grace234

Did you tell them as soon as you heard your surgery was scheduled that you were going in for a surgical / medical procedure? If so they would have had to follow FMLA laws - they have to hold your job for you assuming you worked there at least six months. It sounds like the for cause relates to your not showing up for work/job abandonment so work that angle. Good luck.

You should be covered by FMLA but you need to get that paperwork in - failure to do so could cost you your job. Good Luck

Well, my doctor now wants me to have a revision to RNY. I suffer from borderline achalasia. Luckily the lower part of my esophagus opens and closes correctly so I can have the surgery. If I had a full blown achalasia situation he couldn't do any surgery. I cannot have the vertical sleeve because of this though. I basically suffer from horrible acid reflux because my esophagus spasms really bad. I tried everything with the band and went in for fills every 3 weeks because he had trouble filling (under fluoroscopy) because my esophagus would not hold still. He has stated the band has failed. I am five years out. It's a long story as to why this was not caught earlier but suffice it to say in the last year I have been very regimented with the band and it will not work for me. I am truthfully scared about the RNY but I just cannot get the weight off. I have the realize band and my doctor won't even use the realize band anymore. Anyone else deal with this issue? It is depressing. I had the band put in when it was all the rage and I should have thought about the fact that it didn't have enough statistics. I feel stupid but I also feel misled. This was never a side effect my original surgeon said could happen. And I don't know if the band caused the problem or if it was always there. But if it was always there, why didn't he catch it during the barium swallow? I am just bummed out. I absolutely detest this band. A friend of mine had a band placed two days after I had surgery and she lost a ton of weight and is doing great. I so wanted it to work. Now I just want it out. I hope that even if I cannot have RNY they can remove the band. I am worried it will erode or slip next.

I can definitely relate. I inadvertently got pregnant 7 months after the surgery! I had such severe morning sickness - hyperemesis - I was in and out of the hospital, had the band totally unfilled. I took Zofran all 9 months. It was pure hell and even with the band empty it got too tight near the end of the pregnancy so I just threw up more. As for today, I am five years out and 5lbs heavier than when I got the stupid band to begin with! For the last year have been getting fluoro fills every 3-4 weeks. He could not get it filled right as it turns out I have borderline achalasia where my esophagus severely spasms. I would go home totally loose, and two days later I would be unable to swallow. He documented this for a year, had me get a motility study, and has declared the lap band a medical failure and wants me to get a revision to RNY - if I get the sleeve I will have the same reflux problems. The only reason I can get RNY is because the lower portion of my esophagus opens and closes correctly. If it didn't, I would not be a candidate at all. I don't think I can prove it but I think the achalasia was caused by the band. So now I am tentatively going through revision steps and trying to decide if I want to have such a major surgery. Anyway, sorry for everything you have gone through. I too wish the band would just disappear. It has been an absolute nightmare.

I was banded several years ago and my doctor said he can't do anything else for me. I have severe esophageal spasms and it is causing stomach acid to stay in my throat, causing me to choke at night, etc. He said what I should consider is revision to gastric bypass, but I have to see a specialist first to make sure I don't have some disorder where my esophagus does not open and close correctly. The biggest hurdle is my BMI is 37 and I have no co-morbidities - he said having pcos will not be enough - and he says insurance is going to give me trouble about that. I will likely have to appeal. And revision surgery scares me a bit. I am not going to purposely gain weight - my psychiatrist will never write a letter if I do that. I am so bummed out. He had been doing fluoro fills and it looked like the band was way to tight so he was shocked when he did a transnasal endoscopy how lose the band actually is. I have put so much work into this. This just sucks.

I am having the exact same problem. He has removed all fluid and they think I might have something called Achalasia - my doctor wants me to consider revision to gastric bypass but I have an insurance policy (different from when I was banded) that is going to give me problems because my BMI is 37 and the only co-morbidity is PCOS which he says they don't really count. And if I have achalasia he said he cannot do any surgery. so I have to see a specialist and go from there. This band has made my life a living hell.

My BMI pre-surgery was 38. I had sleep apnea and it went away. Two sleep studies show no more apnea. I do have PCOS but my doctor said that wasn't enough. I was also on a different insurance policy. The insurance I have now makes it a lot harder. I had no acid reflux problems ever until I was banded and there was really no way to catch it. My doctor said it happens in a very small amount of people. Unfortunately if they find I have Achalasia he said he cannot do a revision because it would be too dangerous to rearrange stuff. I am still processing all of this but I am so depressed.

All the fluid is gone but I am still having problems. The band likely will come out after I see the specialist. But the revision is questionable.