Complete lap band failure

[lbugher 41]

Thank you, @Lady VS. So I had my band placed in December 2015 and I was gung-ho and super excited and followed the plan to the letter. Didn't have restriction so I went in for a fill. Repeated a few times until I went in my last time (probably a year before I conceived my twins) and I told the doctor I was still hungry and when I burped I cleared my pouch. The doctor gave me a little more Fluid to get restriction and when I drank Water it made a gurgling sound in my esophagus so it was too tight and he took out the fluid. He said I was at my max restriction and shouldn't tighten it anymore. It's very discouraging.

I haven't made up my mind 100% as I haven't seen a surgeon yet but after I had my twins I went back in and my current doctor suggested revision rather than refilling the band. Said for 50% of patients, the band does not work at all so he wasn't entirely surprised and it's falling out of favor.

I don't want to do a bypass, though, if I'm still able to burp and slide whatever I eat right through my pouch I know that sounds kind of stupid because it's an entirely different setup and the stomach is literally bypassed but that was my issue before. I so wish I could find someone else who experienced this because it seems like I'm abnormal!

It's like if you had a clogged drain, and then you pushed the clog aside for a second, the water would drain due to the air bubble in the clog. That's what burping did for me. I couldn't control it either, it's not like I swallowed air intentionally. But as soon as I burped the satisfied feeling left immediately. I gave up because of that.

Anyway, definitely want to talk to a surgeon about this. I want a second opinion and I want to know what would be different if I DID do a revision.

[Lady VS 1,147]

Thank you, [mention=144804]Lady VS[/mention]. So I had my band placed in December 2015 and I was gung-ho and super excited and followed the plan to the letter. Didn't have restriction so I went in for a fill. Repeated a few times until I went in my last time (probably a year before I conceived my twins) and I told the doctor I was still hungry and when I burped I cleared my pouch. The doctor gave me a little more Fluid to get restriction and when I drank Water it made a gurgling sound in my esophagus so it was too tight and he took out the Fluid. He said I was at my max restriction and shouldn't tighten it anymore. It's very discouraging.
I haven't made up my mind 100% as I haven't seen a surgeon yet but after I had my twins I went back in and my current doctor suggested revision rather than refilling the band. Said for 50% of patients, the band does not work at all so he wasn't entirely surprised and it's falling out of favor.
I don't want to do a bypass, though, if I'm still able to burp and slide whatever I eat right through my pouch [emoji20] I know that sounds kind of stupid because it's an entirely different setup and the stomach is literally bypassed but that was my issue before. I so wish I could find someone else who experienced this because it seems like I'm abnormal!
It's like if you had a clogged drain, and then you pushed the clog aside for a second, the Water would drain due to the air bubble in the clog. That's what burping did for me. I couldn't control it either, it's not like I swallowed air intentionally. But as soon as I burped the satisfied feeling left immediately. I gave up because of that.
Anyway, definitely want to talk to a surgeon about this. I want a second opinion and I want to know what would be different if I DID do a revision.

Knowing what I know now about the band and have experienced major issues with it, I would say revision is necessary. I just recently revised to the sleeve in November. It's weird because it still feels as though my band is still there without the stuck feeling. I am very restricted and you would think I am half way to goal, but no. I've only lost 14 pounds since my surgery. I'm happy because I'm not gaining lol. Anyway, by all means, consult with your surgeon and do what you feel is best. Good luck!

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[lbugher 41]

That stuck feeling is the worst! It's funny because I still feel restriction with it completely unfilled. It slows me down so at least I'm not GAINING weight. But I'm right where I was when I got it in the first place so it still feels pretty useless. Oh well, I don't plan on having surgery again for maybe another 8-10 months (we're planning to move in March and I want to get settled in a new home before pursing surgery with recovery and whatnot). I'm just trying to do more thorough research now, and find out what I should be doing (if anything) to prepare for surgery.

I appreciate your responses! Congrats on the weight loss

[StephaniePRamsey 0]

I found out today that my lap band is completely blocked. My surgery was almost 3 years ago. I had been getting food stuck almost every time I ate anything and to get relief I would have to throw up! I should be like a bean pole, but surprised when doctor said I had gained 14 lbs. since they had seen me in Nov. of 2018😳. He removed all the saline from my band and made an appt. to come back in 3 weeks! Has anyone else had this situation? BTW I had lost about 50 lbs., but still would like to lose another 25 lbs. SPJ

[JRT Mom 919]

I had a total blockage about 5 years ago. They confirmed it with a barium swallow and even that couldn't go through. They pulled out all the saline while I was still in the fluoroscope and you shoulda seen the barium drop like a rock into my stomach! It looked like a Drano commercial!

