I got home from my Mexican adventure a few hours ago, and unfortunately, the news is not good.

I am trying to put this in perspective, but I still cried all the way home. My band has eroded, and has to be removed.

I guess the good news is... it can be removed. And I have lost 97.5 pounds with it. It's just that... I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but honestly, I would almost rather be dead than gain that weight back. I think that's what all the tears are about. Not the additional surgery, or the $5,500 it's going to cost, but that terrifying fear that the weight is all going to come back on.

Again, writing this out, it seems like such a petty fear. It's not like my life is directly in danger, or anything like that. I just thought I had finally, finally found the answer to staying a more healthy weight without struggle. It was a beautiful dream...

Dr. Carmen did say that once everything is healed back up, I could be rebanded. But I have read on the support boards that once you have an erosion, the chances you'll have a second erosion is 50% (initially it's supposed to be 1-3% chance of erosion). I told Dr. Carmen that, and she said no, the chances remain the same, and in fact, may even be a little less, because the scar tissue left over from the first banding makes the stomach wall a little thicker, almost like a callous, which could help reduce the chance of a second erosion.

I will have to do more research to see if that might be true - it's the first I've heard of it. I wonder if they could use the same band, or if Inamed would take it back and give me a new one for free. Otherwise, I have no idea how I will find another $10,000 to cough up for rebanding surgery.

As I was bawling in the doc's office, she swore that they would do everything in their power to help me maintain my current loss. She even offered the possibility that Dr. Lopez could do a gastric bypass on me while he had me open to remove the band. At least I still had enough wits about me to say absolutely not, I definitely do NOT want a gastric bypass. I made her promise that no way, no how, would I wake up with a gastric bypass. She said not to worry - if I didn't want one, they wouldn't do it.

On the way back from the endoscope Dr. Carmen asked if I still had restriction, and I said yes, and she said that I could keep my band until I lost restriction. But once we got back to her office and she looked at the pics, she said the band had to come out. Then she called Dr. Lopez, and he said it needed to come out as soon as possible. So Friday, July 2, I go in to have my band removed.

Damn.

Dr. Carmen assured me that nothing I had done caused this, and nothing Dr. Lopez had done caused this – it just happens sometimes.

Hopefully I can keep from bawling over this too much. I am so very lucky, and so very grateful for all of my blessings. I love, love, love my band, and do not regret one moment. After talking with Inamed and hearing advice from my other various board memberships, if I am convinced that the erosion rate is not increased, and I can somehow find the funds, I will get rebanded after everything is healed up. I’m afraid it may be hard to convince me, though, that this won’t just happen to me again.

Now it is time for me to play the grateful game:

1. I am so grateful I was able to have the initial surgery, and have an unremarkable recovery.

2. I am so grateful to have lost 97.5 pounds virtually effortlessly.

3. I am so grateful I have made such wonderful bandster friends.

4. I am so grateful that my erosion was discovered before gastric juices started leaking into my abdominal cavity and really caused serious problems.

5. I am so grateful I have the money to pay for the band’s removal.

6. As much as I will miss my band, I won’t miss the annoyance of my port and tubing.

7. I am so grateful I made the time to have therapy for my compulsive overeating problem, and pray all that I have learned through that and over the past 17 months will help me keep off the weight I’ve lost.

8. I am so grateful to have my health.

9. I am of course grateful for my wonderful, supportive, and loving BF, family and friends.

10. I am so grateful to have a wonderful job, and a decent income where I can own my own home, and reliable transportation.

The grateful list could go on, and on, and on.

Here are the pics from the endoscopy.

A rough translation of some of the gastroentologist’s written comments:

The body of the stomach and part of the antro is deformed (pic 4) by foldings that go through this zone and which is an extension of the round portion of mucus formed by the band which is observed in the cardias (valve between the esophagus and stomach). The posterior part of this round part of mucus and penetration of the band in 40% of it (pics 2&3)

Hi Donali,

Like everyone else, you have been a mega inspiration to me. I can't believe that this is happening to you. Out of all the people in this board you have been the open book of knowledge in band care and a wealth of information on living with the band. I hope the 1-3% erosion statistic is an accurate one. I still am just totally shocked about this. Do not give up though, maintain your eating habits.

I called my insurance twice before I was banded to see if they would pay for any emergency type of situation regarding the band. They would not pay for the band to be placed but both times I called they said they would cover ANY emergencies. I would try to have the removal done in the U.S. and paid for by the insurance. Save your money towards the possibility of future banding. Best wishes, Teresa

I'm so sorry to hear of your erosion. It seems like your body knew what was wrong since you went to get the band checked first. Our bodies are so amazing. I wish you speedy healing and a good outcome through this very difficult procedure.

Please continue to post and stay close to this wonderful banded family.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm so sorry, Donali. I can't imagine how terrified you are. You're heart must be broken. Mine is for you.

I want to make a promise to you- I will no longer take my band for granted. That's right, I've been trying to work around my band. Your story tonight has made me realize that the band is a gift that must not be taken for granted.

