too tight complications

[Tootarts 0]

I've seen a bunch of postings on here about being too tight and I have to admit I was so tight that I ended having a small herniation of my stomach coming through the band. Thank goodness it was caught in time and my band was loosened and it straightened itself out after 2 weeks and I'm fine now (even though I've gained 6 pounds so far). I'm waiting for a small fill in 3 weeks and this time I plan on being way more careful. I was at the eating only chocolate and chips with dip stage oh yes and Soup. When I would eat most everything eles I would vomit, so I pretty much ate nothing. You know I really didn't loose as much as you think I would have. So learn from my mistake and be careful about being too tight.

[salsa1877 10]

Great post. I agree that being too tight can most definetly be a culprit in NOT losing weight. Our bodies are complex machines that need fuel to run efficiently. Glad everything worked out for you.

[wifeof46pilot 0]

How did you know there was a problem from being too tight? I think mine is too tight but in the same since see it as will power. I drink a Protein Shake in the morning and some popcorn in the afternoon and that is about it. I am just not hungry. I can't do any meat, it gets stuck. I can do a salad and I don't usually do that because I am not hungry and I hate to take the time to do all that prep not to eat it all.

[salsa1877 10]

How did you know there was a problem from being too tight? I think mine is too tight but in the same since see it as will power. I drink a Protein shake in the morning and some popcorn in the afternoon and that is about it. I am just not hungry. I can't do any meat, it gets stuck. I can do a salad and I don't usually do that because I am not hungry and I hate to take the time to do all that prep not to eat it all.

It sounds to me like you are too tight. WAAAAY too tight. The band is NOT about starving yourself. It is about learning to eat good foods in smaller portions. You have to have fuel for your body to run. My belief is that if you can't sustain what you are doing for years to come then it is not healthy.

I am guessing that you had the band to become a healthier, happier person. Yes losing weight is the side effect to that. But if you are not getting enough nutrition you are not being healthy. If you can't do meat, you are most likely not getting enough Iron or Protein. W If you truly are just having a Protein Drink and popcorn there is NO way that you are eating enough nutrients/minerals/vitamins. PERIOD. Have you consulted your doctor about this? I would suspect that he/she would not be happy that you are not eating food.

This is just my advice, but at some point your body will shut down. You will most likely stop losing weight. Your skin and hair will start to suffer. I am telling you this all out of concern...I don't want you to think that I am attacking you, I just want you to realize that there is danger in being too tight.

I hope you are able to find a way to eat.

[luluc 6]

It sounds to me like you are too tight. WAAAAY too tight. The band is NOT about starving yourself. It is about learning to eat good foods in smaller portions. You have to have fuel for your body to run. My belief is that if you can't sustain what you are doing for years to come then it is not healthy.

I am guessing that you had the band to become a healthier, happier person. Yes losing weight is the side effect to that. But if you are not getting enough nutrition you are not being healthy. If you can't do meat, you are most likely not getting enough Iron or Protein. W If you truly are just having a Protein Drink and popcorn there is NO way that you are eating enough nutrients/minerals/vitamins. PERIOD. Have you consulted your doctor about this? I would suspect that he/she would not be happy that you are not eating food.

This is just my advice, but at some point your body will shut down. You will most likely stop losing weight. Your skin and hair will start to suffer. I am telling you this all out of concern...I don't want you to think that I am attacking you, I just want you to realize that there is danger in being too tight.

I hope you are able to find a way to eat.

i agree 100% w/this post! i was too tight, though i didn't go to soft foods - i pushed through the hard Protein & meals took close to an hr to finnish. i was very lethargic, made it hard to work out - relied a bunch on Protein drinks and was AMAZED the scale did not move. i thought how can that be i'm getting maybe 900 calories in??

anyway over a 10 day period i had 2 small unfills - the last one being this past friday. since then i have enjoyed REAL food again, taking in well over 1200 calories & the scale has moved. 5.5lbs since friday!!

my fill got tight over a 2 month period, it wasn't overnight that i couldn't eat normally....i thought this was how the sweet spot was to work - Wrong.

my dr commented that your body can just shut down, you need to fuel it & never get to a point where you can't eat a balanced meal.

[Tootarts 0]

I thought being too tight was a good thing but in reality you are not doing your body any good. If you can't even eat any Protein I totally agree with salsa that your body will suffer from lack of nutrition.

Try a small unfill, you can allways get another fill thats what s so great about the band.

