trulytangledgrl

Thanks Lisa for the information!! I actually got an appt to see a surgeon on the 25th to discuss all my issues I've been having. I'm not hopeful that he well agree to do removal surgery since he didn't do my placement, but we will see. I'll keep you all posted!

Hi all... Been forever since I posted but just wanted some opinions. I've had lots of port site pain lately... Well always had it really but it's worse now than its ever been. Also tons of abdominal pain/discomfort in general. So a couple of things I'm wondering... Is it possible to have an allergic reaction to the band? Should I be concerned that my body is reacting to a foreign object in my body. Maybe the band is eroding? Anyone experienced this before? What are the symptoms of erosion? I'm wondering how much it costs to get band removed and if anyone had gotten insurance to cover it even though all of us here are self pay for installation... I'm so freaked out!!! I've had my band since 2008 and had problems all along -- just wasn't the right choice for me. I just want it out to be honest. I don't know what to do!! I can't afford to pay to have it out. So depressed.

Thanks for your reply. I don't have any redness around the port area, and no swelling, just a general bloated feeling most of the time. This happens when I eat meat, so I have actually switched to a vegetarian diet as of last week. I had an upper gi about a month ago and the Dr. Said the band looked fine. Placement was good - no slippage, and he didn't say anything about erosion. I think I'm just worried over nothing!

I do notice, however, that my port area generally hurts if I touch it. I don't know why that is?

Has anyone experienced band erosion? If so, can you tell me what it felt like? I'm experiencing extreme stomach pain... It's sharp pains and it won't go away. I have experienced this pain a lot since being banded in 2008. It's just getting worse though.

Well, apparently I spoke too soon. JUST made it home from work and it started again. Now I am clueless. I used a different shake and that didn't solve my problem. Is this normal??? Should I do anything different or add anything? I'm really tired of living with this. Please tell me this WILL stop after my surgery. I keep thinking that this will continue for the rest of my life.....

Its not going to last the rest of your life. Once you are able to be on a diet where you are eating solids, it should subside. Also, I think that just as one other bandster said, eating a lot of greens can give you diarrhea also. So maybe cut down on the greens and eat carrots or something if you are able.

Here's my take on it - I know that I was building scar tissue around the port - why wouldn't we build scar tissue around the band? That would add tissue around it - thus causing it to tighted without a fill - since we all are seeing this over time and its a normal part of what our bodies do - it just kind of makes sense to me.....

Lisa - - I think you are 100% correct as well! Good thinking.

Hi Carrie,

Welcome back! You'll do just fine - you know what you need to do to succeed - you already did it not that long ago. Its just normal life to have little set-backs - the goal is too not let them turn into big ones. So jumping back in for support and guidance is the right thing to do. For me ~ since like you I know what it takes to succeed - the magic is waking up that one day and making that long term commitment to fix it. For us now its realistically only 90 days of hard work (so short in the scheme of life), but then a lifetime of little long term changes. Whether its getting up 30 minutes earlier and doing a fast at home workout. Or forgoing that evening drink/treat and only having them on the weekends. Or both it we're rock stars!

I've been traveling a lot lately and added 7 pounds just because of that - I got off my schedule and it puts my body in havoc. I know what it is and I don't sweat it, its part of life - I just jump back into my normal routine and work it off. It normally only takes me a couple of weeks to get back on track and then I'm back to working so I don't get too thin! (Feast or famine - I'm telling ya). The body is a strange thing.......

Take care, its great to see you! Just join in, we'll do it together we both have a little bit of work to do!

Love ya!

Lisa

Hey Lisa! Thanks for the reply to my message. Its really great to see you are still on the lapband forum! Your words of encouragement really mean a lot and I hope that one day I will be as successful as you! I don't think I will ever have to work at not being too thin. LOL! That would be weird for me. You are right though, the body is very strange... Its very weird that at one point I had 2.25 cc of saline in my band and now I can barely tolerate 1.75 cc! I just don't get it - - what changed? I have no clue. Well, stay in touch! I am sure you will get that 7 lbs off in no time!

Love ya,

Carrie

Hi there! Congrats on your decision to get lapband surgery. You are not going to regret it! The liquid diet is really difficult, I know, but stick with it so that you can lose a little before your surgery. It really helps the Dr's when you can lose a little because it helps if you have a fatty liver. I guess it makes it easier for them to see around inside of there when you can get some of the weight off your liver. There might be days where its really difficult even having the band - - what I mean is that the band is NOT an "easy fix" as some people might try to tell you (mostly to discourage you because they are jealous). By no means is having the band easy.... It takes a lot of strength and courage and also you will be forced to deal with emotional issues head-on instead of stuffing them down your throat. You absolutely CAN get down to 160-150!! My heaviest weight was similar to yours - about 235 or so, and I was at 195 when I had surgery, and at one point was down to 145. So its absolutely doable. Just have faith in yourself! If you need extra support feel free to send a message.

