atroglet

I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry you are going through all of this. It sounds awful, painful, horrible and just plain exhausting. Add on top of that losing your job, your boyfriend, and basically having zero support, I think that any one of us in the same situation would feel a ton of regret, wishing to hit the "rewind" button and go back to life before surgery.
Also I think many of us *know* and *understand* that with any surgery there are RISKS. We realize there are risks, but *hope* that we fall into the 98% of people who DON'T have ANY complications at all. I know for a fact at support group there were people who were banded 3-5 years and yet when things like "erosion" and "slippage" were mentioned they acted shocked. A few of them asked for clarification, and I was thinking, "I've never even had the band and I knew all about those possible risks of being banded!" So I think a lot of times we go into this just hoping and praying that complications do not come our way.
I think that 1-2% leakage rate sounds really minimal until you ARE that 1-2% that has a severe complication then it's 100% for you! And that is the awful truth. And I'm sorry you are living through this and all the pain it has caused you, physically, emotionally, financially, and every other way. But I'm glad you are alive, and I know deep down you are a fighter because you are worth fighting for. I am glad you have a forum like this that is a place for you to vent and kick and scream and to SHARE. Thank you for sharing. I hope you feel like the people here care about you and I hope since you are lacking support from your real-life friends and family that you can at least come here and feel like everyone is cheering you on and hoping that soon you will have healed and that this will all be a distant horrid memory.
Please keep sharing, and we can keep lifting you up and for those of us who are the sort to pray that we can continue to include you in our prayers. Stay strong, and may better days lie ahead for you! HUGS!

Let me try to answer some of the questions. I am doing fabulous right now! Although three years later I have gained back my 20 pounds I lost. I truly loved the band and was devastated that it was taken out. I had been at a good spot and seemed to be managing well with the band. Honestly, if I could be GUARANTEED no problems I would get it again. I don't have another $10K laying around!
As to the bacterial cultures they had a hard time identifying. It must have been cultured three or four times. I believe my blood cultured positive for lactobacillus and my lesion cultured positive for streptococcus anginosus. At one point they had talked about dialysis but my kidneys started improving and back to normal two post discharge.

Sorry for all your complications, but glad you are well now. I had a something like that happen when they removed my gall bladder many years ago, wound up at Stanford University Hospital, and underwent more surgery as a result. Just goes to say it can happen with any surgery, there are always risk involved. Hope all is going well for you now best wishes to you for a happy and healthy life.

Wow, sorry to hear about your problems, but glad to see you are healing and doing better.

Let me try to answer some of the questions. I am doing fabulous right now! Although three years later I have gained back my 20 pounds I lost. I truly loved the band and was devastated that it was taken out. I had been at a good spot and seemed to be managing well with the band. Honestly, if I could be GUARANTEED no problems I would get it again. I don't have another $10K laying around!
As to the bacterial cultures they had a hard time identifying. It must have been cultured three or four times. I believe my blood cultured positive for lactobacillus and my lesion cultured positive for streptococcus anginosus. At one point they had talked about dialysis but my kidneys started improving and back to normal two post discharge.

Let me try to answer some of the questions. I am doing fabulous right now! Although three years later I have gained back my 20 pounds I lost. I truly loved the band and was devastated that it was taken out. I had been at a good spot and seemed to be managing well with the band. Honestly, if I could be GUARANTEED no problems I would get it again. I don't have another $10K laying around!
As to the bacterial cultures they had a hard time identifying. It must have been cultured three or four times. I believe my blood cultured positive for lactobacillus and my lesion cultured positive for streptococcus anginosus. At one point they had talked about dialysis but my kidneys started improving and back to normal two post discharge.

wow, def sounds like your dr and (not the band) was to blame via what you wrote
sorry you had to go through this....

What a horrible experience for you! Thank you for sharing you story. If it makes even one person think twice and look at the risks (and benefits), then that's a good outcome. I hope you're doing well now.

Wow! I appreciate your honesty; your story is relevant to this forum and I think you are a remarkable person for experiencing all those complications / near death experiences and being able to disclose it.

Thank you for sharing your story. How are you doing now?

I am SO very sorry you have gone through such trauma.
I'm glad you are okay and made it through in one piece. I, too, came out of surgery damaged due to surgical error. It's a hard recovery process. I'm glad you shared your story. I wish you the very best.

Couldn't have said it better myself! BUT, what I want people to know is that I did all that. My bariatric surgeon had a perfect track record! It doesn't matter...other things can happen. Check him out on this website.
Why can't somebody come on here and state their experience? There are plenty of successful stories on here. I just want people to KNOW THERE ARE RISKS!

