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Read "weird complication after surgery" for my crazy story with my port incision.

Your real cost in complications would be in the hospital charges, does his protection cover that?

has anyone had to have their band removed after a couple of years and if so were there any complications because of it being on for awhile.:smile2:

I have gotten the "all you need to do is..." speech before and, for those saying it, they don't understand how hurtful and frustrating it is! I HAVE tried everything out there and some things I have tried (i.e. starvation, purging, overexercising, diaretics/laxatives, high Protein, low carb, high Fiber, grapefruits, etc) only worked for a short time and ended up hurting me. I, of course, ended up gaining what I lost plus some each time. I don't know where I got the strength from but I ended up saying to those who didn't really support my decision at first that this was MY decision, it is based on the support from my primary care physician, it is safe and this is not something I chose out of desperation but rather the determination to live a good, long, and HEALTHY life with my family. I think in my situation the person (my brother) was trying to get me not to do it just because they didn't know enough about it and were afraid that I would be doing harm to my body. He said it "wasn't natural" for people to have foreign objects in their bodies. I quickly reminded him about people with pacemakers, hip or knee replacements, etc. Take pride in the fact that you are choosing life! Remember that this is your life and, as someone else said, your dad will ultimately realize down the line when you are down 40# that this was a good thing. It is the safest surgical option with the least complications. Good luck and keep your chin up! :confused: Katie

I'm an RN also and had surgery with Dr. Aceves. Yes, complications are covered. For example, one person had a "funny looking liver" and Dr. Aceves did a biopsy at no charge. He stands by his surgery but hasn't had a leak so there's no complications. LOL. I told two people and went to Mexico alone. Both were ready to have a stroke that I was (a) having surgery in Mexico and (:confused1: traveling alone and both are the only ones who knew I was having the revision to VSG from the band. I worked a 13 hour shift, went home and showered, grabbed my luggage, and flew 6 hours to San Diego from N.Y. The care at Almater Hospital was great and the hospital was immaculate. Pre-op testing was fast and efficient and the Lucerna resort was beautiful. I saw the surgeons 3 times a day and all the RN staff are BSN prepared. Grab your fiance and tell your family you're going on a short vacation. This is for you and not them.

Twins!! Surgery and pre-OP diet are the same as yours!! Excited but a little nervous! Don't want to be one of the ones with complications.

March 3rd. Excited, looking forward to a new heathly lifestyle and body, but also nervous. I'm in general overall good health, I don't want to have any complications. Trying to not let some of the stuff I read on here make me nervous. Trying to absorb as much information as possible.

I'm in Stanton, DE and will be having my sleeve done by Dr. Peters as well. I have my medical clearance I am waiting on insurance approval! Nervous as heck. How did you like Dr. Peters? On Obesity Help, the members talk about their sleeves starting around 2 oz for some. Do you know what size he does? And did he discuss the possibility of being converted to a bypass if there are complications?

Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate it. After speaking with my insurance and reading the policy, it seems like they would not cover complications. I don't think I can expose my family to this kind of financial risk no matter how remote. I'll have to call my doc tomorrow and see what the options are. Feeling very disappointed.

My doc recommended a full liquid diet for two weeks prior to surgery. He didn't require it but indicated any weight loss pre-surgery would reduce risk of complications during surgery ... so why not do it!

so is it possible when you have fills, to not pb or vomit? that is really scary to me. (i read alot of complications from fills on here) and since my first one maybe in the next couple weeks) i am kinda on the fence teetering and wondering......