[wifeof46pilot 0]

I am trying to do better. I get my Protein through my shakes and try eating. I think I am still probably eating too fast. My doctor has taken a leave of absence and the doctor I am seeing is not that great so I don't want to go back to him. They are trying to get a new one to replace my old one that is what I am waiting on. I am taking all my Vitamins and don't feel bad at all. I have been this way for 3 weeks and I am losing. I know I need to eat more. I do appreciate all your concerns.Thanks

[westcoastmom 3]

To Wifeof46pilot - I hope you do think about this. I do get concerned when people try to get too extreme with the band or their body. Sometimes, I think about what we would think if we hear our children or other un-banded friends saying some of these things. If we heard a friend saying they were throwing up a lot or only able to eat popcorn, we would be so concerned for them. I know that losing weight is so important to regaining health, but we can lose perspective on our overall heatlth if that is all we are concerned with.

TooTarts - thanks for starting this and getting more word out on this!

The band is there to help us feel full - not to stop us from being able to eat.

[gdf18 2]

Thank you for starting this thread. I just had my first fill so it's important to hear these things. I learn for those of you ahead of me.

I seem to be very tight inside and so I was only able to have 2cc's at my first fill yesterday. I'm on liquids for two days and then mushies for two days. I feel very restricted right now and find it hard to even get down much at all. No vomitting or anything. But my esophagus hurts (when they tried 4cc's I had a quick and bad pain and burn so I may have inflamed it a bit) and I feel like I did after the hospital.......am I ever going to eat again?!

Is it common to feel this after a you feel very restricted? Someone told me this loosens up in a few days and little by little you get back to food. After 6 weeks, I was going very slowly anyway and hadn't had a wide variety of foods.

I'm whining, I know. But would so love some input. Thanks.

[crazycatlady 0]

Hi Gwenn,

I had my 1st fill yesterday & I feel the exact same as you. I was starting to finally feel better since my surgery May 8th & now it starts over (sort of). Maybe it's gas pains but I feel doubled over & I'm hungry but can only drink a small amt. of smoothie. I feel as if I've been kicked in the gut. What's up with that?

[brandyII 9]

I'm starting to see a pattern of people who like to be over-tight in their bands so that they can only consume very little and are getting their Protein in through their shakes. When I had gained weight I asked them if I could just go on shakes for a while and they told me no, that's not how you work the band. Well obviously what I was doing was also wrong.

Now I see that's how a lot of people are working the band. This is coming from someone who has a hard time restricting her intake of sliders but was able to do the liquid phase of the diet prior to banding.

It seems that every one works the band differently and I see a lot of extremes. Is there one way that we should work the band. Also what are the health risks of being too tight, is that how erosion happens? It's almost reminds me in a way of doing "speed" in the 70s, whatever kept you from eating you did. I'm too old and too far from that place to do that again but I still want to lose but not sure if the band is what's going to help me, brandyII.

[gdf18 2]

Hi Crazycatlady,

I guess we're typical. I find solice in not being alone. I'm hearing more and more about having a few rough days after a fill, and I have a feeling the first restrictive one is the worst. If I dont feel better by Monday, I'll phone the surgeon. My hope is it will relax just a bit. I want to be eating like a normal person!

Thanks-

[cantweight2go 1]

I had a fill 2 days ago and I was on liquids. Today I had 1/4 cup very runny oatmeal for Breakfast and I have not been able to eat anything else all day. Even drinking makes me full. I have manage 2 Protein shakes very slowly. My hope is that this will subside soon. I currently have 5.5cc's in a 10.cc band. If this continues like this through my 2 days of puree and 2 days of mushies then I will have to call my dr.

Also, I had a painful fill this time and after, for about 1 day, I had blood in my urine. Has anyone had this problem?

[brandyII 9]

cantweight2go,

I got a fill today and I'm at 3 ccs now and I can drink without a problem. I don't know much about issues with blood in the urine and have never had that but I'd call the doctor on that one! Good luck brandyII, still awake on the East Coast....................

[gdf18 2]

I also think you need to call the doctor now about the blood in the urine.

I'm pretty miserable. I've finished a day and a half of liquid. I have the shoulder gas pain again, although I know that will go away. I can drink a few onces of Water.....VERY Slowly, but then if I drink any more I get discomfort in the stomach. Is this the new "full" feeling I'm going to have? And when I sip, when it gets all the way done there's like a tiny gurgle for a milisecond, or a teeny spasm. Very disconcerting. Please let it get better.