Toddy

Medically speaking, you must be your own advocate!!! Be persistent in your complaints and don't let the doctors blow them off. It definitely sounds like more is going on and you need answers and a solution. Good luck.

Mine was stitched in top and bottom. I only threw up twice and it has slipped. My doctor was at a loss... I'm only the 41st slip he's had out of over 3000 band surgeries. I really got the feeling that he didn't really believe I'd only vomited twice, but I swear that's all... I'm pretty devastated. He didn't even discuss emptying the band and seeing what happened (basically we've already done that -- I was completely unfilled last month and it was only today that the slip was diagnosed). I'm headed back to the OR as soon as insurance gives the okay.

Maybe you are taking too large of a drink and drinking too fast. Try smaller sips and waiting a while between swallows. If you're not able to keep Water down at all, don't wait, dehydration can come on pretty fast.

Just don't!!! Vomiting is the main cause of slips. I have only vomited twice since surgery in January and just found out today I have a slip. Remember though, vomiting is NOT the same thing as regurgitation or PB (productive burp).

Another name, apparently, is plication. So do a search for band with plication. I just found out today that my band has slipped and the ONLY silver lining is that when he repairs the position of the band, he's going to do plication also.

I was banded in January 2012, have lost 50 pounds, BMI is down to 29.3. However, I have had two serious pain episodes with the band that have sent me to the ER writhing in pain (and I'm NOT a pain weenie). First time doctor removed 4 cc's and pain went away. We slowly refilled and I got a little too tight and went in for a small unfill and later that day I was hit with that writhing pain again. This last time the doctor removed a good bit of Fluid and pain subsided a lot, but didn't completely go away. The pain started to build again, but never got to the writhing level, and I had the remaining fluid removed. Tests were run after the first episode and everything looked completely normal. Doctor had to answer as to what would cause such severe pain. I've gotten kind of leery of my band now, so I'm going to look into revision surgery. My question is, my insurance Carefirst BCBS covered my band surgery 100%. For people whose insurance covered the band 100% and then they go in for revision, what did your insurance cover for the revision, and what was your BMI at the time of revision, any co-morbidities? In other words, did you have to jump through all the hoops that were required for the first surgery all over again? Did you have to qualify with BMI and co-morbidities again?

I come from a wine family so wine at dinner has always been a staple. I waited two months, then resumed my normal wine w/ dinner habits. No problems. Didn't get tipsy and I even drink with dinner -- mostly a big no-no, but since I'm not a nighttime snacker, it hasn't been a problem for me.

I had a fill on 9/17 and was fine for a week. The following Monday the 24th, things had tightened up out of the blue and I couldn't keep anything down except liquids. I had a small unfill on Wednesday morning. Started having horrible pain Wednesday afternoon, and went back in after-hours for a larger unfill. I was still having enough pain on Thursday that I went in and had my band emptied. This has actually happened to me twice in the last eight months. I wouldn't mess around with being too tight!

From the little bit of research I've done on revision surgery from band to sleeve, you can still fail with a sleeve if you don't make proper choices in food. Go to the bottom of this page and click on VerticleSleeveTalk.com. There is a subsection just on band to sleeve revision. Just like band, sleeve surgery is not an obesity cure, it is still up to the individual to make the proper choices to make the band and/or sleeve work.

Where did you read the horror stories? I'm currently banded and did extensive research before being banded, and am now considering the sleeve and am currently researching it. For every surgery out there, someone has a horror story to go along with it. It's also usually the ones that have problems that are most likely to voice them on the Internet. I take the horror stories with a grain of salt. I've had some complications with my band, but nothing that would qualify as a horror story.

I have found that as I eat slowly, the food gets cold and is therefore unappetizing! It's easier to say I've had enough and walk away from cold food!

I am currently considering revision. I've had problems with my band and just had to have a complete unfill. I think phentermine would be useless to me because it didn't help me pre-band... believe me, I tried EVERYTHING!! Also, anyone with high blood pressure, which a lot of overweight people have, should not take phentermine. That could be one explanation.

You asked, we're answering. You are obviously a very fit and presumably healthy person if you are doing this only for cosmetic reasons. Most of us that are willing to go through this surgery and live with this band are doing it for health reasons. I only(?) had 70 pounds to lose, but I had high blood pressure which was not easily controlled with meds; I also have/had chronic back problems from a back injury years ago. Many people think being banded is "taking the easy way out" for weight loss. All of us bandsters know better. If you weigh the life changes, the surgical risks, the risk of complications down the road with the band, most of us don't see it as being worth a 20 - 30 pound loss. However, it's your decision, and if you think it's worth it, go for it. But I, too, would question a doctor that would preform major surgery on someone with a normal BMI and no co-morbidities. Just my opinion.

I started at 5' 2", 212, and felt the exact same way you do. I'd see others that were banded near or even after me that had lost A LOT more than I had and felt bad. But I'm 8 months post-surgery, down 50 pounds, and as long as the scale keeps moving in the right direction, I'm okay with that. One thing that helped me is to write down my weight once a week, on the same day and time. When it seems like the scale hasn't moved in FOREVER, you can go back and see, oh, six pounds in one month isn't too bad!

