Do I Need An Unfill???

[jenpyn25]

I really hate to complain, but I have a questions that is really concerning me. I got a fill 2 weeks ago and now I am having a problem getting solid food down. I am drinking a protein shake in the morning, but it takes about 1 1/2 hours to drink it all. Lunch and dinner though I can't seem to hold it down. I am taking small bites, chewing like I am suppose to, but I know that I am not eating near to a cup of food. I am only able to take about 2-3 bites and then I PB. I have lost 7 pounds (yeah), but I am scared that I am going to make my band slip, or damage it in some way. Do you think that I need an unfill, or do I just need to deal with this until the band loosens a little. Thanks for your help.

[snowbird]

I really hate to complain, but I have a questions that is really concerning me. I got a fill 2 weeks ago and now I am having a problem getting solid food down. I am drinking a protein shake in the morning, but it takes about 1 1/2 hours to drink it all. Lunch and dinner though I can't seem to hold it down. I am taking small bites, chewing like I am suppose to, but I know that I am not eating near to a cup of food. I am only able to take about 2-3 bites and then I PB. I have lost 7 pounds (yeah), but I am scared that I am going to make my band slip, or damage it in some way. Do you think that I need an unfill, or do I just need to deal with this until the band loosens a little. Thanks for your help.

jen,

I was feeling like you. Got my second fill Jan 10 and couldn't really eat anything more solid than chili, and sometimes not that. I stopped eating anything more solid than soup for a couple of days. Then all of a sudden yesterday I'm fine, hungry, and wondering if I need another fill! It's so hard to find just the right spot and keep it for any length of time.

i don't know what to say for you. I would probably work at it a little longer, maybe another week? If you still can't eat anything after three weeks, I might check back with the doctor. If you really feel like you are too tight even for fluids, though . . .

Side question: are you paying for your fills or are they included in the cost of your surgery? If you are paying, does your fill doctor have a time limit for small adjustments after the fill at no charge or a reduced rate? I'm money-driven enough that that issue would make a difference with me on whether I acted right away or not.

[jenpyn25]

jen,

I was feeling like you. Got my second fill Jan 10 and couldn't really eat anything more solid than chili, and sometimes not that. I stopped eating anything more solid than soup for a couple of days. Then all of a sudden yesterday I'm fine, hungry, and wondering if I need another fill! It's so hard to find just the right spot and keep it for any length of time.

i don't know what to say for you. I would probably work at it a little longer, maybe another week? If you still can't eat anything after three weeks, I might check back with the doctor. If you really feel like you are too tight even for fluids, though . . .

Side question: are you paying for your fills or are they included in the cost of your surgery? If you are paying, does your fill doctor have a time limit for small adjustments after the fill at no charge or a reduced rate? I'm money-driven enough that that issue would make a difference with me on whether I acted right away or not.

Thanks Snowbird for the advise. I ate lunch this afternoon and took it very slow, and everything has stayed down so far. I have a question though. You were banded only about 2 1/2 weeks before me and you have lost a whooping 53 pounds. How in the heck have you done that? Any suggestions on that would be great.

Answer to your question, I am paying for my fills out of pocket, they are $200. per visit. I do not know if she will do adjustments free of charge, but I need to check on that. I am hoping I won't need another one, but we will just have to see.

[snowbird]

Thanks Snowbird for the advise. I ate lunch this afternoon and took it very slow, and everything has stayed down so far. I have a question though. You were banded only about 2 1/2 weeks before me and you have lost a whooping 53 pounds. How in the heck have you done that? Any suggestions on that would be great.

Answer to your question, I am paying for my fills out of pocket, they are $200. per visit. I do not know if she will do adjustments free of charge, but I need to check on that. I am hoping I won't need another one, but we will just have to see.

Some docs will give a slight adjustment after a fill for a limited amount of time for free or at a reduced rate. Check with yours to see what they say.

Well, I've lost 34 since the surgery, which actually surprised me. I figured since my BMI wasn't that high to begin with, it would be slower going. My husband and I were banded together, and our kids are grown and (mostly) gone, so we don't have anyone tempting us with goodies around the house. He has always been a guy who fixes his own meals, too, so i don't get into the trap of cooking and sampling a lot. He's lost about the same as I have, and again I think the best thing we have going for us is THERE IS NOTHING GOOD TO EAT IN THE WHOLE @#$%^ HOUSE!! Plus, we live 15 miles from the closest grocery store, which cuts down on late night willpower failures. We knew we were going to banded in October by the beginning of the summer, so we went on a two month preop diet and each lost around 19 lb prior to surgery. I've had really good restriction with both of my fills and lost 5 or 6 lb within a week of each of them, then it slows down a bit for the next few weeks.

I've had a bad cold all week and really started coughing last night, so now i think everything is irritated and I'm back to being unable to eat much of anything. Luckily I've lost what appetite I had with it, so that doesn't bother me at the moment.

If you aren't really hungry I would just stick to softer foods for another week, then if you still can't eat anything i would be thinking about an unfill. Dr Romero at OCC gave me a 1.7 fill the first time, which was okay, and then filled me up to 2.1 the second time. I could tell just in the hour or so I was waiting for my husband to get out of the dentist that I was too tight (sliming with Gatorade), so I went back in and got stuck again for a slight unfill. First fill was a piece of cake, but with the second Dr R said I had lost so much weight my scar tissue had shifted over the port, and he practically had to use a nail gun to get through. Seriously, I was watching the needle bending into a U shape on the fluoroscope while he was trying to punch through, until he finally had to get a thicker needle. ouch!