Hi all... I need some insight here...

I suddenly lost restriction (which was VERY GOOD prior), about a month and a half ago (going on two months now). I went to my fill guy, he thought maybe it was that I had lost more fat around my stomache. So I got a fill. Waited a week, no change. Got another fill. Waited another week, no change. Got another fill. No change, still. So we did some "pressure tests" which made my fill doc think I had good pressure, but he wanted me to get a fluro to see, and maybe an EGD.

Skip to this past Saturday... I went to my band doc for a fluro, and before I got it done, he was optimistic and said it's probably just something with the port. No luck, it's the band. A BIG LEAK in the band. I saw the Fluid slide right out of the band and into my body on the screen in front of me. It took me a second for this to register... I'm going to lose my band. The doc told me it could be a couple things: 1) overfilling the band (not possible, as i wasn't even past 3ccs), and he was pretty pissed about this, but I told him there's no way this was the case, 2) malfunction of the band. Clearly, this is the only situation... it's not like I dug in and poked a hole into my own band! My band doc is going to attempt to get the band people to replace it for free, but I'm not too sure how this might work. I'm scared and sad. I have lost up to 78 pounds, and have gained almost 10 back already in the last two months. I'm worried that if they won't replace the band, I'm back to square-one, and out about $10k to start all over. I know if they will I'll still be paying for the surgery part of things, but I'm just so pissed! I have had this band for almost three years, no real issues, just the usual ups-and-downs of learning to live with the band and how it works.

Any advice? Anyone have this happen to you? My doc says either way (if the band people will replace for free or not), I can definitely get this band taken out, and have a new one placed on the same day. I'm really pissed at my luck right now that the band is broken. Nothing "bad" will happen with it just sitting in there, without anything in it, but it's there... doing nothing.

If you have had any of these experiences, please help! Have you been successful in getting Allergan/Inamed to replace the band? What can/should I do to make this happen?

Thanks for listening and for your support and advice. -

Edited July 1, 200818 yr by clevergrrly
spelling errors...

I fear that my band also has a leak and it is pissing me off. After I get a fill I feel restriction for about a day, maybe two and then nothing. I haven't really had any restriction since early on and I feel horrible about this whole situation. Mad, sad, angry, depressed and worried about how I am going to pay for another surgery. I am going to call my doctor today and express my concerns and ask about alternatives. I want to know how much it will cost to have a second surgery. My insurance doesn't cover anything since I was a self pay. I never really lost much weight and didn't know anything was wrong until about a month ago. Maybe I just didn't want to admit that there could be something wrong. This is just great.

I fear that my band also has a leak and it is pissing me off. After I get a fill I feel restriction for about a day, maybe two and then nothing. I haven't really had any restriction since early on and I feel horrible about this whole situation. Mad, sad, angry, depressed and worried about how I am going to pay for another surgery. I am going to call my doctor today and express my concerns and ask about alternatives. I want to know how much it will cost to have a second surgery. My insurance doesn't cover anything since I was a self pay. I never really lost much weight and didn't know anything was wrong until about a month ago. Maybe I just didn't want to admit that there could be something wrong. This is just great.

Go back to your Doctor and get him to fix it... It should be covered by HIM. My Doctor (also self pay) follows his patients for life. If there are problems that have to do with the faulty band, or faulty fills resulting in a leak that is THEIR problem.. and they should fix it for free...

Stand your ground,

Good luck

Hi Everyone

It's been a while since I posted anything, but I think this is worth my effort.

I was banded Jan 2005 and have had some of the difficulties I have read here, such as acid reflex, vomiting and trouble swallowing. I had my band completely deflated and was still experiencing the clogging of the band therefore vomiting. I decided to try and deal with this but it definitely decreased the quality of my life.

Recently, I began experiencing sharp (ice-pick-like) pains in my lower abdomen. The pain moved from one side of my abdomen to the other constantly. I visited two emergency rooms, my private doctor and an urgent care facility before finding out via a c-scan (the second one), that the band had completely broken away from the port and was floating around in my belly. I had the band totally removed a week ago along with a Diagnostic Laporoscopy ( they look around in the abdomen while they are doing surgery). Now, I am experiencing something that feels like some stitches may have broken. I took a deep breath and felt something like stitches breaking away. Has anyone had an experience similar to this?

