I was banded with the realize band (remember all those realize band commercials?) back in 2005 with the belief that it was the same as the lap band, just a few differences in how it is placed, etc. I was banded in Indiana. I have since moved to connecticut and my doctor here does not use the realize band anymore. He said it is a lot harder to get fills to get you to proper restriction, etc. I can't see the Physician's Assistant - he does all my fills with the fluroscope. Anyone else run into this? On top of this the realize band has suddenly moved to the bottom of my esophagus and I have a 50:50 chance of dilation. I am bummed out.

Oh great, that what I just had put in. It was a 10cc Realize band. Do you have any statistics on the Reallize band and it being harder to get fills and all? And did that contribute to your band moving to the bottom of your esophagus? Would like to read up on it if you do.

~~~Stephanie

I don't know Stephanie....that's a good question. I don't know if it is from my doctor's personal experience or some research....off to look at medical journals.

Thanks let me know if you find out anything good or bad.

~~~Stephanie

Being as you were banded in 2005, I'm going to guess you have a smaller 4cc band. Is this correct?

I believe that is correct

It's very unfortunate, but what's happening to you doesn't have anything to do with Realize. It's the size of the band. Doctors in the US stopped using the 4cc band years ago because of exactly what's happening to you- it's proven to have a very high slip and complication rate. This is true of 4cc bands by both Allergan and Realize.

Can your doctor replace your 4cc band with the newer 10cc or 14cc band?

I was banded with the realize band (remember all those realize band commercials?) back in 2005. First I'd like to congratulate you on what most would consider long term success with A BAND. None are permanent. with the belief that it was the same as the lap band, just a few differences in how it is placed, etc. I was banded in Indiana.​If you compare the literature the complications are the same, initially I think the difference was that Realize claimed that their band placed lower pressure on the esophagus. Lap band is high pressure. If you want to read and compare here is the realize site.

http://www.realize.c...-comparison.htm

Bands in general have been around awhile and have had constant updates,so I'm not going to assume what kind you have.

I have since moved to connecticut and my doctor here does not use the realize band anymore. He said it is a lot harder to get fills to get you to proper restriction, etc. I can't see the Physician's Assistant - he does all my fills with the fluroscope.No matter what band type Fluro is a great idea. Anyone else run into this? On top of this the realize band has suddenly moved to the bottom of my esophagus and I have a 50:50 chance of dilation. A band IS placed just below the GEJ normally, did you mean it was below this point on your stomach?

**Symptoms of pouch enlargement include lack of satiety, heartburn, regurgitation and occasional chest pain. The diagnosis is made with an upper gastrointestinal series (.

Nonoperative treatment includes complete band deflation, low-calorie diet, re-enforcement of portion size and follow-up contrast study in 4–6 weeks. If the band position and the pouch size return to normal, then the band can be incrementally reinflated. A study by Moser and colleagues

demonstrated that this conservative approach to pouch enlargement was successful in up to 77% of patients. Conservative treatment is considered unsuccessful when the pouch fails to recover its original size after 8–10 weeks. In this circumstance, surgical treatment with either band removal or replacement is indicated.

I'd go back ask the doctor to do an upper GI and stop guessing your going to drive yourself crazy

​Good Luck and keep us posted!!

**http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3038361/

I guess than eight years is a long time for any WLS procedure. Doctors and medical equipment suppliers learn from problems that developed in the past. This board is full of horror stories about lap band surgeries that failed the test of time. I'm hoping that my recent lap band surgery is based on the test of time, and what has been learned by the medical industry since the early bands were first installed. I'm sure that in another 8 years lap band and other surgeries may be a thing of the past. It would be nice to take a pill and not worry about weight!

I could be wrong, but a 4cc Realize band wasn't available in the US. They came 9 cc and 11 cc(I have this one).

http://www.wlshelp.com/lap-band-vs-realize-band.html

I am actually not 100% sure how many cc's my realize band has. He filled it too tight last month so he took most of the fluid out (I dropped 5lbs in two days). I have kept the 5lbs off but am not losing anything. I get refilled on the 17th. I will have to ask how many cc's the band holds. Thanks for all the comments!

I was banded with the realize band (remember all those realize band commercials?) back in 2005. First I'd like to congratulate you on what most would consider long term success with A BAND. None are permanent. with the belief that it was the same as the lap band, just a few differences in how it is placed, etc. I was banded in Indiana.​If you compare the literature the complications are the same, initially I think the difference was that Realize claimed that their band placed lower pressure on the esophagus. Lap band is high pressure. If you want to read and compare here is the realize site.

http://www.realize.c...-comparison.htm

Bands in general have been around awhile and have had constant updates,so I'm not going to assume what kind you have.

I have since moved to connecticut and my doctor here does not use the realize band anymore. He said it is a lot harder to get fills to get you to proper restriction, etc. I can't see the Physician's Assistant - he does all my fills with the fluroscope.No matter what band type Fluro is a great idea. Anyone else run into this? On top of this the realize band has suddenly moved to the bottom of my esophagus and I have a 50:50 chance of dilation. A band IS placed just below the GEJ normally, did you mean it was below this point on your stomach?

**Symptoms of pouch enlargement include lack of satiety, heartburn, regurgitation and occasional chest pain. The diagnosis is made with an upper gastrointestinal series (.

Nonoperative treatment includes complete band deflation, low-calorie diet, re-enforcement of portion size and follow-up contrast study in 4–6 weeks. If the band position and the pouch size return to normal, then the band can be incrementally reinflated. A study by Moser and colleagues

demonstrated that this conservative approach to pouch enlargement was successful in up to 77% of patients. Conservative treatment is considered unsuccessful when the pouch fails to recover its original size after 8–10 weeks. In this circumstance, surgical treatment with either band removal or replacement is indicated.

I'd go back ask the doctor to do an upper GI and stop guessing your going to drive yourself crazy

​Good Luck and keep us posted!!

**http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3038361/

Thanks for the info. I have a lapband not a realize but the info on pouch enlargment is good to know! Hope it helps Addie1978