LizzieBorden

Ive been banded since 12/07. I woke up this past Saturday and thought I was having a heart attack. I had a terrible pain in the middle of my chest. After I sat up for a while I realized the pain was really coming from my upper back and was being caused by my band. I can eat and drink but not without pain. It isn't getting "stuck" but I have this horrible squeezing pain across my upper back into my shoulders a little while after I eat. Part of it is that horrible left should pain a lot of banded people deal with. I have an appointment Thursday with my surgeon for an unfill. I have a feeling it may be a dialated pouch or something along those lines. I have been over filled in the past so I know what that feels like. Anyone else have a similar experience?

I finally had my band removed July 2018. Had to self pay. Haven’t had insurance that covers the band in years so I finally just bit the bullet and had it removed. Sadly, I still have issues with food getting stuck and being uncomfortable after I eat. Earlier this year I was diagnosed with gastroparesis so that helped me push forward with removal. Part of my symptoms might be because of that. Hope you guys get some relief!

I’ve been banded since 2007. I had my band completely unfilled 5+ years ago. I just found out today that I have Gastroparesis. I’ve read that it can be caused by the band My insurance no longer covers any bariatric procedures. I would like to have my band removed and I was wondering if anyone has had luck getting insurance to cover removal for something like Gastroparesis?

Goodness, you did have a nightmare! They don’t think my band has eroded, I hope they are right. My insurance denied coverage for the removal. Luckily my surgery has a reasonable self pay option. I plan to have it done in July. I’m so glad your pain is gone! I hope removing my band will help mine.

txdavis, thanks so much for responding! Gives me some hope. I am going to talk with my surgeon’s office tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Majacw, I went and had a complete unfill and an xray right off. Nothing showed up. My doctor scheduled me for a barium swallow. In the meantime, I still had some restriction with the complete unfill and was still having pain. I also developed heartburn-burning in my lower stomach, no reflux. Went for the barium, no problems showed up there either. Next I went for an EGD (endoscopy). My surgeon does the procedure himself. He found no erosion. I'm stil having the same problems and no matter what anyone else believes, I still think there is some issue related to my band. I've read over and over how things were missed or did not show up on tests and problems ended up being band related. For now I guess I will just wait and see what happens. I can eat fine, managed to lose 10+lbs since I began having issues. Hopefully down the road it won't end with some emergency situation. Other than exploratory surgery I don't know any other steps my surgeon could have taken. Please let us know how your appointment goes. I hope they can straighten things out for you without putting you through too much!

Gosh Robyn, I'm so sorry to hear this. It actually really scares me. I've had my band for 3.5 years and have never heard of this complication. My maternal grandfather died of esophagus cancer in the 70s and my Mom has Barrett's Esophagus. Also, my Dad's list cousin passed last year from esophagus cancer. I just had an EGD this month and they found no issues. Thank you for sharing your story. This is something we all need to be aware of. Please take care of yourself and keep us updated when you can.

Like I said in my post, once I sat up I could tell it was NOT coming from my chest. I've been banded long enough to at least have an idea of when my band is causing a problem. Thanks for your response.

I'm scheduled to have my gallbladder removed and a hiatal hernia repaired 10/23. Been having pain for the past 2 months or so. Ultrasound shows stones. About 18 years ago I had problems with my GB but tests never showed any stones. After I lost some weight I stopped having problems with it until now.

Dani, I hope your new doctor finds something he can fix. I'm glad you went for the second opinion and feel comfortable with this doc. I can't believe you're having surgery so soon! Speaking of hiatal hernias, my doctor informed me today that I have a small one. I didn't think to ask what test it showed up on. He also informed me that I have gallstones so my gallbladder will have to come out. He's going to fix my hernia at the same time. I was surprised and kind of relieved. I was beginning to wonder if all this pain was in my head. I have training I have to go to for work so my surgery won't be until 10/23. I will keep you in my thoughts. Make sure to come let us know how you're doing as soon as you feel up to it.

Gosh Dani, I hate that you might lose your band. I'm glad you're getting a second opinion. It never hurts, especially when it comes to your life/health. Is your stoma narrow from the band being too tight? No chance of ever going back to normal? I don't have any answers yet. I go back to talk with my doc tomorrow morning. Not sure where to go from here. The unfill helped me be able to eat some but did nothing for the pain and burning. You're right about gaining weight back. We never intend to but we've all done it over and over and it's frightening to think it might happen again. Let us know what happens with your second opinion.

Dani, did you ever get your endoscopy done? Let us know how you're doing.

