Scared... possible complication

[Kalipso2 25]

i've been banded for 7 months now and have lost 40 pounds. i had been filled to 5.2cc in my 10cc band in July and it was too tight. i left it tight for 2 months because i thought i could work around the PB'ing multiple times but finally gave up in September and agreed to a slight unfill because i haven't lost any weight since August.

when i went in for my unfill they checked my band under flouroscopy and my band was barely letting any Fluid thru and this caused my stoma to stretch. she took the fluid out and the liquid ran thru. i had to wait 2 months before coming back for a fill.

i didn't PB much during these past 2 months and i assumed all was well when i went in for my fill on Friday. turns out i gained 4 pounds and they were NOT happy. in my defense... in September i was weighed in a tank top and shorts and on Friday i was weighed in with jeans and a sweater.

i had my band checked again under flouroscopy on Friday and i was still WAY too tight. the liquid was just not draining and on top of that, i'm having a LOT of reflux but i don't feel it. my stomach is still dialated. it took 3 minutes for the barium to travel thru the band when it should have taken 30 seconds. even after all that, i still didn't want her to unfill me anymore than i was because i had gained 4 pounds back after the last unfill.

she pulled out a chart showing me a stomach dialation and a slipped band. it scared me enough to let her take out .7cc. while i was trying to make my next appointment in 4 weeks, Dr. Curry (my surgeon) approached me.

now THAT really scared me because he only see's pre-op patients and does the surgery. he rarely sees patients after surgery. he had the picture from my flouroscopy in his hands and said he personally wanted to see me next month. his nurse told him he was totally booked and he firmly said "Double book me."

i'm to start back from scratch and eat ONLY Protein for the next 4 weeks... as much protein as i can stomach (no pun intended). i'm to up my exercise from 30 minutes 3 times a week to 45 minutes 5 times a week in hopes that it keeps my weight down.

i'm scared because i don't feel the reflux but it looked BAD on the flouro machine. i'm scared because Dr. Curry wants to see me himself. i'm scared i'll have to have the band removed! i can't seem to stop crying. i'd be okay with the 40 pounds i've lost and not lose anymore if i could just keep the band.

thanks for listening...

[kimaly 57]

so sorry to hear of your troubles, Keep positive thoughts. I'll put you on my prayer list.

[Kalipso2 25]

thank you SO much... that really means a lot to me!

[neatobandito 0]

Wow, that does sound scary. I'm sorry you're going through this, and I'll think good thoughts that things work out for you in the end. Take care and be well, lady.

[kgloverii 0]

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this. Stay positive. Hope all is well... Keep us posted.

[trystelle 3]

Hang in there-sending my wishes that it all works out.

[Kalipso2 25]

time for an update!

i've been on my acid reflux medication for over a month and i feel SO much better!! i had no idea that i even had acid reflux... i never felt bad at all except for the PB'ing.

i've had to fills since my november appointment and i'm back up to 5.0cc in my band. even after gaining a pound during november & december, i feel good!

[Bamagal 1]

I am glad to hear you are doing well,complications is something we all fear,just be careful and pay attention to what your body is saying to you.This is a 3 year plan so don't worry what others are losing just take your time and go slow and easy.

[kaninag 35]

WOW, just reading your first post I was so worried for you. Im glad this had a happy ending for you. I have the 14cc band and have 6.7cc and am planning a fill on monday....Ive started filling reflux symptoms if you dont mind me asking what did your doc put u on? Did he let you take something OTC or give you a script? again glad youre doing good.

[Kalipso2 25]

i was told to just but OTC medicine (prilosec?) but i buy the generic store brand and it's been working great!

[HeatherO 7]

Wow, I missed your original post but now I am happy to see that you are doing better. I remember when you were so tight that you were pbing constantly last year.

I went through a similar situation where I had reflux and had to get an unfill. I now keep a loose band and just have to work a little harder to keep from gaining but it is working for me.

Congratulations on doing so well over the holidays as well. It is a real exercise in will power and determination to make it through unscathed. I think now that your band is working better for you you will have a much better year being banded in 2009. I wish you the best of luck and my thoughts are with you.

[Crummy78 0]

time for an update!

i've been on my acid reflux medication for over a month and i feel SO much better!! i had no idea that i even had acid reflux... i never felt bad at all except for the PB'ing.

i've had to fills since my november appointment and i'm back up to 5.0cc in my band. even after gaining a pound during november & december, i feel good!

