PamFP

I weighed 218 when I got my band January 15th 2007. I hit 127 two years ago, had the band unfilled & have maintained my weight loss since. I had a tummy tuck a year & a half ago and I couldn't be happier. It worked for me.

I am at goal after just over two years with my band. I lost 87 pounds & weigh 131 now, you can do the math. I don't want to have my band removed, but I had to have it unfilled. I really pushed it to keep it filled long enough to loss the last 10 pounds. I knew it had slipped. It took work for me to even get enough liquid down. It was one small swallow at a time. I couldn't eat much of anything. I had bouts of nighttime acid reflux, & by the time I reached goal & went to TJ for, at least a partial refill, I had a pretty severe case of gastritis. When the fill doctor looked at the floroscope he said I had to totally unfill the band. Of course I dreaded this, fearing immediate weight gain, but he left me no choice and I wasn't surprised. He also said about 80% of the people whose band looked like this had to have them out, but then also noted a couple of things in favor of me beating those odds. It's been more than a month & the gastritis has almost resolved & after 3 weeks on liquids & mushies, I can eat most anything. I still have restriction on certain things; chicken, salad, sticky rice,etc., but mainly I can eat most anything. The really great thing is that after almost 5 weeks, I haven't gained weight. I have been on Weight Watchers all along. It's just before it was easy, now I have to work at it, but so far so good. I made it to goal & am a Lifetime member. I want to keep my band so I can get it refilled if I need to. I am cautiously optimistic. By the way - I look great, at least to me, and I'm enjoying the heck out of buying size 8 clothes.

I've been banded for two years, and have problems with reflux if I eat within 4 hours before bedtime.

Some people, after about a year, develop a stretched esophagus, this leads to a reflux condition when you lie down at night. The best defense is to be sure your last ingestion of food, or even liquid is past the "little stomach" by the time you go to bed. I take medication sometimes to block acid production. Between that & not eating within 4 hours of bedtime, I do okay.

I have been reading these postings for a long time & certain trends have emerged. 1. Complications frequently begin to occur around one year out. 2. By far the most common of these complications is non-acid reflux and the night-coughing that goes with it. Second is acid indigestion, but an acid blocker usually can control that. I've read several times that it seems those who didn't have acid reflux befoe the band have it after, and those who did have it before don't have it after. I don't know if this is true. I didn't have it before & control it now with Prilosec. 3. As time goes by many people have the band removed due to complications. 4. Long lasting problems after removal seem pretty rare. I began having the problems described in #2 about 13 months after being banded (banded 1/15/07) . These symtoms came as a surprise to me & I found them frightening. After a few weeks of waiting to see if they would go away, I returned to my doctor who said I had a slip & completely unfilled the band. My symtoms vanished with the unfill. I waited 4 months to get refilled. At that time the doctor said the band was in an acceptable position, though not perfect. He also noted that my esophagus was a little stretched & suggested a few days of liquid to help shrink it some. I had 2.2 in a 4cc band before the unfill, but only got 1.2 on the refill. It's enough. After about a month the problems I had before returned, but this time I have a different approach. You see in the four months without the band, though I tried to keep to Weight Watchers, I gained 8 pounds. I am at present down by 65 pounds with only about 15 to go, and I want to keep my band, if possible. I do the best I can to manage the side-effects. If I sleep proped up & don't eat for 4 hours before bedtime, I'm usually okay. I also try to be careful not to eat "trouble foods" (stringy,gummy) & to chew really well. If something gets stuck & the band sight becomes irritated, I go to liquids & mushies for a day or so. A lot of my life revolves around babying my band, but you know what ... it's worth it when I look in the mirror. My general doctor in LA (I had my surgery in Mexico) said none of the complications were a problem as long as I was willing to deal with them & keep vigulent as to how severe they become. She said it's probably the stretched esophagus that causes any food that hasn't passed into the stomach to come back up when you lie down. I expect I will have the band unfilled again up the line, and hopefully will get it refilled again later. This is what I aim for. Does my experience resonate with any other long term bandsters?

I believe chronic acid reflux is the curse of long term use for many of us. It a matter managing it, if possible. I had a slip in the Spring. I had losts of reflux then, but also could barely get anything past the band, food & eventually water. I was unfilled for 4 months, no reflux during that time. About a month after being refilled it came back, but I can still eat & drink so I'm working to manage it. A good part of my life centers around managing these unpleasant complications. My coffee consumtion is very limited, as is alcohol, tomato based foods, spicey foods,etc. I do not eat or drink after 7 PM, and sometimes still suffer the dreaded night backup. This is the most unpleasant. I try to avoid forced pbing because I think that's what made my band slip before. Maalox helps take away the acid burning. I have some Prilosec, I think I'll try that again, but I expect even if it helps it won't totally eliminate the problem, at night at least. At night it seems that falling asleep relaxes the hiatal muscles & if there's food or liquid there, it shoots right up. I'm just guessing, but it feels like it's something like. I think many of us who have been banded longer than a year experience it. Does anyone have more info on the mechanic of what happens? Funny thing is, I'm not sorry I had the band put in. I have gone from 218 to 155, less than 20 pounds to go. I need the band to lose the rest & will need it filled off and on for the rest of my life, if I can make it work. When I was unfilled for 4 months I worked like the devil to keep it off & still gained 7 pounds. I can only take it a day at a time & hope I can keep it working for me.

I have been banded now for almost two years. For me living with the band long term is a very careful management of reoccuring side effects. Last spring I had a slip and, since I do taxes and it was tax season, I just ignore it. Finally I was having really bad nighttime reflux. Many on this site have experienced it. When the tax season was over I went to the doctor. By this point I could barely get water down. The doctor unfilled the band and my symtoms went away. He said I could come by to try a refill in 6 to 8 weeks. I waited 4 months. The position of the band was not perfect, but at least acceptible for trying a refill. Now I am an older but wiser bandster. I guess some people have no complications with long term band use, but many do. In some cases it's a matter of learning how to hand the side effects, one of which is what you are experiencing now. Something irritated your stoma. It could be a slip or just an irritation which could take a couple of weeks of "easy" food. It could be that your band is a little too tight or just swollen. Going to see your doctor is definately the way to find out. It's all trail & error. Good luck.

I am told throwing up is a big cause of band slippage.

I, too, had a slipped band & an unfill, & was able to refill it after awhile. I had it unfilled under floroscope & saw it slip back as soon as it was unfilled. I was suppose to wait 4 to 6 weeks to have it refilled, but actually waited almost 4 months. I'm doing okay since then. Hope that will work for you.

I do believe there is a very high percentage of complications with long term use of the band. I have come to this conclusion from reading lots of threads like this & hearing about studies that are starting to emerge, & because of the 3 people I know who have had the band all have had complictions eventually. Granted, this is not a big enough control study to be considered scientific, but interesting. I had to have an unfill due to slipage after less than a year & a half. I was refilled after 4 months and am now 2 months post refill, I am an older & wiser bandster. Now I realize the pitfall & the draw backs for me at least, but am still hoping to make it work. I fall in the middle 1/3 that "fabfatgrl" described. I'm benefiting from the band right now, losing very slowly, but losing steadly. Even though I have acid reflux off & on & do feel my quality of life so far as food consumption goes is compromised, I like not overeating. I feel like I'm walking a thin line, trying to avoid the more advanced problems like nighttime reguritation that indicate slippage. I expect that eventually I will unfill my band again, but hope to be able to do it at the right time so that I can refill it again as needed. Fortunately it seems that in the vast majority of cases the complications are cured by unfilling or at worst removing the band. I have lost 60 pounds & only want to lose 20 more, but I know how hard it is to keep weight off & hope to be able to handle my band in a way to have it around when I need it.

I my case unfilling my band was all that was necessary. A slipped band has actually moved up & is no longer sitting straight. If it's not too badly slipped when it's unfilled, & the pressure is off, it just slips back into the correct (or close enough to correct) position.

I my case unfilling my band was all that was necessary. A slipped band has actually moved up & is no long sitting straight. If it's not too badly slipped when it's unfilled, & the pressure is off, it just slips back into the correct (or close enough to correct) position.

I too had this problem. It was bad, I could barely sleep. I went to the doctor who did my surgery, more or less knowing what the outcome would be,and I was right. The band had slipped (more stomach now above the band & mushed inside the band making for very little passage through the band). Complete unfill. I could chug a whole glass of Water again. Worked really hard not to regain weight, and only gained about 5 pounds in the 4 months it was unfilled. I could have gained 25, it felt so good to eat normally. Went back in August for refill, not as much as before, but definately enough. I am a wiser bandster now. I am very careful. When I get a hint of gastritis, and I do get it, I take an antiacid & restrict food to blandish mushies until the irritation is gone. I have been able to avoid the more serious complications so far, but know they could be around the corner if I am not very watchful. I have read a lot & think there is a very hagh rate of some kind of complication in long term banding. I got mine 1/15/07, but does that mean we should not be banded? I was 215 at banding & am 158 now. It has been well worth it to me. I only want to lose 20 more pounds. The doctor told me if you are having night coughs and reguritating into your nose & broncial tubes at night, forget it you need to be unfilled. I think it makes sense to try the antiacids, not eating or drinking at night, mushies, etc, but if it's still there you will probably need an unfill. Usually after letting your stomach heal you can have a refill. They can tell with the floroscope if the band has gone back to an acceptible position. I figure I'm going to be walking a tightrope with this thing. If I can avoid serious complications long enough to lose 20 more pounds, I'll unfill & rest my stomach, & refill it later if I start gaining weight, and then unfill,etc & soforth. Here's what I have learned about avoiding complications: 1. I don't do well with alcohol & spicey foods & must avoid them. 2. I must chew, chew, chew. 3. If I don't observe the above I develop a mild gastric irritation & must go to antiacids & muchies. 4. If I don't do this I will start to throw up, which is a major contributing factor in slippage. 5. If I don't do these things I will start to have the reflux problems at night & soon will not be able to even drink fluids easily. At this point I will have to go & get unfilled which may or may not end my life as a bandster. 6. I must be very careful in my eating & face the fact that, for me at least, the possibily of complications is always lurking.