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Kissing the Band Bye-Bye! Yes!!!
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Elisabethsew 27 posts
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I'll be celebrating the 3rd anniversary of being banded by getting ready to kiss it good-bye two days after that milestone. Like many of the others who can no longer tolerate living with the band, I am having a revision to the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) on 4/1/09.
Unlike many people seeking weight loss surgery, I have never been a normal weight. I managed to eat myself up to 440+ pounds, diet down to 195 pounds, and then regain to over 350 pounds. I was drawn to the band because it promised restriction. I already taught myself to eat healthy and was not a junk food eater. I could look at cake, cookies, chips, ice-cream, etc, and not desire any of it. Put a loaf of hot, crusty bread and butter in front of me and I was in heaven. THAT I could not pass up and I could easily eat the entire loaf. The band was going to prevent me from being able to do that.
I was a model patient, did the pre-op diet, and went into surgery confident this was going to be the tool that would get me to a healthy weight. I suffer from arthritis and need two total knee replacements so this surgery would allow me to lose weight, walk without so much knee pain, and get me in shape for the eventual knee replacement surgery.
At 6 weeks post-op I was told I could get my first fill. I was hungry those first 6 weeks but I stuck to the post-op diet and was sure the fill would "do the trick" and allow me to feel the same restriction others were posting about. I felt that way after the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th... fills. What I did get was heart burn and acid regurgitation. I was placed on Nexium and told everything was fine and to increase my exercise.
Fast forward to today and I am miserable. The heart burn and acid reflux have now become an everyday event and it's now becoming constant. I eat dinner, stop eating and drinking after dinner, and wait until after midnight to go to bed. Right next to my bed is a huge wedge pillow that basically elevates me to a relaxed sitting position. Sometimes I can get to sleep lying down like I used to but it doesn't last long. I am awakened choking on the acid reflux or feel the awful burning in my upper chest and quickly get myself into an upright position.
I did not fail the band. The band failed me. Because I "only" have heart burn and reflux, the two surgeons I consulted wanted to either place a new band, manipulate the present band, or convert me to a gastric bypass. I would have to start a lengthy paperwork of MD visits to "prove" to the insurance company that this is necessary. If I don't want to wait, the self pay price is $25,000. Unless I win the lottery tomorrow, that is not an option for me.
I had researched the various weight loss surgery options available and decided a VSG would be the right one for me. I never ever felt any restriction lasting more than 2-3 days so the 70 pounds I lost, and kept off, came from me dieting. I eat healthy but I eat too much and that means a restrictive surgery is what should work best for me. Iron deficiency anemia rules out me getting a gastric bypass. My knees are now considered "terminal" and total knee replacement surgery WILL need to be done soon.
I finally reached the point where I said, "enough is enough" and can no longer with the quality of life the band has afforded me. It's got to go. So, after doing extensive research, I'll be making my first trip to Mexico but it will be as a patient and not a vacationing tourist. LOL. Dr. Alberto Aceves was the standout front runner when it came to selecting a surgeon and he agreed to perform my surgery. I borrowed some money from my sister, saved some, and emptied my savings and will travel to Mexico on 3/31 for all the pre-op requirements. Surgery will take place on 4/1... April Fool's Day. However, the joke will be on the band and the winner will be me because THAT day will mark the beginning of a new and improved life for me.
Please keep me in your thoughts. I am traveling alone and nervous... a good nervous. I'm at peace with my decision and April 1 can't come quick enough.