nr1946

I have been to several doctors. First I had a colonoscopy so that we could eliminate any problem with the colon. Then Dr. Olsofka ordered a CAT scan which only showed that I had some fibroid tumors which I have had for years. Since I am menapausal they cannot be growing since I am no longer producing estrogen. Anyway, I then went to my GYN who did a uterine ultraound and found that there was one specific fibroid that was very large - more than half the size of my uterus. So the plans are to have it removed and while we are at it, they are going to remove the uterus and ovaries. I am 65 so I don't need any of that anymore. Hopefully that will take care of it. I have gone back to Dr. Olsofka this past week and he assured me that there was no problem with my band. Since he had removed the solution in the band last year to alleviate my pain - he said the band was too tight once he did a barium swallow - he went ahead and did a fill this past week. I seem to be doing ok now and hopefully things will improve. I am not going to have the hysterectomy and fibroid removed until July (need Medicare to kick in with my insurance since I will be 65 in July). That's about it for now. Dr. Olsofka is a very good doctor so don't be too concerned about any problems. His only fault is that he has very limited office hours and is a very fast doctor to talk to. You need to know what you want to say before you get in with him. He does not take a lot of time to visit if you know what I mean. He is also too far for me - it takes me 45 minutes to get to his closest office. Good luck and don't worry. Contact me any time. My normal email address is: nr1946@insightbb.com

I have been having a problem for well over a year. It started with my feeling a bump in the port region. Then it progressed to tenderness or soreness across my abdomen. Every time I went to the doctor, the discomfort would disappear as it was not a constant thing. Finally I told him i was sore all the time (by that time it was) and he removed some saline as he did a barium swallow and he said the band was too tight. That alleviated some of the problem but the total issue did not disappear. I continued to complain and now he did a CAT scan and all it showed was that I had a lot of uterine fibroids. I am scheduled to go to my GYN and my Internest told me I would most likely have to have a hysterectomy (I am 64) but if it is a port problem then this would be unnecessary. Yesterday was the worst yet. I had a pinching feeling in the port area and total soreness across the abdomen which has lasted all day and all night. I have discomfort in a sitting position and it feels better when I sleep as I am not bent over. Has anyone else had this type of problem? My band surgeon seems to think I must be a hypochondriac as he does not know what is wrong. I KNOW something is wrong and I don't know who else or what else to go to/check on. Any ideas here as I am starting to become paranoid.

it has been nearly 4 years since I had my band. 2 years ago I started gaining a little weight - not much - but I know I was eating wrong. About a year ago I started having itching all across my abdomen and a bruse-like spot to the right of the port. Now I have gainede about 15 pounds back of the 75 I originally lost. My abdomen is tender and sensitive. Sometimes I get a sharp type pain. I have constant IBS symptoms - have not had a solid bowel movement in weeks. I went to my doctor and he says I am gaining the weight because I have learned how to eat around the band. I agree that I do that - but not constantly. My abdomen seems hard at times - not soft. Last night it actually felt like the band had moved because I could not sleep on either side. Today the tenderness is there constantly. I have tried to go to a different surgeon but they seem to have a club because none of them will see me since they didn't do the original band. Has anyone else experienced these types of problems? I worry that the band has eroded and that there might be some type of infection. What would infection symptoms be like? I don't want to overact but I don't want to ignore something serious. Does anyone else have any ideas? I am in the Louisville, KY area if you know of anyone I can talk to.

His name is John Olsofka. He has 2 offices - neither one very close - both 45 minutes away. He is a really nice guy but he is always in a hurry and every time I go I tell him I don't need a fill - there is restriction - but I keep gaining weight. He tells me I am "eating around the band" and sometimes I do eat the wrong thing - but not every day. The first year I lost all the weight - 75 pounds - but this last year I have gained 10 pounds back and I hardly eat anything. I know people joke about it but sometimes I wonder if something else is growing inside because I feel tenderness over the band area and cannot sleep on my side a lot of the time. Just don't feel right - and now I have no insurance until next year. Do I sound concerned or scared? You bet I do.

I am so sorry to hear about your problem. I had my band 3 1/2 years ago and until a year ago everything was good. In the past year I have gained back 10 pounds of the 75 i lost and i have been having some discomfort in the band area. My stomach near where the band is located is sometimes sensitive to touch. I sometimes cannot sleep on either side because it feels like it is poking me. About 3 months ago my stomach broke out in a rash but that is gone now - just the feeling like it is sore remains. Did any of this happen to you? I don't know if I am in trouble here or not. I tried to go to a diffefrent surgeon but they dont want to talk to me since I didn't have the band done with them. My original dr has moved further away and now I dont have insurance - not for another 6 months. I feel like I am in a downward spiral and I dont know if I have a real problem or am just overreacting. Perhaps I am just eating around the band and causing my own problems but I cant find anyone to talk to. Any thoughts?

I had my band surgery over three years ago and lost 75 pounds. Basically everything has been normal except that for the last year I gained about 5 pounds and cannot get it back off - I go up and down 2 to 3 pounds all the time. Anyway, I am also experiencing a lot of itching on my stomach in the band area. I still have restriction and as long as I follow the rules of not drinking for 90 minutes after eating and if I stay off salt and sugar I can keep the weight steady so I can't believe there is a leak in the band. However, this itching is getting worse and I don't know if it is related to the band or something else. A complication here is that I now have no medical insurance. I took early retirement to care for my fathe but he died a few months ago and my COBRA expired. I am getting back to work and in about 4 or 5 months I will have insurance again. Has anyone else had this itching problem or am I just allergic to something?

Sounds like you got a lot of good idea. I simply cook the filets in a little olive oil and sprinkle lemon pepper on it. That is the easiest and tastiest. Since the bad we eat 95 % of our meals as fish. It got my husband and I off red meat and I found that chicken and pork caused me to have problems. Now we usually have no less than 8 types of fish in our freezer. Tip here is never refreeze any fish that was previously frozen. We buy only fresh fish (labeled as such). We also never buy any frozen fish that shows China as the origin. If you can smell it, it is not fresh. If you still want to cook it, then put it in a ziplock bag with a little lemon juice for about an hour or more. The fish smell will be gone.:thumbup:

I had my band surgery a little over 2 years ago. Everything seemed fine until about 6 months ago. I stopped losing weight after a 75 pound loss. I didn't think much about it because of all the holidays and I knew I was cheating. However the last couple of months I have been having some discomfort at the band site and sometimes it feels tender to the touch. I have no major pain or other symptoms other than I simply cannot loose another pound. I struggle every day and I do feel restriction except the restriction does not stay. I get hungry and eat something and get full right away but cannot loose any more weight. Any ideas here? Is this what it means when the band slips or has a leak? Has anyone else had this happen? I don't really know what the protocol is here but I wouldn't mind direct emails - nr1946@insightbb.com. I am a bit nervous about this band now because I no longer have the same insurance that I had when the surgery was done and if I have to do this over I don't know where I am going to get the money.