NewNewMe

Glad to hear that. What did you over do?

Congratulations! How are you feeling?

I had my band put in over 9 years ago. I lost 85lbs and then started getting really bad reflux. They took the fluid out and I have yoyo dieted ever since. I finally decided to get the band out and get a sleeve. I hope this will finally be the tool I need to succeed. My surgery is scheduled for April 30.

Thank you so much John! That is exactly what I needed to hear. I am so glad to hear how well your doing only 1 month out.

SENDING PRAYERS AND WELL WISHES ON YOUR BIG DAY. MY EGD IS ON APRIL 30th. I TOO HAVE THE BAND. IN FACT I'VE HAD TWO BANDS. JUST NOT WORKING OUT FOR ME, BUT THANK GOD IM MAINTAINING MY WEIGHT. YOU WILL DO JUST FINE. LET ME KNOW HOW YOU MAKE OUT. Thanks! Wow! Two bands? Good luck with your EDG.

Yes, that and it the fact that it can't be undone. Also, the band was done outpatient, the sleeve requires hospital stay.

I have been up thinking too much too loosingbench. I think it will get worse as I get closer.

I know what you mean NoMo. I can't imagine what that would feel like either. I worry about leaks too. My doc said that would most likely happen while I am still in the hospital. Hopefully that won't be the case.

Wow! Only 2 days! That is great! Good luck on Monday. Please let us know how it goes.

I know what you mean! We thought we were done with the band and now we have to do it all again. . It goes by quickly. I do think this is going to be a much better tool than the band. Good luck to you!

I was banded in 2005. Lost 85 pounds and then had bad reflux. They took fluid out in spring of 2006 six and I have been struggling with yoyo diet ever since. I decided to get the band out and get the sleeve. Was just approved today. Now I am wigging out. I didn't think I would be approved and now it becomes real.

I gained during this process but was approved. Do the best you can. If we were able to do it without the tool we would not be looking to have the surgery in the first place.

The magic bullet rocks!

I just got approved. I am removing a band and getting the sleeve. Will get my date in Tuesday. I assume it will be in May.

Adriej, I had to jump through all the hoops again to get approved. 4 months of doctor supervised diet, appointment with dietician, and another psych eval. They also did an endoscopy to see if there was damage from my band.

I can relate Sha_Michelle! I wish I started this process sooner. It has been a long time dealing with the band and its issues. Please let us know how your surgery goes. I should get my date on Tuesday. It will be so nice to have a date finally.

Thank you!

I am moving to the Raleigh NC area. I was wondering if there were other bandsters out there. Also, where can I go for follow up care and fills? I have been banded since November 2005, but I still need fills now and then.

No, he didn't recommend anything like that. I got the impression that he didn't think the unfill would do any good. But I feel soooo much better, so it has to mean something. I am going to try to last as long as I can without a fill, hopefully things will just settle back. I just hope I don't strat having trouble with no fill. At least no fill is better than no band, it still helps the intense hunger. Thanks, Rae

Well my saga continues. After the unfill, I felt better for a little while, and then the reflux came back. My insurance is not paying for anything, and Dr. Moran wants to do more tests. But I just can't afford it. Even if there is a slip, I cannot afford to remove the band, I am still paying for the placement. Anyway, I just went back to Dr. Moran and asked him to remove ALL the Fluid from my band. I waited this long, because without insurance, he charges $500 each fill/unfill. OUCH! With the unfill, I feel like a new person. I just hope I don't gain all the weight back. I have so much more to lose. I joined Weight Watchers, and I am exercising like crazy, so I hope that will help. My only hope is that with the unfill things will heal and/or reposition, and I can go back to having fills again someday. I just wish I didn't have to leave my original Dr. It is so hard dealing with all this, and feeling like I can't get help because I am being charged so much. My original Dr., only charged 150 for a fill/unfill if you didn't have insurance. I don't get it.

