Search the Community

It's crazy, I think no matter the surgical route, we all seem to have those potholes and detours reaching our weight goals. (I'm certainly no exception and I still have yet to reach my goal. I'll touch on that in a moment.) I haven't had any issue with my band... no leaking, no slipping, and I seem to still be in my sweet spot. I don't overeat like I did pre-band. However, I was eating more than I should for my band. My hiccup was my knee surgeries. I had been in such a groove and rhythm too! I was no stranger to knee issues... one knee underwent numerous outpatient surgeries from an accident at 9 years old. Fast forward to age 39, then I had a microfracture on what was the good knee. Six weeks later I had a knee replacement on what was the bad knee. Bring on the complications from a surgeon that made an error in placing the implant... fast forward two years to a knee replacement on the good knee (dubbed Robot Knee) and then a revision on the bad knee (dubbed FrankenKnee). Prior to the surgeries I was nearly a gym rat and worked out so much. I felt great and the weight was flying off... I had lost 164 pounds. After the surgeries, it took all my energy just achieving the most mundane daily tasks. I had such bad swelling in FrankenKnee it was shutting my muscles down and I now have some atrophy in that leg. Yay. Here I am, 2 years later and finally in a groove. I still can't ride my road or mountain bike and probably never will because I don't have enough flex for the rotation. But, you know how the saying goes... when life gives you lemon make lemonade. Now that I've learned to adapt to what I can do and stopped feeling sorry for myself, I'm back in my groove. I've got 54 pounds that I'd gained to shed... and then it's back to where I left off on my journey prior to my "detour". (I started out the year 74 pounds heavier... so 20 pound loss in 2 1/2 months is something I'm happy with!) Wouldn't it be nice if it was just a straight shot from surgery to goal? We're all strong and resilient and we can do this!!!

Hi, Well I had my plication for 7 months. They removed it 7 weeks ago, But till this day I'm still loosing my hair I have huge bold spots that I can't hide no more only if I wear a hat, I started loosing it about 4 months after I had the plication done The Dr.told me it would stop. But it did not, and now that I don't have plication any more it still comes out like crazy. I’m taking Biotin, B12 Vitamins, and using Biotin Shampoo and conditioner but nothing seems to help. My Dr. told me to go to a Dermatologist so I can get Hormones shots on my scalp for hair growth. I think it was because of so much stress with plication complications .I will wait a little more on the Dermatologist maybe. Don’t know what to do

I'm a Crisis Screener in an ER and in the community. I took the full 6 weeks and I am going back to work next week. I actually decided that I'm not returning to the same company as it's high stress and is not healthy given my recent surgery and ongoing self care needed especially in the beginning. I took a position doing the same work but for a different organization, in a different county, with lower demand for the services I provide. Just do what's best for you as this is a life changing surgery. Mine was actually a revision due to complications. I only took off for 2 weeks for the first one and regret that. Your job will survive without you for an extra couple of weeks...take as much as your doctor will give you. YOU are more important than your job! [emoji3] Sent from my LGMS210 using BariatricPal mobile app

Well...I'm too having a horrible time quitting. May will be my last visit before they submit the authorization. Do they run a nicotine test? I'm freaking out cause I don't want anything to go wrong but it's been so hard. I've been smoking since I was 17 and basically for the past 5 yrs I've smoke a pack a day (I know, that's a lot and im only 37 , such a bad habbit :(.. I just want to make it out alive, anyone here did good after surgery without complications despite the fact of being a smoker before surgery?

Hi my name is honor I'm from utica ny and Ive been over weight all my life! I got the lap band 3years ago and lost about 80lbs and felt pretty good but was unable to eat food got stuck all the time and due to food getting stuck and getting sick my esophagus swelled up so the dr had to unfill the band and I gained all my weight back and feel so uncomfortable. Well I decided to have a revision and get the bypass I am currently waiting for insurance approval. .they are deciding if they will just approve it due to complications with the band or if I have to do a 3month supervised diet. I am so nervous since I hear some bad stories about the bypass and I feel that my family is not happy about my decision but I need to do this for myself!!

Listen Buck...everyone on here is different. Everyones bodies are different, and you have no idea how your body will react. Not everyone has problems or complications. The only reason you see alot of them on here is because this is a place for mental support, fellow bandsters come here to dish out their problems and their positives. You can't fully read into everything you see. Try reading the good and positive posts, then in the end, make the decision that is best for YOU and your body!

