Yeah, I know, it's a good problem to have...just not one I have any past experience with!

I agree that 1200 calories isn't a lot. My Diet Organizer food log tells me that my BMR is 1857 calories, plus I burn 200-400 calories a day in workouts, and goodness knows how many when I'm running around at work. But the dietitian (who looks like she's about 15 years old and has never - I imagine - struggled with her own weight) repeated that 1200 calories is fine.

I'm glad you're back on the weight loss track, Melly. 7 pounds in one month is fabulous!

Last week I rediscovered an evil slider food when my husband came home with a bag of sea salt and balsamic vinegar potato chips from Kroger's. As my great aunt Adeline would have said, OH MY SOUL. Fortunately, going to the nearest Kroger's is very inconvenient (70 miles round trip).

At my 6-month post-op visit (which didn't happen until 7 mos post-op due to my work schedule), I weighed 127.8# (4.2# below my goal weight. The NP didn't remark on it and neither did I, but when I got into see a dietitian 30 minutes later, I asked her, "Why am I still losing weight? I'm not even trying now."

She said, "Just keep doing what you're doing. Your body will find its happy weight. Commonly we see patients get to a low weight and then inch back up 5-7 pounds."

I was speechless (which is remarkable for me). Since then, I've found myself thinking, "My happy weight? My body seemed very happy to be 100# heavier, and enjoying half a gallon of ice cream a day. How can I trust my body to find a healthy happy weight?"

I asked some WLS pals about this, and they suggested adding more complex carbs to my diet, which I've been able to do. For example, I eat cooked barley with fruit and Greek yogurt for breakfast. Like that. This strategy has an additional benefit in that it seems to quell the constant, ferocious hunger I've had since my sleeve surgery. 

But...

At my annual GYN exam today, my doctor said, "So, you're the Incredible Shrinking Woman!" She was very supportive of my band surgery back when my ex-PCP pooh-poohed it, and I was glad that she's proud of me, but...

This morning I weighed 123.6# on my scale (126 at the GYN's office), or 8.4# below my goal weight. So is THIS my new happy weight, or am I on my way to underweight?

I know it's a problem some of us have wished we had, but I can't afford to replace my wardrobe right now. And neither can I spend my days at work hiking up my pants every 10 minutes because they're creeping down towards my knees. This is a mind-bending experience, to say the least.

I attribute 100% of my weight loss to my WLS....At 3 years out I attribute 100% of my 25lb weight gain to myself.

Your honesty is refreshing. If we can't be honest with ourselves about our eating, lifetime maintenance of weight loss is an uphill battle.

My WL attributions have varied during my WLS journey. Overall, I'd say that 30% of my WL success goes to my surgery, 30% to me (good nutrition, exercise, lifestyle changes), 30% to my support system (including online and in-person groups), and 10% to God. But that may be arrogant, and God's probably laughing at me even as I hit enter to post this comment.

A complete unfill and 6-week rest period cured my band slip. You might need surgery to reposition your band, but an unfill might be all you need. I wouldn't leave a band slip alone, but in your case that decision is up to you and your surgeon.

I know this is all very unsettling, but try to stay calm until you have more information. If your surgeon recommends surgery for this, you (or his insurance coordinator) can check with your current insurance company about your coverage for that. Even if your policy doesn't cover first-time or revision WLS, they may cover a repair if it can be shown to be medically necessary.

Did your surgeon or dietitian not give you a food plan to follow?

My band slipped. It was fixed by a complete unfill and 6-week rest period, after which we started gradually adding fluid. I do know a few people who needed surgery to reposition their slipped band. I think it depends on the severity and nature of the slip (for example, did it slip downward on your stomach, or upward onto your esophagus).

I asked my surgeon if one band slip would predispose me to another and she said "Not necessarily."

Pre-band, I was mainly a volume eater. I could out-eat my husband, who is 9" taller and does manual labor for a living. I also snacked, but didn't graze all day and night.

Post-op, I learned the value of planning healthy snacks into my day. That worked very well for me as a bandster. I still do it now, but my interest in food since being sleeved is much greater than it was when I was banded, so it's harder for me to resist food thoughts and cues unrelated to physical hunger. Lately I've been doing a bit better with that by finding something to distract me when the food thoughts arrive. It doesn't take much - sometimes just a change of scenery is what I need. So yesterday afternoon when I was working in my home office and started thinking about food, I got up and went into the bedroom to fold laundry. By the time I got done with that chore, the food thoughts had passed.

The title of your thread is Stretched Esophagus, but you're saying that it's your "small stomach" that has stretched. A dilated (stretched) esophagus is a different problem from a dilated stomach. The 2 problems seem similar but (in my experience) they have different implications for the future of your band.

The esophagus is designed to move food up or down, not to store it, and certainly not to store it long enough to cause dilation. The implication here is a problem with esophageal motility, meaning that for some reason, your esophagus is no longer able to push food into your stomach. In a bandster, that can happen because the band is too tight. I know you hate the very idea of it, but a complete unfill can relieve the dilation, though it can't necessarily cure the motility problem. The longer you leave the dilation untreated, the harder it will be to resolve.

Dilation of the upper stomach pouch can also be caused by a band that's too tight. I know that it's perplexing to for your body to suddenly decide that your band is too tight, but the human body is a living thing, not a machine. It's affected by hydration, medications, illness, etc. etc. The treatment of stomach dilation is the same as for esophageal dilation - a complete unfill and rest period. The prognosis here is likely to be better than with esophageal dilation because unlike the esophagus, the stomach is designed to expand, contract and churn to break down food enough to move it into the intestines.

In my opinion, you really need to get a complete unfill and let everything rest for a few weeks. You may regain weight, but if you don't take action now, you could end up losing your band.

Good luck!

I know you've been doing some hard work and hard thinking. I'm both proud of you and inspired by you. Good going, and thanks for sharing your story. It always helps me to know I'm not alone in struggles like the ones you described and conquered.