NaNa

That is really sad, I am sorry that happened to your friend, people really need to know that weight loss surgery is serious business regardless of which path we take, none are nothing to play with, and each surgery has its own set of issues. Again, I am sorry for your friend, that must be devastating.

Well they say that because many people do not know how or chew their food well after they get the band, some people have a more difficult time eating with the band than others. I've never had to cut up my food to the size of a pencil eraser, however, I do make sure that I take small bites and chew well, and wait until that food goes down before I take the next bite, and that works for me, and I rarely throw up.

Flying usually does not cause complications with the band, but sometimes some people even myself have experienced a tighter band in higher elevations. If your band has tighten up to the point where you can barely swallow your saliva, you probably need to see your surgeon asap to get some saline removed to help reduce any inflammation. Also, when your band is TIGHT, sometimes you don't have any room for error, and if anything happens, stress, higher elevation, eating something that has irritated the band and swollen your stoma, the band will close shut. In the meantime, stick with warm liquids, and avoid vomiting until you see your surgeon, constant vomiting will make things worse and cause obstruction. You need to see your lap band surgeon ASAP.

FYI...Surgeons have removed ports for many lap banders if they have a port infection, so yes it is done all the time -- or the port can be switched out if it is defective for a new one, hopefully you've heard of port replacements? And the port can be removed and separated FROM the lap band. When I got my new band replaced, my new surgeon WAS going to leave my old port in (4cc band), since there was nothing wrong with it, but decided to remove it along with the entire lap band system to have all parts of the AP band match including the lap band reservoir, tubing and port. So yes, the port can be detached from the lap band.

If you had your port removed, how did you expect the band to keep you in the green zone? if you say you can now eat without limits, the lap band does not work unless it can be filled, if you can't adjust it, then it is useless. Also as you lose weight the band will loosen up for many and if you have no port to inject saline into how did you expect to have the band help you with your portions? Are you in the US? This really does not sound like something a surgeon in the US would do, because they know that a band without a port is useless, if there are port issues, they either fix it or remove the band if your body rejects the port, tubing or lap band system. I have heard in the past where some people had the port removed (temporarily) if there was infection and the surgeon would remove the port (hoping) that with aggressive antibiotics that the infection would clear up and they can eventually put back in a new port, but from I've seen over the years, that rarely works, and the band has to be eventually removed. If you had a EGD or gastroscopy this would only tell if there is band migration inside the stomach, aka..erosion or hernias, ulcers, gastritis, or inflammation of the stomach or duodenum If there is no band at all, an Upper GI would tell whether the band is still around your stomach, and you would be able to see this for yourself with an Upper Gi series.

Sure the band can get tighter, especially if you are teetering at the red zone, I've always left "wiggle" room in my band because from what I've experienced when it seemed like the "sweet spot" it was in fact too tight. The band can also tighten more with stress, menstrual cycle, elevation, repeated vomiting will also make it tighter to the point of obstruction. Also when the band suddenly tighten, WITH reflux and heartburn, it could mean pouch dilation from being too tight. You probably need an Upper GI to check your band.

Discomfort and scared to eat seems like she is too tight to me, sometimes when you are EXTREMELY TOO TIGHT ...you are scared to eat anything, hence ...you don't vomit because you are too tight to think about solids...been there and done that one.... Also she should not be having discomfort with liquids...but again, some people maintain their band way over the recommended level. Also she is only 2 weeks out from that fill, heartburn don't always show up immediately and vomiting is not the only sign someone is too tight.

Sometimes after being too tight for awhile, there is damage done, like pouch dilation that will mimic heart problems and the pouch will throb and be very painful and scary and is similar to heart problems. Also sometimes totally unfillng the band will make it very uncomfortable for a while, and sometimes you may need medication after severe irritation, some people are put on carafate and a PPi, like protonix after being too tight, remember all band slips don't show on Upper Gi's if you are still feeling bad after two weeks, something probably is still wrong. Pouch dilation (which is a considered a mild slip, swollen pouch) sometimes can feel just as worse than a full band slip, but a pouch dilation can be managed and treated with a total unfill, and medication, whereas band slippage CANNOT, band slippage has to be surgically fixed or the band removed.

