Mac the Knife

I'm 3 1/2 years removed from a second round of weight loss surgery - a duodenal switch which replaced a malpractice-level LapBand installation. As I write this it has proven, from a weight loss and physical health perspective, to be miraculous: having once tipped the scales at 360 pounds, I now range between 185 and 190. While I went into the "weight loss journey" with no specific weight target in mind? If I were to have had one I've long surpassed it, and for that I am grateful. But in the years that have followed new issues have emerged, and I'm writing to see who among folks here has experienced something similar - and what they've done to address them. Specifically, since my operation I've noticed truly alarming changes in my mental health, particularly my acuity and demeanor. These changes first manifested themselves as memory lapses. My doctors attributed them to vitamin deficiencies and simple middle age, and an adjustment to my supplement regimen did restore at least some memory function. But particularly within the past 18-24 months, I've began experiencing a variety of mental changes I simply can't attribute to anything specific. Irritability. Severe depression. Disinterest in interacting with people. Extreme distraction at the slightest provocation. Inability to focus in general. Obsessive behaviors when working on projects (e.g., starting a project that comprises 20 steps, completing 15, and then reviewing the project from step 1... only to deem the work insufficient and completely start over. And then? Repeating that behavior dozens of times, never actually completing the project). These behaviors now have me at a point where I no longer consider myself functional. I'm by no means suicidal, but I am incredibly frustrated. In trying to identify the cause of this I have encountered articles that are tying mental health decline and bariatric surgery post-operative outcomes, and I wonder if anyone here has had any experiences similar to what I'm experiencing - and if so what they are doing/have done in an effort to address their issues.

Hi Guys... Just wondering why so many chose the sleeve over a lap band? Lap band seems less evasive and can be reversed. Sleeve is permanent and obviously more can go wrong. I just trying a lap band first would be a better option. Just looking for some feedback as to why you chose what you chose. Thanks Guys.... Jim Jim, I admit I've not read any of the comments following this inquiry, but allow me to share my story with you... if it doesn't dissuade you from the band, I'll at least know I tried. I had the band installed 8 1/2 years ago, by a surgeon who was such a quack that he lost his practice thanks to multiple malpractice suits. I had no idea how bad the guy was and honestly didn't care all that much going in - the band was going to work, and that's what mattered to me. Then, I had it installed... I didn't lose weight on anything near what was considered a normal scale or time frame. When others who'd had it done in my peer group had dropped 50, 75 pounds in six months, I'd dropped 30. I was constantly vomiting (one meal in three), feeling like I'd developed a knot at the top of my stomach. I asked the doctor to check the band, presuming something had gone wrong - he refused, saying it was "just taking me longer than normal" and showing no concern over symptoms that had developed. Eight months post-op, my insurance carrier changed, to one that provided no form of bariatric care whatsoever. From January 2009 to August 2016, I never so much as saw a bariatric care provider. I gained back all the weight I'd lost, and an additional 30 pounds along with it. I still hurled up roughly one meal in three, felt no restriction from the band itself, but felt a constant pressure on my stomach, my lungs and my diaphragm, making it harder and harder to breathe. Upon resuming bariatric care, my new doctor immediately conducted the tests I had clamored for eight years before - to find that the band, while performing its function, was now doing it in the wrong place, creating a small pouch *above* my stomach rather than in it. Five days ago, the band was removed in favor of a Duodenal switch. Also removed was a large amount of scar tissue caused by the band - and what my surgeon described as a "pretty bad" Hiatal hernia, perhaps not caused but definitely exacerbated by the band. Every single one of the symptoms I had been having? Gone. No pressure on my stomach. No difficulty breathing. Today I made more trips up and down the stairs of my home than I had on any single day in the past decade. And every single one of those symptoms I attribute, in some form or fashion, to my decision to have a LapBand installed. It was literally the worst decision of my life, and I've made some Whoppers.

If you had it at Rex, you were either immediately before - or immediately after - me.

I'm writing this from my hospital bed after undergoing surgery to replace an 8 year old Lapland and convert it to a DS. In the process, my surgeon discovered I had a fairly bad Hiatal hernia and the band had resulted in a lot of scar tissue. That said, I feel surprisingly good just 36 hours out... and advise anyone considering the DS that if you're concerned about post-op pain levels (as I was) - don't be. The hernia fix hurts far worse than the DS or its incisions!

