too tight or just right?!?

ReadyOrNot · 07-02-2009, 01:12 PM

So I'm relatively new to this process, a little over 3 months out, and have had 2 fills to date, and am not sure I'm feeling the way I should be. I have pain, like stuck pain, whenever I eat pretty much anything but soup or ice cream. Sometimes I can wait a couple of minutes for the pain to subside then continue eating for a bit, other times it gets so bad I'm throwing up in the bathroom after my second bite. I am very careful to chew, chew, chew, but it doesn't seem to help. I'm guessing I might be a bit too tight? Or is this just the way you feel with the band when you get restriction? I understand not being able to eat bread/pasta, but am to the point where everything feels painful to eat and its really frustrating. I really don't want an unfill, because before this fill I wasn't feeling any restriction at all and felt as though I could eat anything I wanted if I chose to, so I don't want to go back to that, and I am losing weight a lot faster now of course. I'm just hoping this isn't what the "sweet spot" feels like, because I don't know if I could live with this feeling forever, for the short term I can deal while getting to my goal, but not as a forever.

rmbj0721 · 07-02-2009, 05:39 PM

Hi. You and I were banded on the same day. I have also had two fills with my first being on 4/13 with 3cc's and my second being on 5/18 with 1cc. At this point I do not feel the need to have any additional fills. I struggle with the same thing you are talking about. For me, I think when I am really hungry I start off eating too quickly. Although my first few bites are fine, once things begin to slide down the pipe they eventually back up and it hurts. I'm able to continue eating sometimes after a break while other times I have to bring my food back up. I have no problems drinking liquids whatsoever although I can no longer gulp anything down. I still spend some time occasionlly at the kitchen sink bringing food back up although I seem to be getting better at my food choices (avoiding bread, noodles, etc).

I am on a good track for losing (down 50 lbs) although I occasionally wonder if my band may be too tight especially after reading the stretched pouch posts! I do frequently wake up with a heartburn feeling and sometimes have it during the day. Since I am doing well overall, I have a fear of going back to the doctor and them telling me if they don't take fluid out my pouch will stretch. I don't want them to remove fluid! I know that if fluid comes out I will surely gain some weight.

Surely there are some more obvious tell-tale signs for your band being too tight that other bandsters can enlighten us with!?

Someone, please help us out here!

kerrik54304 · 07-02-2009, 11:01 PM

I was banded on 3/19 and have had one fill. I had 5cc's put in during surgery and 1cc at my fill. My doctor and I both feel that I am at a good spot. I am losing about a pound week. At times I feel that is slow, but is to be expected. If I follow the band rules and eat my protein first, I can't eat as much and feel good restriction. I have never vomited, but feel the pain in my chest when I eat too much. I can't eat bread and chicken can take a while to eat. I can't imagine feeling that pain everytime I ate. How horrible! It sounds to me like you might need a slight unfill. Good luck!

comtemplating · 07-02-2009, 11:43 PM

Well............I have had three small fills and have a total of 2.8 ccs in a 10cc band so I am not able to provide a perspective based on my personal experience but rather things that I have picked up on this website and from my dr. to be aware of as I work towards restriction. One thing that is important is that if you follow the rules and are not over-filled then you should not experience pain or being uncomfortable when eating. Some people get used to the uncomfortable feeling, vomiting, pbing and it becomes "normal" when it shouldn't be. An overfilled band can be very seducing because with all the vomiting and bringing food back up you might see great weightloss and it is hard to bring yourself to call the dr. with the chance that he/she will take some fluid out of your band and slow the weightloss. In the long run lots of vomiting often can create several problems and you don't want this to happen to you have to fight yourself to let the dr. know what is going on. So that is what I have learned so far- I bet you will get great responses from more experience bandsters. This forum is great but I always conclude with recommending a call to your dr. To answer your question- I don't think a "just right" band would cause you to have to bring up your food and vomit. A "just right" band keeps you feeling satiated and full for several hours after eating a small amount of food. So I am leaning towards either you being "too tight" or really swollen from the recurrent vomiting and pb'ing which I believe might require the same intervention- an unfill.

MistyD65 · 07-03-2009, 12:04 AM

It sounds like you should definitely see about at least a slight unfill, maybe even just half a cc or less. Eating with the band should NOT be painful. You may be losing weight quickly right now, but if it hurts to eat the right kinds of solid foods and you start relying on soft things, the weight will start to creep back on. The idea of being banded is to be able to eat regular foods in smaller portions, not to have to be so tight that you have to resort to soft foods. No one can sustain that kind of eating.

MJB, if you are having nighttime heartburn you should let your doctor know. Heartburn and reflux can cause some really bad problems for your esophagus. Again, it could only take a very slight unfill to bring you to a much more comfortable restriction.

jms462001 · 07-03-2009, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmbj0721

Hi. You and I were banded on the same day. I have also had two fills with my first being on 4/13 with 3cc's and my second being on 5/18 with 1cc. At this point I do not feel the need to have any additional fills. I struggle with the same thing you are talking about. For me, I think when I am really hungry I start off eating too quickly. Although my first few bites are fine, once things begin to slide down the pipe they eventually back up and it hurts. I'm able to continue eating sometimes after a break while other times I have to bring my food back up. I have no problems drinking liquids whatsoever although I can no longer gulp anything down. I still spend some time occasionlly at the kitchen sink bringing food back up although I seem to be getting better at my food choices (avoiding bread, noodles, etc).

