seldom78

Old lapbandster here too! Have been banded for 10 years. Love my band most of the time and have no plans to remove it. Not for now at least. I think a lot of the problems are due to a band that is too tight. I was having issues in the past two years and found that an unfill + progressive fills to a lower level to have solved 90% of them. Don't let the band get too tight as it can happen even if you have not had fills for years! I am 14 pounds heavier now at a lower fill level but would rather be a little heavier and comfortable than thinner and miserable.

Hello All, I am not a frequent poster on this forum. To make a long story short, I have had my band for 10 years. Up until 4 months ago, I was what I considered to be a successful bandster. Had lost about 95 pounds (41 years old male, highest 270, lowest 175 lb). Maintained a 90 pound loss but was having serious issues with my lap band: 1) acid reflux, 2) gas bloating and abdominal pain, 3) port pain, 4) no follow-up doctor as my out of province surgeon had retired years ago, etc... I am in a difference place now. I FINALLY found a GREAT weight loss surgeon locally who agreed to take me on as his patient and have been following up with him since then (he does the fills himself which is also great). He did xrays on me. Band appears to be good. He removed 2cc as I had been experiencing excruciating gas bloating and abdominal pain attacks that were becoming more and more frequent and then filled me slowly over 4 months to a more comfortable level. I am now at a lower level (0.3 cc lower) where I am no longer experiencing acid reflux, gas bloating, abdominal pain or port pain which is a HUGE relief. The only symptom I still have is random low-grade nerve pain (left shoulder, head, leg) that is gas related but I can happily live with that if I do not gain further. Funny enough, even that pain disappeared when he removed the 2cc so I know it's band related. Unfortunately, I am gaining weight FAST! In those 4 months, I have gained 25 pounds and am unable to stop it. I really don't know what to do. Last week, I decided to really go back to basics. Eat very very slowly, tiny amounts, No sugar ...basically dieted...and all I lost in that week was 0.3 lb!!! I don't know how long I can keep that for. I really feel that years of banding wrecks havoc on our metabolism so that if you lose it, or just go to a lower fill, you just end up gaining weight very fast. I am not sure where to go from here? I do not want more fill and I am not mentally ready for a revision. Worried about side effects of these surgeries (in particular bloating, abdominal pain. NEVER want to go back to this) and the fact that they're not reversible. I am also in Canada so if I do revise using public insurance, it would be years assuming I get approved (which I very well may not considering I am not high BMI at this point yet). And not sure I can self-pay at this point. Even if I did, I would have to go out of province for this as my surgeon only works under the public system. I don't want to be in the same position again of not having a doctor to follow-up with where I live. I know that's a discussion I need to have with my surgeon but I am not even sure I am ready for it yet. I just want things to work with my band as I am so relieved to be finally following-up with a doctor locally and to not be experiencing terrible pain with it. Any words of wisdom or advice would be most appreciated as I contemplate my next move.

Had the same issue. Got it unfilled a little but now struggling with the weight gain.

I have just posted about this. Like you, I am a long-time bandster. Gas bloating and abdominal pain has been a serious problem for me for years. I have also removed 2 cc and gotten filled to a lower level. The bloating and abdominal pain have disappeared. But I have gained 25 pounds in 4 months and I am still gaining. Not sure what to do.

Hello All, I am a second time poster on this board. The first time being 3.5 years ago. I guess one stays away as long as things are going well. 40 years old male. I had the lap band surgery almost 9 years ago now. I am posting now because I am wondering whether I should have my lap band removed and if so, how to go about it. Weight loss wise, the band has not failed me. I have lost about 90 pounds with it and have maintained that (despite some yo-yoing in the middle). In fact I am now at my lowest weight ever now because of having to adjust my eating (see point #1). But I am considering removing the band for a number of reasons. 1) Acid reflux. Had it bad for a couple of years (and gained weight on those years) until I changed my eating habits (lower volume, not eating close to bedtime) about a year ago and the problem is now gone (and gone with them the extra pounds). 2) Gas/ bloating/ indigestion. Gas has been a problem from day 1. When everyone usually complained about trapped gas for a few days or a week or two at most after surgery, I remember having trapped gas for a month and half after surgery! And since my surgery, most gas has tended to come up (through my mouth). But I have noticed recently that gas (which I assume comes from indigestion) is becoming a real problem and that I have been spending sometimes hours after a meal suffering from excruciating abdominal pain because of trapped gas that needs to be released. 3) lack of follow-up support/ care. I live in Canada and because I was considered a low-BMI at the time, I had to go the private route for it. A year following surgery, I moved provinces and was thus thousands of kms away from the clinic where I had my surgery. 5 years later, and my surgeon no longer practiced at that private clinic and only now works in the public system exclusively. There are no private bariatric surgeons in the province I live in, and all attempts to follow-up wit a local surgeon through the public system have failed miserably. For fills, I used to either go to my original surgeon or to a fill doctor I know (flying thousands of kms away for both). In the 9 years, I remember I had my band checked once with my original surgeon about 5 years ago, and once at my local hospital here (where they do the public weight loss surgeries) only through x-ray when I thought something was wrong with the band. 4) the increasing stories on the forum and elsewhere about people opting to remove their bands. Very sad and depressing but understandable. I feel I am living with a ticking time bomb that will go off at some point in time (and maybe it already has and I don't know!). So it's a question of when rather than if. I am still debating when and how to go about this. Do I do it ASAP or do I wait a bit more until things are worse? Do I pay for it privately and fly again thousands of kms away to have it removed? or do I try to remove it locally? Is it even possible to do it locally without having to wait until I am dying for the public hospital here to remove it for me? I should mention that my family doctor retired a year ago and so I am now with a new doctor who I haven't had a chance to discuss all of this with at length yet. One thing I know for sure is that I am not revising to any other weight loss surgery privately because I will not repeat not having proper follow-up care locally like I did with the lap-band. This is very hard to live with and I guess I am now more risk averse now that I am older (and hopefully wiser with that lap band experience). Many thanks, Seldom

