Meduseld

I haven't been on here in a while, so I'm kinda glad to be back. In July, I had a Lap-Band, which I lost 125 pounds on, changed to a gastric sleeve. I had lost 125 pounds, and then gained it all back plus some. Since I got my sleeve, I've lost 31 pounds since July. That's it. I'm way behind. I know for a fact that I have stretched my sleeve, and I feel that I don't have the control over the amount of food that goes into my stomach that I did with the Band, and I really need to shrink my sleeve again. It is WAY too easy to keep food down that I don't have room for when compared to the Band. Then there comes the problem that I live in a dorm on a college campus, so my food options are VERY limited. I get my apartment next year where I can cook my own meals, but for now, I'm kind of limited to what I can keep in my dorm. I live in a world full of junk food, alcohol, and bad habits, and it's SO HARD to get out of it. Is there any way I can shrink the sleeve back down? Any suggestions for a college student? I'm so disappointed in myself and I just pray that I haven't done irreversible damage to my sleeve. That guilt is really crushing, and I am scared to death I'm going to remain fat.

They say 20%, but I was talking to my surgeon the other day and new statistics are showing that on or over 50% of patients have to have surgical intervention at some point. This is general. Not specific to either band. I had erosion, but it is much rarer now with the Realize band. I hope this doesn't scare you too much. I did lose a ton of weight. Just know the risks.

It really is unfortunate. I was talking to the surgeon and he rarely performs bands anymore and his partner refuses to do them completely. They try to persuade their patients not to get them strictly because of the complications. Every person I know who has had the band has had to have it taken out. There are tons of pluses to getting the band such as teaching portion control and making you aware of when you are full, but there are tons of successful people who are starting to go downhill fast with all the complications. I don't know. It's a good surgery if you know the risks. But you gotta be able to handle any complications.

Just a quick note before I begin: I'm not trying to scare people who are looking to get the band. I did lose over 120 pounds with it, so it's not like I'm resentful or anything. But guys, I've got some bad news. My band is gone. Completely out. I wasn't eating well for about a month and came to the point where I wasn't keeping anything down, so I finally went to the doctor two thursdays ago. I thought I was going through a "phase" where the band was a bit tighter than normal, which has happened before, but eventually it went on too long so I knew something was wrong. My surgeon removed some Fluid from my band and sent me home. Long story short, I was miserable and suffered the entire weekend. In addition to not being table to keep anything down, I started to have some serious pain in my diaphragm and it hurt to breathe. I still sucked it up and couldn't keep anything down for over 4 days before I was taken to the ER that monday. My surgeon was on vacation for two weeks and his stupid butt didn't get anybody to cover his patients. No one. He just left me there to suffer! And to top it off, most of the bariatric surgeons in town were off at this bariatric convention that my doctor went to, so I was left in tons of pain for hours getting all kinds of tests with the general ER doctor because there was no bariatric surgeon to help me. They were on the phone with my surgeon in San Diego trying to get him to call another surgeon, and he wouldn't give me up as a patient and call another doctor, and neither would his office. I don't know if it was the money or what, but he really left me hanging. Needless to say, he's gonna get an earful when I get home. They gave me an upper GI and determined that my band has slipped. When I still couldn't keep anything down, they tried to take out the fluid in my band. Unfortunately, the only one there was the general ER doctor. He didn't know how to do it real well, didn't have the right needle, and messed around in my port so much that I literally bled through a Band-Aid! Finally the radiologist had to use an ultrasound to take out my fluid. They thought the problem was solved, gave me some Gatorade (which I kept down, shockingly), told me to see my doctor in two weeks when he got back, and sent me home. I threw up the Gatorade on the way home. I went home anyway, but had to go to the ER the next morning, starting my week-long hospital stay. Finally, a bariatric surgeon was found all the way in Dallas (one of the very few left in town!) and, bless his heart, he drove all the way to my hospital just to see me. I had my band removed that same night it was so urgent. My band had slipped downward, and not only slipped, but had actually eaten a hole in my stomach (erosion). There was a large prolapse where liquid would stay for a little, which explained why I could hold liquids for a while and then throw it up half an hour or an hour later. Apparently erosion is super rare, but so were gall stones, which I got taken out in December. Basically, I sat in the hospital for a week with absolutely NOTHING to eat or drink. I was so thirsty! You guys have no idea! I had all kinds of IVs, a drain in my stomach, and a line that went through a vein in my arm to my heart, which I reacted to badly. They literally stitched the outer port into my skin! My arm is still swollen even though I'm home and there are bruises all around it. I haven't been so miserable in my life, I don't think, sitting in that uncomfortable hospital bed for a week with nothing to drink. I was in so much pain and had so many stitches, staples, and medical contraptions I couldn't take a shower and could barely brush my teeth. I mean, I attached a picture of me holding my "meals" that came through IV. You can just see how dang miserable I am. That was two days after surgery. Needless to say, I'm incredibly disappointed. Not in the band itself, but the whole situation. I definitely don't regret getting the band at all! It did help me lose over 120 pounds. But anything that could have gone wrong, did. Gall stones, slippage, erosion... I know they say that only 20% of people need surgical intervention to fix their band, but the covering doctor who did my surgery said that it is starting to be over 50% and many doctors are no longer performing the band due to the complications that come with it. His partner no longer does the bands. I have had three surgeries in less than a year and a half and how my stomach is absolutely riddled with scars. I was kind of expecting some sort of slip sometime or another, but not barely a year out! I mean, come on! My scars are barely starting to fade when they have to cut more! I'm just really upset. Now I've been thrown back into my previous situation, with nothing keeping me from eating. And honestly, I'm scared to freaking death that I'm going to gain this weight back. And to top it off, I have to be on liquids for at least another week. I haven't a solid, good meal in about 2 months. I went 2 weeks without drinking anything because I couldn't keep any of it down. I'm just cranky as hell, I guess. And I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do. I'm petrified. I don't want to be fat again. I was just so happy with my life and thought I had finally sound the solution to my weight problems, and then somebody came and just whacked me right across the face.

It's possible. I haven't discussed it yet. However, the surgeon said that a lot of insurance companies make you gain the weight back before they'll give you another surgery because you are now technically too thin to qualify. So I'm just like "hell no" at that prospect. Plus, it's another surgery. That would be my fourth. I'm barely 19! If I have to get one, I'd like to wait a while. If I am going to get another, I'm gonna get the sleeve, I think. I'm done with the band at this point. It's hasn't been more trouble than it was worth, but it definitely has brought me some serious discomfort and I'm tired of being in pain. I'm grateful for the weight it has helped me lose and I definitely think I made the right choice by getting it, but at some point I have to call it quits. My mom had the sleeve and didn't have nearly any of the freaking problems I had.

Maybe it's just me, but why does there always seem to be more liberals on the internet than conservatives? (I know there's not. Just a joke.) Every time I insert my conservative nose, I'm always standing alone. And I go to school in D.C. Politics at its finest. My problem is this. People want morals and a "do the right thing no matter what" feel to the government. Though that would be nice, it's never going to happen. Though sometimes there is greed involved in politics, which you tend to hear about more than anything else, I have met many politicians that truly are out for the good of their constituents. I'm telling you right now, there are more greedy, selfish regular people that just don't have the means that politicians have. They would do the same thing in their position. Yet these "regular" people are rarely chastised. They're not in the media with public humiliation and shame. In some ways, politicians do have it really hard compared to a regular person if they get caught. I'm not saying political greed is right by any stretch, but if we're gonna label them all greedy based on a few outliers, then you might as well label the whole U.S. population as fat, selfish, lazy people just because of the outliers. There will always be a few, but I've met many politicians from both parties and many of them really are genuinely good people who want to help. Though many would argue, morals are present in politics. The only problem is that people have different morals and when somebody casts a vote or makes a move, there is no way that everybody is going to be happy. Thus, you have the anger and polarization the Democrats vs. the Republicans. I mean, think about it! If you're angry about something, you don't wanna be angry alone! There you get the Dems vs. Repubs debates! The way our government is structured in the Constitution favors a two party system. There are always going to be two dominating parties competing with each other unless we change the Constitution. Politics is strictly a game of strategy and knowledge. I'm not speaking of anybody on here, but in general I find that people really don't understand politics like they think they do. Politics, in itself, is a game. The game of politics and positions on issues are two completely different beasts, which people don't understand. For example, getting a bill to ban abortion passed is a completely different system and process than just being against abortion. There's more to it. People just don't understand all that goes into politics. Though I would love a "feel good" society where everybody does whatever they think is right no matter what and nobody was ever greedy, it's not going to happen. There are much more greedy regular people out there than greedy politicians! The news just doesn't highlight it. Though everybody fights, I think that eventually things do get resolved with this "game" that people hate so much. It's a balancing act. Right now politics is so polar, but eventually it will level out again. It'll have to if this government is going to do anything! It's just a tense time. I'm sure once this is all over politics will return to its normal paces that it's been doing for hundreds of years. ----- And I'm a pretty solid Republican. I'm definitely not a hypocrite.

