nursejess

I had my band removed on Monday, March 22 due to major slippage and 3 days worth of steriods to decrease size of esophagus and PPN (nutrition) through the vein due to being so sick, was in the hospital 5 days...now recovering very slowly...on liquids and they don't feel good sometimes...just wondering if anyone else encountered this and how long before your esophagus felt anywhere near normal? thanks!

I will try my best to condense this: banded May 2008 with 12 cc LAP-BAND®...lost 20 lbs first month with nothing in the band then continued to lose well total of 70lbs in 7 months with 2 cc's total in band.I only had to make sure to drink coffee in the mornings then everything else would be fine..went to see MD and since I wanted to lose more told him I was a little hungry so he put in 1 cc..BIG mistake...couldn't tolerate anything came back next day and had 1 cc taken out. Then no weight loss for over 4 months so got 0.5 cc's put in, had the PBing, slime, etc for a few months, lose 5 then gain 5 back and forth. One yr anniversary had pain in port area found out port had flipped, had replaced and asked MD to put in 1 cc while in surgery...BIG mistake..ended up in hospital for 3 days very dehydrated and had 2 cc's removed...(total of 2 cc's at this point in band) so over the next several months did not lose any weight....did not over eat, just made bad choices at times then other times really good choices for several weeks with no weight loss (side note..within 30 lbs of goal weight) began to have problems with sliming, PBing, etc...had BS just to check things out and everything was okay but continued to have problems...I would have no problems with "bad" foods but protein was a different..could not tolerate it at all..(gained 15 lbs)..so I had enough and went to my MD in November 09 and asked him to remove everything which he did, initially lost 9 lbs in 7 days over Thanksgiving because I could eat protein. Became lazy over the holidays and made bad choices and the 9 lbs came back. Now for the last 2 months I have once again began to have problems with PBing, sliming, lots of mucous and sometimes cannot eat anything:(....at times the carbs will go down easily and since that is all I can eat at times I have not lost any more weight. I will admit I have been under a lot of stress....what is causing this since I am completely unfilled...also had migraine on Monday, vomitted alot went to ER, they did CT scan just to check band and said it is fine....what is going on, any thoughts would be appreciated.

freespirit...bless your heart I hope things go well with your thyroid surgery...I wish I could tell you that everything continued to go good for me after my removal but it did not...I began to vomit the little bit of liquid that I was drinking, went back to MD, had BS...my stomach stilled looked like I had a band on and then it showed that I had developed a stricture right below my little stomach and that it was only open the size of a straw or less, so essentially fluid was backing up in my little stomach and then having trouble going thru...so I had another EGD and the gastro MD attempted to dilate the strictured area...stated he had been doing these for 20 yrs and never saw anything like this...he too said my upper stomach looks exactly like someone with a band on and there is so much swelling it is unbelievable, he said it may take 6 wks for all the swelling to go down and he is not sure if he was able to dilate me enough to get soft foods down but hopes as the swelling goes down he hopes that I will be able to eat soft foods, he said that my stomach will most likely never be completely normal and that I will never be able to "gobble" food (I haven't done that in 2 yrs anyway with the band)..I am able to drink 2 protein shakes a day and some gatorade now. so my advice to you if you have no fluid in the band and still feel restricted alot is to get an EGD to see what is going on. I pray the best for you. We have a trip to Disney planned in 7 wks that my 4 and 5 yr olds are really looking forward to...I hope I am able to eat by then:)

thanks for your prayers! My MD didn't really know why it slipped like it did, although I really think it had been slipping on and off but just not at the same time they would do the test:(...his nurse told me that the lapband is more likely to slip when you don't have any fluid in it, so that had been since November of 2009. I feel like I will be okay, it is just going to take some time...I did have a better night last night and I am so thankful...I had about 4 tablespoons of broth last night for supper so that is some improvement....still very tired so I am about to rest for a while...I really appreciate your words of encouragement and support and wish you the best!

update...when you have that feeling that something is wrong...go with it! I continued to get worse to the point that it would take me 4 or more hours just to get a protein shake in...I went in to see my surgeon..he did an EGD in the office and found that my band had slipped and not only had it slipped but it still had food from the week before that had not gone through...he sent me for BS and NOTHING went through....radiologist said I was the most interesting case he had seen because literally none of the barium went through....my esophagus was too swollen to do surgery so I was in the hospital getting steriods to reduce the swelling and PPN (nutrition)through my veins for 3 days before they could do surgery. Came home yesterday, still in alot of pain, esophagus is very touchy, no appetite but followering MD's orders to the letter. I am proud of the weight I lost with the band but will not have it replaced. The good thing...I don't think about food the way I did and I really believe with God's help and support of my wonderful husband I will be able to lose this remaining 25 or so lbs. I wish all of you the best!:thumbup:

First of all, let me say I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my first husband in 1994 at the age of 27...I was 25...losing someone you love definitely impacts every facet of your life. I think if you were anything like me, it was just by the grace of God that we were able to walk around and breathe. I am glad you are able to think about yourself now. If I were you, I would just call my surgeon and make an appt....they will definitely understand why they have not seen you and I think they will be glad to get you back on track. I pray God's strength and blessings on you. You will do great!

I have been completely unfilled for 3 months and still having problems with PB'ing especially with "good" proteins...any thoughts would be appreciated...stress?

Please help! I have been having extreme nausea, especially in the mornings to the point I cannot drink my coffee...this is a big problem considering my coffee "wakes up" my band. Without it and even alot of times with it, I have trouble getting things to go down. I had a complete unfill in November due to PBing, sliming, feeling of being stuck even though I only had 2 cc's in a 14 cc band...I did not have a slipped band according to the Barium Swallow. I was banded in May 2008...first year was great 70lbs without any problems. Anyone else with this problem? I REALLY need to hear from some of you with alot of band experience..thanks!

