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Well...this is what happens when you go past the green zone with aggressive fills. I know we sometimes get inpatient and want the band to help us quickly, but going directly into the red zone can sometimes come with a life time of band issues, if saline is not removed promptly. Sometimes, if you go back immediately after you've realized you are too tight to remove about .2 to .4ccs it can put you in the green zone without damage to your band, but you must act immediately, band issues can happen pretty quick. If you decide not to get saline removed NOW, eventually it will come out -- by force because eventually that tight pressure will become unbearable and uncomfortable, including all the vomiting that will happen, and reflux don't start immediately for most with a too tight band, the reflux usually starts to happen when band damage occur, and all the weight you've lost (the wrong way) will come back very quickly. Usually before getting a fill you have to be honest with your surgeon and really gauge how much you can eat BEFORE your fill, for example, if you can possibly eat way over 8 oz per meal or a entire sandwich, and still get hungry afterwards, then it;s ok to go a little aggressive, with caution. But if you are almost close to the green zone, and already have a little restriction, for example in the mornings, but can still eat over 4oz per meal and get hungry in less than 1 hour, you probably don't need an aggressive fill, only a small amount added. The closer you get to the green zone, the less saline you need in your band. Remember it's NEVER how much saline is in your band, it's how you feel, and right now you are dangerously too tight, and at risk for complications, and yes, the scales will probably move rapidly (this is the trap) that many lap banders fall in and sadly eventually lose their bands, saline can get addictive so be careful. Good to hear you are doing the smart thing by going back to see your surgeon.

Swelling up not normal, you need to call your surgeon if you have redness or warmth or extreme pain near your port area. You did not mention when you had surgery, but I never lifted anything over 10 pounds for 2 months after surgery, and I did not do any rigorous exercise until about 6 months post op, I took long walks 30-45 minutes per day. Also I wore loose clothes for about 2 months after surgery and did not let anything hit my port for about 2 months, and I only showered for about 2 months after surgery. Apparently this worked for me because I never had any port issues going on 8 years. It takes a couple of months for most people for the port to completely heal, and also as many lose weight the port may shift and can cause intermittent pain if it is hit up against anything or wear tight clothes. Good luck

Well if you still get the experience of "stuck" and burp, whether you believe it or not, YOUR BAND IS STILL HELPING YOU. I am not sure how tight your band was in the beginning, but it seems like you are already in the "green zone", especially if you are maintaining your weight with no problem, sometimes we don't realize how much the band is helping until we get saline removed..LOL. I am on my 2nd band, after I lost about 30 pounds my band has loosen again, and I am no longer in the green zone, I've purposely put off my next fill for 2 months because I was on vacation and traveling, but I do intend to get there again with my next fill, next week, and I can't wait.

If you are not having complications why remove the band? Does not make any sense to me. If I want to eat "clean" and eat lots of fibrous type veggies etc, I will just get a small unfill. I guess if you have a tight band with no saline or slippage, or reflux issues, it would make sense to remove the band, but if you have a "healthy band" removing all or most of the saline will be the same thing as NO BAND AT ALL. For Me, removing saline in my band is like having no band at all, so if I ever wanted to eat "freely" I will just get saline removed. I am honest and not cocky, and I KNOW ME, it will be hell to try to maintain my weight without the help of my band, I can actually lose weight on my own, but I've NEVER been able to maintain my weight. If I run into a issue where I can't exercise from injury, or have a stress event in my life, I know I would put back every pound without the help of my band. I am almost 8 years post op and it does NOT GET HARD to maintain weight loss until after the 6 year mark, also I found that the lap band screws up the metabolism, and sometimes WE HAVE NO IDEA of how little our portions are until we get a total unflll or have no band at all. Most surgeons say 95 percent of lap banders will gain all their weight back if they remove the band, I AGREE, I got cocky too after 7 years and thought I could go it "alone" with hardly no saline in my band last year when I had a hernia and I gained back 50 pounds in about 2 months, it was rapid weight gain, and I ate like a "normal person". Also I like the "safety net" with the band, I can always reboot it and as they say..."filler up" as long as I have a band that can be adjusted, I can sleep at night..LOL. This is one reason I would not revise to any other weight loss surgery, the band can always be adjusted as long as there are no complications. Good luck with your endeavors!

