SoccerMomma73

Okay, so it's 176 days away, but I have a date!!!! This makes me feel so much better!!! (February 11, 2013). Yay!!!!

Seriously just having a date to look forward to makes it all better . I'm a planner. The not knowing was killing me!!!

Steel toed boots!!!!!!!

Drink a ton, don't pee, try not to poop whatever it takes (got any big chunky jewelry????). Good luck!!!!!

I've tried!!!! I just can't handle it forgive me please!!

Banded by Dr. Baker in 2009, unbanked by him 2 1/2 weeks ago, gastric bypass scheduled for next February.

Take to the hospital, baggy clothes, gas-x strips, chaps stick, your own pillow!!!! (for at the hospital and to hug on the way home)

I used a pillow to prop 1 side up and was sleeping on my tummy by 3 days post op. if you get the pillow in the right spot it keeps pressure off the owie.

Now being band free for 10 days (and feeling better than I have in months!!!) I will say that my 2 1/2 years of banded life helped me develop significantly better eating habits and made me realize I won't die if I don't eat XXX (insert any of the many foods I couldn't eat while banded here). I realized this As I ate my glorious 6 inch sub and apple slices today at lunch. 3 years ago it would have been a foot long, chips, and soda, I'd say that's not too bad of a trade! Sorry if it seems I've hijacked this forum but just working through A LOT of stuff as I adjust to non-banded life and wait for my bypass. I realized earlier this week I have some anger associated with all of this. (originally I thought it was all shock and disappointment). I picked the band because it's not permanent, if there a complication it can be removed, yet, here I sit with some degree of permanent damage and scarring....I'm not placing blame, don't start yelling at me, just saying this is a surprise I wasn't prepared for. I assumed the band came out and everything was back to normal. Bad assumption on my part! But anyway, thanks band for teaching me I won't starve to death if I don't give in to those cravings! I owe ya one! (but you owe me many more)

I actually had my post-op follow up from my band removal today and one of the things the surgeon and I discussed was the phasing out of the band over the nex 5 years due to complications, weight loss failure, etc. his theory is that it is almost mpossible to determine who will have complications with the band therefore making it hard to screen for good candidates for lap band....by all accounts my band and I should have lived in harmony for many many years...not so!

Yes, my band slipped this summer and 2 weeks ago I had urgent surgery to remove it. We intended to do bypass at the time but once my doc got inside there was so much damage and inflammation from the band and the slip that he felt my body needed a 6 month period to heal in order to do the revision with minimal risk of complication. Band in Dec2009. Lost 70 + lbs, BMI pre-surg 50 with hypertension,mild GERD, and mild fatty liver. Band removed August 1, 2012, BMI-36, hypertension removed, no meds in 2 years. Tentatively scheduled for RNY February 11, 2013.....now I wait, and heal. And try not to regain.

Oddly, neither that or the rerouting of parts for bypass bother me! I just didn't think I needed something so drastic not drastic ended up causing me years of problems and a grand total of 3 surgeries (assuming I do get the bypass in Feb)

Recovering from my band removal and now waiting 6 months for a RNY, I have to say I would have started with a sleeve not a band. Too many problems the last several years.

Go back and look at my posts from about 2 weeks ago under life after lapband for more details but in short, lots of complications eventually leading to slipped band with gastric herniation and urgent band removal....been a lot of drama this month!!!! Healing well and starting the very long pre-op countdown.

Band removal follow up was today. All is well. My instructions are: do my best to maintain my weight and continue to exercise. While I do have a lot of scarring and adhesions I'm okay to finish my revision in 6 months. We're tentative for February 11, 2013. With the help of myfitnesspal and a bit of obsessing I was down 1/2 pound, woohoo!!!! The holidays should be interesting :/

Sigh, I'm insane, the post I referenced was on lap-band talk, not here....sorry.

I'm tentatively scheduled for February 11, 2013. Whew, funny how having that date, though distant, makes me feel so much better!!!! Get the second opinion, but don't rush your body! You want everything to be as perfect as possible to give you the best outcome from all of this. Good luck!!!!

