wish to be slim

hi all , i had a barium swallow xray carried out on monday following months of struggling to eat meat , fruit etc , most things that are not soft , i got the results today and it seems to suggest a possible slippage / change in position of band , all else is fine and as it should b , i had a complete defill approx 6 weeks ago , is it likely to right itself ? i dont really want more surgery as i thought this would be for life and the expense if needed is a concern , any advice would be appreciated

Thank you for your response , I hope I hear some further news soon , no two days are the same with eating , some better than others

Thank you for your response , my results have been forwarded on and I am waiting to hear back , when I had the refill I was asked to follow a liquid diet for 2 days then soft followed by normal diet , as it is for me . Barium swallow was next stage , if I have to go on a liquid diet for extended period to see if things correct themselves I will , keeping everything crossed xx

hi i was banded in 2012 and have since found myself on many more tablets , capsules do go down easier i find but generally as with previous responses dont have much issue taking my meds , my only one is an anti-inflamatory which is quite large so i spoke to chemist who said i was ok to break in half , taking with a warm drink also i find better , never needed to crush my meds , hope this helps

hi all i had a gastric band fitted in nov 2012 and have had numerous problems , fills and defills and even a period of 18months with nothing in my band , i decided to start again in april this year and have fills but having got to 5mls have had to have two defills putting me now at 4mls . i never know from one day to the next how my eating will be , one day i can be pretty ok and the next i may struggle with a yoghurt . i have after some time enquired about revision surgery from my band to the gastric bypass and have plucked up the courage to book a consultation to discuss it properly , i am also seeing my gp this coming tuesday with a view of mentioning it to her amongst other things . i have struggled with my weight pretty much all my life and not a day goes by when it is not in the forefront of my mind , i also suffer with depression , weight being a large part of that since being subjected to bullying re my weight at senior school . So sad am i my favourites tv programmes are about weight loss , especially dr now ! can anyone tell me of their experience with revision in this way , what type of things do you manage to eat ? do you struggle with salads and fruit like me ? is it a case of you plate is a side plate size or smaller but no food groups are a major issue like with me , sorry if this all sounds silly things to ask but i struggle with the heathiest of things which is just miserable and mad , any tips , experiences and advice would be most grateful . thankyou x

wow you have had a bit of a journey so far then , glad all ok now though and your doing ok x

I am considering revision surgery to gastric bypass , but its for numerous reasons , all of which i have been open about because i value the honesty of people as everyones journey is not going to be the same , just as thinking of revision surgery is not an easy decision or one that i think anyone takes lightly . I had my band fitted in nov 2012 after many years of struggling with my weight , i had tried pretty much everything on the market but continued to struggle so looked into wls , after speaking to my then dr who supported me and new how hard i had tried and the negative effect it was having on me . I had to self fund , a cost of £7000 , for which i took out a bank loan . I had the band fitted and numerous fills and defills and managed to loose in total 49lbs , but i struggled to eat protein/salad etc and my struggles were never consistant , what i managed to eat one day i wouldnt necessarily be able to eat the next . Approximately 2 yrears ago i decided i had had enough so had all my fluid taken out and try finishing my journey with the band just sitting there , it didnt work , i hit the menopause and lost a close family member and gradually put on weight so i was then only down 28lbs . After struggling again to loose i decided to find a clinic so i could have fills again and i guess start from scratch again drawing a line under what had past , my clinic is very supportive and during my first visit { in april} i told them of my weight struggles since being bullied at secondary school and how i felt like a failure , i broke down in tears and together we restarted my journey , but it hasnt been easy , i had a fill of 3mls , then 1ml and a further 1ml , but a few days after getting to the 5ml mark i couldnt even swallow liquid and the pain in the middle part of my chest was terrible , i had to wait a couple of days before my clinic could squeeze me in as my local hospitlal wouldnt touch me unless they deemed it life threatening ! Since then i have had 2 defills , each 1/2 ml so now have 4mls in , that intense pain is no more but my struggle to eat is just the same and sometimes get reflux , this morning i struggled with yoghurt , then later home made soup neither with any lumps , surely that isnt right ? , the situation gets me down and i feel meal times are a battle ground , i continually feel tired and low , yet i am trying so hard to eat healthy , since april my weight loss has only been 7lbs . MY point is my reasons why i am now considering revision to bypass is really two fold , struggling with weight loss and problems just eating and after 7 years i am fed up with it all , i new the band was only a tool but i did not expect the problems and struggles i am enduring . I see my current gp tomorrow and an adviser to chat about revision in september , if i go ahead it is a big deal as i never went in for the band ever having to consider revsion , and the cost this time will be £11,000 which is also a very big deal along with the risks any surgery bring , i hope this hasnt been too long and drawn out but i just wanted to add to the current chat , i value all posts and the support it gives which otherwise none of us would have .

thankyou for your response , i wish you all the best on your journey , let us know how you get on .

