Bandarella

No more wls for me. My esophagus cannot tolerate it.

BTW, stomach viruses are the #1 reason I think bands will become obsolete. There is no way to 100% prevent exposure to norovirus or other pathogens and avoid food poisoning. There are so many that have little ones at home and we know that kids bring home all kinds of nasty germs lol. Also many who lose a lot of weight develop gall bladder issues which causes nausea and vomiting. It's just not practical to expect a person to not ever vomit because they are banded. Anti nausea drugs are not always effective, either, especially with food poisoning, where your body will expel the offending substance one way or another...

@shananignz. I can't throw up anything...I've had 3 bouts of violent vomiting since my band and nothing ever came up....very painful. I haven't had a virus since removal, thankfully, but will be interesting to see when it does inevitably happen. With my band removal, the surgeon performed a modified Heller Myotomy to loosen the circumferential rind of scar tissue that formed under my band on my esophagus. A Heller procedure is often used to treat achalasia in the non bariatric population. I do still regurgitate food that gets stuck in my esophagus...that is very different than vomiting (no bile or acid). IMHO, many banded peeps think they are vomiting, when in fact, they are regurgitating...

A band placed "high" doesn't create a pouch...slips are unlikely. Your band should have been repositioned when your surgeon realized it was placed high, since this us surgeon error. The band is supposed to be 2-3 cm below the gastro esophageal junction...that's only 3/4 to about 1 1/4 inches so there's very little room for error. Time for a frank discussion with your surgeon. Leaving the band high just means more problems later.

@@2muchfun, I agree with your suggestion. However, the lack of satiety is the key word I responded to...it's a hallmark of a misplaced band, too tight at times + no satiety...

Feeling no restriction with that much fluid could mean many things...a leak in your tubing, band or port, a misplaced band any number of things. The fact that your surgeon isn't concerned with your lack of restriction and failure to lose is a giant red flag. If you live in an area with several bariatric surgeons, it might be time for a change.

I bought myself a new car two weeks after my band was removed. I had lost 100 lb and suffered for over a year and told my hubby " life's too short, I'm getting my dream car"

@2muchfun. Laurie pm'd me... I asked a bariatric surgeon who belongs to one of my FB pages if a band can migrate upward and he was emphatic that it cannot. So it seems that my band was placed on my esophagus from the beginning. I also asked if it could have inadvertently been moved during my GB removal. He said absolutely not. It seems that my original band doctor and staff must have been aware of this, since all fills were done under fleuro and I had at least 3 barium swallows with the band.

Good for you!!!

@@Bandista I tried the aloe vera juice while I was having motility issues and my doctors told me to stop, since a couple of my meds could interact. Posting some info so those considering using it have full disclosure. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-607-ALOE.aspx?activeIngredientId=607&activeIngredientName=ALOE

@@girliegirl my removal surgeon said that 3-4 months post removal is the limit on esophageal healing. It's limited though because once stretched, it never goes back to its prior status. I have folds where food and even medications can get caught. I still cannot take ibuprofen in pill form because of the chance it could get caught and ulcerate the esophagus. The only way I'd put myself thru the ordeal of manometry testing would be to have a sleeve done.

I agree it should be withdrawn from wide spread use. For some it's a good short term tool for weight loss, but for most there are better long term solutions. There are too many variables...surgical skill, post op food plans, interval for fills and regular check ups and patient compliance. In my case, my surgeon placed my band too high, on my esophagus, not my stomach. Now I have a severely dilated esophagus and I'm not able to revise...I'd love to sue, but they have you sign so many disclaimers...

This is what I know: The band is placed 2-3cm below the gastro-esophageal junction and a flap of stomach tissue is brought up and over it and sutured with about 3 stitches. The capacity of the pouch is about 2 tbs. This is why we are told to cut food into tiny 1/4 inch bites and chew 15-25 times before swallowing and eat no more than 1/2-1 cup of food per meal over 20-30 min. If you put your fork down between bites, it helps to reinforce this. I practiced this during my 3 month pre-op supervised diet and it really helped to have this established as a habit before surgery. If you eat too fast, or eat too big of bites, you will back food up into the esophagus, causing possibly irreparable damage and risk losing your band. I suggest an esophageal manometry test preop to rule out a tendency towards achalasia or preexisting esophageal motility issues, which almost guarantee incompatibility with Lapband. Hope this helps!

