To remove or not remove??

[LJS69 0]

I've been banded 2 1/2 years ago. The first year was great, lost a lot of weight but then I got Influenza and then Pnuemonia. Had to get the band completely unfilled, ever since then I can't tolerate hardly any fill. I start vomiting, heartburn, etc. In January I was pretty bummed and stopped go to the doctor - unforunately gained almost all the weight back. :thumbup: Last month I decided to try it yet again. The doctor was a major jerk to me and required my husband come with me and then started saying all this junk about how I breached the "doctor/patient relationship" and he wasn't sure he could continue treating me. :drool: We did a barium swallow and no slippage and so we are trying it again (I currently have 3 cc's and seems to be fine so far.) I did call a couple of doctors at another hospital and they don't want to see me because they are friends with my doctor. Should I just give up and be obese the rest of my life and have it removed to avoid future problems or should I try it an 8th time? Just getting so damn disgusted with the whole thing plus my hubby is pissed that we spent so much money on the band, I hate to suggest to him to have it taken out (which is more expense!). Any helpful suggestions????:crying:

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

Well, I would say persist. Your doctor DID go ahead and do a fill. I'm sure he was frustrated with you since you hadn't been maintaining your band, etc. That 3ccs is working (not causing you any problems), so I would say have a conservative fill next time (maybe .5 or 1 cc) and see what happenes. When you go back the next time, if he's rude, TELL HIM YOU DON'T APPRECIATE IT, that you are trying and that you need his help rather than his ridicule. After all the first part of the Hippocratic oath is "do no harm" and I firmly believe that being rude, ridiculing, etc. does do harm.

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

I totally agree with parrotheadCathy

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

I want to add something else .... it's very easy to let illness get the best of you. I know, I've been there. I almost lost my leg a couple of years ago. And I couldn't get around very well and I was miserable and I sat on the couch and ate. All the way to 284 pounds, which was a new all-time high for me...and I never intend to see it again. We can prevail in spite of tough things happening to us. You, me and probably pretty much everybody else on LBT! So please don't worry about yyesterdayl just worry about today. Geez, tomorrow will be today too soon anyway. And if you want to talk, you can back-channel me at parr0thd51@aol.com That's a zero in my screen name rather than the letter "oh".

[Headhunter 6]

I get very angry when I read about Doctors like that.

You did NOT breach the "doctor/patient relationship".

You became ill, and somehow that changed the nature of the way your body deals with the Band.

You need to see ANOTHER Dr. I find that when Drs make stupid comments like that, it's because they don't KNOW what to do. And they try and blame it on YOU.

See ANOTHER Dr, Outside of the area, if necessary. Find one that has no association (ie:Golfing Buddy) with your original Doctor.

You NEED a second opinion. Don't give up on this yet.

HH

[Cleo's Mom 257]

As someone who changed doctors because my first was inexperienced, overfilled me and then blamed me for the problems that resulted, I agree with HH. Get a second opinion outside of this hospital network. Try to find one in a hospital of excellence. Get copies of all your test results, including disks of your upper GI's, and take them for a second opinion. Include your medical history when you were sick, too. Good luck.