Well it is official..I had an endo yesterday and my band has eroded. I eroded between July 17th when I had my last fill and Nov 21 yesterday when I had my endo. Having my band removed Monday Nov 28th.

Listen up my friends..I do not want sympathy. I have come to terms with this. I am at peace. I cried when I got home but after a good cry I realized how lucky I have been..I am so grateful for the 104 lbs I have lost with my band. I lost more then 60% of my weight with the band unlike the statistics claim . I used my head an did not rely on my band for all of it. I had only 1.5 cc's in my band I did alot of it on my own. My band did it's job, now it is time for me to walk the rest of this journey alone without my band but still with all of you. I met my original weight loss goal by losing 104 lbs so if I never lose another lb ..I'm happy. Dont get me wrong this will be tough and I'm scared to be without my band but my OCD will get me through ..I know I will channel my OCD into not gaining this weght back.

I will not gain this weight back!!!

A word of advice for those of you struggling..get your head out of your ass and use this tool the best you can. Get a grip on those mental demons.dont let head hunger get the best of you ..I am so fortunate to have had the success I had but other who are as far out post op as Iam may not have had such great success so I tell you from the bottom of my heart, lose as much weight as you can while you still have your band...dont mess around with this..Erosion can happen to any of you regardless if you follow the rules and are a perfect bandster at any time .I truly believe it is higher then 1-3%, just my opinion. To let you all know I had zero symptoms other then a gassy trummy which is from my gastritis. I have great restriction. I lost 10 lbs in October . As far as getting a new band in 5-6 months, I can not answer that at this time

Thanks to all of you for all of the support you have given me..I'm still going to be around here and help others the best I can and offer support to any of you who need it

I'm on hold with my Gastroenterologist telling them I'm tired of waiting for my Upper GI appointment! He called the referral in on 11/16 and now his office is screwballs and doesn't know what the heck is going on. They must be building rockets in his office or something, because they act like I need a ride to the moon.

Michelle, did you have an ongoing case of gastritis, or are you still talking about the one you had a while back? Did you really have discomfort that you were aware of, or are you just seeing things in hindsight that you now believe are related to your erosion?

I'm totally with you in wanting it out NOW. I fail to see how any doctor could feel it's OK to leave it as is if it's actually damaging the stomach wall.

I'm thinking of you and will send strong vibes for good news on the 28th. I'm positive you and your family will pull through this even stronger; you've proven your fortitude before. Please try to put it out of your mind and enjoy the HELL out of Thanksgiving!

My gastritis cleared up after 2 momnths on Prilosec and Nexium back in April , I stopped taking it in July after my refill even in July Dr. Ortiz said my esophagus looked great..I started noticing smyptoms of it coming back about a month ago so I started the prilosec again so who knows if it was related to the erosion, I had the gurgling gassy tummy and the burping and the full feeling in my upper abdomen which are all signs of gastritis., in my endo on Monday the gastritis was present. These are questions I am goin to ask Dr. Ortiz. I wonder if gastritis can lead to erosion? When your band is filled it ( the acid and gas)has a hard time gettiing up through the band and it just stews and gurgles below the band..once I had my fill removed from my bowel obstruction the symptoms were so much more prevalent..I dont know..Im grasping at straws, bottom line is I'm eorded for whatever reason.

Michelle, as everyone else has already said I am truely shocked about this. I am very glad that you decided to share this with all of us. You have given all of us such strenghth and encouregment through our own weight loss journey's, that it is now our turn to give back to you. I hope you will continue to stay with us here on the forum and let us be here for you when you need us. Lord knows we will still need you.

I have all the faith in the world in you that you will keep your weight off and not need the band. You are in my thought and prayers.

--It takes a little darkness for us to see the stars, and a whole lifetime to reach them....Don't give up.

I cant say much more than everyone else has except I am sorry this has happened. I know from how inspirational and motivational you are, you will succeed at life without the band. I am glad you are going to stay with us because you are really just such an inspiration to ppl. You will be in my thoughts.

