Has anyone had their band taken out due to whatever problem? If so, did things go back to normal? Did the gas go away, did the pains go away, etc. And were you able to be more strick with yourself and change your life?

I feel now that the band is a good thing for many people and I would recommend it to those who have many medical problems and have honestly tried everything with ALL their will power. But I have come to the conclusion that allthough I have come to terms with the band, I just feel it really isn't for me. I can't live each day farting up a storm, having empty painful growls in my stomach, having a hard time drinking Water, etc. It's not like that for everyone I know, but it is for me and I just wanted to know if anyone had their band taken out and what were the consequences of that. thank you.

How long have u had your band Norma?

I had all the same stuff you are talking about for two months except the Water.

Have u had a fill? Can u share more about what is going on with you?

my life is absolutely 100% better with the band than without. i really don't have an excessive gas problem and don't generally have a lot of pains. if i do a lot of pulling, tugging, bending, etc, i know the band is there. occasionally it gets tender, but it's a small price to pay compared to my life before it. before the band, the fat around my stomach limited my quality of life as did the excess fat around my thighs and buttocks, even my shoes are smaller and i can wear 'real people' shoes today. i can't begin to imagine going back to life without, however, i have had my band 'un-restricted' and i found it very strange to be 'wide open' and able to eat ALL i wanted. it was very scary to return to that state. i also found that i was not 'cured' from overeating or picking the wrong foods. i had my band replaced, but had i been left without restriction or no band for an extended period of time, i doubt very seriously that i would have been able to maintain the weight i had lost. i really wish you peace with your band or your choice to remove it! it would be a fight to the finish for me, i think.

Norma, If you haven't had your band but a short time, you may find that those problems may subside or at least deminish in time. I myself dont't have a lot of discomfort or gas but compared to what I went through before the band, I am willing to deal with the small discomforts I may have from time to time. I do know this is not the case for everyone and I wish you the best in your decision.

Norma, you do realize that you'll have to go through another surgery to have the band removed? And a recouperation period? And you'll have no means of restriction to help you control how much and what type of foods. You'll revert back to your old ways of eating. Please give yourself time to get over the initial surgery. Not everyone has the bleching and farts. I never have had those problems. Best of luck to you. If you don't give yourself an honest try, you'll never know if this was the right thing to do or not.

Marie,

You do have a good point..I won't know what I truely have unless I give it a chance, but today I go see the doctor about my port. If he has to go in and fix it or remove it, I want all of it out. But if it's fine and I get a fill, then I will give it another chance. I just don't like the discomforts one bit. I did't really have any health problems before the band, just my back do to the weight. I actually have this craving to go to the gym and eat healthy. But all that seems to go down with out discomfort is greasy stuff. If I eat steamed veggies, I get gas--if I eat fish, I feel naucious. So why can I only feel okay when I have chili from wendy's or a baked potato with all the butter and stuff on it. Ice cream, fries, etc.--all the bad stuff works, but when I eat the good healthy stuff it just feel stuck and I get gassy and pain in my tummy. I amy know more after I see the Dr. today.. We'll see.

Norma, when my port was infected and inflamed and all screwed up, I had a lot more restriction and discomfort eating. I think the port and the inflamation was so close to the Band around my stomach that it added to the tight and uncomfy feeling. After they removed my port, I felt much better. Then they put a new port in much lower, and that got infected, too. But the new port wasn't around my belly, so even though it got infected my belly felt better. I have a feeling a little port revision might be in order, and if they fix your port problem, the other problems might not be so noticeable.

Norma, have you had earlier digestive problems? Perhaps you should mention this to your dr. An endoscope is a tiny laproscopic camera that they can run and see what's going on inside. The "upper" scope checks your esophagus and tummy. The "lower" scope checks your several feet of intestines. It could be that the problems you're having are not band related. I have irritable bowel syndrome and take meds for that (and had it pre-band). There are several other problems that can cause some of the symptoms you're describing. Your dr. would be the one that can give you accurate answers. I do hope you find out what's going on and can start feeling better. have you tried over the counter Gas-X to see if that helps?

Hi Norma -

I am so sorry that you are experiencing pain. Before you throw in the towel, might I suggest that you have your surgeon examine you throughly first, to make sure all is in order?

It is possible that through some sort of surgical error you are experiencing something out of the ordinary, since the vast majority of people who have researched the procedure and decided to have it done do not regret it so deeply as you appear to.

It is true that a few people really cannot tolerate the band - I don't know how much of that is mental/emotional vs physical, but the end result is the same - they have the band removed.

Only you can really and truly know what you can tolerate and what you cannot. I would not try to persuade you to keep the band, not knowing exactly how you feel. I can say that by day 18 I felt pretty much back to my old self. I did not suffer from the gas that you speak of, but even if I had I doubt that I would have considered giving up my band for that reason alone. I would not have kept it under insufferable pain, however, unless I was certain I knew/understood the cause, and was convinced that it would go away in a very short time.

