bound45k

I was banded 10/04/11 and between then and August '12 lost about 40lbs. In November I had redness and pain in my port area and my surgeon put me on an antibiotic and the pain and redness resolved. Then about 3 different times between November and August, I would have pain in the port area that would go away the next day after applying heat. Finally, though, in August the pain would not resolve and taking extra strength tylenol did not touch the pain. My surgeon started me on pain medication and his office went to work trying to have a port revision covered through my insurance. I paid cash for my original surgery. After a month, I was finally scheduled for an EGD and possible port revision, but when the doctor did the EGD he learned that the band had eroded into my stomach around the buckle area. This was on a Tuesday and by Thursday I had the band removed and spent 5 days in the hospital. I am not going to sugar coat it, it was awful. I've had surgeries before but this was the most difficult. In fact, it's now 5 weeks later and I'm still dealing with a lot of pain. The surgeon said that this was a very difficult surgery that would require a long recovery. He also said that if I wanted to in about 6 months I could revise to the sleeve. I am extremely down about the whole ordeal. I am so tired of being obese. I have tried every diet/program out there and have not been successful to become thin and healthy. That is why I took such drastic measures in getting the lapband, I need help outside of myself. So, I don't know what to do now. The lapband surgery was difficult, the removal was even more difficult and to consider another surgery scares me. Thanks for "listening"...I just don't know what to do. =(

Still not feeling too great, had CT yesterday--I'm so glad that I didn't know in advance that is was both by mouth and IV contrast--that would've prolonged my suffering [smile]. I will not know the results until next week. Cindyloulou, I'm so sorry to hear about your nightmare! =( I agree, this has been the worst. I hope your incisions heal and they eradicate the infection quickly.

Thanks, y'all. I'll keep you posted. Tym4me, I'm sorry that I didn't answer your question about my symptoms. I was just having a lot of pain in the port area, so much that I couldn't lie on my left side (the side of the port) and just generally not feeling well, you know, like when you just feel like poo, yeah, that was how I felt.

JennyBee, if I go the route of the sleeve then I'll try to go through my insurance. But, I'm leaning more toward not having the sleeve done as the days go by. I still have a lot of pain and tomorrow will mark 6 weeks post-op. In fact, I have a cat-scan and labs scheduled for tomorrow morning to see what's going on... Carla, I am so sorry to hear of your suffering and appreciate your words of sympathy and encouragement. I had HORRIBLE gas pain for several weeks following my original lapband surgery--the tubing was pressing against my diaphragm, the surgeon could visualize it through flouroscopy. It eventually resolved, but it was truly awful. I, too, have experienced pancreatitis about 5 years ago and at the time felt/thought nothing could ever be worse than that, but I rate my current experience as far worse. And it just keeps going and going. And I'm gaining weight which is incredibly upsetting. I'm thinking of you and pray that you heal completely and swiftly. --April

Hi MissMaui, thanks for your response. Yeah, the sharp buckle was my own surmising. My surgeon has over 20 years of experience with wls so it may have been something that happened during the intitial surgery. I also had hiatal hernia repair at the same time (billed and covered by my insurance). I saw the surgeon yesterday for follow-up and he again reiterated that this recovery will be a long one. On one hand it's comforting knowing that still feeling crummy is normal but disappointing for the same reason. =) I have to have another Catscan and labs done because I still have quite a bit of pain when he mashed around on my belly yesterday. I didn't mention in my original post that I had also had to deal with pleural effusion and a collapsed lung--not fun.

Thanks for your kind words and support. Doweegirl, the surgeon thinks that my body just rejected the foreign object. The hole into my stomach was at the buckle, so I think perhaps it was a sharp area and it just cut through. I know it's almost unbelievable that I would have an erosion in such a short amount of time. At first, while I was still in the hospital after the surgery I couldn't even conceive of having another surgery when the surgeon mentioned it. But now 5 weeks out I am seriously considering it, of course I'll have to wait several months. It just feels hopeless, you know? I hate my body. I know that's harsh, but it's how I feel. And I'm frustrated. Thanks again for listening.

Thank you.

Hi. I had my lap band placed yesterday morning along with hiatal repair. Still in a lot of pain but the gas pain has improved since yesterday. I'm excited about my new life!