I posted about this on the sleeve forum before. I developed GERD after my sleeve and was able to control it with one PPI a day until the end of 2020 where it's increased to two PPIs, 1 H2 and tums all day. Had issues with vomiting, nausea, stomach and chest pain. Difficulty swallowing. Sore throat since December. Had an endoscopy 3/3. Lax LES causing GERD, gastritis and a nodule in the antrum of the stomach that appears to be benign but will be removed in an endoscopic ultrasound in June as a precaution as it has a small risk of turning cancerous later on. Gastroenterologist referred me to my bariatric surgeon believing revision is needed. My surgeon wasn't sure on revision because I have lost all my excess weight with no regain. I have only been in maintenance for 4 months though. He sent me for a barium swallow. Had the barium swallow and the radiologist found esophogeal dysmotility and a hernia that the endoscopy had missed. Radiologist said I will either need a nissen fundoplication or revision to bypass along with hernia repair When I called my surgeon's office to schedule a follow up the nurse said something about maybe a hernia repair would be enough which left me feeling confused. I told her I want do whatever has the best chance of not having more complications or needing more surgery in the future. I had my galbladder out June 2020 after sleeve June 2019 and really just want to be healthy with no more surgery. My follow up is on Tuesday. I am not sure what my surgeon is going to recommend. From posts here it seems nissen isn't the best option for sleeve patients. Would hernia repair be enough or is revision to bypass the best option? I just don't want to be getting hernia repair and then still have reflux be a problem due to my esophagus and end up needing a revision later on.

I have been one of the extremely lucky ones with banding. I too went to TJ Mexico, and had a french midband placed. I was given a 6cc fill at surgery to fit the band on my "small" stomach, and have not needed additional fill since. So far no complications for me. My first bandiversary is coming up on Sept 21. To date I have lost 83 pounds. That's the good part. For me the band is an annoyance because it's fickle. Some days I am tight and can barely eat or drink, on other days not so tight, and can eat well (with-in reason), though not too much. The problem with that is on days when there is some sort of a celebration with food, a holiday, or family gathering. When I'd like to be able to eat better, I often can't, maybe one or two bites and I'm uncomfortable...sometimes too uncomfortable...the dreadful sliming/pb routine. Sometimes I'm genuinely hungry, and same thing... a few bites followed by the slimey/ropey saliva, and discomfort or even a PB. I HATE THAT PART! The main issue is the fact that I never know how I'll do until I try to eat. I don't have a warning sign or predetermining factor that tells me what to expect. I have learned that on a reasonable banding day, eating Breakfast for me requires being up for 4 or 5 hours first, and I have about a 6 or 7 hour window before I tighten up again. On a not so reasonable day, it's a bite or 2 at a time, maybe an hour apart... certainly takes a long time to clean a small plate of small servings like that... & my meals are usually cold... Having said that, I wore a bikini this summer for the first time in many years. I am getting noticed, flirted with, and looks of appreciation, both from strangers, and most importantly, my husband... The good DEFINITELY out weighs the bad! Good Luck to you in your research, finding this community helped seal the deal for me. You won't find a great support group than right here.

Yes thank you so much for that. I'm flying out Monday (tomorrow) and I'm going alone so I'm very nervous about complications. Reading your story made me feel better. I am having my surgery Tuesday the 18th and I will definitely post details also. I cannot tell you how helpful these stories are to people like me. They help so much in making my decision.

Chris, I'm getting banded by Dr.Tran on monday. How was your experience? Any complications? Was Tran personable? Just wondering since I really haven't seen or heard a lot about him online.