Yup, similar! Banded December 2009, some success but constant problems along the way. In July I got to the point I could not tolerate solids at all and some problems with liquids. Severe chest pain, SOB, refluxing horrible at night and waking up coughing and drowning. Upper GI showed a severely slipped band with gastric herniation. I had an urgent band removal days later. The original plan was band removal with revision to bypass all at the same time but once he got in he discovered a lot of damage and inflammation from the band and slippage. My portion of the stomach that herniation was stretched out and thinned. He was concerned that if he did the bypass at the time, the pouch he made would have to be larger than usual and he felt the risk of complication was greatly increased if he did the bypass right then. So, I am 2 weeks, 2 days post band removal and totally obsessive about everything that goes past my lips. My fitness pal has become my new addiction. And I'm happy to say that at my post op checkup this morning I was down 1/2 a pound!!! Woohoo!!! (I'm just trying to maintain). We did discuss the final revision today and I'm tentatively scheduled for bypass on February 11, 2013. Keep in mind I had 5 days from the time I learned I was losing my band to the date of surgery. Physically it was one of the easier surgeries I've had (port site was sore as HECK!!!!! Apparently that little booger has to be pried out tooth and nail). Emotionally, about 4 days post op I fell apart. I just knew I was going to wake up post op with a bypass, when I didn't, I didn't know what to do. I was sad, mad, lonely, I felt betrayed by my body and my band which was supposed to save me but in the end had done harm, I was pissed at my surgeon..... So very overwhelming and I don't know anyone who's ever had anything like this happen so I had no one to lean on. Somewhere on this board I left a couple posts at the time, I think the long one was entitled Wandering (or maybe lost). Physically I now feel better Than i have in at least 2 years. The choking, tightness in my throat that had been there constantly since the band was put in is totally gone, I have NO reflux or heartburn, no chest pain, no nausea, no vomiting. My energy is back to normal. I am okay. I'm probably better than okay . Having a tentative surgery date has really taken a weight off my chest. I have personally spoken to the person in charge of approving bariatric surgery for my insurance and have been reassured that if I maintain my current weight with a BMI of 36 and continue to have no major comorbidities i am still approved for the surgery. Since this whole drama is secondary to lap band failure and complications they are basing approval on my pre-surgery BMI of 50 (good lord that sounds horrible, how the hell did I get to a BMI of 50???) and my now resolved hypertension, so that is another relief. Since this all began, I've done some research and found that the revision complication rate is lower when the patient is allowed time to heal and reduce inflammation between band removal and revision (so as frustrated as I was at the time, I owe my surgeon one and thanked him today). I had an extremely long discussion with my surgeon today on the future of lap bands and he, as others have said, sees them phasing out over the next 5 years. While some people do fabulous with the band, the complication rate is fairly high and there's just really no way to predict who might have problems and therefore guide them in a different direction. I asked today if my job for the next 6 months was to maintain my weight and continue exercising. His response was yes, and don't relearn of bad habits. I will be okay. You will be okay. The next few months will be a challenge but we are up to it. I'm only a couple weeks ahead of you but if you need a shoulder to cry on or punch please look me up! Best of luck as you work through this. Be patient, allow yourself to mourn your loss, allow your body time to heal, and do not rush in to anything you are unsure of.

NAND=band

Actually I'm doing okay now! The first week was tough mentally but I think I'll make it. I had my follow up today and we're looking at surgery in february. Also, after much reading, it appears that often people with a healing period between procedures have less complications....my gut was pretty jacked up, if he had gone straight to bypass then I'd have had to have a larger bypass pouch, which I really don't want! Good luck!!

Bands works for some, but not all. I recently had my band removed due to band slippage and stomach herniation. (and I followed the meal sizes and appropriate food rules well). I was supposed to get revision to gastric bypass while in surgery, however, there was so much damage from the band that my surgeon felt it was unsafe to pursue the revision at ta time and is makin me wit 6-12 months for further surgery. I do know 2 others who had bands removed and were told they had so much damage to their stomach and/or esophagus that they should NEVER have another bariatric surery. I had my band or 2 1/2 years, went from a size 26 to 16 and BMI from 50 to 36. I lost right at 50% of my excess weight so essentially I'm normal in terms of band weight loss. What I did not do was exercise consistently....more than I did pre-op, but not as much as I should. So, that part was my fault, I absolutely could have lost more with exercise. That said, I had problems with chest tightness and pain and feeling pressure in my throat starting about 6 months post-op. I had to keep my band 'loose' with little Fluid because if my allergies acted up, I was within a week of my period, I was stressed out, sick, etc, I would get inflammation and not be able to take solids for a week or more at a time. Therefore I had to use self control more than I had expected (damn that self control!!!). In hindsight, I've always had a 'sensitive stomach' caught stomach bugs easily, problems with nausea and sometimes vomiting from sinus drainage...probably the band wasn't the right option for me. Goood luck on your journey and wit your decisions!!!