Just wanted to update everyone on my slipped band. I went in yesterday for surgery and unfortunately due to too much stomach swelling the band could not be repositioned properly without a very long surgery and/or compromising my health. So they cut it out. Everything is gone. As soon as I woke up from my surgery stupor it was the first question I asked and the answer was "no we had to take it out." My surgeons spoke to me extensively before and after the surgery and answered all of my questions and explained that removal might occur if they could not reposition the band. I had driven down to TJ alone for this surgery, but the kindness and care I received at the surgical center really made up for being by myself.

This morning after my drain was removed from my port area (ugh) and I was bandaged up. I drank a bottle of apple juice, Water and packed up and headed out. Boy was it ever good to feel liquids go right down the chute without backing up. Heavenly. They recommended that I stay and sleep or at least get a room at the LUcerna where I'd stayed the night before, but I felt pretty strong and steady so Mrs. Ortiz kindly escorted me to the Mexicoach and I scooted on back across the border to my waiting car.

A couple of hours later and I am safely tucked away up in my cottage on a hill in Los Angeles with my 3 fur people and a big library full of books to cozy up in and heal.

In 4-6 months if I want another band I can have another one installed. If I can maintain or lose weight in that 6 month period I will choose NOT to be rebanded. I know the odds are against me, but I must remind myself that it is POSSIBLE to lose weight and keep it off without a band. MOre difficult , but possible.

thank you for all of your warm thoughts and wishes they have all been appreciated very much!

-Mary Ann

Wow Mary Ann. I'm sorry for your band loss, but I'm happy you are recovering nicely and are able to drink comfortably. So happy so were well taken care of, too. Hang in there and stay close to home here on LBT. Thanks for the update! ((((hugs))))

Oh, Mary Ann, I'm so sorry. I had the EXACT thing happen 3 weeks ago (April 3). The first week was pretty emotional for me. A lot of crying and feeling of hopelessness. I gained 10 lbs the first week after surgery, but I've lost 6 of those again. I think my body was holding onto anything it could because it was afraid I'd starve it again and my body needed to replenish itself, fluid-wise.

If you need someone to talk to, please pm me.

I'm so, so sorry - I wish I could say something profound and wonderful and tell you everything's going to be ok but the fact is it just SUCKS (I guess I'm still feeling kind of hopeless).

Take care of yourself,

Mary Ann,

It sounds like you've got a great attitude about this! Here's to hoping that you spent enough time taking little bitty bites and chewing well that you made it a new habit. Best of luck without your band! You can do this!

Shanna - you're doing great, too!

I'm sorry too Mary Ann

Your taking this all fairly well.

Wishing you and Shanna the best

Oh, MaryAnn, I'm sorry you had to go through this. The great thing is that you're whole, healthy, and have a clean slate to start again. Good luck and please stick around!!

Mary Ann, me too!! Mine slipped and I chose to have it removed. I am ok with the decision and have gained between 3-5 lbs since March 8, but I am ok with that. My insurance no longer covers any weight loss surgery so I know that I am on my own, but I can do this.......WE can do this. PM me if you would like, and welcome to unband land........where we do survive!

Mary Ann,

So sorry to hear about the loss of your band. You have a great attitude and I am sure you will continue to lose more weight. Keep smiling!

sorry to here this happened, keep up the spirits and have faith, you can master this and there is life after the band, just remember when the band was there what it took to loose the weight and keep going forward

Hugs to you, my friend...

Mary Ann, I'm so sorry that you're going through this. It's great news that you can opt to get a new band in 6 months if you decide you want another. Take care, and heal up quickly!

Sorry for all your problems you've had. Its just awful. I hate hearing about so many people losing their bands. Its so scary for those going through it & those who sit & wait & say"when will it happen or will it happen to me?"

Be good to yourself. I know your furry babies will give you the best medicine available:0) Sloppy Kisses!

(( Hugs!! )) I'm so sorry you've had to go through this! Be good to yourself & give yourself time to heal! You've got a great attitude!

What a wonderful group of people I've stumbled into here! All of your kindness and support is really heart warming. I am glad to hear there are unbanded folks out there who are going to try to go it alone. I'm SO right with you!

My relationship with my band was never one of love. I felt like my eating was becoming more and more disordered: The constant restriction, making a beautiful healthy meal for friends and not being able to enjoy more than 1 bite, all the PBing which I knew could damage my esophogaus, not getting enough Fiber, and all the darn ice cream and high-fat soft foods I turned to out of frustration. Having your band unfilled and knowing you can't get any less restricted left me feeling clausterphobic and angry at times. I don't know how many times I wished I had the ability to remove the band myself.

Today I feel FREE and grateful with that albatross gone from around my...stomach.

This morning I enjoyed a mocha from a cuban bakery that I adore and was able to sip it without anything backing up. My thyroid medication went down without a choking sensation or causing added restriction for an hour or more, my lentil Soup at lunch was delicious and it too went down. I could eat it slowly and not worry that at any second the hatch would slam shut. For the first time in years I don't feel panicked that I might not be able to enjoy my tuna sandwich on toast I'll have for dinner. I know it will go down, that I will enjoy it immensely and that I won't need a pint of hagen daaz, or warm tapioca, or condensed milk, or fill in the blank (as long as there's some combination of milk & sugar!) as a substitute for what I really crave. I look forward in the days to come to eating a steak salad, a roasted vegetable sandwich with goat cheese, cuban pork,........... I could go on and on.

Maybe if my bandster experience had been more positive and not fraught with discomfort and behaviour resembling bulimia I would be in mourning, but now I just feel ..................... like I can B R E A T H E.

I hope to have more in depth "conversations" with some of you in the future. I'm not foolish enough to think my troubles are over, but I am hopeful that I can eat mindfully and continue my weight loss journey bandfree.

Thanks again to all of you!

-Mary Ann

4/15/03 banded

4/19/03 unbanded

238/200/195 (5 pound mini-goal)

Welcome to the Dark Side Moss!!

I wish I could say it gets better but for me it hasn't. Well other than I never have that awful pain of having eaten too much and then PBing. Oh wait yes I do. LOL!! Well I did once anyway.

It plainly sucks without the band but I agree it is a relief to have it gone. But it scares me to have it gone. Get the struggle context here? LOL!!

Dear Mary Ann-

I am so sorry that your band had to be removed. I'm glad you are back and feeling safe and snug in your home. Please know that I am thinking of you and sending you good thoughts and a speedy recovery.

I, myself, am back from TJ since Tuesday. I did not have to have surgery after all, although my pouch apparently looks the same as when I went in March and had the unfill. I feel like I have rec'd conflicting responses from Dr. Martinez--I was told in March that if the pouch did not go down in size with the unfill and rest, that I would probably need surgery. Then this week I am told that the pouch is the same as last time, but it is normal for pouches to get enlarged after being banded a certain period of time (small enlargement like a plum, not big like an orange) and I don't have to have the surgery.

I could have a fill, but the amt has to be very conservative. He basically told me that weight loss would probably be very slow and I would have to really optimize and work with the small restriction I got--1.4CC. This is even less than my first fill amt of 1.6cc.

I am waiting for the shoe to drop--one of these days, I will really be slipped and have to deal with that misery again and probably have to have band removal. Anyway, you seem like you are such a nice person and I truly wish you all the best.

Barbara