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I would be very wary of getting it taken out unless it is really necessary. It is quite possible that without it you may regain some or even all of your weight. Also why put your body through surgery unless you have to. A BMI is 23 is perfectly healthy. It is not even close to being underweight. Maybe you just need to make better food choices to help allevaiate the tiredness. However tiredness often results from the busy lives we lead and often has nothing to do with what we eat. The diarrohea I would get checked out - is the Dr sure this is band related? It is very unusual if it is as most bandsters tend to border on the constipated end of the scale. I would make sure that all possibilities were checked out first before having the band removed. The last thing you want is to go through surgery and then discover that you still have the same issues.

If it was only nausea or dizziness I would say it could be low blood sugar but the fact that you are also experiencing chills and feeling generally off colour would seem to point to some kind of infection. It could be viral, bacterial, hopefully just a bug that will be gone within a few days. I would suggest keeping your fluids up, using paracetomol for pain and if it gets worse or doesn't go away then go and see a Dr.

Yes also far gassier than previously and I am 2 years out. Worst part is that initially i would burp lot but now it prefers to come out the other end!

You might want to pop over to the plication support site. There are not a lot of people on there as it is still a relatively new surgery. What I found worrying was that out of such a small group there were a number that were already having/had serious issues.

The reason diet drinks and other diet products are so bad is not because of the carbonation it is because of the artificial sweeteners and other chemicals. At least sugar is a natural product although we all know it is bad in excess(as is anything). Strangely no Dr's have recommended avoiding diet products. Most US bandsters seem to drink Crystal Light and that also has artificial sweeteners in. So in effect the only difference between that and diet coke, diet fanta etc is the lack of bubbles. There are lots of other products that we routinely eat/drink that will strip rust or dissolve a tooth. e.g Vinegar,bicarb, orange juice.................... Makes it really hard to figure out what is good and what is bad doesn't it?

Watching this now and what a load of Cr@P! This woman is obviously too tight. Programs and people like this give banding a bad rep. Of course she should be eating solids and if she was only eating 5 teaspoons of yogurt then she would probably be constantly hungry and would be eating sliders far more often than 3 times per day. I hate shows like this.

I would love to know how it is possible for a hole in the stomach to only be found doing a swallow test? If this was a sleeve or a bypass yes as there could be problems at the staple line but with a band? Surely the only way that a hole could occur is from surgeon error and the surgeon would know whilst he/she was still in the operating theatre that they had stuffed up. They would not need to wait until a swallow test to find out.

Eww - that is so gross. To say you are looking hot is fine , but the rest!!!!!!!!

Good luck hope it helps. But a couple of things to think about. Tummy growling does not always mean hunger - mine does it all the time since i have been banded. If you cannot go for 2 hours without feeling lightheaded then I would be concerned that something else could be wrong. If you are eating properly with good food choices you should not feel like this so quickly. Maybe you need to have some tests to see if you are diabetic, anaemic, or have some other kind of Vitamin or mineral deficiency.

It does look a bit angry. If it is hard to get to see your Dr would a pharmacist look at it for you? I don't know if they do that in the US but they do here. Always best to get peace of mind.

I know 2 people that have bought them and they both think they are wonderful. You can wear 2 at the same time for additional support. If you do want to buy them do it on ebay instead of the official site as you can get them much cheaper.

Now that makes sense.,all that carbonation would be really bad for you .I can't even imagine drinking all that - not even in my ffp days, the occasional glass yes but 2 litres plus per day never! Give me a nice cup of tea rather. Good job that isn't banned post band as I really would be in trouble.

The balloon does not have a hole at the end. The stomach does - it is not a closed system. I am not breaking my Dr's rules as my Dr allows carbonation if a person can tolerate it. I actually very rarely drink carbonated drinks. If I am out and thirsty I usually buy bottled water or iced tea(high cal I know). But at home in summer I will often make soda water and drink it with a dash of lime. It is very refreshing and not full of chemicals. If your Dr has a rule about no carbonation then you should not break it unless you discuss it with him/her first.But this is not a rule that is written in stone and if your Dr does not require it then you should not spend your time worrying unnecessarily .

That is very true. And it seems after banding the gas escapes more often than it does prior to banding! I asked my Dr about this a couple of months after banding and was told that carbonation is fine so long as it doesn't cause me any discomfort. Apparently some people can handle it, others can't. I think drinking it slowly rather than trying to gulp it down makes a big difference as well. I don't see how it could stretch the pouch - it is just not logical. One of the best low cal, refreshing summer drinks there is , is a lime and soda.

SkyLily, we are in agreement. That was exactly the point that I was trying to get across initially although it seems some may have misinterpreted that. Research can have good and bad points as well. There are many things I have learnt from this site that I did not learn from my Dr. Some good , some bad. One thing I kept coming across here that led to some very unrealistic expectations was the term " sweet spot". Personally I think this should be banned. The Quest for some elusive magical "sweet spot" is what often causes people to have there bands overfilled which in turn leads to other problems. I do not believe that it is possible to eat 1/2 - 1 cup of food 3 times per day and not be hungry in between. I eat far more than that and still need a snack in between. If more people realised that being hungry 3 hours after a small healthy meal was quite normal they may not get so despondent.

Good to know that your problems have been sorted out and that it has been a relatively simple solution.

I must have been extremely lucky. My Dr told me about the complications prior to surgery. He also gave me a booklet which spoke about them in greater detail. I thought his approach was the norm but obviously not. Generally I find that if I want to know something Google delivers the goods. There are lots of articles on the net about complications so anyone that has the net has the ability to find as much information as they want. Alex is also very good in posting all the articles that appear in the press about the band, both good and bad. Thanks for helping.

You are not supposed to do anything except the very minimum for the first 6 weeks. Your husband needs to do more. If he won't just leave the stuff to pile up and if he asks why show him the info on what can happen if you do it. There is an excellent site called hystersisters that has the answers to lots of your questions, it also has a couple of articles for the men. I have kept referring back to the site since my op 6 weeks ago and the advice has been excellent. It is also great to read other peoples experiences so that I know what i am experiencing is normal. It is fairly normal to have some bleeding for a number of weeks after the op. However excessive bleeding could be caused by having done too much and could be a sign of possible complications. I had some bleeding at 3 weeks so went to see my GP. She checked me out and said I looked fine , that I had no signs of infection and that it could have been either from some left over endometriosis or a pulled internal stitch. She told me if it got worse or didn't stop by the Monday(saw her on Saturday) that I needed to go and see my gynae. It did stop so I didn't need to go back. I have my postop app in a weeks time. Later than usual as my gynae has been on holiday.

Well said. It is good to see articles such as these so that we are well informed but when viewing them one should also view the risks of staying obese. Before going into surgery each person needs to make an informed decision and weigh up the pros and cons of doing nothing or taking a chance and having surgery. And each type of surgery has it's own particular sets of risks. There are certain things that a person can do that can help to minimise the risks but obviously it is not possible to eradicate them completely. Once the decision has been made then it is best to not dwell on things that may or may not happen . Yes my band may slip or erode but so far it hasn't and me thinking about it constantly won't help. Fear of what might happen can be very paralyzing and the negative energy it produces quite self destructive. I prefer to be a glass half full person.

