So here is my story....looking for advice, shoulders to cry on, etc...
My band was placed in December of 2004. Since that time, I had a slow weight loss but managed to take off about 50 lbs. I moved to another state last fall and even though I needed a fill, was unable to get anyone to see me since I had my surgery elsewhere...in Seattle. In February of this year, I started getting really bad reflux, PBing, pain etc. I was not able to keep anything down, including Water. Thus began my fight to get seen by someone, anyone, here in Southern CA. I got an emergency appointment with Dr. Billy in Ventura...an hour and a half drive from home, who said that he could revise my band for me after an UGI showed that I have a Slipped Band. Got an unfill, which has made it easier, but still have a bit of restriction/discomfort.
We have a POS insurance plan which means that I have to have a referral for specialty care and they said that I had to first see a general surgeon within their network before going to a Bariatric Surgeon...now this was told to me before I took it upon myself to go to Ventura to take care of the immediate problem of starving to death! In the meantime, the surgeon that they had referred to me had no appointments for me to even see him until May. They also were one of the offices that I had called on my own to be seen emergently...they refused to see me since I did not have my surgery there. So anyway, it is now two months later....I called to get a new referral and saw the surgeon today. He HATES the lapband...will not even touch it except to take it out. He thinks I should convert to a bypass, which I have to say is scary, but some of the things he is saying makes sense since I have seen so many problems with the Band lately from other patients. My first concern was the irreversibility of bypass and some of the nutritional problems I have seen in earlier GBP patients. My starting BMI was 39.6....now it is around 33. I know that it would go back up if I do not do something.
I am really hoping to find someone here that has been there and done that, and would like to share their thoughts and experiences to help me make a decision. I have seen two doctors with two very different oppinions and my head is spinning.
I think I got most of the details in here, but let me know if I need to explain anything further....Thanks for your responses!
Lisa Kay