omamoon

Dr. C, Thanks for the pictures. After being banded since April 2006 and losing 40 pounds, my band obstructed and my stomach herniated up through the band and began to necrotize. I lost my band and two-thirds of my stomach. It's been a tough recovery. If you're curious, you can read the whole sordid tale in my "Catostrophic Slippage" post. Thanks again for your info.

This will be a long one, I'm afraid. I was banded 04/20/2006 by Dr. Ariel Ortiz in TJ. Surgery went great. My second - and last - fill was on 07/11/2006 for a total fill of 2.4 cc in a 10 cm band. Starting losing weight and was doing just fine. In November I began having stiffness and swelling in my back due to diagnosed spinal arthritis and bone spurs. This made my band a little tighter. Near the end of December I experienced bloating and swelling due to perimenopausal bleeding that I had not seen in four years. You guessed it, my band felt even tighter. By the end of January I knew it was time for an unfill until I could get these issues resolved. I made an appointment locally for a fluoro and unfill. The night before I was scheduled to go in, I ate a piece of chicken. It immediately obstructed my band. I have never known such pain as this, and I've had natural childbirth and three kidney stones. The vomiting and retching were over the top. I was taken immediately to the ER. Of course, they had never heard of the band. All I could say was "Get a 2-inch needle, aspirate all fluid from the port!" I even told them to go look it up online. One of the sweet ER nurses did come in and ask me to not scream so loud as I was scaring a child down the hall! As if I could stop. The local lap band doc (who was not on call) came to my rescue and removed all the fluid from my band. There was a great sense of relief, but I still had a lot of pain. It had been mitigated somewhat by the 5 mg of morphine they gave me. They sent me home. Within an hour, I knew I was in bad trouble. The pain had just increased more, so back we went to the ER. At least I got a different nurse this time! Bloodwork was done, followed by CT scan. Just an elevated white count. They decided to admit me for an endoscopy the following morning. It was about 2 a.m. by this time. They kept me drugged with the 5 mg morphine every 45 minutes to an hour, and it barely kept me going. The next morning at 11 a.m. I went down for an endoscopy to be followed by a gastric graphing. After waking up from the endo, they said no more tests for you. You have to go to immediate surgery. I saw the pictures from the endo - pink, pink, black. I knew it was bad when I saw black! The scheduled my surgery for 5 p.m. but moved it up to 2 p.m. As I was being rushed in, I was told that my band had slipped catastrophically down the front of my stomach and my stomach was being deprived of oxygen from being strangled by the band. They were hoping to do a lap incision and remove the band and things would go back to normal. The surgeon took one look in the lap incision, took a picture of my stomach looking the same color as my liver (bad news!) and then removed the lap tool and opened me up all they way, from sternum to belly button. They removed the band, along with two/thirds of my stomach that had died over the last few hours. I woke up with a six-inch stapled incision, a two-inch stapled incision, two drains, a central line to my heart, an NG tube that went into what was left of my stomach, a Foley catheter and those lovely leg squeezers. I was unable to get out of bed for four days and didn't have solid food for over a week. IVs only. The NG tube was my "friend" for five days. I was given alternating doses of two different antibiotics every six hours to prevent peritonitis. I was on a morphine pump to administer 5 mg of morphine every hour on the hour. I used that pump for over seven days. Thank God the antibiotics worked! I was in the hospital 11 days and am very lucky to be here today. Now to answer a few questions I know some of you might have. My band had not slipped before this night, and I had no symptoms of a slip. I had no symptoms of anything. No pain, No acid reflux, no PB'g. I was able to eat and drink as I had before it started getting tighter, just much smaller amounts. The doctor said the initial surgery looked like a good surgery, so no problem there. I did all the things I was supposed to be doing, eating slow, chewing well, etc. The doctor who fixed me up said I should have no long-term effects from losing so much stomach, except for some weight loss. I will only be able to eat small amounts, about 4 oz., five to seven times a day. I've lost over 17 pounds since the surgery and am struggling not to lose more as I need to get in more calories to help my body heal faster. I'm dealing with low-grade queasiness all day, and the BMs will be faster until they get settled down. The doc was able to save my pyloris, so I won't have the "dumping" issues we've all heard about. Before you get too scared over my story, just remember that my surgeon said that this is a very rare occurence. This was the first time he's seen it happen this way. But you know what they say, "The statistics may be only 1%, but if you are that 1%, then your statistic just jumped to 100%. We all know when we decide to get the lap-band that complications can happen, so I felt it was necessary to share with this community my personal experience. I do not regret getting my lap-band last year. It just turned out that I was to be one of the "statistics" we all read about. Considering the seriousness of my situation, I'm so very grateful to be here to be able to share this with you. I've often wondered over these last few weeks as I recover if there was anything I could have done to prevent this from happening. The doc says probably not as I had no symptoms and was in the process of doing the right thing by getting a fluoro and an unfill. I know this post may contain TMI, and I apolopgize in advance for that. But I also know there are many, many of you on this board that want and need to hear my story. So here it is. Feel free to post any questions for me. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions I can.

