Too tight fill again, here's the story...

KarenB · August 24, 2005

I got my period on Saturday & since then, my what I thought wasn't a tight enough fill became too tight. I can only swallow liquids & it hurts sometimes. I hemmed & hawwed since yesterday then today decided I'd better take my own advice & call the doc.

Dr. Martinez said this could possibly still be from my period. As long as I can swallow liquids, I'm not in immediate danger & to continue w/the Maalox & liquids & if it doesn't loosed up, go to Dory (my aftercare person here) and have the .2ccs's removed on Monday that she added 3 weeks ago. (She's only on Long Island on Mondays)

If by chance I loosen up by then, then that's great.

He said he hears this a lot. In his words: Many of you want to be tight to lose more weight. This band is supposed to be for life & if we eat correctly, we will lose weight. This is not a race. It is dangerous to have a too tight band.

(I'm not talking post-op--this is all about after the 1st fill & beyond.)

Again, please don't misunderstand: it takes time to adjust to the band & many of us do PB a few times until we know what foods we can & cannot tolerate, etc. In the beginning it's to be expected. I'm talking about down the line when we've been at this for a while.

This is what my doctor said and I trust him. I am just sharing my experience both because I need support & in the hopes it might help someone else.

mousecrazy · August 24, 2005

Thank you for posting this information. I have my 1st fill tomorrow, and I will know what to do if these same things happen. Good luck with yours, and hope it gets better soon. Cindy

La_madam · August 24, 2005

Karen, I'm sorry ot hear of your tight fill, but so happy to know you took the appropriate steps and called Dr. Martinez. I trust him completely with whatever he tells me and Iam sure you do too. I hope it subsides but if not you now know what to do

He said he hears this a lot. Many of you want to be tight to lose more weight. This band is supposed to be for life & if we eat correctly, we will lose weight. This is not a race. It is dangerous to have a too tight band.

I agree , and can not stress enough of not being too tight where you cant eat solids. The band was not designed for this kind of eating behavior and those who think they will lose weight because they are only drinking liquids are risking the longevity of their bands. I have a neighboor who lost her band to just this.. she was too tight for months and refused to go in for a slight unfill because she was loving the weight loss but guess what, her band slipped so bad that she had to have it removed and during the time she ignored all of this she became so anemic and he stomach became so damaged that she can not have a new band and has gained almost all of the weight she lost back, she is devastated and crys every day.

Karen kudos to you for being a responsible bandster

You know I wish you the best always

KarenB · August 24, 2005

Thank you for the kind words. I hope you know that when I wrote "Many of you want to be tight to lose more weight... that those were his words---I would never be presumptious to say "you". It's all about us!

Fauxnaif · August 27, 2005

This is great advice. We need to be able to eat a decent amount of high quality Protein to lose weight. And we can't do that if we are too tight. I was once so tight I could not even keep down water! Luckily, my smart surgeon had me hang around his office for a while afterward so I just got it removed. But a tight band is NOT a good thing and we will NOT lose more weight!!!

HarleyNana · August 28, 2005

It's that darn 4cc band!!!!

KarenB · August 28, 2005

Maybe you're right, Pat. But I see plenty of people around here who do just fine w/their fills in the 4cc band, and read that people have some problems w/the 10cc band.

I just can't wait till Monday A.M. Thankfully I can still get down thin liquids. This is NOT the way to loose weight!

HarleyNana · August 28, 2005

I know you've got to be miserable, been there done that, so good luck to you.

paula · August 28, 2005

Many of you want to be tight to lose more weight. This band is supposed to be for life & if we eat correctly, we will lose weight. This is not a race. It is dangerous to have a too tight band

GREAT thoughts here ~ This should be our LBT logo!

Karen, you may be like some of us that experience more restriction 2 - 4 weeks after a fill??

And everytime I convince myself that I need another squeak of an adjustment, I have pms and exprience major restricion and realize that I could not handle any more added.

*sigh* oh! the life of us bandsters. Definatley NO predictions with this tool!

NJChick · August 28, 2005

Thank you.

KarenB · August 30, 2005

Gee guys, thanks. & here I thought nobody cared!

Seriously, this morning I had .3cc's taken out.

OH, BLESSED RELIEF!

I was originally going for .2cc's to be removed, but I decided not to be stupid over .1cc & go with my provider's advice. She was shocked at the weight I'd lost & trust me, I'd rather have just lost a lb. or 2 in these past 3 weeks. I lost 9 lbs. in 7 days & that's not supposed to happen this far down the line,no matter how tempting it sounds. I was miserable & don't think I could have stood another day. Those last few days I've barely been able to sip Water...It didn't come back up, I just couldn't tolerate it & it hurt. Since this a.m, I've had liquids & I'm even now eating a little diluted pudding. It doesn't hurt!

Well, that's the whole update. Thanks for the support, I sure needed it.

La_madam · August 30, 2005

Karen, I am so happy for you. Im glad you got relief and feel better. Good girl you were for being the smart bandster and listening to your body instead of thinking the weight loss was great no matter how bad the discomfort was . Your band and body will thank you for it in the end.

ReneBean · August 30, 2005

Glad to hear you're feeling better, Karen. I am sure that everyone here is more interested in a Healthy Karen than a Skinny One.

Road Queen · August 30, 2005

Karen, glad you got the 'unfill'. I know how miserable overly tight can be. When I was overfilled and after the 'unfill', I know the Protein Drinks, milk, pudding, etc went down better than Water. Hope you get better soon. Celeste

KarenB · August 31, 2005

That's so funny, Celeste. I thought I was only one who thought some things were easier than Water. For me too! For some reason, camomille tea goes down well too. I had 2 slim fasts & some Soup today & I'm working my way up to soft food. I've never wanted tuna so much.