rtgirl77

Hi, I was banded in Sept 2005. I had to have my band unfilled this past November because of chronic acid reflux issues. I wasn't really losing anyway and had regained quite a bit of my weight back due to soft calories. In Dec., i found out I was preggo. I'm now 18 weeks and have gained about 4 lbs but my band is so tight. It is totally unfilled so there isn't much I can do but some days I can't even get down half a sandwich. I'm trying to eat as healthy as I can but I think the fact that overall, I'm retaining Water is making the band so much tighter. I love it but I hate it sometimes. Anyone else experienced this?

Just an FYI, I had BC of Cali and they required the 6 month thing also. My dr. said that she had documented at every visit that I was doing a weight watchers type program. The fact that she did that saved me from having to wait. We simply sent in the progress notes from my visits and that was sufficient. Basically, at every check-up, she would say that I was overweight and needed to lose weight and I'd say, "Uh yeah...I know...I'm doing weight watchers (or whatever the diet of the month was)" She just wrote down a few notes about that and it was sufficient for Blue Cross. Just a thought.

I'm facing a revision or conversion to bypass due to failure and my insurance won't cover a penny. It is the worst feeling.

I think what she meant was that if your policy has a total exclusion, i.e. they don't cover ANY weight loss surgery for any reason, then there would be nothing you could do about it. But, it sounds like your policy allows for it in cases of medical neccessity so you are probably on the right road by getting more evidence that it is medically neccessary.

Thank you everyone for your responses. Dr. C, its great to know that its not unheard of for the radiologist to be wrong. I had my surgery done out of town and any revisions would be out-of-pocket so I'm really not too keen on needing another surgery. Desertmom, I have really bad reflux too and I've been unfilled for that reason but that seemed to make things worse. I'm hoping for a fill on the 28th. I had an appt this coming up week but the NP insisted I wait for the surgeon to be in the office so that we can really go over the issue in detail. Thanks again everyone for the responses~I feel a little better about things now!

Hi all, I've had quite a struggle with my band. I'm 18 months out and had initially lost lots of weight (from pre and post-op diets) but gained most of it back as I added real food back. I pretty much decided to give up for about 7 months. Then recently, I realized I should give it another try. I went back and saw my surgeon's NP, enrolled in therapy and started seeing a new dietition. The first thing the NP did was order and upper GI to see where I was in terms of needing a fill or not. So, I went back two weeks later and he and the surgeon both read the films as being in good position with a small pouch and room to fill. When I got the actual dictated report by the radiologist back, the radiologist read the films totally differently. The report said that the band was too high (on the espophagus at the gastric junction) instead of being on the gastric fundus. It states "there is no demonstrable gastric pouch". The conclusion at the end was "High lap band placement at the gastric-esophageal junction with no gastric pouch". when I discussed it with the NP, he said that he'd have it re-read by the surgeon but that sometimes the radiologist isn't completely sure about where the band should actually BE placed. So, he thinks its fine. I'm a little freaked out though because the problem with my band has always been that I don't get full but that food feels like its getting stuck. Even when I'm a perfect little bandster and don't drink with meals, I don't get full on 4 oz of Protein (I have to cut it into very tiny pieces to get it down), 1/2 cup veggies and a little starch. The NP said that there is evidence that if the pouch is TOO small and there isn't enough stomach above the band that contains stretch receptors, the brain won't get the appropriate signals to turn off the hunger. Should I ask to go back to the Or and get it placed a little further down? I keep telling myself that I trust my surgeon 100% and also the NP and I believe that they truly want what is best for me so I think they'd be honest if it were something that needed to be addressed but what if the position of the band is causing it not to be as effective? Any ideas?

The biggest sign of a slip is usually the inability to keep ANYTHING down. I'd call the doctor but you may have had some swelling that is now gone down since you are feeling better. Vomiting tends to make us swell and that may have been why you felt restricted for a few days afterwards.

