NaNa

Your post was very educational. I am so glad your health is back and you are doing well! Thank you for your support, I am glad am on the mend to recovery, I still have a long way to go to get back 100 percent, but I'll take what I can get, but I am thankful and blessed of what I've got back so far..I am glad you enjoyed reading my post.

Thank you for your support, it has been a life changing event for sure, I am happy I am still here to be able to share my story.

Today marks one year after the car accident that caused my brain to bleed and caused a hemorrhagic stroke. I was on my way to the dentist early that beautiful cool crisp September morning, and out of the blue, this car ran into me from the passenger side and totaled my brand new SUV, I had only had it for one month, I was in a rush because I was late for my dental appointment and I forgot to put on my seat belt, that why I believe I I was shook up so badly . I was able to get out of my SUV to look at the damages, I then called my husband to come up because I was feeling nervous and confused, the lady who ran into me got out her car too and examined her car, a police was riding by and got out his car to help out, the paramedics was called, although I did not suffer any body injuries I felt very funny almost numb like. The police asked me for my registration, and gave me a ticket, because the lady who hit me had the ride away, it is a dangerous intersection you have to look both ways after you stop at the stop sign, and I pulled out and did not see the woman coming down the road and she ran into me on the passenger side. I was still feeling confused and I kept fumbling around my dashboard, then my husband came quickly because I had just left the house and we lived right around the corner where the accident happened. The paramedics arrived and I continued to feel confused, the paramedics asked if I was okay and then suddenly; I remember losing the ability to say anything it scared me to death, I felt no pain I just could not communicate and I was standing up leaning on the driver side of my SUV and then I started to slide down from the driver seat. That is when the paramedics started to ask me over and over if I was okay, and I could not answer that’s when they realized that something was dreadfully wrong. My whole body was going limp and I did not have a clue what was happening to me. They rushed me to the nearest hospital and when I arrived in the ER and took my blood pressure it was 200/178, they rushed me to do a CT scan because I was having stroke symptoms and the doctor at the ER found I had bleeding on my brain I was hemorrhaging, and then they called a hospital that specializes in strokes (Hershey Medical center) at Penn state and I was life-lined by helicopter to Hershey Medical center in the event they had to operate on my brain to get the bleeding to stop. I never lost consciousness during my ride in the helicopter all I can remember was the men who were in the helicopter was rubbing my head and telling me to hang in there and everything was going to be okay. When I arrived at the hospital Hershey Medical center, it started going downhill from there, I started to get weaker and weaker but my vitals were stable but I felt miserable. I could not move my body or talk it was a very scary feeling. I stayed in ICU for a week with all kinds of wires hooked to me and compression cuffs on my legs to prevent blood clots, my brain stopped bleeding on its own, they gave me a salt solution with a saline drip and that seemed to stop the bleeding and I did not require brain surgery to stop the bleeding. I could not control my urine or bowels because my entire body weak, I could only move my left side of my body a little I was in a miserable situation, having to wear diapers and depending on nurses to change your diaper because I was too weak to sit up at this point a bit humiliating to say the least. Once I was stabilized they transferred me out ICU, on a step down floor, this was one week later, and then the doctors said that I needed to start rehab as soon as possible. My husband quit his job to care for me and I will always be ever be grateful to him, I would have been put in a nursing home if my husband went back to work because early in my recovery I needed around the clock care, and I know some people are not as lucky as me, that's why I''ll always be grateful for my husband and we actually are still newlyweds we've only been married for 4 years when I had the accident, we met online on match.com, he is definitely a keeper, it has not always been easy,... I was transferred to another rehab closer to home and that was a mistake because my husband had to learn the hard way the rehab center was not the best for my condition, and I could make decisions for my self at the time. My stay at the inpatient Rehab facility was not a pleasant one, the stroke deficits started to kick in full gear, my whole body was weak, I would get so tired quickly, and I could barely hold my head up, I needed help sitting up, I was so weak I could not even sit up on my own. My sister flew up to be by my side from Atlanta, she stayed with me through my hospital stay and made sure I was treated good because I could not verbally communicate with the hospital staff, I had to communicate through sign language, thumbs up for yes and and thumbs down for no. But I never lost my cognitive abilities I still could think clearly but could not speak, it's your worst nightmare of being trapped inside your body where you can't move and can't talk but you are aware of everything around you and understand people but can't move or respond. About 1 month after my inpatient stay at Rehab, I was in speech therapy one day and my speech therapist told me to try to say the alphabet and I attempted as hard as I could and a sound came out and tears of joy came down my face, I started repeating A,B,C...and so on until I repeated the entire alphabet, and then she wanted me to start counting to one through