GeezerSue

Karel,
About ten weeks post-revision, my esophagus began to "fire up" and start working again. It was a huge relief. I hope you get there soon.
Sue

If you haven't had a fill, it is totally normal to have no restriction. A month post-op, no restriction without a fill just means you are healing normally.
Good luck!
Sue

Hi, Alex. Thanks for the anniversary reminder.
It has been ten years since several of us at Spotlight Health whined and moaned that the boards were dominated by RnY people and Alex said, "Is that all you want? Your own board?" And, ten years later, Alex's board is thriving and Spotlight is long gone.
Speaking of long gone... I was an early LapBand patient, 2002. The band had just been approved in the US, but my local doctor in Newport Beach, CA, had done a whole 30 or so. That's why I went to Roberto Rumbaut in Monterrey, Mexico. He had been part of the pre-FDA trials here and had placed well over a thousand bands at the time.
My band worked well for about a year. I lost about 50-60 pounds. Then the problems began and I started bitching and moaning and barfing, and people kept telling me I had attitude or needed to learn how it worked, etc. I never knew if I was going to be able to eat or if it was all going to come back up. In restaurants, the FIRST thing I needed was a seat near the restroom AND if the restroom had only one stall, I had to find another restaurant. I have barfed in every restaurant parking lot in Southern California, I'm sure of it! I regained every pound, plus three...because that's what you do when all you can eat is Soup and ice cream....and half of THAT comes back up most of the time. I couldn't exercise if I had even drunk Water in the hour or so before my appointment with my trainer...because then I was barfing Water. I finally decided, at the 2.5 year place, to revise to the DS. (Dr. Keshishian in Glendale, CA...but at that time, he was outside of Bakersfield...had done MANY band to DS revisions, so I felt safe.)
Dr. Keshishian didn't have Huber needles so he told me to get the saline removed at a band doctor's. The fastest place for that for me was dr. verboonen in Tijuana.
FORTUNATELY FOR ME, verboonen was training a new x-ray guy, so we had a roomful of people. Verboonen was explaining to him how we would be able to see the barium go through very slowly and after the saline was removed, the barium would go through much faster. The four of us...my husband was there too...watched as the barium didn't go through at all. It went a bit of the way down and then nuthin'. It just sat there...a big ol' glump of radioactivity, paralyzed! lol
Finally, I got to say, "SEE??? THAT'S what I've been telling everyone. My food gets stuck and just sits there. And then later, it comes up or goes down...but I can never predict which it will be." I was on one of those tables that moves to a complete upright position...Verboonen moved me up and I jumped a couple of times and finally, the barium moved. Even with the saline out, the barium didn't move very well.
He took a deep breath and was preparing to explain to me what was happening and I said, "Esophageal dysmotility?" He said,"Thank God! You read a lot, don't you?"
The band came out three weeks later, in November of 2005. As of my last doctor's visit, I was still down 125 pounds, seven and a half years later. (I'm not thin, never will be...but I can wear some mediums and some large sizes and I can MOVE. I don't need to make sure the restaurant has tables and not just booths. I know that if I'm out of town and my luggage is lost, I can find clothes anywhere. This is all good stuff.)
The DS is not a worry-free procedure. If you are a passive personality, you should NEVER consider it. You must be VERY proactive, and NEVER settle for "my doctor says" unless you ALSO believe it. If you cannot challenge your doctor's decisions or demand explanations, do NOT get the DS.
The esophageal dysmotility did not resolve right away. I think it was about eleven weeks, during which time I was convinced that the band had forever damaged my esophagus. But it is better now. Maybe 95%? I was lucky.
So...the band works well for some people, but the last I read, over half the people who get one, have to have it removed.
Although I have moved on from participating in wls boards, I did so for ten years. So I have "watched" hundreds...probably thousands...of people go through one wls procedure or another. My sister recently got the Gastric Sleeve. I would have kidnapped her if she had tried to go for the band...lol...but after watching me, there was no way she would have considered it.
IMHO, the sleeve or the DS are the only way to go. Your opinion will probably vary. But you know, most of the people--not all, but most--who REALLY argued with me about my position on the band have since had their bands replaced or revised to other procedures.
If you have one...good luck. But if you have one and it's giving you problems, do not let people talk you out of doing something that you feel you need to do to protect your health.
GeezerSue

