A Complete Unfill ... Anyone?

Chelley · 09-24-2006, 10:55 PM

My doc in Mexico has recommended a complete unfill for me. He thinks I'm too tight and could have possibly stretched the upper pouch or have had some slippage. After a 4-6 week rest, he recommends adding fills slowly. Has anyone else ever had to do this and did you start loosing weight? I'm 5 months post band and I've not lost any weight in 2 months and am certainly eating less than 1/3 of what I could before.

Chelley

vinesqueen · 09-25-2006, 04:36 AM

Hi Chelley, I've had a full unfill. I'm not losing any weight, but then, I wasn't losing any before either.

I had the unfill because of the nausia from my Cushing's

Iulizbug · 09-25-2006, 06:05 AM

Hi Chelley,

I am currently going thru exactly what you are going thru. I have had to have a complete unfill for the last 3 weeks to let my stomach and espophagus heal from being too tight and irritated. i thought I had a slip but my fluro confirmed that my band was in perfect places still, thank goodness. My doc did say that if I didn't take some saline out though, it was very probable that my band could and would slip. I definately haven't lost any weight in these past few weeks, w/out restriction it is hard just to maintain. I am going in today for a fill and am hoping to start losing again this week. I am not going to be filled as tight as I was prior to my unfill. I was filled to 3.2/4cc and I am thinking somewhere b/w 2-2.5cc will be fine for me. I want to lose weight w/out PBing and sliming on every meal. I know my doc told me that i would probably gain 5-10 lbs b/c of not having any restriction but I tried my best not to gain. I am w/in the same 2-3 lbs as I was 3 weeks ago. I wouldn't worry about losing w/out any saline in--just give yourself time to heal and rest your band. You can get back on the wagon in a month or so and start losing again. Good luck to you~

~Liz~
03/10/06
241/168/160
5'7''

ShyTexRose · 09-25-2006, 06:43 AM

Hi all. What is PBing? I am looking into the LAP-BAND^® in a month or so.

Iulizbug · 09-25-2006, 06:57 AM

PBing is productive burping or when you burp up the food you eat b/c you either took too big of a bite or didnt' chew slow enough. It is similar to puking except there is not acids coming back up b/c you aren't digesting the food. The opening the food is to pass thru in a restricted band is very very small and when you try to force too big of a bite through, it has nowhere to go but back up. Often bandsters will "slime" before a PB which is just a bunch of mucus and saliva that comes up. Gross, I know....Oh,BTW good luck on your upcoming surgery!!

~Liz~
03/10/06
241/168/160
5'7''

ShyTexRose · 09-25-2006, 06:59 AM

Thank you. I assumed it was throwing up.

**Alexandra** · 09-25-2006, 08:44 AM

Chelley, this is not an unusual approach to fixing a situation where the restriction may be too much. I'm currently completely unfilled for the second time. I didn't gain any significant weight the first time and I was unfilled for almost 5 months. It actually is a big relief, because you can eat more of the healthy foods your body craves, like vegetables and fruit.

We want to keep our bands in long-term, so please listen to your doctor and follow his advice. An unfill is NOT anything to be worried about. Good luck!!

Sophie · 09-25-2006, 05:55 PM

Hi guys! I am new to this forum, just found it today in fact. I am one of those who post-surgery thought I didn't need support from anyone else who had gone through the experience, but I finally realize that is not only immature, it is inaccurate.

So here is what happened with me. I started throwing up in my sleep almost every night. I went to the gastroenterologist thinking it was an acid reflux thing and he, of course, set me up for and upper GI and endoscopy. I had the upper GI and before it was even over the radiologist was coming out and handing me the business card of a bariatric surgeon in the area (I just moved) and telling me to get there pronto. Before I could even get to my car, the drs. office was calling me and telling me to come in immediately for a complete unfill.

It is really freaking me out having my total control mechanism removed. I have lost over 100 pounds and it has strictly been because the band restricts how much I can eat and when I can eat. If I eat too much, you all know what happens. Now that I have zero saline in the band I am panicked that I will start piling on the pounds. Is this a normal fear and how do I deal with it? My endoscopy is scheduled for Oct. 2, and then I will know if I am dealing with a slipped band, abruption, etc...hopefully I have just irritated my esophagus and stomach.

What has been the determining factor in your complete unfills? I guess what I am asking is what prompted your complete unfill. Mine just came out of nowhere, literally.

