Nanook

Well said Jachut, Nancy:thumbup:

Wasa, this is what I was referring to, sorry screwed it up Nancy, lol

Plain have you seen Ju-on, that was a pretty freaky Japanese flick too?:thumbup:

I think Miss California should just go back to "Opposite Marriageland" and quit trying to think so hard she might bruise something!:thumbup:

Wasa, I too was shocked at that particular comment made by the poster as it was very insensitive. I know first hand that there can be many issues with the lap band and until you have them yourself it can be hard to relate. If you have a perfect situation with the lap band we're all happy for you but that's not always the case. No one should assume because they have a positive experience that everyone else will also or that if they don't it's because they're doing something wrong. Obesity is a very complicated issue we've all faced here on this site and as obese people we've dealt with bias and judgment from people that is not warranted. Although we're not happy with our size we're also taken advantage of my people marketing all their products in order to obtain this. Most of these fail. Now we've gotten WLS and are basically "sold" these also as a cure for our obesity, type II diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure etc... They all do work not necessarily for everyone and not necessarily forever but if someone is having a problem with one of these procedures it's a scary thing. First of problems can be life threatening. Also people have spent a lot of time researching and going through preop testing and diets and a lot of money to go through this and didn't expect it not to work in the end. Also no one wants to have more than one WLS, trust me! I think the more information that is given by people who are having problems with the band should be listened to and can be informative to people considering this surgery. If it can save one person "a revision" that's a good thing in the end! Good luck to all of us, Nancy!:thumbup:

Startingover, I'm kind of surprised at your weight the surgeon would even do a gastric bypass. You have 26lbs to lose and I know that's frustrating but have you discussed options like Meridia with your doctor? I was able to lose 25 lbs on it before and to me it would be a more feasible option for you. I know 26 lbs can be "relative" but still I'd hate to see you go through something like that to lose 26 lbs. But I know you will do what you want to do but just speaking from a "mom's perspective. Good luck Nancy.

Startingover, I had my band removed last October and am planning on revising to RNY on 6/11/09. I'm using the same surgeon who did my band and the part of the same team that did my 20 year old daughter's RNY last May. I think you need to get as much info as possible and will have a difficult finding all that on this site because it is designed for lap band patients but obesityhelp.com and thinnertimes.com are two that cover RNY. Also there are books out there and I have read Weightloss Surgery for Dummies and it was helpful for my daughter and myself. I don't think you can judge a surgery by one person's opinion even if it's positive. I've been there with my daughter from day one and she did have issues in the beginning with a stricture where her new stoma actually closed and she couldn't get any food or Water in so they had to do an endoscopy with a balloon twice to stretch it open. That also involved an er visit and two day stay for IV fluids and to wait until the following Monday for someone who could do the endocopy to be there. I don't know the percentages as to how many people get them but I wouldn't be surprised if I were to have one also. Also she has never had "dumping syndrome" and from what I read only 40% of people do but it doesn't also mean she never will some people won't have it until a year post-op. She has lost well over 100 lbs and it was fairly quick due to her stricture but she has tapered off for now. It's been almost a year and I think that's normal. I think there is a honeymoon period where you lose easily and quickly and it can stall. Then it requires more work from the individual. I've also read a statistic that you lose 1/3 of your weight so my daughter has met that statistic. She is only required to take one supplement that I can purchase at her surgeon's office now which is nice. She's able to eat regularly now but she definitely has to chew her food very well! You also are not supposed to drink about a half hour before you eat and I've heard a half hour to an hour after you eat as you do not have a pyloric valve that would slowly empty food from your stomach so you basically are self flushing with liquid. Anyway I hope I didn't mess any of the info up for you which is another reason why you can't depend on a few opinions to decide on a surgery, lol. But good luck and discuss this with a surgeon and ask as many questions even the ones you think maybe stupid with him/her! Take care Nancy.

A lot of people understand just may not still be hanging around here when it gets to that point of removal etc... Those that do well don't always want to hear negatives and don't want to "jinx" their band situation. For those of us that don't do well or have complications it can be very frustrating because we want that same result. It doesn't mean we don't work as hard our bodies are just different. I just never was able to lose the weight and ended up gaining back what I lost before the surgery. It's hard to pin point exactly why but possibly with all my issues I just needed the malabsorption that other procedures have. I ended up being too tight and vomited too much and ended up with acid reflux which a lot of people get and even without any saline in the band was still having issues. So it was removed. I waited about six months before deciding to revise to another surgery, the RNY. My daughter had RNY a few months after I received my lap band and I've been with her through all the ups and downs but in the long run she's been successful. I got the lap band in 8/07, was put in the hospital for chest pains in 9/08 (acid reflux) and had it removed 10/08. The removal was covered by insurance and I'm in the waiting stages of approval for the revision to RNY 6/09. As far as I know it should be covered and am crossing my fingers and toes! Good luck to you Nancy.

