How often do you vomit/PB?

[pennreporter 12]

I see my NUT this next Friday and will talk it over with her also. My biggest problem on getting some taken out, it takes almost 3 weeks to get an appointment. I've canceled four times already. Where I had procedure done is almost 2 hours away and I have to take off a whole day of work to make the appointment. I'm going to try to see if I can get transferred to the faciliy that is only 45 mins away. Had a horrible day yesterday but today is good. It is so frustrating as to why it can be so different from day to day.

But I think you're probably right. Just a little less would make life a lot easier. Would be nice to eat a salad. I don't really miss not eating chicken but even fish can be tricky. I don't really get hungry but still have to depend on Protein Drinks to make sure I'm getting enough Protein in.

Trisha

[RedBone Creole 4]

I was ready to get a small unfill & cancled the day of because I liked the restriction.

I learned to eat really slow...

It worked it's self out and I am happy I didn't get any out.

This may be my seet spot!!!

[sue in ne 1]

i haven't vomitted in 10 days!! stomach stilll queasy at times . ( had gall bladder removed at XMas) Will make an appt with the dietician. Maybe i can get back on track after all this.

[pinkxx88 0]

I struggle with this...I was banded in May 2009 and have lost 63 of my 110 pound goal, a bit over half way. I have had 4 fills in realize band. After the last fill in November, I felt I hit the sweet spot so did not get a fill at the end of December. My weight is up and down the same 4 pounds. I do get stuck daily, but only when I eat too fast or too big of a bite, then I PB. This happens daily as I eat too fast...why...because I am hungry! I am scheduled for a fill next week and am debating. I do not think I am at my sweet spot because I can eat quite a bit and not feel full. 1-2 hours after eating I am hungry. What do you all think? Small fill or not? I am apt to go have this because I do not feel restriction, only stuck when I eat too fast or the wrong food.< /p>

[HappyHomeCC 2]

I have been banded for 3 month and have "vomited" 3 times total, once over a piece of chicken, piece of pot roast ( I think it was really the hoagie roll I thought I was going to eat it with LOL ) and once over a piece of aldente brocolli, that was at at restaurant.... so I made it to the bathroom without looking distressed ;o)

each time has been "my bad" and it is spaced out. This week I have really good restriction glad I learned the lessons before this last fill!

[HappyHomeCC 2]

I struggle with this...I was banded in May 2009 and have lost 63 of my 110 pound goal, a bit over half way. I have had 4 fills in realize band. After the last fill in November, I felt I hit the sweet spot so did not get a fill at the end of December. My weight is up and down the same 4 pounds. I do get stuck daily, but only when I eat too fast or too big of a bite, then I PB. This happens daily as I eat too fast...why...because I am hungry! I am scheduled for a fill next week and am debating. I do not think I am at my sweet spot because I can eat quite a bit and not feel full. 1-2 hours after eating I am hungry. What do you all think? Small fill or not? I am apt to go have this because I do not feel restriction, only stuck when I eat too fast or the wrong food.< /div>

maybe your pouch is stretched... if the restriction is good and you can still eat a bunch?

[pennreporter 12]

Well, I finally called uncle and went and had some fill taken out. When he pulled it all out, instead of 7cc I had 8 cc. My surgeon is so new at banding, that he even admitted he didn't think he had been removing all the fill from the tubing also and just compensating for how much he thought would still be there. So he took me down to 7cc to see how it goes and to give everything a break. I iniitally wanted him just to do .5 but kind of agreed with him that because of all the throwing up for so many months, to just let everything relax. So I haven't really ate anything to test it yet. I did have a very small vegetable spring roll and a little bit of eggdrop Soup. So we'll see how it goes today with a real meal.

Trisha

[dispatchc15 3]

every other day cuz I can't stop eating fast or too much. my fault

[SherryW 4]

Ladies and Gents, I can totally attest to not allowing yourself to be so tight that you're throwing up too often. I just lost my band to Prolasps. Just got home today from the hospital.....all I can say right now is I'm glad it's over. I'd allowed my doc to fill my band too agressively too many times and now I don't have it. Please be careful...throwing up is a true sign of something being wrong especially if you're throwing up all the time.

