Felisity

Hoping to find fellow WLS people that would be interested in a monthly support group meeting. Please post your interest!

Hi all - I had surgery with Dr. Bipan Chand @ Loyola U on October 20, 2014. I'd definitely be open to chatting and helping anyone from the Chicago area with encouragement and support along the way. I live in Plainfield. Send me a PM here if you're interested in chatting.

Would love to know if you continued through the Loyola program. I am currently starting that program and seeking feedback from others who have been there before me. Thanks in advance for any insight you could provide

Currently working with Loyola Center and Dr. Chand's group. Would love to hear any experiences with him. I think I've only seen one or two bits about him on this forum. Needing moderate hernia repair and was encouraged to get bypass. This would be my third surgery as I have already been banded and had it removed due to erosion. Removal was 4 years ago. Pretty nervous about going through all this again....

@@LilMissDiva Irene I'm very curious about your journey and experiences. However, I don't want to be rude and reach out privately unless you are comfortable with that. The short version of my story: Banded in 2006 Erosion into stomach 2010 - band removed Previous 4 years have had well managed gerd from omepraezole. Gerd has increased in recent months and I am in process of getting evaluated to see if I have a hiatal hernia or other complication. New surgeon group (moved to a new state between 2010 and now) already asked if I would consider revision during my intake questioning. I haven't even seen anyone in that bariatric group yet! (strange!) I'm terribly afraid to even consider further surgeries, except to repair complications, because of all that I have already been through. I don't know anyone who has been down the road I have, so seeing that there may be others here, is a ray of hope.....

I feel the exact same way as you Nanook. Our power went out this past weekend for a few hours in the late evening, and I was practically having a panic attack because the thought of sleeping without my CPAP is scary to me. I had night terrors several times a night and woke up constantly before I started getting treated for my sleep Apnea. No way do I ever want to experience those again.

Only a money grubbing lawyer who has no interest in your success would take the case. It sounds like you don't even really have a case. Nothing went wrong from what I read in your OP. I never had any success at eating veggies or fruits post-op, no matter how much I chewed or how slow I ate. I did manage to lose about 60 pounds in the first 2 years post op before I began to have GERD like symptoms and problems eating normal Protein, etc. The band works completely differently for everyone - and some have success and others, like me, have issues. I have had a completely different, and very scary experience myself. I am tentatively considering seeking legal counsel, but unsure at this point. I was banded in Nov. 2006. My band was placed much higher up than normal per my Surgeon's explanation. I have a 4cc band and have never managed to have more than 1.5 cc in at a time. Like many successful people here have stated, it's a TOOL. If you don't work properly with the tool, then you fail. My chart got mixed up with someone of the same name after I got married in 2007 - and I have had test results lost, misread and have an ulcerated erosion (just found out last week) that has likely been there for at least six months. I am in constant discomfort and off/on spiking pain. I feel like the two different hospitals I go to for aftercare, completely mixed everything up, and I was even mis-diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. When, in fact, I had an ulcerated erosion beginning, which now about 1/3 of the band is protruding into the inside wall of my stomach. I'm waiting to be scheduled for removal. I plan on no further surgeries, and do not want a revision. Buck up, spend your money on some fills, and realize this band can give you success - but only if YOU follow the rules and TRY. :frown: I sure hope you listen to people here and change your mindset. Best of luck!

Had an endoscopy a week ago today. Found out I have an ulcerated erosion, and NOT a hiatal hernia. Apparantly this has been this way for quite some time slowly getting worse. My surgeon was out this week and so I have not been scheduled yet. I am very frustrated because no one seems to think this is urgent or important, even though I have phoned Tufts telling them I am in near constant pain and discomfort. The manufacturers say that erosion happens in less than 1% of patients and that was all the info I could find in late 2006 when I had this band placed. There's so much more out there regarding the band these days. Some resources I found say that this happens in around 15% of patients. I'm hoping and praying this is covered by my insurance as it is "medically necessary" for the band to be removed. I will not be opting for any further surgeries or any sort of revision. I was 60 pounds down at the end of last summer when I started to have the "GERD" like symptoms. I'm confident once I can eat normal veggies / fruits and real foods that are good for me again... that I can continue my downward trend to a healthier me.

I really appreciate all the input from everyone here. I too am seeking removal. I was banded in Nov. 2006 by Dr. Julie Kim - Boston, MA. I have had nothing but problems and have barely ever had any fills. I think I'm currently around .75 cc of a 4cc band. When my surgeon woke me, the first thing I was told was "We had to place the band in a slightly different spot than we usually do because of the particular shape of your stomach" I tried to be positive - but having been told that, I have lived in fear ever since and I feel the unusual placement could be the reason why my fills were never a success. I currently have acid reflux and it's getting worse as time goes on. Lately I've been having off and on pain that feels a little bit different from reflux. To make matters worse, when I got married in 2007 - the hospital confused my chart with someone else who had the same name as my new married name. I've struggled and made endless calls trying to get it straightened out with no success. I'm even afraid to just go see the surgeon because they constantly have my chart all mixed up - and - I get charged a huge fee b/c of my new insurance. While I work for the same employer, my insurance carrier is different and does not cover obesity surgery or medical charges relating to obesity. My next step is to call insurance again and try to get a firm / correct answer as to if they will cover band removal should my surgeon deem it medically necessary. I might end up being self pay if I can't get this covered. I completely hate the band and wish I had listened to my family and not had the surgery in the first place. Again, I thank everyone here for posting their doctors names and successes / stories. It's very helpful.

I'm in Fall River as well. Banded at NEMC, Dr. Kim - Nov. 2006. I have had virtually no support as the band groups that meet at NEMC were all full :biggrin: Would love to get together.

I got so excited reading the first post that I wanted to make a reply right away. I work in Middleboro and live in north Fall River. I would LOVE to join a support group based in the Taunton area. /returns to finish reading the rest of the posts/

Hello, first post here. I was banded in Nov. 2006 at NEMC. Dr. Kim was my surgeon. My experience as pretty good compared to some of the nightmares I've read about. I was informed post surgery that my band was placed at a slightly different location than the surgeon would have optimally liked, because of a large vessel wrapped in the normal placement area. I don't know if this was a blessing or curse. I have had very little success with fills. I think mine is a 4cc band and I only have about 1cc in. Most of the time I feel restriction and do well so long as I don't drink food with meals. I am down 40lbs total and have kept this weight off successfully with a downward trend of 1-2 pounds per month. I would definitely recommend Tufts.