Too tight and miserable...

[elcee 3,341]

It can be hard to pick the right foods sometimes. Especially as different cooking methods come into play as well. Something that may be fine at home could be completely different in a restaurant(too dry etc) - I normally play safe when I eat out and pick fish.

Surprised about the being sick though. i can PB quite violently sometimes but it is definetly a PB as there is never bile or anything like that involved. Only lots of foam!

Hope the Soup works.

[Mimilou2004 13]

Teacher, see what you are missing by getting better, LOL?

Mimi

[OnTheWay to Thin 0]

I have had both tighteness at that TOM and when I am congested, (I have allergies) so if I notice myself sliming or choking a lot I take some allergy pills and it helps a LOT. But, if you cant keep liquids down you are TOO tight, and that is not helpful to you. Please be careful, we all want so badly to lose weight, but we cant let that desire overrule common sense and our overall health. The way to win this game is slow and steady...

[hmarko 0]

I'm learning the hard way to follow these rules:

after a fill two days liquids two days mushies. Else I pb easily.

Any PB's also liquids rest of day - try mushies next day if not stay on liquids rule of thumb is if you need to be on liquids more than 3 days then unfill. But sometimes that alone will improve things by getting the swelling down.

Lastly TOM - I have had both - a lot of eating AND too tight.

[cwm812 11]

I've had the exact same thing happen and I didn't need an unfill. I follow the same rules as Hmarko. I have noticed that if I eat cold foods, the swelling goes down faster. Sometimes it's chewing ice, other times I go for the ice cream. Nothing tastes better than ice cream when you haven't been able to eat for a day!

Cindy

[Teacher2010 0]

You all have great suggestions and I thank you. It's great having a wonderful medical team but to speak with people who have experienced the same thing is even better.....

I have been much better...YEAH! Yesterday I ate Soup and then later 3 teaspoons of mashed potatoes and it stayed down. I drink 2-4 ounces of liquid every hour. So things are improving. I can't eat much but over time hopefully I can get back up to 3/4 to 1 cup per meal. Before the fill I noticed my restriction was very light and I was snacking between meals. So hopefully in a week or so I will be at my sweet spot????? But if I begin bringing things back up I will definitely go in for a small unfill. Oh.... and it was my TOM and now it's going away so she could have made things more intense for me! :Yawn:

Mimi -I hope you feel better soon. I now understand how terrible you can feel when things are not going down properly. Try Soups and Water until you feel better.

[Mimilou2004 13]

Thanks, Teacher, and I hope you continue to improve. If I can get a 0.1ml/cc unfill I am going to if I am not better soon.

Mimi

[thinneranniesoon 0]

I had to have a slight unfill in October, and I had to wait 10 days to do that. I did lose 6 lbs in that 10 days, but not something I want to experience again. The only reason for the wait is I am 100 miles from my doc, and the hospital in town has no clue about bariatrics. I was not able to eat, but did well with drinking, so I was doing Protein Shakes for the 10 days. Now all is well and I have lost another 14 lbs since then.

[Teacher2010 0]

It's been 3 weeks and not much has changed! I think I may need to get a small unfill this week.

If I drink Water I'm full for hours and can't eat anything. If I eat, I can't drink anything. It has gotten a little better, as of now I can eat 4-5 bites with each meal and that's it for hours. When I initially got the fill Water wouldn't go down--- so things have improved. But I don't think I'm getting enough Protein. Also I have lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks.

Should 4-5 bites be sufficient? For example yesterday I ate 1 shrimp, 1 sushi roll, 1 wingette (not an entire wing), 3 teaspoons of oatmeal, 4 oz of water & 8 oz of tea. My stomach wouldn't allow anything else in and I actually slimed a bite after each meal. Is this normal?

[Fastpitch Mom 0]

That is definitely not normal. I have been experiencing some tightness too for the last 3 days and I am assuming mine is due to my cycle which should start any day now. My doctor has never had anyone with the cycle problem, but I definitely have it for sure and no one seems to know why. My doctor has started me on diuretics a few days before my cycle is due to start to see if Water retention may be causing some swelling, but we have not seen much improvement with that.

I am over two years in and I would say with the symptoms you are experiencing, you definitely need an unfill. I have had 3 complete unfills since Ihave had my band and all have been worth it.

I hope you are feeling better soon, because there is no worse feeling.

