After 4 plus years I have to say good bye to my band.

I was never able to get a fill as it was too tight of a band placed in me as it was from the beginning.

I thought I was blessed because it was too tight....actually....it has caused a lot of esphogal problems with major ulcers and I am sick n' tired of pb'ing all the time....& the doc said I will get cancer in my esphogas if I do not get it removed....

So I say good bye to the band this month.....and hello to a whole new life free of pain...yet....I will miss my little buddy!

Anyone else been here before...can relate?

Hi freebutterfly, I can not relate but I do wish you the best. Were you able to lose the weight & are you considering another type of WL surgery?

Just know my thoughts are with you. I can only imagine the roller coaster ride you are on, happy that it's coming out to be free of pain, yet going to miss your "little buddy".

Good luck.

I had my band placed 3/06 and only have .1cc fill in my 4cc band. I have had a lot of problems being too tight, pbing, and was put on protonix for gastritis. I wonder how long I can keep it up! I haven't had a scope or any other studies to see how things are going in there... I'm going to ask my surgeon about it next week. Has your weight loss been successful? Keep in touch! Liz

Hi Freebutterfly,

I too think my band was very tight from the beginning, and it was just recently removed due to slippage after 3.75 years. While I'm very much enjoying being able to eat bulky foods again, I'm having a new one installed in the next few weeks because I know myself and don't think I'll be able to maintain my weight loss. There are new, larger bands available now that just weren't on the market four years ago. Have you looked in to them?

Good luck with whatever the future holds for you!!

Thanks all for the replies & the love )

I am not able to get another band seeing that area is in such bad shape.....& as I started this journey I knew that gastric bypass was not an option...so no I will not be getting any back up tools at this point.

I have lost alittle over a hundred pounds...it was a good tool while I went through a divorce and I lost weight rather than balloned even more.

I still have 80 more pounds to lose....one day at a time...the band did teach me how to eat properly, even though I fought to eat period with pain at all times. I am in a happy place in my life and do not see gaining weight as an option...although I am going to address all the issues more in depth once I get the band removed as I had the band to do that for me for so long. (I should have addressed why I ate so much during my band journey...yet.. I was fighting just trying to eat enough and or keeping the food down for long...{I pb'd daily many times a day...played major head games with me!})

I am going to see a doctor in a couple hours as a second opinion....I have surgery scheduled for May 18th...but would prefer this doc to do the surgery...so that date may change.

Best of luck to all of you who are on the journey...the band is a great tool...I surely will miss mine!

So sorry FreeButterfly - I know you'll be happy to be pain free soon though. Thanks for sharing your situation as there are way too many bandsters that love their band super tight and it does seem to be the recipe for future problems.

I have always like food too much (surprise!) to be super tight - if I can't eat I am miserable.

I'm sure your new behaviors and attitude will help you on this next part of your journey. Good luck to you.

Having any problems,? Want to get this done, Any suggestions or comments? I need some answers on cost, etc. Recovery and what to expect?

thanks,

Having any problems,? Want to get this done, Any suggestions or comments? I need some answers on cost, etc. Recovery and what to expect?

thanks,

This thread hasn't been active in about 5 months. I'd suggest starting a new thread with specific questions.

hey guys,

had t

hey bandits. had the surgery in 2003 and lost about 100 pounds. I still have about 70 to go but am having a lot of problems with heartburn and possibly reflux. Any suggestions on how to handle this problem. I don't feel like my band is too tight but my pouch was slightly enlarged at my last fill in. What do I need to do?

hey bandits. had the surgery in 2003 and lost about 100 pounds. I still have about 70 to go but am having a lot of problems with heartburn and possibly reflux. Any suggestions on how to handle this problem. I don't feel like my band is too tight but my pouch was slightly enlarged at my last fill in. What do I need to do?

Are you saying your doc filled you with a dilated pouch?? Usually that requires an unfill and liquids for 7-21 days so your pouch can go back to normal size.