Baby that band until you get your surgery! If you have any pain at all, call the doc at once. You can lose parts of your body in only a few hours if the band slips the wrong way. Money doesn't mean a hell of a lot when you get into a desperate situation. I wish I could "buy" back my old insides!

After discussing this many times with my doc, we feel I was just too tight, but that it happened not because of my fills, but because of what was going on inside my body. The bottom line is too tight is too tight, no matter what the reason. I made the mistake of thinking if I took care of the bloating and swelling issues, the band tightness would correct itself - and it might have. But I never got the opportunity to find out. And this to Lynn, you should never ever have a problem with liquids going down. You should always be able to drink as much water as you need without having to "wait" for it to go down. You sound like you're too tight, and being too tight is what led to my slippage and surgery. Leenerbups, the doc thinks the tightness led to a complete obstruction which led to the catastrophic slip. I had no symptoms of a slip at all before this incident. Lynn, thanks for the Dramamine suggestion. I'll certainly give it a try. Be sure and call your doc and let him know how tight you are.

8675309 - not a crude question at all. I was self pay when I was banded, even though I had been approved with my insurance to pay for the surgery here in the States. I was willing to pay for more surgical experience. So far it looks as if my insurance will be covering this surgery. It was a life-threatening situation.

Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes. Marys, you're right, I do need to let Dr. Ortiz know what has happened. I know he will want to know. Dixiecharm, thank you for reaffirming my reasons for posting my experience. I think I had been lulled into a sense of complacency about my band. I had done so much research before having the band placed, and thought I was aware of what to look for if trouble came. I was losing at a rate of 2 pounds a week, doing everything like I was supposed to do, and it was working fine. The thing that scared me the most was the fact that I had not had a fill since last July, and the band just got a little tighter each time something inside my body changed. I had no idea this could lead to such a catastrophic event. I guess it could be considered a gastric sleeeve now, except in my case the stomach that was removed was the two/thirds in the middle, not along one side. The doc says I now have half of a gastric bypass, something I sure didn't want to have. Does anyone have any suggestions for constant queasiness? I've tried the Sea-Bands on my wrists and peppermint tea. They help a little. It's so hard to eat when I need to when I feel queasy all the time. Thank you all again for your care and concern.

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/223/150 - 40 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/229/165 - 53 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/257.5/150 - 42.5 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/259/165 - 41 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/231/150 - 80 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/205/150 – 50 total 4-4: Angels - 264/255/235/? - 29 total 4-4: Harpseal Al - 327/295/220 - 34 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/169/132 - 39 total 4-5: siestaqh - 180+/177/128/110 - 52 total 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/180.5/134 - 53.5 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/244/180 - 114 total 4-10: DeltaDawn - 358/221/180 - 137 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/140/120 - 100 total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4:11: truckinmama - 262/234/160 - 28 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/206/140 - 42 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217.5/196/145 - 21.5 total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/192/140 - 50 total 4-17: MelAnne - 245/207/150 - 38 total 4-18: KAYBEE-284/209/180 -75 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/245/150 - 25 total 4-20: TrustUfirst - 210/205/177/135 - 32 Total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/179/130 - 41 total 4-20: KimInMD - 288/288/228/156 - 60 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/212/150 - 61 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/237/150 - 73total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117/98/69 - 27 kgs/59.4 lbs. total 4-24: Ceparano- 255/270.5/210/170 - 60.5 lbs. total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/210.5/165 - 78.5 total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/216/160 - 46 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/237/145 - 33 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/191/150 - 73 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/267/237.0/140 - 46 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/243/145 - 90 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 225/214/158/135 - 67 total 4-28: MomofSixKids - 240/238/205/150 - 35 total

