Ana Maria

The band is not an easy tool to work. I think you're doing an incredible job. Keep up the good work. It is very motivating even for those of us who are no longer banded. Do you have a journal with your food logs posted? I understand if you choose not to do that, but would love a little insight as to what you're eating. If you don't mind sharing you could PM me. I'm maintaining my weight so far in the 5 weeks since my band slipped, but am in need of some inspiration. Thanks:) -Ana Maria

Dr. Ortiz performed my banding and my unbanding. His facilities are top notch and he and Dr. Martinez provided me with excellent quality care. I live in Los Angeles so I was never more than 2 hours away in the event of an emergency. Even so, if I had the opportunity to have the surgery performed locally I would have done it. It's just EASIER and more convenient. I think the 6 month pre-diet may turn out to be a good thing. If you can lose some, ANY weight beforehand you have a better chance at being successful in the long term in my opinion. Some discipline and a lot of effort are required to lose weight with the band. For many people the weight loss is not automatic with a band. It comes with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. If you are not, or have never experienced success on any kind of diet, your success with the band will probably be limited. IN MY OPINION. Your mileage may vary. Unfortunately the band does not prevent or eliminate compulsion towards food. Good luck with whatever you decide. We're rooting for you! -Ana Maria

Sounds like you need the band removed because the "slip" is not repairable. I'd be willing to bet that after 3 years and 125 pounds you've learned a thing or two about keeping that weight off. Don't assume you'll become a wild ravenous beast once the band is removed. That doesn't have to be your scenario. People lose & maintain weight everyday WITHOUT a band - I don't care what the so-called statistics say. Now............as for me...........I've been unbanded for a month and haven't lost diddley squat. I know exactly why too. I'm eating too damned much. Nothing new for me since I did that while I was banded too. Fortunately for me I am maintaining my weight and choose to believe, however deluded, that I will continue to do so. A little belief & delusion go a long way! Sooner or later I'll need to throw some excercise and less food into the mix. One thing's for sure - I am MUCH happier with the choke chain off. -ana maria

D- The main thing I am doing is trying my best NOT to binge. I very much want to start walking the hills in my neighborhood again SOON. So far haven't motivated myself to get moving though. Why don't you go to the LBT Journal section (see link above) and start an online food log. It seems to help me be accountable for what I'm eating. -Ana Maria

D- Have you already had the band removed? Where? I had mine removed by my original surgeon in Mexico on 4/19 It cost $3500 which I paid for with a 0% interest loan from my credit card. If you have a credit card give them a call and see what kind of deal they can give you. As Tracey suggested perhaps you can submit everything to your insurance and see what happens. How much weight had you lost? Don't despair life exists after banding. Personally, mine has improved. I am able to eat much more healthy food. Yes, it is difficult not to binge. I've had a few episodes, but I keep plugging along. As of today I am 2 pounds less than when the band was removed. I binged with the band too and my weight loss had come to a screeching halt after my first year. I was banded 4/2003 People lose weight every day without a lap band and so will you if you BELIEVE you are capable. Email me privately if you ever want to rant, rave, complain, Celebrate, whatever. I understand and am right in there with you. -Ana Maria

Vanhos, Pain and/or extreme discomfort are not something you should have to live with. For reasons I don't think anyone fully understands, some people do really well with the band and experience minimal discomfort. They lose weight and their lives change for the better. I admire anyone who can learn to live with the band and make it work. It is not an easy thing to do. Any kind of weight loss requires effort and hard work - banded or unbanded. By the same token there are those of us who have experienced a lot of suffering since getting banded. I suffered for 3 years, lost 38 pounds, developed acid reflux, constantly felt like all the throwing up was damaging my esophogus, food just didn't go down (yes I chewed and ate small bites) COULD NOT eat healthy, did not feel healthy, was beyond frustrated, band slipped, had it removed: best thing that ever could have happened. No matter how much weight you've lost Vanhos - 50 pounds or 150 pounds - it's not worth it if your health is at stake. Just losing weight does not automatically mean a person is more healthy. Bandsters are just as likely to regain weight as anyone else. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of people I have met through these boards/forums/lists who have done just that. The bottom line is that if you are suffering and uncomfortable you don't have to live with it. Go see your doctor/ do some research for yourself and try and find some answers. I waited for 6 months and lived with pain until I finally went in to my surgeon. I was sure it was me doing something wrong and not the band. I wish you continued success. Despite the different opinions expressed here I've found this forum to be the BEST one on the internet. No one flames you here for talking about problems or accuses you of being non-compliant. People really seem to want to help in a non-judgemental way. Keep posting and let us know how you are. -ana maria:)

Pati, I am so glad to hear the news! Now at least you won't be worried about something being wrong. I'm sure you are sooooooooooo relieved. That's great about the reflux being gone too. Nexium worked great for me. Zantac gave me terrible headaches. I wish you continued good health! A.M.