My doctor says I should take two per day. It's rather interesting. Just curious to see what everybody takes.

Hello all! For the past week, I've been running into a weird problem that I haven't had before. I've been throwing up like every other meal. But the weird thing is that I am not throwing up until hours after I eat. It's so strange! Normally, if there is an actual band problem, I'll throw up incredibly soon after eating. I'm also noticing that when I throw up at night, I have food and drinks still in my stomach from really early in the morning. It definitely still shouldn't be in my stomach. And it's legitimate vomit, not just the "spit up" that normally gets choked up if my band is acting up. Does anybody have any idea what could be causing this? I don't know why food is staying in the lower part of my stomach so long! Could it have anything to do with the band? Thanks! Elizabeth

Double post. Sorry!

You probably didn't. Just relax and go on liquids for the rest of the day. Move on to mushies and stuff tomorrow. If you still can't swallow any liquid after two hours, call. People who slip a lot of times can't swallow their own spit. Pork is the devil! It's really dry so you gotta chew like mad! Those pigs don't go down without a fight. Piggy's last stand!

Shoot me now, but Coca Cola is my weakness. I drink it probably once every other day. If there's no ice, it makes me really gassy. I have to bite some of the carbonation out in my mouth. However, if it's on ice, it helps Water down the carbonation and makes it really good! Hasn't affected my band so far, and last time the Dr. checked (had another surgery), my band was A-OK. I think it may depend on the person. I'm not doing too shabby. Lost 109 so far!

I was shaking like a leaf that first day! I actually had to cheat slightly with a granola bar just to get my sugar up enough to stop shaking. It does get much easier, at least bodily, after those first few days. I don't know what to tell you besides cheat a little. That's what it took for me. I doubt a low calorie carb for the sake of comfort will hinder your progress.

Hello all, I had my band filled today again after about a month of virtually no weight loss. I had .8cc put in. However I feel this tightness that I've never felt before. Maybe it's just my stomach adjusting to the new Fluid, but have you ever felt your stomach physically whine about the tightening of the band? I mean, I can feel it without eating. Anybody experienced this? How did it turn out? Thanks, Elizabeth

I'm getting fluids down okay. I don't have any back pain or anything like that. It just feels weird. I'm thinking of giving it a few days so any swelling can go down. When I drank water at the office, I was a little better than I am now. I really think its swelling that may be the problem.

Dr. Swanson at Baylor or his Southlake office. He's FANTASTIC. Did my surgery and is a just all around great dude! He can get you in faster than 4 weeks, too.

I'm in DC for college now, but I live in Grapevine when I come home and had my surgery there. 104 down!

After dancing around it for weeks, I am glad to say that I, Elizabeth, have lost... 100 POUNDS! I am so happy! I can't believe it!!! Last night I fit into jeans from my sophomore year of high school and AH. It's so exciting. I'm on Cloud 9 right now!

Thank you guys so much! It really was SO frustrating! For weeks I was so close to hitting it. Like within 3 pounds. My body just kinda knew it, liked where it was at, and refused to move. But now I hit it and I'm so excited! Phew! Those Pandora bracelets are expensive. I'm a poor college student. I'll have to find something. Any ideas? Definitely. I look like crap more than 90 percent of the time because all of my clothes are HUGE on me. I have worn holes in the bottom of my two pairs of jeans (besides the ones I rediscovered) because my huge butt and thighs no longer filled the space, so they dragged. It's bad. However, once I hit a place that I think I'm going to stay for a good while, it's SHOPPING SPREE time!!!

Thanks everyone! I don't know what I am going to reward myself with yet, but I'm definitely going to look up those Pandora bracelets!

I know you're asking pre-bandsters, but just so you know... At least for me, getting stuck is a rare incident. It did take a while for me to get used to chewing everything fully and really making sure that it will go down through the band. Sure, it does suck, especially the first time, but I promise it's not something that will make your life miserable all the time. You'll know when it happens and you just need to relax and realize you're not going to die. That's the best way to get whatever's stuck out. Very few incidences involve actually having to go to the doctor, so please don't worry about that. Don't be scared. There are always a few drawbacks, but the benefits are so much more powerful than any few "stuck" episodes!