Hey Gang! I'm currently going through my 13-step process for insurance approval to undergo a duodenal switch, as a corrective measure following eight years with a malfunctioning laproscopic band. I anticipate undergoing surgery in mid- to late December. One question I'm repeatedly asked is what my weight loss expectations are. To be honest, I don't have a number of pounds in mind - my success with this will be measured by other means. I made a mistake setting pound-specific goals with the band, then becoming increasingly discouraged when reality didn't come close to matching expectation. But that said, I'd like to ask those who've gone through the duodenal switch: What is a reasonable expectation within the first month, six months, year?

Chris, I neglected to mention a key detail in my previous post: upon resuming bariatric care, one of the first steps taken by my new doctor was to do the testing I had begged his predecessor to do - checking the band under a flouroscope. The findings were that the band had, in fact, failed in a fashion, as my body defeated it by creating a new "pouch" above the band. The temporary solution has been to remove all Fluid from the band, after which I experienced an immediate end to all my symptoms. The long-term solution, which hopefully occurs in mid-December, is replacing the band with a duodenal switch.

Crystal, Same here... going through Rex as well, to remove a failed LapBand and replace with duodenal switch. So please, tell us *all* the little details!

To anyone who may be considering LapBand: don't. I had the procedure done in February 2008. I lost roughly 30 pounds during the first eight months, but spent the entire time vomiting back at least one meal in three. I plead with my bariatric surgeon (a man evidently so incompetent that he stopped practicing due to all the malpractice suits he was losing) to do an adjustment under flouroscopy to see how the band was functioning. He refused each time I asked, and after eight months I had an insurance coverage change that made seeing him a financial burden. My change in insurance coverage (to United Health Care, whom I recommend to NO ONE) resulted in an inability to be administered any form of bariatric care for eight years. The 30 pound weight loss was as good as it got - over the time since, I regained it all plus six pounds, all the while still vomiting about one meal in four. On August 1st my insurance coverage finally changed (to BCBS), whereupon I initiated a new round of bariatric care, the ultimate goal of which will be to remove the band, probably in favor of a duodenal switch. But just since then, I've heard of so many stories and outcomes similar to my own that I can't help but chime in and repeat: if you're considering a LapBand? Don't.

Copper, I underwent a LapBand procedure in February 2008, and today weigh exactly 5 pounds more than I did on my surgery date. First, there's nothing to be ashamed of. In my case, about four months after I was banded I realized something was wrong. Initially my weight dropped like a stone - 35 pounds in that time. "Fills" would work for a few days, after which I'd find myself so hungry I thought I'd gnaw on my furniture. I was throwing up everything I ate, and violently. My bariatric surgeon - a quack who ultimately lost his practice due to malpractice suits - refused to conduct testing to see if something had gone wrong. Every month I'd visit, get a fill that would let me feel restriction for about 72 hours, and argue (more and more heatedly) that the reason I was regaining the weight I'd initially lost was cause for testing. 8 months after my banding, my insurance coverage changed, going from BCBS (who covered anything and everything, without question) to United HealthCare (which not only covered nothing bariatric, but a few years later would make me wait two days to approve coverage for cardiac stents). My visits, not covered, came to an end - as did the weight loss, but not the periodic vomiting and other symptoms. Flash forward to August 1st. Thanks to Obamacare I was able to dump United HealthCare and go back to BCBS (and save $200/month for better coverage for my family... that damned pinko socialist!). I immediately resumed bariatric care with another physician's practice. Lo and behold, testing revealed that while my LapBand was doing its job, the lower portion of my esophagus had expanded to compensate for the restrictions, in effect creating a preliminary stomach pouch above the artificial one created above the band. I'm now looking to LapBand removal, followed by a gastric sleeve procedure in all probability. But my point is this: don't get down on yourself. For years I thought I'd somehow failed, when in fact what happened was beyond my control through personal discipline. Go see your doctor. Have yourself checked out. You could very well be in similar straits as me.

I honestly didn't stick around long enough to look - as soon as I said my peace, I walked out of the exam room, through his lobby and out the door.

A follow-up for those following my saga... I weighed in at my doc's yesterday - only to find I'm now UP 5 POUNDS from last month - this despite a diet and exercise regimen that my doctor claimed was "eating too little and working too hard at it." Despite this, and despite a plea that he at least do some investigating to see if anything is wrong, he essentially refused to do any diagnostics. "I don't think it's necessary; your weight loss is still in the normal range," he said. His suggestion was to actually eat MORE, at which point I just about had to keep myself from wringing his neck. Instead I pulled a Donald Trump of sorts: "You're fired," I said. "You'll be getting a records release request from my new doctor - hopefully one more competent than you've been - within a week or so. For now, I'll be out at reception paying my bill," and left. No exam, no fill, not even a check to see if there's a leak. Mentally it's honestly the best I've felt since having this done... but now I need to find a new doc; I have some leads, but I'm going to cool my jets a little before pursuing this further - I don't want my frustration with this clown to interfere/overlap with my relationship with a new doctor, and right now my frame of mind isn't calm enough yet to ensure that. :smile2:

Please disregard this post.

