So, I had my lap band taken out last Tuesday morning. Supposed to be a short procedure ...but that didn't happen. The band was taken out no problem, but then it all went bad.

I ended up having a stress-induced cardiomyopathy (type of mini-heart attack) and pulmonary edema (Fluid in the lungs). I came out of anesthesia it felt like I was drowning and couldn't breath.

Then there was the five days in the hospital being a human pin cushion and taking tests, and now I'm really scared to have any further surgery. How in the world do I psyke myself back up for this once the cardiologist clears me?

This is one of those things that you need to decide with your doctor. I'm sure there's way more to it than could fit in a post, but ultimately this is up to you to decide. I would want to make sure that I understood WHY it happened and if it could happen again. That would be the one thing I would personally need to know.

I agree, this is a purely medical decision. You and your doctors have to come to a decision together.

@@bobbyswife is correct. The most important thing to figure out is why this happened, what precipitated it, how bad was it (from their medical perspective), and how aggressively they had to treat you to correct the problem. This is not a common occurrence and the underlying answers are the key to this. Good luck and please keep us posted about what you and your doctors decide to do.

I don't blame you a bit for being scared, that sounds terrifying. There's no need to rush an answer, find out more about what happened and why. In the meantime be very kind to yourself and try to follow 'the rules' as much as you can.

I have cardiomyopathy from rhematic fever (heart damage) and pregnancy related heart failure. They told me that I probably wouldn't live through another pregnancy. Your heart becomes enlarged when you have cardiomyopathy and it has to work harder to carry all your excess weight. I was told that the cardiomyopathy won't necessarily kill me (unless I got pregnant) but I will die with it. I was terribly worried about my heart condition during surgery even though the cardiologist said I would be fine. My heart condition has improved since my diagnosis 10 years ago and I am counting on it improving as I lose weight and become more active. I've never heard of cardiomyopathy being stress induced. I know stress can worsen the condition. I wish you luck and hope your condition improves!

Well, both my surgeon and the cardiologist think this was a freak incident. I have get cardiac clearance, but my surgeon is confident that I won't have any problems. I go back in a month for a check up with the cardiologist and she thinks I will be 100% at that time since there was no permanent damage. In the meantime, I'm trying to eat healthy and not gain weight.