I'm assuming from your profile that you haven't had WLS yet and that you're planning on VSG. Virgin sleeves are known to be less prone to complications than revision sleeves, so that's a positive. Most band to sleeve revisions are as effective as virgin sleeves, but this is really dependent on how much weight was lost with the first surgery. Many revisions are on people who've lost a good deal of weight already and experience a slip or other complication necessitating removal. You wouldn't expect them to lose as much as someone who is revised at a higher weight, would you? That's why you'll see stats like that. Since the reoperation/removal % is in the 50% range, if I had to chose today! I would choose a sleeve. Since I have extensive damage, I cannot revise.

Did you have a band??

????

One of the things I'm doing is to assess my mood, pain level and the general house atmosphere (live with grand kids) to determine how my day will go. I have SI joint dysfunction and spinal stenosis and a knee that is bone on bone, so evaluating my pain level is important. I can't take NSAIDs in pill form because of the esophageal damage, so I use the children's liquid form, which is pretty pricey for 5-6 doses. I only take it 1-2 times per week. I also have to take into account my sleep quality. On a scale of -5 to +5 I rate each factor. This morning I noted: Calm household: kids were busy getting out the door, cheerful, gave me hugs❤️ +5 Pain level: it's a steady 5 -2 Sleep: bit of a rough night...nagging pain in back and knee woke me several times. 0 (neutral) My mood: good! I'm looking forward to seeing a friend today. She's having a rough time, so for me it's good to focus on her needs. +5 So today is an +8 on a scale of -20 to + 20; not bad. I need to manage pain, pre bedtime to give me a better morning tomorrow. I can't take sleep aids because I take meds at night for arrhythmias and they interact. I'm a naturally analytical person, so this method helps me keep positive throughout the day. I'm working towards a positive outcome for the day. I also assess how I'm doing in the evening much the same way.

The average EWL with lap band is 40-60%. You've lost a bit more than 60% based on your stated starting weight and goal weight. You're doing fabulous. However if you're getting stuck regularly you might want to re-evaluate good choices, eating habits or even a tiny unfill to allow healthier food choices. Congrats on the 84 lb loss!!!

@@Ariellestarr I've done that too! 38g here...5.5 lb each and still well above my waist!

Phentermine is a stimulant and half of the now banned phen-fen weight loss drug of the 90s. The combination of these drugs is known to cause primary portal hypertension and damage to heart valves. I took it in 1996-97 and lost 90 lb in 6 months. It made me very hyper and happy...too happy. Phentermine alone is fine unless you have heart disease or hypertension.

Most refined carbs are "sliders", and as part of your banded lifestyle are to be avoided fir the reason you mentioned. Avoid them, they are the very foods that contributed to our obesity.

@@Madam Reverie, anti-bandwagon would be more like it, lol. @@2muchfun are you all fired up this morning?? @@LipstickLady all weapons are permitted as long as you are nice

Perhaps the word "fight" should be removed from this description? Gripe, complain, moan, debate, rant and rave might work?

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@DrHekier@Trace Curry I recently received my surgical report from my band removal. The removing surgeon stated that the band was found 2-3 cm above the GEJ rather than 2-3 cm below. There was a thick "rind" of scar tissue under the band and the band was covered in a remarkable amount of adhesions. I had my band about 2.5 years, had two fills of 2.5, .5 and two unfills of 1.0 and a complete unfill after which my symptoms accelerated in scope and severity. My esophagus is severely dilated, despite being completely compliant with eating instructions and diet and being on a soft/liquid diet for 9 months following unfilling the band. It wasn't until my manometry results of 0% motility that it was recommended to remove my band. At band placement I had a hiatal hernia repair using pledgeted sutures. The band appears to have been placed just below the diaphragm. Is it possible that my band moved there or in your opinion was it placed there? I'm not interested in this for any legal recourse....I just need to figure out how this happened. Over the 2.5 years I experienced severe vomiting 3 times. I had a stomach virus at 18 months out, then had GB removed two weeks later. Appx 6 months prior to removal I had influenza A, then 2 weeks later, Influenza B. In both cases I had a fever causing prolonged and violent vomiting. Could this have caused the band to slip up over the GEJ and have this much scar tissue and adhesions???