Go to FillCentersUSA.com. I believe there is at least one fill center in the S. FLA area. Are you able to get all of your medical records from the doc who did your surgery? I'm sure that would be helpful to any future practitioners in figuring out where to go from here. Are you sure you have a 10cc band and not a 10cm band which would be full at around 5cc of Fluid? Maybe that is the difference. But, I'd definitely get the chart from your surgeon so you can know better what you are dealing with. good luck!

I couldn't agree more. Its taken me 18 months of struggling with my band to have this understanding. I finally started back into therapy and this is the main thing that we've worked on. Its living in the middle and eating when you are hungry and not eating when you aren't. Its also about enjoying the things in life you enjoy and still maintaining control. Its awesome that you have this ability now and it seems like you are truly pleased with your decisions.

Thanks, Jack. You are so awesome. This isn't my regular shift supervisor. She's covering because our Lead is on vacation. This was typical behavior from her but thankfully, I'm not confronted with it often since she's a daytime supervisor. I called the Lead since we are also good friends and she wasn't too happy about how I was treated while she was gone. Her sentiments were similar to FaithMDs because she knows I'm reliable almost to a fault.

My first fill was a little difficult but the NP got it. The next visit, there was a new NP and he was still learning. He tried and couldn't get it so the surgeon came in and he went right to it. The other surgeon in the practice tried forever once and could not get it and by the time he was done, I had a bruise the size of Texas on my belly and I was quite teed off. So, it was decided that the port was probably sewn in a little off kilter. The NP said yesterday that if I did a lot of situps, it could cause my port to flip completely over. Like I needed an excuse not to do situps :heh: I asked about needing another port and he said as long as it isn't flipped, with the X-ray images, he should always be able to find it now. So, that was encouraging. I would be out of pocket for the port replacement so I'm grateful that its not needed.

Ok, well maybe not but sometimes I feel like it. Yesterday, as in March 7, was definitely not my best day ever. I got in to see the NP because they had a cancellation. I wasn't scheduled to see him until next week. After doing ok and following my bandster plan, going to therapy, the dietician, etc., I was confident that I needed a fill. I am not getting full on normal band portions without drinking. So, he went to try and access my port. Its been difficult to access since day 1 since its been tilted and my fills have always been a little traumatic. The one prior to this caused me (in part) to go an a band hiatus:rolleyes: So, he did a great job and it wasn't terribly painful but it did seem to be aggravating him that he couldn't get it. He mentioned that there was a remote chance that my port had flipped and he sent me for a stat X-ray. I had to run over to the hospital where I worked to get the X-ray. By this time, I'm stressed, sad and freaking out because I may need a port replacement. I ran upstairs to speak to a supervisor after my X-rays. I'm almost in tears already and she gives me a tongue lashing and says that I'd better be at work tonight. Not one ounce of concern for me. I DO NOT call in sick EVER to work. I mean NEVER. So for me to say that I might be late was VERY unusual. But, whatever... I ran the X-rays back to the NP to look at and the verdict is that the port is still tilted, only a little more than last time. The good news is its not totally flipped. So, no replacement. But, my belly was already bruised and starting to swell so we decided to leave well enough alone and try again next week or the next. SO, still no fill...:think :confused:

Lauren: It sucks to have no support from your family. I was kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum. My mom was a little worried but my sisters were pushing me to have RNY because they have a friend who had it and is doing good. I always got the "well you would've lost more weight by now if you'd had the REAL surgery" kind of comments. I guess they all mean well. My advice is that no one can understand your journey like fellow bandsters and I also think that everyone should get as many opinions as possible so that they are completely READY and prepared for anything. I wasn't prepared for the fact that it would be very hard to get satisfied, even with the band. Had I gotten into a support group, I'd have probably heard this but no one in my area had one. That resource is invaluable. I'd recommend getting VERY involved with your local support group (if you have one) so that you can have some face-to-face commiserating with people who actually KNOW what you are going through. Good luck and hang in there.