Getting advice from someone who never had any luck with the band may sound funny but here goes. You did lose weight with it in the beginning so you did something right. Then it sounds like you had a lot of stress in your life and to compensate for larger amounts of food you found a way to eat around the band and did and gained it back. If you feel you can get back on track and are able to avoid doing that then you should be able to lose weight again with the band. If you're too tight and chewing your food well, Protein and other healthy foods don't go through then you may need some removed. Otherwise see if you can psyche yourself into eating healthy again and eat as you did in the beginning. If you don't find this to be possible you may want to discuss revising but I wouldn't rush into it without a good try first. Take care Nancy. And I did have mine removed and am trying to revise to RNY in June!

No, I have two daughters in their 20s and one had the bypass last May and I know according to my children "I have a big mouth"! If you approach her in a nice way, which always helps and maybe throw in how much you love her too, she should be able to handle it. I know I have many a time! Good luck to both of you, Nancy.

Headhunter, I am familiar with strictures as my daughter had one and had to be ballooned twice but what are signs of ulcers with RNY and where was the ulcer, thanks Nancy.

Search on line the symptoms of dehydration and see if you are experiencing any of the signs. I am not a medical person just a mom and spent the night with my daughter in the ER when she was experiencing dehydration due to a problem she had with her gastric bypass early on. I believe they gave her a "banana bag" and 3 other IVs of fluids. I'd post it for you if I was better at cutting and pasting, sorry! Keep us posted Nancy.

My surgeon met me after midnight in their office on a weekend night when I had a similar situation. For me it was an over-fill but still if no liquid can stay down it's something that should be dealt with now! We can live without food for a while but not water.

Cleo'smom, I'm glad you finally switched! Your original surgeon seems a bit daft I'm on synthroid too and if I'm not mistaken it tells you to take it with "a lot" of Water an hour before you eat and he's telling you to pop one without water???? If it looks like a duck.... Anyway hope you can finally get some resolve, you're not the only person to deal with a questionable doctor and won't be the last but hopefully your story can help others. Take care, Nancy:smile:

Well without getting the band I would never have realized that getting gastric bypass was the better answer for me! I wish you and your wife good luck and health.

Also the band can be a tricky thing and not everyone has the same experience with the band. Read up as much as you can before you choose to have weight loss surgery, when it works it's great when it doesn't it's not so great. I had the lap band and also had it removed after 14 months and am now in the process of revising to gastric bypass. There are some good books out there like Weightloss Surgery for Dummies. Make sure you know all the good and bad about lap band and weight loss surgery in general and make sure you discuss this with a doctor you trust and possibly rule out some physical reasons why you have a weight issue. I wish there was a way to tell which procedure would work for each person but there isn't really plus you never know what complications could occur afterward. So much to think about before you make this major decision. I wish you luck! Nancy.

Let us know how you are doing. I have a hernia now (don't know what it's called) but won't be able to have it fixed during my revision to RNY in June. So keep us posted, Nancy.:thumbup:

I've also found just speaking with other patients in their waiting room can be informative. Where I go you normally wait a bit before you're seen so we normally have a lot of time to chat. Good luck you sound like you're on the right road Nancy!

I'm here for you BJean, I'm just not a debater. Nancy And are debit cards mentioned in the Bible????

Cleo's Mom, Those type of experiences you've had at your surgeon's office can directly affect how your band works! I had a similar situation but in the opposite way where the tech thought I had the "smaller" band and put in too little (twice) and thinking all along that I should have restriction until I finally went and had my surgeon put in the next fill and he found out the error she had made. Then he put in more than I needed at the time. The tech also wrote down the wrong amount gave me too much and I needed an emergency unfill. So my band never worked for me but I do think that these types of mistakes contributed to my not being successful with the band and my eventual removal and now revision to RNY. I hope you're able to keep yours and work out the problems but as you can see there are more and more revising to sleeves and other types of WLS here at LBT who when I was searching in the beginning to figure out why my band wasn't working like everyone else it appeared here no one seemed to have problems unless they PM'd me secretly to let me know. Now things have really changed. Good luck to you and I hope you stay healthy! Nancy.

Startingover..., Don't feel bad it happens to most of us. The stomach shrinks after banding and doesn't take too long before it goes back to it's old size. We all had WLS because WW etc...wasn't working and that hasn't changed just the fact that your band is gone. It's hard not to feel a bit depressed after losing your band especially if you put on some pounds or 10 or 15 or 20 afterward, I know. It appears many people are having probs with their bands and are losing them and revising. It's too bad we didn't just do the "right" one in the first place. Do your research and make the best decision for you and take care Nancy.

Wow and I've put off having the blood test to test for that deficiency along with some others, depression related. I didn't know that the VitD deficiency was related to the cravings for sugar!!! Thanks Nancy.:smile2:

OK, I'm sure this has been gone over before but for my own sake why don't you like the taste of sugar after you've been sleeved??? Thanks Nancy.:thumbup:

Good luck Susan you sure are brave, I don't think I could have done it! Take care and wish you well Nancy.

Mandi, I've gotten the impression that there aren't that many RNY's here at lapbandtalk and it's a really good question as I'm revising to RNY myself in June.