Exactly! Most patients DO NOT FESS UP when something has happened to their bands, I will support anyone with band issues, but I don't support lairs and band bashers, we are not perfect, the reason we got the band, and if someone think for ONE minute that their over eating will just disappear while having a band they are fooling themselves and everyone else. The thing is learning how to deal with the band, practicing new eating behaviors, I was a PERFECT band patient for 6 ENTIRE YEARS, as years go by things happen, you get married, get complacent, get laxed on the rules, etc. and before you know it you've got some SERIOUS band issues...LOL... This is why many long term bandsters will either remove some saline to eat more freely to prevent pouch dilation, or get saline removed if they plan on eating a lot on vacation, etc....eating too much on a very restricted is a no no.

Eating too much on a too tight band and purging and forcibly vomiting is the NUMBER ONE PROBLEM for pouch dilation and slippage. When reflux starts that usually mean the END OF YOUR BAND, and you now have a damaged lap band, I hate to say it. Can you manage it? Yes, you can live with a damage band for years, but it will be very difficult for you to get back to your sweet spot and green zone WITHOUT ISSUES AND REFLUX. The good news is, if you have the AP band, you can get it surgically fixed without removing the entire band, the surgeon can unbuckle the band and fix the pouch. Can you avoid surgery? Yes, in most cases, but getting to the green zone without issues may be a problem, you may have to keep your band on the loose side from this point on, until you can get it repaired, fixed or removed. The interim fix, is to get your Upper GI, and the usual treatment for this is to remove all the saline from the band for about 6 weeks, hoping the pouch will relax, and slowly refill the band every 4-6 weeks until you hopefully get near or back into the green zone. If you are lucky and don't have a huge pouch or slippage, you many want to avoid ANY vomiting and purging with your band. Good luck

Also as I honestly think about it, before I got my NEW band placed last year, I was eating out at restaurants with my hubby, and not paying attention to types of food I was eating, I was 7 years out, living life. I had been eating LOTS of spicy food, salsa, etc, which caused gastritis, which CAN lead to ulcers, however, it did not get that bad, but when you have a lap band LONG TERM, you have to always be mindful of spicy food, too much alcohol, etc..... I think this contributed to inflaming a hernia which caused pain, and a revision surgery....so BE CAREFUL

Not absurd at all, the lap band can be very dangerous if rules are not followed, some people vomit their food EVERY SINGLE DAY, never follow rules, drink alcohol daily, carbonated drinks, never follow up when they have problems, keep the band dangerously too tight, etc... Usually when the band erodes, some surgeons will revise the patient to the Sleeve, Bypass or DS, but usually NOT at the same time, sometimes some surgeons will remove most of the stomach after a bad erosion and create a Sleeve like stomach. However, no one really know why band erosion occur, some surgeons speculate it can be caused by several things below: 1. The LapBand around the stomach gradually erodes into the stomach wall over time, and goes into the gastric lumen, as we have seen with other intrabdominal devices. 2.The stomach damage done during the LapBand procedure debilitates the layers of the stomach wall, resulting in erosion at a later time. 3.The sutures were placed too deep and trespassed all the wall layers of the stomach, causing micro perforations that generate leaking, infection and later erosion. 4.Events that happens inside the stomach, such as frequent vomiting, medications, ingestion of irritants as spicy or hot food, alcohol, etc. as well as a large adjustment to the band system, will produce an ulcer that penetrates toward the balloon of the band. http://arturorodriguezmd.com/lapband-erosion/

Congrats! Work it!

