4everyoung

I was banded in March of 13, and now, over a year and a half later, my band is filled to capacity, and I can eat whatever I want. I've been through all the tests, upper g.i., floro. I figured my pouch had stretched out, it hasn't. I thought maybe the band slipped. It hasn't. Maybe I've had an erosion. I haven't. Maybe there was a problem with the band, like burst pillows, or ruptured tubing. They're ok. Everything appears to be as it should be. My doctor is scratching his head, and I am very frustrated. I lost 55 lbs. at my lowest, and now I've gained back 20. I'm hungry just like I was before the surgery. I had stopped drinking sodas years before my surgery, and have never been a junk food eater, Cookies, cakes, ice cream, chips, etc. My problem was over eating of southern cooking. I'd skip dessert, and have another plate of steak, potatoes, and whatever else the meal consisted of. Basically, there seems to be a lot of pressure on the band. When my doctor goes to inject saline for a fill, the pressure of the band actually pushes the syringe out 6cc's. He said that's not normal. Thinking there may be blockage in the fill tube, or the check valve, he completely emptied the band, and refilled it several times. Nothing has worked. At this time, my band is filled with contrast, as my last fill was done in x-ray, so that we could see if there was any kind of leak or blockage. I now have to go get another x-ray to see if the lap band has pushed the Fluid from the band back into the fill tube, or port. I had asked my doctor at the 8cc range what happened when we got to 14cc, and he said, "You go to the hospital, and we feed you through a tube, because nothing gets through." Well, at 14cc, I just had two small steaks with all the trimmings, and 2 hours later I'm looking real hard at a sandwich. Not good. SO......Anyone else had similar experiences?

I would also like to add that since the band doesn't provide restriction, I'm back to basic dieting. As I posted earlier, I've tried all the diets out there. I truly thought the band would be the answer. I've never been a junk food eater, sweets, fast food, chips, soda, etc. My problem has always been huge, multiple portions of southern food: Fried potatoes, steaks, chops, ribs, you get the picture. Raised on the farm, hunting, fishing, raising cattle, hogs, and chickens, I grew up eating real food. I love food, and I don't drink, smoke, dip or chew. Food is my vice. I just don't feel like I'm satisfied until I've eaten to the point of being miserable. The band was supposed to be my tool, and it worked for 7 months, and I lost 53 lbs, and only had 22 to get to my goal. I looked good, and felt great. Then, something happened. After all the external tests, the doctor still has no explanation. I am very disappointed, and went through several months of depression earlier this year. As stated earlier, when I can afford to pay for the exploratory, and get some answers, I'll let you all know.

I'm in! I had the band procedure in March of 13, and now, Nov. of 15, my band is filled to capacity, and not working. The surgeon doesn't know why, and only exploratory surgery will tell. I private paid for my procedure, and my insurance refuses to pay for the "complication". Since I don't have another $15 grand to throw after the last 15, I sit here with a band that doesn't work. I can eat anything I want, in any portion size. I'm back to basic dieting which has never worked for me, which is why I paid for the lap band. I'm pushing two years of frustration, hours of missed work and lost production, and thousands of dollars in office calls. Very frustrating! I will glady put my name in the hat! I can't wait for the day that the Class Action Lawsuit commercial runs on tv about lap band. I will be calling that number as soon as I see it!

Update as of 11/29/14: My insurance called and refused to pay for the procedure. We have Health Choice of Oklahoma, and believe me, THEY SUCK!! It blows me away that they won't pay for any procedure that will help you be more healthy, but will pay for all the results of obesity. SMH.... Anyway, I didn't have another 15K to toss out, so here I sit with a band filled to capacity, and the ability to eat absolutely anything I want. I am trying to cut back on portions, and have have ordered the Plexus products. My band was supposed to be a tool to assist me, and it's turned out to be a useless chunk of plastic embedded in my body that will create who knows what kind of problems down the road. I wish I had never had this procedure done. I could have really used that money somewhere else. If you are considering doing this, I can't recommend it, and if you choose to do it anyway, educate yourself better than I did. I was in a buyers frame of mind, and even though I read the negative reviews, I chose to focus on the positives. Only now do I see that the negative reviews make up nearly a 1/3. That's a 33% chance that the band will not work, or that there will be problems. If and when I can scrape up another chunk of change, and afford to pay for the exploratory surgery to finally know why this thing isn't working, I will post. Thanks to everyone that has offered support!

Another Update: I had an appointment with Dr. Kureshi on Wednesday, and we're still scheduled for exploratory surgery on November 25. He says there is no way to know what the problem is without getting inside and looking. So, with that said, I now have to decide on my options: If it's a band malfunction, replace it. If it's something keeping the band from closing properly, such as scar tissue or something else, remove the obstruction. If there is an erosion, even though nothing shows up on flouro or x-ray, then he wants to remove the band, and revise to the sleeve. I've never been fond of the sleeve idea. I know people that have done it,and are happy with it, but it seems so drastic to me. Cutting out 4/5 of your stomach and tossing it in the trash, well, scares the hell out of me. What happens if I get stomach cancer years down the road? Not much left to work with. I don't know what I'm going to do, and I'm getting very stressed about it.

