Confused

[GutBgone 16]

I've had my band for a year now, and I haven't had a fill since February. I lost weight at a steady 10 lbs per month until September. In September, I had an instance of vomiting and then had trouble eating anything for a period of a week or so. It went away about three days before my scheduled visit to the doctor. I was at 235 then. I completely stopped losing weight and assumed that I had plateaued.

Two weeks ago, I overate (cheese from two slices of double-cheese pizza instead of one slice) and regurgitated it. That started several days of pain where EVERYTHING was getting stuck. Even liquids were giving me problems before they would go down. In addition, every time I fell asleep, I regurgitated a small amount. I normally sleep on my side. I turned on my stomach and I could sleep with no issue.

I was prepared to go to the doctor to have some of my fill removed and suddenly I was all better. Everything was back to normal.

Two days ago, it started again. I feel overfull. I have diarrhea. My stomach is in knots. I'm burping constantly (and it smells awful). Today I had some Crystal Light (the citrus one with caffeine) with no issue and then later had an Ice coffee. That gave me gas and pain. I also had a bite of a Subway BMT on flatbread. A little spicy, with the salami and pepperoni. It sent my stomach into fits.

A little while ago, I was feeling better and hungry, so I got out a pudding pack (comfort food? ) and it was fine for the first couple spoons, but now I'm feeling acidy and I can feel the food ready to come up.

I've lost another 5 lbs in the last few days.

I'm also under a bit of stress for about the last two months because of some money problems and I have now lost my insurance. I skipped my 6 week checkup because I hadn't had any problems and I had stopped losing weight.

What the heck is going on?

Do I need to have some of my 7 ounces taken out? If so, how much? I didn't start to lose weight at all until my last ounce was put in. I don't want to gain weight but I'm afraid I'll gain it as fast as I lost it. I also don't have the money to have expensive tests run - I'm jobless and my insurance is lapsed.

Do I need to just go on liquids for a few days to let everything calm down and relax and unkink?

This band has worked so well for me. They told me last time that they had originally set a goal of 255 for me and not told me, and I was already down to 235.

:thumbup:

[slimmap 1]

I've had my band for a year now, and I haven't had a fill since February. I lost weight at a steady 10 lbs per month until September. In September, I had an instance of vomiting and then had trouble eating anything for a period of a week or so. It went away about three days before my scheduled visit to the doctor. I was at 235 then. I completely stopped losing weight and assumed that I had plateaued.

Two weeks ago, I overate (cheese from two slices of double-cheese pizza instead of one slice) and regurgitated it. That started several days of pain where EVERYTHING was getting stuck. Even liquids were giving me problems before they would go down. In addition, every time I fell asleep, I regurgitated a small amount. I normally sleep on my side. I turned on my stomach and I could sleep with no issue.

I was prepared to go to the doctor to have some of my fill removed and suddenly I was all better. Everything was back to normal.

Two days ago, it started again. I feel overfull. I have diarrhea. My stomach is in knots. I'm burping constantly (and it smells awful). Today I had some Crystal Light (the citrus one with caffeine) with no issue and then later had an Ice coffee. That gave me gas and pain. I also had a bite of a Subway BMT on flatbread. A little spicy, with the salami and pepperoni. It sent my stomach into fits.

A little while ago, I was feeling better and hungry, so I got out a pudding pack (comfort food?) and it was fine for the first couple spoons, but now I'm feeling acidy and I can feel the food ready to come up.

I've lost another 5 lbs in the last few days.

I'm also under a bit of stress for about the last two months because of some money problems and I have now lost my insurance. I skipped my 6 week checkup because I hadn't had any problems and I had stopped losing weight.

What the heck is going on?

Do I need to have some of my 7 ounces taken out? If so, how much? I didn't start to lose weight at all until my last ounce was put in. I don't want to gain weight but I'm afraid I'll gain it as fast as I lost it. I also don't have the money to have expensive tests run - I'm jobless and my insurance is lapsed.

Do I need to just go on liquids for a few days to let everything calm down and relax and unkink?

This band has worked so well for me. They told me last time that they had originally set a goal of 255 for me and not told me, and I was already down to 235.

:thumbup:

Dear Gutbegone, First I wanted to tell you I love your name. Next I have to say that I sometimes go through what you are going through. My band cam be a bit tempermental. Sometimes I can eat anything and nothing happens. Other times I will eat something that has never given me problems before, and I get stuck on everything. I say try to go easy. Liquids, soft foods, etc. See if you feel better and can tolerate other foods. If that doesn't work, call your doc. I know about having to pay your own way. I do that now. It's expensive and I don't have the money. But this is your health, your life we're talking about. Also, stress can do amazingly strange things to our bands. When I'm around certain stressful people my band slams shut. I don't know what to tell you otherwise. I am going through some stomach problems right now that may be stress related ( I pray that's all it is). I am going to post about that right now. So good luck and write back if you'd like. Hopefully what you are going through is nothing. Also, sometimes I will stay the same with my weight for a long while and then drop 5 pounds overnight. Good luck.

