Bandarella

My back has been 100% fine since coming out of surgery on Mon and I haven't taken much in the way of pain meds. Anyone w/ sciatica knows - a magic overnight cure does NOT happen. Now I'm thinking that was also band related because of the Vagus. As a former banded person who experienced several complications involving the vagus nerve, I empathise with you. Since the Sciatic nerve is completely independent of the vagus nerve and its branches, I don't think your back pain is band related. However, during surgery our muscles completely relax due to anesthesia, so just having general anethesia could have helped your back pain resolve for the time being.

If the Afib is not caused by a node within the heart, it's not going to resolve your issues. It's a big procedure with its own risks. If you never had a history before your band and there's no evidence of cardiac disease or incident, removing your band might help. Removing my band didn't resolve the rythym issues, since the scar tissue could not be safely removed from my esophagus, it was just loosened by cutting through it . My GI doctor is currently treating 6 pts with bands experiencing similar symptoms to mine.

I have arrhythmia (pvcs and svts) due to vagus nerve stimulation/irritation caused by my lapband. My cardiologist and cardiac electro physiologist have me on medications to manage it. Afib is a much more serious issue. If the vagus nerve is responsible, ablation won't do anything, since it's caused by a source outside the heart. Maybe ask for a consult with a cardiologist who is also a electro physiologist to determine a course of treatment. Best of luck!

FYI cinnamon dolce syrup and chai tea both have sugar. The chai tea has caffeine too.

Since many insurance companies require you to see your primary care physician first and get a referral, you might not be able to schedule with your GI doctor without seeing the PCP. Also, pcps, most of whom are family practice physicians or internists are as competent or incompetent as any specialist. Being a primary care physician doesn't relegate them to the bottom rung of competency. On a side note, one of the hallmarks of a band placed too high is no restriction and hunger, although in my case I DID have good initial hunger control. For the first 18 months or so, my band seemed to work fine, had early satiety, no hunger for 3-6 hours after eating and I lost 70 lb. When I began having complications, and my band surgeon was not concerned, I turned to my gastroenterologist who had been treating me for IBS for 15 years. This led me to removal last year. In the last 9 months with my band I lost another 30 lb due to achalasia caused by my band being placed too high.

The metabolic factor is removal of the fundus which is the primary producer go gherlin which stimulates hunger and appetite. Also since much less food is eaten, there is less food to metabolize...I guess all "diets" are metabolic, lol.

The issue with the study might be that many of the sleeve re-operations were on sleeve revisions which have a much higher complication rate than virgin sleeves.

I've heard of this...with devastating consequences. It happens most frequently with a very loose band that allows the stomach to slip up through the band causing death to the entrapped tissue, my surgeons PA warned me of this at the time of my complete unfill, which is ludicrous since my band wasn't even on my stomach, lol. You're very lucky. Are you going to revise?

@@crystaleffexx Hope you're getting notifications of responses to your question. Might need to check out your settings. Failure to lose or lack of satiety can be due to your band being too loose, eating around the band (sliders like Cookies, chips, ice cream) or misplace meant of your band. Are you following an eating plan provided by your doctor or nutritionist? Have you received follow up care from your surgeons team? Are you logging your foods and beverages and getting some exercise daily? Hope you respond soon...I saw you posted your concerns on another post the day after this post. Hope you're ok!

@@Alex Brecher sorry I didn't see your post. Arguing ensues when someone starts using negative descriptors as @@2muchfun did towards me. Everyone here was discussing the pros and cons up to that point. It was a productive conversation for some time....

@@2muchfun the info I stated was given to me by the doctor who decided my band needed removed. He's a world renowned esophageal specialist who sees a lot of esophageal damage from bands. Since the risk of misplacement is 3% as stated by allergan and the peri operative complication rate for sleeves is 1.5% I think I'd be insane if I didn't wish I had gotten the sleeve instead. No one here is bashing just because they aren't pro band...like I said, it's a duscussion in response to a question on a general forum. All opinions are welcome, even yours.

@@2muchfun this is a discussion. Insulting me only serves to reflect on you. I have no "axe to grind". I got an email notification of new posts on this thread...if the person I responded to can be respectful of my experience, why can't you? The surgeons' guide to lapband by allergan. Full of stats. http://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/lapband_dfu.pdf

@@JustWatchMe congratulations on your success thus far... The problem with those who experience failure or complications isn't the failure to comply or keep the band a bit on the loose side. The very concept of the band is flawed. The band "works" by triggering the vagus nerve to signal early satiety. However, it also puts a lot of upward pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The esophagus creates strong downward pressure on the LES. The pouch created by the band only holds 1-2 oz of food, but we're told to eat 1/2-1 cup of food over 20-30 min. The opposing pressures, over time can cause damage to the LES which causes it to fail to open (achalasia). Problem is you'll just think you ate too fast, too much or that yoùr band is "finicky". That's how it feels. Your meal is now sitting in your esophagus, drinking Water sometimes helps, but not always. We don't realize what's happening until food is regurgitated from the esophagus in the same condition it went down (no acid, no bile,no foul taste, just chewed food). I know hundreds of people who've developed this particular complication and the results have been devastating. Some are on feeding tubes, picc lines. Others like me, have a very damaged esophagus and cannot revise. My band was misplaced by my surgeon (who is very respected in bariatrics. The risk of misplacement is 3% according to the manufacturer. That's 1/33 people. Pretty bad odds. I wish you continued success, but telling a noob that compliance and monitoring = success at 5 months out doesn't make sense.