I looked into WLS a few years ago, but my insurance didn't cover it, so that was that. A couple weeks ago, my wife told me that someone at her work is having WLS and that her insurance covers it. I've always had her insurance as my secondary insurance, but it never occured to me that they would cover it even if mine didn't. I called the clinic that her co-worker had hers done at, and inquired about my insurance situation. Sure enough, if my primary insurance doesn't cover, the secondary will. That clinic is out of network, but told me that they will bill as out of network, but then for my co-pay they will only charge me as much as if I was in-network. I made an appointment. I completed my paperwork and faxed it in a few days ago. I was scheduled to have a phone appointment tomorrow, and then a meeting with the surgeon a week from tomorrow. The clinic called me today and said they had a cancellation tomorrow and wanted to know if I wanted to move my meeting with the surgeon to then. I'm super excited to meet with the surgeon tomorrow and get my process started. I'm hoping that my secondary insurance doesn't have a 6 month process the way a lot of them do. As for my story, I've been overweight a good portion of my life. When I was 17, I was helping my dad move an 1800 pound safe off a truck and it fell off the truck and onto my foot. It resulted in a 10 day hospital stay and amputation of my foot. Even with that, I've always been active but a few years later was north of 300 pounds. A few years ago I was diagnosed with diabetes and also borderline high blood pressure. I've been trying, without success, to get some weght off to keep my diabetes in check. A year and a half ago, I woke one morning with incredible pain in my back. I went to my PCP, who told me essentially to quit being a baby and go home and walk it off, and if I wasn't feeling better in a few days to a week, then come back and see him. Later that afternoon, I went to my chiropractor, who advised me that with my symptoms I should go to the ER. I did and was diagnosed with cauda equina, which is essentially when a disc ruptures and presses into the nerves in your back. I was immediately transported to Swedish in Seattle (about an hour and a half away) and that night had surgery on my back. My neurosurgen told me that if I hadn't had surgery within 72 hours, she is pretty confident I would have been paralyzed. I ended up with some significant nerve damage in my legs, but I was lucky because I seeked out prompt medical attention so I can still walk and have use of my lower extremities. I do still have a lot of nerve pain in my legs, and right now my neurosurgen is trying to address that. Every day that I have to be able to walk and play with my kids is a blessing however. Now I'm hoping to get rid of this weight so I can be even more active and involved in their lives. Wish me luck at my meeting with my neurosurgen tomorrow! I do have my reservations however, because I'm going to Puget Sound Surgical Center, which, for those of you who have been following, is where iggychick got her sleeve done. However, her doctor was Dr. Billing and I'm meeting with Dr. Crouthamel. It will be interesting knowing iggychick's story, how forthcoming he is when I ask about complications, not only his, but of the clinic as a whole. It will show me how trustworthy Dr. Crouthamel is.

and it was awful (still is.) This was the worst surgery yet, and for some reason I always end up with a high fever and bronchial problems. The surgery took around 2 hours late Tuesday night, and we got home from Ventura last night. Dr. Billy removed my band in the emergency room, and other than being so physically ill, I'm 100% relieved that Billy took it out. I'm glad it's out of me, I'm thankful Billy was my surgeon, and I'm really worried after all the other stories I heard while staying in the hospital. The nurses were somewhat "fascinated" with me since several are obese and have been considering weight loss surgery. However, they were telling me of so many complications they see on a regular basis with both surgeries. I did meet one very thrilled and very beautiful gastric bypass patient that was thrilled, but she had it done before laproscopy and has a scar from her ribs to past her belly button. Either way, she looked amazing. After this last surgery, there's no way I'll ever even consider another weight loss surgery. My biggest regret was going to Mexico. Another regret was not fighting my insurance. But another huge regret was that I didn't have a local, EXPERIENCE, CARING surgeon. The 7 hour trip back home yesterday kicked my fever back in, and it had only been gone a few hours. So I'm home, I'm alive, I have a GREAT doctor, and I'm looking forward to fighting the fat demons solo. Like Red says in Shawshank Redemption, "Either get busy living, or get busy dying." I gotta go lay down so I can heal up and get busy living. Please, NO SYMPATHY! I feel physically disgusting, my pain is 10 out of 10, my fever won't break, and I have severe belly cramping and can't catch my breath. I've even gained 12 solid pounds of bloat, so I feel stuffy and gross. I even scared my hubby because he never saw me not talking before. I didn't talk for 2 days other than some grunts. So physically I'm bad, but mentally I'm good. Honestly, I'm gonna be really good. Thank you all so much for the calls and messages, and I'm sorry I've been too sick to talk. I'll call every one of you as soon as I get my spunk back.

Glad your home and feeling better, I was a bit worried after reading your story. The nurses said they see a lot of complications from the Lap band?