ten... Finally was I able to get my speech back and now I talk normally thank god I prayed every night to recover every thing I lost. I did not know a stroke could be so painful, I was in so much pain at this time I had be given Percocet around the clock, I also had a brief bout of muscle spasms and it would hurt so bad I would scream out in pain they gave me balcofen for the spasms for the pain and I had to wear a pain patch on my right side to help ease the pain, it was mostly in my right shoulder my affected side, although when I was having the stroke I felt no pain, it’s just the after effects of stroke I felt pain, I guess the pain was coming from being paralyzed on my right side. I went through this misery for several months, I was released from inpatient Rehab in a wheelchair at the time of my release I could barely stand up, I was walking with a quad cane with 4 prongs. My husband had to order me a hospital bed at home because I could not lay flat in a regular bed it was too painful. I hear stroke recovery is very slow and the kind of stroke I had is the most deadly most people do not survive a brain hemorrhage, I was very lucky that the paramedics and my husband was right there when I was having the stroke. But I was told if you are able to survive a brain bleed your chances of recovery is good and your chances of getting back all you lost are very good, I was told that people who have brain bleeds respond to therapy better. I am no longer on blood pressure medication my blood pressure has stabilized it has consistently been running low 96/80, 91/70 and my primary care physician decided to take me off all together, and a low blood pressure can cause problems as a high blood pressure. I only take one prescription drug now and my Vitamins, so overall I am in good health and through out my ordeal my lap band stayed intact in fact I lost more weight, now I am at a healthy weight. . So the neurologist summed it up to the reason I had a brain bleed was because of the trauma and impact of the car accident and not wearing a seat belt caused a blood vessel to bust in my brain causing a hemorrhagic stroke. Things I have accomplished: Being able to put my shoes on, initially I was too weak to do this, but I still cannot tie my shoes, I wear sandals in the summer and wear tennis shoes when I am going to therapy. Being able to dress myself, Initially I could not even put my clothes on, the only thing I cannot do now is put my bra on or shave myself or cut my finger nails, my husband now has to help with those tasks. Being able to bath myself and stand up in the shower without using a shower chair, I use to be only able to stand no longer than 5 minutes at a time. Initially when I had my stroke I could not move nothing on my right side, my stroke affected my left side of my brain , including my feet, ankle, I could not wiggle my toes on the right side, I could not move my right arm I could not even slide myself over in the bed, I had no movement in my feet, my entire right side was paralyzed, I could not even turn my head on the right side. Also my face was crooked. The face droop cleared up in about 2 weeks after I had my stroke and It took about a month after I had my stroke to get movement back in my right leg and feet, now I can move my feet freely and wiggle all my toes after intense physical therapy. Now I am able to move my head to right and left, little things keep improving. Being able to cook for myself, I can cook most foods and I prepare my own my Breakfast every morning. I can wash my hair, brush my teeth and put on my makeup with one hand actually I have got very good at it. I can help around the house now I can clean the bathrooms now and vacuum with one arm, sometimes I will use my weak arm to help sweep the floor. I could not do, especially in the first few months. I use to have a hard time getting out of chairs, now I am even able to get out of low chairs. I am able to walk up and down stairs. I can talk more clearly now, before I use to talk with a delay between my sentences, now I talk normal. I can slowly open and close my hand on my affected side I can raise my arm only to my waist level. I can sleep in a regular bed now, before my hip, and lower back on my affected weak side made it impossible for me to lie flat without severe pain, and my doctor ordered a hospital bed at home where I could adjust the head of the bed and sleep sitting up. I can now use my arm bike that my husband bought for me last Christmas, I was not strong enough and could not grip the peddles, now I am able to peddle my weak arm without pain, and that is a very big accomplishment because it use to very painful when I tried to use the arm bike and also I was not strong enough to grip the handle, now I can grip the peddle with no problem. The only deficit I have now after a year is my right arm/hand is still weak, I have some movement in hand/fingers and I am not going to give up on my right arm yet, the next goal will be driving again. I notice very small changes every day of things I can do, I use to take simple things like putting on my clothes and taking a bath or shower, driving my car for granted, being able to talk and think. It reminds me that our bodies is nothing but a machine controlled by our brain and the brain send signals to our arms and legs to function and move and when you lose the capability to move your body and talk you are considered brain dead and I have literally came back from the dead. It was just not my time to go. I have recovered enough that my husband is taking me with him on a vacation to Monterrey, California next week he inherited some money from his aunt enough to buy a restaurant, we will be moving to the Atlanta area in October where the weather is warmer the cold weather makes my joints very stiff. I had my last MRI and my neurologist said that I did not show any signs of a hematoma from the bleeding and I should not have to worry about another stroke ever again--- at least a brain bleed.

