LAP-BAND Surgery Forums

Hi all Been awhile for me... but wanted to post an article recently written in my band ‘experience’. Very pleased.... honestly, never an issue and pretty simple overall. If I can do it, you can too. Give it a thought. If I can help, let me know! http://www.townvibe.com/Ridgefield/September-October-2018/Worth-the-Weight/ john

I'm 5 days post-op. Is this infection? Pretty large area. any input appreciated.

Fellow banders, Just had a quick question for you. Did your weight loss team give you anticoagulant injections straight after your surgery and tell you it was essential you injected either your stomach or thighs everyday for a period of a few weeks? I’m wandering this 8 years post-op as I have never heard anyone else having to do this. Thank you ?

My sis sent me this and being a Columbus native, I really enjoyed it (grew up in Worthington, DH and I graduated from OSU, and we lived in Highland Lakes up north before moving to Pittsburgh). Enjoy... You know you're from Columbus (Ohio) when: The fact that the German Village Oktoberfest is in September (and not in German Village...) seems perfectly normal. You beam with pride that we're the hometown of Wendy's, White Castle, Rax Roast Beef, Bob Evans and & Donato's. But you wonder why we're the 8th fattest city in America. You remember very vividly City Center & Northland. You know how to pronounce Scioto and Olentangy. You go to The Memorial Tournamen…

I'm finding that I have difficulty early in the day, but typically by dinner time I can eat whatever I want. My band is on the full side and I've always had more problems in the morning. My weight is up about 20 pounds from my best post surgery weight, but still very manageable. I'm wondering if anyone else is experiencing similar and if so, how you are dealing with this.

Post op i know we are not supposed to chew gum. In case we accidentally swallow an lodge it. But i never "accidentally" swallowed gum before ever in my life. Im a grazer i chew gum to keep my mind off of food an keep my mouth busy. Has anyone chewed gum or had any problems with it?? If not to chew gum any other ideas for a grazer?

Hey everyone. I thought it would be great to start a thread for all the people getting banded in October. My surgery date is October 3rd and im sooo excited. I can't wait to hear from everyone.<br /> Good Luck<br /> ~S.

Hi all! I am nearing the end of my second week post op. The first week I got crazy full with the trendiest bits of liquid however during the second week I pretty much feel back to myself. I can definitely feel when I am nearing full but I am not getting that crazy full feeling I got in the first. Is this normal? Also I lost 8 kg within the first week but only 1kg in the second. I knew weight loss would slow however is it normal for it to slow so soon? Thanks in advance!

Has anyone else suffered shoulder pain since their surgery. I'm 2 years post surgery and suffering from severe left shoulder pain

Way back in the early 00's, I was diagnosed with esophageal scarring from years of undiagnosed/untreated GERD. I was getting food stuck several times each meal. The common name for this is "Steakhouse Syndrome". Food would lodge going down, and although I'd be able to breathe, it felt like a mini heart attack. Painful, scary (even if you know what it is, your body goes into "I'm choking" mode - creating loads of saliva). Larger, drier foods were the worst - meats (hence the word steak) - especially pork. But really anything could get stuck. To make it pass, I'd need to wash it down with fluid - usually something like water or milk. As the problem got worse, I could no l…

I am 3 days post op and 7 pounds down I’m excited to hear what the first few weeks have been like for everyone else. How much have you all lost in your first month?

Does anyone have any help for someone having cramping nerve pain on the left side of the stomach? The pain goes on and it goes into my spine, its been going on for years. Although the pain isnt as bad in the past couple of months.. Has anyone ever heard of this type of pain before? Its the same type of pain like in the spinal cord and its horrible. I got the pain in the days following the lap band procedure.

