Greetings,
I have been lurking for quite some time so let me start by introducing myself. My name is Sarah and I was banded in Nov of 2002 by Dr. Bhesania out of the Lap Band Center in Michigan. My weight going into surgery was 376 lbs and my current weight is 164. I went through the normal "hoops" having my surgery approved and was elated when I finally got the ok. My sister and I were banded by the same Dr. within a day of each other. It was a time to celebrate...this was going to be the start of new healthy life....for both of us. Initially, my sister had much success with the band. So much so that Inamed asked for her to appear in a commercial in 2004. My weight came off more slowly but I tagged along to LA anyway just to be part of something special. Who wouldn't, ya know??? Besides, I wanted to go to Disney Land....I had been so big for long that I could never fit on any of the rides. We needed to celebrate! Two years post-op, I certainly had more room to move around.
Now, here we are, almost three years after that LA trip and I am sitting here contemplating the removal of my band. Why, you ask? I have never been able to tolerate a fill of more than 1/2cc. Anything I eat comes up again and when I say anything I am not exaggerating. I have spent so much time running back and forth to Port Huron (a 2 hour drive from my home) trying to find the right fill. I would be filled to 1cc...Couldn’t keep anything down...come back...take it out....come back, put it back in. I am currently unfilled and have been for two years now...and even now I am still unable to eat. I believe that I am as restricted as anyone with their band completely filled. I eat a salad everyday I am at work at 11:00. If I eat before then, I am sick. If I eat after 11:00, I am sick. My one salad a day, 5 days a week, has sustained me for the past two years. I have a bowl of ice cream when I come home at night.
As I mentioned earlier, my sister had success with the lap band. Initial weight 336 and at the time of the commercial, I believe she weighed about 170 give or take a few pounds. In August of 2004, my sister told me that she was pregnant with her second child. OOOOHHHH A BABY....Who can resist? Needless to say, to her band was unfilled and she carried on with her pregnancy. In February of 2005, our family was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Since that time, my sister’s band has failed to work. Numerous fills and unfills and nothing ever seems to work. We don't discuss her current weight but I do shop with the woman. This is not the same person that was jumping up and down when she got herself comfortably in a size 12. This is a woman that is again shopping for sizes ranging between 20-24.
We now come back to me. Yes, I have lost more than 200 lbs and in that sense the band has been successful for me. However, if I do stray from salad at 11:00am, I know damn well that everything else will end up in the toilet. December of last year I was hospitalized for 4 days due to my excessive vomiting. There was no one there to answer my questions...Why can't I eat? Why can't I drink? I had an upper GI, a Lower GI, and endoscopy. I sat there and tried to chug the barium but of course it wouldn't go down....The doctors all agreed that there was a "delay" from the time I swallowed until it passed through the band but no one could come to a clear conclusion as to what the problem was. I was sent home from hospital, four days later, hydrated, but with no answers.
I recently went to visit my PCP and based on the blood work she has taken, tests she has run, she is very concerned with my health. A person can only throw everything up before there are consequences. We all know Terri Schiavo.
Regardless, I am still scared as hell. I have grown accustomed to "my" way of life and it is how I have maintained my weight...I call my band my "medically induced eating disorder".
Is there anyone out there that feels this way? Is there anyone that feels that should live with out their band but cant in their mind? I apologize for this ongoing post. As I said, I have been lurking for some time and had a few things to say.
I greatly appreciate any and all replies.