Iulizbug · 09-25-2006, 06:05 PM

Hi Sophie,

Mine came out of nowhere too kinda. I had my last fill for over a month and a half and then all of the sudden it tightened up WAY too much so I was convinced that i had a slip. Not to say that I wasn't a bit too tight before, I definately shouldn't have gone over 3.0cc (I had 3.2) but I thought it was VERY strange that my band suddenly tightened so much. I couldn't drink my protein shake at all that day and no way was food going down. I waited it out another day but it only got worse--I wasn't able to keep water down and was spitting up my own saliva. I realized I was getting super dehydrated and weak so I went to the ER where my doc did a fluro to check the placment of the band and then gave me Nexium and completely deflated my band. I was extremely freaked out about gaining weight back b/c I had done so well with my band up to that pt only b/c I had such good restriciton. I am not going to lie and say it is easy w/out saline because it isn't. It sucks..You have to rely on your will power to stop eating instead of the band and I had to crank up my exercise regimen to working out 6X a week instead of 3-4X. My doc told me that i would probably gain 5-10 lbs in the month that she unfilled me and not to worry. I was very worried though, and told myself that I would fight my hardest not throw away all of the hard work I have done to get to where I was. I got re-filled today and I only gained 1lb in a month so I am proud. It isn't easy like I said, but i feel that I was given a 2nd chance at my band and feel so grateful that I still have it and it didn't slip. Keeping your band too tight is a sure fire way for a slip so I will not get that tight again. I feel so much better now that I haven't had any sliming or PBing in the past month and i feel like i have much more self-control with food b/c I have made myself pull away from it, instead of the band forcing me to stop. Plus, I am used to working out more too so hopefully now with 2.5cc in I can eat less and get the last 10bs off that I need......I am hoping that you don't have a slip and after the unfill you will be good as new. Just be good to yourself and try to eat like you did with saline (which I know is hard) OR compensate by exercisng more. You'll be fine. :)

~Liz~
03/10/06
241/168/160
5'7''

babsintx3 · 09-25-2006, 06:08 PM

Hi Chelly,

I am three years out and had a complete unfill due to pouch dilation. I used this time to go on liquids and lose 15 pounds over 5 weeks that I had more than gained due to a too tight band. I did not have any symptoms other than the ability to eat much more due to the stretched pouch. I was also using my esopphagus as a third pouch which is evident because my esophagus was really wide. I gained almost 35 pounds in a year due to pouch dilation and chronic overeating. You may think you are eating a third of what you are eating, but the best way to know for sure is to measure everything and serve yourself on a baby plate. You will then see what I mean. It adds up. You may be eating less than you were before, but more than you need to lose weight.

FYI: Normally, when they unfill your band, they do not TOTALLY unfill it unless you normally have restriction with a tiny bit of saline. Example: I had 2.5 in my band and they unfilled me down to 1.00 CC which is something, but not nothing.

Babs in TX
334/190 ish

Sophie · 09-25-2006, 06:11 PM

Thank you, Liz, that makes me feel better. Wow, only 1 pound in a month! That is awesome! I will strive to do as well as you did.

It is interesting that I have COMPLETELY avoided my "food issues" because I could because I had the LAP-BAND^® and therefore couldn't eat tons of junk. I have just realized that I have not solved the initial problem, why I gained so much weight to begin with, 280 down to 179, which is how I view my body, food, and nourishment.

By the way, my perfect fill was 1.5 cc, so considerably less than some.

**Alexandra** · 09-25-2006, 06:27 PM

Sophie, it sounds like you and I are in the same boat, fill-wise. The first time I had an unfill the doctor was only able to pull out about 1 cc, and the second time I know there was only .8 in there. I don't think I've ever had more than 1.25 or so.

My personal theory (and we know what's that's worth!) is that as time goes by we lose sensation in our lower esophagus, even if we're not losing function (which some do). We take one or two or three more bites because we can't feel that it's too much, and even though we're not eating a LOT more than we were, that little bit more is just enough to fill it up too much. Over time we might start to have reflux, and when that happens the irritation is enough to tighten things up considerably. All of these things happening at once is a recipe for misery. So, an unfill is called for.

This last time my surgeon said that if my symptoms don't clear up (which they have, already) he'll want another endoscopy and possibly more testing. But I'm feeling 100% better and know the ball is in MY court as far as not gaining any weight goes. Now that I'm a whole new person -- a NORMAL person -- I'm confident I can control it using the lessons the band has taught me.

Sophie · 09-25-2006, 07:59 PM

For all of you who have had a complete unfill, how long was it before your doctor started filling again. My endoscopy is Oct. 3, and assuming (fingers crossed) everything is okay and my band hasn't slipped, approximately how long should I expect the irritation and widening in the esophagus and the stomach irritation to last? I am sure it is individual, but are we talking weeks or months??

By the way, the instigator of all of this was throwing up in my sleep, which has completely stopped post-unfill.

**Alexandra** · 09-25-2006, 08:13 PM

After my first unfill my doctor would have been ready in 8 weeks or so. I had to wait longer for insurance reasons, but that's the amount of time he'd figured we'd give my system to return to normal.

Chelley · 09-26-2006, 02:59 AM

I have the VG band and I do PB daily. I'm praying my band hasn't slipped, but I do fear that I have pouch dilation. I was freaked out post surgery about not feeling any restriction with my 1st fill. I went in for two fills back to back in June and my doc thinks I'm way to tight. I'm going for an eval in October to see what can be done. This has been most discouraging as the only thing I'm loosing is my hair. Thanks for your replies.