I am having great trouble getting food and fluids in, i need some help please

[flamingnutters 0]

Hi I feel i am in a lot of trouble at the moment, i am having daily trips to the hospital for a litre of fluids through a drip, and i get to see my surgeon on Tuesday, I have been having a lot of trouble getting through to her that i can't eat or drink enough, i have 5 kids to look after on my own and spend a lot of time throwing up after eating. I had a ct scan the other day that showed the band is in place, i am losing weight but it is by starving myself un intentionally.

My surgeon thinks i am a sook basically and my dietitian thinks i am not get enough food in for me to be well.

What can you eat in a day?, i am at the point where i think it is all in my head coz my surgeon keeps saying that i think that if i don't eat i will die, and that custard, vegies and a biscuit and cream cheese is enough, although i can't even eat any of that now.

I can eat about 2 spoons of yohgurt and feel it in my chest for 20 - 30 minutes before i feel comfortable again, and that is if it doesn't come back up. I stuggle drinking more than a sip or two at a time, i don't get even 600ml of Fluid in in a day.

I was banded in may i have 2.2 mls in, i did have 3ml and i couldn't even swallow my saliva, she reluctantly took out .5 ml after 2 1/2 days of constant vomiting and in that time i lost 7kgs. She took out another .3ml a week and a half ago and that still nade no difference.

There have been times that i have been able to eat with no problems but then i would have trouble getting food in again. I am so confused, i have changed my life for this and i now exercise constantly but i am having so much trouble and a surgeon who isn't listening to me at all.

I need to know what a normal lapband diet is for others and how they feel. please i would love to get some feedback here.

Thank you

Cheers Jane

[socalgal3 4]

You need to get an unfill in my opinion. At least a slight one. DEMAND it from your doctor if necessary. What are you throwing up? liquids? I am assuming you are PBing on liquids if you are unable to eat. Take it easy and don't force anything down until you are able to see the surgeon. You may just be swollen inside from the throwing up. Be glad it isn't a slip. Best of luck to you.

[dezbus1 0]

yes you need a slight unfill, I been there done that. I had a 1/2 cc taken out and it made a world of difference. Just like socal said you may be swollen. good luck

[flamingnutters 0]

Thank you

Socalgal, i am throwing up everything, it is not as bad now i am having the drip, but i think that may be more because i have stopped eating...

I see the surgeon on tuesday and my doctor tried to take all the Fluid out on Thursday but was unable to work it out, hense the drip until i see surgeon, i think the idea will be to take out all the Fluid, i have said to the surgeon before that i would rather go backwards in order to go forward again, i don't think she likes to take any out but hey this is not fun at all. i wonder what it is doing to the insides of my throat to the banding, as i have had a lot of problem with reflux in the past especially when i was pregnant with twins.

I am off to hospital now for my daily dose

Cheers Jane

[MLMGUTIERREZ 0]

I didn't have any liquid added to my band for 6 weeks. Then my doctor slowly added .5ml at a time, about once every 2-3 weeks with each visit stretching out more time between. I'm now once every 4-6 months depending on hunger. I'm just barely at 2.5ml and I had my surgery in February of 2007. I've lost 53 lbs to date and feel great. I very rarely throw up, if I do it's from not chewing adequately or eating dry dry foods. Your description of your discomfort sounds like my first couple of weeks getting used to the feeling of restraint with liquids. I'm sure your esophagus is swollen as well from all the aggrivation. I'd make them take out most of the Fluid and start back slowly until your comfortable again. Good luck and don't give up, just get stern.

Michelle:)

[lindaa 1]

Jane--I had a very tight fill about 6 weeks ago. I stuck it out and lost a lot of weight in a very short amount of time--close to 30 pounds. Just now I am able to eat between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of soft food at a time and drink the required amount of fluids. I think I have reached the point now where the band has "loosened up" enough to give me the proper amount of restirction. My feeling was that as long as I could eat sometimes and keep it down, I could make it another day. Some days were worse than others. Yogurt was and still is one thing I can't get down--no matter what. McDonalds milkshakes, on the other hand, went down really well. (I know, Protein shakes would have been much better, and I did plenty of them too).

