wishiebabe

I was banded in July 2005 in TJ (self paid). After 1 month I got my first fill, 2 weeks later I ended up in the emergency because I couldn't keep down even water and became dehydrated.

Well this has happened over and over again for 1 1/2 yrs now, fills then having it all emptied to recover from dehydration. In the past I have lost 11 pounds in 13 days and nearly all my hair fell out because I can keep nothing down not even liquids.

Even when the Dr. fills it ever so slightly my stomach tissues will swell a bit each day and eventually closes right off.

When my band is empty I have no problems but go right back to my bad eating habits and gain lots of weight again.

I am wondering now if I am causing this myself by eating the wrong foods to early after a fill. The Dr says 2 days of nothing but clear liquids then slowly adding mushy foods for a couple more days.

All those terrible eating habits prior to my surgery are still with me and maybe eating crackers, chips etc. is irritating the stomach tissues and closing it off.

I thought with my band I was going to be able to eat salads and some solids without always spitting up.

I have no Dr. here in Utah because any Dr's that do the band here will not see you if you didn't have the surgery with them. My fills are done in the radiology dept at a hospital in another town. My general Dr. knows very little about the band and can not help me.

Please help.....

Hi! I live in Utah, too and I hear that we are getting a surgery and fill center in St. George really soon! About the food post fill and surgery, it probably isnt too good to eat chips and crackers. The doctor said that when starchy foods combine with your stomach acid, it expands greatly

Hi! Dont you even worry about only losing 10 lbs. I only lost 20 lbs in 4 months and just got my fill 3 weeks ago and have already lost another 12 lbs! About the acid, I get that on occasion and found that it must be foods like tomato, pizza some pastas. Just try to eat them slowly and sparingly!

Hi Patty! I just got the band on Monday. There is NOTHING to worry about. If you want to talk more, Id love to. My email is wishiebabe@yahoo.com

Oh no! I am getting close to my period, and I am getting tight and liquids are hard to swallow. I would wait until a couple days after the end of your period before you make a decision. Good luck and congrats on the 50 lbs!!!!

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I am scheduled for July 14 and have a bit if the jitters. I am on my second day of Slimfast optima...have a bit of a headache and am a little shaky. Haven't cheated yet and don't think that I will. But I still don't want to get on the scale till Monday. Good luck on your journey.

Try some yogurt. It gave me energy and the doctor said I had beautiful insides. My liver and stomach were perfect. I even ate some french onion soup the night before. Just look forward to that. Go to the mediterranian restaurant at the hotel and get the onion soup. Its amazing!

I had the surgery on July 3 in Mexico with Dr. Ortiz and I have nothing but great things to say about him and his WHOLE staff! They are so gentle and care for you like you're family. They were always attentive to my needs. I was scared, it sounded really complicated, but the whole thing was so comfortable! First you get to the lobby and get papers, then you meet with the Nutritionist who is a total sweetheart, then you just get called back to get your IV put in. Just one pinch for EVERYTHING! They take your blood out of the IV. Its really easy. After that, you see the Cardiologist, who is really really nice, and you do a breathing test that is way easy and get your heart monitored. Then you are taken back to your nice private room and get the medicines given to you. You meet the anastesiologist, Dr. Ortiz and the nurses. Then you get a tranqualizer into your stomach- DONT worry...its not so bad. You are then taken to the OR and I SWEAR you just remember getting on the table and waking up in your room. Its sooooo easy! And its not very painful at all! The gas pains are weird, though. Not horrible. And you can feel your port a lot. Its cool though! I loved my experiance and cant wait to go back to get a fill!!!