I am on a good track for losing (down 50 lbs) although I occasionally wonder if my band may be too tight especially after reading the stretched pouch posts! I do frequently wake up with a heartburn feeling and sometimes have it during the day. Since I am doing well overall, I have a fear of going back to the doctor and them telling me if they don't take fluid out my pouch will stretch. I don't want them to remove fluid! I know that if fluid comes out I will surely gain some weight.

Surely there are some more obvious tell-tale signs for your band being too tight that other bandsters can enlighten us with!?

Someone, please help us out here!

You and Ready or Not both need an unfill, however much is needed so you can eat a half cup of solid protein properly without any pain or problems. If you continue being too full, you could cause damage to your band and as a previous poster said, you will stop losing and start gaining eventually.

blklab70 · 07-03-2009, 12:10 PM

I have the same happen to me, but what I have found is I need to slow down, chew better and I am fine. I can eat about 3/4 -1 cup of food and I am completely happy. Slow down, I know when you are hungry that is hard to do and that is when I get that aweful pain. But I stop, let it pass then chew and take my time. It is always better at that point. I try not to let myself get that hungry that I am back to my old habit of gulping my food down. We are still new, we just have years of bad habits to adjust. Give yourself time to learn, eat slow and chew, chew, chew. I don't believe you need an unfil, but that is my opinion and only you and your doctor can determine that. Good luck!

innwtitdtity · 07-03-2009, 10:35 PM

I am at 8.5 in a 14 cc band. with this last fill I have found that I need to slow down. If I eat too fast, I do get pain, it will pass then I slow down and I am fine. I am trying to have snacks (healthy ones) available so I don't get too hungry. I am not getting sick so I think I just need to slow down. At one support group meeting, someone told me they used a timer (the one with sand/hour glass shape) that she would flip so she wasn't eating too fast and it worked for her, maybe this would help you to see if you are eating too fast or to determine if you are too tight??? Good luck

ReadyOrNot · 07-06-2009, 08:47 AM

Thank you all for your responses! I have another appointment for a fill on the 17th, I won't be getting a fill that day but I'll keep the appointment to check in with my doctor and tell him how I've been feeling. I'm really secretly hoping he doesn't want to do an unfill, but whatever he thinks I will go with. In the meantime I will try and slow my eating down, maybe even try the hourglass thing, see if that might be the problem, that I'm just eating too fast and not chewing as well as I think I am and I should be. Thanks again for the advice!

OH Juli · 07-06-2009, 08:52 AM

About not wanting an unfill---

It's an "adjustable" band because you'll need to have it adjusted at different times in your life. It's not a "just keep filling 'er up" band. Let go of thinking that an unfill is failure or something like that.

It's about getting to the ultimate restriction that allows you to eat well, lose weight and not hurt your body in the process.

This is part of the learning curve with being banded.

Well wishes for you-
J

ReadyOrNot · 07-06-2009, 09:06 AM

I agree that I need to change my thinking about the unfill, I don't see it as a failure really, but I do think I will stop losing weight as quickly as I have been with an unfill, and I don't really want it to slow down. But on the other hand I don't want to hurt myself or my band either, so I will leave it up to my doctor, and go with whatever he feels is right.

I guess I'm just happy to hear that this isn't normal, or what the "sweet spot" feels like because I know couldn't live with this forever if that were the case!

DaChanginQueen · 07-06-2009, 04:10 PM

When you get close to you're 'sweet spot' even the slightest adjustment can make a big difference. You may only need a fraction of a cc unfill to correct the problem and that should not affect you're weight loss. Good luck!

a-newme · 07-06-2009, 07:58 PM

I am also right where you are....

I always feel that it is a victory if I can eat without any blocking pain and pb. I have an appointment with my DR on the 14th... He may want to take a little out, but I'm okay with that, because I am loosing weight fairly quickly right now and over the long haul, I think it would be too fast.

Buy like you, I keep pondering wether I'm too tight... seems like I reach the conclusion that I need to go in for an ajdustment, and then the next day I've loosened up and seem to have no problems, only to feel really tight a day or so later. It's kind of frustrating to not know for sure if it is just right or not...

Just thought I would send a note and let you know that you are not in this alone.

p

NYC_gal · 07-06-2009, 08:10 PM

I had the same exact problem not too long ago. it was my first fill... my doc filled it way too much to the point where I got sick in the office, then he took a little out and I thought I'd be fine. I got home and I couldn't even tolerate water. Lost a lot of weight in only 3 days.
Definitely go back asap, you could get dehydrated.

jms462001 · 07-12-2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReadyOrNot

I agree that I need to change my thinking about the unfill, I don't see it as a failure really, but I do think I will stop losing weight as quickly as I have been with an unfill, and I don't really want it to slow down. But on the other hand I don't want to hurt myself or my band either, so I will leave it up to my doctor, and go with whatever he feels is right.

I guess I'm just happy to hear that this isn't normal, or what the "sweet spot" feels like because I know couldn't live with this forever if that were the case!

The rate at which we lose weight is not dependent on how much fill we have. It depends on how much we eat, what we eat, how we eat, and our exercise program. The important thing is being filled at a point where we can eat properly without getting sick, stay full for several hours and lose 1-3 pounds weekly on avg. Being overfilled eventually slows weight loss and can cause damage to the band.