La_madam

Happy Birthday Cindy..enjoy your day

Happy Birthday Hope you have a beautiful day..enjoy yourself !

I have BC/BS also andwent to Mexico. I have no regrets and have been very successful despite my latest news of band erosion. I used Dr. Ortiz at www.obesitycontrolcenter.com Best of luck to you on your decision

You wont burst the band, you may get sick and have a PB...hopefully the grazing days will be over for you once you get good restriction. It is what happened to me, food was not even an obsession when I had good restriction...grazing is usually a mental thing..got to get your head right..when you go to graze stop and ask yourself if you are truly huingry or do you just think you are hungry. Once you stop and ask and answer yourself you may find you might now graze. This is where the head works comes into play. Good Luck

Today is the day to give thanks.. What are you thankful for?? I am thankful for : 1. The opportunity I had for the last 19 months to have my band and lose the 104 lbs I did with it regardless of my erosion 2. my son's cancer still being in remission 3. my wonderful husband and children and brother and father 4. all of you here on this board who have supported me and shown me nothing but love and compassion through my journey. couldnt of done it withoput all of you. Support is key to succes in my opinion

Just becuase some of us have problems does not mean we are not happy. Losing 104 lbs with my band..UMMM I would say I am definately happy. Losing my band due to erosion NOT so happy but I could of never lost the 104 lbs without my band or otherwise I would of. There are risks and compl;ications associated with every surgery..and support is just not about all the good things that happen with the band. I would think one who is considering the band would like to hear the good, the bad, & the ugly so they are 100% copmpletely aware, just my opinion. I would not wanted to have gone into this not knowing about slippage or erosion. I am a HAPPY bandster erosion or not My life has changed so much for the better with my band. Iwill be forever thankful for the time I was blessed with it.

Margo..that is a good story, I can so relate. My husband is 6'2 weighs 198 lbs and eat crap all day long and never exercises..and never gains an ounce but is a heavy smoker he has been having some severe health problems lately and when he found out about my eroded band, he felt horrible and saw the sadness and fear in my eyes of finishing this journey bandless..so he vowed to me last night to do whatever it takes to help me , he said he would exercise and eat healthier with me to help me to maintain without my band..I beleive everything in life happens for a reason, maybe me losing my band is the reason to get my husband to see his own fate with his health issues and his lifestyle..I want my husband around too..so if it means sacraficing my band to have him exercise and eat healthier then so be it. I'm glad your husband has seen the light..with his support you have nowhere to go but to succeed. Thanks for sharing

My gastritis cleared up after 2 momnths on Prilosec and Nexium back in April , I stopped taking it in July after my refill even in July Dr. Ortiz said my esophagus looked great..I started noticing smyptoms of it coming back about a month ago so I started the prilosec again so who knows if it was related to the erosion, I had the gurgling gassy tummy and the burping and the full feeling in my upper abdomen which are all signs of gastritis., in my endo on Monday the gastritis was present. These are questions I am goin to ask Dr. Ortiz. I wonder if gastritis can lead to erosion? When your band is filled it ( the acid and gas)has a hard time gettiing up through the band and it just stews and gurgles below the band..once I had my fill removed from my bowel obstruction the symptoms were so much more prevalent..I dont know..Im grasping at straws, bottom line is I'm eorded for whatever reason.

Linda, listen there are risks and complications with every surgery as I'm sure you are aware of...it is the chance we take. Please do not let what has happened to me deter you from your decision. The band was the best thing I haveever done for myself. I had great success..it did it's job. Where else could I have lost 104 lbs in 19 months and still enjoy food? $$ per pound I feel it was successful....we have no control over our bands eroding, the only thing we have control eith is using this band as a tool the best we can while we have it...had I only lost 30 -60 lbs in 19 months, Hell Yes I would be bummed and sad and pissed..but I worked with my band and did not rely on it to do all of the work. and $$ per pound it would not of been worth it. You have a decision to make no doubt...I knew of the risks and the complications too going in but it was a risk I was willing to take. I was ready to lose this weight. I wish you the best on your decision.

My doctor has you wait 6 weeks post op..I had my first fill fill 9 weeks post op

He did not say it was an emergency but if I experienced fever or pain to have it done immediately. I opted to have it out as soon as possible for 2 reasons. I do not want to mess with this during the holiday season I need to feel good and not be stressing during the holidays, it's a stressful enough time during the holidays without adding all of this to it and there is something about once you know there is something eroding inside of you, you want it out ASAP!!! Get your band checked, go for an endo..give yourself peace of mind. I can not imagine if something is eroding inside your body that damage is not being done, just my opinion. I'm like you I want it out yesterday too! He is actually doing it as soon as he can doing Pre op on Monday and surgery the same day. You're right Lisa erosioon can happen quickly, July to November is not that long just 4 months Kare the cost is 3200 for removal that is hospital charge only. Ortiz will not charge for his services of the removal surgery. An endo is 250 in TJ and worth every red cent in my oipinion you get your results immediately all printed out on a glossy 8x10 paper with pictures in Spanish however and you also get it all on a disc.

