parisshel

Preach it!

I'm sorry to read that you are experiencing band issues and are now facing removal, but wow! What a ton of self-knowledge you've noted here. Your words ring very true for me...many of your points are also mine (especially the knowledge of what your maintenance calories are.) You are well-armed at keeping your weight off and I am confident you will. May your removal surgery go smoothly and enjoy your first meal of salmon. Please let us know how you are doing with your post-band life.

Are you asking how it works, sugery-wise, the get the band removed? This is best asked to your surgeon, but I would imagine they just go in and take it out. Like your intial surgery, but in reverse. I've read the post-op recovery is easier than when you have the band inserted. They go in using the same keyholes they used to install the band.

How did I miss your initial post? Happy bandiversary, my friend. Thank you for your active and sensitive contributions to our boards. Now, let's talk about getting you over to Paris!

I'd wait it out, myself. You can eat and drink so it doesn't sound like it is worth going back before your next consult in a month.

@NewMeDebbie: Just checking in on you to see how you are doing now. I empathize with you...I'm coming up on my two year bandiversary with a net loss of zero over the past 12 months. I don't understand from a physical point of view why the band really helped me help myself for the first year and then, once a couple of complications set in, it is like it isn't even there anymore. I'm seeing a lot of us 2013 bandsters experience this at this point post op. I lost most of my weight at a restriction level lower than my current one. With my current level of restriction, I have no diminished effect on my appetite at all, even when sticking to my band diet. I eat my Breakfast at 8am and am starving by 10am. That should not be happening! Let us know if you've found your mojo/restriction/energy...

I've experienced this after fills. My wait time for seeing how a fill sets in is two weeks. If, after two weeks, it still takes me 2 hours to drink a hot beverage, I know I need to go in and reduce the fill a little bit.

Sorry you are experiencing some issues of unknown origin. I wonder what is causing the pain? Could scar tissue have built up already in the short time you've been banded? I agree with you about the lack of longterm data on the sleeve. It seems to be the most popular surgery for bandsters going for a revision but it probably wouldn't be the one I'd opt for 'next'. I've had complications with my band that also started a year after being banded, and I haven't lost any weight in a year. I'm pondering what my next step will be since I can't get any more fills (anything above 5.0 provokes esophegal spasms and now I've developed a heart arrythmia as well) and I'm relegated to doing traditional dieting just to keep off the weight I lost during the first year. I'll be curious to see what you end up deciding, so please keep us informed. I hope you will soon have your band-related issues resolved.

I agree with your instincts. Plenty of people on this board have posted about unfills as the first go-to solution to a slip or other complication. It does seem odd that the doctor is not opting for that, and instead pushing for a revision right away. Is he talking new band, or another WLS?

Def. sounds like a band slip. Please get in and been seen ASAP. And let us know....feel better soon.

This is a tough one. My latent vertigo is actually exacerbated by the treadmill (disturbs my inner ear once I stop it) so I cycle or use an elliptical. When I'm feeling unstable, the pool is safer for me, except for the "getting in and getting out part" since looking at the moving Water can be unsettling. But once I'm in, it's fine. Would water aerobics be something you could do?

@ivyh: When that happened, did your doctors seem concerned? A massive gain like that in such a short time is a sign that something is not right, either with your hormones or kidneys or other. I hope some tests were run and they figured out what went awry. That is just scary!

50 pounds in 12 days? Is that a typo? The amount of calories one would have to eat to put on 50 pounds in 12 days is....not even doable, especially when sick, especially with a band. But still. I'm sorry for your complications and weight gain. Yes, I agree. Finding the weight loss rhythm and optimal fill level after having been unfilled has proven challenging, and perhaps ulimately impossible for me. I'm back to traditional good old dieting (willpower + hunger + calorie counting) just to maintain my loss. Very depressing.

Wow. If these things were happening to me, I'd be at the hospital TODAY demanding removal. I think your bf is doing the right thing. There are other WLS he can do that might be a better match for him. Sorry that the band didn't work out and I hope he finds a better fit with another tool.

