virginiann

LadyBug see my post in 'Complications' it is my story and it is pretty long. But it talks about my gas issues and bloating and what I had to do to correct it. Good luck and feel free to write to me directly at: virginiann@cox.net.

My name is Virginia and I had the LapBand Surgery on May 21st 2007. From that date until somewhere in August all was well, I was losing weight and feeling pretty good, except for one major issue. I began having gas. Not the 'oops excuse me' gas but full blown explosions that resulted in much embarrassment and stomach bloating. My husband and I work together and car pool to work or it would have been a much worst experience than it already was, because on the ride home at night I had gas so bad I felt I was in labor. I began doing research on the LapBand and gas and could not find much on it. I started to eliminate different foods from my diet like milk, beans, etc... I made sure I didn't drink from a straw, I made sure I didn't eat too late at night, the list of what I tried went on and on. So during one of my fills in September I told my surgeon that the gas was getting to be too much for me to deal with and I didn't know what to do about it. He said that no way was it the band that was causing this gas, that it had to be my food. Well as the days pass and my gas gets more and more uncomfortable something interesting happened in October. I got a fill that was too tight. Needless to say I had to go in for an unfill and that unfill was still too tight so I went in for another unfill and this time my doctor took out 1.5cc and I was left with absolutely no restriction. I decided that since I had a terrible Thanksgiving I would just leave things alone for awhile and get back to it after the New Year. Now here is the interesting part, during the time I had no restriction my gas all but went away. I ate anything I wanted, dairy, beans, veggies and even stuff I should have never eaten but since I was in a loving life to the fullest mood I ate sweets, fast food and my wonderful ice cream. I gained 17 pounds during this time and I have no regrets. I was gas free and comfortable for the first time in months. But of course all good things must come to an end. On January 12th I made an appointment for a fill and while my doctor was doing the fill I told him that if I got my gas back that I would be coming in with a request to have the band removed. I felt as though he didn't take me seriously all those months and the minute I said I wanted the band out all of a sudden he was all concerned. No one believed me that I KNEW the band was the cause for my discomfort. Needless to say the gas came back full force. Two weeks later, with a ton of research in hand and food logs I went back to him and told him that I wanted the band removed and I wanted him to do the RNY on me. I had been researching it for months and I was not willing to just have the band removed and go it alone, I wanted something to take its place and I choose the RNY. He read over what I had brought to him and when he was finished he said okay. His biggest concern was, he stuck to the fact that he has done 'a thousand' LapBand procedures and I was the first to complain about gas this far out. Well I guess there always has to be a first. I agreed to another endoscopy and colonoscopy. As soon as all that came back clear my surgery date was given and believe it or now Yesterday March 17th marked three weeks post-op. What I would like to add is my Surgeon(s) Dr. Michael Orris and Dr. John DeBarros via the Weight Loss Institute of Arizona. When I first had my LapBand surgery last May, both these surgeons took my insurance. Somewhere along the line, Dr. DeBarros decided to drop Aetna and therefore I was only able to see Dr. Orris for all my fills. That was okay because it really didn't matter. However, when it came time to do my revision, since both these doctors work hand in hand I was forced to pay out of pocket for Dr. DeBarros. I don't think this was right but I paid what they asked anyway. One of my biggest complaints that I have had since I walked though their door is you can expect a good two hour wait to get into see either doctor. By the time I went in for my last few visits all I could think about was how grateful I was going to be when I didn't have to go there any longer. There were times when so many people were complaining about the wait time that several just walked out. I don't feel I was taken seriously when I complained about my gas and I know I wasn't treated with respect when it came to my appointments. Some times it was as long as 4 hours in that office. Now that I have had the RNY I will not have to go back for three months. Anyway, this is my story, I wanted to share it with you. If you are having any kind of issues with your Band and you feel you have done everything you can to make it work, make sure you yell, kick and scream if you have to, to be heard. Now I am on a different road and it has been a long slow recovery, I am still not back to work. The area where the port was is still very sore due to the cutting of the muscle that the port was attached to. My surgery took 4 hours because of scar tissue. I can't tell you all if it was worth it or not at this point in time, but I will try and pop in from time to time and give you updates. Please feel free to ask me anything, I would love to help. virginiann@cox.net

