amywin12

oh.. btw, I hated my old port with the lap band.. It was constantly pinching hand hurting me during working out.. Hopefully the realize band is better!

I have actually had both!! I had a lapband put in 4 yrs ago and had a slippage. I had it removed and replaced with a realize band on March 3rd. So far my recovery with the realize is way better than the lap band.. I am still on squishy food, so I can't tell you too much else. I do have way LESS heart burn than I did with the lap band. My lap band held 5cc and this holds 10cc. Maybe that is why..Good luck!

I wish I had a good answer for you! But, I was not lucky enough to have an ufill fix the problem. I went in for surgery tue 3/3 and had my band removed and replaced. So I am almost a week post op. I had my old band 4 yrs. This new band is a Realize band. I am not sure if there is a difference yet. So far, so good. I haven't had any reflux, but am still on liquids.. Good luck!

Thanks for your posts.. They were very helpful. I do have an upper hiatial hernia which they say they are going to fix. Also, they told me I have too much stomach above the band, like you also mentioned. I have been deflated for about 1 month now. Vomiting has lessened but still occurs, along with pain inside. Insurance is pending approval of a new band. I have a surgery tentatively scheduled for March 10th. That would be the day of fixing the hernia and taking out and replacing or just taking out the band. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a new one, and don't know what I'll do if insurance denies me.

I had a similar situation. I was fine for the first 3 years, but then started waking up in the night coughing up liquid. I also had horrible reflux and heartburn. I had an upper GI right after Christmas and they found a hiatial hernia and that the band had slipped. I went to the Dr. and he took out all my fill. For the first 2 days I felt much better but then began getting sick. I kept track of what I ate for the 16 days after the unfill and I found my heart burn was less, but I still threw up 18 times. I went back to the dr friday and he said the band needed to be removed. I would make sure your dr. stays on top of it. I am frustrated that I have lived like this for the past year. I was throwing up almost daily, sometimes even Water or Protein shakes. Now I have to decide if I want another band if insurance will pay for it. I am not sure what I want to do. I started at 256 4 years ago and am now 170, size 12. I would love to lose more, and don't know if it is possible without the band!

I was reading about your situation and it sounds similar to mine. I hit my 4 year mark with the band this month. Things were going well for the first 3 yrs. I would sometimes throw up, but not often. I got to the point where I was throwing up almost daily, and sometimes even just water. I have been back and forth with fill amounts and am now unfilled. After an upper GI and an unfill, the Dr said I have to have my band removed, but replacement is a possibility. I don't know what to do. I've lost about 100lbs total. I am so scared of life without the band, but I don't want this to happen every 4 yrs. Any information would be so helpful! I have a big choice to make, and I'm not sure what is the right one!

Thank you for sharing that information. He did show me in the xray how the stomach was coming up through the band and what was there was too big. I go on Friday to find out if the unfill worked. I am not throwing up daily like I was before, but still am throwing up. I don't know if it means the unfill did the trick or not!

It's comforting to know others have the same issue!!I do know that I have a lot of extra skin. My dr told me he could feel a 6 pack! I just have the extra skin over it. I am 28 and plan on getting pregnant very soon, so they told me to wait on a tummy tuck until I am done having kids. The dr also told me that if all the extra skin was removed, I would most likely weigh about 10 lbs less.. so I guess that puts me almost at my goal weight!

I never reached my goal. I wanted to get to 150. I started at 256. The lowest I've been is 162 and I am currently 172( I am 5'8'). I have had my band for 4 yrs. I go to the gym daily and exercise for 2 hrs. I go a combo of weights and cardio. I just can't kick the extra weight. My dr says this is where my body wants to be. It is very frustrating though. No matter how much I exercise and how well I eat, I can't lose weight!!

I'm going through the same thing right now. I was constantly throwing up and had bad reflux. I have had my band for 4 yrs. The upper GI revealed a hiatial hernia and my stomach is comming up through the band. Last fri he took all the fill out. We are seeing if this works. If not, I will have to have another surgery.

I am about 4 yrs post op and I can feel my band now worse than ever. It irritates me often, although it did not in the first few years. I am very active with spinning, kickboxing, yoga, pilates, ect. I often feel pain during these workouts.