mandi78

For the past few weeks I have been having this feeling of pressure/discomfort in the middle of my chest and the feeling of something being caught in my throat. At first I thought it was anxiety but now I'm not so sure. I have had my lap band for 3 years now and have not been to the dr in over a year about it because my surgeon basically made it clear, after the surgery of course, that he didnt want to deal with patients after they were banded. He has an aftercare center that does the fills but any issues or problems, they refer you back to him. He suggested I have my band removed because it wasnt working for me and because I was having off and on discomfort on my left side which he believed was due to the tubing. I was all for having it removed, but his office staff would never return my calls or emails to setup the surgery for removal or find out if my insurance would pay for it. I haven't really had any problems until now (with the exception of the discomfort on my side) and I am worried about what it could be. Has anyone else had this issue? Does it sound like erosion or something like that?

Hi Cindy, my white count has always been at the high end of normal but never over 10,400. It usually ran around 9000-10000 or so. It is the lymphocytes that are high. She also did a C reactive protein (which measures inflammation) and it was high....around 10 I think. I'm told normal is around 3 or less. She also did a SED rate which also measures inflammation it was at the high end of normal. Thanks for the reassurance. I keep telling myself that even if it is something horrible, we have probably caught it really early since I'm not having symptoms and its only slightly elevated at this point.

What kind of tests did you have to have other than CBC?

Hi, I was banded 3 years ago and for some unknown reason (not sure if its band related or not), my WBC count has been high for the past month (or that's how long we know of anyway). Normal is 4,000-10,000 and mine was 14,400 on August 13th; 12,000 on August 18th and 13,700 on September 10th. I have no obvious signs of infection....no fever, no sinus/upper respiratory issues, no uti (dr did a urinalysis) and I don't feel sick. My dr is wanting me to see a hematologist. I'm kinda freaking out but also wondering if this is even high enough to warrant going to a hematologist. Just wondering if anyone else has had this experience. Could my body be rejecting the band?

Did you ever find out any more info about this issue? I am having the same issue. I was banded 3 years ago and for some unknown reason (not sure if its band related or not), my WBC count is high. It was 14,400 on August 13th, 12,000 on August 18th and 13,700 on September 10th. Like you, I have no obvious signs of infection. My dr is wanting me to see a hematologist. I'm kinda freaking out but also wondering if this is even high enough to warrant going to a hematologist. Just wondering what you experience turned out to be???

I was wondering if anyone in the Dallas has a surgeon who you know of that is willing to take on patients who are already banded. I need to have my band removed and the people at my original surgeon's office are not willing to help me. The surgeon said he would remove my band but he was not very nice about it and now they will not return any of my phone calls or emails regarding insurance/surgery scheduling, etc. I live over an hour away so I can't just go by there and besides that, if they are not willing to help me then I would just rather find a new surgeon rather than fight with someone who doesn't want to deal with me. I don't like the idea of my life being in someone's hands when that person and his entire staff have made it clear they do not want to deal with any patients after the surgery is over and they have gotten their money. Thanks.

Yep, same issue here. He did my surgery and I went to him about 2 years post op for pain and discomfort caused by the band. He seemed irritated to have to be bothered by me. He said we should go ahead and remove it since I had no luck losing weight with it anyway. He said he would have his office manager, Valerie, check with my insurance company about paying for the removal surgery. This was over a year ago and I have called, left messages, sent emails and nobody will respond to me. I cannot find another surgeon who is willing to take me on. I know of some people on here who have had life threatening issues due to band complications and I am really afraid I could be one of them but I don't know what to do because I can't get any of these money hungry weight loss surgeons to help me after the fact.

Wow, that's terrible. I thought if it was an emergency type situation, insurance had to pay for it regardless of whether they paid for the band or not. When my surgeon talked about removing mine, he said they would file it with insurance as removal of scar tissue from stomach since they would be doing that and not even mention the band. I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of this. Like you, I wish I would have never gotten the band at all. On a scale of 1-10, how bad would you say the pain was at its worst?

Formyboys, What kind of pain it is that you have? Is it like cramping or sharp pain or what? And where exactly is the pain? Also, what kind of dr did your surgeon refer you to? I had some pain in my left side for awhile last year. My surgeon recommended removing the band since it hasn't worked for me anyway. I wanted to do this but his office would never return my calls or emails regarding insurance. I also could not get another lap band surgeon to see me. They all just referred me back to my original surgeon. Eventually the pain went away so I just forgot about it. Now the pain is back and I am also having constipation. I'm worried that I may be having this issue and I really don't know what to do. I don't want to go back to my surgeon because I feel they are just money hungry and they got my money and don't care any more. I would like to see another dr if I can find one who will see me.

Does it feel different than the band in relation to the feeling of fullness? I have had my band over 1 1/2 years and weigh about the same as I did before my band placement. I just cannot handle the feeling of pressure in my chest the band causes....the so called feeling of fullness so I drink to wash down the food because I cannot handle that pressure, it makes me feel like I'm suffocating. I'm wondering if when you have the RNY, is the feeling of fullness closer to the way you would normally feel full before having any type of bariatric surgery. Also, are the rules similar to band rules such as no drinking with meals, no soda, no large pills/vitamins, etc? Thanks.

My surgeon suggested today that I have my band removed since I am having chest pain and left side pain that I am pretty certain is being caused by the band. That coupled with the fact that I have not lost any weight because I cannot stand the pressure in my chest it causes when I eat. My questions are: 1-If you had a non-emergency band removal, did you have to stay in the hospital overnight? 2-Does anyone have Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance and if so, did they pay for the removal? 3-What was the recovery/pain/gas, etc like? Similar to when you had the band placed? 4-Did you have to do a pre-op diet before band removal? My surgeon said I do not have to but that makes no sense to me because it seems like the work they will be doing in there (band removal plus removal of scar tissue/adhesions), they would need the liver to be shrunk and out of the way and I have a history of having an enlarged liver. 5-How long after surgery did you have be on liquids?

It just depends on what your pre-op diet consists of. I was allowed to have 2 small lean meat/veggie meals per day on mine but it's just whatever your doc told you that you are allowed to have.

I have the same side stitch feeling on my left side as well but mainly just when I lay on my left side. Its a little uncomfortable but not really painful. I am over a year out and have been having it since having my band put in. Are any of you who are a year or more out still having this feeling?

Glad to hear everything is ok. What is an esophogram? Is that the same as the barium swallow xray? Can they tell from that if the band is eroding or something like that? I have been having some pain in my upper stomach area and I'm not sure what to do. I don't really want to go back to my surgeon as I was not impressed with him....I feel that once he got my money, he was done with me. The aftercare center where I have gotten fills just tells me to go see my surgeon if I have any problems. I am going to have to find a new PCP because my old one is not on my insurance any more. I feel that I need to get things checked out but I don't know who to go to. I hate starting all over with a new dr.