I agree she should not be thinking about getting another band "right now" she has suffered too long on a too tight band, and she probably have some damage to her stomach already. The last thing she needs NOW is another lap band installed, if she get it removed quickly, and heal, perhaps she may be able to get a bigger band down the road, but again, everyone is not eligible for rebanding depending on how much damage is done and scar tissue. She will need to be assessed by a skilled lap band surgeon if she wants to get another bigger band, first things first, is to get that band out immediately. Her band probably needed to come out in the first few weeks/month after banding, many surgeons have to remove the band right after placement due to obstruction or band too small for the anatomy.

Good advice, but unfortunately "other doctors" are NOT qualified to assess lap band problems, Gastroenterologists can be of some help with an EGD, but no one really can help her but A VERY SKILLED LAP BAND SURGEON. No one is really trained to detect band slippage but lap band surgeons, and I would not trust any other doctor to determine what is wrong with the lap band. She REALLY needs to get her band removed, she has already had an Upper GI that showed no slippage - yet, but that will probably happen eventually with all the vomiting she is doing. She should not be "trying" to figure out what is wrong and continue to try a "band aid" of IV fluids, her surgeon already KNOW what is wrong, her band is too small OR it may have already slipped. Sometimes slips DO NOT SHOW up on Upper GI's, some people only find out their band has slipped once the surgeon has gone in to remove it. Right now her symptoms are signs of slippage or her band is too small for her stomach both are an urgent situation because there is no saline in the band. When you no longer have saline in the band and can't keep liquids down, regardless of what is causing it, slippage, too small band, esophageal issues, etc, the band needs to come out immediately. She needs to have her surgeon to remove it asap, or find another surgeon to do it, personally I would not let the surgeon that installed it touch me. This type of band complication is pretty rare in 2013, when I got my band back in 2005, many used to have bands too small before surgeons started to using the bigger bands, so this surgeon really have no excuse for installing a band that is too small. She could also have a slipped band, like I said before they don't always show up on Upper Gi's.

Please re-read that paragraph.... The lap band is the safest surgery, but if done wrong it can cause horrible complications, it does have a high complication rate because of bad surgeons and non compliant patients bending the rules. You are correct the lap band surgery itself IS pretty safe if done properly, some surgery centers have no problems, but many have in the past, including that infamous 1800-get-thin clinic that was probed by Congress and Allergan finally stopped selling bands to them. Unless you've been in a bubble, the lap band HAS A VERY HIGH COMPLICATION RATE, Allergan the manufacturer is in the process of selling it for this very reason, for non complaint patients abusing the band, surgeons abusing the band, offering horrible or no aftercare, etc...the list goes on Many post here apparently have not researched the band, or tried to find the best surgeon for them, many do not even realize what is going on with the Manufacturer selling the band, it has been abused over and over again, and warning people of the dangers of the band and how to best avoid complications does not help. Lap band issues usually don't start to rear their ugly head until about 5-6 years post op and have A VERY HIGH COMPLICATION RATE LONG TERM. This is why I try to warn newbies and help them, some people are cocky and don't have a clue what they are getting themselves into, the band CAN be safe if someone has good aftercare, but that still do not prevent issues, this is why many long term bandsters, reduce saline long term. Fourteen-Year Long-Term Results after Gastric Banding http://www.hindawi.c...es/2011/128451/ http://gastro.oxford...tro.got023.full LAGB has been demonstrated to have some advantages, such as ease of operation, low risk and low early complication rate. However, LAGB is associated with a high late complication rate and a requirement of a high level of follow-up management. Although LAGB is efficient in reducing body weight in obese patients, the percentage of patients with successful and perfect weight loss is unsatisfactory. With advances in laparoscopic skills and improvement in other surgical procedures, there is a trend towards replacing LAGB in the treatment of obesity [14]. We believe that LAGB should not be the first choice for the treatment of obesity, but should remain as a therapeutic alternative for obese patients, such as the young and patients who do not tolerate removal of the gastrointestinal tract. Here are some links if you have not been reading up on lap band issues, all you have to do is google: http://bariatricsurg...n-lap-band-sale http://www.yourdocto...nd-turn-around/ http://articles.lati...p-band-20120203 http://www.cbsnews.c...-sales-decline/ http://www.medscape....warticle/758086 http://www.californi...ery-advertising http://www.necn.com/...7d144f251fc5584

This is the most asked question from newbies and should be a sticker, did you research the band before you got it? If you did so, you would know that the band does not work until you start the fill process. Only a few have restriction out of surgery. It can take up to 3-7 fills before you reach a level where the band is helping you, the first 6 weeks is for healing and allowing your band and port to heal.