Hugs

[sue in ne 1]

Sherry, Wish you well on your recovery. Band slippage and removal are issues. sometimes it isn't eating rate or aggressive fills. Other factors come into play. I have sinus problems and the post nasal drip causes my pouch to fill too easily. :thumbdown:even when careful, I do PB and vomit. a good day is when I don't.

[pennreporter 12]

So i'm going back to the doctor on Monday. I had the 1cc removed, which I requested just .5 cc removed. Now I have absolutely no restriction, can eat anything and everything. Haven't but could..:thumbdown: So I'm going back Monday to have .5 put back in. This time it will be with the PA who supposedly does most of the fills, but has never done mine. So it will be interesting to see how much he pulls out before he puts it back in. As much as I like my surgeon, his inexperience in banding shows sometimes. But I will say after months of not being able to eat any vegetables, I paid dearly for the broccoli and cauliflower I hate on my first solid meal after the 1cc was taken out. Had gas most of the night...it wasn't pretty. Thank goodness I live alone...lol. But I really felt that .5 cc would have done the trick. This fill almost feels like I did at 5cc which was no restriction either. That's why I'm curious to see how much the PA gets back out, if it's truly at the 7cc that's supposed to be in there. Wish me luck..:thumbup:

Trisha

[SherryW 4]

Sue in me...I understand many issues can cause a band to slip. So sorry to hear you end up with issues due to sinuses. I can't say I had that but, I can totally can how it can happen. Basically what I'm trying to make sure folks do is...get to know your own body, listen to the signs and if you have any inkling that something is wrong demand the tests to check it out. I knew something wasn't right and would go into the office try to explain what was going on and constantly be told I was eating too much when I knew (and my nutrionist knew) that wasn't the case. For me it was getting to the point of switching providers because I felt I wasn't being listened to but, a patient advocate helped and I decided to stick with the provider unfortunately I by the time I got the full attention it was already too late. Even with this last swallow study "I" ordered the swallow study through his office because "I" told him I wasn't putting up with this anymore and I knew something was wrong. "I" just should have been more "ME" minded instead of agreeing all the time with the usual flow of things. I needed to be more aggressive with my own care. Anyway ordered the test last week for this past Tuesday. Monday I was in the ER having fill removed because it was a ball in my chest and the acid was practically baking me from the inside out. Was pretty good in the ER after the .5cc fill removal but by the time I got home (45-1 hour later) the ball was back. Went in for my swallow study on Tuesday at 10:30 and by 11 my provider was being called by the radiologist and I was being admitted for removal. That's how bad it was. The barium from the study on Tuesday was still there in the top portion of my stomach after Tuesday afternoons removal and Wednesday mornings swallow follow-up study in the hospital. The scarring is bad so much so it's as if I still have a band and they say it will take a while for that to stretch a bit to the normal side but, that my stomach will always look as if it has a band. My doc said it the band was pretty embedded and the scarring pretty bad when he got in there. He said it was worse than he thought after he got in to take it out. So it's over...the band is out and I'm on the way to recovery. Still.....the band to me is a wonderful tool and it did help me lose 55 pounds (initially 75-80 pounds but with the issues weight came back.) and it's still off and I know without the band I would have gotten heavier. So I'm still an advocate for the band BUT......more so an advocate for a patient sticking up for him/herself and not just going with the flow when they know in their heart something isn't right. I know for "me" I'll never allow a doc to bypass what I feel again! I don't hate my provider...he is only human just like me...but, I do wish we both paid more attention to the symptoms I had. Hope folks understand what I'm saying. I'm still a bit groggy from everything that happened. Just be careful my friends and you'll be fine and do fine. You shouldn't be throwing up or getting that golfball at all and a tighter fill isn't the answer to it all. Sometimes it's our heads that need the fixin...not the band needed tightening :thumbdown: Follow the rules of eating and then if you're still hungry....I mean Truly hungry not head hungry...go for the fill. If you're throwing up....stop and try to eat slower and stop when you're no longer hungry...not full but not hungry OR take smaller bites and slow down. If that doesn't work you're too tight. If you think you can eat more than you should...stop...are you eating the right foods or too much of foods that easily go through the band. Are you eating good Protein first like chicken or fish or are you eating Soup, Cookies, mashed potatoes, chips stuff that doesn't get stuck in the band or take longer to pass? Be honest...if you are actually eating chicken and you're eating more than a cup AND you're not truly full....then yes get a fill. BUT also remember it could be you're able to eat more because the above band portion of your stomach stretched or pulled a little through the band so be careful. Try liquids for a few days then try eating the chicken again...if you still can eat more than a cup AND it's been quite a while since you've had a swallow study suggest to your provider to get one. There may be an issue. Whats the worse that can happen.......you're stomach is fine and you find out you're just not eating right? At least you'd have peace of mind right? :thumbup: Anyway...good luck all Be careful and enjoy the wonderful tool you've been given. Hugs!