I just had an unfill on Thursday. I have been suffering with what I think is acid reflux, although it is more like just liquids coming up than acid. I have had this problem since November 2006, exactly one year after getting my band. Since then I have not lost any weight, and have been going up and down the same ten pounds all year. I don't have insurance, so I can't get all the testing done that will show what is going on with my band. And even if it were a slip or something, I certainly cannot afford surgery. I am still paying for the initial surgery. Finally, I just asked the Dr. to remove all the Fluid. OMG - I feel sooooo much better now. I joined Weight Watchers, and I am exercising like crazy, so I am hoping to finally lose weight without my band filled. The issues I had were actually stopping me from losing weight. The constant burning feeling in my stomach made me want to eat, kind of like hunger pains. And I craved milk, because that was the one thing that made my stomach feel better. Anyway, I hope I can make it for a while. I also hope that my stomach will heal and maybe reposition or something so I can get a fill again without all the issues.

Wow! I can't believe this thread! I have been suffering with this for a year. I was banded in Nov 2005 and lost 85 lbs my first year. Right around my 1 year anniversary I started having reflux issues. The Dr. took the Fluid out for couple weeks and then put it back in. It was not a very good fill, so I got another one in January. Then I moved to NC. I started have really bad refulx right after I moved. I have a new Dr. here, but he charges me $500 per fill/unfill. He sent me to the hospital to have tests done, and my band looks fine. So he took some fluid out and I was fine. Then we tried to add a little back and the reflux was back. After going up and down, I finally decided to keep it loose (I can't afford to keep filling/unfilling). I can now eat bread, steak, anything. I don't have a whole lot restriction. For the most part, I don't have the reflux, but sometimes I do. I don't know why, since I am not very tight. I guess I have some perm damage or something. One tip I found - it is gross, but works everytime. When I wake up with the coughing and reflux, I take a swig of Apple Cider Vinegar (I keep it in my master bath). I am then able to sleep the rest of the night. If I don't, I am up every ten to fifteen minutes. It is good and bad to know that I am not alone out here. I have not lost any weight in year 2. And have gained and lost the same ten pounds all year. I am finally back to my 85lb loss, because I joined Weight Watchers. I think my band still helps with my hunger issues, but that is about all I am getting from it. I do think it helped me not to gain all 85lbs back though. I hope the Dr's will discover that this is a "band" issue, and start discovering what is causing it. ~Rae

Alexandra, Thanks for the reply. I am sorry to hear your band was removed. I hope you have better luck with the new one. I was told that I did not have a slippage, so hopefully I can keep my band. I guess I just can't have it very tight. I did read on this site that someone suggested drinking vinegar, I did try that and it works. So hopefully I can keep it under control. I just hope I can start losing weight again, since my band is not that tight right now. Good luck with the new band, Rae

I had my surgery on November 5th, 2005. The first year, I lost 90lbs, but then I started having trouble with reflux. I will be sleeping and wake up choking on reflux. The doctor took the Fluid out of my band for a couple weeks, then put it back in. It took awhile to get back to a good fill. The the reflux came back. I had a barium swallow done and it showed my band is in the right place. I moved to another state and have a new doctor. He also took the fluid out and then slowly put it back in. As soon as the band gets to the point where it is doing it's job, I get the reflux back. He took some more out and I am not that restricted. But not I am getting the reflux even at this level. It is so bad, that I don't get any sleep when it happens. I have not lost any weight since my 1 year bandiversary, although I have maintained. I have a lot more to lose, and I am starting to believe that I will never get the band to work for me again. I can't afford to keep having the fluid put in and out. If anyone has had similar trouble, please help! Thanks, Rae

Yes he did help me out. He sent me for a Barium Swallow to make sure I didn't have a slippage. Everything looked fine, so I was just too tight. He took some of the fill out, and I am 100% better now. He said he would slowly put fill back in as I needed it. He was really nice. Dr. Moran has a different approach to fills than my FL surgeon. My FL doctor would fill you up as tight as he could as long as you could still swallow Water, Dr. Moran will go slowly with smaller fills until you hit that optimal fill. Having experienced what can happen with too much of a fill, I like this approach much better. 4/5 is right around the corner. I bet you are getting really excited. Thanks for checking on me. Rae