Buffie

Hiya, I haven't been on here in years. I'm having this uncomfortable foreign object removed as well (of course that's my experience ONLY). I'm done with the obstructing, the throwing up, acid relfux (No, my band isn't too tight, it's almost empty), and now I'm having pain under my ribs again. I'm going for the sleeve as soon as I have my gastroscopy to make sure there's no erosion. It's been a good run, but I'm DONE. I have 60 pounds to lose now, I regained 25 that I lost. Cheers, Buffie

Hi Heather, I've been off this site for a few years now. I struggle with obstruction and pain, one day I'll be fine, the next I can't eat solid food at all without obstructing. I was banded in 06, had adhesion removal (although it may have been a slip, I can't seem to get this information from my surgeon) after having constant, increasing, sharp pain under my ribs on the left side. After surgery the pain disappeared instantly. So I'm 3 years later and the pain is returning fast and frequently. I have decided that I want my band removed, frankly I'm tired of the side effects and the pain of obstruction. I've had countless fills and defills over the past 5 years, I'm just done. I have decided to revise to VSG. I loved the band for the first 2 years, I've regained 25 pounds since my initial 100 lb weight loss. I have 60 pounds to lose and can't seem to do it. I'm VERY frustrated with myself, I know that I have to revert to another WLS or I'll put the weight back on quickly. I feel like I've failed and I feel guilty for putting my family once again through the financial stress of yet another WLS, but my only other option is having the band removed and gaining back all the weight, I can't go there again. So I'm having a gastroscopy to check for erosion in a couple of weeks and if I have none, I'm off to Mexico as soon as I can for the sleeve. It's been a hard decision to make but I hope I'm making the right one. Have you been looking into any surgeons? Buffie

Wow...FINALLY options for SK patients.

Hi there, thanks in advance for looking at my question. I am wondering if there is such a surgery as a calf lift? I'm almost at goal and going for brachioplasty and breast augmentation next month. I carried a LOT of weight on my legs/calves and developed a lot of stretch marks on the backs of my calves. I have floppy calves now, just like my arms! If there is such a surgery, what does it entail and what kind of scars are involved? Thank you!

Hi everyone, I've started the TLBC pre-op cottage cheese/yogurt diet and I need some ideas on things to add to the cottage cheese/yogurt to give me some variety, this is my second day and I'm bored and HUNGRY!!

Hi everyone, I have wanted boots for my wide calves (even after all my weight loss they're still too big for off the shelf boots) for 20 years and I finally found them. I ordered 2 pairs and they are BEAUTIFUL and SEXY. So for anyone who hasn't been able to find wide calf boots, or didn't think they even existed, go to widewidths.com, you won't be sorry! Buffie

Hi everyone, I had saline implants placed via armpit (implants placed endoscopically through the armpit incision) in March/08 and I'm very happy with the results. No scars on my breasts anywhere, just a small scar in the armpits, you can't even see them since they're placed in a crease. I went from a deflated B to a DD, I'm 5'10". I heard from countless people that the only regret they had about their breast augmentation surgery was that they wish they would have gone bigger. So I went with the DD and I'm happy I did. I have a large frame and I'm tall, they don't look huge on me at all. They are still settling downwards almost 6 months later. I went back and forth with the silicone/saline decision, my surgeon does mostly saline, very little silicone, every surgeon seems to have their own preference for their own reasons. I love having no scars on my breasts, and the silicone implants couldn't be placed via the armpit route for obvious reasons. I feel so much more proportionate now, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good luck to everyone!

Thank you for starting this thread! I'm 2 yrs out of band placement. I'm happy with the band itself and my weight loss, but had to have surgery in June/08 for adhesion removal, not the band's fault, my body forms adhesions (scar tissue) around the band and causes pain. Some people are prone to developing adhesions from any type of abdominal surgery, and I'm one of the lucky ones. I had the adhesions removed, and now not even 3 months later the pain is slowly returning, which means they're growing back. I'm waiting to hear from my surgeon as to what my options are. I live in Canada and there are no private clinics for bypass, only the band. The wait for bypass in the public health care system in this country is years (5-11). My BMI is around 27 right now and I'll have to go out of country to have bypass done. Does anyone know if someone with a BMI of 27 would qualify for bypass since I already had the band and my previous BMI would have qualified me for bypass before I had the band? The thought of having to literally put all that weight back on to qualify for bypass if my band has to be removed makes me sick. Thanks for listening.

