mustangelf

Be careful what you wish for. Unfortunatly, the band does not work for everyone. You should make sure you read the complication section in these forums before actually going through with this.

I got my band in 2006 and I still have left shoulder pain from time to time. Did not have this before the band!

hi cleo's mom. Believe me, I have had a lot of the problems you are experiencing. I have had my band "unfilled" for appx. 2 years and even to this day I will choke on some foods and have to spend up to 30 minutes in the restroom throwing up or trying to throw up to relieve the pain/choking in my throat! I followed all the rules of the band when I was in the program and spent my life in misery. I told the difficulties I was having to the nurses and the doctor himself and always it was "be sure you're doing this and that". Well, since then I have been told by a gastrologist that the band causes my espohgus to spasm and I've had another band doctor look at my xrays and he said the band is not for me and I should have it out. I was a self pay patient and I probably will have to pay for the removal, so I have yet to have it taken out. Oh, the left shoulder pain you are talking about, I have had the pain since day one of having this da&^ band and it has nothing to do with the "gases" of surgery, so that is just BS! I went to a shoulder doctor about that and xrays, etc. he found nothing wrong with my shoulder.Oh, yes, people loose weight with the band, but there needs to a validation for people that are going through misery with the band and we need our struggles addressed by our surgeons instead of trying to say we didn't follow the program!!!:confused:

I am considering removal and I have had left shoulder pain all along since being banded in 2006. Don't get me wrong, this is not the only reason I would like it out. I have complications such as listed here with other bandsters. I wonder if anyone that had shoulder pain and got their band removed ceased to have anymore pain once the band was removed? Thanks for a reply.

To Carlene- Dr. S said in November that my esophagus was probably irritated from the vomiting and that it was a good idea to let it rest and remove the saline for a while. He did fluro that time to check it and always did fluro on every fill. He said that I might consider a endoscope but that he didn't think anything was that wrong. I just think that he and the nurses think I wasn't trying to do the program. He never suggested I see a gastrologist, but I have considered going on my own to see one and get his opinion on all this. Maybe my insurance will pay if a gastrologist does the endoscope. I am pretty positive they will not pay if Dr. S does it because he is bariatrics doc and they will not pay one red cent on bariatrics. My band has no saline in it and still sometimes I get choked on things even now. I never had any troubles with choking or reflux until I got this band. Back in Sept '06 I went in for my 6mos out from surgery check up with dr S and of course I told them of my frustration of not losing and the choking (which wasn't as bad as it eventually got) and he had me keep a food diary. The nurse that day told me I was not the only one having problems and that they had recently had two ladies got their bands removed because they had not lost and was tried of putting up with the hassles that some of us have with the band. We are ALL different and some things will just not work. I cannot continue to enjoy life if I have to live the way I was living with having the band tight.

For 396power- I had surgery in Fort Worth with Dr. Adam Smith

This is for was a bubble butt. Girl, I know EXACTLY what you mean. I have been banded for a little over a year. I have lost only 20lbs, I had my band unfilled at the end of Nov '06 because of CONSTANT TROUBLE and my doctor's uninterest to help figure out what my problem was. I STILL get choked sometimes even through the band is not tight. It seem the tighter I got, the more I choked and the more I threw up. I always had the tight feeling in my throat. I became AFRAID to eat anything. I was getting to where I dreaded to eat. My doctor had me keep a food diary and he said I was eating good things but just too much of it. Well, so I got more agressive with going to get fills. The tighter I got the more trouble I had. My doctor wanted to do an endoscope even through he didn't feel there was anything WRONG. But, I PAID TOTALLY FOR THE SURGERY and I can just about bet my insurance would not pay for an endoscope. I am pretty much SICK of the band. It was a miserable exsistance for me the 10 months I had it tight and I just cannot get ready to try it again. I wish I had never heard of the band. It was not for me.