Well...this is what happens when you go past the green zone with aggressive fills. I know we sometimes get inpatient and want the band to help us quickly, but going directly into the red zone can sometimes come with a life time of band issues, if saline is not removed promptly. Sometimes, if you go back immediately after you've realized you are too tight to remove about .2 to .4ccs it can put you in the green zone without damage to your band, but you must act immediately, band issues can happen pretty quick. If you decide not to get saline removed NOW, eventually it will come out -- by force because eventually that tight pressure will become unbearable and uncomfortable, including all the vomiting that will happen, and reflux don't start immediately for most with a too tight band, the reflux usually starts to happen when band damage occur, and all the weight you've lost (the wrong way) will come back very quickly. Usually before getting a fill you have to be honest with your surgeon and really gauge how much you can eat BEFORE your fill, for example, if you can possibly eat way over 8 oz per meal or a entire sandwich, and still get hungry afterwards, then it;s ok to go a little aggressive, with caution. But if you are almost close to the green zone, and already have a little restriction, for example in the mornings, but can still eat over 4oz per meal and get hungry in less than 1 hour, you probably don't need an aggressive fill, only a small amount added. The closer you get to the green zone, the less saline you need in your band. Remember it's NEVER how much saline is in your band, it's how you feel, and right now you are dangerously too tight, and at risk for complications, and yes, the scales will probably move rapidly (this is the trap) that many lap banders fall in and sadly eventually lose their bands, saline can get addictive so be careful. Good to hear you are doing the smart thing by going back to see your surgeon.

Swelling up not normal, you need to call your surgeon if you have redness or warmth or extreme pain near your port area. You did not mention when you had surgery, but I never lifted anything over 10 pounds for 2 months after surgery, and I did not do any rigorous exercise until about 6 months post op, I took long walks 30-45 minutes per day. Also I wore loose clothes for about 2 months after surgery and did not let anything hit my port for about 2 months, and I only showered for about 2 months after surgery. Apparently this worked for me because I never had any port issues going on 8 years. It takes a couple of months for most people for the port to completely heal, and also as many lose weight the port may shift and can cause intermittent pain if it is hit up against anything or wear tight clothes. Good luck

Well if you still get the experience of "stuck" and burp, whether you believe it or not, YOUR BAND IS STILL HELPING YOU. I am not sure how tight your band was in the beginning, but it seems like you are already in the "green zone", especially if you are maintaining your weight with no problem, sometimes we don't realize how much the band is helping until we get saline removed..LOL. I am on my 2nd band, after I lost about 30 pounds my band has loosen again, and I am no longer in the green zone, I've purposely put off my next fill for 2 months because I was on vacation and traveling, but I do intend to get there again with my next fill, next week, and I can't wait.

If you are not having complications why remove the band? Does not make any sense to me. If I want to eat "clean" and eat lots of fibrous type veggies etc, I will just get a small unfill. I guess if you have a tight band with no saline or slippage, or reflux issues, it would make sense to remove the band, but if you have a "healthy band" removing all or most of the saline will be the same thing as NO BAND AT ALL. For Me, removing saline in my band is like having no band at all, so if I ever wanted to eat "freely" I will just get saline removed. I am honest and not cocky, and I KNOW ME, it will be hell to try to maintain my weight without the help of my band, I can actually lose weight on my own, but I've NEVER been able to maintain my weight. If I run into a issue where I can't exercise from injury, or have a stress event in my life, I know I would put back every pound without the help of my band. I am almost 8 years post op and it does NOT GET HARD to maintain weight loss until after the 6 year mark, also I found that the lap band screws up the metabolism, and sometimes WE HAVE NO IDEA of how little our portions are until we get a total unflll or have no band at all. Most surgeons say 95 percent of lap banders will gain all their weight back if they remove the band, I AGREE, I got cocky too after 7 years and thought I could go it "alone" with hardly no saline in my band last year when I had a hernia and I gained back 50 pounds in about 2 months, it was rapid weight gain, and I ate like a "normal person". Also I like the "safety net" with the band, I can always reboot it and as they say..."filler up" as long as I have a band that can be adjusted, I can sleep at night..LOL. This is one reason I would not revise to any other weight loss surgery, the band can always be adjusted as long as there are no complications. Good luck with your endeavors!

