Not disconnection or slippage, what else could it be??

Tazza · October 28, 2007

Hi,

I currently have 8.5mls in a 10mls band and have had 4 fills and was banded almost 6 months ago, I have only lost 14lbs. Unfortunately I have only a tiny and occasional restriction and strangely was feeling quite a bit of restriction at 7.5mls before my last fill.

My surgeon checked at the last fill and there is no disconnection and more than likely no slippage as I haven't experienced any pain.

So what can it be? I am going back to the hospital in Belgium where I was banded on 13 November to try and work out whats wrong. But in the meantime I can't stop thinking about what it could be - errosion, port infection. I'm terrified of need to be re-operated on as I am self-pay and can't borrow any more money.

Any ideas??

Thanks

Band-aided · October 28, 2007

I am struggling with the same thing. I was banded in June and after my first fill of 3cc was doing great. I then went away and got a terrible blockage and had to be defilled completely. I've now been refilled to 2cc, 3cc and 5cc and still nothing. I have no pain and can basically eat as i did before the band. I'm very luck to live near my Doctor and the clinic I went with TLCB in Toronto are amazing. I can go when ever I want, the doctor is pretty sure I haven't slipped but he said he's going to give me an exray just to see. I hope to god I haven't slipped ,but I need to know what is up.

Mhuire · October 28, 2007

I'm going to take the blame for not getting anywhere with my band. I shouldn't say I haven't gotten ANYWHERE...I've lost around 15 pounds or so since being banded on August 29th. I'm stuck, though. My doc has a list of things that band patients do wrong and I'm going to review that again. I already suspect a couple that are impacting my failure here: grazing, not NEARLY enough exercise, wrong carbs (unfortunately I can eat anything right now), and drinking alcohol (I love dirty martinis). I have an important occasion coming up on Nov. 10th and I'm so disappointed that I won't be looking better than I do. I weight on Sundays and I'm up 1-1/2 pounds. Rats.

Bless you all. Hope your Sunday is sunny and wonderful,

judybellyband · October 30, 2007

A leak maybe ... it happens!

Kat817 · October 30, 2007

Judy mentioned what I was wondering---if you might have a leak. You can ask that your next fill be done with Omnipaque.

When your Dr. does your fills, does he remove the fill that is in there, and check to see if it is mostly accounted for?

Might be a place to start....good luck!

Kat

KINGFISH1 · October 30, 2007

Hi Tazza

Nearly 2 weeks ago I had a band, that I had placed in May 2005, removed after I started having problems back in May when my health started to take a dive. I had virtually no restriction after being filled to the max and unfilled again a couple of times over the last 2 years. The early weight loss of 12kg resulted from the pre op and six weeks post op, and the next 5 kg I lost over a 2 years period. I had a leaky port replaced 3 months out, and then I waited and waited for that magical restriction that never really came. The only time I ever felt totally restricted was during a fill before I was six months out and that felt like the most intense uncomfortable pressure, until the fill was reduced again. Later that day I started to develop the most excruciating stomach pain and swelling, to the point where I found it uncomfortable to sit or stand and I seriously thought hospital was my only option. The pain was only relieved when I was able to constantly pass wind in the early hours of the next morning and when daybreak came I was ok again.

To cut a long story short, I watched as all my banded friends lost huge amounts of weight over a two year period, and at the beginning of this year I had given up believing that I would ever feel what they did. I could eat most things, never had reflux, and hardly ever slimed or pbed, but I was basically only maintaining my weight loss. My surgeon told me I was one of the few that fell into the category of a band failure when I saw him for my last fill in June this year. Within a week after that fill, I developed an abscess on my abdomen, which led to a gastroscopy, which showed that my band had eroded and that the locking mechanism had failed - and lastly my band was removed on the 19th October. I had asked to keep my band so that I could see it for myself. The entire band was on the inside of my stomach up to the area where the tubing started, and the locking mechanism was mostly located outside my stomach. It was very easy to identify what was inside my stomach because that area of the band was stained dark brown with the constant wash of gastric acids, whereas what was outside the stomach remained white. My surgeon has not yet said that the locking mechanism had failed, in fact the day after the op I asked him if the band was open to which he replied that it was still in a tight circle. My choice of words was obviously incorrect but I was still in too much pain and in a fug to question him any further.

If you get anything out of this, I would emphasise the importance of checking out why you do not have restriction at max fill level and don't give up on it. I wish I had done this myself 18 months ago when I first began to feel a sense of unease about the lack of effectiveness of my band. In my case, a scope would have shown that the band was wide open, it could have been addressed earlier and it may not have resulted in an erosion and the 3 hour surgery that resulted to tidy up the mess.

Many of us trust our surgeons to the end and take their words as gospel but I believe that we can learn a lot more from other peoples experiences that often draw parallels with our own. Other peoples experiences can give us the push to investigate something that is not quite right and that is what support networks and forums are all about.

Good luck.

Marion