Buck, I can only reiterate the same things that have been said here already. I have been very successful in my journey with the lab band. Just over 100# lost in 15 months. I have had my bad days and have posted here for support and advice and I too have been scared by some of the complications that I have seen discussed here. But in the end, this is personal decision, one that you have to be comfortable with in order to be successful at. And remember that this is a medical procedure, no matter how simple and there is always the possibility of complications. But I would rather weigh the odds of such a complication, which are low, to the odds that I would have even greater complications and health problems in the future had I not taken this course. And if you read the posts of those that have had such complications, many will state that they do not regret the choice they made and may even do it all over again if given the chance. Just my 2 cents!

Dr. W. is accepting patients but will only do fills for patients that are his. At one time,he used to but he stoped about a year ago. He does not have a clinic and he does not have fluoro. Although, I can't see why you require a fluro for a fill. The procedure is usually only done if there are suspected complications. For support, we do have a support group that meets once a month at the Lions Gate Hospital and anyone that is researching the band and/or has the band is welcome. There is no membership fee, just a few of us get together to discuss the pros and cons of our journey. We also are available to answer questions for anyone researching the band.

I initially didn't want to tell anyone except my husband. I didn't want to have to explain myself, or have people judge me. Then we had to let my husbands aunt and uncle know because we stayed with them since my surgery was out of state. Eventually as my surgery got closer I became more comfortable sharing with close family. They were supportive... for the most part. Now I can care less who knows. I don't advertise it, but I don't care what people think anymore. It is actually nice to have the support!! Sometimes it is frustrating when I am eating and have a semi-stuck episode where I slow way down... I constantly get asked if I am ok. A few family members are always watching me eat and asking how it is going... during dinner... that can get old. I have had several complications and my journey has been up and down. I am having my 4th surgery next week. So I don't think I could have kept it secret at this point!! Lol. It really is a personal decision. Do what is comfortable for YOU!! Good luck with your decision!! Oh... my surgery was outpatient. It depends on the doctor and insurance.

The studies have been posted numerous times on obesityhelp.com Since RNY was not an option for me, because I knew of the complications from real life friends, I never saved any of the links. They also talk about only 30% of RNY patients dumping with sugars and carbs. The weight regain stats with RNY are downright scary, and you can search the Revision and RNY board over there to see just how many people are looking to get revisions called ERNY (extended rny) which is where they shorten the common channel even more to make the body start malabsorbing calories/fats again.

I agree with contacting your surgeon. It's better to play it safe than not. A lot of it in the beginning is head hunger. You may want to talk to your psychologist about this as well. I don't want this to sound rude, but I believe most surgeons screen patients for this type of thing before surgery as like many people have stated, over eating can equal death. Apart from that, dwelling on it will not change what happened. After contacting your surgeon, move on. And do try to not let it happen again. Apart from death and complications, it messes with the scale as well.

ummmm.... Now please dont get frightened but I think I better tell a little about what happened to me. When I came out of surgery I too had trouble taking a deep breath, basically because it would hurt where the surgeon had dug around - ie. the port area, slightly under my ribs and my diaphragm. I used my spirometer and that really helped me get used to taking big breaths - it still hurt a bit - like a stretching feeling. All of this was completely NORMAL! However, on the Wednesday night (I had surgery on the Monday) I quite suddenly got short of breath. I thought it was just a little asthma so I used some ventolin spray and waited a while - but it didn't seem to work. I was still short of breath a few hours later, and I knew something wasn't right. DH called the hospital and the sugeon wanted to see me first thing in the morning - the nurse thought I may have pneumonia. But, when I came in, my doc did a chest X-ray and Barium swallow - and pneumonia and band slips/problems were ruled out. But because I couldn't take a deep enough breath the X-rays couldn't rule out a pulmonary embolism (or PE - blood clot in the lungs) so he sent me to another hospital for a lung scan. The lung scan revealed that I probably (not 100%) had several small PEs. Therefore I was readmitted to hospital for one week, during this time I had lots of medication, injections and blood tests to make sure my blood was thin enough. Now, 20 days post-op, I am still on anti-coagulant drugs and will be for the next 2-5mths. My surgeon will not give me a fill until I am off the medication because that could cause bad complications with my port. BUT, my point is this, if you are short of breath, not 'its painful to breathe deeply', but 'I am unable to take a full breathe' then please contact your surgeon! PE's can be life threatening!!! Remember that PE's are only dangerous if you dont know you have one! (Also look out for localized swelling in the legs which could indicate a blood clot - also very dangerous as they can move to your lungs). Please note though that this is not a 'band' complication but a general surgery complication. And my surgeon was not shonky or anything - he gave me blood-thinning medication before surgery and had electrode thingies on my legs during the surgery - it was just 'one of those things'. I was his first patient to have this problem and he has done over 1000 bandings. So it is rare - but it does happen. Please err on the safe side. Its ok if it hurts to breathe, but if you physically cant take a deep breath, please call and talk to your doctor.

I can't speak to specifics on the MGB, but when my wife and I first started looking seriously at WLS some fourteen years ago, it was an offbeat procedure looking to gain respect and legitmacy. Since then, both the DS and the VSG have gained general acceptance by the ASMBS, the insurance industry and Medicare as routine, mainstream bariatric procedures, while the MGB remains on the fringes. I would focus your research on understanding why this is. Usually the reason lies with some combination of effectiveness and complications. No one goes into this planning to need a revision (excepting the few cases where two step procedures are planned from the outset,), but having a viable "plan B" isn't a bad idea, and some procedures are more flexible in this regard than others.

I thought I was 100 percent set on getting the gastric sleeve as it seemed to e the "least invasive." However, I have been reading up on the mini gastric bypass and I am wondering if that would be better for me. I am 5'5 a little over 300 lbs with a BMI of 51 and wonder if I will be able to get to my goal weight at that size with just the sleeve alone. I have scheduled my surgery or June 14th for the sleeve but now I am wondering if I chose the right surgery. I do not suffer from acide reflux, I don't want it and of course I want the least amount of complications possible. I also dont want to have a second surgery if one doesnt go as planned. Feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I had lap band November 2011. This worked well for a while. I lost about 80 pounds, until I had complication Nov 2014. I had problems with vomiting everything I would eat, so my previous surgeon ordered an upper GI and esophageal manometry. Both of those tests confirmed I had a prolapse. Long story short, my insurance company made me switch to a different surgeon. I had my band and port removed 8/10/15. My new surgeon said that my band had also slipped and was sitting sideways which was causing me to have the vomiting. He also did an intra-op EGD to look at my esophagus to see if there was any damage from 9 months of vomiting. He said it didn't look too bad,but I needed to continue my Zantac and Prilosec. He said he had to remove the adhesions(scar tissue) from the band. I am not going to lie, the port removal and scar tissue removal is painful! It was supposed to be an outpatient procedure and go home same day, but I ended up staying the night in the hospital due to pain control and I am really glad I did. IV Dilaudid was the only thing that was helping my pain. They eventually switched me to percocets and that seemed to help with the pain. I am attaching a picture of the port site. I am now 4 days post-op band and port removal and I am still taking percocets for pain, but it is improving. I will be revising to Gastric bypass in late October, early November based on my surgeon's recommendations and my history of GERD. My insurance company wouldn't allow me to have the revision done in 1 surgery, so it has to be done this way. I am interested in hearing from those who have had band to bypass and what their experiences were. There were 3 total incisions. 2 small ones which don't bother me at all, and one large painful incision where port was. This larger incision is the mean monster.

Thanks you for sharing your experience. We that have yet to have the surgery will know the symptoms if this should happen. I wish you a quick recovery and so sorry you had these complications. Take care of yourself and good luck with your weight loss adventure.

I told my surgeon I'm an average, boring person so I'm assuming everything will go accordingly! I have a very good surgeon with very low complication rate. I've done all my research and feel good about my choice to do this. I'll deal with whatever happens if it happens.

As others have said ..... yes you will have breathing tube. You will be completely dependent on the anthesoligist for your life. My advice with regard to the insurance question it to call your company and ask the same question. My insurance company didnt pay for it to be put in... (even with a BMI of 55...sorry sorry..sore subject) But if I have complications and it needs to be removed they will pay... go figure.