There's just 2or 3 things I want to reply to your post. For one, no it is not acceptable to me to just eat 3-4 bites and then begin to get a choking sensation or whatever you want to call it, it is not a "normal" feeling.I understand it is because the food is STUCK. I also understand that when you heave and ho with food coming up your esophagus and out your mouth that most people call that vomiting. Funny thing, I didn't have any problems with almost constant vomiting at mealtime before the band. Secondly, did I research? You bet! I went to the seminar, I read articles, I had a pre op consult. You know sometimes maybe you don't know the questions to ask. There are several people I know that have been banded and not one of them has told me that they knew all the things there are to know about being banded. Thirdly, PROTEIN? Yes, I am well aware of all the sources of protein. I followed the drill for as long as I could with various sources of protein. I prefer to get my protein eating meat and things that you CHEW. However, that becomes a problem when the more fills I got the MORE I choked. My doctor had me keep a food diary, he said what I was eating was fine, just eating too much. So, I kept on plugging away with fills, and progressivly choking more. My chewing, you say? Just fine, thank you. You know, I'm glad for you, really I am, but I detect an air of superiority in your post because of I guess this band thing is working for you. You need to have an open mind that just maybe the band won't work for everyone and not be so condemning to the ones, such as I that are having a struggle with it or whom are not ''loving" their band. Finally, in closing, I posted on this site because I saw there was others like me, that are not crazy about the band and I wanted to connect with them. Instead I connect with someone who seems to have all the answers and wants to somehow riducule and find fault instead of considering that maybe since the lap band is fairly new that all there is to know and consider having this surgery has not been discovered and that is why it is not working for some.

A little more information would be helpful, I'm sure. You see, every fill I got would of course give me more restriction. Good thing, right. The only thing is the more fills I have gotten the more I choked and vomit. Sometimes I would put a couple of my fingers on my tongue so I could make myself vomit and get relief from the choking in my throat. I had a "vise" sensation on my throat, espicially noticeabe after my 3rd fill. We're suppose to get a quota, if you will, of around 50-60 grams of protein a day. Protein is mainly meat, yes? Well, it was getting pretty difficult to eat protein. I for one cannot mentally handle choking on 9/10ths of my meals from hereforth. Yes, I had told my doctor of this problem and he was aware of the fact I had not lost a great deal in 8 months time. He wanted me to have a endoscope although he didn't think there was a problem. Well, I was cash patient and I know my insurance would not pay anything for endoscope since he is a bariatric doctor! I am still paying on the stupid surgery and I don't want to be "out" anymore cash from my pocket. I guess what really burns me is they don't tell you all the negative things that go with this surgery and what you might have to deal with and learn to live with. Such as, several people I know can only eat 3-4 bites of something and then that's it. Such as the choking and the vomiting. The biggest percentage of bandsters have this problem, if they tell you otherwise(the doctors that is) then they're lying. Imagine eating 3-4 bites and then the choking starts. Pretty hard to accept a the rest of your life doing that I think. Well, sorry I have written a book here. It just upsets me that they're selling this as the wonderful answer we've ALL been looking for when in fact it isn't the answer for ALL of us.

Hello, I just joined this group as of today and was reading some posts. Your post really hit home to me. I will have been banded 1 year as of March 2007. To date I have only lost 22 lbs. My doctor knows and is aware I have only lost this small amount and I really don't think he is much concerned, just doesn't want me to "bug" him I think. Anyway, I followed all the rules we are to do and it just seemed the more fills I got the more I would choke on food and vomit and even making myself vomit to get relief from the choking. I finally had my band "released" for lack of a better word at the end of November. I couldn't handle the almost constance choking on my food every meal!! Now, I am just trying to decide what I"m going to do from this point on. My doctor knows I was choking a lot and he said it was probably a good idea to release it for about a month and let my esophugus quit spasm. He wanted me to get an endoscope done, but my insurance is pretty crappy and I was afraid they wouldn't pay a cent. They didn't pay a cent on the surgery and I KNOW if he performed the endoscope, they wouldn't pay anything since he is a bariatrics doctor. So, at this point I'm trying to decide if I want to try it again or leave things as they are. It is wonderful not to choke on every meal, not to have that "vise" feeling on my throat, and not be vomiting or trying to vomit to get clear my throat.

Hello, just wanted to talk to a few new people that have been banded. I will have been banded one year as of March 21, 2007. My doctor is Adam Smith. I have to say from the start, not happy with lap band. I have only lost 22 lbs!