moragged

Hi Lizzie I'm so glad you got some answers about the cause of your problems/pain. I really hope your band will be fine once the hernia and gallbladder are fixed - my fingers are crossed for you. My band was removed on Friday. Dr said he could see no problems with it and therefore nothing to 'fix'. He is putting it down to esophageal dysmotility ("we don't test esophageal function before placing the band but if that function is already weak the added pressure of the band may be too much for it to be able to push the food down". Of course he didn't raise the possibility that the band CAUSED this esophageal dysmotility - I read about another lady on the boards with similiar problems whose gastroenterologist stated that the band caused these problems. I guess I will never know. I certainly never had any problems swallowing food pre-banding! I have been able to eat light meals without any problems thankfully, but still have reflux symptoms (which I never had in my life prior to a month ago). I hope they go away. I am both devastated and a bit relieved to have it out of me. It must be worrying to be told "it's slipped" or "you have a hernia" - but at least one then knows there's a cause and clear course of action, but the lack of answers just made my anxiety levels go through the roof, and my faith in the Drs' knowledge and skills vanish. I went into the process with my eyes open to the various complications, knowing that subsequent surgery to address an issue was a distinct possibility down the track, given the statistics. But I never imagined after the pain and expense that my band experience would ende up being more short-lived than some of the fad diets I've been on over the years (less than 4 months from insertion to removal)!!! Sorry for the long vent! I really hope all goes well with your repairs and that you can continue with your band. When is your surgery? Let me know how you get on. Wishing you all the best Dani

I am 3.5 months post-op and was going great until 2 weeks ago - lost more than 40 pounds (including pre-op liquid diet). I seemed to have good restriction right from the start, and only had one very small fill (2cc in 10cc band) 2 months ago. I could eat everything in small quantities, was very careful to follow all the rules to a T, and never had anything like a PB/vomiting incident in that time. I had surgery on my hip 5 weeks ago and for three weeks aferwards was eating just as before with no problems. Then all of a sudden each time I tried to eat, whether it was meat or Soup it seemed to just stop up my stoma, causing discomfort and stopping me eating my meal. It was like I needed to burp constantly, and burping would sometimes result in a tiny bit of whatever I eaten coming back up my throat, but no acid etc, just whatever I'd been trying to eat in liquid form (as I always make sure I chew VERY well). I still never actually vomited at all. I thought long and hard about it and the only thing I could put it down to was swallowing my tiny blood-thinning pill and it getting a little 'caught' on the way down. Thing is, I'd been taking these pills for weeks after the surgery, and even while lying down while in hospital, and never a problem, so I think the problem may have already started, and this caused the pill to get 'caught', rather than the pill causing the problem, if you see what I mean. Anyways, it washed down just fine with lots of Water almost straight away, but as I said, that's the only incident I could think of that was out of the ordinary that I thought may have contributed to my eating/drinking difficulty. Thought I'd go on liquids for a couple of days, see if it settled down. It didn't, and even drinking water was resulting in a huge amount of noisy gurgling and burping and it was slow going down. So off to my surgeon for barium swallow. He thought it sounded like band slipped, and removed all my fill (actually try as he might he could only get out 1cc? but didn't seem too concerned?) Result show it's fine - 'normally situated'. I was so relieved not to have to have more surgery. When he took the fill out I could drink fine, did liquids for 24hrs, then also ate fine for a day or two, but now having troubles again. Not as bad as before, but I get intense gurgling/blocking/burping/discomfort when trying to eat some meals, even if it's a blended soup. Then other meals it's as if there's no problem. These are all later in the day BTW, as I've gotten out of the habit of eating Breakfast since banded - usually just have Hot drinks. I will go back to my surgeon, but wondering if anyone can shed any light in the meantime? Sorry it's so long-winded but wanted to give all details as I'm really worried about this and want to be well informed when I go back to see my Dr. Thanks Dani

Lizzie - it's good you were able to get some food in, but not good the pain's still with you. The Dr I went to for a second opinion did not have any firm answers and also said the next step is surgery. He was slightly more confident about being able to fix any problems he might find (whereas the 1st one was not) but said the bottom line is that if he finds no problems removal will be the outcome, and so I must be prepared to wake up from the surgery without it. He wasn't saying whether he thought the narrow stoma was a result of it being too tight in the first place. He said it looks like the band might be ever so slightly too high, and that could be due to a slight slip or slight misplacement, but either way it was marginal and the position could actually be just fine. I decided to change Drs, just because I know this one has significantly more experience with revisions than my original Dr. And I'm having surgery tomorrow morning! One thing this guy mentioned that I hadn't heard before was that a hiatus hernia won't necessarily be visible by endoscopy or contrast x-ray. Did your Dr already consider that? What else did your Dr have to say?