@@okaykay, Removable, yes. The reality is that if you have complications, the effects of those complications are often permanent and can make revision impossible.

Look up sleevey wonders...won't get rid of them, but can help expand your wardrobe a bit.

If you're on IV fluids you won't get dehydrated. Do what the nurses tell you to do. Your stomach has been cut and sutured/stapled, of course there's going to be some blood. It looks like more when mixed with saliva and water. When you get home, follow the food progression exactly. Scar tissue needs to form around the sutures and or staples in your stomach to strengthen and heal. If you overdo it in the first few weeks and put pressure on the suture line, the scar tissue fibers can break down. Congrats on your revision!!!!

Glad to hear!! I had lap band because my insurance at the time covered it or RNY. I didn't need or want malabsorption, so my choice seemed easy at the time. Trouble started a little more than a year out and went downhill from there. I was under the care of my bariatric surgeon until the office neglected to notice I had 0% function of my esophagus. My gastroenterologist referred me to a leading esophageal specialist who had my band out in a week. It had been placed on my esophagus above the gastoesophageal junction...I was one of the 3%. I also have a cardiac arrythmia from vagus nerve damage and now take meds for that, in addition to all the meds I was taking pre band and I cannot revise.

Bear in mind, being compliant is only part of the equation. Ask yourself if you can avoid vomiting for as long as you have your band. Stomach viruses, food poisoning and gall stones (very common with weight loss) all cause vomiting that may or may not respond to anti-nausea medications. Ask your surgeon for his/her re operation rate for slips, erosion and misplacement. Misplacement is about a 3% occurance. Add this to the .5% peri operative complication rate and it's about 3x the complication rate of VSG. Are you prepared to remove your band in 3-5 years with the prospect of having to pay out of pocket for revision to sleeve or RNY? Many ins policies will cover only one wls per lifetime. There's a higher rate of complication with revision surgery due to scar tissue. Some, like myself cannot revise due to the damage. A virgin stomach has a much better outcome. Since most revisions from band are to VSG, why not consider it as a first option. Less (nearly 0) long term complications and better results without the extensive aftercare. I wish you a trouble free wls journey whatever you decide. Best of luck to you!

@@lisacaron agreed. This is serious and the potential aspect of esophageal damage adds more weight to the urgency. A lot of damage can happen in a very short time.

@@ivyh please read my earlier post, but one thing caught my eye in rereading your post about the morning regurgitation being black...that could be blood. Please see your doctor ASAP.

@2muchfun. From the op's description, it doesn't appear she is causing this to happen other than bending over the toilet. When this happened to me, what came up was exactly the same as what went down, no acid or bile. When a bulimic causes vomiting by sticking a finger down their throat, it's induced vomiting. Often, I could barely make it to the bathroom to relieve the pain of food sitting in my esophagus and bending over, even slightly (with or without a toilet present) would cause the swallowed food to come out without any effort on my part.

@2muchfun. When food is stuck in the esophagus, it has to come up or we can aspirate and get pneumonia. It's not being vomited up from the stomach, but being regurgitated before getting to the stomach, so stomach acid isn't an issue. You're correct in saying the op needs me fiscal help, but from her surgeon...

If you can bend over the toilet and what you ate comes back up, that's regurgitation, not vomiting and indicates esophageal damage. Food isn't getting to your stomach, it's stuck in your esophagus. Please see your surgeon ASAP. Best of luck and congrats on reaching goal!

I needed wls because I became disabled and just kept gaining. I topped out at 290, having gained 50 lb after my disability. I started researching 2 years before surgery and since I was on Medicare disability had to meet their criteria. At the time of my surgery, only RNY or Lapband were approved and I didn't want RNY. I needed help with portion control and felt that Lapband or sleeve would work for me. I did well with my band...I was compliant, I dieted and tried to get some exercise daily and lost 100 lb. I was able to walk a mile (I need knee replacement due to sports and work injuries) go up and down stairs. I went from 26-28 clothes to 16 (loose). I didn't resolve my comorbidities except sleep apnea. I felt like it saved my life' until it threatened my life with complications. Unfortunately my band was misplaced by my surgeon (this occurs 3% of the time) on the esophagus, between the gastoesophageal junction and diaphragm. I was doomed from the start. Now, due to the damage to my esophagus and stomach I cannot revise and have a cardiac arrythmia from vagus nerve damage from the band. I'm still better off weight wise, but my overall health is not improved.

Like Jack says, call your surgeon. Congrats on getting your band removed.