Heyo folks. I've been obese my whole life (40 years now), and finally made the decision to really do something about it this past spring. The funny thing is, I was scheduled to have the surgery on May 7th of 2001. I backed out because I was 25, arrogant and a know-it-all. I thought I could beat this thing myself. Well...I did beat it, and it beat me back 10 times since. This has been a decision I have been struggling with for the past 15 years. Now...I am well on my way to surgery. I'm a couple of weeks away from my final appointment and meeting my surgeon. Looks like my surgery is going to be the week of Christmas. I'm scared of a few things: Death due to anesthesia. Death due to blood clotting. Death due to complications. Thing is...I don't want to die, and that is why I am having this surgery. I want to extend what's left of my life. Would be nice to have grandchildren one day, watch my kids get married, grow old with the woman I love. Just scared of not even getting out of the gate. It's keeping me up nights. I wake up and can't get back to sleep. It's a veritable hell I am going through on this. It's started to depress me and make me irritable. It's overwhelming fear sometimes. I've almost talked myself out of it. Sometimes I think the lengthy process makes you process too much at times. The time drawn out from classes, appointments and insurance approval almost makes you wait too long, and sit with your thoughts and anxieties. If it were August or September and you told me I was having my surgery tomorrow, I would jump with joy. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you deal with it? Any pointers or suggestions? Thanks O

Thank you for that information. I'm having nonstop stomach discomfort. Gastroenterologist prescribed me dicyclomine for stomach pain it helps a bit, not a lot. My last endoscopy he did he was confused to as why everything inside of me wasn't were it was supposed to be. My stomach has moved to the other side. I was very confused by this. I'm pretty sure that's because of the gastric bypass right?? I just don't know anymore but I can't handle these post complications with this surgery at all. It's running my life

I ended up being in the hospital for 3 nights and 4 days due to some complications but I didn't care what I was wearing. I put my robe on over the hospital gown so I could walk the halls. I brought some lip balm because my lips got very dry. A notebook and pen for writing down notes and information given by medical staff. Due to the meds you may forget a lot of it so its better to write it all down. Your cell phone or Ipad will be great company, and maybe a magazine. Other than that you really don't need much more than your toothbrush and toothpaste, brush, and some lotion for your body. You will be dry from drinking so little. I brought too much stuff to the hospital last time but when I have my revision at the end of the summer I will travel a lot lighter. lol

Well I looked him up on Healthgrades. It shows his education, experience, and awards and recognitions, papers he has written. And on my first appointment I asked about his statistics. How many he surgeries has he done, how often are there complications from his surgeries, etc. I hope this answer is helpful. I also found some podcasts that he had been on and listened to him talk (to other medical professionals) about his work, and that was also very telling for me about his competency. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sorry to hear...and Thanks for the response.....myself, and other people here are always concerned about possible complications and reasons for them.....

I needed 2 knees and 2 hips my ortho and md suggested losing weight for obvious reasons , healthy people recover with less complications and anesthesia risks are greatly reduced. Got my first hip replaced in jan. 13 months out from my sleeve I honestly can't imagine rehabbing +150 lbs. next hip is in sept. and after 2 series of hylagan injections my knees feel much better but still need replacing.

I'M SOOO EXCITED!! My mother and I have decided to get banded as a partnership. We both need to lose over 100lbs each. She had a kidney transplant in 2004 and is having trouble w/ sleep apnea and her legs due to her weight. I'm just starting to have health problems conncted w/ my weight (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, prediabetes, arthritis). I also have kidney disease, but I am not having the complications that my mother had that required her to have a transplant. Her doctor suggested that she have the procedure done at Mt Carmel West because there is a doctor there that does the lap band procedure w/ only 1 incision. My mother is 65. Her surgery will be paid for by Medicare. My insurance policy (United HealthCare) does not cover weightloss surgery. I will be paying for the procedure out of my own pocket. HAS ANYONE HAD TO PAY FOR THIS PROCEDURE OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET? GOT ANY TIPS FOR ME?:biggrin: