lea3277

I had a band place June 2011, lost 100 lbs., and then began having complications all to gain the weight back. Not only did I gain the weight back, I gained two different sites of horrible pain, both the band and port. The port site was almost too much to bear. I had my band revised to a sleeve due to complications last Thursday and so far, I feel such a sense of relief having that contraption out of me! I have had an excellent recovery and jokingly asked the doctor if he actually did the sleeve.. Hoping to make the best of my second chance! I'm having a hard time not overdoing it after surgery!

First off,
Hello, my name is Jacob and i am new to this forum and to this website...
I am scheduled for this Tuesday at 7:30 AM to have a Gastric Bypass procedure done by a Dale A. Sloan in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
He has never lost a patient on the operating table during his 38+ years as a surgeon but i am unsure if he means for WLS or all surgery because he used to do organ transplants and heart surgery as well.

He only accepts the best team members on his surgical team and he has won an award at a Laparoscopic competition.
I am absolutely terrified that i wont wake up, that ill bleed out, that I'll have a heart attack on the table... Just really specific and almost hysterical fears that have left me in a constant state of panic and anxiety all weekend.
In truth i am remarkably healthy and only have Diabetes that requires Meds which i take diligently, i have no known heart issues or blood pressure problems to speak of.
As it says in my profile i am 31 years old, 366 pounds, used to be 400 before the diet to lose 15 pounds.
I had an EKG done and it was completely normal, i didn't get a stress test but i think maybe i should have.
Am i over worrying for no good reason or are my fears justified?
I mean as of now i am writing letters to my loved ones saying my goodbyes and recording a video!
Yes i am that crazy!

I have had 2-3 surgeries almost 17-20 years ago for deviated septum so i know that Anesthesia has advanced quite a bit and i had a colonoscopy less than a year ago!

Good luck with your journey!

They told me they'd check for a leak before they complete the surgery. I am going to a reputable physician and trust him, but I feel like the first few days will be rough! My friends who had the revision from band to sleeve stayed at least 1, if not 2 nights in the hospital. We shall see! Any post op advice would be great!

Did anyone have the band to sleeve revision and get to go home the same day? I'm having the revision as a day surgery and was curious.

I'm having a band revision to the sleeve in a couple of weeks. I'm having at an outpatient surgery center and will be released the day of. Has anyone else had the procedure as a day surgery and how did you do? I see most people end up staying in the hospital 1-3 nights.

Posts like this kinda freak me out. My surgeon doesn't do the' date=' as he put it, "Cookie cutter" fills. Where you go and get a cc on your first fill, a cc on the second and so on and so on. What he does is on your first visit, they access the port and lock it down 100% so Water can't even get through, then sit you up on the edge of the bed and have you drink a few gulps of Water, then they slowly remove the Fluid till you feel the water start to drain into the stomach, and that's your "sweet spot" for the fastest weight loss.

Reading about someone having these kinds of reactions to a 1 or 2 cc fill make me worried about suddenly getting a 8 - 9 cc fill all at once on the first visit. But he said that his patients lose as much weight as a bypass patient in their first year by cutting out all the time it takes to find your "sweet spot".[/quote']

Oh my! That's kind of scary. Never heard of folks being done that way, but he is the expert. Not me.

I went through the same scenario of nearly ending up in the ER with just a fill of .3 in my band. I have never hurt that bad in my life, and I have a very high tolerance for pain. I'm just so happy we have this board to go to for discussion. It has calmed my nerves many times! I got another fill today after having to get an unfill last month. Hoping this is my last one!!

I can usually tell within a couple of hours that I've had a fill, but I haven't noticed the one I got today. How long does it take for you to notice a fill??

My doc told me that I would be really nauseated and not able to eat anything or keep liquids down if a slip had occurred, in most cases. Hopefully, you will be okay!

Nighttime is my biggest problem. And also right after I leave work! It drives me nuts. I've started trying to just drink Vitamin Water or something low cal at night, but a little bit sweet and it satisfies me. Sometimes I will eat yogurt. I do good with meals, but tend to eat out or boredom and it is definitely a bad habit to acquire.

