I had my band for 7 months. I've lost 138 lbs. With my band about all I could eat was saltine crackers and a smoothie (milk, oj, yogurt, banana and an egg) I couldn't do anything else. Last month I had about 3 weeks where I thought I kept getting that horrible flu that kept going around at the end of the 3 weeks I couldn't even keep Water down, my family doctor was so worried that she contacted my lap-band doctor and a barium swollow was ordered. I couldn't really keep it down either, and the pictures looked like it just sat in the pouch above the band no even a trickle would go down into my stomache. So I went to see my lapband doctor and he took the fill that is in the band originally out and had me try some water and again it came up. He decided I had to have emergency surgery to have it taken out. The thought was that the band was just too tight. He gave me the option of putting a new one in in the larger size but after living on crackers and smoothies for 6 months I'd had enough and since we were paying out of pocket for the surgery I really didn't want to cost my parents that much more money. Around midnight I finally went into surgery after having 6 bags of IV fluids pumped into me.

My doctor found that he couldnt put a new band in any way, the band size was just fine but my stomache had slipped above the band and then folded over blocking the opening, the probe could go through but just barely. My stomache was also erroded. He told us that he wouldn't have put a new band in at that time even if I'd wanted one.

I'm now two weeks with out the band, and eating normal food, mostly fruits and veggies which was what I came to miss the most. It took me a week to get to feeling better, I'd been very dizzy during the 3 weeks I'd been sick and even fainted a few times and it took that week to get over that completely. :faint: I'm going to be starting Weight Watchers and joining Curves next week to loose the 47 lbs that I have to go to reach my goal. So to you weight you are still gonna go away!

Dr Pleatman:

With all this talk of slippage and over-fills do you recommend the bad over RNY or other procedures? I have a BMI of 38 with High Blood pressure and sleep apnea. I am meeting with my Dr on the 11th and haven't decided what type of surgery to request.

Debbie

I am finding this all to be very interesting. I haven't posted here in a while because I am feeling so negative about my band. I started having problems in January, had a complete unfill, got refilled in March, had problems again and a complete unfill in April. In May I had a fill done under flouro and everything looked fine. That was my last official appointment that was covered under my one year of everything being covered and I haven't been back since, even though my problems from January continue.

I cannot eat any food in the morning. I can't even drink liquids before 11:00 a.m. For some reason, I have learned my only hope of being able to swallow food is if I literally drink something that is scalding hot first. I don't like coffee, so before I eat, I have to have a scalding hot cup of hot chocolate. If I don't, I take one bite of food and it immediately gets stuck and I can't eat anything else. I can sometimes eat lunch. Usually, I am able to eat dinner as long as I have the hot drink first. Under no circumstances have I been able to eat if I skip the drink. And, during the week of my period, forget it, I live on liquids because not even the hot drink will loosen me up enough to get food down.

You would think with all these problems, I would be losing a ton of weight. Nope, I have been playing with losing and gaining the same 5 pounds for 3 months now. I want the band out in the worst way, but I don't want to gain back the 60 pounds I have lost, but I still have so far to go! I am so disenheartened with this whole situation. I should probably see my doctor, but my finances right now won't allow it.

Ugh, what have I done to myself?

Jules,

IS this a common problem? I sure hope not as I just got banded a week ago. Scary. Glad you are better.

Bill,

I just had my band surgery in Pasadena TX at Bayshore medical center. Did you have any complications? Do you have any regrets? My husband had his operation in June and has lost a total of 30 lbs.

I'll be honest and the stories here, especially being on life support, scares me and I wish I never had this put in.

? Have you been on life support due to this surgery? Now I am scared.

Dr Pleatman-

My original band slipped and my surgeon went in and replaced it with a new band and re-positioned it on my stomach and I am doing much better this time around.

Shleb,

How did you know your band had slipped that soon? What were your symptoms?

Hello. My name is Cindy. I was banded by Dr. Rodriguez in Mexico in 2003. I had to have my band removed (infection) in 2005. I was re-banded 6 months later. That was 2 yrs ago. Now, I seem to have erosion. I am going to have to have my second band removed this month. I am going back to Mexico. I have chosen to have the vertical sleeve gastrectomy done. I cannot imagine ever being fat again. I gained 30 pounds in the 6 months that I was without my band and I worked out 4 days a week to try NOT to gain weight!!! I have researched the vertical sleeve and I believe that is the way I will go.

Cindy, good luck with your sleeve. Sorry to hear about your current erosion.

By the way, Even though I had my band removed, was re-banded and will have it removed a second time.....I am still glad I had it done! I lost all of my weight and I am a different person now and I love who I am now. Yes, it was a lot of trouble and expense, but I would not have lost it otherwise. That is why I will have the vertical sleeve done. I don't want to be fat ever again!

The problems were not the fault of my doctor or me. It was just not meant to be.

Thanks Julie!! It'll be okay! It's all good!! I'm thin and it's only money!!! LOL!

Has anyone here had vertical sleeve gastrectomy? Anyone want to share their experience with me? It would be greatly appreciated!

My band was removed Saturday as an emergency. Problem is that I am having problems eating anything more than Soup.

I am getting a lot of pain in my stomach. Did you have that problem?

Terry In Florida:help:

Be so careful, because I had the same problems and my band had slipped! I started vomiting blood and that was how they found out.

Terry in Florida

what happens to your stomach when you get erosion. does it heal and the erosion goes away. or is erosion permenant??? i would think that scare tissue would form and it would heal after a while. what do the docs tell you about that? sorry you had to suffer and all the money you had to spend........

This reply will probably not be very popular, even on this thread. I was banded about 1.5 years ago. I lost about 15 pounds before the surgery and another 30+ shortly thereafter...much due to limited eating (protein shakes and soft foods) as well as a great deal of exercise. During this time, I was regularly PB'ing as well as just plain vomiting. Numerous attempts were made to find the ostensible "sweet spot" but either there was no restriction or I was vomiting. When I first mentioned to my surgeon some months ago that perhaps the band was not for me, he said that he had never had to remove one...thus cowed, I agreed to give it another shot. After yet another adjustment and several more months of vomiting due to as little as a sip of liquid or a small, well-chewed bite of egg, I flat out told him I wanted it removed. I never knew when the vomiting would happen....sometimes in my waste basket at work, other times I managed to make it to the nearest sink or toilet,several times in a napkin at a restaurant...definitely no way to live. By the way, I should tell you that during all this intermittent vomiting, I also managed to re-gain all the weight I had lost except for my pre-band loss, as when I wasn't vomiting, I had no restriction. About a month ago, I quit all the low/no fat junk as well as processed foods and went to "real foods", ie, organic raw milk (yes, real, creamy full-fledged milk), meat, butter, eggs, cheese, vegetables. I am now easily sated and have lost 11 pounds. In addition, I feel terrific...my blood pressure is down considerably (108/70) and my energy level has exponentially increased. The only problem that remains is the intermittent vomiting due to the band, which will, thankfully be removed in early November. My regular physician said that the surgery to remove it is less risky than having this piece of plastic in my gut which could, at any time erode. What was I thinking? We fat folk are so desperate to try anything that we will, in fact, try anything. For me, I'll be grateful to be done with it and simply go on eating real food which, unlike the no/low fat nutrition-void, chemical filled junk we pump into our systems, actually satisfies and assists in weight loss. Check out your local organic farms...buy local, know your food source...try sites like the Weston A. Price Foundation and learn to love real food again. You may want to read a book called "An Unburdened Life" which can be ordered from this site. I wish you all the best.

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Scout