[GutBgone 16]

Dear Gutbegone, First I wanted to tell you I love your name. Next I have to say that I sometimes go through what you are going through. My band cam be a bit tempermental. Sometimes I can eat anything and nothing happens. Other times I will eat something that has never given me problems before, and I get stuck on everything. I say try to go easy. Liquids, soft foods, etc. See if you feel better and can tolerate other foods. If that doesn't work, call your doc. I know about having to pay your own way. I do that now. It's expensive and I don't have the money. But this is your health, your life we're talking about. Also, stress can do amazingly strange things to our bands. When I'm around certain stressful people my band slams shut. I don't know what to tell you otherwise. I am going through some stomach problems right now that may be stress related ( I pray that's all it is). I am going to post about that right now. So good luck and write back if you'd like. Hopefully what you are going through is nothing. Also, sometimes I will stay the same with my weight for a long while and then drop 5 pounds overnight. Good luck.

Thanks for relating a similar experience.

My band has definitely been tight since February, but at a level I can deal with. It helps me avoid cake and breads and chinese food. But, simply avoiding those foods is an easy adjustment and it works well for me. In fact, it tightens up overnight and the first liquid of the day has to glug and gurgle its' way down.

This, however, is ridiculous. I'm even avoiding cheese this week.

I'll try liquids (broth mostly) for a couple days and see how it goes. Just knowing that this may be normal has lifted a weight from me and untwisted my stomach a little bit.

Thank You.

[slimmap 1]

I hope everything works out okay. But if you just can't get foods down, you probably know what that means: unfill. I know those are dreaded words to us, but I have had to do it 4 times in the year and a half of being a bandster. Maybe it is just being tempermental, and I hope that is all it is. It probably is just being a tempermental band. But if it stays this way, if you have to live on liquids only, I would definitely call your doc. When I am overfilled I love how I can barely get any food down because it helps me lose weight. But the risks are so overwhelming, I know I cannot stay that way and I have to get just a little squirt of an unfill. The dr wants you to succeed. He most likely wouldn't drain your band. But I've had that done too and it wasn't as bad as I feared. So, stay on top of it by being vigilant. Please let me know what happens.

[GutBgone 16]

I hope everything works out okay. But if you just can't get foods down, you probably know what that means: unfill. I know those are dreaded words to us, but I have had to do it 4 times in the year and a half of being a bandster. Maybe it is just being tempermental, and I hope that is all it is. It probably is just being a tempermental band. But if it stays this way, if you have to live on liquids only, I would definitely call your doc. When I am overfilled I love how I can barely get any food down because it helps me lose weight. But the risks are so overwhelming, I know I cannot stay that way and I have to get just a little squirt of an unfill. The dr wants you to succeed. He most likely wouldn't drain your band. But I've had that done too and it wasn't as bad as I feared. So, stay on top of it by being vigilant. Please let me know what happens.

But why would it start giving me trouble after so long? Shouldn't it be getting looser because I've lost 80 lbs since the last fill?

This morning I drank some Crystal Light and ate a chewy granola bar. It went down with a little pain like normal (first thing I eat each day goes down hard). I feel about 50% fuller than I normally would. Normally, I'd feel that I could eat a little more, but right now I feel full - but not overfull.

Also, I know I'm not eating enough. I lost two more pounds.

I'll give it a little longer and see if it continues to get better.

Edited November 24, 2009 by GutBgone

[shelystar 0]

What about your gallblader, do you still have it? Ive read that w/fast weight loss sometimes that will affect your GB. Just a thought.

[GutBgone 16]

What about your gallblader, do you still have it? Ive read that w/fast weight loss sometimes that will affect your GB. Just a thought.

No. They took that out. I had hundreds of gallstones, some as large as a pencil eraser. They took it out in August, and it spilled/leaked as they were removing it, so they couldn't put the band in. I had to go back for a second surgery a month later.

I've got ten scars, not five.:thumbup:

Although, that is probably why I've had diarrhea. Whenever my food intake (types of food) changes, I get it.

[untfluter 3]

If you had your gall bladder out in the last year, that could VERY well be causing the diarreah... just FYI.. I had my Gall bladder out about 5 yrs ago and I had big issues... some people just develop these bowel issues after having it removed according to my gastroenterologist because the Gall Bladder isn't there to filter the bile anymore, so the bile can affect your bowels...