Hi all, I was banded December 2007 and ended up losing 95lbs my first year. In February of 2009 I became too tight and had to have all my fill removed. I also had a barium swallow which showed everything was fine. By May 2009 I was filled again ( a little less than before the unfill). Things were ok until about two months ago. It got harder and harder to eat solids so I pretty much didn't. I mainly ate soft foods. About 3 weeks ago I started having a terrible pain in my back whenever I ate or drank so I went to see my surgeon. He sent me for another swallow test, gallbladder test and took out 2 ccs. He told me to call the next day if removing the fill didn't help. It didn't. I'm actually in more (different) pain than before the unfill. I still have the pain in my back but I have burning in my chest (not heartburn/refulx) and odd pains on each side of my stomach. It also hurts around my stomach when I lay on my side. I had an endoscopy this morning, everything was fine. They are checking me for H Pylori as well. Did anyone have an endoscopy that was ok and later found out they had erosion. Maybe the erosion is just beginning? Something isn't right and I'm not sure what to do next. I'd love to hear from other who have had issues like this. Thanks! Liz

Hi Dani, don't worry about the endoscopy. There was nothing to it. My throat is still a little sore but nothing major. They did mine with IV sedation and I don't remember a thing. I hope you can get some answers. I was hoping the endo would get to the bottom of my problems but no such luck. I haven't had any fever or chills so far. I'm one of those people who won't go to the doctor unless I'm in major pain. I was hoping to avoid an emergency situation instead of putting things off but I guess I will just wait and see. A former co-worker of mine who was banded about 7 months before me is still recovering from major erosion and infection. She had her band removed over 2 months ago. She was to the point of throwing up everytime she ate and waited way too long to get it checked out. Keep us up to date on how it goes Friday.

Hi Apples, I will ask my doctor about the pancreatitis when I go back next week. Thanks for the suggestion. Mindy, my doc doesn't use flouro. Would that show different info than the barium swallow? I don't think I'm too tight now that he took out 2 ccs. The food goes down ok, just hurts once it gets down.

Hi Mindy, I do still have my gallbladder. The pain is immediate though. I had inflamation of my gallbladder about 15 years ago and the constant back pain resembles that but not the pain I have immediately after I eat or drink. It starts the minute it hits my stomach. After the unfill my stomach felt like the skin on your wrist does when you've had a rubber band wrapped around it too long. I'm terrible at describing symptoms. That's the closest thing I can think of. Thanks for your reply!

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I was outraged by this story. I'm not interested in debating it with anyone, I just wanted to put the story out there for those who are interested. Washington Times - 16 illegals sue Arizona rancher If you want to contribute to his legal fund send it to: Roger Barnett Legal Defense Fund 1498 E Fry Blvd Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 I don't have any real amount of money to send but I'm sure every little bit helps.

Donna, as of this moment they're alive and well but I'm not promising anything prior to my fill! They might be good in the crock pot with some veggies.....

Well, I've been banded about 14 months and managed to lose about 95lbs. A couple of weeks ago I started to have bad reflux, etc and had to get a complete unfill on 2/4. When I left the office my doc said "don't go eating everything in sight." I haven't been eating EVERYTHING in sight but sure have been eating every single thing I couldn't eat for the past 14 months. The first night after the unfill I had spaghetti, then over the past couple of days I've had a sub sandwich, chicken mini's, and a host of my other favorites. Next on the list is pizza. Luckily I can't eat the amounts I was able to preband. I haven't gained any YET and thankfully I will be getting a fill on 2/18.

Hi, I was just reading your post. Please let us know how you're doing and what you found out from your doctor.

Wow Cheryl Ann, you're doing great! Keep up the good work!

Hi, I was banded on 12/7/07 and had something similar happen to me this week. I got my 2nd fill last Wednesday, everything was fine until Saturday when I went back to solids. By Saturday night nothing was going down. Sunday I couldn't eat even a few bites of Soup without severe pain. I stuck to liquids all day Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday I had heartburn from drinking 2 oz of a Protein shake. I went ahead and called my doctor. He had put in .6 cc (?) in the previous week. His PA took out .5 and I had immediate relief. Please don't wait too long. Hopefully a slight unfill will do the trick for you too. I think my hormones played a part in the extreme tightness as well. I never had any problems with my first fill back in February.

Nov, I'm having similar problems myself. I was banded 12/7/07. Up until a couple of weeks ago I could still eat solids pretty well in small quantities. I've only had 1 fill, back in February. Even though my food stays down, any solids I eat cause discomfort. I find myself resorting to Soups and soft foods more and more. I don't have reflux or anything else that makes me think there is a more serious problem. I have been stressed so hopefully that's it. Do you think that could be part of your problem? I've lost 80lbs but still have another 40lbs I'd like to lose.