Hi Lisa, That sounds worrisome. I was having right upper quadrant pain (which felt like twisting cramping pinching pain) and I went back to my surgeon and he went in, he found adhesions (scar tissue) and removed it all. This was 2 weeks ago. There was nothing wrong with the band itself and he didn't have to mess with it at all. Some people are prone to adhesions and they will keep coming back, others never get any adhesions at all. Keep us posted!

Tashcat, so there are some S'toon bandsters getting together? I'd love to join in on this, if it's ok with you guys of course, can you let me know more? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm going to TLBC June 13 to replace my band. Is anyone going to be there?

Hi everyone, I'm home and feeling better every day. I had my surgery last Friday, my band was fine, I had adhesions (fibrous scar tissue that had formed from the original band surgery) that Dr. Yau took down. So my band wasn't replaced, the pain from this surgery was more than the original band surgery though. The adhesions may return because I'm obviously prone to them, but I'd rather deal with that than band replacement. So I got to skip the post op diet (woo hoo!), 2 days of clear fluids then back on regular diet. Toronto stresses me out! I can't handle all the traffic, I almost had a stroke when we were trying to get to our downtown hotel from the airport in rush hour traffic. OH THE SHOPPING THOUGH. I bought bags and shoes...Toronto is a dangerous place for a bag/shoe addict. Anyway, just wanted to check in and let everyone know what happened. I had no idea scar tissue could cause problems like that. I'm so thankful my band is still working properly and I can't wait to start with fills again.

Hi everyone, I'm a long-acting insulin (Lantus) type II diabetic, also on Metformin. I developed diabetes AFTER losing 75 pounds (about a year ago) after I got my band. Go figure. I'm in a crappy place right now, not testing, eating too much (my band is empty, I'm going for revision surgery next week) and have recently figured out that if I cut down on my meds, I don't gain weight when my sugars are high. I believe the correct term for this is diabulemia. Talk about PATHETIC. It's my dirty little secret that no one knows about and I hate myself for doing this to my body. I feel desperate NOT to gain weight and I feel like I did pre-band, just eating and eating and eating, I feel like I can't stop. I feel like a sugar junkie, the more I eat, the higher my sugars go, the more I crave (as you guys already know I'm sure), the more I eat. I exercise like a madwoman every day to try and keep my weight down as well. What's wrong with me??? On the outside I look great after all the weight loss, but on the inside I'm destroying my body and my future. I have to stop this. Has anyone else ever been in this spot and done the things I've been doing? If so, I'd love to talk and share. Thanks for listening.

There's no port, they put the incisions (1 inch) in each armpit, endoscopically (they make a tunnel) go through the tissue to the breast, make the pocket through there, roll up the implants and slide them through the tunnel, flatten them out and fill them through a tube through the armpit incision. Then they take out the tube and just close the incisions. I can barely see the scar in my armpit, he hid the incisions in the folds. Not every plastic surgeon does this type of augmentation, I live in Canada (Saskatchewan) and had to travel to Vancouver to have it done this way. It was worth the extra $$ for surgery and travel to not have any visible scars though.

I had breast augmentation in March/08 and I'm SO happy with the results. I'm 5'10", I was a C before the weight loss, I went down to a B and they literally pooled in my bra, I couldn't get one to fit properly. Now I'm a DD (550 cc implant placed through the armpits, no scars on or under my breasts). I got the whole "you'll be too big, they'll look huge, etc., etc., etc. from everyone in my life, but because of my height/ current weight they look proportionate and full. I'm a huge believer in plastic surgery, I have no problems with any plastic surgery if it makes you feel more confident and happy with YOURSELF. It has nothing to do with what anyone else thinks for me. Life is too short for me to be obsessing over things that can be repaired after all this weight loss. I'm very happy with the results!