Thanks

Shaz

youknowit: I'm in the same boat as you! 2 1/2 years out and suddenly I realized I lost all restriction in January. Under fluoro my surgeon kept putting in 3 1/2 cc and only getting back 3 1/2cc--so there was nothing in my Band (should have had 4 cc in it already).

He gave me 4 1/2 cc that day but the restriction only lasted maybe 4 days, if that. He says they can replace the tubing or the entire Band if needed--and I totally emphathise with the weight gain--7 pounds and counting. :thumbup:

I'm going to call my insurance company today to find out whether a "fix" is covered--because so many of you brought up good issues.

So where are you with this mess now? Please say you were able to get it fixed or replaced with no issues...

Gosh it's been a while, my update to update to update.. HEH! My tube broke while I was pregnant. I had to pay (out of pocket) about $10k to get a new band put in. Well actually, I had to buy the whole band (you can't buy pieces) and they replaced the tubing & port.

Allergan is currently entertaining reimbursement. My doc kept the tubing to show it was defective (it actually just snapped in half). I'll let ya know what ever happens.

And my band is not covered by insurance..

Oh man and as for weight gain... pregnancy + Broken Band = bad.

I lost 120lbs the first year, gained 60lb while pregnant, and since my band has been fixed (Oct. '09) I haven't gained or lost a single pound.

So where are you with this mess now? Please say you were able to get it fixed or replaced with no issues...

I'm going to be totally frank with you... this whole journey with the band, from the day it broke, has been a nightmare. I don't want to sugar coat it. No, I didn't get it replaced, no ALLERGAN wasn't willing to help (they even told me I could just "leave it there, it won't hurt you"). A local doctor (not the one who did my original surgery) told me the same bullshiz - keep it in, no big deal. Well, it turned out to be a pretty big deal. I was self-pay, and my insurance wasn't going to kick down anything to help... the local doctor that my insurance recommended me to wanted 10k for REMOVAL (yes, this was just for removal, to replace they were going to charge a total of 18k). It was going to be impossible. The final outcome... I got a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy last week (Feb 1, 2010). However, that's not the whole story...

In March of 2009, I had the band removed in Mexico with an excellent doctor... We had planned to revise to a sleeve at that time, however, when they go in there they found I was severely eroded in three places, and they had to literally cut the band out in pieces, five pieces to be exact. I was not able to get the sleeve at that time. This was a terrible experience, waking up with no band, no sleeve, and a bunch of scars on my stomach from the severe erosion. I was pretty unwell for a while after that, both mentally and physically. Took me a long time to heal, and it was just rough... So after that, I had to save up and wait ANOTHER year (until last week) to get my sleeve. I gained back 60 pounds during this ordeal. It has been one of the most mentally trying times of my life...

I wish you the best, and am glad to hear that your doctor is at least going to try to go for a replacement, if that is what you want. Personally, before you jump right into getting it replaced, I might recommend that you do some research on the success of replaced bands and associated weightloss, problems, etc. I have read a few studies and bits of material here and there about this, and the stats aren't very good... Many have slips and other problems with a second band, many don't lose the weight they've regained, etc. Just do your research, and I'm sure you'll do what's best for you. I guess the best research in regards to this was my gut... At first I wanted another band, I was so freaked out, I had lost 78 of the 100 pounds I needed to lose, I was so happy... I didn't even consider something else. Then my gut told me (along with the associated research): This might not be a good idea. You might need to do something else. Do you really want another very expensive piece of plastic that can very likely just break again, BACK into your body? The ultimate answer for me was NO, so I moved on... I am not saying you should do this, I am just saying you might want to consider ALL of your options...

I hope everything goes well for you. Hang in there, sister! :thumbup:

i am sorry to her about your leak on the band,, what type band did u have,?when did u get it done?good luck, you might want to get the sleeve done instead,seeing u had bad luck already