Baba Wawa

Terry, that stat is currently on the Lapband website. Not made up.

When I got my band in 2010, these were listed as rare occurrences...now Lapband admits to 25% removal stat. Imagine what the true stats are!

So, you're going to have weight loss surgery. If you've never had surgery, the experience might be a bit more traumatic than it was for those of us who've had multiple surgeries of varying types. Here's what to expect:Usually, the first thing is the IV. The IV tech will start a line with saline, to insure you're hydrated and there's a vehicle, so to speak to carry the drugs you'll be given before, during and after your surgery. It doesn't really hurt...I've had them in the back of the hand and inside the elbow. Each bag of saline is about a liter (over two pounds) and this weight will show on your scale for some time. Don't freak out about this... Usually the anesthesiologist will come in and introduce themselves, ask some questions and tell you what they're going to do in the OR. This person is fully responsible for keeping you alive during surgery. They ventilate you, regulate your BP; this is the most important person to you in the OR.The surgeon usually comes by too, to reassure you, ask a few questions, before going into the OR. Once you go to OR, they'll usually have you scoot onto the table off the gurney, make sure your comfortable and then proceed with anesthesia. First, you'll be given 100% oxygen and told to take some deep breaths. Take as deep of breaths as you can, since this O2 is what sustains you while being intubated. Once you've taken the breaths, you get another drug to make you "sleep" followed by a drug that basically paralyzes your abdominal and breathing muscles (pretty much all muscles, but the heart). You'll quickly be intubated and put on a ventilator for life support. The entire process is completed in less than a minute. When you wake up, you'll be very groggy, want to go back to sleep and you may be uncomfortable. Tell the recovery nurse if you're hurting. You might be nauseous from anesthesia. Tell the nurse. Anti nausea drugs can be given thru the IV. After your vitals are stable and you're alert, you'll go to another room to recover. Sometimes, if you're doing great or if your hospital has this protocol, you'll be discharged straight from the day surgery recovery without being moved to a room. For the trip home, you should have loose fitting pajama bottoms, a warm top, robe or sweatshirt, socks and slippers. You'll also want a pillow to put under the seatbelt in the car. You'll want a barf bag too, just in case for a day or two. Once home, you'll be most comfortable in a recliner, though I slept in my bed the first night, on my side facing the edge of the bed. Practice getting in and out of bed without using your abs before surgery. It will hurt, it won't kill you. I've had open abdominal surgery and lap surgery, while still painful, cannot hold a candle to open abdominal surgery. You will live. To get up do the following: Roll onto your side Use your elbow to push upHave someone rotate your legs and feet to floor Push off with your hand to get fully upright...wait a minute to make sure you're not dizzy Stand with assistance. Wait a minute to ensure you're not going to faint. Reverse to get into bed. Always, for the first couple of days, have someone with you whenever you get up or down and while walking. I cannot emphasize enough that your discharge orders and doctor's diet, hydration and exercise orders should be followed EXACTLY. If you have a question, call your doctor. Don't post here. If you get a fever or can't drink water at all, call your doctor immediately. Nausea should subside within 8-24 hours. If it doesn't and you need a medication for it, call your doctor. Do not post here until after you've called the doctor and please state that you have called so we don't all tell you to call your doctor. Another thing...definitions: Clear liquid means you can see through it Full liquid is things like runny cream of wheat, puréed cream soups, protein shakes. NO LUMPS. Mushies or Purees is the consistency of baby food. No chunks., no lumps. Smooth is your friend. As you progress to solids, remember that babies don't go from puréed baby food to a NY steak in one day. Hopefully you practiced your new eating habits for a couple of months pre op to establish them as your new lifestyle. Transitioning from purees to solids is a gradual thing. Add a little finely ground turkey to a puréed food at first. Add ONE new food per day. After you tolerate ground meat, poached eggs, tuna salad, egg salad, etc, you can try cutting your food into 1/4" pieces and chewing 15-25 times per bite. Initially you won't get many calories in...500-700 calories, focusing on protein. You'll gradually get up to 900-1000 or more depending on your needs, per your nutritionist or doctor. Drink your water as directed too.The first weeks post op aren't for losing weight. You might not lose anything, but most people will lose the IV weight and a pound or two a week. Once you're on solids, your weight will go up a pound or two...filling the intestinal pipeline . This is normal. Fills are not the goal with the band...they are another tool to use when your weight loss levels out and/or you're hungry less than 4 hours after eating a meal of 1/2 cup to 1 cup of dense protein and low glycemic veggies/fruits. Go easy on the fills. Being over tight is the #1 identifiable cause of band erosion and slips.Many with the band are so focused on getting fills, they don't realize until they have a little unfill, that their band can work better with less fill. You can go out to eat with your band. Sharing works great. I ask for a small plate and put my food onto it immediately. I cut up everything before taking a bite. I eat very slowly and if my companion is having a glass of wine, I'll have one too, to sip as I eat. I don't do this at home, most of the time. Alcohol was not permitted for 3 months post op by my doctor. You'll get a little more tipsy on less due to abstaining for months. Your band has no affect on alcohol absorption. You probably shouldn't drink on an empty stomach, ever, band or not. I hope this is informative and helpful!

Click on your account, profile. When it loads, Edit Profile is on the upper right.

Since being diagnosed with a GI motility disorder in January, I've been eating very differently than I was taught with the band. Little or no Fiber (veggies and fruits are out, rice, potatoes, Pasta are in) Avoid red meat Eat half as much at each meal, but eat more often Drink Water with meals to speed gastric emptying I'm still supposed to chew 15-25 times per bite and take tiny bites. I'm still not hungry up to 5 hours after eating, with an empty band.

I can feel food passing thru the band and I get palpitations. My band is empty. I never felt food pass thru when I had fill in my band, but I had palpitations all the time.

The removal rate for Lapband per their own website is only 25%. http://www.lapband.com/hcp/en/risk_information/ Patients can experience complications after surgery. Most complications are not serious but some may require hospitalization and/or re-operation. In the United States clinical study, with 3-year follow-up reported, 88% of the 299 patients had one or more adverse events, ranging from mild, moderate, to severe. Nausea and vomiting (51%), gastroesophageal reflux (regurgitation) (34%), band slippage/pouch dilatation (24%) and stoma obstruction (stomach-band outlet blockage) (14%) were the most common post-operative complications. In the study, 25% of the patients had their band systems removed, two-thirds of which were following adverse events. Esophageal dilatation or dysmotility (poor esophageal function) occurred in 11% of patients, the long-term effects of which are currently unknown. Constipation, diarrhea and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) occurred in 9% of the patients. In 9% of the patients, a second surgery was needed to fix a problem with the band or initial surgery. In 9% of the patients, there was an additional procedure to fix a leaking or twisted access port. The access port design has been improved. Four out of 299 patients (1.3%) had their bands erode into their stomachs. These bands needed to be removed in a second operation. Surgical techniques have evolved to reduce slippage. Surgeons with more laparoscopic experience and more experience with these procedures report fewer complications.

Sounds like a good thing your fluid was removed. A few weeks without it will give your stomach a chance to recover. I had my fill removed 9 months ago and have continued to lose, so don't panic. The problem with a stomach virus is that you never know if or when it's going to hit you and once it does, going in for an unfill is really not considerate of the medical personnel and other people you might infect along the way, not to mention trying to even get there in that condition. I've had three episodes of stomach flu in the last 18 months with violent puking and diarrhea, one with fill and two with no fill. My band is in place despite this. Many people get anti nausea medication to keep on hand for this and take it at the first sign of trouble. I hope the unfill does the trick and you can get refilled ASAP.

Where are the bruises? If you've recently had a fill and they're around the port, that's a common thing. If you're just finding bruises randomly, I would check with your doctor, you could be anemic.

I know of several people who've had their band replaced and ended up having it removed and revising to another WLS (usually sleeve, since its the other restrictive only surgery). IMHO, why not just revise and be done? Your second band surgery is likely to be longer than the first. The old band has to be removed (remember, scar tissue is holding it in place), scar tissue and adhesions removed and the new band installed. Other than the removal/clean up, second band surgeries come with all the post op aches and pains, but most likely a bit worse, from the longer surgery. If you have a lot of damage from the first band, you may not be able to get a new one. I would consult with a revision WL surgeon, before proceeding any further.

You're a strong man TP and saving a bunch O'$

For a full blown episode at least 24 hours, ideally 48 hours of liquids, progressing thru the stages of soft to solids after.

I have a few favorites, most DVR'd for late night viewing: dexter, bones, fashion police, anything forensic, law and order, the following (used to record 24, Fringe, etc).

So...you don't have TV or cable? Please post a link to confirm this assumption.

Per Allergan's website for medical professionals. http://www.lapband.com/hcp/en/risk_information/ Before encouraging someone with an autoimmune disorder to get Lapband, please read the contraindications at the link above. There are many unscrupulous band mills out there that will ignore the contraindications, take the money and leave the pt with a lifetime of issues to deal with. Here's a link to a list of autoimmune diseases: http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/autoimmune-diseases.cfm

So all of these real people's experiences are discredited because they've posted them on Facebook? As far as the two stage VSG/DS point. It was that way early on and still is for super MO folks in some situations. What they found doing the 2 stage DS is that many people lost successfully on the first surgery, VSG, and there was no need to do the second, malabsorptive procedure to revise to DS. Also, partial gastrectomy has been done since the late 1800's to treat cancer, ulcers etc and those people have lived normal lives with just part of their stomach. Bear in mind, I'm not "anti-band", I have one and have lost 90 lbs. BUT, as a person with a pre-existing inflammatory GI disease aggravated by the band and facing removal/revision, I would not make the decision to get one today. I love that my band has helped me to lose and maintain the loss, restored my mobility and improved my overall quality of life, but my GI tract is truly not functioning as it should and this makes life pretty miserable a lot of the time.

Those I know that revised from band to sleeve had reflux in the form of heartburn for 3-6 months and were able to gradually wean themselves off PPIs.

The other 25% revised to RNY or DS. 25% of bands need to be removed per Allergan, those aren't great odds. My point again, is that we shouldn't endorse the band 100% to a person who clearly states they have an autoimmune disease or disorder. My thread should have been less absolute in the title, but the basic message is valid.

My concern in posting this is that we shouldn't encourage someone to get a device implanted just because we've had a good experience. Many people with ONE Autoimmune disorder often have other undiagnosed autoimmune issues that are found after a device such as the band, is implanted. My post isn't meant to be an alarm, but a word of caution when replying to a thread about which surgery to choose. On the other site I frequent there are multiple boards for each surgery, including revision. Literally hundreds of posts are made by people monthly who are having band troubles and needing to revise. About 75% revise to sleeve and are very pleased with the outcome. Shouldn't these 75% have just had the sleeve to start with and avoided the risk, pain, scar tissue, aftercare and expense of a second surgery?

And this.... You have an inflammatory disease or condition of the gastrointestinal tract, such as ulcers, severe esophagitis, or Crohns disease. Many GI inflammatory diseases are autoimmune disorders. There is also this disclaimer: There have been no reports of autoimmune disease with the use of the LAP-BAND® System. Autoimmune diseases and connective tissue disorders, though, have been reported after long-term implantation of other silicone devices. These problems can include systemic lupus erythematosus and scleroderma. At this time, there is no conclusive clinical evidence that supports a relationship between connective-tissue disorders and silicone implants. Long-term studies to further evaluate this possibility are still being done. You should know, though, that if autoimmune symptoms develop after the band is in place, you may need treatment. The band may also need to be removed. Talk with your surgeon about this possibility. (Also, if you have symptoms of autoimmune disease now, the LAP-BAND® System may not be right for you.) The last sentence, my parenthesis. Why take a chance?

Actually, I've been told by my band doctor and GI doctor that they will not recommend banding for those with autoimmune disorders. There are so many Lapband patients whose conditions flare up or who are developing them post band that they just don't see that the risk outweighs the benefits. The support groups for those with failed bands are full of people with long term problems due to their body rejecting the band.

Autoimmune disorders are not compatible with the gastric band, per Allergan's own disclaimer. The sleeve will work similarly to the band (portion control) but won't fire up your hashimoto disease. Someone said they didn't want to give up ice cream for life? I assume it was due to dumping? It's pretty unusual for a sleeve to cause dumping. It's not nearly as severe as with RNY and for most, diminishes with time.