What made you have your band removed ? im thinking of having revision surgery to bypass due to continuing problems and dificulty eating , its bad enough at home but when i go out with friends or family who dont know about my band i get anxious and generally struggle , good luck with your new journey

Hope your checkup has gone well today . Did it take long for your recovery ? if you work did you need much time off ? I am at the drs tomorrow and intend to discuss with her my thoughts , i am unlikely to get it done on nhs if it happens so probably looking at self funding as with band , im prepared for that just think a chat with my dr before consultation in sept is a good thing . I guess you have a few weeks of liquid /soft etc to do before going onto normal food to give you insides time to heal , hope todays check went well for you x

everyones experience is different , many many have had no problems with the band , i wish you well on your journey

omg , it sounds like you have been so unlucky , i must admit i thought once you had bypass surgery you couldnt have it reversed but guess there was no choice , wish you well , and thankyou for creating this forum so others of us can get advice and guidance . Im now looking into having revision from band to bypass , if you knew then what you know now , would you do the same or different ?

hi all i just love this forum for info and advice , i have read all the responses and found them very useful as i am considering a revision sutgery from band to bypass , i guess the thing is we will all have a slightly different experience , i did my homework before having the band but it hasnt been as i had hoped , i know it is only a tool but never expected to struggle so much despite my efforts , you are all doing great !

hi elcee , thankyou so much for your response , now im on my laptop i can see all your info , your doing well , i wish you luck in completing your journey , if you will i would love to hear again with an update at sometime , will update too . hi mybudda2be . thankyou for your response also , yes i would love you to keep in touch , i guess you did not get the results you had hoped for either ? I have been to my daughters today for a bbq , salad and lean meat but could barely eat before feeling discomfort , best discribed as a feeling of pressure/pain in the centre of my chest ,i am so sick of it when i try so hard to be healthy :]

I can completely agree , I am so suck of it I am now considering revision surgery to bypass ! I had the band as less invasive surgery but it's not been without it's problems , when I had 5mls in this time I had major problems even with fluids , very frightening and wouldn't wish to repeat . The band for me has been very temperamental which causes stress itself which then affects it , vicious circle .

Hi I had my band put in Nov 2012 , I understood it can stay in forever, I also have had problems on and off but cannot afford to pay to take it out so carry on persevering , do wish at times I had had bypass or sleeve instead .

Hi I had my band emptied because I just wanted a break and thought I could do it alone , big mistake so I started to have fills again . After having 2.5mls in I went again and went up to 4mls then a few weeks later 1ml more taking me to 5mls less than my maximum fill in the past , but this time I had big problems and over to visits had 1ml removed so now back to 4ml in .

banded in 2012 and starting again , i had my band emptied just over 18 months ago , but 3 weeks ago started to have fills again , first and i have 2.5mls in , i go again tomorrow for my second fill , anyone doing the same ?

What size band do you have , and how many mps do you have in out of interest , I know everyone is different but be interested to know

Hi all so glad a few are around still , I was banded 10/2012 ,but recently started again after having all fluid removed from band approx 18mths ago , two refills so far , 4mls in 10ml band at present . I had band as wanted less invasive surgery , not been an easy ride but hope this time to reach my goal . Good luck all

Hi well I wish you well in your journey , I have had 2 fills now , 4mls in so far in a 10ml band .

Zero support after surgery seems very common , yes try the 202020 it really does help , you also may wish to look up Paul o'brian a band surgeon , his explanation on how the band works is excellent and may also help you understand a little more , worth a look, good luck in your journey .

Hi I had my band emptied and put 2 stone on , comfort eating after the loss of my nan , in a lot of ways I regret it but felt I needed a break so my advice is think carefully about it carefully . I never had after care support from my hospital , or the support group I new I would need after surgery which I was told they had . I have now found the hospital group have a clinic 30 mins from me now so have bought a six month package , I now feel I have support really for the first time . At the start of my journey I bought books read up and went on this forum but like you don't find so many people on here now , I'm in England too so find most were from America where perhaps things are done different . I really am starting again with the 20 , 20 20 rule etc , here is hoping this time I reach my goal and beat my food demons ! Good luck

Hiya elevator music, yes being older doesn't help , nor does the menopause! I now have 4mls in , hoping this time I can get to where I want xx

Hi all , its been a long time since i posted on here . I had my lapband put in privately in nov 2012 at a cost of £7000 for which i got a loan . I had spent years trying to beat my weight problems which started after being bullied at school for years , i spoke to my then doctor about it who agreed i had tried pretty much everything , desperate and after a lot of research i decided on the band , mainly due to it being less invasive . Numerous fills , adjustments have been done , even 3 barium swallows which all showed band in correct place , yet my journey has been a battle . Appoximately 6 months ago i had the fluid all removed from my band due to continual pain when trying to eat , despite chewing food to death . When i attempt to eat i always have to have a hot drink by my side so if i get pain i can drink which eventually helps it to pass through band {rather than get to the point of being sick which has happened in the past numerous times } which i was initually told i shouldnt need to do ? I thought once all fluid had been taken out i would be able to eat a more balanced diet , just as i could following surgery , things improved for a while but i am now back to pain every time i try to eat , right in the middle of my chest where my port is placed , i also wake up coughing in the night sometimes , last night my husband said i was coughing in my sleep but i wasnt aware , feel lapband may have been a big mistake , stress seems to effect things to , but no one told me that . Not sure what my next move should be , any thoughts or similar experiences ?