Pregnant w/ a band...anyone else? Please come in!

 Hi there! I was just hoping to find some ladies in the same boat, and see if you're willing to share your experience. Here is my story, for those interested (if not, just skip to the last paragraph!) 

I am 9 weeks pregnant today! I had my band surgery in August of 2010, so about a year and a half ago. I was very pleased with my band. At my lowest weight this past summer, I was down a total of 75 lbs. After the summer and a very busy fall season at work, about 10 lbs had slowly crept back on.

I found out I was pregnant on New Year's Eve...Happy New Year to us!!! I called my surgeon's office immediately because I wasn't sure what their protocol was. I went in about 2 weeks ago and they took out 3 cc's. I think I was at 7.2 before that. Their concern was that I have had some vomiting from morning sickness, and they didn't want me to slip my band. So I now have 4.2 in there. They said to come back at the beginning of my 2nd trimester and they will probably take some more out, or immediately if the vomiting gets worse.

I have no problem with that at all, but I am concerned because I'm already overeating and it's only been 2 weeks. I'm not even going crazy with junk food. I'm just able to tolerate larger quantities than I have in over a year. It's so easy to get carried away! I can also eat WAY more carbs than my band would ever allow - pasta, sandwiches, etc.

So the bottom line is, I have already gained about 6 - 8 lbs. I am hoping I can get this under control and keep the gaining to a minimum throughout the rest of my pregnancy. My doctor told me I should only "need" to gain about 25 lbs in total. So I'm a little worried. Any advice? Input? Do you think it's common to see a bigger gain in the beginning as my body is getting used to foods it hasn't had in awhile?

Thanks so much for any insight you can provide. 

Hi! I had my band in October of 2007 had some problems and revisions but I have lost about 110 pounds total.
I had my first band baby last May and gained like 45lbs, I could not breastfeed so I went on a liquid diet and lost all of 10 of it before I got pregnant again! I am now 14 weeks along and have gained about 15lbs, I am trying to keep it off but also not trying to stress. I still have 5cc's in my band. The band will relax well the stomach does with pregnancy hormones so you can consume more I just keep exercising and depending if I can breastfeed or not I will do what I did last time to loose the weight. Just don't stop exercising this way you keep in shape it makes it easier in the long run. Good luck!

Hey Dawn- I definitely do not have your problem or situation.

I'm 7 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I know it's still early, but I'm feeling this full swing already. My band is fairly tight and right now with the nausea, I'm struggling to get in my caloric goal. i'm trying really hard but everything makes me want to gag at this stage.

I go in weekly to my employee clinic and the Nurse Practitioner goes over my journals, takes my blood pressure and all that. She used to be a prenatal nurse so she's really excited to have me as a pet project.  BTW- My BP is really really low and they are watching that.  She's not worried about my weight at all because a lot of women lose in the first trimester. My surgeon said I can ride out this fill for the full term just as long as I'm not vomiting. YAHOO! Lets home that doesn't start happening anytime soon.  So far I'm down 8 lbs since getting pregnant.

Ask for some zofran, that way, if the vomiting is a real problem, you can take care of it right away.
 

This is my second band baby. With the first, I had a very small unfill and then managed my nausea with zofran. I actually got my fill put back in around 14 weeks and kept the same fill throught the pregnancy. I gained about 22 lbs total. This time I had a small unfill prior to the pregnancy as I had some esophageal dilation. I didn't have much nausea this time, but I got a zofran prescription right away to be prepared. I'm up about 10 lbs so far, which is faster than I gained with the first one, so I'm trying to get more exercise and really track my calories like a hawk.

This is my 2nd pregnancy with my band. My first one, I had lost 120 lbs and then found out I was pregnant. I had about 6.5 cc's in my band and it was fine as my morning sickness wasn't bad at all. But towards the end of the pregnancy as the baby squished things, I would not be able to keep much down, however they didn't want me to gain too much weight so they left my fill in. I think I ended up gained about 37 lbs that pregnancy which was great as my pre-band baby I had gained about 65 lbs. I had a C section and retained a lot of fluid which made my band even tighter so they came and unfilled me within a few hours after my C section. Ever since that unfill, I haven't had as good of restriciton. I tried tightening it again but still gained about 60 lbs back and then wham, I'm pregnant again! So I'm starting this pregnancy quite heavy but I don't have as much of a fill in this time. I have around 4.5 cc's which I usually can't tell I even have a band except in the mornings. I have managed to gain about 12 lbs so far and I'm a little over 26 weeks. I was only supposed to gain a total of 15 lbs. I think it will be more than that, but I don't want to get a fill again as last time it was too hard to keep things down towards the end and then having to get the complete unfll after my C section. I really don't want to have to go through that again. Anyway, I am hoping all will work out well and then after the baby is born and my water retention gets back to normal, I want to start tightening the band again so I can lose this weight.

