Dream4tc

I had lap band removed 8/10, along with the port of course and he also removed alot of scar tissue from around the area. I went back to work over Labor day weekend and walked alot!!!! I noticed some residual pain on my left side deep, near spleen area (which is where he most likely removed quite a bit of scar tissue from). I have had twinges of pain on that side ever since I worked this weekend. I am beginning to wonder if there is surrounding tissue is inflamed and hitting a nerve there ? Anyone else have similar? I will definitely mention it to my surgeon when I see him again and hopefully he can fix that when he does my revision to bypass this November.

I was banded in 2011 and lost 80 pounds never quite got to my goal weight before I started having problems. Throwing up multiple times daily, bad acid reflux to the point I was needing 8 pillows to prop me up to sleep, frustrated. I was too tight at one point from the swelling from vomiting so much, that I had to get all fluid removed emergently so I could swallow my own saliva. I ended up getting all fluid removed and esophageal manometry done. I have a separate post about that experience. The manometry showed I had a slip. That was the documentation I needed in order to get a revision for mybinsurance to cover my revision. There needs to be documentation to support another surgery need. Unless you are cash pay. I initially wanted sleeve because I thought it was the best option....however after speaking with my surgeon, he told me that I would more than likely have problems with severe reflux due to the pressure from the sleeve and since I was already miserable from the severe reflux I had, I wasn't about to have to deal with any more. I also have several friends who had sleeve done and have significant regain with reflux issues. He said revising to RNY would resolve reflux and I wouldn't ever have to deal with that issue. I decided that was the best choice for me. I was revised to RNY back in 2015 and SO Happy! No reflux which is awesome! I can eat spicier foods again. I have lost a total of 125 pounds and at my goal weight of 175. I am also a Zumba Instructor and teach Zumba 4 days per week. I keep my protein first, then veggies and fruit. I take my vitamins daily and actually have not been sick as much either since revision. I have not had any issues. Love my RNY ❤ I only wished I had done RNY to start with. Do your homework, ask questions and decide what is right for you. Best of luck to you!

Hi everyone! I had lap band November 2011. This worked well for a while. I lost about 80 pounds, until I had complication Nov 2014. I had problems with vomiting everything I would eat, so my previous surgeon ordered an upper GI and esophageal manometry. Both of those tests confirmed I had a prolapse. Long story short, my insurance company made me switch to a different surgeon. I had my band and port removed 8/10/15. My new surgeon said that my band had also slipped and was sitting sideways which was causing me to have the vomiting. He also did an intra-op EGD to look at my esophagus to see if there was any damage from 9 months of vomiting. He said it didn't look too bad,but I needed to continue my Zantac and Prilosec. He said he had to remove the adhesions(scar tissue) from the band. I am not going to lie, the port removal and scar tissue removal is painful! It was supposed to be an outpatient procedure and go home same day, but I ended up staying the night in the hospital due to pain control and I am really glad I did. IV Dilaudid was the only thing that was helping my pain. They eventually switched me to percocets and that seemed to help with the pain. I am attaching a picture of the port site. I am now 4 days post-op band and port removal and I am still taking percocets for pain, but it is improving. I will be revising to Gastric bypass in late October, early November based on my surgeon's recommendations and my history of GERD. My insurance company wouldn't allow me to have the revision done in 1 surgery, so it has to be done this way. I am interested in hearing from those who have had band to bypass and what their experiences were. There were 3 total incisions. 2 small ones which don't bother me at all, and one large painful incision where port was. This larger incision is the mean monster.

I had lap band and port removed on 8/10/15 due to complications from prolapse and then slip 9 months later, all which had cause me to vomit everything I ate. I had lap band for 4 years. Lost 80 pounds. Since removal, I have had NO reflux or heartburn which has been amazing. I haven't had much of an appetite and have had pain at the port site, but pain has improved every day. I had gained 8 pounds due to surgery, but have lost 7 pounds over night last night. I am now on a soft food diet until my post op appt and have been logging my calories on fitness pal and using my Vivosmart activity tracker. I have been focusing on protein to keep up my energy level. Drinking water, premier protein shakes, low fat cottage cheese, and eggs with some grape or orange juice when my head feels "swimmy". I plan to revise to gastric bypass based on my surgeons recommendations in October/November after I heal up from this. I can't wait to get back to Zumba after clearance from my surgeon. I will work my butt off to keep my weight maintained until my revision. Here is my most recent belly pic. It is healing and I am allowed to shower. The biggest incision still hurts but pain has improved. See my belly face? The 2 small incisions are the eyes and my actual belly button is the mouth LOL. Belly is still swollen, I am sure it will go down soon

