I was banded last March, went through an overfill, but finally had a good fill going.

Over Thanksgiving weekend I either 1. got sick taking antibiotics due to a recent hysterectomy 2. got a stomach virus or 3. food poisoning.

At any rate, I didn't recognize it for the critical situation that it was and didn't push the ER doctors to unfill my band.

I started getting sick Sunday night and finally went to the hospital Monday night. Their main concern was getting me to stop vomiting so they could a "cat scan with contrast". They knew I had the band. They knew I was allergic to compazine. But their main goal was to keep me from vomiting so they could do the cat scan. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Not only did nothing work, but whatever made me allergic to compazine was 1000 times worse when they were giving me every kind of anti nausea meds they could give me and I pretty much hallucinated for 3 days.

Finally when they did the endoscope - which I THINK was Wed AM, they realized my stomach had bent over itself and was necrawhateverizing (dying). They got a surgeon in who DID WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE THE MINUTE I WALKED INTO THE ER AND UNFILLED MY BAND. Amazingly, that stopped me from vomiting (surprise). But they still had to remove the part of my stomach that was dead, and of course, the band.

So....now I have no band. I have what WLS would look at as having my stomach stapled but it's not stapled, it's gone and with a WLS stomach staple they staple off 85% and mine was only 50% removed. Right now I can eat anything I want except Pasta which seems to expand :smile:

I swear, I loved that band and after a year or so, if I can get approval, I will go back and get one put back in again!

But please, if you've been vomiting for more than 12 hours, FIND SOMEONE TO UNFILL YOU. This particular hospital had a bariactric group (who told me later they were considered the red headed step children which was probably why they weren't even aware I was in the hospital until one of the nurses almost a week later had one of their nutritionalist come in to talk to me) so they had the supplies and knowledge and STILL didn't do it.

I, of course, kept thinking I would eventually stop throwing up and didn't get to the hospital as soon as I should have.

Hope my experience helps someone out there.

Missing my band :myscared:

BTW, for those who dismiss "Mexico Doctors" the surgeon said it was one of the best band placements he'd seen :redface:

FurEllie, I am so sorry for your unfortunate experience with the lap band. I know you said you had your lap band surgery in Mexico but didid you have an established fill doctor in the US who was monitoring your fills and un-fills after the surgery? Did you call your regular fill doctor to have him un-fill the band or was he or she unavailable? Just wondering what I might do if I should find myself in your position some day. I don't think that ER doctors have much, if any experience, with filling and un-filling lap bands. I think it takes someone with special training to do this. What have you heard in this regards?

I had been using Fill Centers USA and had a relatively small fill of 1.6cc in a 4cc band. The last fill had been....gosh, maybe 2+ months before all this happened and I was, in fact, thinking of getting another fill. The times I was really tight was during my period and 3 weeks prior to all this happening I had a hysterectomy and went from having a period every day (and being restricted) to little/no restriction.

My personal doctor called the ER to let them know about the band AND I told them when I got there that I had the band. Hindsight being 20/20 I guess I should have forced them to remove the fill, but after 24+ hours of vomiting and then reacting to the anti-nausea meds, I was pretty much out of it. It was the general surgeon who was called in when the endo showed the necrosis who finally removed the fill. He hit the port on the first try too! So they had the right syringes (I've heard stories where some hospitals don't even have the right size syringe for an unfill) AND THEY HAD A WLS GROUP IN THE HOSPITAL that for some reason they left out of the equation.

After this experience I swear I think they put the bottom of the rung doctors and nurses on the ER shift (I apologize in advance to anyone who works these shifts, but that's just my experience here). Once the "real" doctors were brought to the party, things started to get fixed, but by then, of course, it was too late. The ER's biggest and ONLY concern was getting barium in me so they could do a CT WITH contrast and the only way they saw to do that was to pump me full of anti-nausea meds even after they 1. saw they weren't working and 2. saw I was reacting to them.

I have contacted a malpractice attorney just to go through the paperwork and see what did and didn't happen. Once I have more details I'll post them in this thread. They may have done EVERYTHING right, but I want to know what happened.

It's sad/funny but while I was hallucinating, I was apparently making up stories on why they should keep the band in there. One that I told my Dad was that there was a 12 month guarantee on it and if I could keep it there for 12 months and something went wrong, I could get it replaced for free. Where in the world my drug fried psychotic brain came up with THIS, is beyond me, lol. I don't even remember saying it (it was during one of the 3+ days I don't remember ANYTHING). I must not have been a very good liar :smile:

Wow! It was the bottom of your stomache? I have heard alot of things and have subsequently seen more than I think I should ever have, but I have never heard of the bottom of the stomache dying as a result of a prolapse. Generally it is the part of the stomache that migrates up into the esophogas or up into the band that suffers from necrosis due to the lack of blood supply.

This is a pic of a prolapse. Just a regular prolapse that occured during a fit of wretching. No band on this patient.

I think it is important for anyone that is vomiting uncontrollably to get in to see their aftercare provider as soon as possible. Don't wait!

I think it is important for anyone that is vomiting uncontrollably to get in to see their aftercare provider as soon as possible. Don't wait!