Hi, Alex. Thanks for the anniversary reminder.
It has been ten years since several of us at Spotlight Health whined and moaned that the boards were dominated by RnY people and Alex said, "Is that all you want? Your own board?" And, ten years later, Alex's board is thriving and Spotlight is long gone.
Speaking of long gone... I was an early LapBand patient, 2002. The band had just been approved in the US, but my local doctor in Newport Beach, CA, had done a whole 30 or so. That's why I went to Roberto Rumbaut in Monterrey, Mexico. He had been part of the pre-FDA trials here and had placed well over a thousand bands at the time.
My band worked well for about a year. I lost about 50-60 pounds. Then the problems began and I started bitching and moaning and barfing, and people kept telling me I had attitude or needed to learn how it worked, etc. I never knew if I was going to be able to eat or if it was all going to come back up. In restaurants, the FIRST thing I needed was a seat near the restroom AND if the restroom had only one stall, I had to find another restaurant. I have barfed in every restaurant parking lot in Southern California, I'm sure of it! I regained every pound, plus three...because that's what you do when all you can eat is Soup and ice cream....and half of THAT comes back up most of the time. I couldn't exercise if I had even drunk Water in the hour or so before my appointment with my trainer...because then I was barfing Water. I finally decided, at the 2.5 year place, to revise to the DS. (Dr. Keshishian in Glendale, CA...but at that time, he was outside of Bakersfield...had done MANY band to DS revisions, so I felt safe.)
Dr. Keshishian didn't have Huber needles so he told me to get the saline removed at a band doctor's. The fastest place for that for me was dr. verboonen in Tijuana.
FORTUNATELY FOR ME, verboonen was training a new x-ray guy, so we had a roomful of people. Verboonen was explaining to him how we would be able to see the barium go through very slowly and after the saline was removed, the barium would go through much faster. The four of us...my husband was there too...watched as the barium didn't go through at all. It went a bit of the way down and then nuthin'. It just sat there...a big ol' glump of radioactivity, paralyzed! lol
Finally, I got to say, "SEE??? THAT'S what I've been telling everyone. My food gets stuck and just sits there. And then later, it comes up or goes down...but I can never predict which it will be." I was on one of those tables that moves to a complete upright position...Verboonen moved me up and I jumped a couple of times and finally, the barium moved. Even with the saline out, the barium didn't move very well.
He took a deep breath and was preparing to explain to me what was happening and I said, "Esophageal dysmotility?" He said,"Thank God! You read a lot, don't you?"
The band came out three weeks later, in November of 2005. As of my last doctor's visit, I was still down 125 pounds, seven and a half years later. (I'm not thin, never will be...but I can wear some mediums and some large sizes and I can MOVE. I don't need to make sure the restaurant has tables and not just booths. I know that if I'm out of town and my luggage is lost, I can find clothes anywhere. This is all good stuff.)
The DS is not a worry-free procedure. If you are a passive personality, you should NEVER consider it. You must be VERY proactive, and NEVER settle for "my doctor says" unless you ALSO believe it. If you cannot challenge your doctor's decisions or demand explanations, do NOT get the DS.
The esophageal dysmotility did not resolve right away. I think it was about eleven weeks, during which time I was convinced that the band had forever damaged my esophagus. But it is better now. Maybe 95%? I was lucky.
So...the band works well for some people, but the last I read, over half the people who get one, have to have it removed.
Although I have moved on from participating in wls boards, I did so for ten years. So I have "watched" hundreds...probably thousands...of people go through one wls procedure or another. My sister recently got the Gastric Sleeve. I would have kidnapped her if she had tried to go for the band...lol...but after watching me, there was no way she would have considered it.
IMHO, the sleeve or the DS are the only way to go. Your opinion will probably vary. But you know, most of the people--not all, but most--who REALLY argued with me about my position on the band have since had their bands replaced or revised to other procedures.
If you have one...good luck. But if you have one and it's giving you problems, do not let people talk you out of doing something that you feel you need to do to protect your health.
GeezerSue