Hey everyone! Just wanted to check in (and its been a LONG time) and hopefully get some support from you all. I am hoping that I can continue to come to this forum and be a source of support for everyone here and visa versa. I was banded on March 28 2008 at OCC. It was such a great experience! I love Dr. Ortiz and everyone else at OCC for helping me to FINALLY lose weight and be considered "normal" not overweight. I went from 205 to 145, but had to get all the liquid out of my band about a year ago due to the fact that I couldn't keep anything down. I had many tests done to make sure that my band hadn't slipped - - and it hasn't, thank the lord. So, anyhow, I had all my liquid removed, and gained some weight back. A while after that I went back to my Dr. and had 1 cc put in just to see if I could tolerate it. I did - - and still continued gaining weight because it wasn't enough restriction. So, this past friday, March 11, I went back to my fill Dr. in NYC to have more liquid put in my band. I got .75 cc and we will see if I can tolerate it. So far, so good! Of course I am just on liquids right now, but I think my problem in the past was that I didn't drink enough water and I would get extremely dehydrated which caused a domino effect with me vomiting everything I was eating. I am not sure if being dehydrated can cause the band to be tighter or have more restriction? I am hoping so much that this works out and that I can get back down to 145 (from my current weight of 167 - - which I have maintained for over a year now which is pretty impressive according to my Dr.) Well, I guess thats it for now. Thank you all for reading what I have to say! I hope to hear your responses and get some support.

When I saw your post, I just had to reply. I too just found out last week that my band has slipped. The doctor has told me he will not go in anf fix the band bdue to scar tissue that has formed, instead has suggested gastric sleeve surgery. I would like to know if anyone else who has a slipped band been told that the band can't be adjusted. This is so disheartening. I keep thinking I've done something to make the band slip. I repeatedly asked the doctors about the risk of the band slipping and was told there was was no way the band would slip, as they had stitched the band in place. Now 2 years later I've told the band has slipped and I'm only half-way through losing my weight.

I am so sorry to hear about your band! I have not heard anything about gastric sleeve surgery - - did the doctor explain to you what exactly that is? How does it work? Do you think you are going to go through with the surgery? Is the band slippage causing you to vomit a lot or is it not really effecting you?

I am so excited to know that everything is okay with my band! The surgeon also gave me 1cc of fluid so I will have some restriction. I only had .35 cc in and the surgeon said she was very impressed that I was able to maintain my weight and not gain anything since my last visit there in Feb. When I went to see her in Feb., she put me up to 2.5 cc of fluid and it was too much for me to handle - - I had to go to the ER to get some liquid removed because I couldn't keep anything down. So I was basically empty for 3 months and managed to not gain a single pound. Sometimes I get really down on myself that I wasn't able to lose anything, but when I think about it, not gaining is pretty impressive considering I had no restriction.

Hey everyone! I had my appointment today with the surgeon! She looked at my films from the barium swallow and said that everything looks perfect! Just wanted to update all of you and say thanks again for the support and replies to my message. I am so thrilled that things are alright.

I have an appointment with my Dr. at NYU next friday. I will keep you all updated on what she says. Thank you all for your advice and support - - it is much appreciated.

I found out last week that my band has slipped. It is around my distal esophagus (have no idea what that is, but it doesn't sound good) instead of being around the top of my stomach. I am so nervous and anxious because I don't know what to do from here. I can't afford to go back to Mexico to see Dr. Ortiz to get it fixed/taken out. I don't have the money or the time off of work. I am just wondering if anyone else has had this experience or similar experiences and if so what did you do? Has anyone heard of insurance paying for cost of surgery to repair a band even if the original band was paid for out of pocket? Also, has anyone had surgery to repair or remove a band from a surgeon within the US (if you had your band outside of the US)? I am just so nervous that I am not going to be able to get this taken care of for financial reasons. I don't know what to do - - I am freaking out. I can't stop crying (and EATING, to boot!) and I am just not sure what to do from here. Help! Anyone with similar stories to share/advice to share?

Hey Kim! It sounds like you are in exactly the same position as I am. I got a fill about a week and 2 days ago and am feeling pretty restricted. It takes me about 45 minutes to drink a cup of tea in the morning - - sometimes longer. Its great if you are able to eat solids, though, and not PB - even if it takes you a long time to get it all down. Sometimes I can eat, sometimes I can't. It really all depends. It seems like my band is really finicky.