[hmarko 0]

Teacher 2010 I'm with you. I'm going on two weeks and things have improved.... but the solid foods are a challenge depending on what I eat.. exmaples rice (sushi I would not have attempted). I still have the cold too though. I can eat thick hearty new england clam chowder, lemon sole, oatmeal. I tried Indian - (minced lamb and rice) it was ok until i overdid it and ate too much then pb'ed. I may go in for an unfill or just hang in there till jan - i haven't lost as much as you 7 lbs in two weeks. You can try and eat less challenging foods till you go in... i am starting to think that fills may be like artwork - everyone has their preferences on what they can or cannot live with.

Try some flakey fish like sole; dark meat chicken (the more band friendly foods) - the sushi may be on of those things that when at full restriction you can't have many have said they can't have it. You are prob too tight like me - i'm just debating whether to wait it out to my next appt or not. I'm getting in enough Protein. Fish is very high Protein.< /p>

[AWIP 0]

I stand by my original observation that you are too tight.

The problem with being too tight is you can irritate the constricted area of the stomach(stoma) from stuck/pb episodes further tightening the stoma. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle that can easily result in needing a complete de-fill or worse.

I know the tendancy is to try to 'tough it out' but the opposite is usually the correct response. If the question "Am I too tight?" is crossing your mind with any kind of frequency, you probably are. The correct fill level isn't 'what's right', its 'what's right for you, right now'.

I think one of the challenges of the lap-band life is that we have to remember to use it to help us, not to punish us for our perceived failings and flaws.

[KarenA 0]

Contact your doctor asap. I was once too tight, and went through the same thing. I kept thinking it would go away, but could not even get down Water. I went 7 days, and lost 10 lbs. By the 7th day I couldn't even stand up without feeling dizzy. My doctor fit me in that afternoon, and was furious I did not call him earlier in the week. It took me a month to start feeling better. My hair fell out, and I just drank Protein Shakes, scared to death of eating again. Don't wait too long to see your doctor!!!

[hmarko 0]

I have been holding down Water and mushies but get this slight foam and some mild regurgitation sometimes (two weeks after fill).... they think from Post nasal drip. Well now two times since friday night I choked on my saliva when sleeping (NOT GOOD)... so that was it I went for an unfill .3 cc's. Feel better the food is going down - will try solids when I go home. I got too miserable and impatient w/ it. And the choking really is dangerous can get aspiration pneumonia so I said thats my clear sign. I am PMS and have the cold but so what i am back at doc in 3.5 weeks if I need a fill ( I was originally going to wait that long to get the unfill but decided I can't wait that long). Of course I was days away from my post op free fills (On Friday this was free) and i had to pay out of pocket - my own fault though for not acting quicker.

[Fanny Adams 7]

I'm learning the hard way to follow these rules:

after a fill two days liquids two days mushies. Else I pb easily.

Any PB's also liquids rest of day - try mushies next day if not stay on liquids rule of thumb is if you need to be on liquids more than 3 days then unfill. But sometimes that alone will improve things by getting the swelling down.

Lastly TOM - I have had both - a lot of eating AND too tight.

I cannot emphasise this enough! The idea of the band is NOT to get so tight that you can't eat solid foods. You will get into a miserable cycle with this, as liquids don't stay in the pouch long enough to satisfy your hunger long term, and your stomach is too sensitive from all the PBing episodes to cope with solids. You NEED to have the band loose enough to tolerate solid foods chewed thoroughly and slowly.

Treat yourself gently after a fill and ease your way back to solids always - in early fills you won't "need" this but you never know which will be the fill that takes you up to the edge and you have to be careful approaching it every time!

Treat yourself even more gently after a PB episode. Even if you think you feel fine later and are hungry again, don't go back to solids that day - have a nice thick creamy Soup if you are hungry but stick to liquids! Your stomach needs the rest. Try the solids again the next day - carefully! And if you can't get back to solids within 3-4 days of a fill, have some taken out! Half of what was put in is usually sufficient, provided you haven't tried to force the solids for days and had lots of PBing episodes. Doing the latter will usually force a complete unfill before the swelling goes down.

I stand by my original observation that you are too tight.

The problem with being too tight is you can irritate the constricted area of the stomach(stoma) from stuck/pb episodes further tightening the stoma. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle that can easily result in needing a complete de-fill or worse.

I know the tendancy is to try to 'tough it out' but the opposite is usually the correct response. If the question "Am I too tight?" is crossing your mind with any kind of frequency, you probably are. The correct fill level isn't 'what's right', its 'what's right for you, right now'.

I think one of the challenges of the lap-band® life is that we have to remember to use it to help us, not to punish us for our perceived failings and flaws.

Yes, yes and YES!