I'm having link problems this morning. You MAY be having Dumping syndrome, but it has NOTHING to do with gastric banding...unless some damage was caused during surgery. Dumping IS a predictable side effect of the RnY and, in fact, many patients rely on that to dissuade them from eating sweets or fats. (Some of MY goofy RnY friends just take their donut to bed with them and have a planned dumping episode..go figure. So far, I have heard of one DS patient who thinks she has dumping syndrom, but when she describes it, it doesn't match with the literature.)
From NIH:
Rapid Gastric Emptying (Dumping Syndrome)
Rapid gastric emptying, or dumping syndrome, happens when the lower end of the small intestine (jejunum) fills too quickly with undigested food from the stomach. "Early" dumping begins during or right after a meal. Symptoms of early dumping include nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, and shortness of breath. "Late" dumping happens 1 to 3 hours after eating. Symptoms of late dumping include weakness, sweating, and dizziness. Many people have both types.

Stomach surgery is the main cause of dumping syndrome because surgery may damage the system that controls digestion. Patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome may also have dumping syndrome. (Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is a rare disorder involving extreme peptic ulcer disease and gastrin-secreting tumors in the pancreas.)

Doctors diagnose dumping syndrome through blood tests. Treatment includes changes in eating habits and medication. People who have dumping syndrome need to eat several small meals a day that are low in carbohydrates and should drink liquids between meals, not with them. People with severe cases take medicine to slow their digestion.
Information provided by the
National Institutes of Health
Here is info on dumping syndrome from an RnY patient:
Dumping syndrome is an effective result of the gastric bypass system which alerts the body of inappropriate eating. Dumping syndrome is described as a shock-like state when small, easily absorbed food particles rapidly dump into the digestive system. This results in a very unpleasant feeling with symptoms such as a cold clammy sweat, pallor, butterflies in the stomach and a pounding pulse. These symptoms may be followed by cramps and diarrhea. This state can last for 30-60 minutes and is quite uncomfortable.

That was the clinical description of dumping.

This is what I experience when I dump: shortly after eating a food I don’t tolerate (sugar, milk, sugary milk products or starchy carbs) I begin to feel a bit disoriented, maybe dizzy and then an overall sense of confusion or panic takes over my mind and body. This is a mild state of delirium. Then I begin sweating. Profuse sweating that can completely soak my hair, my clothes; it drips and glistens on my skin. During this state of sweaty panic I feel like I’m out of my mind! A few times during extremely dramatic dumping episodes I literally thought I was dying, the state of distress was that severe.

At this point during a dumping episode I have learned it is best to lie down on my side and let it nature take its course. The body is efficiently, albeit painfully, correcting a chemical imbalance in the cell system. It takes great presence of mind to calm myself and lay down, but even in a state of near-delirium I now know this is the only action to be taken. I know the event is passing when the sense of panic is replaced by exhaustion and cold chills instead of sweating. Occasionally I have suffered diarrhea at this point. If I have the luxury I’ll try to take a nap or go to bed after dumping. If it is in the evening I’ll sleep through the night, and wake feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck.

The mild delirium associated with dumping is the result of an interruption of nerve impulses affecting cerebral metabolism. The interruptions are caused by metabolic disturbances such as Fluid or electrolyte imbalance. When the incorrect foods are consumed and dumped into the digestive system the electrolytes get out of balance. Dehydration will also cause an electrolyte imbalance. This mild delirium is characterized by a reduced ability to maintain attention to surroundings or disorganized thinking. The daily routine can become confusing. In extreme cases a person who is dumping may experience rambling, irrelevant or incoherent speech.
If your surgeon doesn't know that the band does not cause Dumping Syndrome, he is really NOT informed about the surgery he is doing. Because of that, in your situation, I'd locate an experienced "back-up" doctor--even if that involves travel or more money--in the event you have a concern or complication that requires some experieince to deal with.

Be careful on this one, folks. She has been outed on OH using several names, being her own boyfriend, attacking those who are VERY helpful and deactivting and coming back insisting she is someone else, but making a few sloppy mistakes that inform us otherwise. Here's ONE of the threads....link

Some of the OH old timers were less than welcoming as they remembered CheriGate...the "Princess of Poor Pitiful" who ended up incarcerated for hustling helpful folks out of cold hard cash.


And where the hell is Donali!!!

Sue

You also need to check into the sleeve--for just restriction--and the DS...for maximum results for resolving Diabetes. There are many normal weight people who have had part of the DS for JUST the diabtes resolution...so you really need to look at that, too. Try dsfacts.com