No sense in being quiet about it - congratulations! I hope that trend continues for you!

Well, I'm not discouraged nearly as much as I am disappointed. It's not as if I haven't lost any weight, and even to lose what I have thus far I'd be willing to undergo it all again, so while my picture isn't particularly rosy, it's not all doom and gloom. :tongue_smilie: To answer your questions Melissa, no, the port and tubing haven't been checked - but that's something I'm definitely going to inquire about at my next doctor's visit (next week). Over the last six months I've, save the occasional slip, subsisted primarily on veggies - salads, stir fry-type stuff, etc. Usually during the first two weeks or so post-fill, I could quite easily subsist on SlimFast shakes; I tend to eat only when my stomach's rumbling and/or I feel weakened. food choices - particularly compared to what I ate pre-op - are actually the least of my worries. And to say anyone else's success causes me pain is probably overstating it quite a bit - I'm really, really happy for anyone who's had success. I guess more than anything I'm just wondering why (and lamenting that) it hasn't come my way.

I just posted a similar lament elsewhere, Blessed, but you aren't alone. I'm "only" down 31 lbs. since my operation (2/13) and have essentially gone from excessively eating all the time to a four-step cycle of (1) fill, (2) starve, (3) eat like a normal human being, (4) pig out. Last month I had to be briefly hospitalized during the 'starve' cycle, having dizzy spells, blackouts and general weakness. I was told I was dehydrated, but during the 'starve' cycle I easily drink 100 ozs. a day, so that's BS. I'm as unsettled as you are; I haven't completely given up (after all, I'm still down 31 lbs.) but after looking around here and seeing where my February brethren are in their weight loss goals, it's discouraging.

Is it possible to be happy for you guys and yet angry at the same time? Yesterday was my 6-month anniversary, which I celebrated by eating - a boatload - almost but not quite as much as I did pre-op. That's not my standard anymore by any means; I'm at a point where I only eat when I feel weak, or when I realize I haven't eaten in X number of hours and force myself to. Compared to my pre-op life I exercise my *** off. I spend at least an hour a day on a stationary bike, averaging at least 25 miles on it nowadays; I play softball two nights a week and on weekends (though granted, not well due to my weight), and I walk around a mile daily in my business activities and home life. I've had fills - six in six months, ranging from .5cc to 1.25cc, with each having the same effect: a week's worth of being virtually incapable of eating anything, a two week period of being capable of eating anything but generally not wanting to, and the remainder fully capable of clearing out my pantry if not for sheer will - and doing so on rare occasion (like yesterday) when that will fails me. The net result? So far, all of 31 pounds. Great by some standards, but nowhere near the achievements some of you have reached. I've barely - and I mean barely - gone from a 5X shirt to a 4X, from a 3X sweatpant to a 2X, and from a 52 waist to a 50. My doc keeps telling me I'm making progress, but to be honest every time I come here I get a real dose of mixed emotions - real happiness for those of you who have had success with the LapBand, but real resignation and downright depression about my own situation. Anyway, I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade - I'm genuinely happy for those of you who've lost 50, 60, 80, even 90+ pounds via the LapBand. I just wish I were among you!

Just had my second fill yesterday (Mon.) after learning that I'm down all of 13 lbs. since my pre-surgery weight loss regimen began. I'm not depressed - I'm pissed. My doctor gave me another cc of fill (now at 7 total) and told me not to sweat it too much, but after reading most of the posts here, I've got to believe something's wrong. Prior to the 2d fill I was eating like a horse, and to be perfectly honest I'm not feeling much of a restriction right now (after the 2d fill) either.

Had my first fill this morning (2cc, bringing the total to 6). Drank a bottle of water afterward with no trouble. Haven't tried eating yet, but don't have any desire to at the moment, either - especially since I put on 8 lbs. back on since my surgery last month.

I'm in exactly the same boat - banded on the 13th, and provided I pace myself differently (i.e., slower), pretty much capable of eating whatever I've tried so far. The only time I feel a restriction is when I try to eat too quickly, or too much at one time. I don't see my doc for a potential fill until 3/31, so I'm trying to "be good" about what and how much I eat. Doing so hasn't proved that difficult all in all, but the fact that I'm even capable of eating portions similar to what I had been pre-op concerns me a little. I look at the band as a tool to help and not a total fix, so I'm not so freaked out by it that I'm calling my doctor's office wondering what went wrong. I suspect in the long run, after fill adjustments, weight loss will continue/resume.