I don't get on here as much as I use to since I have a very busy life, glad I logged on this morning. Congrats on your awesome success!! You look great!! This is one of the most honest and TRUTHFUL stories I've read here. Keep on working that band and much success to you.

You said... I thought green means going 4 or 5 hrs without getting hungry between meals. Not "no hunger at all". ? It does, green does not mean starvation and malnutrition, it means having a DIMMED appetite under control about 4-5 hours between meals.

Thanks Alex for the tip! I've been looking for great alternatives to bread when making a sandwich since bread tends to plug me up. Great sandwich ideas especially for me almost 9 years post op.

Good post! And you make a good point, I wish my obesity was that simple! Because I used to eat healthy and eat some junk too, I was never a total horrible food eater, I was not a burger and fries,fried foods, ice cream, fattening Cereal, chips loads of Pasta, mac and cheese, and junk type of obese person. I just ate too much combined with lack of exercise, and I was a stress eater too, I love healthy food, spinach, collards, cabbage, salads, baked chicken etc, I am also a good cook...I write computer code and I will tell ya...I could go through a whole bag of chocolate kisses if I had a difficult problem to solve....so the reason I was fat was a bit more complex...LOL and genetics play a role for me too...I can just look at food and gain 10 pounds... I've always wondered how some skinny women could sit all day and never enter a gym and stay skinny!!

Congrats on your success!!! You look great, may you have many more blissful years with your band!!!

Hello... Band slippage does not work that way....in fact the symptoms of band slippage is when you can't hardly get solids down and experiencing daily "productive burps" you do NOT want to achieve that. Also pouch dilation can happen two ways, it can happen when you are TOO TIGHT (red zone) and eating any food on a too tight band will eventually dilate your pouch to compensate for the food you are eating... Pouch dilation can also happen when you are in the green zone and constantly eat past 4oz per meal and vomit and purge your food daily...it takes a while for this to happen, sometimes a few months and sometimes a few years. Also you can't stretch your pouch on a "loose" band, when the band is tighten to the green zone or red zone this is when pouch dilation can occur because there is more pressure on the pouch and you have to be more careful with eating and productive burps at this level. You probably have not achieved optimal restriction at this point sometimes it takes some people 3-6 fills before they reach the green zone. Having the lap band requires patience.

Sorry to hear about your slip, but why can't your surgeon reposition or replace your band? Is there too much damage? I know some people are not candidates for rebanding, but many are.

I am so sorry to hear this! If you have pouch dilation it does not take that long for it to heal, usually the treatment is to empty the band and let it rest for about 6 weeks and then slowly restart filling, some people can get back to the green zone with no issues, but after a pouch dilation you have to be more careful with portion sizes and measure and careful with Pbing and sliming. You may want to seek another opinion with another surgeon and see if they can replace your band, if you have the older 4cc bands they were more prone to issues than with the newer bands, but all bands can have the same issues but the older bands were higher pressure which caused more issues. Hope you can find answers. Thanks. What is pouch dilation? I have a 10 CC Vanguard Band placed in 9/8/06. I have never ever wanted it removed. And I really don't know about replacing it. . . . it was working fine before my breast cancer surgery. Hi Joanne, Ok, you have the older type model band, the 10cc Vanguard bands are no longer used in the US just like the 4cc bands, they were all higher pressured bands that were hard on the body, but many loved their bands, I loved my old 4cc band too, however the 10cc VG band were bigger than the 4cc bands, but they were still higher pressure. Pouch dilation is actually a mild complication of banding, many people do not know if their pouch is dilated, some think after a while they can eat more food, they will go and get a fill, this can be dangerous because if the pouch is dilated, it needs to be treated and the usual treatment is removing saline to remove pressure off the pouch...and wait about 6 weeks and start refilling the band... The classic signs of pouch dilation is reflux at night after a too tight adjustment and then after being too tight too long the pouch will dilate. This is why many people suffer complications and don't know why...this is why those who have been banded a long time greater than 2 years need to have their bands checked yearly to check the pouch size before adding more saline....many surgeons don't check they will just blindly fill the band and they have no clue if the pouch is dilated....mild dilation is not harmless... But if the pouch gets huge...it will prolapse and cause band slippage...and this will require surgery to fix or remove the band... Someone can have mild pouch dilation and pouch dilation can get severe with slippage...mild pouch dilation can be treated with unfilling the band and watching portion size, but slippage must be treated with surgery removing the band or re positioning or replacing depending on the damage... Here is some more info on pouch dilation and symptoms and prevention.... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3874894/ In summary, pouch dilatation with or without slippage is a long term complication in LAGB patients; the percentage observed in our three-year study was 11.1%. Except for posterior slippage, these complications show an association with postoperative management, such as over tightening of the band or poor compliance among patients. Gradual band adjustment with strict follow-up and continued dietary consultation will prevent or minimize occurrence of these complications. From a technical point of view with consideration of accurate pars flaccida techniques, accurate seromuscular bites are very important because inaccurate gastrogastric fixation can be loosened with time (stitch burst), and eventually make the portion of the fundus redundant below the band. Removal of the fat pad on the cardia with coagulation greatly facilitates the accurate seromuscular bites. In addition, adequate wrapping also stabilizes the gastric band and minimizes the fundal prolapse, thus avoiding slippage.