I've been banded for 2 years, done at TLBC in Toronto, I have no regrets. My family doctor does my fills for me. Although I've felt rather alone with the band here in SK and have never actually seen my surgeon since my surgery date, I find a lot of support and great advice on here and have great phone support from the staff at TLBC.

I have a 10 cc Midband.

Hi Peaches, Well I've been having pain and Dr. Yau needs to get in there, see what's going on, and probably replace the band with a different one. I'm pretty much completely defilled right now, if I fill, I have more pain. I need to get back to a good fill level, I'm eating way too much. I feel out of control. Why did you need revision surgery?

Cindy, I have the shoulder pain as well with the left-sided abdominal pain under the ribs. I had an upper GI series and ultrasound (no slip, no erosion), I go for a CT scan tomorrow. It all started when I had a 3 cc defill before plastic surgery 2 months ago. I'll be fine for a week and then BOOM the pain is back and excrutiating. I'm going for surgery in a couple of weeks to check everything out and replace the band. Did you ever figure out what's going on with your pain? Buffie

Hi everyone, it's been a long while since I've been on here. I've just been going along and BOOM. No restriction and pain. Constant, nagging left upper quadrant pain. I live in SK and nobody around here knows anything about the band of course, so I'm kinda screwed. I had an upper GI series done and the report makes no sense, Dr. Yau needs the films. So hopefully this week it will all be sorted and I'll probably have to go back to TO and have a revision. I was always a "it'll never happen to me" kinda girl, apparently it CAN. And I'm scared ****less. Has anyone else had a slip and what kind of symptoms did you have? I can eat, drink, no reflux, no restriction whatsoever and I just have constant pain. The worst part about all this is that I'm so far away from TO. Nobody around here knows anything about it, I work for surgeons here in S'toon, we've had a couple of lap band pts come through here with complications, the only thing they know how to do is remove it. I'm so scared that something is going to happen in the meantime while I wait for surgery (or whatever else that can be done, I was told to remove 2 cc and leave the rest) and they'll just remove my band completely. YARGH. Just had to vent.

Wow Doddie, you're doing great! Keep up the good work! I had my upper GI series films sent overnight courier on Thursday to Dr. Yau, Canada Post has lost the films. Lovely. So tomorrow I have to go for another upper GI series (the place where I had it done doesn't make, and can't make extra copies) at the hospital here that I work in, they'll put the films on an online film library so Dr. Yau can look at them quickly. I had abdominal/pelvic ultrasound done, everything (including gallbladder) was normal. The pain I'm having is on the left side, gallbaldder is on the right. I was hoping it was my gallbladder and not my band! So I'm popping Tylenol every 4 hrs and trying to be positive. I'm sure it will all work out in the end. I keep thinking that if for some reason I have to have my band removed, I want to go for gastric bypass. I don't know where, how, or even if they would do it on a person with a BMI of 27, all I DO know is I CANNOT GO BACK to living my life as a morbidly obese person again. That scares me more than any surgery or anything else. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement! P.S. I had my breast augmentation done 6 weeks ago and I love it! I look a LOT more proportionate now. It's amazing what a little plastic surgery can do!

Thanks for the words of encouragement you guys. It's the not knowing that's the hardest. I have no reflux or vomiting or anything. Just pain and NO restriction. The pain is getting worse and more frequent every day, I'm on Tylenol all day long. I have been working out harder since this all started so hopefully I won't gain anything. How are you doing Doddie? Heather, could you please tell me what happened to you and what Dr. Yau did to fix it? Did you have sharp pain with your slips?

Good luck Julie! It's all so exciting isn't it? I had my breast augmentation last week, still recovering, love the new breasts! I went from a B to a DD. Brachioplasty is next but not until fall (thank GAWD). You'll love your TT results, I had mine done about 5 years ago and have had another baby since then, I have new stretch marks but I'm still happy with the results. I can't wait to see how your thigh lift goes!