Could be worse... your spouse could be rubbing her hands all over your shaven stomach, chanting "Buddha... Buddha... I pray to thee."

I think without missing a beat I'd have started sniffing as if something were amiss, "Hey, why does it suddenly smell like a stall around here?" <pause> "Oh, because there's a horse's ass nearby. Sorry!"

Wednesday afternoon I entered the club officially. Woo-hoo! Things literally couldn't have gone any smoother, at least thus far. Went into the hospital at 1pm intending to begin surgery at 3:45, only to learn that my surgeon was ahead of schedule for the day - thereby moving me up from 3:45 to 2:30 or so. I remember making it as far as the OR at around 2:20pm, but the next thing I rememebered after that was waking up in recovery at around 5:30, fully banded. On a 1-10 scale I'd rate my abdominal pain as a 1/2 immediately after surgery (though it's now up to about a 2-3 - worth noting, but not worth crying over). My biggest problem thus far has been cotton-mouth, a by-product of the anesthesia and that I'm only allowed to drink 30ml/cc of Water every 15 minutes. The only thing I'll advise fellow Bandoleros: if you smoke, STOP WELL BEFORE SURGERY. The reason? Cough. I'm a smoker (or having stopped 3 days ago, hopefully an ex-smoker) who literally wasn't made aware that quitting was an important pre-requisite to the operation until it was too late. I haven't coughed often, but when I have, it's hurt quite a bit. So even if your doctors don't tell you about it - STOP SMOKING WELL BEFORE YOUR SURGERY DATE! Anyway, I got home around 8pm and promptly went to sleep. Woke up this morning around 2:30, not due to any pain but due to a cotton-mouth episode. I don't want to jinx things, but things as a whole seem to be going great thus far. Have a follow-up appointment next Friday morning, with a first fill slated for late March. I don't miss food yet, I have absolutely no sense of hunger nor nausea, and in fact if it weren't for the cotton-mouth I wouldn't even want water.

Perhaps, but the last time they won a World Series, I was watching it at Memorial Stadium in knee socks and you hadn't been born yet. :ohmy: My mental battle with food has taken a weird turn today. Though I've by and large been okay in the hunger department, satisfying myself with allegedly forbidden pleasures like tomato soup and yogurt smoothies (protein shakes start Monday), I've taken interest in something I had never even remotely considered before - going into a food service-related business, specifically a hot dog or sub sandwich shop. I've spent the bulk of the last 24 hours mentally listing the different kinds of meats and cheeses that are common to sub shops (Subway, Jersey Mike's, etc.), and/or doing similar mental lists of condiments for hot dogs (mustard, relish, kraut, even some that make me gag to think about such as ketchup and slaw). I even went so far as to look into commercial hot dog grilling equipment - what it cost, how it is to operate, etc. The entire time I wasn't thinking that I was hungry, or how much I could've went for a good dog or sub (at the time, I wasn't remotely hungry) and I didn't buy anything of course, but it was a solid hour before it dawned on me what I was doing. Talk about a deep-seated craving for a Nathan's Famous expressing itself in a weird way!

True, considering what I was really thinking was akin to "Damnit, woman, would you please just leave me the f*** alone!" :thumbup: And by the way ladies, most times when a guy's speaking to you nicely (in one of those tones that you aren't quite sure if he's really being nice or just condescending toward you) in an effort to stop doing something, you've literally hit their last nerve, and they're about to snap... so cease and desist whatever it is you're doing post-haste. :biggrin2: Sadly, my wife hasn't gotten that after, oh, 17 years or so... but I think she got it today. :biggrin:

Tell this to my wife - she's been nagging the $#!+ out of me: "Get up, need to walk!" "Get up, have some water!" etc., etc. If she weren't around, I'd really be on the mend. :biggrin: We finally had "the talk" this evening, after I got about 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep only to feel the best I have in a week. "Honey, I love you and I appreciate all you're trying to do, but if anything at this point you're being more detrimental to my recovery than helpful. So please, just leave me be unless I call for you." I've probably pissed her off, but she'll get over it as she always does. On the plus side, today the stomach pain is virtually gone. I've not had trouble with gas much at all save the occasional 'stuck' belch, and today I indulged on a popsicle - the first time I'd eaten one since I think I was maybe 10-11 years old. Coughing is still a challenge, though not as painful tonight as it was yesterday.