My name is Virginia and I had the LapBand Surgery on May 21st 2007. From that date until somewhere in August all was well, I was losing weight and feeling pretty good, except for one major issue. I began having gas. Not the 'oops excuse me' gas but full blown explosions that resulted in much embarrassment and stomach bloating. My husband and I work together and car pool to work or it would have been a much worst experience than it already was, because on the ride home at night I had gas so bad I felt I was in labor. I began doing research on the LapBand and gas and could not find much on it. I started to eliminate different foods from my diet like milk, Beans, etc... I made sure I didn't drink from a straw, I made sure I didn't eat too late at night, the list of what I tried went on and on. So during one of my fills in September I told my surgeon that the gas was getting to be too much for me to deal with and I didn't know what to do about it. He said that no way was it the band that was causing this gas, that it had to be my food. Well as the days pass and my gas gets more and more uncomfortable something interesting happened in October. I got a fill that was too tight. Needless to say I had to go in for an unfill and that unfill was still too tight so I went in for another unfill and this time my doctor took out 1.5cc and I was left with absolutely no restriction. I decided that since I had a terrible Thanksgiving I would just leave things alone for awhile and get back to it after the New Year. Now here is the interesting part, during the time I had no restriction my gas all but went away. I ate anything I wanted, dairy, beans, veggies and even stuff I should have never eaten but since I was in a loving life to the fullest mood I ate sweets, fast food and my wonderful ice cream. I gained 17 pounds during this time and I have no regrets. I was gas free and comfortable for the first time in months. But of course all good things must come to an end. On January 12th I made an appointment for a fill and while my doctor was doing the fill I told him that if I got my gas back that I would be coming in with a request to have the band removed. I felt as though he didn't take me seriously all those months and the minute I said I wanted the band out all of a sudden he was all concerned. No one believed me that I KNEW the band was the cause for my discomfort. Needless to say the gas came back full force. Two weeks later, with a ton of research in hand and food logs I went back to him and told him that I wanted the band removed and I wanted him to do the RNY on me. I had been researching it for months and I was not willing to just have the band removed and go it alone, I wanted something to take its place and I choose the RNY. He read over what I had brought to him and when he was finished he said okay. His biggest concern was, he stuck to the fact that he has done 'a thousand' LapBand procedures and I was the first to complain about gas this far out. Well I guess there always has to be a first. I agreed to another endoscopy and colonoscopy. As soon as all that came back clear my surgery date was given and believe it or now Yesterday March 17th marked three weeks post-op. What I would like to add is my Surgeon(s) Dr. Michael Orris and Dr. John DeBarros via the Weight Loss Institute of Arizona. When I first had my LapBand surgery last May, both these surgeons took my insurance. Somewhere along the line, Dr. DeBarros decided to drop Aetna and therefore I was only able to see Dr. Orris for all my fills. That was okay because it really didn't matter. However, when it came time to do my revision, since both these doctors work hand in hand I was forced to pay out of pocket for Dr. DeBarros. I don't think this was right but I paid what they asked anyway. One of my biggest complaints that I have had since I walked though their door is you can expect a good two hour wait to get into see either doctor. By the time I went in for my last few visits all I could think about was how grateful I was going to be when I didn't have to go there any longer. There were times when so many people were complaining about the wait time that several just walked out. I don't feel I was taken seriously when I complained about my gas and I know I wasn't treated with respect when it came to my appointments. Some times it was as long as 4 hours in that office. Now that I have had the RNY I will not have to go back for three months. Anyway, this is my story, I wanted to share it with you. If you are having any kind of issues with your Band and you feel you have done everything you can to make it work, make sure you yell, kick and scream if you have to, to be heard. Now I am on a different road and it has been a long slow recovery, I am still not back to work. The area where the port was is still very sore due to the cutting of the muscle that the port was attached to. My surgery took 4 hours because of scar tissue. I can't tell you all if it was worth it or not at this point in time, but I will try and pop in from time to time and give you updates. Please feel free to ask me anything, I would love to help. virginiann@cox.net

For what it is worth is quite a bit thank you, I honestly appreciate anything anyone has suggested. I have looked into Crohn's and I did not have the symptoms: Information on Crohn's Disease Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment by MedicineNet.com How is Crohn's disease diagnosed? The diagnosis of Crohn's disease is suspected in patients with fever, abdominal pain and tenderness, diarrhea with or without bleeding, and anal diseases. Laboratory blood tests may show elevated white cell counts and sedimentation rates, both of which suggest infection or inflammation. Other blood tests may show low red blood cell counts (anemia), low blood Proteins, and low body minerals, reflecting loss of these elements due to chronic diarrhea. I hope your Brother and you Father are doing okay. Virginia

I'd like to add that on my 50th birthday October 8th I weighed 181 pounds bringing my total weight loss to 50 pounds. It was the next two months that brought me along the roller-coaster of weight gain. I had my band opened in November and filled in January. It was during the time my band was opened when the gas went away. January 12th I had the new fill and 4 weeks later I had all the Fluid taken out. It was this time I realized that I was not belching all those months. I just hadn't thought about it until the fluid was taken out this last time. Now i was belching and passing gas normally. My advice to anyone having problems, don't be afraid to have the fluid taken out of your band, even if it backs you up a few months. It's worth it to rule out any issues you may be having with the band. If your problems go away when the band is open and they come back when you are tight then it has to be the band....