I agree with your PCP, quicker is not always better or safer, I personally would never get any type of bariatric surgery in a surgery center, from what I've seen happen to others over the years. Hospitals are better equipped to deal with any unforeseen issues or complications. The lap band is the safest surgery, but if done wrong it can cause horrible complications, it does have a high complication rate because of bad surgeons and non compliant patients bending the rules. January will come very quick, use this time to research the band thoroughly with how it works, how to avoid complications, foods to eat, exercise, etc. Good luck.

Unsweetened tea is good, so is green tea with 0 calories, at least the green tea will taste better.

Congrats! Wishing you luck on getting into the green! I know after having a dilated pouch, it can be a slippery slope, but I think you are doing the right approach by taking it a bit slow to see how things go and then if you need a tiny bit more ease up on it. Good luck!

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You mentioned: I think if my Wife told the surgeon she wanted surgery, he would schedule it ASAP. Admittedly, I know very little about the lap band. Honestly, it seem like your wife is being irresponsible on this, and as long as the scale is moving, even if it means an (IV feeding tube) she is willing to keep the band a little longer in hopes of getting to goal weight, even if it means a horrible complication?. Also, when searching for a new lap band surgeon you have to be persistent, you have to let them know that your wife is suffering, and usually if you tell them the issue, the receptionist or nurse will schedule you for an appointment, but it may be hard at this point, because your wife's surgeon IS WILLING TO HELP BY REMOVING THE BAND or replacing it with a larger band. If you and your wife is not willing to protect her health and get that band out ASAP, there is nothing this board can do for you, and if your wife suffer horrible complications, I doubt you will have any type of malpractice lawsuit because your wife is responsible for her complications by not doing anything about her issues, and not agreeing to remove the band (in a timely manner). Actually her surgeon IS trying to help her in this situation and your wife is refusing to get the band out, thinking the band will loosen, and she apparently is liking the rapid weight lost. That band IS NOT GOING TO GET ANY LOOSER, losing 20 pounds will loosen the band, your wife has lost 70, if it was going to loosen, it would have done so by now. She will cause damage to her esophagus and body over time because she will constantly vomit, and have obstruction and swelling until she has to get it removed in an emergency. The lap band IS the safest operation, when it is done properly and the patient acts responsibly, Revising to the Sleeve or Bypass will not guarantee her to be complication free, if the band is installed right, it is safer.

Not only a second opinion but a lawyer too. Also, she should not be vomiting THAT MUCH on an empty band to cause obstruction and swelling. Many people think it's quite normal to vomit daily with the band, until it almost kills them and then they come back bitter and say how horrible the lap band is and everyone will suffer the same fate.

Can you tell us who installed your wife's band? This is wrong and dangerous on all levels. Honestly, I think you have a lawsuit, it would be in your best interest to NOT allow this surgeon to not touch your wife any longer and get to a new band surgeon, ASAP, most US surgeons will take her, especially if there is a surgeon that has done wrong doing and your wife's surgeon does not sound ethical. The RED FLAG IS...being on an IV (feeding tube) for 6 months, no reputable lap band surgeon would put a patient through this with a ADJUSTABLE OR REMOVABLE lap band, this only happens to Gastric Bypass or Sleeve folks when they don't have a choice.