I hesitated to post this because I don't want you to panic, but the pics of your barium swallow look very similair to mine on the 11th of April when I was diagnosed with a slip. The pouch looks the same. My stomach had slipped up through the band and had migrated into my chest cavity (hiatal hernia). My previous flouroscopy had revealed a pouch the size of a plum, round with no distended look. That was a year previous. My ability to eat varied widely day to day. I also was having reflux. Took me forever to finally get in to see my doctor because I didn't want to drive down to TJ. Smart girl to call the doc. Get in there and find out for sure what's happening so you can relax. If it's a slip there is a very good probability that it can be repositioned or your pouch might go back to normal with a complete unfill. MIne was unfilled completely already so I had no leeway. When is your appointment? Keep posting and let us know how you're doing and the results of the appointment.

I hesitated to post this because I don't want you to panic, but the pics of your barium swallow look very similair to mine on the 11th of April when I was diagnosed with a slip. The pouch looks the same. My stomach had slipped up through the band and had migrated into my chest cavity (hiatal hernia). My previous flouroscopy had revealed a pouch the size of a plum, round with no distended look. That was a year previous. My ability to eat varied widely day to day. I also was having reflux. Took me forever to finally get in to see my doctor because I didn't want to drive down to TJ. Smart girl to call the doc. Get in there and find out for sure what's happening so you can relax. If it's a slip there is a very good probability that it can be repositioned or your pouch might go back to normal with a complete unfill. MIne was unfilled completely already so I had no leeway. When is your appointment? Keep posting and let us know how you're doing and the results of the appointment.

Honey, I lost my band last week 4/19 due to a slip that couldn't be repaired. I understand your fear of regaining the weight. I have the same fear. Although i only lost 38 pounds in 3 years it made a big difference in my appearance and how I felt. I started a food log on a journal here. For now it's private, but I'll probably change that today or tomorrow. This is a really supportive group of people. One thing that helps me to avoid being compulsive is to know that I can have whatever I want to eat without fear of choking or throwing up or acid reflux. So everyday I eat exactly what I want. If I examine what I truly crave it is NOT hamburgers, shakes, and all that crap. It's good, healthy, tasty food. I'm trying to let my inner adult make the food decisions versus my inner child. I'm also trying to BELIEVE in myself. That's hard when there is so much evidence of failure in the past. Coming here and reading and writing helps a lot. I think Cindy's post is very wise in that regard. There are some unbanded people on this forum that seem to me to have been very successful at not regaining weight or regaining very little. It helps to read their posts. I'm pulling for you and so is everyone else. -Mary Ann

Barbara, I saw so many people in the waiting room at the surgery center, but being the somewhat introverted person I am wasn't going to go around asking, "ARe you Barbara?" Ha! Ha! I'm glad you're back. Back in January 2005 when I had my unfill my pouch was about the size of a plum. Dr. M and Dr. O didn't say so definitively, but agreed with my assessment that my constant pouch packing and PBing probably led to the stomach being pulled up through the band even more between January 2005 and now. They did say that carbonation WAS NOT the reason. My problem was I didn't have any leeway because there was no more fill to be removed. In your case you have saline left in your band. I think if it was a problem they would have removed all of the fill and left it out, but it sounds like they put back in 1.4ccs is that right? ARe you wide open when your band is unfilled? Do you PB alot or pack your pouch too full? If not, I bet there is an excellent chance that your band WILL NOT slip. If you start getting reflux in a bad way (hell, in any way) get back down there. In the unlikely event that your band does slip I bet you anything they can reposition it successfully. My case was different/unusual because I was tight without any fill. Know what I mean? In any case let's keep in touch about it. This morning I enjoyed Breakfast out with a friend for the first time in over 3 years. It was such a simple pleasure I could hardly stand it. I ordered bacon, eggs, a pancake, & sliced tomatoes, and hot coffee. My friend was shocked at how little I ate and kept saying, "ARe you sure you don't have that band?" I kept giving her more and more of my food. I slowly ate about 5 bites of the eggs, 2 bites of tomatoe, 2 slices of bacon, 1 small pancake, and the coffee which ended up being about 1/4 of what was on my plate. I felt perfectly satisfied and not overly full at all. I felt like I was out of prison. Afterwards I went into Little Tokyo to pick up something and stopped by the Farmer's Market. I saw a basket of beautiful strawberries. I looked at them and then remembered, "Oh my god I can eat these gorgeous things!" They are sitting in the fridge for desert later and snacking. I hope I don't sound like I am gloating it's just that I was so miserable for so long and now it's like an Iron cuff around my throat has finally been unlocked and thrown out for good. Thinking about it makes me emotional. I read a John Steinbeck quote recently: "What good is warmth without cold to give it sweetness." What more can I say?" For me, in this moment, life is good. -Mary Ann