The doctor said that sometimes a little bit of irritating, usually pointy hard food like a bit of a nacho chip can get wedged in the band stoma and the stomach swells around it in response. After waiting a while to let your stomach settle down you should be able to get a fill.

Good luck!

[Hlynn1977 0]

On 1/9/2020 at 1:49 PM, lbugher said:

I've had my lap band since 2015, and I HATE it. It does what it should do, stops food from going into my stomach. But I get stuck a lot and it hurts, I end up vomiting it up, and anything unhealthy slips right through the band without a problem. I can eat gobs of cake, Cookies, chocolates, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, casseroles, the works but it is painful to eat fruits, lean Proteins, vegetables, etc. due to them getting stuck. It's like it's doing the opposite of what I want. When the food stays in the pouch, all I need to do is burp a couple times and boom, pouch is emptied. In short, It. Just. Does. Not. Work.

I want a revision but I'm not sure what to do. I need to talk to a doctor, I realize, but I'm nervous. I thought the lap band would be the ticket out of fatness but it's absolutely not. I'm scared if I try something else, that won't work either. I love to eat and I can't stop. I've tried all kinds of diets. It just sucks, my appetite is insatiable and I need to do something about it. I'd love to hear from people who have had revisions and share what's different about their new procedure (whether sleeve or bypass). Sleeve makes me nervous because I've heard a lot about GERD. My spouse's grandfather died of esophageal cancer, due to years of GERD. But bypass makes me nervous because it seems like such a severe surgery... and I don't want to look like a skeleton in a bag of skin 😕 Any shared experiences would be appreciated!

I had the lapband procedure done in 11/16/08. Prior to having the surgery, I spent months reviewing every doctor. When I met with the doctor, he told me there were minimal risks and he himself had the band done over 10 years before with no problems. Almost immediately after the surgery, I started having problems. Within a few short months, I began passing out anytime I would stand up. My husband took me back to my doctor and he said there was no way it's the band and sent me home. A few months went by and I became sicker and sicker. I went months and couldn’t even keep down Water. During an office visit with the surgeon, I passed out in his office. He still insisted it wasn’t the band. I complained multiple times about having very bad pain on my right side over the last few months. I was constantly told I must have the flu. He still proclaimed it wasn't the lapbands fault.

After a few months of me not getting better and having to crawl even to the bathroom in order to avoid passing out, my husband forced me to go to the ER. They admitted me with a blood pressure of 80/60. The ER doctor told my husband if he hadn't brought me in when he did I would’ve died with another 18-24 hours.

The went to do a scan on my right side and said I needed emergency gall bladder surgery. I was told this was very common in patients with lapbands. I repeatedly told the ER doc that the lap band doctor kept saying there wasn't anything wrong with the band. I spent 10 days in the hospital just to get well enough for them to even do the gallbladder surgery. After the surgery, I started to get a little better for about a week or so.

My husband convinced me to go see another lap band doctor since I was still having really bad stomach pains. The new doctor admitted me to his hospital to do an endoscopy. I was told the lapband has eroded so severely into my stomach that he was not comfortable removing the band himself. He gave me a picture of the band visible from the inside of my stomach. We were told this was extremely rare for someone who only had it less than two years for it to be this badly eroded.

I feel my original doctor consistently defended the lapband to the point that he almost killed me. I now have a hole in my stomach and a separate hernia that was caused by him not wanting to admit the band was causing me so many health problems. I suffered during those 20 months so severely that I missed almost a full year of work. I think people should know this thing is not the way to go for weight loss surgery. It can kill you. I want people to know how bad these things are.

[sam96 1]

Thank you for that S@ssen@ch really helpful for me, banded over 10yrs ago, got lazy and now back to pre band weight and after recent fill using slider foods..... really need to change my mindset. I to have considered having a revision but as you have quite rightly said it is only a tool.... feeling enthusiastic again!!!

[LindasBlu 17]

Gastric band - been there, done that. Stopped working and I never felt full. So last year after my weight went back up I decided to have the revision and get the sleeve bit due to the build up of scar tissue (surgery was May 2010), surgeon ran out of time to do the VSG safely. So had to wait until 11/30/20 and finally all was completed. I was told he might have to do the bypass and I prayed so hard that didn't happen. I'm 65 and glad I did it.

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