Michelle,

I havent been here in a while and I cant beleive that this has happened to you. I will heed your advice and try to get my last 20-25 pounds off. No one knows how long they will have their band and everyone should maximize their weight loss with this tool. I have been sitting at about 190 ish for a while post plastic surgery. I am slowly gaining and dont have a lot of restriction. I dont have a leak or erosion, but I am afraid of a too tight band, so I sit with 2.20 and dont want to get more. I think having a too tight band causes erosions and this makes me afraid to get more. But I will soon since I am panicking about regain. I had gastritis at one point last year, but never took meds. I just had a partial unfill and everything was better. I know that you can do this and keep the weight off. I honestly believe the key to long term success is exercise since that is the only time when I continue to lose weight or maintain.

Hugs,

Babs in TX

334/190

Posted by Babs, "I think having a too tight band causes erosion and this makes me afraid to get more", is this medically proven or just appears this way? Just curious because I've been too tight on occasion and wonder what damage was caused.

hi

I am so sorry about this.Great that you have lost all your weight.

I'm floored. I just do't know what to say, but you are right to put the word out to folks as you have. Lose as much as you can as quick as you can. Just tonight I said to myself...it's slow but I'll get there in my own time. But what if I erode? Your kick in my ass is right on time. I'm really sorry. Keep us posted on how everythng goes and you'd better be around here helping others! We need a "Former Bandsters" Forum now...it's official. SIGH.

OMGGGG That was a KICK in my ass for me too!

I ll never forget your words La Madam! THANK YOU Soo much!

that was a buffet that i needed it!

Lose as much as you can as quick as you can!!

cause we cant know if we will have the band for ever...

ps. thats why i was not arround lately, cause i lost a bit the track...

you know... BUT i promise I PROMISE! ill be back on track from RIGHT NOW!

since i read this post i realised soooo many things!!!

Michelle,

My reaction to seeing "I'm eroded" and your screen name on it was "NOOOOOOOO!!!"

I couldn't believe it!

I also have to admit it makes me question getting rebanded in January. What if it slips again? Or erodes? Am I kidding myself?

You have been and continue to be an inspiration to us all. You've accomplished (yes YOU...not the band, but YOU) what we all dream about. Awesome job Michelle.

I agree that when (not if) you maintain your weight for the 6 months, there should be no reason to be rebanded. You can do this.

Take care. Will be thinking of you on your surgery date.

Michelle~ I just wanted to say how sorry I am that your losing your band. You are a great success and such a strong person..... I know you will continue on this great path that your band and your great dedication has helped you get too and continue to be a great inspiration to us all!!!! Good luck to you and always remember I could never repay you for all the suport you have given to me and all of us on LBT!!!! (((((HUGS))))

I'm not yet banded and my date is late January ... but I'm 64 and really scared that I'm too old for this surgery and the erosion thought makes it even harder to decide to go ahead. I'm 390 lbs, male. I read Medicare won't cover people over 65 because 13% of men die within a year ... wow.

Any thoughts?

Dang Michelle I am still in shock..

Thank you for the kick in Booty. I still am on empty since Oct - About a week after the unfill I got a Horrible Sinus infection so put off going back. My results after my upper GI came back A-ok. Dr. J does not do an Endo unless there are still serious signs of reflux that do not get better when your fill is gone. I am for sure making an appt next week to see if they will scheadule one. I get this little burning pain right where my band is if only for a split second. Does not happen everyday and I could go weeks with out.. But your words have true meaning and I will take heed.

Sorry this has happend but 104lbs that is just amazing to me.. It is attainable.

Michelle,

You have been such an INSPIRATION to me and I have followed your advice throughout this whole journey and can't thank you enough. I will pray that your surgery goes well.

Today, I am Grateful to Michelle for her success.

Michelle, I am so sorry, thanks for sharing with us. My prayers are with you. Thanks for helping me though my own journey. May God Bless you and watch over you. Please keep us updated.