Josh

Been silent for a while so I thought I would share what's up. I've been having unusual symptoms since I started getting fills in January of last year, mainly consisting of pain with the first bite, sip, nibble, whatever. I would be in pain when I put anything into my mouth. Once the pain would subside I was able to eat almost anything without restriction. At first I thought it was normal, or at least looked at it as a penance of sorts for bad eating habits. Surgeon was convinced it was first bite syndrome, so who was I to argue. My weight loss stopped dead, thankfully I didn't gain at all during this period, but because of the plateau, I was told to keep filling. Fast forward to January of this year, my spirits were defeated. There were times I just wanted the band out, but I didn't want to give up on that. Surgeon had started believing that this wasn't my doing, that perhaps there was something else going on causing pain. After a few tests came back normal, we decided that perhaps I was one of the lucky few that just wouldn't tolerate the band. I asked what my options were and was basically told revision is my only recourse. I asked if we could try removing all the Fluid and see what happens (this option was always taken off the table quickly by the surgeon or his PA because of the huge risk of gain). I'm happy to say that once the fluid was removed, I'm back to where I was after initial placement, no pain, also no hunger, no feelings at all from my stomach. Now I have to adjust to not having mechanical restriction, I can eat anything and almost any quantity. It's the first time the surgeon has seen this, the intolerance to any fluid without there being restriction, and he's still willing to do a revision if I want, but I have concerns about any revision since I'm not tolerating any fills whatsoever. I'm not dogging the band in any way, I think it's a great tool. It's done wonders for my wife and my mother, but just want to put out my story and my complication. After all the more information that's out there the more informed someone can be when deciding which way to go. I'll try to keep this updated as I continue this journey, but I'm horrible about remembering to update. --Josh

While I appreciate the link and all the help, I don't understand the need to make everything fall under the "see, the band is doing exactly what it's supposed to" header. I didn't mean I'm never hungry as a figurative statement, it is literal, I could go days without eating and not have hunger, I can overeat and not feel full or stuffed, I had the flu which used to cause severe stomach pains and yet I have nothing. There is absolutely no sensation coming from my stomach. That isn't normal for the band. Not per any doctor I've talked to, not per the manufacturer. I'm not here to dog the band, I've said nothing negative about it. I'm putting it out there in case someone else is having similar problems, so they know they aren't alone and as a place for them to start to stop the incredible pain that was occurring. Sorry if this is coming off harsh or as an attack, that isn't it's intent.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support. I'm ok with where things are now, I don't think I'm one of those that doesn't need a fill as right now I can eat whatever I want and in whatever quantity I choose. My lack of hunger with no fill is eternal, I feel nothing from my stomach, no hunger, no fullness, no aching when I have the flu, it's like the nerve has been switched off around my stomach. This is how it was for the 6 months after my surgery right up until I had my first fill. I have had fills both blind and under scope, don't think anything was done incorrectly, just think that my body doesn't tolerate the added pressure from a fill. Even when I was at 8cc, I could eat pretty much unlimited once things settled from the first few bites. Surgeon and I believe that it's an issue of regulating gas pressure in the upper pouch. I've never, even before surgery, been able to belch and vomiting is nearly unheard of, so the theory is that once I started filling, the opening was small enough that food would prevent the air in the upper pouch from moving into the lower as it was being displaced. That was the cause of pain, once it pushed it's way into the lower stomach where the displacement was less, everything was fine and I could resume eating. Not sure if that's the case, but it's the theory we came up with based on the symptoms and my history. Don't know if this is still the issue after the Fluid was removed as I have absolutely no feeling from my stomach. Also I was told first bite syndrome was the tendency to take too large of bite or eating too quickly when starting a meal. Like I've said, I'm not anti band in anyway, shape or form, I would strongly encourage anyone looking into WLS to look at the band. Just pointing out my struggles with it.