Sorry you've had such a horrible time with your band, it happens to a lot people. I hope the Sleeve brings you everything you hoped the band would. Many love their Sleeves, but some report reflux issues too, so hopefully you have done your research on the possibility of developing GERD with Sleeve which can involve throwing up in your sleep as well, but hopefully you know the risks. Many lose more weight overall with Sleeve than Band, and you no longer have to worry about fills adjustments.

I am so sorry to hear this! If you have pouch dilation it does not take that long for it to heal, usually the treatment is to empty the band and let it rest for about 6 weeks and then slowly restart filling, some people can get back to the green zone with no issues, but after a pouch dilation you have to be more careful with portion sizes and measure and careful with Pbing and sliming. You may want to seek another opinion with another surgeon and see if they can replace your band, if you have the older 4cc bands they were more prone to issues than with the newer bands, but all bands can have the same issues but the older bands were higher pressure which caused more issues. Hope you can find answers. Well...the thing is that for some people sliming can lead to PBing....and we have to be very careful with putting too much pressure on the band, this can also dilate and swell the pouch.... Sliming is not that harmful since you are only spitting out slime and not causing pressure..but they should be avoided....everyone who gets a lap band and get to the green zone WILL at SOME point slime and PB it comes with the territory, we are not all perfect, however it should not be several times a day or even daily, you should keep them very rare...this is why we should always focus on eating taking tiny bites and chewing to mush, and not be distracted to minimize sliming... I slime about 2 times per week,...it's just a way a life for me, but I don't do it daily.

I am so sorry to hear this! If you have pouch dilation it does not take that long for it to heal, usually the treatment is to empty the band and let it rest for about 6 weeks and then slowly restart filling, some people can get back to the green zone with no issues, but after a pouch dilation you have to be more careful with portion sizes and measure and careful with Pbing and sliming. You may want to seek another opinion with another surgeon and see if they can replace your band, if you have the older 4cc bands they were more prone to issues than with the newer bands, but all bands can have the same issues but the older bands were higher pressure which caused more issues. Hope you can find answers.

You mentioned: I know that the lapband is not magic, and it does not prevent me from gaining weight. But it sure does level the playing field, giving me a much-stronger shot at not only getting to goal, but staying there. Exactly: This holds true with the fact that the band IS ONLY A TOOL...it does NOT work properly until we work it and use it wisely. My lap band DOES NOT STOP me from eating, IT DOES NOT STOP me from eating junk and sweets, even in the green zone I can eat a whole bag of chips if I choose to do so, I can eat unlimited amounts of JUNK...but SO can my friends WHO HAVE A SLEEVE....ALL these surgeries are TOOLS.....not magic wands.. BUT --- what my band does help me with is portion control (with solid food) and it keeps my hunger level under control and to ME that is A LOT OF HELP...lol... I got cocky in my 6th year and assumed I could KEEP my weight down WITHOUT being in the green zone, well -- that did not work well at all, my hunger returned and my portion sizes got bigger (pre op size) and I had gained 50 pounds back in no time.... This is why I will cherish my band in the green zone and I will never push the limits because I know I will gain every pound back WITHOUT the help of my lap band...been there and done that....and I will respect this wonderful tool as long as I have it and hopefully can keep it functioning properly.