When I did the upper GI, and the floro, the barium and contrast went straight through. The band looks fine, but the opening looks like it's the size of a quarter, and I'm completely filled. Nothing should be getting through. Being a food lover, and going into surgery two days before Thanksgiving, yeah right! I'm excited! It's my favorite time of the year! It was either that, or two days before Christmas. Figured I'd rather enjoy my Christmas, and putting it off for food is why I need the band in the first place! I'll let everyone know post op when we find out what the problem is. Thank you!

I think this has happened to me also. My last fill was done under flouro, but it looked normal. The doctor was looking to see that all the Fluid was going into the band, and that there wasn't a problem with the fill tube, port, etc. Even though the cushions all filled up like they should, there was still a moderate opening in the center of the band, which should have been very small. In hindsight, while in x-ray, I should have taken something to eat, that way we could have seen if the band was expanding. I will feel slight pressure after a few bites, then the pressure goes away, and I can eat like I did before the band. I did my first band with no pain meds at all, nothing. Not even tylenol. I dread that 24 hours after when your chest hurts so bad from the CO2. I just have a thing about taking pain killers. Thanks for posting. I'm hoping to get this resolved, and back to losing weight!

Update: After taking another x-ray and nothing has changed with the band, we're going back into surgery next month. I appreciate all the input, and 2muchfun mentioned the band coming unbuckled. I feel like that is all that is left, as we have checked everything else. My doctor says he's never had that happen before. Dr. Kureshi has been very supportive, and open about this. He is over the bariatric unit at TMC in Denison, TX, and they've just received awards for their efforts that rank them above others in north Texas. I have confidence them. I have read enough forums to know that when I made this post, that I would get the usual, "Control your eating" responses. Because, that's why I shelled out 15 grand in cash, to get a surgery that I didn't need, because all I had to do was watch what I ate! <sarcasm> I have tried it all. Atkins, juice diet, Zeal, Plexus, etc, etc. Even after the band, I walked 3-5 miles every night. At the end of the week, I had gained 2 lbs. "It's muscle!" everyone said. I could care less! Weight gain is weight gain to me! I had an episode Jan. 4. The wife made a meal of red Beans and cornbread. All I can figure is that after I ate, it expanded in my stomach, possibly forcing the band to unbuckle. I had intense fever that night, and then again 2 days later. For the next few days, I had to go back to liquids, broths and Soups. Before the event, I had normal restriction, and just a cup of food would keep me full for hours. A cup of coffee, and about 3 of the Peanut Butter toast crackers is all that I could get in for Breakfast, and that would keep me full until lunch. I was losing weight steadily. After the event, when I could start eating, I noticed that I could eat foods that before I couldn't. Rice, potatoes, heavy beef, etc. So, back under the knife I go. If the band has simply come unbuckled, then the doctor will re-buckle, and stitch it so that it can't come undone. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again for all the support!

I had my procedure March 14, with today being Nov. 23, 2013. I have a 14 cc capacity band. During this 8 month period, I have had 7 fills. The fills have always been 1-2 cc's. My last fill on Nov. 20 put me to 12 cc's of total fill. Up to this point, I have been able to pretty much eat what I want. Weight loss was right at 40 pounds in 8 months. My doctor always told me to eat soft foods for a couple of days after a fill, then move onto more solid foods. I've never had to do this, until this last fill! He rocked my world with this one! Lol. I came home immediately after the fill and my wife had made potato Soup. No problems. Went to the cafe the next day, and had a small lunch special of salad, meat loaf, mashed potatos, and green Beans. No problem. The next morning, I had trouble drinking my morning coffee, and managed to get down three Lunchable turkey and cheese crackers. At lunch, re-heated some potato soup, and it was a no-go. It all came back up. I have also been drinking the Zeal wellness drink. I tried drinking that after lunch had come up to get some Vitamins and nutrients. I couldn't get that down, either. So on the 3rd day after my fill, I couldn't even get cold liquids down. This morning, I have drank two cups of coffee, and tried to drink a Carnation Instant Breakfast. A couple of drinks, and I felt stuck, and just had to wait it out. I thought it was going to come back up, but it didn't. I came to this forum to see if others were having the same issues, and I see that I'm not the only one. I have a friend that has had this procedure, and she told me that you have to learn what you can and can't do after each fill. This is the first time that I've really had to apply that information. I have reached my first goal, with is awesome! I just had all my yearly checkups, and all my bloodwork came back in the "green zones". I'm about to have to stop taking my blood pressure meds. My health is really looking up! I'm hanging in there!

Since I can't access any of my settings, or any other areas, would one of you fine Moderators please delete my account. Thank you so much!! SMH.........

FATAL ERROR FATAL ERROR FATAL ERROR. What the Hell!? Did the OBAMACARE folks design this website?!

I just logged in for the first time in a couple of weeks. I DO NOT like this new layout, and wanted to update my ticker. Of course that is gone, too. I'll be deleting my account. This website SUCKS!!!