Oh how badly i want to respond to this post. I myself went through lap band hell. I went through lap band hell because my doctor wouldn't listen to me. You are right, he was making lots of money off me each month. I am a 46 yr old woman and i know my body. My band was good for me for about two yrs. and then after a fixed flipped port, everything went downhill but my weight (which i am accountable for) i would lose restriction after 2 or 3 days of a good fill and i had horrible port site pain. So after 7 months of arguing with him i had it. Sure enough, he finally paid attention to how many cc's were in there. One time i asked him what is in there, and he didn't know. i was so pissed i slammed the door. So he found a leak and my port was being rejected. I switched doctors within the clinic and have been so blessed. I chose to have the band out and switched to the sleeve. My insurance covered it because the band was being rejected and i couldn't have it. So far i am 45 pounds down 10 weeks post up and a very good surgeon that listens to me. It sounds like you are trying and doing what you should be doing. I have nothing against lap bands, but why does it seem like if someone has a band thats working they think its you that is doing something wrong. I don't think you are slamming your band, you have every right to slam your incompetent doctor. If you have a chance and decide to change surgeries, the sleeve is so easy. The recovery was a bit hard due to two surgeries at once (band out, and sleeve) but i am good now. I am so sorry you are gong through this. I wish people that had successful lap bands would be more supportive of those that are struggling. If your insurance is paying for it , maybe they can tell them your body is rejecting it and you may want to consider the sleeve. And i never found my sweet spot either after two years. So i feel for you and support you. We have all walked in each others foot steps, so lets make suggestions for those that need it, not tell them how successful you have been with your band. She is hurting enough and feeling sad, she doesn't need more ridicule~~~ You should change doctors if you can., one that listens to you. Yes, my fills were over 200.00 too every month. All it did was build a big medical bill. After i had the sleeve i had 3 post op visits and cancelled the rest. I feel good and am doing fine. I wish you well and please send me a personal message if you want to talk. i am here for each and everyone of you. AS I HAVE WALKED IN ALL YOUR SHOES!!!!!! Lets make sure we are supporting all our members on here. I have heard some harsh things on this site and it makes me sad. Just because one thing works for, it doesn't mean it works for another, even if they are doing everything right. Again, I am here to support all of you. This is a terrible disease that had debilitated many of us...my heart goes to those that are struggling. BUT I BELIEVE IN EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU!!!

Couldn't have said it better myself! BUT, what I want people to know is that I did all that. My bariatric surgeon had a perfect track record! It doesn't matter...other things can happen. Check him out on this website.
Why can't somebody come on here and state their experience? There are plenty of successful stories on here. I just want people to KNOW THERE ARE RISKS!

Couldn't have said it better myself! BUT, what I want people to know is that I did all that. My bariatric surgeon had a perfect track record! It doesn't matter...other things can happen. Check him out on this website.
Why can't somebody come on here and state their experience? There are plenty of successful stories on here. I just want people to KNOW THERE ARE RISKS!

I was fully aware of the risks when I went into surgery. I'm really sorry you had to go through all that stress. Did they remove your band due to these problems or are you still banded? I wish you well and pray your complications are over for good.

I guess it's a risk you take with any surgery, not just the band.

Couldn't have said it better myself! BUT, what I want people to know is that I did all that. My bariatric surgeon had a perfect track record! It doesn't matter...other things can happen. Check him out on this website.
Why can't somebody come on here and state their experience? There are plenty of successful stories on here. I just want people to KNOW THERE ARE RISKS!

YES, that is why it is titled '...with the Lap-Band' instead of '...from the Lap-Band'

My story starts in July of 2010. I received my Lap-Band on the 23rd. My surgery was performed by Gerald Kirshenbaum in Denver, Colorado. He said it went well after the surgery but mentioned that my liver was lacerated during retraction and he had to repair a hiatal hernia. He felt that the laceration was no big deal because it stopped bleeding before he ended.
Fast forward 8 weeks and 20 pounds less. I started having stomach cramps, vomiting and body aches. Dr. K's office felt I was having after effects of having food stuck. It lasted five days before I couldn't take the cramps and went to the ER. After blood work and CT scan I was sent home with no diagnosis except for a slightly elevated white blood count. My Lap-Band looked to be in place.
The next week I continued to feel horrible. Went back to Dr.K and he prescribed antibiotics for elevated white blood count. After four days I went to my general practitioner because I figured I must have that damn swine flu. He gave me a shot for the pain and said I should feel better in about four hours. After five hours I felt so much worse that I ended up in the ER again. They did new blood work and my d-Dimer was elevated so they did an ultrasound looking for a bloodclot. None was found. They sent me home around midnight with no answers.
The next day my symptoms worsened. I had a fever of 104.3 and was retching violently. I lost consciousness for a period of time and when I awoke my lips were blue. This resulted in another trip to a different emergency room. When I got there my BP was 80/50 and in severe pain. They quickly diagnosed me with Septicemia (also known as Sepsis). After taking a new CT scan they decided I had air or Fluid around my liver. The ER doctor started an Internal Jugular central venous line and started aggressively treating me with multiple antibiotics. My life was on the line.
I live in Colorado Springs. I was transported by Flight for Life to a hospital in Denver where my lapband surgeon was located. When I arrived they wanted to go in laparoscopically to explore my liver situation and check my lapband but my blood pressure was so low that I was unstable. They put me in ICU for a blood transfusion and platelet expansion to hopefully stabilize me. My kidneys were starting to fail.
The next morning they wheeled me down to the OR but my blood pressure was too low to use laparoscope so they had to cut me open from chest to naval. I was so full of infection that it was pressing on my organs and that was what was causing my pain. He found the infection under my liver cleaned it up and placed a drain. While in there he also removed my lapband.
I was put into a medically induced coma for two days with my family receiving a 50/50 chance of survival. When my organs started rebounding they brought me out while still having a respirator placed to help me breathe. After my body proving to them it could breathe on its own, they removed the respirator. I spent the next 10 days in ICU and CCU recovering my health.
I was sent home with a picc line for six weeks of IV antibiotics to be given up to four times a day. After a few weeks I was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs resulting in having one tapped for the extraction of Fluid.
What a mess this all was! I can't explain what I went though physically, emotionally and financially.
I'm not telling you this story to scare you or make you change your mind. But I just want you to know that not everybody's outcome is a success. When they tell you there are risks..you should believe them!

Wow that's a horrible, terrifying experience. I'm so very sorry.
One thing I do think is important to point out- your near death experience had nothing to with the Lap Band. It was caused by your surgeon's repeated errors, starting with cutting your liver during surgery and missing the warning signs after.
Best wishes