GE Mom

Well, I'm the lap band failure. I am now about 13 pounds less than the day of surgery. I have been filled to 10.5 cm in an 11 cm band since about 3 months after the surgery and cannot lose even one pound. I am hungry all the time. I can eat far too normally -- except for occasional esophogeal spasms, you wouldn't even know I have the band. By normally, I mean that I eat what people of normal weight eat. I've had several people (who have spent a lot of time with me) tell me I don't eat nearly enough to weigh what I do. I've been xrayed several times, and the band is in place, and filled as it should be. I finally quit going back to the doctor after about 6 months. They couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing. So, if I knew what I know now, I wouldn't have done it. It's been a total failure for me. Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks for the advice, Betty. I did go to the doctor. He did a fluroscopic exam of the band, and found it's where it should be, with no slippage or stretched pouch. So he withdrew all the Fluid, found there was no leak. He had me swallow barium, then filled the band until no more barium would pass. He then withdrew .5cc, so I now have 10.5 cc in an 11 cc band. To my astonishment, I'm coughing/gagging/pbing a lot less than I did before, and I'm not nearly as hungry. This was done 10 days ago, and I've lost 2 pounds! YES!

I'm coming up on a year since my surgery, and I've only lost 22 pounds. I'd love your opinions on what I can do to get back on track. Since the surgery, I started off doing well at exercising, but had two falls in which I hurt both knees, so walking got really rough. Before the surgery, I fell (in the locker room at Water aerobics) on my keester and am still hurting from that, though I guess I didn't break anything. (My keester has adequate padding!) So now I'm back to walking, but I guess not frequently enough. I have 9.5 cc in an 11 cm VG Band, and feel like I can eat far too normally. I never was a really big eater -- I've had people who spend a lot of time with me tell me that I don't eat nearly enough to be as fat as I am. I've always said I don't eat too much, but I do eat the wrong things (carbs). I have frequent episodes where I swallow too fast and then start coughing (PB and sliming, I guess). This happens as often as 3 times a day but not every day. I'm thinking maybe I was too aggressive with the fills and need a slight unfill. So the good news is, I'm stronger and a little bit less fat than before the surgery but I haven't lost anything since Christmas. HELP!

Of course, the patient is the last to know. I think it's about an hour.

So does throwing up actually hurt the band? Did I really need to go to the ER?

Yeah, I do actually have a prescription for Phenergan (generic: Promethazine) at home for my migraines but, unfortunately, I was in Florida and the medication was in Illinois!

I've had my band since August, 2006 and have lost about 27 pounds. Recently I had a fill to 9.5 cm in an 11 cm VG band. (I know, that's pretty tight.) Since this last fill, I've definitely felt restricted. I've had a number of incidents where, upon taking the first bite of a meal, I begin coughing and ultimately spit up the bite along with a large amount of thick saliva. There seems to be no particular pattern, except that it is more likely to happen when I'm very hungry and presumably haven't chewed adequately. Questions: Is this what's meant by 'pb'ing'? Is there a reliable way to prevent it? (I know, chew well, eat slowly...) Does this mean I'm too tight? Does this do damage to the band? Should I just tolerate it if I'm losing? Advice, please.

We just got back from vacation in Disney World and both my husband and I got sick with (probably) a virus that caused severe diarrhea and vomiting. I threw up at 60 minute intervals from midnight to 6 AM, when we finally decided to go to the hospital and get some medication to stop the vomiting. They did an xray and decided the band is still in the correct place, then gave me IV fluids and reglan to stop the GI problems and (at my request) a scrip for Phenergan to take later. That is what actually helped. Questions: Will such violent retching actually hurt the band? What should I do in the future if such a problem happens?

There are two kinds of lumps -- one is tissue that seems to be swelling right beneath the incision, then there's a lump about the diameter of a walnut that must be the port structure itself. Port pain is pretty common. It eventually fades.

My pain was somewhat worse than some of the folks have described. Yes, I had the worst pain around the port, but I think it was almost as bad as my 2 cesarean operations. It was particularly hard to get up from bed for, say, the first week. I took liquid tylenol with codeine, which tasted so awful that I stopped taking it about day 4. But each day was better than the one before and it was very much worth it.

My bariatric program had to start a separate group for lap band folks because the RNY folks were too mean to the lap banders. I do not understand this at all. But I think separate is better.

In the individual insurance market, most seriously obese people are uninsurable. So the best bet is to find some way to get group insurance through a large employer, either your own or spouse if you're married.

It's great to hear that we're all finally getting the weight loss going. I'm down 28 pounds from my surgery in August, which is slower than the rest of you but still fine. My doctor is OK with it. And the clothes are getting looser and looser. I'm still having knee problems, and will probably have to have the other one operated. (DARN IT!) And that has slowed the weight loss because it hurts to exercise. I went to a meeting yesterday wearing a suit that had been in the closet for a couple of years because it was too small, and a friend told me I shouldn't wear it any more because it's hanging off me. I now have 8.5 cc in a Vanguard band and I really do feel restricted but not in a bad way. I still get full pretty easily. When I eat a bit too much I feel a bit of heartburn. I wish I'd known how much difference this would make -- I'd have done it a long time ago.

There's a graphic that describes exactly your symptoms as being an example of someone who's too full and needs Fluid taken out. And being too full often results in eating things that are sweet and easy to swallow, resulting in inadequate weight loss. (www.core.monash.org/patient-care.pdf )

RLittman, thanks for the advice on knee surgery rehab. I remember when you got yours fixed, I was still hoping mine would heal on its own. No such luck. I hope my experience is similar to yours and I start losing again when all this swelling goes down. I hadn't thought about that. I think I'll still get a fill on Friday, though. Maybe I need just a little bit more. What's this about port flipping? Why do they do that?