Deb R

I agree--bye bye lap band, it's been real....a real pain! I was banded almost 7 years ago. As of two days ago, I am banded no more.I can feel the relief already. The pressure is gone, no more pain, I can swallow normally, even my breathing seems better. I am wondering if my bowel issues will improve--so far, so good, but it's only been two days. I have hated myself for the band's failure 6 of the 7 years. The first year, I lost a bit more than 100 pounds. My surgeon told me how wonderful I was doing, I got compliments galore, I looked pretty darn good, but I was in misery. I could hardly eat anything without being sick and vomiting and I had to travel back and forth to the surgeon (2 hrs each way) to get a fill, get some taken out, get some, get it all taken out, start again...and again. I had bad lower back pain the whole first year. The doctor determined that I indeed had gall stones--the probable cause of the back pain, so had my gall bladder removed--but after the surgery, I still had the same pain (gee, could it have been the band?). Then I developed very bad reflux--so bad I was vomiting in my sleep and aspirating it, and therefore, usually ended up on puffers. I then developed 'motility' issues where it felt like sometimes that food got stuck and I would have to vomit, in spite of eating slow and chew chew chewing. The motility issues even happened with Water. I was on Tecta for reflux, had nitro pills for the swallowing issues, puffers for my lungs, and then started meds for anxiety. I had no fill in my band for months at a time and still I could not eat a healthy meal without pain, difficulty swallowing, and vomiting. Then I discovered ways to "eat around" the band because I was hungry--this meant choosing foods that would go down more easily--fatty foods, foods with gravy, sauces, creamy things--and I started to gain weight. So I would go back and do the fill thing--and suffer again. The surgeon thought he should have a look at the band, even offered to replace it to see if that would help. So I went for that two years ago--a new band. That did not help. Same issues. I have not had a fill in about a year and have managed to keep off about 35 of the original 100 I lost. Seven years of hell for 35 pounds. Hmmmm. I know it works for lots of people. And for you lucky ones, hurray for you! Excellent. But please do not tell those for whom the band does not work that we do not try hard enough, that we do not follow the rules--it does NOT work for everyone and it is NOT our fault.

I am an over-eater and that is how I got to be obese. If I was able to control my portions on my own, I would not have gotten the band. I live in New Brunswick and my problem is the doctor in my area is swamped with surgeries and fill appointments and cannot provide fills as often as needed. I was re-banded April 5 of this year. There was no fill in the band after surgery and I had my first fill at 9 weeks out (4 cc) and I got a call last week for my next fill-- September 28th! That is SIXTEEN weeks between fills! I am so depressed. (Newsflash: I just called again and there was a cancellation and I go the day after tomorrow! Woo hooo!) The band works when the fill is at the correct amount between feeling full and being so full you feel sick (and are sick)--which is not a place you want to be. That is why it is so important to chew much and eat slowly. After my band failed (slipped, or whatever--never did determine what went wrong) I gained back about 70 of the 110 pounds I lost with the first band. I hate myself AGAIN. I wish I COULD do this on my own. Feeling like a failure over this is something I don't need. I want success. So, here we go again. I know this tool works for me when it is filled appropriately!

:blink:The little ticker in the corner tells me I haven't been on this site since September 2007, and I have to believe it (but where did the time go?) So, I'm back.! I was banded July 2006, lost great the first year, some the next year, and then...well, I started to write this huge paragraph of what I went through, but I don't want to scare off anybody from doing this. Stuff happens. The surgeon and I finally said ENOUGH! Obviously there is something wrong with the placement of the band and there is no doubt a hiatal hernia in the mix. As well, by the last month I had developed a leak in the band. so... I was re-banded 4 days ago! :-) I gained back 40 of the 100 pounds, so it wasn't a total waste, you see? I had no fill for quite some time and I found the weight creeping back on--and I know that without the device I would be up again to my original weight in NO time and, of course, I would without a doubt gain back more than I started with (history repeats repeats repeats itself). I am finding the liquid diet tough--I did the first time too. I am the world's worst rule breaker. If there is an envelope to push, I push it. That being said, I am doing pretty good, for me. I feel great! I was afraid that since I am 5 years older that it would be harder on me, but the recovery is going very well. I had neck pain, which was weird--like I had done a bunch of sit ups and used my neck muscles more than my stomach muscles, if you know what I mean (I have a distant memory of doing those...) That pain is gone, now, and I am sleeping really really well. I could go on and on and on--but I am stopping here. Nobody understands what we are going through but other people who are going through the same thing. So I am glad to be back. Hi!!