Agreed. Let me stress that I had only thrown up 4 times in 24 hours. Each time I threw up, I felt great for hours until about an hour before I threw up again. I, along with two of my doctors, thought it was nothing but 1. a reaction to the antibiotics I was given in recent days 2. a virus 3. food poisoning. It wasn't until a little blood starting coming up that I went to the ER. Once I was in ER I was throwing up every hour or so. Again, I don't remember much of it, but do remember even vomiting during the endoscopy (that's tricky, lol) and I remember the contents slowly becoming darker and darker.

Yes, I should have gotten to the ER sooner, but just thought once I got out whatever was causing the problem, I'd be OK :rolleyes2:

Wow! you story is amazing, i feel your pain. I had my band removed 6days ago because my body rejected it. 3months ago my doctor did the endoscopy and said everything looked fine. I still decided to have the band removed bc they had no other answers for me not being able to eat or drink without throwing up. Since its been gone im only able to drink protein drinks and maybe a few crackers a day but everything else doesnt sit well on my stomach. The doctors said everything looked fine in surgery and they have no solution to my problem . What is your opinion? Do you think my stomach will be forever altered? how long did it take your stomach to heal and you were able to eat real food after surgery? Thanks.

If you had such a bad complication that no one would want even if it's not the band's fault why would you want another one?:regular_smile: I was vomiting every 20 minutes my own saliva for 10 hours after an over fill and a surgeon on call met me at the office and took out 2 ccs of fill and told me never wait more than two hours if you're vomiting. I haven't been filled since then and now wonder if something could have happened during that 10 hour period.

I hope you're doing better and the best of luck to you brandyII.

Edited April 7, 200818 yr by brandyII

Hi there

I live in the UK and had a similar experience to you and ended up losing my band, part of my stomoch, having the good bit of stomach stapled and having a torn muscle sewn up also caused by the vommiting. I had had my band for three years and was amazed when told this was probably caused by one episode of somthing getting stuck.

I had my op 2 weeks aga and am still feeling fairly rough. Everything I eat goes straight through me and I still get pain, I have like a permanent stitch on my left side and [pain in my left shoulder. How long was it before you felt normal again. And are you managing without your band.

Many thamks

gaynor

Wow! you story is amazing, i feel your pain. I had my band removed 6days ago because my body rejected it. 3months ago my doctor did the endoscopy and said everything looked fine. I still decided to have the band removed bc they had no other answers for me not being able to eat or drink without throwing up. Since its been gone im only able to drink Protein drinks and maybe a few crackers a day but everything else doesnt sit well on my stomach. The doctors said everything looked fine in surgery and they have no solution to my problem . What is your opinion? Do you think my stomach will be forever altered? how long did it take your stomach to heal and you were able to eat real food after surgery? Thanks.

I am, unfortunately, able to eat anything and everything after the surgery :Dancing_wub: They removed 50% of my stomach and with a weight loss stapling/stomach removal they removed much more. For a few weeks I had trouble with sugar going right through me, but now even that is a breeze.

I miss my band :thumbup:

If you had such a bad complication that no one would want even if it's not the band's fault why would you want another one?:Dancing_wub: I was vomiting every 20 minutes my own saliva for 10 hours after an over fill and a surgeon on call met me at the office and took out 2 ccs of fill and told me never wait more than two hours if you're vomiting. I haven't been filled since then and now wonder if something could have happened during that 10 hour period.

I hope you're doing better and the best of luck to you brandyII.

The band worked fine. I got sick. Either with the flu, food poisoning or the antibiotics I was given for my hysterectomy. Had they removed the fill at the ER first thing, I'd still have my band, my stomach they removed and I wouldn't have a 6 inch scare down my belly (funny they can do the exact same surgery laproscopically if a bariactric surgeon does it........).

I wasn't vomiting often - maybe 5 times in the 12 or so hours I was at home. I had had an overfill before so I knew it wasn't that.

The band worked fine. The hospital - not so much. They actually have a bariactric group on staff and never contacted them the entire time I was there until the nurse on my last day said she'd send in the bariactric dietician. They (bariactric group) was never even told of my presence. Had they been, the results would have been a lot different IMO. But that will be up for a judge to decide.

Hi there

I live in the UK and had a similar experience to you and ended up losing my band, part of my stomoch, having the good bit of stomach stapled and having a torn muscle sewn up also caused by the vommiting. I had had my band for three years and was amazed when told this was probably caused by one episode of somthing getting stuck.

I had my op 2 weeks aga and am still feeling fairly rough. Everything I eat goes straight through me and I still get pain, I have like a permanent stitch on my left side and [pain in my left shoulder. How long was it before you felt normal again. And are you managing without your band.

Many thamks

gaynor

Well, I'm back where I was w/o my band. I can eat whatever I want and I'm gaining all the weight back :Dancing_wub: If I could have done it w/o the band I would have figured out how to do it 30+ years ago! I'll wait until the beginning of next year, but I plan on talking to Dr. Ortiz about getting banded again. They may not do it due do my compromised stomach.

FurEllie,

Good luck to you with your case, that shouldn't have happened, brandyII.

Maybe there are other options for you that your surgeon can discuss with you when you meet with him. I just don't want you to have to go through that kind of H*&^^ any more, regards brandyII.

Oh ok. well im glad that your on the right road to better health. I wish you the best :-)