My story 14 months out

Here is my story............. I shared it last night i another forum. I am discouraged and frustrated but hopefully I will be pain free. I have had days where I love fitting into clothes from a regular store and I love that I have lost 80 pounds. Was it worth it..........................hmmmmmmmmmm I don't know....................... I am pretty sure if I had to do it over again I wouldn't.  I can only hope it gets better.

Last nights post:

I was banded on 7/16/11. I had the worst left shoulder pain that seemed to last forever. I wasn’t real hungry for weeks. I had my first fill and everything was great. I was losing weight and everything was fine. I had a second fill about 6 weeks after that and again everything was okay. After my third fill I ended up in the ER with chest pains. I thought I was having a hard attack. After many tests and lots of pain the ER doctor said that my band was too tight from the fill 10 days before. I saw my WLS doc the next day for a partial unfill. I had lost 9 or 10 pounds in about 10 days. From November till about Christmas Eve I had pain often but it was off and on. At that point I wasn’t losing weight and the pain seemed to be getting the best of me. I wouldn’t have recommended the band to anyone but also wouldn’t have told someone not to get the band. About Christmas Eve I threw up violently but from that point on I started to feel better. In January, I had another fill and found that again I was too tight. I went back and had a partial unfill. I felt good after that for a bit and was losing weight. So my scale victories along with NSV and being pretty much pain free from Jan to May made me think that maybe it had all be worth it. In May, I went for a regular visit and everything seemed good. Just after that my band got tight and I went in for a partial unfill. Since then, I have had no real peace. I never know how I will feel or when I can eat or what kind of pain it will cause me. One day I can eat yogurt, chicken, or tuna salad and the very next day I can’t eat a thing. I saw my doc a few weeks ago and he said well if some days you are fine and others you aren’t then it must be your eating habits. I FOLLOW ALL THE RULES 90% of the time. It is not my habits. So here I am the past few weeks….in pain never knowing what I can or can’t eat. This past week has been the worst. I haven’t called the doc because I know it isn’t my fault but I am still ashamed, embarrassed, and worried that I will feel like it is my fault. I haven’t even posted here about this. I am calling the doc in the morning. I haven’t kept any solid foods down since Wed night. It seems I can’t even eat a few bites of chicken salad. If I don’t vomit right then, I do a few hours later. So yesterday I couldn’t even keep down refried beans. So today I had protein shakes and at least I wasn’t in pain. This is my brief version of what my journey has been over the past 14 months. The dates maybe off a little bit but it is as close as I can recall right now. So this is my fear….. my worry…….my thoughts I am so afraid that something horrible is wrong. I fear more surgery. I fear not find out what is wrong. I fear gaining weight and I fear that the way my husband looks at me will change again. I fear the stares and comments if I regain the weight I lost. I fear the I told you so.    Today I saw Doctor Joe. He gave me a long lecture about waiting a week to come see him. Reminding me that the first time you throw up you should call the office. He emptied my band (4.5 cc). He wants me to do fluids for two days, soft foods for two days, and then progress slowly. He said if I still have pain and or vomiting to call and he will start test to see if I have a slip. So now I just wait. I am so hungry. The next so hungry the next two days are going to be hard. even if I am pain free I don't know if I will try fills again. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

Hugs! For many bandsters there is no happy medium. Either too loose or too tight. Also some bandsters that reached their green zone easily later got to a point of too loose/too tight. The band can just be extremely unpredictable! :-(

I am really sorry to read about all the pain and discomfort you have been going through. Thanks for sharing your important story.  I wish for you comfort and pain free days ahead. Keep us posted on your progress.

I will keep you updated. Thanks for your thoughts.

I think I may have answered you on the other forum but this is so common. I've been there myself never could get a good restriction and even with unfills got stuck. Finally got tired of being tight and never knowing what or when I could eat and had my band totally unfilled a year ago. I feel so much better I don't plan on ever being filled again it's just not worth it to me. I've lost more since being empty than when I was filled because I can finally eat healthy food again. Hang in there and baby your little tummy hopefully if your band is bad you can revise to something else. Wising you the best!

So sorry to hear you are going through this.  It seems to be a fairly common story.  Try not to feel guilty, as it seems your band is out of your control right now.

I hope you figure out a way to either work it or revise it.  Keep us posted, and feel better.

Thanks for your support!

 Im so sorry.  We did the band, days apart. I hope everything works well and the pain goes away or you find a resolution/fix.

Thanks! I hope with an empty band, band diet, and exercise I will lose more weight. I hope to work this the best I can.

So sorry your having so much trouble I'm a new bander learning as I go but I haven't heard of anyone having this much trouble so far it kinda worries me. Hope you feel better soon.