I want to say right off, that I am not writing this to scare anyone at all. I am writing my personal experience and would like to share that so that in case others have this test, they may be better prepared. Everyone may experience this differently. This is informational. I had lap band placed back in Nov 2011, started having problems with reflux in November 2014. I went to my surgeon and he ordered an upper GI and esophageal manometry to rule out slip, or prolapse and to figure out why my food kept coming back up. I even had food that would come up 3 days later!!!! The reason for an esophageal manometry is to show how bad the reflux is and they also measure pressure and esophageal function. And considering my reflux was bad, this was information needed for my surgeon to document a problem. I wanted the band removed. Upper GI was no problem, you drink some barium and they take pictures while you are drinking, which was pretty cool to see those blurbs of barium sliding down to your stomach in real time. However it showed severe reflux into my thoracic inlet which was pretty bad. In other words, it was going straight back up my esophagus mid chest. I then went for my manometry (not the same day). This manometry test is performed by an RN. I am an RN and questioned the nurse before the procedure a ton of questions. She told me that she went to special school for about 2 weeks. Her and her fellow students, practiced this procedure on each other. She said she had done over 500 manometry ' and had been doing these for 8 years. She was the only RN that actually performed this procedure in a well know hospital system consisting of 5 large hospitals in the Saint Louis area.(which I won't mention because I work for that system.) I could have refused this test but I needed documentation. I had my BFF come with me and so glad she did. The procedure goes like this: first she had me sit in this chair in 90 degrees, and she explained what she was going to do several times before she did anything. She sprayed my throat with a numbing agent and then my nose. She took this long tube resembling an NG tube (nasogastric tube), but this tube had these black rounded resembled flat balls (sensors), not sure how many of them were on there but there were a lot. She then started placing the tube down my nose and kept telling me to swallow sips of Water which helps get the tube down. I felt every one of these sensors. I have a bad gag reflex. It was easier said than done. She had to stop often because after about 20 seconds it became painful and I was crying. Finally after the tube was down which probably took about 10 minutes...I had a box of Kleenex on my lap and my BFF was wiping away my tears. The RN proceeded to feed me liquids 12 swallows, then applesauce 12 swallows, then Jello 12 swallows. Every swallow that I took, she was measuring pressures within my esophagus. I cried with every swallow. It was painful and I even asked her to add a little bit more of the throat spray ,but all she said was " let's just get this done". That was really inappropriate. This test is supposed to take about 25 minutes from what she told me, however 47 minutes later I finally was done. I could have stopped the test and refused any more torture but I needed this documentation. I needed to know if that band was causing these problems. I cried for 47 minutes. It was probably the worst test I have ever experienced and will never have one of those again. I actually have a new found respect for my patients with NG tubes. Another physician actually reads these pressures and then a report goes to the surgeon. In the end, the lap band overall had caused me to have induced vomiting and caused esophageal dilation causing extreme heartburn and reflux. Yes, the band was helpful and I lost 80 pounds, but I am glad to finally have relief due to recent removal 8/10/2015. I no longer have heartburn or reflux and was able to drink a small glass of orange juice for the first time in 4 years without any problems. Yay!! When I went to my new surgeon and initially wanted a sleeve, he was going to have me do that test again to determine if I still had reflux issues after band removal!!! No way!!! I told him my awful experience and he said he could do EGD and another upper GI instead. However, for people who are bands before sleeves, he said sleeving after banding would make reflux worse. After my removal, we discussed options again and he recommended bypass. I am choosing that route because I can't go through the horrible daily non stop heartburn again. Plans for bypass in late October/early November. So, if your surgeon orders this, there is probably good reason, and the information that this test provides may give you answers and may help diagnose a problem. Make sure you research and gather all info needed. Some people may tolerate this test better than I did. I hope that others have a better experience.

I had my band to RNY revision done by Dr Wheeler on 11/30/15. He is amazing and so glad I went with him. I was 258 day of surgery and currently 219.8. I am very happy! He has an excellent bedside manner and he truly does care about his patients.

Oops

Im a nurse and our facility takes privacy very seriously! That is a very serious HIPAA violation and someone's booty will be on the chopping block for that. Call office right away. That is NOT ok!!!

I am sure you can modify just about anything. Use fresh berries as they are low on the glycemic index. Splenda or stevia. Also you could even try cinnamon and Splenda brown sugar. It would be endless possibilities for creativity Add fresh finely chopped veggies, and seasoning ..... So many ideas

Bariatric Advantage Calcium Citrate Chews in Caramel are awesome!!!!