No. They took that out. I had hundreds of gallstones, some as large as a pencil eraser. They took it out in August, and it spilled/leaked as they were removing it, so they couldn't put the band in. I had to go back for a second surgery a month later.

I've got ten scars, not five.:ohmy:

Although, that is probably why I've had diarrhea. Whenever my food intake (types of food) changes, I get it.

[slimmap 1]

But why would it start giving me trouble after so long? Shouldn't it be getting looser because I've lost 80 lbs since the last fill?

This morning I drank some Crystal Light and ate a chewy granola bar. It went down with a little pain like normal (first thing I eat each day goes down hard). I feel about 50% fuller than I normally would. Normally, I'd feel that I could eat a little more, but right now I feel full - but not overfull.

Also, I know I'm not eating enough. I lost two more pounds.

I'll give it a little longer and see if it continues to get better.

It sounds like maybe you are just a little too tight. Nothing serious, just a little tight. But that might not even be the case. Like I said before, my band will do what yours is doing sometimes. Also, another bandster pointed out to me something that I just never even considered: weather or bariatric changes. For some bizarre reason, when it gets colder, my band tightens up. Are you living up north where the temperatures are droppiong? It sounds crazy, but it really is part of the weirdness of my band. I asked my doctor about it recently and he said there haven't been any studies that he is aware of but he has heard about this from other patients. Could this be a factor? Did this start to happen when the weather changed? Also, calling your doctor shouldn't cost any money. You can always call and see what they have to say. Let me know.

[GutBgone 16]

If you had your gall bladder out in the last year, that could VERY well be causing the diarreah... just FYI.. I had my Gall bladder out about 5 yrs ago and I had big issues... some people just develop these bowel issues after having it removed according to my gastroenterologist because the Gall Bladder isn't there to filter the bile anymore, so the bile can affect your bowels...

I've only had diarrhea for the last few days.

The thing I noticed after it was taken out was that for a while if I ate anything greasy at all, I would have to RUN to the bathroom.

[GutBgone 16]

Also, another bandster pointed out to me something that I just never even considered: weather or bariatric changes. For some bizarre reason, when it gets colder, my band tightens up. Are you living up north where the temperatures are droppiong? It sounds crazy, but it really is part of the weirdness of my band. I asked my doctor about it recently and he said there haven't been any studies that he is aware of but he has heard about this from other patients. Could this be a factor? Did this start to happen when the weather changed? Also, calling your doctor shouldn't cost any money. You can always call and see what they have to say. Let me know.

Yes, I'm in NYC and it recently went to coat weather. This is my first Autumn/Winter with the band (last year it didn't have much in it).

The problem is that my doctor will immediately tell me to come in an order a gazillion tests that I can't afford. She already gave me a hard time when I canceled my last appointment. (Everything was fine, they had recent bloodwork and my weight had not changed an ounce in the previous 6 weeks.)

I'll ask her about the climate change.

[happy2lose 0]

If nothing has changed as far as your fill level since February and all of this started out of the blue, I think it is very important that you make an appointment with your doctor so he/she can run some tests. It's a bummer that you don't currently have insurance, but I don't think your health is anything to mess around with. Please go get checked out.

[GutBgone 16]

Okay, I called, they said come in and they pulled out 2 ounces. I have an appointment in six weeks to put some back in.

I feel hungry. I haven't felt hunger in 9 months.

[GutBgone 16]

Arrgghh! No restriction at all! To make matters worse, my body isn't making enough bile. I'm going to have to run to the bathroom every time I eat until it catches up.

Up a pound from yesterday.

[GutBgone 16]

WAYYYY to much taken out. All discomfort is gone, but I've lost my aversion to certain foods. I'm still only eating small portions, but MUCH more often. Also, my junk food cravings are returning. I polished off a snack-sized oreos after (reduced fat) potato chips, after peanuts, after desert, after dinner. Normally, I'd have a small handful of peanuts OR chips as a snack (salt cravings).

At Thanksgiving dinner, I tried a nibble of a roll (the kind that come in a tube). That would normally be fine, but I ate three rolls over the course of the meal. Pre-surgery, I would have eaten ten, but a few weeks ago I would have been satisfied with the nibble.

I've gained 4 pounds in three days.

I'm going to eat a granola bar for Breakfast and try to resist the urge to have an english muffin.

I have to try to fill up before going out-McDonald's is calling me.

This is going to be a very tough six weeks wait until they put some more back in. :thumbup: