onikenbai

I have had my band since October 2009 and it hasn't gone all that well. I've never been able to progress out of the mushy phase and even today, oatmeal is not going to sit. Nevertheless, I am glad I got my band as I wanted to exhaust the less invasive methods before I do something that can't be easily reversed. I'm now on the wait list to have another surgery, but even then, I'm kind of hoping they can work around my band and I'll get to keep it in the end, just in case I may still need it down the road. So the band hasn't been the best thing I've ever done, but it's not really the worst either.

Update: All parties have now conceded the band isn't working for me. I have, officially, lost the band war. I am now starting a whole new war with my GP in trying to get a revision to something else. She is anti-surgery. Even worse, she is not computer literate, a complete requirement now that Ontario has moved to a totally automated referral system for the bariatric network. Me getting the proper healthcare I need may be completely sidelined by my doctor's ability to register for a username.

How long are people usually in the hospital after their sleeve operations? Is it day surgery, overnight, do I pack a long book? My band surgery was an in and out thing and I was only at the clinic for five, maybe six hours. My band is not agreeing with me at all well and it looks like it has to come out. Hopefully with a sleeve I won't have to plan a place to throw up before I put anything in my mouth.

I've started the process for getting on to the list for a VSG or RNY in Ontario, although I've been delayed a week. Ironically, my doctor called in sick. It may take a while, but it will be free. I don't have the cash for another self-pay surgery. Until they've exhausted all the options with me losing weight, they're not going to put in a shunt. Basically they're waiting to see if I put an ice pick through my own head to relieve the pain before they do anything... some days I'm sorely tempted.

Went to the neurologist yesterday and that was a complete waste of time. He told me to lose weight. Um, yeah, I know... that's why I spent $18K to get the band. Back to my band surgeon I guess. Hopefully I can get him to refer me to the bariatric clinic downtown. If that's a no go then I'm going to have to push my family doctor to refer me. Gotta be referred here. That's how it works. You want free surgery and lifetime after care, you have to jump through a hoop or two.

I can't put a thing in my mouth without a plan of where I'm going to throw up. People keep harassing me over having cups in my car and about how sloppy I am not to throw them out. Um, they're there for a reason. You never know when you have to hurl while driving. Sometimes that glass of Water didn't go down as well you thought it did at first. Yes, the band seems to be incredibly fickle. The other day I ate this HUGE bowl of meatballs... I was soooo hungry. It went down fine like the band wasn't in place. The next day I threw up a tablespoon of yogurt and couldn't put solid food in my mouth all day.

If you contact the airline and explain that you are booking for medical reasons you may be able to sweet talk them into upgrading you for reduced cost. Otherwise, I say suck it up and pay for first class. You have to think of your seat neigbour too... you will be somewhat fragile at that time and your neighbour may unintentionally bang you with an elbow or something because you're all crammed in so tightly. I know I would be kind of uncomfortable if I got on a flight to find out my seat mate just had major surgery. I would be nervous the whole flight about hurting them.

Normal. I was told after my surgery to steer clear of the dentist for at least 3 months if possible due to increased bleeding potential after being given a thinner during surgery. They have a longer residence time in the body than you would expect.

My pre-op diet was all food, no Protein shakes because I discovered an incredible intolerance to Protein Shakes in my pre-pre-op trial diet. I had to stick to 800 calories a day with almost no sugar, carbs or fats, including natural ones such as fruit or dark meats. I ate a lot of zucchini, eggplant, lettuce, avocado, raw carrots (not cooked!), plain chicken, plain fish, broth and endless celery. That was basically all I ate for a month. The sugar free drinks and popsicles were also ok, but no coffee or caffeine because of the dehydrating factor. Although it sounds better than shakes, the diet was longer and it really isn't that much more fun. Go easy on the broth because of its sodium content. On the up side, after about the third day I pretty much lost my appetite and some days I had trouble getting in more than 500 calories. 500 calories of zucchini is a lot of zucchini.

Lap band is not a quick fix by any means as it is a major adjustment to your way of life, for good or bad. Some people have great results and some don't, and that gamble is why a lot of people say it is a waste of money. Personally, my band experience has turned out to be not all that great but I'm not doing to give a blanket statement that bands are bad. I seem to be a special snowflake medically as they can't quite figure out why my band isn't playing nicely. It happens in some people. Am I pleased that I had to shell out $18K to find out I am a special snowflake? Not at all. I am glad that I tried the least invasive and permanent solution before I moved on to pursuing an RNY or a VSG because now I won't always be wondering about what could have been... At your height and weight, you have a lot to lose and are similar to my situation. Before you commit to a band, make sure that it really is the best option for you. Consult a surgeon who does all the surgeries, not just one whose bread and butter is bands. Get an opinion from somebody who is fully informed and hasn't got a financial interest in your decision. Start going to a WLS group meeting (actually in person not online) before you make your final decision for a really good idea of the subtleties of each surgery. Reading the side effects and consequences of each choice and hearing them in person are two completely different experiences.

I don't think the bit of plain chicken would really hurt, but it's a slippery slope. Face it, plain chicken sucks and it's sooo tempting to put something on it for a bit of flavour. Most of the time the flavouring is high carb. During my pre-op diet I made a Soup of chicken, low sodium broth, zucchini, eggplant, celery and onion. Wasn't half bad actually once you threw in a whole lot of basil. The bummer was that no noodles or carrots were allowed because of the carb factor, meaning I couldn't just crack open a can of Campbells and call it a day.

I just have too much CSF. The other option would be to put in a shunt which will siphon off excess to somewhere else in my body, but they have a history of getting clogged from time to time so it's really not that great a fix. I was on meds for a while for it, but they didn't really help much and they were really expensive so I ended up stopping them. The one thing that did work really well was a spinal tap. They actually did the tap to see if I had meningitis but they had to remove Fluid for the test. I had a whole blissful week without a headache. Unfortunately the body creates new CSF to replace the old so it didn't last and it's far too risky a procedure to do weekly. I'm off to the neuro-opthamologist later in the month and I'm hoping that he'll refer me to a surgeon for revision. Because I'm Canadian, I can get my surgery fully paid for if there is a medical need. It's not the fastest route, but after paying $18K for my band, I am deeply in debt and cannot afford another self-pay. My band current band surgeon (not actually the person who put it in, but the guy who took over the practice) thinks I should give it another last go at restriction and then I should start looking at other options. I'm cool with that. My neuro appointment isn't until the end of November anyways and I want to know what he thinks before I move forward.

My doctor is at a loss to explain what's going on with my band. I've had it a little over a year now and it is causing me grief, but not in the usual way. I have only ever been stuck once (not complaining about that) but my problem is nausea. When I eat, no mater what I eat, I take a few bites and then this overwhelming nausea comes over me. Sometimes I can manage to keep the food down for up to a half hour, but it generally comes back up again. It's not a problem of eating too fast or too much because it very often happens on the first bite and I have always been the slowest eater on the face of the earth. I don't have to make myself throw up as it comes up all by itself, although I will admit to the occasional thump on the sternum to hurry up the inevitable. My other problem is restriction. There does not seem to be a sweet spot for me. I can either eat anything pretty much as much as I want, or first bite leads to puking not being able to eat ever without a plan of where I can throw up. My problems don't correlate to specific foods, times of stress or even time of the day. The doctors are stymied. My band hasn't slipped, it's not too tight, not leaking, not eating through my stomach, and not causing pain. There's just the massive nausea and the all or nothing restriction problem. I've tried the band forums but I still haven't found anybody who has this problem. I'm now considering a revision to the sleeve because my weight is causing the CSF in my brain to push on my eyes and it's threatening to tear apart my eyes from the inside and blind me. I've also had a headache for the past 6 years. Something has to happen. I'm a little apprehensive because my band appears to have been a huge failure, but at least it's reversible. The sleeve is a one way trip. Has anybody experienced something similar or am I just a special snowflake?

I'm completely intolerant of all the Protein shakes out there... and I tried many. Still thinking about the sleeve, but my pre-op diet before my band had to be protein drink-free. Yes, you can shrink your liver quite well without those shakes. I had to stick to fish, chicken and veg for a month with very very very little sugar or carbs. I wasn't even allowed fruit because of the sugar. I had a complete physical about a week before my band went in and my GP did the dip stick test and it showed I was way into the ketotic state so the all food method does work. I also lost 30lbs in 31 days. On the down side, my hair started falling out in handfuls during my second week of the diet, but I think that would have happened even if I had gone the Protein Drink route. If I have a revision I am really not looking forward into do all of it again, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

I'm also having problems with my band and I also have an autoimmune disease. Every time I get a fill enough to even border on restriction, my body goes nuts and epic hurling ensues if I try to eat food, good or bad. So for me it's all restriction or no restriction. I've had my band for a year now and not lost a single pound. Before I had by band put in, I asked lots of questions about my fibromyalgia and if it would be a problem and I was assured that it wouldn't. They lied. I am considering a revision to the sleeve and I am again concerned about the autoimmune disease aspect and will I end up even sicker? The sleeve can't be reversed, which makes me a bit apprehensive. If I don't lose the weight, there's a possibility I may go blind because the pressure in my brain is threatening to tear apart my eyeballs from the inside so something has to be done. Rock==>ME<==Hard Place

I've had my band for a year and I can sort of see how bulemia comes into it. Every time I even sort of reach any sort of restriction, I can't keep anything down and end up throwing up 7-8 times a day. For me it's either restricted or not; there is no middle ground. I've not lost any weight since my surgery a year ago, but now I'm to the point where I just want them to fill me to where I just can't eat. Yes, I'll be miserable but I'm miserable now. Plus I'm so broke because of the cost of the surgery, I really can't afford food anymore. Too tight to eat is starting to look pretty good.

