Hi All,

I am a new de-bandster as of Tuesday. I was having a lot of acid reflux for the past year or so. First my PCP thought it was an ulcer and gave me nexium. I had an endoscopy done and no ulcer. I know that nexium isn't good for me so I was trying to find natural cures but they weren't helping me either. Then the last couple of weeks I have hardley been able to eat or drink and I started feeling sick to my stomach and the acidy burning sensation was right at my band location. Then I couldn't even keep my saliva down so I went in and had a fluoro done and my band had flipped and wasn't letting anything pass. They told me I needed to go back to Mexico ASAP so off I went!

I'd love any advice on maintaining and continuing weight loss if anyone's been successful! I am back on the liquid diet now but would like info for after. Thanks!

Hi there!

I am in the same boat as you. My band also flipped and was removed in emergency surgery when I went into shock about a month and a half ago. It was so scary and I felt so bad. I could not swallow anything, not even my own saliva. Crazy!

I did put on some weight though, about 10 pounds right after surgery. I think that this was mostly Water since I was so dehydrated. So far I am maintaining the weight I am at now. I do miss my band and might get rebanded. Are you planning on getting rebanded? I just do not know if I could go through all the complications again if it happened. It took alot out of my family and friends.

How are you feeling now? Is there anything I can help you with. At least we were de banded around the same time! Keep in touch!

Hey! Sorry to hear about your band too. I wanted to go to the ER to have mine out but I do not have health insurance so I hurried back to Mexico and had it removed there since I am sure it was cheaper to go that route. I was feeling pretty bad too but it was weird. Sometimes I couldn't eat or drink and one day I couldn't keep my saliva down and it was starting to really take effect on me especially with the hot summer weather. :biggrin: But just days before I was eating and drinking. I think maybe it flipped/slipped more or something because I was feeling pretty bad when I got to the hospital. Did you have to go back on the liquid diet? I am on it again and it is so weird to feel hungry again! It's been awhile since I have had that feeling and to hear my stomach growl!

I feel much better now that it is out. They asked me before surgery if I wanted them to try and fix it but I had thought about it and I really don't ever want to go through this again and since there are no guaruntees it won't happen again I just told them to remove it. I can't say I miss it or not yet since I am still on the liquids but time will tell. I really don't think I will be getting banded again. The whole having a foreign object inside wrapped around the stomach just doesn't sound like a good idea to me anymore! I wouldn't be able to go through all of the complications again either. My mom told me how much it hurt her to see me in pain from this. If I decide to have something else done I will probably consider the gastric sleeve but I am going to try and maintain as much as I can by myself for now. I can't wait for my stomach to relax to it's normal self and get rid of the impression the band left! It still kind of feels like the band is there. Did you have that feeling?

I am in the same situation. I felt like everything you said is how I feel or what I went through. I would love to chat more privately through im or email if you want to also.

Take care Megan

I heard you can feel the impression from the band sometimes after they take it off. I didn't at all. My stomach was back to normal right away almost. Now I really have to watch what I am eating and have upped my exercise. Like I said I started putting weight on right away. My Dr kind of wants me to gain weight so if I want another procedure it would be covered. I am too close to goal right now that it would never be covered. :thumbup:

Anyways please keep me posted on how you are both doing. If you want to chat or email privately just send me a message and I would be happy too.

Take care :confused:

I am in the same boat, 2nd band taken out 8/28/09. Doctor asked me if I wanted him to fix it if he could and I said no because this is the 2nd time in 6 months and I cannot go through this again. They say that your chances of complications is much higher after you have had a slippage and they were right in my case. When it slipped back in March I had been very sick with the flu and throwing up which caused the slippage. This time nothing happened, had not been throwing up, no problems at all. Just one day it was too tight and no matter how much they took out it never got looser. Now I wish I wouldn't of got re-banded back in March but how was I to know what was going to happen.

Wow! De-banded twice! That is really traumatic. How are you doing? How is your weightloss? I gained some right away (mostly fluids since I was soo dehydrated) but have maintained my current weight for about a month or so now. How are you finding being post band? Any advice??

Well, my heart goes out to you. I am so sorry to hear about your band issues.

I am only a few days out but I feel pretty good other than the depression I feel because I know how hard it was to loose weight and certainly to keep it off. My weight is the same which is unbelievable to me because the amount of food I was eating with the band was so much less than now. I went to the doctor this morning to have my incisions checked and I honestly exspected to have gained 10 lbs in the last 5 days but happily found that I have not gained a pound.

It is all still so new to me, I am very sad and I dont know what I am going to do

I'm so glad I read this thread tonight. I never heard before that your risk of complications rise because of having slippage. My band slipped in July and I had it taken out. They couldn't repair it because it was so swollen.

I am eating about the same as I did before the band slipped and exercising more and can see that life is tougher dealing with food without the band.

I thought I was hungry the other day (for the first time in a very, very long time) but I learned in my support group that sometimes you can confuse thirst for hunger so I drank something and it went away.

I really do not want those horrible cravings and feeling empty and eating and eating and not satisfying myself. I also don't want to gain back those 85 pounds I worked so hard to lose.

I am in therapy and my therapist is encouraging me to stay where I am and not have the band put in. My insurance may cover my procedure to have the band put in again if I do it in 2009. Otherwise, if I wait until 2010 I may have to pay a much bigger portion. I am so confused. I am planning to see my surgeon again and talk with her about my options.

My bariatric surgeon previously told me that I can not only maintain my weight loss but lose more. Its been two months since my surgery and I can't seem to lose. I go to support meetings, measure my food, exercise even more, etc., and not even a half of pound.

I also found out from my gynocologist that I only have a trace of hormones so I've started hormones so it may change my metabolism and give me more energy and maybe start burning weight off.

I haven't had two months of not losing weight in a very long time. With the band, my weight went down every week. Sometimes even a 1/4 pound.

All I can say is that I am frustrated. With the band, we made a great team but without it, I can see how tempting it is to overeat. I go out to eat and bring home half the food. I hope the people who have lost their band post again and give me an update. I think we are in the same boat.

I keep thinking if I get a new band and it slips like the old one. That will be so hard but I am so afraid of not maintaining my weight loss.

I googled "life after lap band removal" the other day and I read alot of articles about the actual percentage of complications, I read one in an article I think was "Mens journal for health and mecine", not positive because I read alot of them, but anyways it said the actual complication rate for lap bands is as high as 25% and even higher after being re-banded.

It has now been 11 days since my surgery and I am up 5 lbs. I did not eat much for the first few days because I was so sore and a little depressed but now things are right back to normal and my appetite is out of control! I really thought that my stomache would of shrunk considerably from having the lapband on it for so long but that is not the case. I am as hungry as ever and I never feel full. Just like before the surgery, this is exactly why I got the lap band I go to see the doctor tommorrow to find out my options. I really do not want to jump right back into another surgery and as of right now I do not qualify because I lost so much weight but I am not willing to gain it back either just so I can get another surgery. I may ask for some phentermine as that has helped me in the past before the lap band.

Really I dont know what I am going to do other than take it one day at a time. I do know for sure that I hate this huge appetite that has returned and the feeling of never feeling like I am full

I understand what you are going through. Its the pits!

I recall the thinking in AA and OA that says we only have today. Tomorrow is over and tomorrow is not here. We really have to focus on today.

Do you have a support group or other bandsters that you can talk to? My support group that I attend really helps me. In addition to the posts on this site.

One of my co-workers suggested that I get some type of medication to curb my appetite if I don't have the band put in again. It is an option but I'm trying to avoid that option at this point. I don't know if my bariatric surgeon would help me with that.

I'm headed out for the gym. Exercise does help in many ways. Also be sure to drink fluids. Sometimes I think I am hungry and I end up being thirsty more than hungry.

Sometimes it can be "head hunger" that makes you feel hungry and can't get full. That is why I returned to therapy to help me deal with the issues that make me turn towards food.

If you would like to e-mail me. My e-mail address is: e.tippit@yahoo.com

It is very scary without the band. I can't believe I was one of those people whose band that slipped and had to have it removed. I was really optimistic that they could have repaired it (they couldn't). I am seriously reconsidering it (like I said before) but if my odds are increased for slippage in the future. I don't know. I would like to lose another 50 pounds or so.

Hang in there! Don't panic. Keep yourself occupied with seeing people and doing things. Like I said before, I'm going to the gym for a workout. Later this afternoon I'm going to the aquarium with my husband and friend. I am doing chores around the house. I eat how I ate before I had my band removed, I really watch that I am taking in over 48 ounces of Water a day, exercise, talk on this site, e-mail friends, etc.

Well I am 2 1/2 weeks out. I gained 5 lbs quickly and I was right back at my doctors office. I just cant bear the thought of gaining all the weight back. He put me on Adipex and Xenical and I have taken that extra 5 off and hopefully I will reach my goal in no time. I was so worried about what I was going to do when I got to goal but now I have just deceided to worry about today and not borrow tommorrows problems. I am exercising 1-2 hours a day, drinking lots of water and my appetite is small due to the medication so I am going to take advantage of it while I can. I am still sad about loosing my band, I really thought I made a life long decision so it is so hard to accept that the band is not part of my life anymore.