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/248/150 - 15 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/229/165 - 53 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/271/150 - 29 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/259/165 - 41 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/231/150 - 80 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/225/150 – 50 total 4-4: Angels - 264/255/235/? - 29 total 4-4: Harpseal Al - 327/295/220 - 34 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/188/130 - 20 total 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/197/134 - 37 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/288/150 - 70 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/184/135 - 55 total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4:11: truckinmama - 262/234/160 28 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/212/140 - 36 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217/201/145 - 16 total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/222/140 - 20 total 4-17: MelAnne - 245/207/150 - 38 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/245/150 - 25 total 4-18: LapBandit - 392/369/347/336/324/308/298 - 94 total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/188/130 - 32 total 4-20: KimInMD - 288/288/253/156 - 35 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/231/150 - 42 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/259/150 - 51 total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117 op.day/106.6/69 - 18.4 kgs/40.4 lbs total 4-24: Ceparano - 255/270.5/235/170 - 35 total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/246/165 - 43 lbs total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/241/160 - 21 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/244/145 - 26 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/208/145 - 56 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/267/260.2/145 - 22.8 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/278/145 - 55 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 224/214/182/135 - 42 total 4-28: MomofSixKids - 240/238/215/150 - 25 total <!-- / message -->

Poodles, I agree with Donna B about the dog tags. My husband was in a head-on collision. He was wearing dog tags with all his personal info on them. I had made them for him myself, as well as about a hundred others, for premiums at a bicycle ride. Easy to wear, sweatproof, all info the docs might need, right? Well, he was in the ER for over 4 hours before they called me. He finally regained consciouness and gave them our home phone number. They didn't even notice the dog tags. I now wear a medical ID bracelet with the emblem. It has a plain black leather band. I never take it off. I wear it on my left wrist. Lauren's Hope makes some really cute beaded medical ID bracelets, but I was afraid this type of bracelet would get overlooked. Use mink oil daily on a leather band if you shower in it.

Donna B, It's my understanding that the pars flaccida technique involves tunneling through the pars flaccida, then creating the "belt loop," as you call it, by stitching the greater curve of the stomach over the band and onto the lesser curve of the stomach. Nothing is stitched to the diaphram.

Ditto what Carla said!

Barb, I got back into town on Saturday. My fill went great, and I'm on liquids for the next few days, then I'll see how solids go down after that. Dr. White works out of Immanuel. That's where I went for his WLS seminar. He does RNY, too. Most of the seminar attendees were there for that type of surgery. At that time, he told me he had placed 150 bands. He has a great surgery reputation, but I just was not comfortable with the low number of bands he has placed. That's why I went to Dr. Ortiz in TJ. I have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Ortiz and his staff!

Barb, I'm going back to Dr. Ortiz's office in Tijuana. I haven't tried to find a doctor for fills here in Omaha. I personally spoke with Dr. White at his seminar, and he stated he will not fill any patient banded anywhere else as he didn't want his practice to become a "fill center." He's a very nice guy, though. I let you know how my fill goes.

My daughter had a similar (2-year) infection and open wound experience to yours when she had PS, except she had her surgery in the U.S.! I did not get my lap band surgery done in Mexico for "financial reasons." I had insurance approval in hand and chose to self-pay and have my surgery in Mexico. I'm so sorry for your truly horrible experience.

My doc walked in the exam room and the first words out of his mouth were, "You're not fat enough, just like you heard, RyanJoey! Needless to say, the meeting went downhill from there! My BMI at the time was 37. I have high blood pressure, joint problems, depression, etc. I asked him if he was familiar with the NIH guidelines for WLS. He just looked at me like I was crazy. I gave him the guidelines. He's still giving me the blank stare. Long story short, I got approved for sugery a few weeks after this little get together. I'm changing docs. Probably a good idea after my telling him I knew he was conservative, and that I didn't expect him to be open minded and how many pounds had he ever had to lose? The topper? He told me he was head of an Optifast program for 10 years! What a hoot! I walked out with my husband in tow and left the doc sitting on his little swivel stool. I just couldn't deal with one more conservative Midwestern doc, so I self payed, went to Mexico and told my insurance company they lucked out.

Just a quick update: I'm getting my first fill a week from today. Wish me luck!

Penni, In answer to your "hope" question, sounds like grandma was asking the children for some help. I grew up in North East Texas, too, Tamryn!

Same here. I need a bracelet for penicillin and peanut allergies, so I added "GRASTRIC LAD BAND" "NO NG W/OUT SCOPE" to my ID band. I got it from Lauren's Hope. Plain metal plate with a caduceus emblem and a black leather band. I never remove it. Intubation (for breathing purposes) does not go into the stomach. A naso-gastric (NG) tube does.

