I was banded in oct of 08. i lost 15 lbs initially and then another 10. My pa felt as though my esophogus was expanding and so he unfilled me and i gained all my weight back. i have 1.5 now and never lost another lb. he wouldn't never fill me again. I am so depressed. Is this reversable? i didn't have insurance so this was extremely taxing on my finances. Each visit is $250 so do i go back and try again? what am i trying? is there any hope for me?

please help.

pattirc

It really depends on what caused your problem. Your surgeon really should have cleared this up with you. You say he would never fill you again, did he not give you any further explanation?

The technical term for this is esophageal dilation. There are two basic reasons for it. Either your band was too tight or your surgeon did not place your band correctly.

If the band was too tight, getting an unfill and allowing the esophagus time to heal is all that would be needed.

If the band was not placed properly then keeping the band permanently loose or removal of the band may be necessary.

Wow. Hang in there and don't give up. Maybe it's time for a professional second opinion. Are there other doctors in your area who might weigh in on this? I know doctors like to stick together sometimes. You might have to go OUT of your area, but this seems like a questionable deal to me. If you are dealing with the doctor who did the surgery, that person had to know what a catastrophe this is for you. I;d be in that doctor's office saying we need to DEAL with this so you can lose the weight that operation was intended to help you lose. Until that happens, this surgery is a failure. If it was any other kind of surgery, you BET the doctor would be back in there trying to create a success of his work.

I don't want to overlook the expanded esophogus. Were you eating too much too fast and throwing up at all? If so, that would seem to correct itself over time if you also corrected your eating.

This doctor needs to work with you. If he doesn't, find another one. And, as for $250 a fill...WOW... I pay nothing except $80 for the x-ray. I've had one fill and one unfill. I've gained weight after the unfill but I needed to. Now I need to just figure out how to maintain.

Best of luck to you.