Thank you very much for all those who responded. It really made me feel better getting this support, even if only online. I have some good news. In a moment of desperation, I gave the bariatric group of the public health system in my city a call, not expecting much. I left the coordinator there a voice message explaining my situation. She got back to me a day later asking me to go to my GP and ask him for a referral to the group so that they could take me on as a patient! I can then decide then with the bariatric surgeon(s) that will see me what to do with the band. Monitoring it and keeping it in. Taking it out. Revising to another surgery, etc... I was so excited I couldn't believe my ears!!! I expected them to turn me away like they had done when I first moved here 7 years ago. Back then, they asked me to go back to my original surgeon as they only looked after their own patients! I suspect that with the high failure rate of the band, they realized it would just be unethical to turn patients who had done it elsewhere away when some of the band complications can be deadly. In all cases, I have an appointment with my GP in 10 days to ask him for a referral to the group. I really can't wait and for the first time in years feel like I will finally get the care and support I need. Given how things work here in the public health system, it may take a few months though before I am seen by the bariatric group, but better later than never I guess! On the negative side, I seem to have developed a chronic bad breath problem that I never knew about. My mom who has been staying with me for the last two weeks noticed it. No matter how much I brush my teeth, eat or not eat, it seems to be there. I suspect I have had this for some time without knowing it as I live on my own. I am pretty sure it's related to the band.

I have had fills and unfills as tiny as 0.05 cc.... Can make all the difference.

Hello All, I have been a long-time lurker of those boards but am posting for the first time in need of some advice and support. I have been banded for about 5.5 years now. I have originally lost about 90 pounds from an all-time high of 270 lb and had gone down to 180 lb by the end of the second year before slowly settling for 190 lb for a couple more years after that. The issue started last year. I hadn’t gotten a fill in over a year and a half at that time and that last fill (only 0.05 cc) helped stabilize my weight at 190 lb and prevent further weight gain. I was starting though in the last few months to feel really tight, pbing on a regular basis because I was eating in a hurry, not chewing enough, etc…, had mild heartburn occasionally, etc… As I was feeling uncomfortable with the constant PBing and the “tight” feeling in my chest and stomach, I had a tiny unfill of 0.05 cc for fear of doing permanent damage to the band and losing it. This settled all my band and stomach problems right away. 14 months later, I no longer struggle with PBing, heartburn or the uncomfortable tight chest feeling, feel great and all around healthier (I am able to eat more and better). On the negative side, I found myself gaining another 15 pounds over those 14 months, 6 of which I was able to lose through good eating and exercise, putting me at around +- 199 lb. I am posting because I have been thinking for a couple of months about getting that small fill (0.05 cc) back. This is a big decision for me, not only because of my past issues with that last fill, but also because I live 2,000 km away from where I had my surgery so getting a fill/ unfill costs me a good +$500 to fly back and forth. I have tried for many years to have a WL centre here do my fills/ unfills but they won’t see me because I had my surgery done elsewhere. I am also not sure I want someone other than my regular doctor do my fills/ unfills. So my question to you all: is should I go for this tiny fill back or not? I know that at my current fill level, I will not have any issues with my band for many years to come as I am on the loser side of things (though still have good restriction but can eat around the band more that I was able to with the tiny fill in). I am struggling with weight gain though and need to be very careful with every bite I eat to prevent any further weight gain. On the other hand, with that tiny fill back, I am confident I can get back to 190 lb and stay there effortlessly, but will have to suffer more eating wise. I also worry that in the longer term, I would do permanent damage to the band and thus either have to have a much larger unfill for things to settle down or revision surgery like I see happen to many long-term bansters. And this is a risk I cannot tolerate at this point as I live far away from my surgeon and have no money for any revision surgery (I was self-pay). Any words of advice/ support would be most appreciated. Thanks, Seldom

Thank you all for your replies. I have decided against getting the fill back as I do not want the same issues to reoccur at some point and run the risk of either having a bigger unfill or losing the band all together. I cannot afford the cost of a revision surgery (I was a self-pay). The band is at a much healthier place today than a year ago with it on the loser side. I feel healthier, eat healthier. If this means I have to accept myself at 199lb instead of 190 or even my lowest weight ever of 180 lb, so be it. I was 270 lb six years ago. I would have been tipping the scale at +320 lb today if it wasn't for the band. I have to keep reminding myself that the enemy of good is better.

Thank you all for your kind replies. It's such a fine balance as many of us long-term bandsters can attest to. I think the common problem that I see in many of the posts of long-term bandsters (and that I myself suffered from) is that the "perfect" fill (if such a thing ever exists) ends up becoming too tight a few years down the line, which leaves us with one of two choices: 1) a small unfill + being extra careful in order not to gain weight back 2) complications that may lead to larger unfills (and thus more risk of weight gain) or revision surgery all together. I am not the most compliant bandster but not the worst either so this continues to be a struggle for me, 5+ years out. I also suffered from an eating disorder in the past (binge eating) so need to be careful of not overly restricting my food choices as this seems to fuel it. Thank you all again. I will definitely keep you posted...