parisshel

@@Cleo's Mom: Right. Oh, and let me add that I ALWAYS kept my band loose. (You can see my numbers in my signature). I was a firm believer in wanting to have "somewhere to go" when I sensed less satiety. So my complications were not triggered by a too-tight band. I wanted to keep my band for as long as possible, so I never opted for the too-tight/fast weight loss track. I was slow and steady, very regular losses with no pb or vomiting issues.

Reading this thread with interest. If I had to do it all over again...I don't know what I'd do. I remember my first year with the band...steady losses, felt so good, no complications. I kept saying "Flowers for Algernon?" to my friends because it just seemed too good to be true. You know, hunger dimmed, energy up, liberated from the diet mentality. But you can't mess with one body part without upsetting the entire system, imho. After one year, complications set in, most recently heart arrythmia and pace problems. Band-related? I'll never get a doctor to confirm or deny. But I'm sure they are, due to the involvement of the vagus nerve. My first episodes of AFib would begin after a few small bites of food, triggered by the food passing through the band (and the band sitting on the vagus nerve). Now: beta blockers and other meds for life. This is not what I had planned when I opted for WLS. I did months of research on my WLS and my surgeon. I did not go into this lightly. I consider myself one of the most-informed and compliant patients around. But when one falls on the wrong side of the statistics, the statistics don't matter. It isn't about risk or benefit, because it is really black or white. Unfortunately now I'm on the black side. Hindsight is always 20/20. I loved my band before it brought on other issues. Now? I wonder if this is going to turn out to be one of the worst decisions of my life. The meds I have to stay on have side effects that affect my quality of life, so much so that I can't even enjoy the weight loss I did have until this all happened. I would not do another WLS, that's certain. I am now convinced that the body needs to function as a whole, and I have no intention of adding or subtracting anything else to it.

You've worked this tool well and it shows. Congratulations! I have to disagree with the idea that throwing up is part and parcel of being banded. Throwing up occurs when you eat too fast, too much, or too big of a bite. Throwing up can also lead to lapband complications or esophegal damage and it should not be seen as a normal consequence of having a lapband. Please have another look at why you are throwing up. A lapband complication is never worth the weight loss it has cost you...seriously. You want to keep this band as long as possible and throwing up will shorten its lifespan.

Here's my contribution: When someone shows you who he is, believe him. In other words, don't make up a bunch of excuses for bad behavior, inept social skills,stinky hygiene, lack of job, blatant rudeness, etc. I've had years of dating experience. The little things you pick up on first dates? And try and ignore because he's cute/you like the attention/you are lonely? All those little things will be the stuff that you'll grow to resent down the line should you move forward in a relationship.

Thanks, @@Bandista, for bringing me in to the conversation. There is no medical reason to get an unfill if traveling or on a cruise. Band rules apply everywhere, all the time. I know that if I had my band unfilled when going overseas (which I used to do frequently), it would only give me license to eat all the foods I thought I'd never ever get a chance to eat again. (For me, this would be American junk food in enormous portions.) Some people, not me, experience lapband tightness after a flight. Again, this is individual. I used to fly quite often, long haul flights, and I never once experienced additional restriction. But my ankles don't swell after flying either, so obviously I don't have that edema issue many people suffer from when flying. Even if you did experience additional band restriction due to the flight, it will resolve itself, just as ankle swelling does, and is nothing to worry about or unfill a band over. If you are really worried, stick to Protein drinks during the flight and after...and eat carefully until you are sure the band has returned to normal restriction. Again, nothing to pre-unfill a band over. So not worth bringing hunger back into your life for. To the original poster: I would definitely ask the doctor the rationale behind unfilling. If he/she replies "in case you get stuck while in Ireland" I would counter that with "Well, they have lapbands and lapband care centres over there." One thing I always do, whenever I travel overseas, is familiarize myself with lapband care centers in the area where I'm traveling. Actually, I always familiaize myself with nearest hospitals, as I have other health issues that would need critical care should they arise while I travel. Before I go to the USA, I look up hospitals or clinics in the area where I'll be which treat lapband patients. (Fortunately, I often go to either California or Florida, two states with lots of lapband activity!). I'll soon be traveling to Edinburg and I've already looked up lapband centres there. I know there are care Centers in Dublin, where I also travel. But frankly, if you continue to follow lapband rules, unless you have some type of major lapband issue unrelated to eating (I don't know---lapband implosion?), you won't have to avail yourself of any type of emergency services when overseas. I'm actually more careful when traveling because I'm more mindful of not wishing to visit an ER, and I always return with a loss. So go with good restriction, and enjoy the Guiness.

