat. I am hungry after just a couple of hours. I find myself grazing and just wanting to eat. A lot of it is my fault for not eating right and exercising like I was doing. I've lost some of my mojo. I think I messed up by getting the unfill. It was probably more me than the band. I go back this week for another adjustment. I'm a little embarrassed b/c I know I have gained again but I have to keep pushing on. I don't want to go back to the weight I was. I started out at 269, got down to 190. Now I'm at 200. I was banded in May 2014. Thanks for your post. I thought I was going crazy. Good to know others are having similar issues. Good luck to you.

Edited October 5, 2014 by bamamom911

[Andy1 16]

Thanks to you all it's like being with close friends.

You can feel all on your own and this can't be happening to anyone else. But with the replays I have recently received I can see I'm not alone! Today was nearly a good day started of with a Breakfast of a single slice of ham and small slice of cheese. Not a problem then lunch had two very small bites of ham and bang. Reflux again. Was hopeing to make at least one day without problems but no!!!! I'm starting to get fed up drinking Meal Replacement drinks I hope things will settle down very soon, once again Thais to you all. Hope your well.

[LapbandKAB 22]

Update! I went to the Dr on Monday and saw the physician assistant. I explained I was getting no 'signals' and that I vomited at the 7.3 fill at the previous appt due to guzzling Water. So, we went from the 7.2 I had in there back up to 7.3. He handed me a bottle of Water and told me to drink. I drank with no problem. I felt no restriction at all though. No gurgling sound that I normally get to let me know the band is alive and well. So, he upped me to 7.4cc. I finished a bottle of water. He kept asking if there was restriction. I told him probably. It is very hard to make the decision as to whether there's enough in the band when he's standing over me waiting for my answer with the needle sticking out of my stomach. I can't really tell until I can go back to eating solids. So, here I am 3 days after the fill to 7.4 and I feel no restriction at all. I had my surgery at Virgnia Hospital Center and saw the surgeon until a month and a half ago when Kaiser Permanente disapproved my referrals because they had a bariatric surgeon on staff now that'd I'd need to do my follow-ups with. Since I've gone to the Kaiser Dr, I've not had any signals of satiety at all. I am so torn at this point. I wonder if I have a leak in the band. The physician assistant I've seen pokes around quite a bit trying to find the port. I'm wondering if he sprung a leak somewhere. So, I will have to send them an email that something is wrong and I need to come in and they need to do it under fluro or something so they can see what is going on. I am really getting worried. Last night, just to make sure, I ate quite a bit. Normally, after a fill, I'd get the hiccups or feeling of getting stuck. I could have gone on and on eating. No signs of anything. So, again, the band isn't doing what it is supposed to do. If I could diet normally, I wouldn't have to have gotten the band. What good is the band if it allows me to keep eating? They will think I'm crazy if I write back and tell them something isn't right. But, I have no choice. So, I'm really bummed out wondering what the hell is going on. I guess I will have to give it a few more days just in case I suddenly start to feel restriction but somehow, I doubt that's gonna happen if it hasn't already.