Funny you ask this, when I got my first band almost 8 years ago, my insurance paid 100 percent, I had really good insurance, I did not pay a dime. Fast forward I changed jobs over the years I've had my band and last year, when I learned that I had a hiatal hernia which was causing pain when I tried to fill the band optimally, my new employer had a exclusion for any type of bariatric surgery. Which means if I wanted a revision to another weight loss surgery like the Sleeve or RNY they would not pay for a revision surgery. But what I found out, they would pay for ANY complications related to my band which also meant replacing the band if medically necessary, so I had my old band removed, hiatal hernia repaired, new AP band, port, tubing put in all in one surgery and I did not pay 1 penny, no co-pay, nothing. BUT I had really good insurance with a PPO that paid for any type of hospitalization at 100 percent. So it all depends on how good your insurance is, and if you have good insurance and you have a complication, they SHOULD pay to either fix any port issues, or if necessary replace the band. Good luck.

What you really need to understand is that most peoples banded life will be as good as the surgeon who installs it, the aftercare they receive and patient compliance, so you have various factors of why someone may love or hate their bands. 1 How long does a band last before having to be replaced? No one knows, some people have had a band for over 12 years with no problems, some people don't last but a few months. What REALLY helps the longevity of the bands is following up with your surgeon when you need to, and reporting any adverse side effects immediately, band problems can be taken care of quickly, but time is of essence, if the patient has issues and ignore them and wait too late, a complication can happen that may require band removal. However, the band is meant to last a lifetime, but can be removed or replaced if any issues occur. I don't want to burst your bubble but with RNY IT IS NOT EFFECTIVE FOREVER EITHER, rerouting your insides and taking the required Vitamins ARE FOREVER, but the effectiveness of RNY where it HELPS with weight loss is temporary, some people dump forever (which has no correlation with keeping weight off, I have many friends that still dump over 9 years out and are STILL obese, they learned how to eat around dumping, ), which is something that many do not want. 2. Did you lose the weight faster with the plication ( more than an ave. bander)? I did not have plication. 3. How uncomfortable are refills? It depends, with some people they can be painful, can't access the port, etc, but for me, I've never had issues with fills, they only last for 1 minute, just a slight pinch and I am done. 4. What side effects, if any, are commonly experienced? Side effects will depend on how tight you keep the band (which is a choice), the tighter the band the more unpleasant side effects. But most with optimal restriction may experience slimming if they eat too fast or eat food that is too thick to pass through the band, this can be easily avoided by eating band friendly food. I've had my band for almost 8 years and I've had two bands, got the old one replaced with a new one due to a hiatal hernia, I would not change to any other procedure. Good luck

You and your wife have valid concerns and something needs to be done ASAP. Of course your surgeon can list your wife as a huge success in his books, but your wife's weight lost is not healthy and is very dangerous as she can eventually end up with Vitamin deficiencies from starvation and other complications. She has lost weight very rapidly, and it is not in a good way, she is probably vomiting all her meals. There are many people get the band either too small or too large for their anatomies, usually surgeons are good at identifying which band should fit the patients stomach during surgery, and they usually have the small and large band available to fit the patient based on the stomach size when they get in there. I've seen MANY over the years suffer from horrible band slippage, frequent vomiting, food intolerance and esophageal damage due to bands too small, and all ended up getting the band removed. If she can get it removed immediately and replaced with a larger band, she can probably prevent any further damage to her body. I would personally find another surgeon to remove the band, and get an attorney, and if your wife wants to get another band placed 'correctly' in the future, she probably will have better banded life than she does now. Ideally a well fitted lap band should allow lots of wiggle room with an empty band, most patients have NO restriction with an empty band and it feel like there is no band, that is how it should be ideally, and with a band that is optimally filled, it should take about 3-7 fills to fill optimally. When someone gets fully restricted on very little saline, this means their band is almost too small and if anything happens, they are likely to suffer complications too. Good luck

Also if you are not happy with where it is, you can always get your port placed lower and/ a low profile port. If your surgeon does not do this, you can find another surgeon who will.

You are like me that would terrify me to have a port in my shoulder area since I am very thin at the top and my bones stick out and I am sure this would be very noticeable on me. At least if the port sticks on in the lower abdomen, you can hide it with clothes.