I have had my band for 11 years and love it, I have my good and bad days sometimes it seems like I get sick really easy because my food is stuck. I had the test done where you drink the white stuff and they ex-ray it going down two years ago everything was great. I have not had a fill done in 8 years. Over the last few weeks I feel really restricted and it’s hard to get my coffee down and clear fluids but by evening time (wine goes down great) I seem to be able to get more down, but like I said I throw up fairly often but I have for years so it’s nothing really new for me. We have terrible insurance and everything is out of pocket, I’m just wondering if I should be concer…

I HAD THE LAP BAND ON MAY 2018 AND ITS NOT WORKING 2 FILL UPS AND NO FEELING FILL STILL WANT TO EAT NOT FEELING FULL NO BIG WEIGHT LOOSE VERY UPSET ANY SUGGESTIONS HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOU TO NSTART FEELING FULL AND TO START FEELING FULL

Grand Island has an active support group that meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month. If you'd like more details or just want to discuss what our meetings are like feel free to reply below or send me a message.

I was successfully banded 5 years ago. Was 246 now hover around 195. Have not reached my goal of 155 but still 195 is better than 246 so there was some progress. But now I'm stuck not losing any weight. I got a fill a few times but it was unbearable I couldn't even swallow water so now I have no fill, no restriction and my doctor does not want to try fill again because it was so painful for me last time.I try to watch what I eat but admit I don't exercise enough (A few times a week on my elliptical). Anyway I do get occasional acid reflux and have been on antacids but its not a BIG problem. Still my doctor suggests that I seriously consider band removal as I am young-ish …

Hi All Can I ask for advice from anyone who has had the band/lap band removed and if you had to do a pre op diet please? TIA

Hello all!! My insurance requires 12 consecutive months of physician supervised diet and excercise. I completed my year in July of 2012. My insurance has denied my three times because they see no risk versus benefit. They denial letters continue to say, in so many words, that I am a healthy fat person. I am currently on appeal number four. Has anyone else had to jump through soo many hoops to get approved???

I was banded 3/13/12 and I did well with my band the 1st year. I lost 100lbs but found out I was pregnant 5/9/13, had the baby 12/18/13 and everything went haywire after. My band slipped and I just got it removed no one here in Jax Fl would revise it so now I’m waiting for my stomach to heal so I can have the sleeve.

Hi! I got my LB in 2007 n just got it removed 3 days ago due to complications arising from a tummy tuck in May 2017. The LB is a good weight loss resource tool but it won’t work alone if it doesn’t first click in the mind. I ended up developing GERD n ANEMIA from it but nothing serious. For now I’m going to give my body a break from all these surgeries b4 I consider any more revision to my body. Good luck to a u new with Bariatric surgery

I had so many problems with the lab band. Placed 5 years ago, after about 1 year I had a second surgery because the first bad had a leak. I was never at a place where i could eat comfortably. I was vomiting at every meal so I lost very little weight. One night all all of a sudden I couldn't swallow my own spit! I was miserable so I went to the emergency room. They had a very difficult time accessing my port, I was stuck about 20 times before they found the correct place to aspirate the fluid. After all the fluid was aspirated I just never had it filled again. I didn't want to go through all that pain ever again. Even with all the fluid out I still had some restri…

Hello Fellow Lap Banders! New to this site but my lap band was placed about 10 years ago and last year I got a 24 hour stomach bug of some sort causing dry heaving for 7 straight hours sending me finally to the ER. They did a CT Scan, which I begged them not to since I did not have insurance at the time (a $10k bill followed) but due to my lap band history they said they had to. The scan showed nothing and they kept me several hours until they finally got the heaving under control. Anyway, my issue now is... ever since that incident, I now have a sharp burning under my left breast every time I eat. Has anyone else experienced any changes after several hours of dry h…