Congratulations!!! Yay!!!

This is what my port site looks like now and mine was removed 8/10/15 I had the same "divit", but will improve over time.

Thank you for your feedback! That's great to hear. How was your hunger after you got the lapband removed?I actually had restrictions still for 2 months I'm just now starting to feel like I can eat more. I think I get more head hunger than I do physical I can definitely tell that my stomach shrunk some in the four years that I had the band. I don't push it I just eat until I feel full. I eat and chew the same like I did when I had the band. I take smaller bites, I still use smaller forks and spoons and smaller plates. That was the best habit I learned from having the band chew slowly and small bites. I also exercise three times a week. That helps keep my weight in check

Sounds like you are too tight. You need some fluid removed for sure. I too had dilated esophagus. I was so worried that I was causing permanent damage. After speaking to my current surgeon, he suspects that my band was placed too high to begin with. When he did an intra operative EGD, he said my esophagus looked ok, thankfully. My fill level never passed 5.25. It was ideal at 4.85 cc. My friend had the same previous surgeon and she was at 7.5!!! I wish I had never gotten the band. It caused me to have so many problems. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful of the 80 pounds that I lost, but vomiting all the time is not my idea of a fun life. I had mine removed just 3 months ago due to slip. I am revising to RNY scheduled for 11/30. I should have done bypass in the beginning, but hey I learned my lesson.

I am anxious to try the hot chocolate. That will be great for fall/winter! I have already purchased some Vitamin items from the BP store. I was happy with the items and excited about the free samples I recieved as well. They sent me a sample of the spicy Turkey Jerky and it was very moist and tender, delicious! I also got a sample of the Syntrax nectar grape, but haven't tried that yet.

Pain with band placement was tolerable. I think I took liquid vicodin 5 days post op the just Tylenol. Band and port removal? That was very painful because he also removed the scar tissue as well. I had IV Dilaudid and then percocets up to almost 2 weeks. The port site was very painful and also deeper inside from where he removed the scar tissue. I am really hoping my revision to RNY on 11/30 will be a breeze compared to band and port removal a few months ago.

Congratulations!!! Whoot I bet you feel like a new person! I am so happy for you! I think your body will slow down eventually. Our bodies tend to put on the brakes closer to goal. If you get to your goal weight and the train isn't slowing down, then get in touch with your dietician. Congrats!!!

I am also scheduled 11/30. That is awesome that you and your hubby are both doing the surgery the same day! Who us going first? Are you using the same surgeon? You both will be great support for each other!

I started having problems with my band April of 2014. I started to gain slowly a pound or 2 per every few months. I had my band unfilled last November 2014 because I found out I had complications- slip. I initially lost 80 pounds with the band. I have gained about 25 pounds in the past year and a half. I had my band removed Aug 2015. It is possible that someone does NOT gain "all of their weight back". I exercise with Zumba 3 times a week on average, walk 3 to 4 miles per day when I'm not doing Zumba. I also try to still eat high protein low carb and that has kept my weight from climbing any higher. I am revising to bypass on 11/30. You can gain control, it's not easy, but definately doable.

Where did you find the pudding pop molds from? I have been looking for those.

This is what a pound of fat looks like in relation to pound of muscle

Yay! Congrats!!! I knew you have been waiting

Congrats on your surgery date!! Mine is 11/30. I am so sorry to hear about your mom I am having my surgery in STL also. I sent you a private message

Try not to let this get you down. I am sorry , I am sure it was a disappointment when you woke up. I wanted my revision performed in one surgery, but my surgeon said it wasn't safe and my insurance company also said the same thing. I had to have my band removed 3 months ago due to slip and tons of scar tissue was removed at that time (which by the way was very painful). The surgeon is making me wait 8-12 weeks to allow stomach to heal. I am scheduled for RNY on 11/30/15. It is a riskier surgery when the surgeon's do revisions all at the same time. Most surgeons that I have heard make people wait and perform the 2 step process which is more safe. Give your body this time to heal and go back later for your bypass

I am revising. I was previously banded Nov 2011. Lost 80 pounds, but developed problems with my band about 2.5 yrs out. I hit the green zone once. Long story short, my band cause so many reflux issues, heartburn all the time, vomiting. It eventually slipped and I just had it removed in August 2015. I am revising to bypass 11/30/15. I initially wanted sleeve, but because of the damage caused from my band with my reflux issues, the sleeve would make reflux worse. I am happy with my bypass decision. I should have chosen bypass in the first place. I am told that revision patients lose a little bit slower than a new WLS patient. We shall see.