Thank you BJ I appreciate it. I was scared to death of the RNY also, but I've had several friends that have gone though it and I got off my Lap-Band Horse and researched it thoroughly. I have even watch the surgery a few times via YouTube. I am no longer afraid of it. Honestly, anytime you go through a surgery it is scary. Having something artificial in me never bothered me and the band actually did well for me. The only reason I am though with it is the gas, and as I have stated before if it was just the gas I would deal with it. But the gas caused sever bloating, cramping and very, very loud, smelly ... well you get the idea. My husband and I work together and on the drive home from work he would constantly ask me if we needed to go to the hospital. It was that bad. No one saw me like that other than him and trying to get a doctor or anyone else for that matter to understand I was not making up this issue or exaggerating it has been near impossible. Other than posting questions on this board and a few others I really haven't pushed the subject much. I am now going to talk about it and keep it going because we all need to keep in mind that the lap-band is still very new here in the US. It was only approved here since 2001. There are going to be minor (and I say minor because it was certainly not life-threatening) complications that need to be charted. The lap-band is obviously not for everyone. So if any of you hear of anyone suffering from this issue please let them know they are not alone. Thank you for listening.

I'm sorry I have not responded to this thread since I am the one that started it. I had posted in another area and just get tired of the same ol responses... what are you eating... don't drink from a straw... walk more. I had finally had it. I made an appointment with my doctor and told him I just wanted the thing out of me. I prepared in advance exactly what I thought he would want and that was a food log, a log that charted when the gas was the worst and the research I did on why it was without a doubt the band. I told my doctor that I wanted it out and revised to the RNY. I know this sounds radical. But I know it is right for me. I agreed to another colonoscopy and endoscopy to make sure all was well and it was! My new surgery is scheduled for Monday February 25th. Back to square one.. Please feel free to ask questions, I will pay attention this time!

That's my problem. For my healths sake I can't take it. My gas is so severe that I feel like I am in labor. It brings tears to my eyes and it hits me in the late evening between 6-8. I have eliminated everything from my diet that could cause gas and in November we opened my band and the gas issues went away. I got a fill on the 10th of January and now it is back full force. If it was just a matter of passing gas, then I would just deal with it. But there is a ton of pain and discomfort that is associated with this gas. I hope some one can help me before I have to have it removed. I have tried everything under the sun.... you can do a search on my previous posts. I put this issue out quite a few months back.... nothing, no one has helped. :-(

I am 10 months out and I am having such bad gas issues I am considering having the dang thing removed! Please does anyone have any info on this? Thanks! Virginia

I too went to Orris and DeBarros and you have had everything done they require. Good for you! I can't see one thing you left out. Oh maybe the well woman check. The regular mamo and pap. That is it! Keep us posted! We have a great group here and the Weight Loss Institute of Arizona has a support group that started on Saturdays. They also have a group that meets on Monday nights.

Hey guys! I got my laptop!! It is all shiny and new.. what a spoiled brat I am. So expect me to get back in the grove of thing and post, post, post! I keep forgetting to tell you all that this Sunday the AZ LapBand group that normally meets at Chili's the second Saturday of the month is having a pot luck at a gals condo in the North/West Valley I think. By the pool. If anyone is interested I can give you the info. Back to work for now...

Sandra, I had my surgery on May 21st and I have lost a total of 33 pounds and 14 of that was pre-diet. Between my first fill and second fill I lost one pound. Now a week later so far nothing. I know exactly how you feel. I was using fitday.com software on my laptop to keep tract of what I was eating and how much but my computer is on the blink and I am waitng for a new one to arrive and I have been doing very little typimg due to a faulty keyboard. But as soon as the new one arrives I'll get with it again. I know I have not been drinking my water the way I should and I know that matters a lot. I know the things that I should do to jump start my weight loss again, but I just don't have the energy. Good luck to you!

I have lost real well, but it has stopped since my first fill. Very strange. I would post what the doc says tomorrow but I am going on vacation right after the fill. I won't be near a computer until Sunday night. But I will let everyone know what went on. My insurance is paying for the fills as it did with the surgery. I was and am very blessed. I only have to pay my co-pay.

I was told liquids the day of the fill, then the next day it was okay to add puree. The third day mushy... start slow. But on my second day I had some small curd cottage cheese and all was well. So the third day I ate normal and it's been that way ever since. I sure as heck didn't go through this surgery so that I could eat 12-1300 calories a day and still be hungry. My hope was that I could eat that little and NOT be hungry all the time. My will power is great, I can avoid all the bad foods, sugar, breads, etc... but I can not fight the hunger beast. I am powerless, therefore, in should step my weapon the BAND.. I'm feeling like a failure and I'm wondering if this is just another 'diet' that I have failed at. :-(