Hello all! I was banded in Nov 2007 so it’s been awhile. Ups and downs, fills and unfills. I’ve kept off about 45 pounds that I lost, it’s been hard to do. I’ve found that the band worked maybe 50% of the time but that’s hard to judge due to some poor choices on my part. For the past 3-4 months I have Been having pain/soreness at my port site. I’ve not had a fill in at least 18 months to 2 years. The pain goes into my lower abdomen and all pain is on the right side right at the port and below. Hurts to walk a lot and stretch/move in certain directions. Not enough pain to warrant a trip to the ER. Has anyone experienced this so many years later? Slip? Corrosio…

Hello I am 6 days post op, and for the last 5 of those have had debilitating and constant nausea. I hadn't seen this as a symptom in any of the research I did and I am quite miserable. Has anyone else had this? How long did it take to go? I'm at my wits' end so would really appreciate any insights or experience shared. Many thanks

Had a fill just over a week ago. Been having severe heartburns during the night and early morning. This is the first time this is happening.

So I was banded back in 2012 when I was about 450lbs. Since then, I got down to about 230. With my frame, even though I was not at my target BMI, 215 was about my goal. I talked to a plastic surgeon because the amount of loose skin was causing issues and got a Tummy Tuck and panectiomy (sp?). Insurance covered the latter, but not the tummy tuck. I ended up getting a bad MRSA infection (the plastic surgeon looked at it and said it was nothing, so I am not happy with him). To have the tummy tuck, my lap band doctor emptied out the band before the surgery. After the surgery, he started adding fluid back. Since then, I have gained about 100 lbs. He said my …

Dear all, I had a lapband in 2010, and it did massively kickstart my weightloss and I did get all the way from 364 lbs to 180 lbs. I remember that I was not really explained the refill process and did not know I would have no restriction following the operation, and it took about 5 fills to have restriction. At one point, even yoghurts were difficult to drink quickly. At some points I had to unfill slightly when waterbrash (like reflux, but just water) stopped me sleeping, but I think that was due to too much fluid in the band. I didn't enjoy the process last time - I didn't like vomiting so much, and maybe the band only did half my weightloss and then I started hav…

How has the lap band effected anyone’s consumption of alcohol, in particular beer? I’m a huge craft beer fan and the thought of me never being able to drink a beer again (or so I’m told......) because of the carbonation, seems like a hard thing to sacrifice. Did any other beer drinkers out there experience the same sort of issue? Can you really not drink beer or do you just have to take it slow and drink very slowly and just sip it? Also, are there just issues with the consumption of alcohol in general or is it really dependent upon what u drink in particular?? Any feedback you could provide would be EXTREMELY helpful!!! Thank you all, Joe

I am having surgery on June 15th and would love to hear Lap Band surgery success stories. Also, what made you choose Lap Band over other weight loss surgery?

I've been banded since 2007 and I only recently started visiting this site... Stupid on my part. I learned quite a few things here. I wish I had been on here when I first started out. While reading different posts to help me with my pouch dialation problems 2 weeks ago I noticed many people who have had their bands removed. In the past I had port infection due to a tummy tuck, esophogeal hernia( which they originally thought was a band erosion) it was only when I was under anethstisia did my doctor see the problem and when I woke up I was totally ecstatic because I thought I would be waking up to having my band removed.it wasn't and I was grateful. I read so man…

Hi All, I thought I'd join your community as I could do with some support. In October 2013 I had a Gastric Bypass (RNY) at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Somerset (England). I had been 123kg at 158cm. Pre surgery dieting got me down to 103kg. Initial weight loss was good (despite having virtually no restriction after 6 weeks) and within 6 months I had dropped to 75kg but then it slowed right down. I went on to lose just 2kg more in the following 2 months. Then sat at 73kg for around 6 months. By this time I had no restriction at all (other than when eating Indian food - go figure?!). I have never suffered with dumping and gradually my weight has r…

Hi I have been banded for 5 years as of July 1 I love my band I had a major skip and it moved so now Tuesday I’m having it repaired. Dr says 2 days recovery I am wondering if anyone else had it repaired and repositioned and what was the recovery and is the diet the same as surgery. I have a major work function on Thursday and wondering if I can make it o get I won’t be able to eat but wondering what else I can or cannot do. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated

I was banded in December 2010, seems a life time ago! The company that I used is horrible, and I've lost my support, but I found a great place in Mississauga and they've been wonderful, but it's $1,000 per year. I went the last 8 months without seeing them, and I think I'll have to bite the bullet and pay the maintenance fee to get de-fills. My last visit to this clinic was a de-fill. I couldn't tolerate any food, I lost weight way too quickly and I felt like 2 lbs of poop in a 1 lb bag. Nausea, horrible taste in my mouth, fatigue, couldn't sleep, you name it. So I got a de-fill and felt much better. Until about 3 months ago. I started to wheeze, and when I say wh…

I have had my band for 7 years and am considering a revision surgery to the sleeve. If you have done this, could you please share your experience?

I was banded in 2010. I had all of my fluid removed from my band about 4 years ago. The last week or so I’ve been having some stomach issues. Cramping in lower stomach, pain behind shoulder blades, GERD symptoms. They thought it was my gulbladder but all checks out fine. I was having some pain right where my lap band is, kind of gassy pain. Now am feeling like I have a fill that is a bit too tight but I had no fill at all. I always get tighter around my period or when I have the flu but I’m so confused as to why I’m feeling this way and am worried it has slipped or eroded. My port sight is also tender. Someone help! I’m having major anxiety and I don’t have very many opti…

It has been 3 hours since lunch. Made the mistake of having grilled chicken, too dry. I tried stretching, walking, sipping hot tea. I brought up a lot in the restaurant but nothing has been coming up the past 2 hours but nothing can go down either. Never had this problem before last so long. Is there anything I can do the unblock the blockage. No pain or discomfort but not being able to drink plain warm water is scary. Any suggestions. Herb

I had lapband 7 years ago and have maintained pretty well. I am now 51 and i know I am not getting the right nutrition. I feel very tired most of the time, I am now starting to bruise really easy. I hate to admit it but I havent had anything green in probably three months!! I always try to get my protein and then I cant eat anything else much. Im just wondering how do you get your greens and nutrients etc.??

Part of this message is me rejoining this community, part of it is seeing what's in my profile signature., I used to have a weigh loss results bar in there. I had my surgery in 2009, almost a year after my wife did. Having a built in support partner helps. I went from around 270 to 195 in well less than a year. A large part of it was this surgery and the nutritional information. Another part of of it was re-discovering my love of running. I still had running a marathon on my bucket list when I had the surgery and I ran it in 2011 in just over 4 hours. I ended up doing six more. Life was good, my wife and I were even used in commercials as sucess storie…

HELP!!! 5 months ago I had all the fluid taken out if my band due to issues. I've completely forgotten what restriction feels like & I've had to completed start from the start. What fluids & mushies can you suggest Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, I had been suffering with what I was told was gastritis since Oct 2017. I had a scope in Dec 2017 by the surgeon that performed my lad band. He said gastritis and a ppi twice a day. I went to the ER 4 times before they finally did the endoscopy. They immediately wanted to blame the band. I had 2 cc’s take out at that time. When the endoscopy determined it was gastritis and not the band I had 1.5 cc’s put back in 2 sessions. When I was overall not seeing much improvement I have a 0.3 cc removed by my calculations this put me around 4.5 cc in an 11 cc band. It was lower then it was when I wasn’t having problems. Symptoms would come and go but for the most part I vomited…

I need help getting a fill in and around Olympia WA. I was just informed that Kaiser (formally Group Health) will no longer support the Lap Band. So those who have a Lap Band installed by them - you are basically left out in the cold without any support. They will take out your fill - but not add any. If you want to have another procedure, you have to jump through all the hoops AGAIN. I had 1 cc removed when I had a stomach bug - thinking, no problem I'll get it put back in after I recover. Fast forward 6 very long months, my regular Dr. at Kaiser finally got a response from the Bariatric Center stating they no longer support the band. My band works great - …