Thanks for your input, everyone! I really appreciate it, and congrats to everyone.

It didn't seem like I had a choice, really, in terms of getting the unfill. It is standard procedure at my surgeon's office. In fact, the nurse practitioner told me that another one of the surgeons in the practice insists on taking ALL the fluid out of the band immediately when you're pregnant. I'm glad we didn't have to go THAT far! They did say that if the vomiting subsides by the beginning of my 2nd tri (which it already has, a little, compared to what it was at 6 weeks) they won't take more out.

Since I still have about 4.2 cc's in there, I definitely still have some restriction. I couldn't sit down and eat half a pizza. I just really need to be mindful of portion sizes and the choices I am making.

She said I could start to slowly get fills again when I'm done breast feeding, which I hope to do.

Congrats on the baby!

I agree with asking for Zophran, even if you don't think you need it.  It's great to have on hand.  Be sure to ask for the one that dissolves on the tongue, it works much faster.

I'm 14 months out from LapBand and 23 weeks preganant.  Other than what was put in my band at surgery, I've not had a fill.  I called my surgeon's office when we found out we were pregnant and was told to talk to my Ob about my band and restriction, and to call them if I had any problems.  Other than that there wasn't much they could do for me until after delivery.  My Ob told me I could gain 15-25 lbs, I've gained 9 so far.  He also told me high protein, low carb. 

I've had days where I'm hungry all day and there's been days that I don't want to eat anything.  Days I want to eat, I try to be mindful of portions, low carb, high protein.  I tell myself every calorie has to count.  If I'm still hungry after I eat, I wait a little bit and have a piece of fruit or some raisin bran.  The fiber helps to fill you up.  I'm sure you know that string cheese, yogurt and boiled eggs are great to have on hand.  The days I'm not hungry, I make myself eat, but usually drink a few shakes during the day for protein.  I also don't deprive myself.  If I want a cookie, I  eat A cookie; not the whole bag/batch.  Just be mindful.  Remember, carbs aren't only refind (pasta, bread), they are also fruits and vegetables (which are much better for you, helps fill you up, and provides the fiber and nutrients your body needs).

Good luck to you!  Please keep us posted on your progress.

I was banded for 1 year when I got pregnant. My doc. insisted that all my fluid be removed from my band.... so it was done.. I gained a total of 60 libs. It so happened that my little girl pushed so hard on my insides it caused my band to slip. When she turned 1 yr old I had bypass done to revise from band now I am 1 year out of bypass and plan on having another baby in 1/2 a year. Hopefully I will not gain so much this time.

 I had my band surgery in Dec 2006, and I am currently 11 weeks pregnant. I did well with my weight loss for a few years and about a couple years ago it started creeping back up. I gained back about half of the weight I lost, but have had issues with stomach dialiation and band being too tight, so I have just been dealing with it. I would have loved to be pregnant at my lowest weight, but at least I did get married at the lowest, so yippeeeee. I have gained about 2.5 lbs and that bothers me a little. I know it is going to happen, but I am afraid of it happening too fast. I don't deprive myself, but try and eat right and have lots of small meals/snacks. My band (a 4cc) only has .7cc in it now, which has still been hard on me now and before pregnancy. I am eating enough though. Some days I can eat more, others a small meal is plenty. My only worry is that sometimes my band will dig into my diaphram and cause pain in my side/shoulder similar to after-surgery gas pains. It happens more when I overeat and my stomach is bloated. I am worried the baby will push everything up and this will happen for the last couple months as the baby grows. Of course, I won't know until then, but that is my biggest worry now. Also, we are going to Disney when I am about 27 weeks, so that might be interesting as well. Defintely won't be able to keep up with my young nephews, but still hoping to have fun and enjoy the pool!! 
Congrats to everyone, I hope all pregnancies go well!!!