Exactly! Most patients DO NOT FESS UP when something has happened to their bands, I will support anyone with band issues, but I don't support lairs and band bashers, we are not perfect, the reason we got the band, and if someone think for ONE minute that their over eating will just disappear while having a band they are fooling themselves and everyone else. The thing is learning how to deal with the band, practicing new eating behaviors, I was a PERFECT band patient for 6 ENTIRE YEARS, as years go by things happen, you get married, get complacent, get laxed on the rules, etc. and before you know it you've got some SERIOUS band issues...LOL... This is why many long term bandsters will either remove some saline to eat more freely to prevent pouch dilation, or get saline removed if they plan on eating a lot on vacation, etc....eating too much on a very restricted is a no no.

Eating too much on a too tight band and purging and forcibly vomiting is the NUMBER ONE PROBLEM for pouch dilation and slippage. When reflux starts that usually mean the END OF YOUR BAND, and you now have a damaged lap band, I hate to say it. Can you manage it? Yes, you can live with a damage band for years, but it will be very difficult for you to get back to your sweet spot and green zone WITHOUT ISSUES AND REFLUX. The good news is, if you have the AP band, you can get it surgically fixed without removing the entire band, the surgeon can unbuckle the band and fix the pouch. Can you avoid surgery? Yes, in most cases, but getting to the green zone without issues may be a problem, you may have to keep your band on the loose side from this point on, until you can get it repaired, fixed or removed. The interim fix, is to get your Upper GI, and the usual treatment for this is to remove all the saline from the band for about 6 weeks, hoping the pouch will relax, and slowly refill the band every 4-6 weeks until you hopefully get near or back into the green zone. If you are lucky and don't have a huge pouch or slippage, you many want to avoid ANY vomiting and purging with your band. Good luck

Also as I honestly think about it, before I got my NEW band placed last year, I was eating out at restaurants with my hubby, and not paying attention to types of food I was eating, I was 7 years out, living life. I had been eating LOTS of spicy food, salsa, etc, which caused gastritis, which CAN lead to ulcers, however, it did not get that bad, but when you have a lap band LONG TERM, you have to always be mindful of spicy food, too much alcohol, etc..... I think this contributed to inflaming a hernia which caused pain, and a revision surgery....so BE CAREFUL

Not absurd at all, the lap band can be very dangerous if rules are not followed, some people vomit their food EVERY SINGLE DAY, never follow rules, drink alcohol daily, carbonated drinks, never follow up when they have problems, keep the band dangerously too tight, etc... Usually when the band erodes, some surgeons will revise the patient to the Sleeve, Bypass or DS, but usually NOT at the same time, sometimes some surgeons will remove most of the stomach after a bad erosion and create a Sleeve like stomach. However, no one really know why band erosion occur, some surgeons speculate it can be caused by several things below: 1. The LapBand around the stomach gradually erodes into the stomach wall over time, and goes into the gastric lumen, as we have seen with other intrabdominal devices. 2.The stomach damage done during the LapBand procedure debilitates the layers of the stomach wall, resulting in erosion at a later time. 3.The sutures were placed too deep and trespassed all the wall layers of the stomach, causing micro perforations that generate leaking, infection and later erosion. 4.Events that happens inside the stomach, such as frequent vomiting, medications, ingestion of irritants as spicy or hot food, alcohol, etc. as well as a large adjustment to the band system, will produce an ulcer that penetrates toward the balloon of the band. http://arturorodriguezmd.com/lapband-erosion/

Congrats! Work it!

I agree she should not be thinking about getting another band "right now" she has suffered too long on a too tight band, and she probably have some damage to her stomach already. The last thing she needs NOW is another lap band installed, if she get it removed quickly, and heal, perhaps she may be able to get a bigger band down the road, but again, everyone is not eligible for rebanding depending on how much damage is done and scar tissue. She will need to be assessed by a skilled lap band surgeon if she wants to get another bigger band, first things first, is to get that band out immediately. Her band probably needed to come out in the first few weeks/month after banding, many surgeons have to remove the band right after placement due to obstruction or band too small for the anatomy.

