lljpaisley

I just had my band removed two weeks ago and I wasn’t on any pre op diet. My post op diet is trying really hard to not eat any more per meal then I did with the band. I fill up but I get hungry faster

My problem is that I did gain weight even with the band in and filled. I have started vomiting more and I obsess over food now because I have to make so many accommodations. My sister is getting the sleeve this week so I will see how she does and then decide if I want it

I'm in the same boat. After 13 years I am getting the band removed. I was always afraid that if I got it out I would gain so much weight. Right now I am unsure if I will proceed to the sleeve. In my area the docs want you to wait about 3 months between band removal and the sleeve surgery. I have told myself that I will go to the gym once the band is removed but will I really? Next week I am having all kinds of pre-admission cardiac testing. I wonder if it is healthier to stay fat (if my cardiac tests come back ok) or to get the band.

I had a similar situation except i just had the band emptied. all of my issues (heartburn, reflux, back pain) stopped the second he emptied the band. Unfortunately i gained 20 pounds back in the 6 weeks the band was emptied. I guess it really is possible to gain that much weight that fast. My band is now almost back to where it was before he emptied it but i have lost nothing. I think i have learned to eat around the band. I am so frustrated.

Like everyone else has said, this is all too familiar. I was banded in 2005 and recently have had the worst problems. The problem is that I was the first person my doctor banded so my problems are new to him. Long story short, I have had reflux, back pain, nausea, and times when i could eat nothing but ice cream. Luckily I hadn't gained weight. I had a two week period when i could eat virtually nothing. I lost 7 pounds during that time. Anyway, my doctor finally decided to unfill me totally and i felt immediate relief. So much relief that I started eating and haven't stopped! I try so hard but when I had my band filled I was a "grazer" i nibbled constantly throughout the day. Now i find it so hard to stop. Unlike most of you, i can eat anything and everything so i am trying all of those things that I have missed the last few years. I have gained 10 pounds back in two weeks. I HAVE TO STOP EATING. I am so desperate i am making an appt to have a fill ( a small one). The doctor wanted me to wait "a couple of months", I will give him one month, that is all.

You can definately see the stretched pouch on the barium tests. I have many symptoms of this but the bariatric surgeon said i was ok on the basis of the upper GI, i guess my symptoms didn't mean anything to him. I went to the gasteroenterologist and he did an endoscopy. He saw food, liquids in the stomach that were trapped as a result of the stretch. Hope this proves something to the surgeon

Shall I join the club and say that i have the same symptoms? The only difference is that i had an upper GI and it showed that my band did not slip. That was it, the test showed no problem so my doctor said i had no problem. I lost faith in my doctor. I had an endoscopy and it showed food and liquid still in my stomach even after NPO for 12 hours. My gastroenterologist recommends lossening my band, i am gonna ask for a total unfill. Lets see what happens. The good thing is that i have lost 7 more pounds with all of this. Will insurence pay for a new band if you are down to a "normal" weight?

I was banded in 2005 and I was this doctor's first lap band patient. I felt comfortable having him do the surgery because a rep from the lap band company was going to be in the OR, guiding the surgeon. I never considered the consequences of being his oldest patient (patient with the band the longest). I now have some issues and i feel like he doesn't know how to deal with them. What i would like is a recommendation for a doctor in NJ, one who has done lots of surgeries and who is willing to listen. I live at the Jersey Shore but will travel if you have a good recommendation. Thanks for your help

I love those crispy foods they go down so well especially in the mornings!

Thanks for the help. Luckily i am right in the middle of the state so i can go either north and south. I will look both of those doctors up to see if they are in my insurence plan. I am having the hardest time because my insurence company doesn't list doctors under "bariatric surgeons" so I have to do it the reverse way and find a doctor and then see if they are covered. Thanks again

Here are the facts. I was banded over 2 1/2 years ago. I have recently started having heartburn on and off and reflux at night. My band is pretty tight and i have trouble taking my daily medication because it takes so long to go down (after i split them). My band is tight enough that i find that i have trouble eating healthy food - it doesn't go down. I haven't lost weight in about one year but i haven't gained either. Now before you go and tell me to go to my doctor, i have done that. My surgeon thought maybe the band had slipped and so i had an upper GI and esophagram, along with a gallbladder ultrasound. The tests came back as "some reflux, no esophgitis" and positive for gall stones. YOu know surgeons though since the test showed no slippage that was all the surgeon had to see. In his mind there was nothing wrong with me. I watched during the test though and i noticed that my pouch has expanded and looked like a "spade" on a playing card. I was wondering if that is what people call a "muffin top". The problem that i have is that i was the first person my surgeon banded so therefore i am the first person who is having issues like these. I don't think he knows what to do about it. So my questions are: 1. Anyone have an experience like mine? 2. What do you think about me changing doctors to one who has more long-term bandsters? 3. Anyone want to diagnose me (unofficially of course)?

