Having to re-relearn how to eat again!

mbanja · April 18, 2008

Well after my first fill I had ok restriction but felt like I could still eat too much so I went for a second fill. Second fill had me so tight I couldn't get fluids down so all the second fill had to come out. Instead of taking all the fill out and letting my stomach rest, I told the doc to leave in the amount of my first fill. Well, possibly I didn't wait long enough (4weeks) between fills for the maximum amount of restriction to kick in and the 1st fill volume was super tight. Well, being a self pay I was not going to get another unfil so I have suffered for 6months being extremely tight and not being able to get adiquite amounts of hard Protein in. Needless to say I have lost some weight, but not a huge amount probably based on the fact that I have not been getting enough proper nutrition and eating softer foods that would acutally go down. Anyways, so all of the sudden two weeks ago I started having problems with acid reflux....(Why it just started I don't know) so I have made an apointment to get an unfill finally. I have just became so fed up not being able to eat right and not loosing the weight like I want. Well after the appointment was set in stone and the money charged to my CC, BAM all the sudden I can eat like a normal lapbander. What gives. Well, still having acid reflux, but able to eat normal amounts again so what do I do? Go and have my unfill or see if I can beg a cancellation? Well, my decision is to go and have the unfill but not a complete unfill. I am thinking about just a .5 cc unfill. Hopefully this will loosen me up enough to let my stomach get back to normal and for me to re-relearn to eat a healthy balanced meal! I will try and keep everyone posted on how it is going. My major lesson that I have learned with this experience is to give your body a maximum amount of time between each fill to let the band do its job. 4weeks was not enough time for my 1st fill to kick in, I am thinking it probably would have taken about 6weeks for me to have felt my maximum restriction from that first fill. My point is, I don't want anyone else to experience what I have went thru and I want people to know that YES it can take several several several weeks to feel restriction from a fill. Please if there is anything you can learn from me, let it be to give your fill enough time to kick in before you decide to go for more! I hope this helps someone!

VegasGrace · April 18, 2008

Thanks for the post. Your experience will help someone else.

Keep us posted!

mbanja · April 19, 2008

Well for anyone that is intrested in how my doc visit went, here it goes. I am so glad I went and ended up having to have all the Fluid taken out of my band. Doc said my esophogus looks fine and no damage done from the reflux, THANK GOD. But we did find out what was causing it. Come to find out that a small part of my large stomach had slipped thru the band and was hanging off the side of my band, hence collecting food and not letting it go thru the band. This cause 2 things. A, in a since it has stretched my pouch allowing me to eat "normal" as I had thought and B, it has been keeping the food in my small stomach and not allowing it to flush hence causing the acid reflux. My doc said it is not a slip and it is not that I actually stretched my pouch in the sense that well all understand. It is that my larger stomach has "flopped thru my band and is hanging over it. So what I have to do is go on liquids for 2-4days and allow the little peice to slip back thru the empty band. She said I should be good to go to get a fill in about 2 weeks. Also, reguarding the acid reflux, she has told me to do a double dose of prilosec otc for 10 days and then if I feel ok I can either drop down to 1 dose of prilosec for 4 more days or cut it out completely if things feel ok. Incedently she also said that some banded people who have never before experienced acid reflux can get it after being banded (as a side effect of banding) and just have to keep medicating for it. Hope this helps someone!