So, I had a fill and have definitely had restriction, but my scales are just stuck! I've counted every calorie that's gone in my mouth, drank more Water than I cared to drink (200 oz) per day, and I'm active. What's my deal? Trying to stay motivated, but it's getting harder when I don't see results. On my first band journey I lost so fast!

I would like to also have some pals on here even though I more in the east Texas area it helps so much knowing that another person is going through the journey with you ' date=' thanks so much for any replies[/quote']

I'm in east Texas too!!

It drives me nuts!! And yes, that time of the month is super crazy!! Our bands have a personality of their own.

Does anyone else's band feel super tight somedays and then looser other days? I felt I had really good restriction the last couple of days, but today I don't feel like I have as much. Just curious.

I've never heard of that! What's it like?

**meant I have some left, not "someone. "

I had taken it for a week or so before I got my Lapband on track. It's definitely the "new" thing to try around the area where I live. I couldn't tell a huge difference, but didn't take it long. I have heard it works quickly, but I'm sure there are always side effects. I have someone left I could sure stand to take for a jump start.

Does your band get tighter around the time of your period?? Maybe it's just me, but mine seems to like clamp down!! Strange.....

Glad to know I'm not alone. Was down 70 pounds and my doctor left without notice 6 months into my life with a Lapband. 17 months later, I have found a doctor whom I love and I am determined to put my band to use. Got a fill the 10th of this month, but was very uncomfortable and I could never get past the clear liquid stage. Had to have .4 taken out, but I still feel some restriction. I am hoping with one more fill I will be at my sweet spot. It's so good to know I'm not alone. I have felt like such a failure!! I miss my clothes being looser!!

As long as you can keep liquids down, I don't think they are overly concerned. After I left today, I did second guess myself and wonder if I made the right decision, but I was so, so uncomfortable. I have a very high tolerance for pain, but almost hurt to the point I hurt to take in a breath.

The way I am looking at it now is that I now know I need to be somewhere between where I am today and 7.5 cc, where I was at the past five days. My sweet spot isn't very far away and I go back the end of August and can adjust as needed. I was just afraid I would be too tight and end up messing something up. Who knows if I didn't the right thing. I still have trouble swallowing Water, so at this point I'm okay with my decision.

It helps so much hearing the opinions of others. Love the support.

So I broke down and had some taken out today. They said I could wait a couple weeks to see if it got better, but it was too uncomfortable. They said it would've been fine since I could drink SOME liquids, but I couldn't stand the pain. Thanks for your help! I'm happy to be back on my journey.....

I've never had to have any taken out and for some reason I feel like its a "bad thing," but I know being too tight can lead to band slippage and dehydration among other things. I don't have time for all that. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't just overreacting!

Thanks y'all! I think I'm going to call tomorrow and see if I can get just maybe .2cc taken out. I don't think I can get used to this feeling and definitely have no desire to get dehydrated! I would rather take it slow than go from able to eat to vomiting all the time!!

My doctor left unexpectedly 6 months after my procedure and 17 months later I finally found a new doctor. I had a fill on Wednesday and he added a little over .5cc to my band. I have a total of 7.5 cc in my 10 cc band now. When I had my fill on Wednesday, I felt okay. On Thursday, I had some trouble with liquids, but could manage to get them down. On Friday, I woke up and felt like a house was sitting on my chest, but I could still get very small sips of hot liquids down. Friday night I wasn't able to eat anything, but could still sip liquids. When I woke up Saturday, I was miserable and could barely get liquids down. I felt like I had a rock in my throat that I couldn't get to go away. I felt so tight that it even hurt to take deep breaths. I drank hot tea off and on all day and was able to eat a few bites of mashed potatoes that night. Today, I have been able to drink liquids pretty well and I was able to keep down about 3 small cubes of turkey. I still feel super tight. Is this how it should feel? It's been so long since I have had a fill and even back then I never felt restriction. I need help people! I was planning to get some taken out tomorrow, but don't want to if this is normal! Please offer suggestions........

I've been banded for only 9 months and I was doing great, until last month and I gained 10 of my 70 pounds back. I know it's stress, but I have to find a way to get back on track. On one month my life went crazy....mom rediagnosed with cancer for the 8th time, brother going through a horrible divorce, and I got a new job! I'm thinking about going back on liquids for a week, but that's going to be a challenge. We all need motivate each other. I sure need some help and encouragement.