Good advice, but unfortunately "other doctors" are NOT qualified to assess lap band problems, Gastroenterologists can be of some help with an EGD, but no one really can help her but A VERY SKILLED LAP BAND SURGEON. No one is really trained to detect band slippage but lap band surgeons, and I would not trust any other doctor to determine what is wrong with the lap band. She REALLY needs to get her band removed, she has already had an Upper GI that showed no slippage - yet, but that will probably happen eventually with all the vomiting she is doing. She should not be "trying" to figure out what is wrong and continue to try a "band aid" of IV fluids, her surgeon already KNOW what is wrong, her band is too small OR it may have already slipped. Sometimes slips DO NOT SHOW up on Upper GI's, some people only find out their band has slipped once the surgeon has gone in to remove it. Right now her symptoms are signs of slippage or her band is too small for her stomach both are an urgent situation because there is no saline in the band. When you no longer have saline in the band and can't keep liquids down, regardless of what is causing it, slippage, too small band, esophageal issues, etc, the band needs to come out immediately. She needs to have her surgeon to remove it asap, or find another surgeon to do it, personally I would not let the surgeon that installed it touch me. This type of band complication is pretty rare in 2013, when I got my band back in 2005, many used to have bands too small before surgeons started to using the bigger bands, so this surgeon really have no excuse for installing a band that is too small. She could also have a slipped band, like I said before they don't always show up on Upper Gi's.

Please re-read that paragraph.... The lap band is the safest surgery, but if done wrong it can cause horrible complications, it does have a high complication rate because of bad surgeons and non compliant patients bending the rules. You are correct the lap band surgery itself IS pretty safe if done properly, some surgery centers have no problems, but many have in the past, including that infamous 1800-get-thin clinic that was probed by Congress and Allergan finally stopped selling bands to them. Unless you've been in a bubble, the lap band HAS A VERY HIGH COMPLICATION RATE, Allergan the manufacturer is in the process of selling it for this very reason, for non complaint patients abusing the band, surgeons abusing the band, offering horrible or no aftercare, etc...the list goes on Many post here apparently have not researched the band, or tried to find the best surgeon for them, many do not even realize what is going on with the Manufacturer selling the band, it has been abused over and over again, and warning people of the dangers of the band and how to best avoid complications does not help. Lap band issues usually don't start to rear their ugly head until about 5-6 years post op and have A VERY HIGH COMPLICATION RATE LONG TERM. This is why I try to warn newbies and help them, some people are cocky and don't have a clue what they are getting themselves into, the band CAN be safe if someone has good aftercare, but that still do not prevent issues, this is why many long term bandsters, reduce saline long term. Fourteen-Year Long-Term Results after Gastric Banding http://www.hindawi.c...es/2011/128451/ http://gastro.oxford...tro.got023.full LAGB has been demonstrated to have some advantages, such as ease of operation, low risk and low early complication rate. However, LAGB is associated with a high late complication rate and a requirement of a high level of follow-up management. Although LAGB is efficient in reducing body weight in obese patients, the percentage of patients with successful and perfect weight loss is unsatisfactory. With advances in laparoscopic skills and improvement in other surgical procedures, there is a trend towards replacing LAGB in the treatment of obesity [14]. We believe that LAGB should not be the first choice for the treatment of obesity, but should remain as a therapeutic alternative for obese patients, such as the young and patients who do not tolerate removal of the gastrointestinal tract. Here are some links if you have not been reading up on lap band issues, all you have to do is google: http://bariatricsurg...n-lap-band-sale http://www.yourdocto...nd-turn-around/ http://articles.lati...p-band-20120203 http://www.cbsnews.c...-sales-decline/ http://www.medscape....warticle/758086 http://www.californi...ery-advertising http://www.necn.com/...7d144f251fc5584

This is the most asked question from newbies and should be a sticker, did you research the band before you got it? If you did so, you would know that the band does not work until you start the fill process. Only a few have restriction out of surgery. It can take up to 3-7 fills before you reach a level where the band is helping you, the first 6 weeks is for healing and allowing your band and port to heal.

I agree with your PCP, quicker is not always better or safer, I personally would never get any type of bariatric surgery in a surgery center, from what I've seen happen to others over the years. Hospitals are better equipped to deal with any unforeseen issues or complications. The lap band is the safest surgery, but if done wrong it can cause horrible complications, it does have a high complication rate because of bad surgeons and non compliant patients bending the rules. January will come very quick, use this time to research the band thoroughly with how it works, how to avoid complications, foods to eat, exercise, etc. Good luck.

Unsweetened tea is good, so is green tea with 0 calories, at least the green tea will taste better.

Congrats! Wishing you luck on getting into the green! I know after having a dilated pouch, it can be a slippery slope, but I think you are doing the right approach by taking it a bit slow to see how things go and then if you need a tiny bit more ease up on it. Good luck!

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