the whole story od my crazy band overfill (long!)

A few asked, and I thought i'd just share with everyone: OMG..what a weekend!  My tight fill from tuesday turned into a total disaster by friday night.  

Here's the whole story...
Last month I had 1/2 cc removed from my band because it was a little too tight and solif proteins were sometimes causing a problem.  But...that was too loose.  I spent 4 weeks gaining then losing 5 lbs due to constant hunger.

Back to the doctor this week and asked to tighten it back up a bit.  I thought maybe he would put my 1/2 cc back or even part of it.  Like .3 cc's...but he started pusing in a whole cc.  He took out part of it and then pushed it back.  He said "I think I'm going to put in 1 cc, I usually feel resistance if it's too tight, and I am not feeling anything, call me if anything feels wrong.  I'm here all week."  So I drank my cup of water and it was a little slow going through but nothing terrible...I figured I'd be fine.

The rest of that day (tuesday) and the next day I did liquids, a little worried about being too tight.  But thursday I had clam chowder for dinner without problem.  Friday I didn't eat much during the day because my nice tight fill had me not hungry at all.

Friday night I made the kids fettucini alfredo with chicken...yes chicken, you know how this turns out don't you?  Of course I tried a teeny bite of chicken with alfredo sauce, of course dry chicken breast did not work with my new fill...of course I puked for hours trying (involuntarily!!) to get the chicken unstuck.

Then the swelling began.  Saturday morning I could drink coffee and eat a few bites of cream of wheat.  Saturday lunch I did not want anything but sipped some tea...it pooled quite a bit.  Dinner? Broth caused pain but trickled through.  Coffee was ok, kinda...a little like swallowing a marble...but it passed quickly.  I decided I was done for the day and hoped for a better day sunday.

Of course I didn't get a better day...I got the swallowed golf ball feeling with my first sip of coffee.  I was able, over 30 minutes to sip maybe 2 ounces of coffee.  Not good, but it's sunday and the doctor is not "in."  I figure I have to wait it out.  Until I forgot what I was doing and took a drink of water...not a gulp, but also not a sip...BLINDING PAIN!!!  My resolve to wait until monday was gone instantly...
So I spent an hour trying to figure out how to get my doctor (no call service, lost his cell #) and finally called my local ER...they told me to call the doctor's hospital and have them get him...IT worked!!  They paged him and he met me in the ER.
He took out 1/2 cc and it wasn't enough...so he took out another 1cc...
OMG!!!  I can swallow, I can drink.  I am not eating anything solid for 2 days, and I hope to god I don't gain any weight in the coming weeks...he will think about starting to refill me a little in 2-3 weeks...maybe...

I feel a lot better today, still a bit tender from the swelling and probably recovering from a bit of dehydration.

Please kick my a$$ if I ever try to keep a fill that I know is a little too tight...getting an unfill on a sunday takes an act of congress!!!

Thanks for listening!!!..ps I still love my band but that was SCARY!
:) Sheli

Yikes, Sheli, so glad everything worked out but sorry you had such a tough weekend. I think resting your pouch is a great idea, the board always says go back to basics after a bad spell and i think collective wisdom is the wisest of all!

great to know all this stuff, I guess that is what makes this site the "Place to be"... thanks for sharing....

Wow Sheli glad you got it all sorted out now but you must have been feeling really horrid. :-(  Wishing you a much more pleasant week this week.

Wow Sheli!  Glad it all worked out for you!  Hope you never need to find the doc on Sunday again!  Feel better!!  Ruth

What a story Sheli! I am so glad to hear you got it taken care of...and all I can say is that after that, if you still love your band, it really must have been the right surgery for you!

funny how different things scare each of us....I think it is great that she was able to have it fixed....

Cheryl,  I am so glad it was a quick and easy fix. The band first appealed to me because even if it is a pain in the butt, it can be losened on an emergency basis.  My friend spent two or three weeks in the hospital over the first 6 months with her RNY...I wasted an afternoon seems like nothing.  I know most RNY's don't have big problems and a lot of bands get overfilled, so what happened to me is more likely to happen (even again!) It really was scary!  I know now how my friend must have felt...well, a little anyway...her fix was not a needle poke away, it was painful opening of her stoma by endoscopic balloon (or something like that) I truly know in my heart that the rny is a good surgery...bu****ching what she went thought and then experiencing what I did this weekend I still wouldn't pick any different.  If I ahd known everyone here with their success stories with the rNY forsy I might have chosen differently...but I don't regret my choice. Scary and a bit of a wild ride though. :) Sheli

Sheli, I am so happy to have this place to hear all these stories.  I had my mind made up before I even found this place.  If I had no choice I would go without.  But, that is only from some bad experiences I've seen from a few friends, also like yourself.  Although, I have to say they lost all their weight, and that was their priority.   I certainly agree there are many good stories also.  But it just comes down to individual choices.  Many find the band scary...boy, there is so much to learn, and from what I read, each and every day, it can be a different experience, even eating the same food, but again, it is the same for each surgery.  I pray, each day, that i've made the right choice... if not, I guess I'll have to live with it or search further.  I'm hoping I"ve got it right.   Thanks for sharing... Cheryl