Worst Decision I ever made!

[YngGram 73]

I was not banded in Mexico and I to dislike my band, being told to do all the things I have been doing, eat slow, small bites, stop drinking 30 mins before eating and STILL i get sick, I to am a bulimic, well really a llama, as I SPIT when I get sick than puke....

I AM NOT SAYING THAT THIS DOES NOT WORK, what I am saying is...I WISH MY DOCTOR HAD FULLY EXPLAIND to me, I am working out 2 times a day from swimming to spin class, and I am doing ok, but everytime I gear away from protien drinks to food I get sick, the band is not to tight as my doctor told me it wasent.........I disagree

We all have opinions on this subject and for some it works great, others it stinks......so please dont yell when you know nothing about living with a cup to puke in and following all the damn rules.....

WOW! You make me feel better about my doc and my band. I learned early that I am luckier than many others, because I haven't had to many problems. I would be ready to smack the doc if I felt bad and he said I didn't. Can't it cause future problems for you if you are only able to protien drinks? Get on hm, he needs to take better care of you, listen to what is going on. I had someone tell me that their doc said he didn't believe that the band would ever be wrong, just the person not using it right. There is enough info here to say he is STUPID! The band doesn't work for everybody, nonething does. Take care of yourself, and good luck.

[kyotosong 8]

I had a rough time with the band. I wasn't banded in Mexico. I was banded at a Bariatric Center of Excellence in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I was told, 3 bites of Protein to every bite of vegetable. I was told, avoid beef and pork. Eat what walks on two legs or swims. Don't use sauces, gravies or dressings because you're adding unwanted calories. I'd eat chicken/turkey and it would get "stuck" and I'd have to get an unfill. And there I would be told, "Yeah, chicken is hard for a lot of people to eat. It gets stuck. You should probably avoid it." I'd eat fish (salmon usually) and sometimes it would get "stuck" and I'd have to get an unfill. And there I would be told, "Yeah, fish can be a problem because it's flaky and gets stuck. You should probably avoid it." I was told yogurt can be okay but it's easy to eat too much because it's a "slider" food so I should avoid it (even when I said I was eating plain greek-style stuff that was 24 grams of Protein per serving! "When you eat yogurt, you won't feel full because it goes past the band. And the band is there to make you feel full.") But I was continually told, "3 bites of protein to every bite of vegetable."

So...avoid beef and pork. Check. Chicken/turkey can be a problem, avoid it. Check. Fish can be a problem, avoid it. Check. Avoid yogurt. Check. BE SURE TO EAT PROTEIN! check!!!

I got to the point where everything was getting stuck (except the "bad" stuff - sure I could eat pudding and Cookies and usually cake!). I could eat runny eggs (not scrambled and certainly not hard boiled). I could eat yogurt. I could eat cheese. And I could drink protein. Basically, the only Proteins I could eat had to be soft or liquid. And that was what I was supposed to eat most? How can anyone live that way?

Yes, I lost a bunch of weight - because I wasn't eating much! I couldn't! I couldn't eat healthy foods! I was miserable!

My surgeon had left that Bariatric Center of Excellence where I was banded/maintained. In October last year, I had a big problem (couldn't sleep, couldn't drink, let alone eat) and the Bariatric Center of Excellence in Scottsdale had no one available to do an emergency unfill. No NP or PA, the surgeon was out of town but I could go to the ER (not covered by my insurance because they weren't contracted with that hospital) and a non-bariatric surgeon who wasn't really familiar with fills/unfills, on call with the Bariatric Center of Excellence, could help me.

No thank you. I found my original surgeon practicing elsewhere (finally! he wasn't for a while), he was able to get me in. He had me do an upper GI at the hospital right then - my band was prolapsed quite a bit. I was only at maybe 3.5 cc in a 10 cc band. He was aggravated when I told him about my fill/unfill/fill stuff with the other office - especially when the fills were very, very small. He said they should've known there was a problem because I was barely filled. He deflated the band completely (relief! I could drink Water again!) and told me I needed it removed. It wasn't an urgent thing unless I couldn't eat or drink, so I went home. He told me he wouldn't reposition it because if it happened like that with me, it would happen again.