I'm glad you can see things to be grateful for. You are a strong and brave woman, and I know that you and your doctors will make the best decision for you about rebanding. Whatever happens, know that there are many of us out here rooting for you.

I will be making the most of my band in your honor. In fact, I'm going to name her after you. I've been thinking of giving her a name and just could never come up with the right one. Up to now it's been "Mrs. Onemorebiteplease". Well, now I have a name that will remind me every time I say it that I have been handed a miracle and it could be taken away at any time.

Please let us know how we can help.

Megan

Donali,

I'm so sorry to hear about this...the good thing is you can be rebanded right? My thoughts and prayers go out to you...I hope you don't disappear after you have your band removed...your too much of an assett!

Oh, you guys, you all make me weep with appreciation for your care and concern. Really, and truly, you have no idea how much your messages have meant to me.

There are so many posts and emails I would like to respond to, but wouldn't you know that today I have a new person starting, and I have to train him, and I will have virtually no time at work to not work...

And, my aunt and cousin are in town for the week from Ohio, so I have virtually no time to hang out on the boards after work this week, either. I just want you to know that right now, being here on lapbandtalk is the only place I want to be.

But, duty calls, so I have to put this on hold temporarily. Please do not think I have gone into hiding, or anything like that. I will try to check in as much as possible, but it's not going to be every 5 minutes like usual...

I am having "Come to Jesus" meetings with myself about my food addiction, and believe me, I will share with you everything I am thinking and feeling and planning in that regard - it's just going to be a little delayed.

In the meantime I know I can count on all of you not only for your awesome support of me, but of all the others who are seeking support here that I would normally try and help. I will try and catch up with those posts, but you know how easy it is to lose a thread if you don't respond right away, and your cookie marks it as "read", and then it doesn't come up again.

Megan - gosh... I am beyond flattered, and I am there with you - part of my "Come to Jesus" meetings with myself was the acknowledgement that I took my band for granted, and let it do for me a lot of the things I should have been doing for myself. That's great as long as you have a band!!! But I missed a lot of opportunities to grow myself by doing that.

More on all this later. You guys totally rock.

I wish that I could say that I have any advise...but I don't I am so new to this I did not even know that it could happen that soon. I thought the erosion took several years (15) I will keep you in my prayers and I agree I wouldn't have the gastric bypass done either.

Rica

I hope you will be okay

Hiya Kittenchops, it's so nice seeing all your friends here. And yes, the silly purple bra will be on the bidding block by the end of the week! All proceeds to Donali. Can some answer what the VGB is? Vertical gastric banding? It's important for all of us to keep our options open and to always have emergency back up plans/doctors and annual scopey-tests. It's not just Donali's problem, it could and will unfortunately happen to more of us based on the numbers. I put myself in Donali's shoes and remembered her begging Lopez NOT to give her a gastric bypass when he removes her band as a second option. What scares me is that I decided against a gastric bypass, which my insurance would have paid 100% for, and self-paid (well, maybe I'll make a payment to that credit card one day) to get banded. But after all I've been through, and after all the weight I've lost, I'm afraid I'd opt for the bypass if my band ever goes south. Either that, or I'll lose my mind and they'll have to lock me in a rubber room and feed me with a tube, which naturally insurance will pay for (but not for a safe band in the U.S.), however it WILL keep the weight off. This post taught me alot. Thanks girlies for all the info. I had no idea they removed bands in France after 4 years. That's very comforting because I just don't think I have the kind of body that will accept a foreign object in me for so long. French doctors must have a lot of sucessful patients who have kept the weight off after being banded in order to continue this practice. So if that's the case, thanks for the big ol' pumpkinload of hope!

In answer to the question of whether anyone has been banded over 4 years, Dr. Fisher in Las Vegas holds required seminars that you must attend in order to get a consultation with him. You listen to 3 hours of Band vs. Bypass. He doesn't sell one over the other, in fact he forces patients to make the final decision. But he said he does fills for 2 women who were banded in Europe 10 years ago (a mother and her daughter.) I don't know if it's true or not, but he said it in front of about 200 people. Unfortunately, his insurance won't let him touch Mexican patients. Ole'

Holding my breath for 4 years just in case....

xoxo, ME-o.

Hey Lisa,

The vertival gastric banding is a little less drastic than the gastric bypass in that is doesn't re-route or remove any of the small intestine... but it is permanent and non-adjustable. Most insurance companies cover this procedure as well as the GBP. From what I can recall from the seminar I attended... they staple off the upper portion of your stomach and restrict the opening into the smaller pouch that is remaining... there is then another small opening that empties into the lower portion of the stomach. There is no malabsorption with this procedure. There was one person there representing this procedure because her insurance would not cover the Lap Band and she was very pleased with the results. That would have been my second choice... and now am wondering if it should have been my first choice???? I've been backing off from the board as some of the things I am reading are freaking me out... trying to keep it in perspective but it is hard with my surgery coming up next week. I am fairly certain I am making the right choice but am worried more than I was before. I still know that I DO NOT want the gastric bypass... but will be asking a million and one questions tomorrow at my pre-op H&P appointment.

Hope that helps ya...