I've experienced this, especially after a fill. It sounds a little different from what you are experiencing, however. Mine is more like the food is just sitting there in my throat, and indeed it probably is, as my vocal chords are affected by it too. It goes away after a couple of weeks, with me.

Here's a hilarious piece about the FitBit. The 10,000 step recommendation originated as a marketing tactic. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/stepping-out-3

The marketers behind the FitBit were brilliant...they launched the notion that we must do 10,000 steps/day and then they launched their product that would track that recommendation for us. (The 10,000 steps/day was not based on anything scientific, just a desire to better sell their product.) That said, it's cute, it's easy to use and sync, and it is super motivating. There's a whole lot of psychology behind how they built it to motivate and gosh it sure works. I have one of the originals...the One, nothing fancy but does the trick. When I see I'm getting near that 10,000 mark but it's almost midnight...I'll walk in place just to hit the milestone!

@@Cleo's Mom: I agree 100%. I obtained my surgical report and was astonished to see that the surgeon I had paid to do my surgery was not the surgeon who actually did my surgery. It was another surgeon from the same hospital. Apparently this is common. I was livid.

I have no doubt you will Celebrate many years of maintenance, friend. But you are correct in never saying "I've got this!". As you know, it takes constant, consistent and dedicated vigilance to not give in to old habits, band or no band. Love how you are reminding yourself daily how wonderful being at your goal weight feels. I know you never will take it for granted, and that is another way of maintaining this new-found health.

I agree that it would be important information to know...would you please post the name of your surgeon?

Wow. What a horrific experience. I'm sorry that this happened to you. Listening to your body and having a supportive surgeon are key points for everyone...you are so right on those! Are you looking at a different WLS at this point? I send healing thoughts and hope you will soon be feeling 100%.

2 years post-op and still farting. I never passed gas before (well, not like this). I believe it is because food just stays around long in the digestive track, giving it time to compost and create gas. The only time I had increased burps was right after fills, when I had to kind of burp my liquids down if I gulped too fast. Sipping was the answer. As for never finding a boyfriend due to gas....believe me, your future boyfriend will be thrilled to find a partner with whom to fart. There will be a small probationary period where you both hold it in, but past the six-month mark, you'll be tooting away in tandem.

I don't know if there is any correlation between lapbands and autoimmune diseases but I do know that a lapband will not be placed (at least by my surgeon) in a patient who has an existing autoimmune disease. But then I read loads of posts on here by bandsters with MS, Lupus, Crohn's, etc...and was astonished that they had been able to find a surgeon who would band them. I haven't developed an autoimmune disease (yet) but my band is responsible for me developing heart arrythmia, for which I now have to take strong and unpleasant medications for the rest of my life. And, sadly, removal of my band will not "cure" the arrythmia because once the electrical pathways are disturbed (thanks, lapband!), they are there for life. I don't regret (yet) having opted for a lapband, but I am extremely sad about now living life with this high-level lapband complication. My risk of stroke is now increased, not to mention the risk of dying from congestive heart failure or cardiac arrest. That said, staying obese might have brought on heart issues as well. Who knows? Here's what i DO know. Statistics mean nothing because either you do develop complications or you don't. It is black or white. I thought I'd be among the "x" percent who would never have a lapband-related complication. But I'm not. Many of us are not. But to those that are....rock your bands and enjoy their benefits!

Sadly this has been my and other's experience. Once unfilled, it seems extremely difficult (in my case impossible) to obtain the same feeling of restriction. I am curious as to why this is, and I hope some band doctor researchs this because so many bandsters who have been unfilled and are now re-filling state the same thing: a re=fill (even if done very slowly) back to the previous fill level does not feel the same as the original fill. When I started getting my refills after an emergency unfill, the radiologist told me they never take you all the way back up in one fell swoop. The stomach has "relaxed" during the unfilled period and you just can't zap 6 ccs into the band like that. So we went very slowly (see my ticker) and once I got to 5 ccs I had to stop the process entirely as I started having band complications. (That's an entirely different thread). I lost the bulk of my weight at 3 ccs...and now, at 5 ccs it is as if I have no band at all. Seriously. I feel no restriction whatsoever, and am only hanging onto my lost weight by fighting regain tooth and nail. The band is doing nothing for me at all. I hope this will not be your case and you will refill slowly and suddenly you'll be at your green zone. I'm sorry you had a slip (and sorry you had that awful flu) because no one deserves complications, especially when you have done so well.