Hi Jules. I'm in the same boat. Going great until 3 weeks ago when my band just got inexplicably tight on me to the point where it hurt to drink water. An unfill allowed me to eat for 1 day then it was back to liquids only. Barium swallow showed no slip & endoscopy showed all normal except stoma narrower than would be expected with an empty band, but big enough to get the endoscope through? Dr says removal is the only sensible option rather than trying to re jig the existing band or replace as it may leave me with the same problems and a needing yet another surgery. We can discuss options once it's had time to heal and once he sees what he finds during surgery. Oh my - I just re-read your post and see this is your second band with the same issues. I can't believe you've gone through this twice - that really sucks. I'm going for a second opinion but don't expect much joy there, and am booked in to have surgery for removal next week. It's so upsetting & stressful to be living like this and the medical professionals scratching their heads not knowing what the issue is. Like you I wasn't at all keen on the more invasive options, and my Dr mentioned the possibility of sleeve gastrectomy. I'm still not keen, but when those scales start moving in the wrong direction your thinking has a way of shifting too doesn't it? When are you having your RNY? I hope it all goes really well for you. All the best dani

Hi Lizzie & thanks for your message. Same as you, endoscopy gave me no answers/clues, just a sore throat. Dr said all looked normal, just that stoma was narrow for an empty band but could still fit the (approx 1cm) scope through. He says it needs to come out, let things 'settle' and talk about rebanding or gastrectomy in a few months. I'm booked in for surgery to remove the band on Monday. Still going for second opinion today but doubt this will change anything. Such miserable news to get. It was going so very well, with only around 12 pounds til goal and being able to eat normal food for the first time in years instead of diet crap. Of course I'm determined not to go backwards, but we all know what led us to the rather drastic step of wls in the first place don't we? How is your situation - any progress? Please let me know how you're going. All the best Dani

Hi Liz I don't have any answers I'm afraid, but can certainly emphathise. How frustrating and scary to still have no answers and all band-related tests exhausted. I am having similar problems - all going great then suddenly painful to eat/drink as of a few weeks ago. Barium study all good, endoscopy scheduled for Friday. Was your throat very sore when you came out of the endo? What does your Dr intend to do next?! Mine is talking like he doesn't expect to find anything wrong during the endoscopy and if that's true he said he wants to operate to ivestigate further. Said we'll talk about the possibilities of what he might find and possible action, i.e. remove/replace etc, but all dependent on what he sees. I worry about whether he's experienced enough with revisions and have booked in with another Dr for 2nd op after my endoscopy. The bills are stacking up! My Dr keeps asking me if I have any symptoms of fever or chills/sweats etc - have you had anything like that? He said he had another patient with similar problems with empty band who ended up having an infection, but she had fever. Sorry again to hear of your worries - pls let me know how you go. Cheers Dani

Hi Sarah I've only got one, which has just kind of gotten slightly smaller, but it hasn't lost its shape etc at all after a loss of around 40kg. But then again, it is on my forearm, which wasn't a particularly chubby part of my body compared to the rest (but that part of my arm has definitely shrunk some). It will be interesting to see how you go with those bigger ones.

Hi Sarah I've been lurking around for a little while round here too! Three years ago at the age of 33 I was diagnosed with uterine cancer which was treated with a hysterectomy. Because it was a very rare type of cancer (uterine adenosarcoma) my surgeon preferred not to do any other chemo/radiation as it was caught early and there wasn't enough data to suggest the benefits would outweight the negatives. So I was lucky to avoid those hair-loss type side effects you experienced, and six monthly check-ups have been all good. I too lost a lot of weight around that time from the stress of it all, but of course gained it all back over time. I got banded in June. I have noticed a little more hair falls out on the sink after brushing it, but can't notice any difference on my head. Not sure if it takes longer than 3 months to be noticeable though? Others will let you know. My orthopaedic surgeon was the one who suggested banding as I needed a hip replacement (to treat congenital hip dysplasia) and he was reluctant to perform the surgery due to my weight and the associated risks/complications. I spent 20 years yo-yo dieting, weight fluctuations of up to 50 pounds, only to wind up heavier than ever. Although my hip would always have failed earlier than most, it's pretty clear my obesity didn't help matters. Sounds like a cliche but I really wish I could have gotten the weight under control 10 years ago when I was your age. The struggle doesn't get any easier, and the impact on your health just compounds as years go by. I've lost about 50 pounds in the past 3.5 months (even with a total hip replacement surgery last month and being unable to do any activity for the past 5 weeks). It's not always easy having a band as I'm sure you've gathered. I've been having a lot of trouble eating and even sometimes drinking in the past couple of weeks. I've had all of my small amount of fill (2cc) removed and still having trouble. My surgeon can only put it down to changes in body's Fluid composition following the hip replacement surgery last month, as a barium swallow showed the band has not slipped. All very stressful, but I would do it over again as it's my best chance at reaching/maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding any more health problems. All I can tell you is I really wish I could have done it at your age and had 10 less years of wear and tear on my body. All the very best regardless of your decision.