Struggling with my band.

Hi all,

I'm so glad I found this forum! I've had my band since November of 2006 and had about 80-90lbs to lose. Well, I'd lost 45lbs, when I got pregnant with our first. (She was planned...lol) I had our little girl in March 2008 and only gained 18lbs during pg. I even lost all of the pg weight after having her.
 
Then, I got my first post pregnancy fill and things started to go haywire! I don't know if I got my fill too soon or what. I was 3 months postpartum and I have started swelling like no other. My doc's office says it's normal for women to swell before their monthly visitor, but I don't think I ever did that before getting pregnant. Needless to say, I can't seem to get anything but liquids down until around 3pm in the afternoon and then it's often hit or miss with food. I'm only on my 2nd fill this time around.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm really struggling to lose my weight. I still have about 60lbs to lose, and I feel like I'm consuming more of the crappy liquid calories than ever. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to share? I can't seem to tolerate a lot of foods anymore. Even chicken is hard to get down. I feel so hopeless and I'm so frustrated with my band. I do exercise 4 times a week for at least an hour each time.

Thanks in advance!

tasha

Tasha sweetie don't despair, you've found the right place, also come over to the lapband board and there is also a board for bandster baby mommys, check them all out.
Sounds like you are way too tight! Get even just a small unfill and that should make it all better. Now I haven't been down this road but have been around here for over a year and read nearly every post so have aquired alot of knowledge. Quite often when refilling after an unfill you can't hold as much as before, don't know why. Yes you do retrain fluids before TOM and that can be uncomfortable but shouldn't cause serious problems. Maybe go to mushies for a few days during this time. You are absolutely correct that when you are too full you will eat the bad easy to get down foods. You should always be able to get solids down because solids are what make the band work by activating the vagus nerve at the top of the stomach. The tighter you get the more difficult foods are to eat. So my advice is get in for a small unfill to relieve the tightness, then do liquids for a couple of days, mushies for a couple of days and slowly add solids as tolerated. When you do start solids take pea sized bites, chew till liquidy and eat nice and slow, put the fork down in between bites if you have to. This should get you back on track, being banded should never cause pain. Now go enjoy that precious baby!

Oh! Thanks so much! I will try to find the post-pregnancy forum on here. I will also try mushies for a couple of days. Do you have any good ideas for mushies? I like cottage cheese and it goes down quite easy. Also oatmeal, if its very runny will go down. Do you know of other mushies I could try? I don't want to get sick of cottage cheese since it's a great source of protein....I'm up for any suggestions! Thanks so much for your speedy reply! I feel a lot better!!

Tasha

Oh hon I'm the queen of mushies! Try refried beans with maybe a little cheese melted on top. After a fill I usually whiz up chunky soups in the food processor and then thin it down with broth or even water. Lentil, split pea with ham or beef stew type soups are also high in protein. If you like yogurt that is also good, Yoplait has some really tasty flavors. Just anything you can thin down to a mushie will work. Let me know if I can help you with anything else and visit the lapband board too, it's full of great people who have been thru anything you can think of with the band!

Tasha , I'm not a bandster , so I haven't been through this . But , I have heard from bandsters & RNYers , that warm tea will help relax the stomach/ or pouch at times . I thought of this because you said you can't get anything down until after 3 PM . Congratulations on the new baby . And hey , only gaining 18 pounds is great ! I hope you find some comfort soon . Kathy

Kathy!

Thanks for this advice! I am going to try it as soon as I log off!

Tasha