I agree with MLM (the previous poster), you need to give it a rest from all the vomiting, just drink sips of liquids now, and then slowly add small amounts of mushy foods. Listen to your signals about when to stop (belching, hiccupping, or that lumpish feeling) and stop. Enjoy the fact that you're not hungry. It WILL work out.

[kjojojr 0]

I know how you feel about being too tight. It's a terrible feeling. I was so tight that I couldn't even get Water down. I was like that for 3 days and my urine was getting darker and darker, which means i was getting dehydrated. I was told to drink 2 tbs. of Soup base every hour until I could get an unfil. I feel your pain. Besides being too tight you are most likely swollen too. Get an unfil and start all over. It's scary to go through but I made it and so can u get over this hurdle.

[flamingnutters 0]

Thank you for your thoughts and support, i am so unhappy at the moment, i am yelling at my kids and it isn't there fault, i am still making the daily visits to the hospital for the 1 litre of fluids, i still find it hard to keep anything down, today i just stopped trying, because yesterday i threw up so much it wasn't fair, and i was only having a spoonful of yohgurt or something minimal and i would throw up about 3 times each time for having nothing much. I took my kids out to my folks today for a roast lunch and Mum asked me what i could eat but i just couldn't face another day of vomiting so i went without, eventually i was able to have a dry biscuit. It just doesn't seem right for the body to be going through this and i am sure that this whole banding thing is not about starvation, is it??

Two days until i get some Fluid out and then hopefully it will be a lot more comfortable, i don't want to give up on this, but i also don't want to keep going on like this.

Cheers Jane

[flamingnutters 0]

Ok feedback from my visit to the doctor, thank you for your support.

I am now able to eat again, my surgeon was good this time and i didn't have any problems with her, but that was because my body was in starvation mode, she took out all Fluid and there was 4mls in there, i thought it was only meant to be 2.2mls so idon't know where the rest came from, she replaced 1.5mls and now i feel as though i have no restrictions, it is so good to be able to eat again and not spend my time feeling so awful, i go back in about 3 - 4 weeks to get a top up and in that time giving my body a chance to recover, i still have NO energy and i am trying to replenish the fluids. So bottom line i was overfilled and there was no way things were going through.

my fear at the moment is the weight gain, but i just have to work through that and get back on top of things.

So thank you from a happier me

Cheers Jane

[juliegeraci 7]

Jane, glad you got it sorted out. It sure is nice to eat healthy isn't it!?

[saltlick 0]

So gald to hear you feel better Jane.

I know all about over-fills. I had one a few months ago. The day my Dr. did the over fill he left on a 3 week vacation. I was new at this fill thing, and was scared to death. I thought I would dehydrate and die of starvation before he returned. I really thought I would have lost quite a few pounds during this 3 week stretch. I lost 3 lbs. Yes, only 3. That really SUCKED. All the starving and scarey 3 weeks for 3 pounds.

I keep having problems with either something getting hung in my band and making me have a really bad restriction or there is a problem with the band, like a weak place in the band, blocking anything from going down. Like a little buldge in it at some point.

I am going back to the Dr. this week and asking for an Xray before he pulls out the saline to flush it thru, if there is something hung up we can see it. Then I will know for sure if it's either me doing something wrong or there is a problem with the band.

Has anyone else gone thru this before with their band?

Don't get me wrong, I love this band and I would have the surgery done again in a minute. I just wish I knew more about really what to do and how I am suppose to feel.

I was banded Oct.24,06

224lb at band

now 180

slow going, BUT GREAT!!

Saltlick

[mrspruett 0]

jane-I am so glad that you are feeling better. We were worried about you.