Diagnosis: Erosion with bonus stomach inflammation and esophogeal erosions.

Symptoms: Yes, it just feels different, squishy, gurgly, odd, off.

I sure hope the truth doesn't scare Johnny.

God Lisa!! I don't even know what to say!?!? I am so sorry!

((((((((((((((((((((BIG HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))

I want to type every swear word I can think of right now. I'm just heartbroken for you Lisa. (((((((((((((((LISA)))))))))))))))))

Ditto. That's exactly how I felt Anwyn.

Well... I already PM'd Lisa the words I couldn't put up on the board.

SUCKS.

no need to answer my above question, i see the band is inamed.

amazing how sad i am tio hear about this. it's like hearimng about someone's body organ failing. my dad may need his kidney removed i didnt feel this much grief about that!

Well, now. Doesn't this just stink to high heaven? I'm really sorry.

I'm glad you described the gurgle feeling. My tummy gurgles alot when I go to bed because I drink 6-8 ounces of Water and Aloe Vera juice...my gurgles seem to be in my lower stomach, moving into the bowels, not up top where the band is. One night I was laying on my side and my stomach spasmed big time! It just...spasmed for about 5 seconds, very weird. It was the big part of the stomach, below the band. All that make me worried, especially when I keep hearing all this news.

So many of you ladies who were so inspirational to me when I decided to get banded are eroding! What's up with this? And I'm a MX Bandster. Anyone heard of any Kuri erosions? Geez. Don't worry...I'm getting an endo!!!

Thanks for being such an inspiration DeLarla. Keep us posted.

yuck yuck yuck. My prayers are with you Lisa. God Bless you and keep you and give you grace and peace through this season.

Jon

Kathy - "stomach spasms" is one of those words I tried to get out but coudn't find the term for, but yes, I had some weird stomach spasms. Nothing painful, just weird.

I said it on another thread, so I'll add it here. Only a professional piano player can hear when his instrument is out of tune. The rest of us just hear music, but he knows something is off even though his piano isn't broken. That's the same way my band/belly area felt. "Off." Weird pitter patters, spasms, gloops, blips, schmurgles. Definitely not the tight feeling that I used to have every single morning. I could NEVER take a pill in the morning, but when I was able to swallow a large pill with no Water, I knew something was wrong.

I'm so glad all of you are here with me, but I'd like everyone to change tones from sympathy to my own personal cheerleading squad! I need to know I can do this bandless. I need kicking and screaming and to be convinced that band removal will only kick me into seriousness.

It's going to be hard, because now I realize how complety amazing the band really is when it comes to restriction our food. We really are NOT hungry when we have good restricton. Suddenly I'm actually hungry again, and often. So I have to fight hunger AND obsession again. Uht oh. So I'm going to follow Michelle's steps. She eats only Protein every morning. Michelle says if she eats any carbs at all at Breakfast then she's hungry all day. So I gotta force protein down my throat every morning, then stick to low carb salads at lunch. I gotta do this.. I just gotta.

I'm personally convinced that there's a problem with technique, like a stitch that irritates the band or something. Then again, tie string around a an animals tail, and eventually the tail falls off. A band squeezing around our belly? Sounds amazing that something can press and rub against an organ all day and not cause problems.

I've heard of Kuri erosions. And if my insurance ever covers the band in the future, I'll take it! However, there's no way of knowing if I'll ever be able to have another stomach surgery till we see how my removal goes. Plus, who the heck knows about us removal patients and long term scar tissue n' junk like that. Which is why I went out on the Harley last night drinking and gambling like it was my last day on Earth! Party on, Garth! Well, I rode on back and watered down wine, so I wasn't drunk but I was ripping through hundred dollar bills because you can't take it with you!

OK Delarla you went out drinking last night and having fun and so did I. I had to get away from the weight gain demon. However this is the holiday season, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I am facing those hunger pains every day when I wake up till I go to sleep at night. IT really sucks.

Vera thanks for the sweet phone call yesterday. It is calls like that which will keep me on track.

Lisa we both will be able to do this. I am gonna fight this tooth and nail all the way. You can do this. We can do this together.

Have you filled out your Biggest Loser application yet? LOL!!

I say we start a talk circuit of Eroded Bandsters and encourage all 1 year or more bandsters to get Endo's. We can get local docs to give discounts on the Endo costs and give them away as door prizes. :Bunny

Anyway, try to enjoy the holiday and I will see you when I get home. Offer still open and on the table to come stay at the house.

HUGS

Give Chris a hug for me.

Penni, you are so darn nice! What a wonderful friend! Your post warmed my heart.

Lisa, without going back and re-reading everything, did you say your local pcp ordered the endo? And what about removal... who's the surgeon?

Oh and Girl, if I had mine removed, I KNOW I couldnt keep from eating. So, GO DELARLA!!!

I could pm you and ask this, but i feel others may want to know as well. What about band removal/DS at the same time? Is this a possibility for some?

Delarla, I am sorry that this has happened and I wish you speedy recovery! *huuggs*

Yikes, I've been so busy I missed all of this. I'm terribly sorry to hear you have more band issues. Hopefully you can find a good replacement band doctor.

ow im so sorry Lisa i just read it.. damn im very sad

((( Lisa )))

Lisa I'm so sorry to hear after all you have been through that you are having to go through removing your band too!!! (((HUGS)))

Lisa,

I haven't been onthe board in almost a month and I can't believe all that I missed. I feel so bad for all of you that have had your bands erode. That really scares me a lot! I know you can keep the weight off. You have a good headstart and I do wish you all the best in getting your band removed. I guess this will make people think twice about getting banded. Or at least...researching their doctors a little more closely.

(((Lisa)))

I find all the comments about "new" techniques interesting, as well as speculation on the band itself.

As far as I understand, Lopez and Ortiz are proctors for placing the Inamed band - they're TRAINING stateside docs how to place the band. So how the heck is it that the U.S. docs are doing a different "better" technique?? And these other docs who are doing it a totally different way, with extra "skin" between the band and the stomach - uh... What, once you've been trained how to place a band you're allowed to make up your own techniques?

I don't think the original lapband model has been changed/improved since I was banded in 1/2003, so these "newer" bands shouldn't be softer/smoother/better than the ones we recent erosions received. I'm not talking about the advent of the Vanguard band or the new smaller port - I'm talking about it's little original brother band itself.

This is all very concerning, and frustrating as well when it seems unlikely that we'll ever know WHY exactly so many of us have eroded recently, and why we seem to belong to a couple of Mexican surgeons.

I personally have to believe it's technique, but can't help wondering who passed on special info to the U.S. docs that their proctors don't have, like making sure there are layers of fat between the band and the stomach.

:shakes her head:

Hey Donali: I am with you on this. Why is it the MX docs don't have the same info. But when I talked to Craig Arthur after my erosion he explained that they "encourage" the MX docs to use the newer technique which doesn't tend to increase the chances of erosion. They can't enforce them to use the newer technique just "encourage" them. I wish I had the presense of mind to remember Lopez was a proctor. Craig told me they have told every doc to use the newer technique to cut down on the erosion chances.

The newer technique is to NOT use the perigastric but "encouraged" to use the pars flacida when securing the band to the stomach. I too agree it is surgeon technique that plays a HUGE factor in the erosion chances.

What are we to do? Inamed does not have anything in place that would review the techniques used by ANY of their doctors that are qualified to place the bands. They don't do any checks and balances to make sure the doctors have any follow up care in place. They do "recommend" to the doctors to have follow up care but can't really enforce that issue. SIGH!!

It all just pisses me off and I just want to scream at times.