(Apparently I have no idea what I am doing--I posted a reply to Makulafamy, but what got posted was her post all over again. Hope I get it right this time!) Just want you to know, Makulafamy, I love your post. You rock! I especially loved your response to "l feel like the band is "cheating". I feel like if I have WLS, I am weak--it has taken a lot for me to agree with you that "Who gives a flying monkey's ass?!... It's not about will power. It's not about failing. It is about trying to find a tool that works..."

When I was in elementary school I was taller than all the other kids in my class. I was no string bean either. Unfortunately, I was bottom heavy and had thighs that were much too large for the rest of me. My thighs became the object of ridicule among all the boys in the neighborhood. This followed me into my teen years--constant teasing, being poked to make my thighs quiver. Gad, kids are cruel. I had zero self esteem. And the irony is, I was 5'10" and about 145 lbs but I thought I was as big as a house. I joined WW at 15 and so it began. Lose 5, gain 10, lose 10, gain 20...etc. etc. etc. Back then, the proper weights for one's height were guided by insurance charts--and the weights were very unrealistic. By the time I graduated university I weight 180 and thought I was huge. More dieting, more losing, a whole lot more gaining. Then, pregnancy and I gained 50 or 60 pounds, took it off, gained it back. I wouldn't have another baby until I got the weight off again, but as the years ticked by, I realized I'd better have a second child or it wasn't going to happen. So there are 6 years between my 2 children. And I gained another 50 pounds. More dieting, more losing, more gaining and WHAM 300+. I still have large thighs--but the rest of me is large too :cry So, the lap band is going to help me lose weight, keep going until I get to goal and then KEEP it off. So there! And if my thighs are still huge, and they will be, tough!! These legs have carried me around for 49 years and I kind of like them. :huggie: ~Deb

Hi Mandi, I thought it was funny, the stuff about the way them there Miramichiers talks, ya know, eh? It does suck that Dr. B won't do the fills--but I cannot believe how busy it is there. You said he does other fills for patients who were not originally his? That doesn't seem fair! Hopefully, other surgeons around here will train to do these surgeries and open other clinics. Doesn't help you right now, though :cry--Calgary is a ridiculously long way to go!!!!!! Anyway, thanks for the welcome. SUPPER time, woo HOO:hungry: ~Deb

I'm sure my surgeon is the same one who said "no" to Argon's fills. He is the only surgeon doing the laparascopic WLS in the Atlantic provinces. It took me a long time, more than 2 years, to get the surgery--the wait for an RNY is even longer. From what I've read on the internet in other sites, he does not do fills for people who had their surgeries elsewhere. It's all he can do to keep up with his own patients. It doesn't seem fair, I know, but I can see his point of view. I wonder if one can go to Maine and get a fill? Costly, I imagine! I've read posts from a woman, I think from NS, and her husband does her fills for her at home--but they're both paramedics. Another woman in NS drives to Ontario for fills--a long haul for a quick procedure! ~Deb

Thanks for the welcome! I have one week and one-and-one half more days on "thicker" liquids. I started out with 2 wks clear liquids. I can't wait to graduate to two weeks of mushies. But I'm impatient--I really am excited to get the fill and get this show on the road!

Hi all--I was "banded" on July 19/06 in New Brunswick, Canada. So far, so good. I am feeling amazingly well, except for the pesky hunger and my craving of all foods solid...I don't ever want to eat broth again...but I suppose I'll have to. And that case of peach Resource (a clear liquid Protein drink) I bought leers at me from the refrigerator every time I open it YUCK. I get my staples out in two days (YAY) and get a fill in about 3 more wks...about the time I was told I could get back solid food:hungry:...an evil trick I think, because don't I have to "eat" liquids again for a few days after a fill? Anyway, I am excited to be starting this journey and thrilled that the lap band will not only help me take off pounds, but THIS time, help me KEEP off the pounds I lose and the many extra pounds that always accompany the ones I lost in the first place! ~Deb

Hi all--I was "banded" on July 19/06 in Moncton NB by Dr. Beausoleil. I live in Fredericton (a 2-hour drive from Miramichi:p--I was reading messages from Argon--I'm a life-long resident of NB, and I don't say "Walmaret" and I don't drive a care:D). So far, so good. I am feeling amazingly well, except for the pesky hunger and my craving of all foods solid...I don't ever want to eat broth again...but I suppose I'll have to. And that case of peach Resource I bought leers at me from the refrigerator every time I open it YUCK. I get my staples out in two days (YAY) and get a fill in about 3 more wks...about the time I was told I could get back solid food...an evil trick I think, because don't I have to "eat" liquids again for a few days after a fill? Anyway, I am excited to be starting this journey and thrilled that the lap band will not only help me take off pounds, but THIS time, help me KEEP off the pounds I lose and the many extra pounds that always accompany the ones I lost in the first place! ~Deb