Trying to work out where I said that people that do not have success have not done enough? I do remember saying I think the bottom line is that there is no such thing as a perfect WLS or even a one size fits all solution. Whichever surgery we choose is going to involve effort on our part - often a lot more than we at first hoped.The best thing to do is research , research, research prior to surgery and then go into your chosen surgery with your eyes wide open and lots of commitment. so my emphasis here is on being informed. I never said that any of you weren't but misinformation or lack of information is a common cause of problems. I also didn't say here that people that fail have not done enough. In fact I have given 3 different possible reasons for failure. One of which is bad luck. There will always be an unlucky minority that will not have success with the surgery that they have chosen. Sometimes it is due to non compliance, sometimes it is due to a not so good surgeon or poor aftercare and sometimes it seems that it is just plain bad luck.Sometimes a revision works sometimes it brings with it it's own set of problems. I also don't remember calling anyone lazy or an idiot. I do remember pointing out that there is no one size fits all solution. Part of my reason for posting was to caution people that the grass is not always greener on the other side. It may feel like it when you are having problems but each surgery has it's own set of problems. One should be very careful before deciding that a different surgery is the magical solution that someone has been searching for. The last thing anyone wants is for someone to have further surgery if it is not necessary and maybe have further problems. Sometimes there is a simpler solution.Yes it is possible that the band may not have been the best choice for some of you but how do you know that the sleeve or bypass will be any better. Both of these types of surgery have much higher risks (initially at least) and should only be entered into with caution. Should my band slip or erode in the future I will probably CONSIDER a VSG. But I also recognise that it is not the magical solution that I would like it to be. People with the sleeve still vomit, have reflux etc and it is still possible to eat around it. Yes it is easier because it is not necessary to go for fills so initially the weight loss is faster but it is not perfect. My philosophy is to try to work with what I have unless there is no alternative. For those of you who do decide to revise I wish you the best of luck. Just make sure that your new chosen surgery has been well researched and that you are going into it with eyes wide open and realistic expectations.

Skylily do you have an actual support group that you can go to? Often people who are struggling find that going to an actual support group with other bandits helps. Sharing with others in person can help more than an online group. I don't know where in Vic you live but if you are close to Melbourne's Western suburbs pm me for the details of a great group that meets once a month.

And for those who think that a bypass is the answer to all their problems I am adding a post from another support group that I am subscribed to. This is a previous post from the same person that gives a little bit of background. It seems this person is struggling with the bypass and has again stopped losing weight. I think the bottom line is that there is no such thing as a perfect WLS or even a one size fits all solution. Whichever surgery we choose is going to involve effort on our part - often a lot more than we at first hoped.The best thing to do is research , research, research prior to surgery and then go into your chosen surgery with your eyes wide open and lots of commitment. There will always be an unlucky minority that will not have success with the surgery that they have chosen. Sometimes it is due to non compliance, sometimes it is due to a not so good surgeon or poor aftercare and sometimes it seems that it is just plain bad luck.Sometimes a revision works sometimes it brings with it it's own set of problems.

Yes it is a long list of possible complications but Have you ever read the possible side effects and complications of your every day medications? Even things such as the birth control pill or simple headache pills have a long list of really scary complications.Most people decide that the risk is worth it. That is why it is important to be well informed prior to the procedure. My Dr told me about possible complications and gave me a booklet in which they were covered as well. He certainly didn't try to gloss over or cover anything up.A lot of the complications can be avoided by following the rules and not having the band too tight. Each person has to decide for them self if the potential risks outweigh the potential benefit. If you really don't want to take any risks then you should give up things like travelling by car. It is one of the riskiest things you can do.

Drinking and driving after a band is generally fine. Eating and driving can cause major problems.

This all sounds very strange. Makes one wonder how experienced your Dr is. Normally if you are stuck with a complete blockage the Dr should remove all the fill. This lets the blockage pass and then afterwards he/she can start slowly refilling the band. Yes the heartburn is a classic symptom of a too tight or slipped band. Again the first step here would normally be to remove some or all of the fill and see if it comes right. The fact that they removed your band, did not put a new one in and you are still having problems would seem to indicate that there has been some kind of damage somewhere. Possibly it was due to the band being too tight, or maybe the Dr placed it incorrectly originally. It may also be from scar tissue. You should go back to your Dr and ask him/her to explain what the problem is. Maybe you need further tests . If you do not get satisfactory answers then fiinding a new Dr (and getting copies of your medical records) would seem to be the logical next step. Good luck, I hope it all gets sorted out soon.