Starting sometime in Spring 2011, I started having "stuck" issues again. More bringing up the food. One night in July, I had cooked a burger patty (after deflation, I was able to eat most everything again). Ate it plain, no bread (of course), no veggies. I had eaten too much. I didn't know I had until it was too late. Unknown to me, my band had prolapsed again. It was allowing me to eat much more than I had before. This night was just too much. I tried to wait it out and I went to sleep after a while. I woke in the middle of the night and I vomited. I didn't bring it up, I vomited. Retching, stomach acid, etc. After that, I couldn't really drink. I "slept" upright. All day the next day (thankfully a Saturday), I didn't eat. I just tried to sip Water. I had no improvement. After the next night of waking, coughing up water over and over again, I drove myself to the ER. Unfortunately, my surgeon was out of town. His partner in the practice was on call. He wasn't very nice to me but...I had the band removal surgery and that was that. (I'll say healing was much better with this than when I had it originally - no port/muscle wall stuff to deal with)

Was it the worst decision I've ever made? No, because I needed to do something. And I did lose weight. But I was miserable most of the time. So very miserable...

I'm still over 100 lbs overweight and gaining. I have PCOS and I don't know what to do. But weight loss surgery is no longer an option for me. And I'm really worried about my future.

To the OP - find a local surgeon. Fork out the money. You need an upper GI. You could have a prolapse and you are risking erosion. This is your health and your quality of life at stake - be proactive.

[feliciadawn 22]

Have you guys heard of Fill Centers USA? I am scheduled to be banded by Dr Ortiz in Mexico on 10/28. I've done lots of research, and Fill Centers USA (fillcentersusa.com) is located in almost every major city. The only problem is MOST don't use fluroscope, although there are some that do. I will hopefully be going back to TJ for my fills and aftercare as it is included in my surgery and I don't live too far away - Vegas, but if I have to, I know there is a fill center about an hour from me which uses fluro. Check it out! They are expensive, but they are made for people who have had their surgery out of the country or state and whenever I have called them, they've been very nice and knowledgable.

good luck!

[buffettchick1 0]

I am having the exact same experience as Jeepygirl, I lost little weight with the band because I would slime practically everything I attempted to eat. I did the rules and ate time portions, chewed my food, didn't drink for 30 minutes. It got to the point that I would slime cottage cheese! (WTF) I recently lost 70 lbs doing a protien-sparing modified fast but had to puree all the meet in the diet. For the past 7 months, I haven't eaten in a restaurant because everything got stuck. I had my band drained two years ago but the problems have never gone away. I'm mentally ready to have the band removed and I'm PRAYING that insurance with cover the reversal. I meeting with the GI doctor on Thursday. Any advise from those who are in the removal process would be greatly appreciated. I am also praying that my life with food will return to a health level of respect instead of a constant battle.

[cheryl1970 0]

I am having the exact same experience as Jeepygirl, I lost little weight with the band because I would slime practically everything I attempted to eat. I did the rules and ate time portions, chewed my food, didn't drink for 30 minutes. It got to the point that I would slime cottage cheese! (WTF) I recently lost 70 lbs doing a protien-sparing modified fast but had to puree all the meet in the diet. For the past 7 months, I haven't eaten in a restaurant because everything got stuck. I had my band drained two years ago but the problems have never gone away. I'm mentally ready to have the band removed and I'm PRAYING that insurance with cover the reversal. I meeting with the GI doctor on Thursday. Any advise from those who are in the removal process would be greatly appreciated. I am also praying that my life with food will return to a health level of respect instead of a constant battle.

Please keep me posted about what your surgeon and insurance co says. I am at the starting point where I have been doing alot of researching about the removal itself. I am kinda scared to go back into surgery. But I really want this out. I haven't lost a pound and my health has gone down hill in the past three years.

[Jack 855]

re: "Either I can eat everything or I can eat nothing!!!!!!!!!!! Lose....gain.......lose....gain!!!!!! I'm in so much pain right now after throwing up because I must have taken too big of a bite of something."

such is the struggle many of us of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese.

In a perfect world, perhaps none of that would happen. We somehow would have been blessed with the capacity to have known in our early years that decades of over eating, over indulgence, and over enjoying over eating year in and year out would make us Morbidly Obese.

Yet, here ~I~ am....having done all that most of my life in spite of over 30 years of really Really REALLY trying to not 'over eat' anything. Yet all somehow conspired to make my journey more unpleasant. On my way to the Omars BigBoy Clothing and Tent Emporium, I'd stop for yet another bag-o-burgers.

Life hasn't been easy or especially pleasant in so many ways, for any Bandster I've known.

Best of luck in your remedial efforts.

I remain "40# from goal".....and I sometimes have episodes of PBs and slime and "why is THIS happening".

Yet I'm in size 42/44 pants instead of 56/58. I no longer inject insulin twice daily after 15 years. I no longer am confined by CPAP after 10 years. I no longer have the dreaded panic/anxiety disorder constricting my life as it did preOp.

My blender knows the drill. It fed me well for several years....but I no longer need it.

And so forth.

Yes, we all get frustrated.

cheers on your journey.