I think part of the problem with the pre/post dieting is that it's inconsistent. I could understand those that were told 3 weeks of liquids, seeing others on here with 1 week of liquids and asking, is that ok? Is your doctor being to aggressive or is mine being to protective. My surgeon had me on clears the day of, full liquids for the rest of the week, then mushies for the next week, but his definition of mushies is pretty much anything not crunchy. So am I cheating, because mine gave me a shorter timeline? Same goes with preop, my surgeon didn't require anything but full liquids after lunch the day before, others are on weeks of liquids. Which one is right? Sorry if it came across harsh, just a frustration of mine Josh

I was banded on 8/30/11 so I'm still new to bandland, but so far I have lost 21 lbs since surgery day, I'm on most normal foods at this time. I have restriction without any fill, and to this day I haven't been hungry once. I can only hope this keeps up. Good luck on your journey. Josh

My surgeon wouldn't even look at bypass unless I really wanted it. He said that while I have 140 lbs, I don't have high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other co-morbidity that would be more easily reversed by bypass. Can't tell you long term how things are going, but I'm less than two weeks out, have lost 21lbs and am already changing how I look at food, which is key with any weight loss surgery for long term success. No matter which road you choose, I wish you the best of luck and long term success, and know that you will always find support here. Josh

I can say from my limited experience, that I've seen a huge reduction in swelling in just the couple days since my surgery, For instance last night I couldn't feel my port due to swelling(and that unsightly fat), but this morning I found it straight away. If it's like any of my other surgeries, could take weeks or months for 100% of the swelling to go away, but I have seen large improvements daily. Josh

Getting ready to head to the hospital now to take a big step in the right direction. Surgery got pushed back to 4:15, so have a few hours to burn once I get there. We're going in early because my wife has her pre-admission testing today for her band on Sept. 13. I'll see everyone on the band side. Josh

Well it's over and done and I'm back at home. Almost no pain, feels more like I did way too many crunches. Apparently I stored a lot of fat around my stomach, so surgeon says I should feel some restriction from day 1, of course, I'm only on liquids right now, so not much to restrict. I just got the band, no plication. Thanks everyone for the well wishes. Josh

So my surgeon wants me to have a sleep study done because I'm high risk for sleep apnea, and they referred me to a company called NovaSom. Has anyone had any dealings with them or any home based sleep study before?

Well after being told by insurance that it's an exclusion this year(they forgot to put up the new benefits information on their website, whoops), my wife and I switched to self pay. That being said, Aug 30 is my day, not even a normal banding day for my surgeon, but since my wife and I are going to do this together he added me on an off day. My wife is being banded 2 weeks later on Sept 13.

Quick question for anyone out there who might have encountered something similar. My wife and I have been looking into getting banded, but until now our insurance has excluded the surgery. My wife switched jobs and her new insurance does cover rny and the band, so we are both excited and get to work on setting things in motion. While going over my policy I find that it has a Lifetime Maximum of $5000 on bariatric surgery per person. I know self-pay can be 2-3x this amount and I know the Dr/hospital bill way more than self-pay due to the discount rate the contract with the ins requires. I have a hard time believing that a 30k-40k bill gets reduced to anything close to this amount, so what should I expect my out of pocket to be? I know each Dr/Ins relationship is different so just a general idea would be most appreciated. I know I have a 1500 deductible to meet then a 10% copay, if that helps any. Thanks Josh edit: added additional information

Regardless of the end cost, I have no doubt that I won't regret it, just trying to get an idea how much to start puttin in the HSA.

Greetings all you bander and soon to be banders, Just a brief hello and introduction, I'm Josh (just in case my screen name wasn't clear ), I'm 34, 6'2" and 355 lbs. I've been struggling with my weight since my early 20's when I got out of the military and watched my weight balloon up. I always set a line in the sand when I would do something about it, but the nice thing about sand is that it's easy to redraw the line, 250, 275, 300, etc, etc. Now the time has come to do something, there are numerous reasons why now is the time, some are the normal aches and pains, some are more personal in nature, but here I am. My wife, who will remain anonymous until she decides to make it otherwise, and I attended an informational seminar last night after deciding that this was something we wanted to look into. We made our initial appointment, we are doing everything up to the actual surgery together, and have started our end of the insurance hoopla. Looking forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences here as we go though the process. Anyway nice to meet you all, and here to the best of luck to each and every one of us. Josh