I can't offer any help but I notice this in myself. I was banded in March 2013 and lost well the first year--like you, 63 pounds. Most of it with a small fill of 3 ccs in a 10 cc band. But after one year, I had some complications and had to get unfilled for three months. Then refilled, Then more complications...eosophegal spasms, heart arrythmia that prevent me from getting any additional restriction. Now, almost two years out from my surgery, I no longer feel the full effects of the band, even when eating a band compliant diet. I'm hungry shortly after eating. I think about food much more often than I did the first year post-op, when my thoughts never turned to eating or snacking. One thing I've noticed on this board is that many of us who got unfilled and re-filled never find the initial restriction. I'd love to know why this happens...it can't just be psychological. I've also noticed many in my group of 2013 bandsters now struggling...either to get the last pounds off or they are just stuck at a longstanding plateau (like myself). The band just doesn't seem to be as active at this point. Is this common? Will researchers one day find that there is a set amount of time (say, one year) that the band does its best work and then after that one needs to do traditional dieting to get to goal? I'm sorry I'm not being more helpful, but I just wanted to acknowledge your post and say that I share a similar experience.

Congratulations on keeping on with your good eating habits and maintenance despite having an unfilled band. That is already a major feat, something not many of us are able to do! If I were experiencing what you are describing, I would move forward with all the diagnostic exams available. Everything from gallstones to an endoscopy to check the band's placement and possible stomach erosion. I would do all of this before deciding to remove the band. It would be a shame to have the band removed only to further experience these symptoms and then find out it is due to gallstones or something completely unrelated to the band. Hope you feel better soon! Let us know.

@@gavin My experience with sugar addiction is that I have to stay away from it entirely. I am not one who can moderate it, at least not today, while still losing. One bite of it is never enough, and more bites of it is never enough either. It's very very hard and sad to stop it cold turkey, but it is what is best for me.

I've got a wicked head cold currently with lots of phlegm backing up. Tight band due to this. It's normal and will pass. I can diminish the symptoms with a decongestant or even an antihistamine.

Curious to know how you discovered this complication. What were your symtoms? How long have you had your band? I hope the unfill resolves it and you can start fresh and new soon!

The only time I use liquid Protein drinks is after a fill. Otherwise they do not provide satisfaction because liquids just flow through my pouch and don't signal "fullness" to my brain. So I only use them when I need to baby my stoma/pouch, such as post-fill. There are bandsters that use them for Breakfast, however, due to being too restricted to eat anything of a solid nature.

Congratulations on your impressive weight loss and maintenance. It's normal that you'd gain some weight when being unfilled so don't be hard on yourself about that...it just serves to remind us how much of an excellent tool this band is. It's great you've solved the acid reflux problem, as that can erode into a much bigger issue. As for finding your sweet spot with a looser band, you may have to lean more on foods that give you more satiety and keep you full longer than what you were eating when the band was tighter. I know for me there are certain foods that just don't provoke that long-lasting full feeling (carbs are one--they seem to make me hungrier after an initial full feeling) so I have to stay away from them when I'm having a "loose band" day. Maybe review your initial band eating plan---the one you got right after getting banded--and go back to that? You might have to power through the head hunger but I'll bet once your stomach gets used to the smaller, protein-heavy portions, the hunger will diminish.

Good for you for giving yourself a clean slate and fresh start. That's a sign that you are back in the game! Let us know how the new fill is going and how the weight is dropping. You did it before...you can do it again!

@gabrielle2014: So glad to read this and to know you are doing a little better. I'm glad you have a good, supportive therapist. I'm leaning heavily towards an ablation myself, as I really hate the side effects of my beta blockers. Depression, weight gain (Water weight, but still...) and all I want to do is sleep 24/7. I feel like my baseline personality has completely shifted. If I'm eligible for an ablation, I will move forward with this, too... Let us know what the cardio recommends for you, and I hope you feel better and stronger with each passing day. Yes, you can't eat to comfort yourself through this. But you could turn that into a positive by reframing the thought: "I feel badly and I've had a heart attack. But at least I'm working towards better health with each bite, instead of digging myself into a deeper, more-unhealthy hole." Because you ARE getting healthier with each pound you are losing!

You keep it forever. It is one of the things that will help you keep the lost weight off. Remove it and you'll soon understand its value...you'll be starving!

Yes. This happens to me with a headcold. The postnasal discharge clogs up my stoma, creating the feeling of more restriction. Do you happen to have a cold right now?