kareyquilts

I think he's given up on us. May be it didn't bring him enough business? Too bad. He's a great guy!

Cool about the face lift! Can't wait to follow your experience. I would love to get one myself!

It sucks to gain weight. I did too after a LBL and knee surgery immediately after. You can get back and you'll feel so much better if you can just start working on it. Just feeling like you back in control will make you feel better...!

My heart goes out to you! Are you seeing a wound specialist? What is your doc doing for you? How long are you going to be down with this? So sorry you had to experience this. This is the down side to plastic surgery. We all need to be reminded that it doesn't always do as planned. Please keep us posted on your recovery.

Glad you're doing well. Try pilates if you want a lean look.

I'm glad that you have a second chance! You shouldn't be embarrased. It's the doctor's job to get back with you and to explain things to you. You deserved to be treated with respect and to have an adequate explanation. Good luck!

It's definetly a risk that is not talked about much. If you still have alot of weight to lose, I would consider revision to a gastric sleeve. You should also consider a different doctor, if he/she is not going to listen to you. They should have tested you sooner!

There is a little more risk intially to the sleeve, so you need to be careful in choosing your surgeon. Make sure that they have a lot of experience in doing the sleeve. If I had it all to do over I would get the sleeve. People that have it really like it. The restriction is perfect, there are no fills, no foriegn object in your body, and no malabsorption issues. There is a forum for the the Gastric Sleeve, google it and ask people there what they think. Good luck!

Interesting articles. I had revision surgery for a slipped lap band and had a new lap band placed 1 1/2 years ago. The new band slipped twice and I had my lap band removed totally a month ago. I'm sure that is a complication of revision surgery because my surgeon said that I had so much scar tissue from my previous surgeries that the scar tissue pushed my band up into my esophagus. Certainly this is a complication of revision surgery?

First let me say that I loved my lap band and lost 120 pounds with it. For the last 1 1/2 years, I have been nauseated off and on. My band slipped and I had it replaced and the replacement band has given me problems ever since. First I had a dilatation and had all the fluid out of my band. The dilatation resolved and we began slowing refilling the band. Then my band prolapsed and all the fluid was again taken out, but the nausea just got worse, so 3 weeks ago, I made the difficult decision to have my band removed and not replaced. Now that the swelling has gone down in my tummy, I find that I still have my port! Doc forgot to remove the port. Now my doc was very kind and removed my band for free (still had to pay the hospital & anesethiogist). My doc is out of the country so I won't see him until next week. I'm angry that I'm going to have to have another (probably minor) procedure to have it removed! I realize that this is not a life threatening mistake, but give me a break! What would you do and what do you think about this situation?

Thank you Mimi. I appreciate it. A year and a half ago my band slipped and I had it replaced. I couldn't imagine getting along without it, but this time I have been living without it working for 6 months, so it gave me time to experiment and see if I could do it. I did consider having a gastric sleeve, but ultimately decided that at this point, I had learned what the band could teach me. Believe me, I second guess myself, but I think it's going to be alright.

Cleo'smom: I had the port removed with a local. It was a little uncomfortable, especially on one end of the incision that did not deaden very well. The incision was about 2 1/2 inches long and is healing very well. It is still quite tender, but I think that I'll be able to start some light exercise tommorrow. I didn't get the operative reports, but if anything else happens, I wouldn't hesitate to ask for them. I believe that legally they must give me a copy any time that I might request one. Mimilou:The future? Well my band has been empty for quite awhile. I gained about 10 pounds when my band was unfilled. So, I started seeing a nutrionist that came highly recommended. I had already lost the 10 pounds that I gained and was feeling more confident that I could do this without the help of the band. The nutritionist that I'm working with has taught me to eat 50% protien, 50% complex carbs and 10% fat at EVERY meal. I eat 5-6 meals a day, with the majority of my calories before 3 pm. He has me choosing lo-glycemic foods and it really seems to keep my appetite in check, plus I've lost another 5 pounds. I exercise 5 times a week and am commited to staying healthy. Do I miss having restriction? Very much so!

