6 weeks with an empty band

Well.... a bit over 6 weeks ago I started having a LOT of pain. It felt like when I first got my band, a sort of building pressure/pain that went up from the center of my chest all the way up to my ears. It got worse and worse. After about 4 days I called my surgeon and talked to his PA (it was Thanksgiving week and the Dr was not in) She told me to come in and she would completely unfil me. I was, to say the least, not happy. We were heading to MI in a couple of days, and I sure didn't want to go with an empty band.

I immediately felt some relief, though still quite painful.

I went to a support group for a different surgeon here in Denver that night. The pain started to get worse again so I called my husband and told him I was going to the ER there at that hospital. They did a CT scan and told me my stomach was distended. They called the surgeon who works out of that hospital, and he said it sounded like a possible ulcer and I should be able to go home that night, and he would see me the next day.

I went to Dr Snyder (the one they called) the next afternoon and he went to his office to look at my scan. He came back in to the room and said "Your stomach is HUGE" He said it was the size of a football (and the normal stomach is about the size of a fist) He said I should not get a fill until I was feeling better. He gave me some meds and told me to come back in 3 weeks. Hr also ordered a Upper G.I. I was sent right over for that and the radiologist told me my stomach was emptying VERY slowly.

Nothing was done to figure out why.

The good thing was that there seemed to be no problems with the band (yayyyyy)

So, I went to MI with my band empty. I gained my usual 8 pounds while there. I have been back 3 weeks and am back down to my pre problem weight.

I am still having problems (pain/nausea) when I eat, though not quite as much. I have a whole lot of restriction. Not sure if it's the stomach issue or the band, empty or not. Yesterday I ate a small piece of bread and took a gulp of O.J. I though I was going to D.I.E. I couldn't believe the pain. I threw up quite a bit after this. I have had a couple other bouts of getting stuck, but nothing like this since my unfill.

So now I am just waiting for the issue to be resolved so I can have my fill back.

Hopefully soon....