[PrincesaJenE 0]

WHAT DOES PB MEAN - someone PLEASE EXPLAIN! In detail - I've been wondering this for a year.

As for vomiting - I went for about 8 months after being banded never having vomited. Then one day - it happened. Like someone earlier said - did not have to put my finger down my throat just happened. My stomach suddenly curled and there it was. Probably over the next couple of months it happened 2-3 more times. But it was always clearly because I ate WAY to fast. I sometimes forget that I have the band and on the way to work in an attempt to eat Breakfast every morning I'll scarf down breakfast in the car - no good.

I got a fill on 1/16 and the vomiting became way more frequent - But I learned that I could not try to eat what I usually eat for breakfast. My stomach had to work up to a meal. I think this is what they are talking about when they say your band is " tighter in the morning". If I ate yogurt or something really creamy and smooth and in small amounts for breakfast, lunch I could eat something with a little more weight, and then for dinner I could eat steak or anything - an my portions were also pretty good sized (a cup to a cup and a half).

I also noticed that I HAD TO EAT BREAKFAST. Breakfast was my way of loosening up my stomach. The longer between meals - dinner the night before and my first meal the next day - the increased likelihood that I would vomit. So, I MADE myself eat SOMETHING for breakfast. If I did not eat breakfast - then my first meal would have to be something really light - no harder than a banana, and I could only eat a few bites at that.

I said all that to say - you may just need to be a little more regimented and structured on how you eat, when you eat, and what you eat. Hope that this helps.

[citygirl4616 2]

After my second fill, I was so tight, that I couldn't keep anything down. I was PB'ing everyday. I didn't mind though, because I was losing 2 - 3 pounds a week. After about 3 months of this, during which time got within 5 pounds of my lowest goal weight, I got terrible acid reflux. I would wake up in the middle of the night, choking from the acid that had bubbled up into my throat. I mean, literally, choking. I woke up unable to breath!

It took another 6 weeks, many appointments with my GI doctor and many different medicines, before we thought, "Could this be from the band?" It didn't cross my mind, because I lived with the band for 3 months before I had any acid reflux symptoms. My lap-band® doctor completely unfilled my band, and my acid reflux went away immediately! I couldn't get it refilled for 6 weeks, to allow all the swelling to go down in the stomach and esophagus.

Guess what happened while I had no restriction for 6 weeks? I gained 10 pounds! Then when I went in for a fill, my doctor only put in a quarter of the original amount. In a month, I gained another 5 pounds! I went back, and got another fill, and finally got the right restriction, but at the cost of almost 15 pounds.

I feel great now, but my band is very unpredictable. Some days I can eat half of a baked potato, some days it comes right back up. Some days I can eat a small salad, sometimes I can't get past the first bite. It's very frustrating, so some days I just stick to Protein Shakes, Soups and cottage cheese because I know that will stay down!

[SherryW 4]

Citygirl...Having lived what you're describing I highly suggest asking for a swallow study to be done. The #1 indication of a slip or prolasps is reflux. With all the PBing and I'm sure some of that was probably stronger than a PB you may have slipped the band. My doc did the same thing...unfill and leave it that way for 6 weeks then fill again etc. If you have insurance, most insurances consider the upper gi/swallow study a diagnostic test and they will cover it. Better to be safe than sorry, I say. I lost my band 2/9/2010 due to prolasps/slippage. Not fun at all! With your band being unpredictable even more indication just to check.

Boy I get scared when I hear folks going through this.