For those of you who converted to some other WLS, how long did you wait for results with the band before calling it a day and looking into other options? I had my band put in a year ago. Since then I have not lost a single pound, other than my pre-op diet. My problem is that I either have zero restriction and can eat till the cows come home and not feel full (exactly like before surgery) or I'm puking my guts out 7-8 times a day because I can't keep anything down. I've had fills and unfills galore looking for that magic balancing point between no restriction and puke-athon, but there doesn't seem to be one. My fils are down to 0.1cc at a time, which shows that we're really going conservatively in the search for restriction, and the doctors cannot figure out what the problem is. I've been for tests and, despite months of throwing up daily, my band appears to be in perfect position. It's to the point where I can't put anything in my mouth without a contingency plan of where I'm going to throw up. Stuff doesn't get stuck so it's not an issue of not chewing and it's not an issue of eating too fast as I'm the most glacial eater ever and always have been. Sometimes I can keep food down as long as a half hour when I eat but eventually the nausea overcomes me and I have to head to the closest facilities. There's no pain, just nausea. How much longer do I stick this out? I'm not losing weight, I'm throwing up all the time, and the healthy foods are the ones that are most likely to not stay down. I need to lose weight or I may potentially lose my sight as the pressure in my brain is threatening to pull my eyes out from the inside. At what point do you concede you've lost the bad war?

I have an extreme reaction to the adhesive on pretty much all products, as in I woke up from surgery screaming get it off me! My skin puffs up about a 1/4 inch and then comes off completely, leaving large wounds behind. It's itchy and painful for at least a month afterward. Despite telling the surgical team quite clearly that I was extremely allergic to the bandages, I woke up from one surgery with about 5ft2 of my skin covered in them. The nurses assumed I was exaggerating my allergy. Nope. I was lucky not to have suffered permanent scarring from that incident as I lost most of the skin on my torso. I've never since seen such horror as the faces of nursing staff when they saw my back... It's not common to have such an extreme reaction, but it's not an uncommon allergy. You could be allergic to the latex, or it could be the actual adhesive. For me, it's not the latex. If you have to do medical stuff in the future, it would be best if you raided the pharmacy to figure out which of the products you can use and then take them with you to the hospital with you to be used. You can find a useful product in most pharmacies that can be used instead of band-aids. It's a stretchy material that sticks to itself only, not to skin. It's good for finger cuts and small things, but since it has to go around something to come back and stick to itself, its utility is pretty much confined to fingers and toes. Better than nothing though.

Positive feedback loop. Heaving causes swelling which causes heaving. As far as I know, you just have to ride it out until it peters out. Happens to me a lot.

Sounds like general post-op swelling but if you're not getting any liquids down, you really should call the doctor. Don't drink then go lie down. It will come back up and you will not enjoy it. Take smaller sips instead of doing half a glass at a time. For the first few weeks after my surgery I could feel and hear the sloshing sound of water sitting above my band in my stomach when I walked.

I spent 5 months in that zone, or sort of in that zone because they can't quite figure out what's wrong with me. Five months of constant throwing up and extreme nausea on the first bite does royally suck. Toughing it out does not pay off in the end. Now they've taken out 0.5cc and I have zero restriction at all. Although in my case, they don't think I was overfilled, they think something else may be behind my problems.

I'm a little concerned about my band having slipped. I've been complaining to my doctor for FIVE MONTHS now that I've been throwing up a lot, and now it's to the point where I dread eating because there's about an 80% chance that I'm going to throw up. Doesn't matter what, when or how slowly I eat, it's still no good, and it's getting worse. Plus my stomach hurts most of the time. I'm not stuck because I'm not feeling that stuck pain feeling... just ill.

Yes, also excess mucus that is generated with a cold can have an effect. You will likely be able to eat less when you have a cold.

I have a red dot port and I've had no problems with it. I've had 10-15 fills and it's never really bothered me. My doctor does my fills standing up because gravity does her art and makes the port easy to find.

I've had some rather nasty allergic reactions to bandage adhesives used in surgery. Not for my lap band, because they were forewarned, but I once woke up from surgery basically screaming for them to get it off me. They pulled off the bandage and my skin had gone bright red and swelled up by at least a half inch. It was nuts. The only thing they could do for me was to treat with cortisone cream and antihistamines. Ask your doctor if either of these might do it for you. Neosporin doesn't do anything for the itching, I know well. You can also try the foot powder or even corn starch as they will both absorb moisture, although be careful not to get them in your incisions as I'd imagine it would not do them any good. And yes, the heat is probably making it worse. I have big chunks of my body covered in red bumps the whole summer from reacting to my own sweat. Scratching only makes it worse so fight the temptation. One summer they actually had to put both my arms in casts so that I wouldn't scratch all my skin off in my sleep.