SarahArwen

Hello all, I was banded 9/2009 and lost about 80 lbs (went from 250 to 170) in 18 months or so. I always had problems with getting stuck and vomiting/PBing, but I pushed through it. I started to have difficulty swallowing more and more, and after an upper GI study and endoscopy, I learned I had esophageal dilation and prolapse. If you aren't familiar, it means my esophagus was stretching out above my band and flopping over, creating a tiny pouch where food would get stuck. My lap-band doctor gave me a complete unfill, with the goal of letting it heal and then deciding what to do next. Next thing you know, I'm regaining weight. In addition to the personal stresses of going back to college and divorce, my doctor closed up shop and moved out of state without so much as a how-do-you-do. So for the last several years, I've been walking around with an empty band, no method to get my medical records, no new doctor, and just a ton of stress from divorce and new jobs, job changes, blah blah. Just real life stuff, I guess. As you can guess, I have regained all of my weight lost with the lap-band and more. I'm now at 265, my all time high. I don't want to deal with my lap-band anymore. I know if I fill it, I'll have the same problems as before, and I really don't want to further damage my esophagus. I'm considering conversion to RNY, but am scared and feel like it represents some kind of personal failure to be at this point. I love hearing about all your successes and struggles with conversion, and would welcome any advice or feedback! I am worried whether or not more surgery is worth it, and whether RNY is going to help me when lap-band failed (or when I failed at lap-band, either way). Thank you, lovelies!

I too am considering revision to RNY. My lap-band experience was good for a while, and I lost weight, but I developed esophageal dilation and had to have an unfill. I've regained all my weight plus some, and now am not sure what to do. I qualify for conversion, I'm just scared. Will I ever be able to eat foods I enjoy again? Will I look like a shriveled flappy scarecrow? After lapband, I had lots of extra skin and it bugged me, so I'm not thrilled about that. But I'm at high risk of diabetes, have high cholesterol and inflammatory arthritis. I have lots of foot and ankle pain and swelling, so it's hard to get moving and exercise. I just don't know if I have any hope left that I can make a long lasting change without more surgery.