Nicole Sikes

This has been my life since I was banded April, 2011. I finally went to my surgeon and said I'm done! We had a long meeting and I discovered what I thought was food getting stuck in the band was not actually making it to the band at all. My esophagus does not like the restriction of the band so when I try to eat it spasms and closes off and I have to throw my food back up. Basically he said the band is not compatible with my body so I am having the revision to the sleeve. This will give me a smooth transition from esophagus to stomach which will calm the spasms. I was unfilled on Weds and I have been able to eat and drink without a hitch! I feel like that might be what's going on with you because you say you get two or three bites down and then you have to vomit or one day something will go down and the next few times you try it, it won't. That was the hardest part for me because I was always scared of not being able to eat when I would sit down to. And more times than not I couldn't. I hope you get yours figured out and find a solution! Good Luck!

Awww man, I hate to hear this! I was hoping for good news! I am glad you got a second opinion and I wish you the best! Good luck!!!!!

HAHA! This sounds exactly like what I would be thinking!

That would be nice to just be able to eat with having to worry if it will "work" or not. Most people with the sleeve can figure out what foods they can and can't eat. Not me, one time it will work and then the next several times it won't. But still that's not the band only my esophagus. Like yesterday, I had to clear my pouch first thing in the morning because I have mucus build up at night. That takes 30-45 mins of spitting up. Then I can have coffee. I've not been able to eat Breakfast in over a year! Then I had chicken noodle Soup with crackers for lunch, went down fine. Went to have dinner last night and could not keep any of it down! So frustrating. And there is no rhym or reason to when it decides to act up! If there was a pattern maybe I could find a way to live with it but I can eat like a horse for three weeks with no major issues and then all of a sudden I won't be able to eat solids for 3 days?! Crazyness. Hopefully doc will say whatever it is my mind and heart needs to hear to make the decision to switch.

C-diff is very tricky to get rid of for a lot of people. It can take several rounds of antibiotics to get rid of it. Sometime it will colonize and you will always test positive for it but as long as the diarrhea has stopped you will be fine. C-diff has a smell like you will never forget once you know what it is! I am a nurse at a nursing home and we have had several cases over the years. You know it when you see and smell it! It generally takes them longer to recover because they are older but generally younger people recover much faster. Hope they get you straightened out soon!

Wow! You guys can't imagine how much I appreciate your responses! I know I am not as rare as they say I am with my symptoms but no one was around to tell me before surgery so I had no idea that this could even happen! It's a miracle I don't have reflux or a slipped band as much as I have thrown up the last year and a half. And as much as I've gone hungry I should be a bean pole! LOL. I want desperately to lose the rest of my weight! I just really wanted the band to work for me. It is reassuring to hear people that have had the same issues as mine have converted and been successful with the sleeve. I just have to get it in my heart that the band has been a complete failure for long term weight loss. My quality of life is not what I want it to be and to be 70 lbs. lighter, I really don't feel any better as far as energy and just feeling good. I have a follow up consult with my doc on the 28th to ask more questions about the sleeve. He mentioned in the first appt. that they could go in a stretch the esophagus and stomach if I was having those issues. I just want to know if that doesn't work, is there anywhere else to go from there. I do not want the rest of my life to be a permant puke-fest! Which it certainly will be if I keep the band!!!! Y'all pray I make the right choice in the end. And thanks again for your words of experience!