Was the doctor in the room during the barium swallow? I had a radiologist in there but he had never seen a band before!

Hey that's a good guess. I work in the hospital where the Upper GI was done and i was able to read the doctor's report. That was something he mentioned.

I never thought of puree-ing the proteins i can't eat, what a great idea! I have become so bored with my dinner choices - chicken, chicken, chicken. Can you give me some ideas on what you puree and how? Thanks

This sounds complicated. I have some of the same issues. Much of the food that is considered healthy gives me problems. When you say you feel like you are choking, where is that feeling? Is it in your throat? My "stuck" feeling is lower, between my breasts. I would just recommend making sure you really chew things, eating slowly and finding foods that don't make you choke. For some reason less things get "stuck" for me when i eat with people as opposed to eating alone. No one has been able to figure out why. Good luck.

I know it isn't exactly the same but once i had laughing gas for dental surgery. Well when they were through i would have sworn that my chair spun throughout the whole thing with the dentist chasing me with a pair of pliers!

I wonder, does insurence pay for a different type of surgery if you have your bad removed? I mean I lost about 65 pounds out of the 100 so technically i am stiff obese but would the insurence company consider me obese enough for the bypass or any other weight loss procedure?

You say it is rare but listen to how many people on this site alone have experienced it. I did also but to a much lesser degree. I had surgery on my ear and i woke up when they were bandaging my head. They kept picking it up and putting it down as they were putting the bandage around my head! Luckily nothing hurt and i went right back to sleep. As someone said before, they do give you meds to wake you up near the end of surgery so maybe they just gave them a little too early or some people are very responsive to certain meds.

I have never heard of this muffin top things but it makes sense to me. I wonder if they can see that on an upper GI. I am going for that on saturday

I had my band placed 2 1/2 years ago and i am having the same exact eymptoms. I went to the doctor last week and am having the GI tests in 5 days to see if it slepped. I almost hoped it did, that way I can have it fixed and get rid of these symptoms because I don't think i can live with them much longer.

Funny this came up because i too have been having some heartburn which i never had before the lap band. I have had the band for a full two years. About two months ago i started having heartburn about one a week, no i seem to be having it daily. I am planning to call the doctor tomorrow because it has kept me up the past two nights.

Well I got to tell you the truth, the food that consistantly goes down nice and easy is the junk food. Popcorn, pretzels never give me any problem and that is why i am not losing weight. I am eating crap instead of the healthy food. I have been thinking about this for a while but now i am feeling really sluggish which is new for me. I think i will call the doctor tomorrow

I am not sure what to do. My last fill was a little less than a year ago. My weight has remained stable for about 8 months but i am still about 40 pounds from my goal. This is my problem - i am having trouble eating healthy food since my last fill. I can't eat salads, most chicken (except most, processed chicken),yogurt, eggs, hardly anything for breakfast. I am thinking that i might be better off having a little un-fill which will enable me to eat the salads, veggies, healthy meats. I do worry that maybe I won't eat so healthy if the band is loosened but i don't think that is a big concern. Sometimes I go almost all day without any protein. This has been going on for awhile but i am starting to feel sluggish. Anyone have a situation similar to mine? What do you suggest? Thanks in advance.

I am very happy with my band. I PB less than once a month, I do slime a bit more. The key is knowing what you can and can't eat. My band is tight and so i am limited in what i can eat but i chose that over loosening it a bit. Yes, I drive past McDonalds, I see commercials on Tv for food, I hear people talking about something i used to love and say "what i woudln't give for a ..." But that is as far as it goes. Oh i would love a bite of nice juicy steak but i love my new body even more. The key is knowing what you can and can't eat, know your body's warning signs that something isn't going down easily and you should have very few problems. By the way, June will make two years since I've been banded. Good luck in making your decision.

I think Carnation Instant Breakfast does a low carb one. I added extra dry milk powder to up the protein