You guys are the best! Today has been a difficult day for me, cant seem to get it off my mind. Reading all of this has brought tears to my all ready teary filled eyes. I spoke with Ortiz's office today . I'm scheduled for Monday. I'm scared, not so much of losing my band but the removal surgery, hoping and praying not much damage was done to my stomach. I'm kind of excited to see if I can do this on my own and maintain. I got lots of support here with all of you and my friends here and my family. The good thing coming out of this is my husband has had his own share of health problems and he needs to eat better and exercise, he has made a vow to me to exercise with me everyday and eat better to help me to maintain my weight loss any way he can, everything happens for a reason I believe, maybe this is the reason, to give my husband a better healthier life as well. Again, thanks to all of you for ALL of your support, it means the world to me at this very moment My belly makes different gurgling noises,

This may sound strange but since I found out about my erosion it has gotten me thinking...... Almost all of the erosion cases I have heard about here and on other boards have all be from MX surgeons. There is something to be said about that. Could it be their technique in placing the band? Could it be the band itself? I know Inamed has a MX Inamed site with a MX distributor. Could they be made differently? Think about it ..all of the eroded bandsters here on LBt that I know of..Donali, Francesca, Karen, Catfanlover, myself and a few others I can not recall their names were all banded in Mexico. I even know of a few who are not on this board but were banded in MX and have had erosion. I can not recall one bandster that I know of who eroded and had surgery in the U.S. Are there any bandsters here who have eroded that had surgery in the U.S. ? If so please post

Great Job..sometimes stress is awesome when we can lose weight from it Im one of those who does not eat when under stress.

When my fill level was right..food was no longer an obsession.

I Mexico anything is possible..My Dr. told me that if in 6 motnhs I want another band , he will gladly do it for me..but if I maintain for those 6 months, why get another band. My goal is to maintain and possibly still lose a pound or two here and there. Now if I wanted my insurance to pay for it there is no way I would be approved..I have a 28.5 BMI which is in the normal range.

Vines your words speak volumes.. But even with the best aftercare shit happens..I'm a testament of that! I hope you seeing your surgeon while you are home gives you some peace of mind and you get some answers. Best of luck

Like I said I had Zero symptoms... I have great restriction & was still losing weight. I was just going in for a check up from my bowel obstruction that was back in April..Dr. Ortiz wanted another endo in 6 months which was to be in October but I just could not get down there... I had a fill in July and nothing looked out of the ordinary then,the barium flowed perfectly through the band and if they suspect erosion the barium will flow over the band and not through it.. so he believes it happened between July after my last fill and now. I have to be there for 48 hours. He told me it is just like the originaL surgery as far as the gas since they do it laproscopically, the reason for the 48 hours is to be on IV antibiotics,I will have surgery on Monday and come home Wednesday. iI will be on liquids for a week and mushy's for a week then onto solids. This may sound strange but now that I know I'm eroded I want my band out ASAP, I do not want it to do any damage to my stomach or other organs.

Well it is official..I had an endo yesterday and my band has eroded. I eroded between July 17th when I had my last fill and Nov 21 yesterday when I had my endo. Having my band removed Monday Nov 28th. Listen up my friends..I do not want sympathy. I have come to terms with this. I am at peace. I cried when I got home but after a good cry I realized how lucky I have been..I am so grateful for the 104 lbs I have lost with my band. I lost more then 60% of my weight with the band unlike the statistics claim . I used my head an did not rely on my band for all of it. I had only 1.5 cc's in my band I did alot of it on my own. My band did it's job, now it is time for me to walk the rest of this journey alone without my band but still with all of you. I met my original weight loss goal by losing 104 lbs so if I never lose another lb ..I'm happy. Dont get me wrong this will be tough and I'm scared to be without my band but my OCD will get me through ..I know I will channel my OCD into not gaining this weght back. I will not gain this weight back!!! A word of advice for those of you struggling..get your head out of your ass and use this tool the best you can. Get a grip on those mental demons.dont let head hunger get the best of you ..I am so fortunate to have had the success I had but other who are as far out post op as Iam may not have had such great success so I tell you from the bottom of my heart, lose as much weight as you can while you still have your band...dont mess around with this..Erosion can happen to any of you regardless if you follow the rules and are a perfect bandster at any time .I truly believe it is higher then 1-3%, just my opinion. To let you all know I had zero symptoms other then a gassy trummy which is from my gastritis. I have great restriction. I lost 10 lbs in October . As far as getting a new band in 5-6 months, I can not answer that at this time Thanks to all of you for all of the support you have given me..I'm still going to be around here and help others the best I can and offer support to any of you who need it

Happy Birthday Alexandra..thank you for al lof your words of wisdon you share with all of us here. I hope you are having an awesome day

Jonathan Sorry to hear the bad news If the band is too small for the stomach to fix itself then why the liquids for 7 days? Can it slip more if you don't? I have BC?BS so I feel your frustration, this is why I went to Mexico hang in there and know we are all here for you with support

My mother died at age 51 of heart disease and she weighed only 98 lbs. It was time for me to do something.... I want to be around for my children and grandchildren

Linda, Dreams can become reality. I started in a size 22-20 I am now in a size 8-10, ...19 months later Anything is possible if you want it bad enough!

Be careful, being filled too tight and having constant burping can lead to gastritis..I know. I have it! I burp little burps all day long. I'm problably going to be unfilled on Monday due to my gastritis. Do a search on gastritis on yahoo..

Way to go, Fantastic news!