((((hugs))))

Darcy

Donali....I am so sad for you. I cannot believe this has happened. I am terrified knowing you did all the right things and this happened. I am re-dedicating myself to make the most of the time I have my band. I know if anything happens to me and mine band I would not be able to afford to re-band. I have been gettting lax in my eating and vow to go forward with new fervor.

Thank you for all your advice and inspiration. You are appreciated.

Carolyn

I see that I am a little late in adding my well wishes, but they mean as much just the same... My thoughts and prayers are with you and I hope that you will recover nicely and can get re-banded real soon.

Take Care,

Nursey, thanks for the info, but don't let these boards scare you. I posted all my horror stories for informative purposes and for hugs and support. The only thing you should worry about is to make sure you have plenty of information and weigh out all the pros and cons of the doctors before going forward. The only thing I regret is my choice of doctors and not spending enough time talking to a whole bunch of his patients first. Perhaps my surgeon is tops in his field, but a surgeon is only as good as his staff and aftercare, and I understand there are plenty of excellent doctors who offer the whole package. Sorry if I scared anyone, but better to be aware than blind like I was.

Distraught was how I felt Sunday when I first read this post and I'm still sad. This is all I've been thinking about, I hope you can feel the vibes I'm sending.

Yes it could happen to anyone but you really don't deserve this. Definitely makes me think about how I'm treating my band, the foods I eat, and the band rules.

Catching up on my reading today I see so many of us are feeling the same way, thinking the same things. Just in the last few weeks I've been inundated with how good I look but in the back of my head I think it could be all gone, this could happen to me. It's a real eye opener.

Thanks for all the erosion info. I'm interested in the different band types and erosion percentages as well as port infection/causes for erosion. I have the AMI, J&J Swedish band which is "taller" then the Inamed band and has a titanium port. I have done some comparisons when I was first banded but didn't see many differences, they work the same and the same rules apply...

Any research you conduct is always appreciated.

Donali, could you please tell me what made you go check with your doc when you found out you had erosion? What were your symptoms? I tried to look back at the posts but could only find the one when you came back from the doc and found out.

Hi Chris -

Here's the post from page one of this thread:

I can't tell you all how much it means to have all this support. To quote beloved DeLarla, "I'm feeling the love."

To fill in a few of the gaps in this particular post (for those of you who didn't read/remember my "gall bladder" attack post, here's some of the background missing. I had just been doing research on erosion coincidentally. Or maybe all that research CAUSED my erosion... lol THAT's it...

I have not had any problems/symptoms. I had no reason to go to TJ for this follow-up, except that on Thursday, 6/3/04 I had what felt exactly like an intense gall bladder attack. I had severe pain in my back about band height, and pressure/heat radiating inside from the area around the top of my stomach. I felt like if I could just burp/fart/have a bowel movement, I would feel better. That's EXACTLY how my bad gall bladder attacks felt.

None of those things happened, and I had my sister race me home from work - I didn't feel as though I could even drive. After two hours or so from the onset, the attack went away, and I have been attack-free since. Just like my old gall bladder attacks.

Since I don't have a gall bladder anymore, and have never had these symptoms again since I had it out (June 1992), I was concerned. I really didn't think it had anything to do with the band (and it still may NOT - I did a bunch of googling on post-gall bladder removal attacks, and there was tons of info - I figured it was very likely that I had formed a stone in my bile duct - that could still be the reason for the attack), but decided that since I never had bothered to have my annual band check-up yet, I should go do that before I see my PCP on 6/30. I didn't want the band to be a suspect in hunting down the gall bladder attack cause. I was CERTAIN there was nothing wrong with my band - I have good restriction, no stomach pain, no reflux, no problems what-so-ever. My port has been bugging me this past week, but that's a constant come and go thing with me.

It's almost funny that this attack came on WHILE I was reading articles about erosion... I almost feared the whole experience was psychosomatic, since it came on so suddenly with no obvious provocation. I thought, geez, not only can you psyche yourself into fainting off the toilet while reading vericose veins articles, you can psyche yourself into some sort of attack by reading band erosion articles! What a maroon!

So. That's why I went for the endoscopy. Normal, prescribed band maintenance. With a little push from a bizarre gall bladder-like attack. Which still may have nothing to do with the band.

My advice to you all (and I can only imagine how frightened you all must feel, 'cause I felt the same way when someone posted stuff like this): Do your regular band maintenance. That means once a year you should have an endscopy - that is NOT if you're having problems. It's my understanding that's a regular part of an annual band check-up. I do not hear of people doing it though, so maybe it's not? But that's what my doc said at the seminar I attended in late October, so it's been on my mind to have it done. I just hadn't gotten around to it.

So thanks be to the fates, or whatever, that I had the attack, which forced me to do what I had planned on doing anyway.

And I hope, and pray, and wish that I can be the 1-3% in your guys' lives, and that this doesn't happen to any of you. I think that would only be fair. And if my being the fall guy could ensure that, then I am happy to do it.

You're all very welcome.

Hey, you said DeLarla again! But I'm not feelin' the love, Don... where ya been, Sugar Pop?