Hi all, After 2 years of having my lap band and having lost nearly 80kgs I had a horrid slip. I had revision surgery on 07.05.18 and they repositioned by lap band and replaced my port. I suffered a terrible bowel infection post surgery so I couldn't eat anything for 2 weeks postop anyway. On Tuesday (29.05.18) I had my first postop fill, my surgeon put 4ml in. Pre-slip I sat with 4.7ml and this was my green zone. Now, even with 4ml in off the bat I have restriction at all. I wanted to know if anyone else has had a slip revision and this has changed the amount of a fill they require to get adequate restriction? My surgeon said the wo…

I need help ...I had my lap band surgery 2010 and I been gaining weight lately .honestly I been over eating due to depression .but I been trying to work out more can anyone relate ? I see the doctor next month maybe gastric sleeve next ... Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App

It's a little personal, but.... I was having night sweats and occasional day sweats prior to my surgery. Once I had surgery, I was blessedly free of hot flashes! Now they have come back with a vengeance. Anyone else have them take a break while their body was healing? I've searched the site and couldn't find any posts on this subject.:huh2:

Hi all. First time posting and looking for some advice. Had my band surgery 41/2 years ago and initially lost 35kg. Within 5 kg of my goal weight. Then slowly over the last two years have gained back 18kg and have really struggled. Tred joing a gym and have been following the Keto diet but having no luck. Really struggling to keep most things down and find I regurgitate nearly every meal Went back to the drs and they have suggested a barium X-ray and to ‘reset my band’ and start again or get the bypass surgery. Does anyone have any advice for me or experienced a similar journey ?

Did a ten year follow up. Discovered leak between port and tube. GI Scope says Band in place and normal. Repair on 4/9 Monday. Will be interesting as I get another tool back that will cut each meal in half. Got lazy on eating and drinking. I hope I know better this time. Key is to integrate this tool into meal size restrictions, intake macros and exercise plan. Monday it begins again.

I had my Band fitted over ten years ago. Extremely successful in the first 18 months. I have deep rooted psychological issues and have fought the band on and off for years. I am a little under my start weight right now. i am quite well restricted, but am perfectly able to eat a very large meal in one sitting. Other times not so, I just walk away and eat later. pneumonia last year, after which I began spitting up blood, usually three times a day. I had pains in so many different places, but mainly to my left side. It seems more pronounced now near my band site. The blood and pain is worsened by exertion and can last ages and be very severe. It can make me …

Finally after a month of being without fluid in my band the dr has started refilling my band. We started off slowly 2cc for now , then i can adjust it as I go along. It was so scary first hoping my food pouch didn't cause permanent damage that could result in a surgery. Then finding out it had fixed itself but I had to wait 2 more weeks to get a fill. Then hoping I wasn't eating too much mushy foods and hoping not to gain too much weight. Luckily I didnt gain a lot of weight, just about 3 lbs or so. Now I just have to watch how I chew and not eat and watch tv at the same time..that's a no no. Have to focus on my chewing and food bite sizes . Now I remember how the b…

I know, and knew from the start that the band is "only a tool", "not a quick fix", "doesn't do all the work for you", and all that stuff that everyone says when someone is not losing weight. I am just really disappointed that after 20 months with the band, I am only down 22 lbs., and only 29 at my best. I've tried but to be honest, I really thought that once I hit "the green zone" it wouldn't be as hard. I mean why did I even do this? There has been no change on my mind. Only in my stomach. Obviously, my mind is pretty creative because it always finds a way to fulfill its desire for food, even when the band says "nope, no more of that". I mean really, did I think …

I been banded since 2013 and it's been a struggle. I will drop weight the gain it back . I need friends that have had the same surgery so I can talk about and get what they think because people without the band just don't understand Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App