I did have to have my band removed - my stomach started to erode around the band, and I was at 40% erosion at the time of diagnosis. I was not in any pain or having any adverse effects.

After the band was removed there had to be some repairs to fix the erosion. Today, seven months later, I still occasionally will feel "stuck" if I am eating too fast, or swallowed a big, less than moderately chewed bite. Other than that, my stomach feels the same as before.

As far as being able to keep up with the weightloss, unfortunately I cannot at this time claim to be one of the successful ones in that regard. My hunger has returned to the same level as before, as has my capacity for quantity, and I find myself in the same struggle I had before I was banded. I have since regained 30 of the 100 pounds I lost thanks to my band, and I miss my band everyday.

If you decide to have your band removed, I would advise you to seek counseling specific to compulsive overeating to help you after the band is gone. Even if you DON'T decide to have your band removed, I think the counseling is a good idea anyway. Even though my weight is slipping back up, I still think those 6 months in counseling are 6 of the most valuable months of my life. I remain hopeful about my condition, and wake up to a new day and new possibilities everyday.

Again - I have NO WAY of judging your pain level - I cannot advise you if what you are feeling is "normal" or not - only you can determine what is the best for you.

I wish I had my band back, and I sobbed for a week when I learned it had to be taken away. I had been banded for 18 months.

Best wishes.

Norma,

Please keep us informed about what the Dr. told you and your decision of whether or not you keep the band. I too say give it a little longer.

I am in the process of getting banded, need to get the $ first, hopefully in June I can join all of you in bandster land.

Take care,

Shelley;)

Well, I saw the Doc and he says the port is exactly where it is supposed to be and that the gas pains should get better. The empty stomach pain is hunger pains and I need to feed my body when I feel those. I get them in the middle of the night, so maybe a small protein shake will help me. He gave me my first fill of 1cc. He said I can try some mushies and then some solids and see how I do. SO far I feel no restriction. Is that normal? will I feel something later? He did tell me to call back in a couple of days if there is no change, and then he would add another 1cc and see how I do.

So okay, I have read a lot of the advice and the one thing that really got me thinking was the fact that I am an impulsive person. MAybe it's anxiety or something. I don't know, but what I do know is that I will take all your advice and give it some more thought. As long as I don't have a medical problem with the band, then I may be okay. I am hoping that the gas will go away and I may try to avoid dairy for a while and see if that makes things a whole lot better. Thank you all for your support.

Norma, thanks for letting us know how it went! I was thinking of you today.

Isn't that interesting that you had hunger pangs and didn't recognize them? Perhaps, pre-band, you didn't allow your stomach to get so empty between meals. I always say that hunger is a new bandster's worst enemy--and I'm really glad to hear your doctor tell you to eat when you're hungry. It's happening in the middle of the night because your dinner is probably a lot smaller than it used to be, and there's 12 hours between dinner and breakfast! It's not surprising that you'd get hungry. (The real question is, why aren't you asleep?) When I was nursing my daughter I'd get up in the middle of the night with major hunger attacks. Nutrigrain Cereal bars were my salvation, for some reason.

Yes, with your first fill it's very possible you won't feel any difference with liquids, and you may not even feel much difference with solids. But you should give it more than a couple of days before calling for more fill. It usually takes my fills three or four weeks to "kick in" and you might want to see if that happens to you.

Anyway, I'm so glad to know things are OK with your band. We've all felt buyer's remorse, but it goes away with time and with weight loss.

That's good news, Norma. Did he tell you why your port is so uncomfortable though? I often wake up starving in the middle of the night. Sometimes it causes me to have insomnia, so I can't fall back asleep till I have a snack. Ususally some cheese and crackers.

Norma...

I'm so glad to hear that things are ok with your band and the port. Thanks for letting us know...you've been on my mind. It sounds like you are really learning a lot about yourself and your attitude is sure great. If you can make it through the rough patch you're going to do terrific! Heck, you already ARE doing terrific!

Oh- and to keep the nighttime hunger at bay, I usually have a glass of milk before I go to bed.

Megan

....Norma.....Sorry to hear that you are having so many problem's.How much time and thought did you put into it before you were banded.Try to give yourself the same.

I' know it suck to be in pain & hurt so bad. but think about this no surgery is good surgery. I had nose surgery the doctor never told me all the complication like a vain just opening up, having to have emergency surgery with out any thing! they just force your head back and do it...what ever you deside I hope its right for you you will be in my prayer's good luck!

I so glad to read all the different issues that occure as a result from the band. I now have set better expectations for my recovery and decided that 6 months of adjustment period is better than six months of cancer treatment or heart surgery. I have not had either but without the band life could turn out that way for many of us.

Bring it on.