I wouldn't do it for 25 - 30 pounds. Living with a band is life-changing. You have to completely change the way you eat as well as what you eat. There are some things you may not be able to eat at all. Then, what if you have complications down the road and have to have your band removed. I've heard/read that if you lose your band, you will actually gain weight faster because your body has gotten used to such a tiny amount of food. Don't know how scientific that research is, but since I had to have all of my fluid removed last week, I can believe it!

Had trouble eating and drinking since Monday. Went for a small unfill yesterday. Last night started having terrible pain. Doctor met me at the office after hours for a large unfill. Pain subsided, but did not go away. It's been getting progressively worse today... hurts to even sip anything. Called the doctor's office and I'm waiting for a call back. I've loved my band, but this is the second time this has happened to me, so I think I'm done...

Almost every case of WLS I've read about, there is a psych evaluation required. Be honest with your psychiatrist, and they will evaluate whether you are mentally a good candidate for WLS. Good luck!

I live 30 minutes away from my surgeon's office. I've only been banded eight months and twice already that's been 30 minutes too far!!! Never, ever would I bargain shop for major surgery!

My doctor said two months. I come from a wine family, my father had a vineyard and was a vintner, so wine has pretty much always been a staple at dinner. I don't think I waited the full two months, but I do count and allow for the calories. I also don't touch anything with carbonation.

It definitely is something to think about. I, too, only(?) had 75 pounds to lose. I've lost fifty in 8 months. I know I couldn't have done it by myself... well, I could, but then I always just gained back more! I'm beginning to have some problems and complications now that make me wish I'd taken a closer look at the sleeve. I'm thinking very seriously about revision surgery if insurance will cover it.

One day the end of July the pain came on really fast, started in my chest (I thought it was my heart) and pretty quickly ended up in my back, abdomen, shoulders. It ended up feeling like there was a vice grip all around my upper torso and it was just squeezing. Went to the ER the first time and once they ruled out my heart, they started filling me full of pain meds. It took three doses of dilaudid (sp) and a dose of ativan (sp) to get the pain under control... I'm talking writhing pain, and I've got a pretty good tolerance to pain. Doctor removed 4 cc's from my band and pain was gone. Had x-rays and band position looked good, and a barium swallow and things were going down fine. Doctor couldn't come up with any explanation for the cause of the pain. Exact same thing happened this week. Started in chest, ended up all over, writhing pain. I had had a fill on 9/17 and did fine for the first week. But this past Monday I knew I was too tight and went in for a slight unfill on Wednesday. Late Wednesday afternoon, the chest pain started again and quickly escalated to the entire upper torso vice grip thing. Doctor was kind enough to meet me at the office after hours and did a large unfill. The worst of the pain subsided and I went home. It started building again Wed night, but not as extreme as it was. I was still in quite a bit of pain Thurs and went in and had the rest of the Fluid removed. So now I'm completely empty, and still having some minor chest and abdominal pain. And now we wait... Oh, and I was banded in January of this year. The doctor thinks that's too early to have a slipped band. He said slips usually happen later on. I'm going to insist upon at least an upper endoscopy and x-rays again before I start refilling. After the first incident, I still said no regrets, I love my band and wouldn't change having it. After this second incident, I'm not so in love and despite having lost 52 pounds, I might just ask to have it removed.

Went and had the remaining fluid taken out. We'll wait and see how I do...

I like watching the clothes sizes go down almost more than the scale going down!!!

Reflux is definitely not something to ignore when you're banded. I don't know why the word is not out there more. Every time I go in to see my dr. I have to fill out a questionnaire which includes questions about night cough and reflux.

Things will get better. Apparently the after-effects of anesthesia can be strange. Not quite a week after my surgery I was so weak and tired and then started getting this weird anxiety and thought something was horribly wrong with me. Spent an entire day in the ER and, nope, nothing was wrong. Looking back I'm sure it was the after-effects of major surgery, because shortly there after I was absolutely fine. You need to focus on the good things ahead. I love when people tell me I'm looking good... in the beginning, it wasn't obvious to them that I was losing weight, they just noticed I looked better (and happier)! I love finding really old clothes in my closet that I can now fit into... and some really old clothes that are too big and I missed the opportunity to wear them. I have a walk-in closet that was busting at the seams and wouldn't hold another thing... now it's kind of bare with all the clothes I've gotten rid of! Best of all... No more Lane Bryant for me!!!! I am loving being able to walk into any store and be able to shop in the regular sizes! Don't even get me started on the health benefits. Just before I decided to have surgery, I was thinking I might be forced to retire and look into getting disability benefits (something I never would have imagined myself doing)!! And wine... well, let me say, I am a wine drinker. I have a glass almost nightly with dinner (I know, not supposed to drink with meals, but I'm not a night snacker so it doesn't matter if dinner goes through the band too fast to keep me full). With wine or any other adult beverage, you just have to be mindful of the empty calories and not overdo it.