What a wonderful group of people I've stumbled into here! All of your kindness and support is really heart warming. I am glad to hear there are unbanded folks out there who are going to try to go it alone. I'm SO right with you! My relationship with my band was never one of love. I felt like my eating was becoming more and more disordered: The constant restriction, making a beautiful healthy meal for friends and not being able to enjoy more than 1 bite, all the PBing which I knew could damage my esophogaus, not getting enough Fiber, and all the darn ice cream and high-fat soft foods I turned to out of frustration. Having your band unfilled and knowing you can't get any less restricted left me feeling clausterphobic and angry at times. I don't know how many times I wished I had the ability to remove the band myself. Today I feel FREE and grateful with that albatross gone from around my...stomach. This morning I enjoyed a mocha from a cuban bakery that I adore and was able to sip it without anything backing up. My thyroid medication went down without a choking sensation or causing added restriction for an hour or more, my lentil Soup at lunch was delicious and it too went down. I could eat it slowly and not worry that at any second the hatch would slam shut. For the first time in years I don't feel panicked that I might not be able to enjoy my tuna sandwich on toast I'll have for dinner. I know it will go down, that I will enjoy it immensely and that I won't need a pint of hagen daaz, or warm tapioca, or condensed milk, or fill in the blank (as long as there's some combination of milk & sugar!) as a substitute for what I really crave. I look forward in the days to come to eating a steak salad, a roasted vegetable sandwich with goat cheese, cuban pork,........... I could go on and on. Maybe if my bandster experience had been more positive and not fraught with discomfort and behaviour resembling bulimia I would be in mourning, but now I just feel ..................... like I can B R E A T H E. I hope to have more in depth "conversations" with some of you in the future. I'm not foolish enough to think my troubles are over, but I am hopeful that I can eat mindfully and continue my weight loss journey bandfree. Thanks again to all of you! -Mary Ann 4/15/03 banded 4/19/03 unbanded 238/200/195 (5 pound mini-goal)

Just wanted to update everyone on my slipped band. I went in yesterday for surgery and unfortunately due to too much stomach swelling the band could not be repositioned properly without a very long surgery and/or compromising my health. So they cut it out. Everything is gone. As soon as I woke up from my surgery stupor it was the first question I asked and the answer was "no we had to take it out." My surgeons spoke to me extensively before and after the surgery and answered all of my questions and explained that removal might occur if they could not reposition the band. I had driven down to TJ alone for this surgery, but the kindness and care I received at the surgical center really made up for being by myself. This morning after my drain was removed from my port area (ugh) and I was bandaged up. I drank a bottle of apple juice, Water and packed up and headed out. Boy was it ever good to feel liquids go right down the chute without backing up. Heavenly. They recommended that I stay and sleep or at least get a room at the LUcerna where I'd stayed the night before, but I felt pretty strong and steady so Mrs. Ortiz kindly escorted me to the Mexicoach and I scooted on back across the border to my waiting car. A couple of hours later and I am safely tucked away up in my cottage on a hill in Los Angeles with my 3 fur people and a big library full of books to cozy up in and heal. In 4-6 months if I want another band I can have another one installed. If I can maintain or lose weight in that 6 month period I will choose NOT to be rebanded. I know the odds are against me, but I must remind myself that it is POSSIBLE to lose weight and keep it off without a band. MOre difficult , but possible. thank you for all of your warm thoughts and wishes they have all been appreciated very much! -Mary Ann