Thanks for the responses.....Carol, how did they diagnose your slip...was it with a Barium Swallow or CT scan....I just had a CT scan last Monday in our local ER (my lapband surgeon works in another town) because I had a migraine, only the second one I have ever had and had vomited alot...they said my band was fine...I think I am doing things right as far as small bites and eating slowly....I put myself on Zantac and my medical MD called in med for esophageal spasm that has helped a little but I am currently under alot of stress (my BFF mother is dying) so I am wondering if this is part of the problem along with probable gastritis and esophagitis. I really appreciate all of you helping me out with this :smile2:

I sincerely appreciate all the responses and am willing to try any suggestion. I pray for God's best for all of you on your journey!

I am so glad I read this post....this has been happening to me for almost a year...I thought it was something I was doing wrong. Also, just in case you didn't know...Mucinex is the same ingredient found in plain Robitussin so I am going to Walmart and buy the generic brand..it is alot cheaper than the Mucinex. Thanks!

Thank you Leigha for responding....I will admit if I had not had a tubal ligation and the ablation surgery that is definitely what I would have thought because that was very true with both of my pregnancies! I will definitely try your suggestions, something has got to give...I am a nurse and am beginning to diagnose myself with esophagitis and gastritis...I put myself on a hefty dose of Zantac just to be safe.

thanks for the info.....I am a nurse, definitely not a computer person

I want to hear from fellow bandsters who are at their goal.....did anyone else after losing 70 lbs come to almost a complete standstill? What did you do to start losing again? I need to lose 23 more lbs....help!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a feeling something was just not right. I have had my band 11 months and about 4 weeks ago I had an episode for 2 days on and off where my port site hurt. I had vomitted (not PB) 3 times while I had a stomach bug that lasted less than 12 hours. I have 3 cc in my 12 cc band and had my last fill in Febuary but felt no new restriction after that fill. So, now I am wondering if it was flipped then. Anyway, my MD said this is extremely rare and happens less than 1% of all cases done. I will have surgery on Thursday. Is there anyone out there who is in this less than 1% club with me and if so, how was the recovery after?

Congrats on your progress! I had my band one year in May. I lost 70 lbs in 7 months then nothing...then found out my port was flipped a few days before my anniversary...had revision and doing well but lose and gain the same 5 lbs over and over. My original goal was 80-90 lbs....I have done well adhering to the rules....sorry you are in the same boat, but glad to know it is not just me. I am open to suggestions please and would love to hear from those that have had their band more than one year and if this happened to them too and what they did to get the scale going down again. Thanks!!!!!!

Congrats! You inspire me! I have a couple of questions....I am one year out...lost 70 lbs in 7 months then nothing for the next 5...found out my port was flipped...had a revision and now lose and gain the same 5 lbs over and over so my question....did you have periods where you didn't lose and how long did it last? Also, any suggestions to get the weight going down again...my initial goal was to lose 80-90 lbs. Thanks!

My port revision surgery was fine.....but I had my surgeon to add 1 cc during surgery to bring me up to 4cc in a 12 cc band.....well apparently I swell more than the average person during any type of surgery so the 1 cc along with the swelling was too much. I would recommend not getting a fill at the same time as surgery. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Thanks so much for your encouraging words!!! I have 3 cc's in a 10 cc lapband. My surgery was on 05/06/08 and I lost 20 lbs in the first month and then another 50 the following 6 months at a steady pace. In November I went to my MD, he was happy about the weight loss but I told him I was beginning to get hungry, so he did a 1cc fill...at the time I only had 2cc in....for the next week I could not eat anything so I went back to his office and he did a 1cc unfill...well I have not lost anything since then despite another 1cc fill in February. Also I had to take 10 days of steroids for poison oak and gained 3 lbs back. I did not know about this site at the time or I would have realized that in November I had just gotten something stuck!! Until reading on this site I have been a little scared about getting fills because I thought you just needed a fill because you had stretched out your pouch....now I realize that is not true and I cannot hardly wait to go for a fill on Tuesday. I hope to get some restriction then and drop the remaining 23 lbs to get me to my goal and maybe a little more. This site has helped me so much! Nursejess Surgery 05/06/08 Weight 278 Current 211 Goal 188 or less

Check out the website www.5daypouchtest.com

I just read on another thread about the five day pouch test and I intend to start that tomorrow. I have been at a plateau for 3 months. Don't get discouraged!

I was banded on 05/06/08 and lost 70 lbs in the first seven months but none since. I have 3 cc's in a 10cc band and have an appt in a couple of weeks...I usually cannot eat anything until after 10 am having my coffee first or else things will get stuck. I am following the rules but getting discouraged, do I need a fill or has other people hit this plateau? Thanks!

Typical day for me...banded 06/08/08..3 cc's in band currently...I lost 70lbs in 7 months but have been on a plateau for about 3 months, next fill 04/21/09 Breakfast...coffee with creamer and splenda, yogurt Mid morning snack...Sugar free CIB/Nonfat milk powder/skim milk 1 cup Lunch...chicken salad about 1 cup Snack...almonds or sugar free pudding Dinner...3-4 oz roasted chicken....vegetable Nursejess 5 ft 8 in Starting weight 280 lbs Current weight 210 lbs Goal weight 188 lbs or lower

I was banded on May 6, 2008 and lost 20 lbs the first month and a total of 70 lbs in 7 months...I have 3 cc's in my 10 cc band but have hit a plateau and have not lost any in 3 months...I go again on April 21st for a fill...my question...has anyone else hit this plateau and what is the how did you get over it...I am following all the rules. Also, I am told to lose 70 lbs with only 3 cc's is great..but I am thinking maybe I need more cc's in my band. Thanks, Nursejess