Josef

My wife has been banded for about 4 years, reached a sensible weight, and then stabalized after gaining about 12 lbs. The restriction necessary for that loss eventually became too bothersome, so for some time now, she is maintaining with a minimum fill aided by a careful monitoring of her intake. Even at this low fill level she is still experiencing excess regurgitation (one time she developed pneumonia, the cause diagnosed as reflux creating excessive fluid in her lungs), a "stuck" sensation in her throat, constant nose stuffiness, a general malaise of her GI tract, including bouts of fluctuating constipation and diarea, and irritation of these areas in general. After all this, she is still so pleased with the results, that she will not even entertain the band's removal. Unfortunately, during this same 4 year period, she has developed some significant emotional problems. She is very much in denial, but some are so overt, that she simply has had to acknowledge that they are now a large factor in her life. I am convinced by much research, that her limited food intake can not be the entire cause, although it might have some significance. I have also learned that the GI tract, and especially the esophagus, stomach, and intestines, are not only affected by emotions, but they themselves can cause much emotional upheaval, under specific circumstances. This very fact has been illustrated, to an extent, by the troublesome mental effects of some anti-acids on certain individuals. I am also sure that factors other than the band are involved. So, with all this stated, I am wondering if others on this particular forum have had similar experiences, either with themselves or with someone else who has had this procedure. Personally, I believe I would feel rather uncomfortable (and eventually aggravated), to say the least, with having the feeling of a constant band-like restriction on the top of my stomach, for that is the very area where I experience dramatic, quickly occuring upleasant emotions, and thus, stomach aches! I would also get very frustrated by constantly not feeling well, having swallowing difficulties and throwing up all of the time. At this point, I simply want to determine if and to what extent, the band, and it's unnatural influence on the body can cause significant emotional upsets. I realize that my wife's problems are fairly complex, with most likely, several and diverse issues and causes coming into play. My purpose is to discover and, hopefully eliminate as many as possible. ..........Thanks......... I originally posted this subject under the post lap band discussion for the newbies and got little feedback. So when I saw this discussion group entitled "Mental Health and Lap band Life" I thought that I might get a more interested and informed audience. I hope so, for I need all the advice and help I can get.

My wife has had her band in place about 4 years, reached a sensible weight, and then stabilized after gaining about 12 lbs. The restriction necessary for that loss eventually became too bothersome, so for some time now, she is maintaining with a minimum fill aided by a careful monitoring of her intake. Even at this low fill level she is still experiencing excess regurgitation (at one time she developed pneumonia, the cause diagnosed as reflux entering into her lungs), a sensation as if something is "stuck" in her throat, constant nose stuffiness, a general malaize of the gi tract, including bouts of diarea and constipation, and irritation of these areas in general. After all this, she is still so pleased with the results, that she will not even entertain the band's removal. Unfortunately, during this 4 year period, she has developed some rather significant emotional problems. She is very much in denial, but some are so overt, that she simply has had to acknowledge that they now are a large fact in her life. I am convinced by much research that her somewhat limited food intake could not be the entire cause. I have also learned that the GI tract, and especially, the esophagus, stomach and intestine, is not only affected by the emotions, but they themselves, can cause emotional upheavals. This has been illustrated, to an extent, by the mental effects of certain anti-acids on some individuals. I am sure that factors other than the band have also played a role. I am wondering if others on this forum have had similar experiences, either with themselves or with someone else that has chosen this procedure. Personally, I think I would feel rather uncomfortable (and eventually aggravated), having a constant band-like restriction, and, I imagine, the sense of it's presence would eventually annoy me, especially on the top of my stomach, for that is exactly the area where I experience dramatic, quickly occuring emotions, and thus, stomach aches. I also would get very frustrated by constantly having swallowing problems and throwing-up all the time. At this point, I simply want to determine if, and to what extent, the band can be held responsible. I realize that this is a very complex problem, with most likely, several diverse issues and causes. My purpose is to discover and, hopefully eliminate as many as possible. .........Thanks