janey2

Well the ineresting thing is..I had surgery in August for what I thought was a repair of m hiatal hernia. To everyone's surprise, once the surgeon got in there, there was no hernia but a bg slip that was undiagnosed or detected by endoscopy or esphogram. The band slip was fixed and after 2 years I am a completely new person! The surgeon also performed a plication. She said it would help with the vomitting and prevent the band from slipping again. 6 weeks later and I am totally relived. Maybe have a discussion with your surgeon to see if it is possible the band slipped and it is undetected.

Hi All, I was banded in August of 2010. I had roughly 100 lbs to lose and I lost about 50 lbs (recently gained back 8 lbs due to needed unfill). I have NEVER had an easy go of it. Constant vomitting, food getting stuck etc. I only lost weight because I had many periods where my band would tighten up on its own and nothing but protein shakes and soup would get down. In January of this year I started having severe heartburn and reflux. I had several esophograms and an endoscopy and nothing much was revealed. I went to doctor yesterday...fed up of 2 years of this and was ready to remove the band. When low and behold, a very astute NP looked at my post-op esophogram and compare it to the current and he saw signs of a hiatal hernia and slippage. A surgeon then came in and concurred and now I am headed back to surgery for a hiatal surgery repair. I am though questioning if I will get any benefit from this or am I just going to be one of those people for whom a lap band is not a good option. I don't want to go back to the tightening and vomitting etc. My nutrition had been horendous with very little protein and hardly any vegetables--they all get stuck with lettuce the worst offender. My question is--has anyone gone through this and if so, did it all get better after your hernia repair and band revision? Since I am going back to surgery, I want to make the right decision--keep the band? convert to a sleeve or bypass? or remove all together?.... Thanks for reading.

I am 6 weeks out and just got a fill of 2cc about a week ago. I was hoping I wouldn't need a fill either and thought maybe just the band being there with the plication would be enough. But, I was getting hungry on solid food. Now, some days I'm more hungry than others..but want to give it a little time before getting another fill. I do love the plication. I had the procedure 2 years after my band. I had a slip early on and it never really was easy for me. The plication is supposed prevent the slip from recurring. I think the greatest advantage is now I feel "full" rather than..."oh I can't eat any more because I feel restriction". This is a huge difference --at least for me and how I am responding to the physical cues. Has anyone else noticed this distinction?

I had a plication one week ago also and am experiencing the same. I am still on liquids. I applied the BRAT (bananas, rice, apple, tea) diet witout the rice. I make banana smoothies, and have been drinking ice tea and apple jiuce for liquids. It has slowed down tremendously.

I have had a similar experience. I have my band for 2 yrs. It never felt right to me. I vomitted all the time and had loads of swelling. About 6 months ago I began having reflux that responded to absolutely nothing. After nearly 6 months of endoscopies and esophograms, I went to see my surgeon to say--I need to take this out--I am done! After seeing my seriousness--they then determined that the band likely slipped. With only 1 cc in my 10cc band for more than 3 months, it never went back into positon. I had a band revision last week with plication. I understand the plication helps to hold a slipped band in place. One week post op and I have absolutely no reflux and have experinced no vomitting. This is new for me. I'm encouraged that revising the band and doing the plication were the right way to go. I don't think I will be too quick to fill the band. I feel as though I will have a certain degree of restriction without fill and that combined with the plication might be the best solution for me. I encourage you to be your own advocate and have a serious conversation with your surgeon. You should not have to live with reflux and a slipped band.

I am scheduled for a hiatal hernia repair with a plication on Monday. I have a lap band for 2 yrs now and weight loss is stalled. I'm wondering how long after surgery did people resume going to the gym. I'd like to keep doing some cardio --even at a low level. Some treadmill, bike, or eliptical. I know that lifting will be curtailed for at least a month. Thanks.

I am scheduled for a hiatal hernia repair with a plication on Monday. I have a lap band for 2 yrs now and weight loss is stalled. I'm wondering how long after surgery did people resume going to the gym. I'd like to keep doing some cardio --even at a low level. Some treadmill, bike, or eliptical. I know that lifting will be curtailed for at least a month. Thanks.

Thank you both, your feedback is helpful. Would love to hear from others as well. Trying to understand if wight loss might pick up after plication. Thanks!

Hi All, Can some of you who have had a plication with a band (either together or one after the other) please let me know how you are doing? How the surgery and post-op went, what your hunger level is like, how much weight you have lost compared to maybe when you had the band alone, etc? I would really appreciate hearing from you. I had a lap band inserted 2 years ago and lost about 40lbs and then hit a plateau. I've had sever reflux for the past 6 months and now it appears I have a hiatal hernia. I'm going for a repair and a possible plication. Would like to know how folks with the same have done over the long-run (6months or longer). Many Thanks.

Hi All, I was banded in August of 2010. I had roughly 100 lbs to lose and I lost about 50 lbs (recently gained back 8 lbs due to needed unfill). I have NEVER had an easy go of it. Constant vomitting, food getting stuck etc. I only lost weight because I had many periods where my band would tighten up on its own and nothing but protein shakes and soup would get down. In January of this year I started having severe heartburn and reflux. I had several esophograms and an endoscopy and nothing much was revealed. I went to doctor yesterday...fed up of 2 years of this and was ready to remove the band. When low and behold, a very astute NP looked at my post-op esophogram and compare it to the current and he saw signs of a hiatal hernia and slippage. A surgeon then came in and concurred and now I am headed back to surgery for a hiatal surgery repair. I am though questioning if I will get any benefit from this or am I just going to be one of those people for whom a lap band is not a good option. I don't want to go back to the tightening and vomitting etc. My nutrition had been horendous with very little protein and hardly any vegetables--they all get stuck with lettuce the worst offender. My question is--has anyone gone through this and if so, did it all get better after your hernia repair and band revision? Since I am going back to surgery, I want to make the right decision--keep the band? convert to a sleeve or bypass? or remove all together?.... Thanks for reading.

I'm so grateful to see others going through the same thing. I am not sure what the "sweet spot" is all about. Either I am too loose and I can eat too much or I am too tight. Right now I am tight--but it is manageble. So.....maybe that is the sweet spot? All I can tell you is it is unpredicatable from meal to meal whether or not I can tolerate what I eat. Losing weight so tolerating it for now.

Has anyone had problems with their lap band due to large fibroids? I am having a very hard time regulating fills and vomitting a lot! I am wondering if a really large fibroid could be pressing on GI structures and stomach and making the passage of food difficult.

Hi, Sorry it has been so long. I am great after my hysterectomy. I had to get a complete unfill. I am now back to getting fills. It is very clear now that the fibroids was causing me all the problems with my band. I gained about 5 lbs during the 6 weeks of unfil but back losing again. I am back to 5cc's in a 10cc band--where I was pre-op and I have not vomited once. I'm so happy I took care of this as inability to regulate the band was a mystery to everyone.

Thanks everyone for your replies. My fibroid is as big as a small melon and is pressing on bladder and bowel. My GYN surgeon confirmed it is causing pressure and most likely causing me problems with regulating my band. I will be having a hysterectomy and I hope it will make regulating my band easier.

I am trying to find out the answer to this question also. Some days I can vomit everytime I eat or drink. Other days it is better. I was able to eat more than I wanted to until my 3rd fill (5.5 cc/10cc band). I have pretty much been vomitting for 10 days -- since my last fill. I eat slowly--afraid to really eat much now. and chew thoroughly and then some.