I have been playing with my fill amount for way too long - - I get fills and then decide that I am too restricted so I go get liquid out. Then I decide that I am not restricted enough so I get another fill. Its back and forth back and forth and I am nearly ready to give up to be honest. I don't like the feeling of being sooooo restricted that it takes me 45 minutes to drink a cup of tea, but I don't like feeling so open that I can eat whatever I want. I just want a happy medium but can't seem to find it! Anyone else having this problem? If so I would love to know that I am not alone.

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae205/58rosenow58/DSCN1816-1.jpg

It's been hard work but it all worth it I went to OCC and saw Dr So he is the best and then when I

got on the scales today I'm under 200 lbs I don't think thathas been the case since high school

Dr. So said I was doing a great job and there's no need in add anything to my band as long as i'm still looseing

which I am not as fast but still dropping

I just had to take a picture of the scale and share it

Thanks to all of you for your help in getting me there

Janet

CONGRATS JANET! That is so great! Its a wonderful feeling to see those pounds coming off. Keep up the hard work and you will be at your goal before you know it!

I would definitely get this checked out as soon as possible. To me, it doesnt sound like slippage, but you never do know until you go get everything checked out by the Dr. I think if the band has slipped, you wouldn't be hungry you would actually feel very full even from drinking water, and you would generally even throw up water/other liquids. I would definitely go get things looked at by your Dr. Good luck and I hope you get this issue resolved.

WAY TO GO SABRINA!! =D> That is so amazing you should be giving yourself a pat on the back. What a huge inspiration you are to everyone here!

Holy crap! I can't believe how many calories some of those salads have! I too love the quesadilla explosion salad from chilis... what a shame. lol. Although, I don't go out to eat much anymore so I guess its not a huge loss. Its just unreal to me, though, how it could be better for you to eat french fries than a salad.

I posted a few weeks ago about having some problems with my band/barely being able to get liquids down. I went to my Dr. in NYC to have things checked out. He removed .5 cc of fill and I THOUGHT that everything was kosher after that as I was able to drink 2 glasses of water with no problem. WELL... as it turned out, I was still not able to eat solids and was still barely able to get down liquids. It would generally take me all day to drink a bottle of water. Well, today for the first time in nearly 1 1/2 weeks, I was able to eat corn chowder soup! =D> I cant believe it! I am so happy and needless to say, I am not as grumpy now. haha! My partner was saying how I was cranky the past few days and I was like "well if you couldn't eat for 1 1/2 weeks YOU'D be cranky, too!" lol. Anyhow, I just wanted to post the good news cause I am estatic!

I have not had that happen to me...I usually just actually throw up whatever is making me feel like that. Sounds cruddy though. I wouldn't eat that again! I don't eat anything doughy at all...every thing I eat of "bread" nature has to be crunchy and crisp.

I second that - - crunchy and crisp is all I can do, too!

I have had this problem before, but I generally actually throw up food or liquid not just air. Do you always have this problem when eating things like pizza (i.e. bread or other doughy type foods)? If so, you might want to consider giving those foods up all together. They might not be the best for you and also it could cause problems/swelling around your stomach if you are throwing up so frequently. Just be very careful about this in the future. Don't want to cause damage to your band.

WOW you look incredible-- Yowser. how big is your band. That is wonderful that you have lost so much. WOW great job!!

Hey Stormy! Thanks for the compliment. That isn't actually a very recent photo (the after shot, I mean) - - I am down about 15 lbs from that currently. My band is 4cc. Is yours 4cc? I really appreciated your post of your experience because I think that soooo many new bandsters need to know what they may potentially experience after being banded/having fills. Also, I have had so many experiences exactly like yours, and no matter how many times it happens, its always scary! I was reading that post and thinking 'yep... thats exactly how I feel.' So, thank you for that. Will truly be a huge help to other bandsters

Just as an update - - I had an emergency appointment with my fill Dr. and had .5 cc taken out of my band and I feel like a whole new woman! The pain has subsided and he assured me that my band had not slipped, but that my stomach is so tender from throwing up. He said that its like a vicious circle when things like this happen because once you vomit, it irritates the stomach, then when you try to eat or drink, it irritates it more so then you throw up again, etc etc etc.

Anyhow, just wanted to update all of you.

Stormy:

Thanks for the blow by blow of your experience I really appreciated it. I have had the same thing happen to me and its exactly as you described it. I think its important for new bandsters to understand what they may potentially experience so that if it does happen, its not as frightening to them and they will understand what to do in the future.