I was banded in March 2011. The day after surgery I started having esophageal spasms. I had to go and have all of my primer fluid removed. After 4 weeks and several medications, it seemed to have stopped. So I go and have my first few fills and all is well. After the fourth fill I started having trouble with certain foods which was to be expected. But, one day I could eat something and the next time I would throw it back up. This was very confusing because I wouldn't know if I could eat something or not until I tried. After another fill I started throwing up more often so I had some of the fluid taken out. Naturally I wasn't losing weight which was frustrating! After this point they said my tissues were very sensitive and that we would have to go with smaller fills. So 0.2 ml is what I have been getting from then on which is next to nothing. But I would still swell to the point of not being able to eat solids for a week after a fill. Long story short, I have gone so many days not able to eat solid foods and sometimes not even liquids! I've thrown up more days than not. I have starved off every one of the 70 lbs I'm down. I had actually gotten down 80 lbs. but at the end of May I had 0.5 ml removed because I needed a break from the vomiting and just wanted to eat! So I gained 10 lbs! At this point my band is only half full. Anyhow, I had a consult with my surgeon and where I though food was getting stuck in my band, it's actually getting stuck in my esophagus. I'm still having esophageal spasms and the food never makes it to the pouch! The band has not even had a chance to work because I can't get it tight enough to get restriction. My esophagus is boycotting the band! He basically says my body is not tolerating the band (duh) and that my options are to keep the band and hope it gets better (after a year and a half), have it removed (and gain all my weight back and then some) or get the sleeve (which could still piss off my esophagus). My fear is that I will have the same issues with the sleeve and it's not reversible. Atleast right now I feel like I have a choice to be miserable for the rest of my life or not. Once the stomach is gone, it's gone. I'm so torn!!! Any input would be awesome. Espeacially if anyone has had the same band issues and then had the revision done. I just don't want to make the wrong decision. HELP?!

Can we get an update from you please?

@Abbeybeep Can we get an update on how you are doing now?

Thank you guys for your comments! My routine is get up in the morning and have a cup of coffee. Some mornings I have to "slime" it back up but most of the time it goes down fairly well. I don't even attempt eating breakfast! That doesn't work at all. I try to drink a protein drink a little later. That's a 50/50 thing whether that goes or not. I later try to eat lunch. I'm in school so I usually take one of the Hormell pre-packaged meals because it's easy to carry in my bag and throw it in the microwave. For example, the teriyaki chicken with rice went down ok on Thur. Yesterday the chicken and dumplings was a negative but it was a go last week. Scrambled eggs anytime of day is a no, no bread, occassionally pasta and rice, beef feels like I can never get it chewed up enough to swallow (I think I am anemic because of the beef shortage), chicken is a 50/50, soups may work one day and not the next. I've started eating yougurt hoping to help with constipation and it seems to go down pretty good so far. It just drives me bonkers how you can eat something one day and the next time you try it won't go down. Like I said I know that some days are gonna be off days but I don't think miserable and hungry all the time should be part of it. I will say this, the day after my surgery I woke up with a horrid migraine. I knew I wasn't supposed to throw up but I heaved twice and tried to stop it. That day I started having pain in my band like a rock was stuck in it. I went and had all the fluid taken out and then the spasms started. In my mind I think maybe I moved it that day. I'm to the point I am ready to go have an upper GI myself to see if it's like it's supposed to be. I mean my husband tells me that I could've threw my food up for free and I agree with him. This surgery wasw supposed to limit my food intake to a half cup to a cup at each meal not a few bites every once in a while. And yes, you would think the weight would be falling off @ puppypaws but in the 10 months I've had it I'm only down 56 lbs. Now I am so excited about those 56 lbs. gone but it should be more and it shouldn't have been so hard to come by. So now that I've written a book, I hope I answered all your questions. What do you think I should do differently or otherwise?

I was banded March 2011. It has been one headache after another for me. After surgery I started having esophageal spasms and had to have the primer fluid removed. That went on for several weeks. I can only have a fill of 0.2 because I swell so easily. I am constantly getting stuck after 2-3 bites no matter what I eat and sometimes I can't even drink! I am almost at my year point where I won't be covered anymore and will have to pay out of pocket for fills @ 0.2cc! I'm so frustrated. I know some people get stuck sometimes or have an off day but I have alot more bad days than good! Is anyone else experiencing these same issues or is there something wrong with me/band? I'm so miserable and HUNGRY all the time and can't eat. This is NOT what I signed up for! Please give me your feedback! Thanks, Nicole