I have a great mammogram story for y'all. I have one of my nipples pierced. I live in Omaha, NE, and I guess they don't see too many so-called "mature" women with a nipple piercing. I could tell the tech was at a loss for words, but I didn't say a thing. Then she asks could the ring be removed. I said yes but why was that necessary? So she replies, "Well, we have to put a nipple marker there." I guess the ring wasn't big enough for them! LOL! I go each year around my birthday for my mammogram and my pap smear. Kind of a birthday present to myself.

I am Oma to my six-year old grandson, Mason, and Moon is my last name. Boy, did I get some great baby name suggestions when I was pregnant with my two kids!

My daughter uses this type of wrist band for her nausea and has for years. She swears by them.

PeloRojo, Your husband made a very telling statement about preferring you "a little heavy" to being "thin" with sugery. If he's done his research, and you say he has, maybe he's feeling threatened by the idea that the band will work, and he will have a "thin" wife. Could he be thinking, "Will she be more attractive, confident, outgoing and begin to enjoy interacting with other men?" Not that his would be a bad thing, but it could enter his minds as a negative. Does he have any weight to lose? Could he be afraid of losing his eating buddy? A lot of men do not like change, especially when it is out of their control. It is very scary for them. Just something to think about.

I added myself to the list. This is getting to be a long a** thread! 4-3: JenRN - 263/257/248/150 - 15 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/282.5/150 - 17.5 total 4-3: Mom2Blak - 4-4: Angelu - 4-4: brneyezz - 4-4: judyc - 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/268/150 - 43 total 4-6: Klsame - 4-6: Disneynut - 4-10: little one - 4-10: Nissi69 - 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/207/135 - 33 total 4-11: tlj - 4-11: Reyna - 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/209/135 - 31 total 4-12: Infaith - 4-12: JenWillwin - <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O<v /><O<v:shape id=_x0000_i1028 style="WIDTH: 12pt; HEIGHT: 12pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""><?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata></O<v:shape><v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata> 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/338/175 - 20 total 4-13: NJgirl - 247/230/220/140 - 27 total<O<v:shape id=_x0000_i1030 style="WIDTH: 12pt; HEIGHT: 12pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""> <v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata></O<v:shape><v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata> 4-14: Miper70 - 4 -17: Shackdog - 4 -17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4 -17: Jeepergurrl - 242/222/140 - 20 total<O<v:shape id=_x0000_i1032 style="WIDTH: 12pt; HEIGHT: 12pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""> <v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata></O<v:shape><v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata> 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/250/150 - 20 total 4-18: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4 -19: Kathi - <O<v:shape id=_x0000_i1034 style="WIDTH: 12pt; HEIGHT: 12pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""><v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata></O<v:shape><v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata> 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/202/130 - 18 total 4-20: Indababy - 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/246/150 - 27 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/284/150 - 26 total<O<v:shape id=_x0000_i1036 style="WIDTH: 12pt; HEIGHT: 12pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""> <v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata></O<v:shape><v:imagedata o:href="http://lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/silly.gif" src="file:///C:DOCUME~1OwnerLOCALS~1Tempmsohtml101clip_i mage002.gif"></v:imagedata> 4-22: Alisonb - 4-24: Eficka - 125kg/117/111.9/69 - 13,1kg - 28.8 pounds total 4-24: Ceparano -255/270.5/255/170 -15.5 total 4-24: Kat - 4-24: hlj25950 - 15.5 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/255/145 - 11 total 4-25: nofattipatti - 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/230/150 - 34 total 4-26:Tracylou - 4-26: K@t - 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/260/145 - 24 Total 4-28: Jellibeanz - 4-28: Susan4794 - 4-28: msheavensent - 4-29: Scneaux -

I have severe food allergies. I didn't start to have food reactions until I was in my 30s, and they have worsened over the years. I carry an Epi-Pen with me at all times. I have had my hands itch and swell a couple of times during my lifetime, and it had nothing to do with food. Just an "out-of-the-blue" kind of thing. It was in the spring, so it was probably the trees, since I'm also allergic to most tree pollens. My stomach has NEVER swollen with any of my reactions. My throat has. I get dizzy. My blood pressure drops. It can be a very scary thing and life-threatening. Shellfish are definitely different from an allergy standpoint than fish. My allergist says that only 2% of adults have severe food allergies. I'd rather have won the lottery! I'm allergic to all nuts, peanuts, lettuce, celery, carrots, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peas (leguumes, as are peanuts) and beans. All of these make my throat swell and itch but have never affected my insides. See a good allergist and listen to his advice.

I remember very clearly an interview he did after his surgery. He definitely had the Fobi.