Ive had a similar problem, Im also on prilosec, and even though I didnt think I had acid reflux either, the doc explained to me that it will in general reduce the amt of acid in my stomach so that food will go down easier and i will stop pb'n so much.

In addition, back in july i was overfilled, unfilled, overfilled again, etc etc, it happened about 4 times. I have a 10cc band, I had 5cc in it in july but felt i could handle a lil more restriction, they bumped me to 7 and thats where my problems started....to make a long story short, I only have 3cc in now, and for some reason, even thought I was fine at 5 at one point, I cannot even handle a .1cc more.....not really sure what my problem is, I havent been filled under fluro yet but I go back to see them again at the end of this month. And believe it or not even at 3cc I still pb alot more then I think I should be....

Anyhow, In all these months of the ups and downs (fill-wise) I had lost 14lbs in one week, then they'd take the fill out and Id gain 10 back in a month, then theyd fill me id lose 7 and gain it back when they unfilled me.....all n all I think ive been losing and relosing the same 10-15lbs since july, it is very frustrating, but the doc said its because im losing water-weight by dehydrating when I couldnt get stuff down and then when i could i would most likely be pb'n it back up....

so, I know it gets upsetting when we see the scale go up and not down......but dont fret too much, 1-4lbs is really not that bad when ur having some sort of complication.....it will come off Im sure of it.....

congrats on ur progress so far, keep up with the good work, and I hope everything runs smooth for u from now on

take care

~wendy

[Kalipso2 25]

i had another fill appointment this past saturday. i was looking forward to another adjustment because i've been able to eat a lot more than usual.

i told the nurse that my acid reflux is bad 3 out of 7 nights but i've stopped PB'ing during the day. she wanted to look under floroscopy.

i just couldn't believe it when she showed me that my band was too tight. hardly any of the barium was flowing thru the band and the reflux was bad (which i still can't feel).

she also told me my pouch is severely dialated and if she didn't remove at least .5cc that i had a very high chance of my band slipping because of how the food has been stretching my pouch. my stoma is stretched a lot.

so now i'm back to square one. i got the slight unfill and the barium flowed thru quickly. i have to go back to liquids, puree, mushies and then regular food... just like i did after my surgery to get my stoma back to the original shape.

i don't know if i can do 1 week of full liquids only, 1 week of puree and 1 week of mushies again. after my surgery i wasn't hungry because i was healing but i'm hungry all the time now.

saturday was the first time in 9.5 months that i wished i had NEVER had this surgery.

[kgloverii 0]

I am sorry to hear about this, but VERY glad that your nurse cared enough to really evaluate the situation you were having. This time of healing to your pouch is very important, and it is so good they caught this issue BEFORE you had a SERIOUS complication. The dilated pouch should resolve itself over time if you are doing the right things, and this time unfilled will remind you of the bandster rules, so that you don't have to do this over again...

[HeatherO 7]

i had another fill appointment this past saturday. i was looking forward to another adjustment because i've been able to eat a lot more than usual.

i told the nurse that my acid reflux is bad 3 out of 7 nights but i've stopped PB'ing during the day. she wanted to look under floroscopy.

i just couldn't believe it when she showed me that my band was too tight. hardly any of the barium was flowing thru the band and the reflux was bad (which i still can't feel).

she also told me my pouch is severely dialated and if she didn't remove at least .5cc that i had a very high chance of my band slipping because of how the food has been stretching my pouch. my stoma is stretched a lot.

so now i'm back to square one. i got the slight unfill and the barium flowed thru quickly. i have to go back to liquids, puree, mushies and then regular food... just like i did after my surgery to get my stoma back to the original shape.

i don't know if i can do 1 week of full liquids only, 1 week of puree and 1 week of mushies again. after my surgery i wasn't hungry because i was healing but i'm hungry all the time now.

saturday was the first time in 9.5 months that i wished i had NEVER had this surgery.

I am so sorry that you have struggled with your band . . . it has been rough from the get go. I am happy to hear you can have an unfill to fix the problem and managed to avoid slippage. My heart and thoughts go out to you.

I had problems too and had to learn to live with a more open band this year. Right now I have no fill at all and I am doing better this way. I also learned that I could continue to lose without being super tight . . . I just had to get over the initial fear of being without the aid of my band.

Because of this, I have decided I will never have an ultra tight band again. Moderately loose where I can eat most things in moderation is where I will stay. It is just not worth the reflux, pb's, sudden tightness where I can not eat, etc. If I never lose another pound but can just prevent gains without feeling sick due to the band . . . I will be satisfied.