Hello, Hello!

I had the lap-band procedure done in October of 2002 and have been up and down with my weight over the past 6.5 years.

Post-Op, we discovered that I had issues if I was bloated, leading to my not being able to keep anything down, including Water. This made using the band as a tool very difficult, as they could not put more than .7cc's into the band.

I've definitely struggled, and after getting down to 199 in March of '03, I am now back up to 242.

In the past year or so I've developed insane heartburn and pain in my left shoulder, and I finally saw the doctor today, as I had never thought it could be lap-band related. They think that my esophagus is severely inflamed where it meets the stomach, and they had to take out all of the Fluid. I'm on liquids for 2 days, then soft foods, and I'll go back next week for a barium swallow to see how it looks.

Kind of frustrating and definitely not where I thought I would be at this point when I had the surgery in 2002. But, it is what it is, and I'm ready to figure out how to make it work at this point as opposed to just accepting the difficulties involved.

Looking forward to reading other peoples experiences as well!

N, gosh that's a lot for you to have to go through.. But you're going to make it back from here just fine.. You have to keep the right spirit in your heart and it will turn out for the best... I've had more than one time in my life when I wondered how in the world things could ever get better, but they did eventually.... 26 years ago I had stomach stapling done and it nearly killed me.. Long story short, I nearly died of malnutrition and starvation before they did surgery to fix my stomach... I had a baby in there, and then they put me on a diet to gain weight!!!!.. I went from 370 to 121 in 17 months, almost all the wrong way!!!! And there are more stories, I could write a book.... but the real meaning here is that as long as you don't quit trying, you haven't failed.. Now here I am, trying again, and probably the right way for the first time... coming off slow and steady so I can count on it staying gone.. I'm sure this is just a little bump in your road and that you will be is a good place again soon.... Let the doctors do their thing and get healthy and then let your tool help you get back where you are comfortable... I'll keep good thoughts for you... God bless......... Julie