Had my appointment with my doc yesterday. Boy did he have egg on his face! Very sorry and apologetic (as he should have been). I aked him why my surgery took so long and he said that he had never seen a band like mine. I had so much scar tissue that the scar tissue had pushed one side of my band all the way up to my esophagus. Apparently, he was so wrapped up in getting my band free, that he forgot about the port. I had my port removed today in his office. It took about 40 minutes, was not a pleasant experience, but wasn't that bad either. I'm glad to have it ALL out and soon will be back to my normal routine! What a pain in the .... The doc did not charge me, nor did he offer to compensate me in any way. I'm ok with that....

Glad you made through your ordeal! Have fun choosing your dress!

Thanks for all the good feedback. My husband has cleared his schedule and will be going with me on Wednesday. I'll let everyone know what happens.

I have no plans to sue my doc unless he isn't willing to remove it at no cost to me or he doesn't want to remove it all. I don't want it to stay in. It's very tender over the port area and when I roll over on the port side in my sleep, then I wake up nauseated. The port needs to come out!

I had an xray today, not at my doc's office, to see for myself what was going on, so when I see my surgeon next Wednesday, I would be in a position of power. The port is indeed there and there is a length of tubing as well. Looks like the tubing is about 5 inches long. I am not getting another lap band, not a good candidate. There is no reason that I know of to keep my port, nor did he mention that I still had one when we talked at the hospital the next morning. I know that my surgery took 3 hours. He told me it would take about 1 1/2 hours. Not sure what happened, but he told my husband that the band was out and the surgery was fine. I don't think I should pay a dime for the removal and I don't want it in my body. I am thankful that he removed it for free, but he still should have done it right! Just not looking forward to anymore pain! Thanks for everyone's input!

Allie: My heck on fire! What a pain the in butt! It is all too too much. I think you have been amazingly positive through a difficult experience. I totally understand what you are going through and I'm glad you're coming out on the other side. It should get better from here on out. Just remind yourself that this situation is only temporary and your new body is here to stay! Glad you're doing better!

Glad you decided to go to your regular doc. How did they remove the hemmorhoid? Just in the office? Doesn't not sound fun! Hope you are feeling better and the swelling is getting more reasonable! Best of wishes!

Allie: Glad you got some relief. Maybe you should ask your doc about an alternative pain med also. I know some pain meds give me nightmares and others don't. You might also ask about a sleeping medication. I have heard that the surgery you had is notorius for reaking havoc with your female parts. It's because the lymph system is seriously disturbed in this surgery. There is an exercise that you can do at home to help with the swelling there. I had some lymphadema after my LBL and went to a lymphatic specialists and she showed me this exercise because I had swelling there as well. I'll try to explain it to you. Lay on your side and cup one half of your bottom and slowly and softly follow (curving out away from your body). Pressure should be firm but very light. Do this 4-5 times and then roll onto your other side and repeat on the other half. It's very simple, but it helps. I hope you can understand what I'm trying to explain. PM me if you have a question. Someone who is good at lymphatic massage should be able to show you things to help you get relief. Keep at it and you're going to do just great! Happy Healing!

Having had 5 ps procedures you have my deepest sympathies. I know what you are going through and it is hard. It will get better, but you need a lot more time. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's going to take a lot of time for all the swelling to go down. One thing that would be extremely helpful for you to do is to get regular lymphatic massage. It will help with the swelling and with the healing. My plastic surgeon required his patients to have lymphatic massage and it really taught me the value of it. I have since gotten lymphatic massage after knee surgery and lapband revision and it really helps with recovery. Laying down and just giving your body time to recover is important, however boring it might be. When I had my lower body lift, an incision de-hissed and I had to lay flat for a month. I know how much this can suck! Mentally try to get in a good place, through music, books on tape, comedy, phone conversatons, whatever helps you. I am a year out from my surgeries and so so glad that I did them. You're going to be glad when it's all over, but it's going to be a while. Your body has been through A LOT with both procedures be kind to it! I wish you the best. Use this forum for support, everyone will reach out to you! Wishing you the best!

Glad it went well. Happy healing!

50 pounds lost in 2 years is okay, but not great. I hope I'm not being too brutally honest here. If you're diabetes is so bad, I would go for the sure fix. Diabetes is a lot more dangerous in the long run than gastric bypass. I would also look into the gastric sleeve, which isn't as drastic and is still very effective. Good luck with your decision.