Can you drink Water? If you can't get down water, go to the ER and get an unfill. If you can get down water, wait and see how things play out. It may just be an inflammatory reaction to the fill and will settle down over time.

This is great to read. I know I've read other updates from other former bandsters who are just so relieved to be out of the pain/disordered eating cycle once their band is removed. They also had been relying on soft calories that kept them in a sugar/carb cycle and did little to diminish their appetite, despite the band being tight. It really sounds like you are embracing your new state and are grateful for this lesson. Well done with the weight loss!

You need and can get more information about your band situation. For example, they can certainly draw out the saline you have in there to check the fill level. Do you know what your fill level was supposed to be? If it is say, 4 cc, they should verify that there is 4 cc still in there. It could be you have a leak, and that is simple and easy to ascertain...they will fill you and have you come back in a couple of weeks and see if the fill level has held. (If it hasn't, then you have a leak in the band or the tubing.) When you say xray, to you mean fluoscopy? They should be able to see band placement and restriction with a fluoscopy. They might also see if there is a kink in your tubing or it the tubing has become detatched. Ask them what they mean by "broken band" and why this "brokenness" isn't visible with the fluoscopy. Certainly there are cheaper ways to diagnose a misfunctioning band than immediate surgery. Sheesh!

I totally hear you. What you've updated here really sounds like my experience after my unfill, too.

Was banded 3 days before my 53rd birthday. I wish WLS had been this perfected when I was younger; I'd have done this in my 20s and my entire life would have been different (I imagine).

I'm not in Dublin (I'm in Paris) but my experience has been there are fewer and fewer support services for bandsters because fewer bands are being placed. This is a bit scary to me, because we all need to call in support teams from time to time (not to mention band issues....who is going to help us if we show up in an ER and no one knows what to do with a slipped or prolapsed band? My biggest fear is having a band problem while traveling (I used to travel a lot, not so much anymore) and finding myself in a city where lapbands had been supplanted by other WLS. Do you actually have to go to Belgium for your fills? Yikes. There are several bandsters on here that are in London. It's not close, but it's not that far, either. I might suggest you see what resources there are in London, for example.

Thanks for checking back in and I'm glad the removal is behind you. I'm sure you will be fine with your maintenance plan. Enjoy your continued good health!

I strongly recommend beautiful lingerie...for whatever stage of weight loss one is at. Not only is it great for camoflage, I've never met a man who wasn't excited by it. Balconnet bras are miracle workers for propping up breasts, high-waisted panties with built-in garters can flatten a tummy and give you a pin-up look. Pair with stockings and your thighs won't wobble and your legs will look perfect. My BF just gave me some wonderful bra+panty sets from Adam and Eve for Valentine's Day..their stuff is really pretty and affordable. If I were meeting someone new and disrobing for the first time, I'd totally insist on keeping on the lingerie. He'd probably think I was just being coy and I'd probably let him think just that. But really, it would be more for keeping it all in and allowing me to feel sexy and not focused on all the wobbly bits.

@Bandarella: Thank you for weighing in on this with your situation. I'm still quite in the thick of things and experiencing horrendous side effects from my beta blockers so I'm trying to find a solution. Would you mind sharing with me, either on this thread or via PM, how you diagnosed that your arrythmia was linked to your lapband? Both my surgeon and the cardiologist say that this is impossible, that the placement of the band is nowhere near the vagus nerve/heart. I would rather have my band removed if that would solve my AFib than just cover up the Afib with medication and keep the band in, especially if the band is the culprit. But getting my surgeon to admit that a lapband may set off arrythmia? Not going to happen. What kind of tests did they run and how did the test show the connection of the lapband to your arrythmia? Ablation actually is effective on AFib, provided they burn the correct electrical pathways. It's got a 90% success rate at keeping AFib at bay, without all the horrible side effects of the AFib-specific beta blockers. But again, it makes better sense to me to get the band removed if removal would do the same thing as an ablation. Much less risky.

Your band's placement should be checked at this time. Please call your band surgeon. It's better for you psychologically to know that 1) the band's integrity is intact or 2) the band has been damaged or slipped due to the intervention, and needs attention at this time. This is one stress you can control, so it makes sense to get your band checked now and you can move forward based on the results.