Glad you are here to get support. Keep posting and reading...a lot of great people here willing to listen and empathize and provide a hand. Hon, if I had answers on how to not be hungry dunng the preop diet, I never would have needed VSG surgery. HA HA It is hard, torture really but worth every single moment of misery you may endure. Preop diet is for your own protection so during surgery you do not have any complications. Reduce the fatty liver and all. Continue to be strong...you can do this! Also, I highly recommend you read under General Sleeve Surgery Discussions the thread about what will you need for surgery. I personally like for post op, a heating pad, G2 gatorade to sip on (do not want to get dehydrated), decaf peppermint tea, chicken Soup (strain out chicken/noodles and diluted) and wear loose clothing. Found that if I did not refrigerate my drinks, they were easier to sip on. Good luck on upcoming surgery and keep us posted to your progress.

I am in a mindset to have it done - but - I do want both sides of the story. I want to talk to the people who had post-op complications. I also know that i'm probably going to regret it when I wake up in pain, have a problem sipping, not liking the liquids i'm allowed to have - and I know i'll miss and mourn food

i would say anything that you know you have to give up post op start working on it now. for me soda was a big one. i gave it up in october and was sleeved in december. i have read posts from people who kinda forgot about soda and when they were starting their liquid diets were dying bc they wanted pop. its hard enough to give up food for weeks but to also have to focus on the soda, makes it that much harder. i also started cutting back on sweets and carbs and incorporated a protein drink into my day to sort of prep for surgery. i also like the previous poster spent hours a night and week reading positive stories, negative stories, stories of complications. i wanted to be as prepared as i could be in case something happened. i wanted to know what my options were if X happened and what the signs and symptom to watch for etc. good luck to you!!!

My surgery is only 1 week away! Now I am getting concerned about these possible complications. Does anyone know the statistics of successful Lap Band placements VS. those who have erosion or slippage, and have to have the band removed? I really really want this to work, and I will be devastated if something goes wrong......

Well nothing similar but wanted to say that after having my band for 5 years, with no complications, I had a revision this past September. I don't think that you can have the band in forever and that is why I had it removed. It was the best decision I could have made to be band free. IMO it doesn't sound to me like it is band related, your husband's issue. What did he eat? Did he over eat?

dadci i liked your positive post hope soon to be sleever and NEWBIES enjoyed reading your post there are times a poster writes bad experiences, thats totally ok - they unfortunately happened its nice to see a post from a NEWBIE like you stating they had no complications, and are alive to say that!!! good for you continued speedy recovery

I didn’t know what to title this. My surgery was April 29th, I ended up in the ER the day after my release from the hospital with pneumonia, critically low potassium and acute UTI. I was also diagnosed with esophageal dysphasia. Because of that my follow up appointments got thrown off course. I had two appointments close together. The second appointment he had me go for a upper gi fluoroscopy and endoscopy. Which found stoma stricture, Schatzki ring, sliding hiatal hernia and ulcers. TBH after the endoscopy I didn’t want to schedule my next follow up appointment. And the doctor hadn’t said when. It should have been 2-3 months post-op but it’s almost 4 1/2 months. I see my surgeon on Thursday and because I need medical transportation it turns into practically an all day affair. I am actually dreading this appointment. He is a great surgeon but my communication skills, especially when I’m fatigued are sorely lacking. I’m at a loss what to say since I feel like I can’t do anything right. While yes my weight has gone down (rather slow) and I think I’ve hit around 53lb loss - I haven’t been able to progress in certain things and have to keep my calories very low otherwise I stall. Due to the esophageal dysphasia I’m not drinking a lot of water. I haven’t attempted purées again and should probably even be into regular foods by now. The most I’ve been able to manage is yogurt mixed with protein powder for breakfast (sometimes a shake) cottage cheese, BariatricPal protein soup (if I have any) juice flavor protein mixes, and sometimes soft boiled egg but I get kind of sick from it so not too often. It’s more an allergy thing with that. My surgeon never really said anything after the endoscopy. I read on the results that he balloon dilated the stricture which it seems to me he did it too much at once and I don’t feel better. The fluoroscopy showed it at 3mm and he dilated 10mm and assumed it was ok because the scope passed? I find it perplexing. And maybe they think the other issues too minor? I don’t. I don’t want to be stuck on proton pump inhibitors. They cause constipation and are not safe long term for things like magnesium, bone density etc. which I have enough bone density loss as is. I told My gastroenterologist about new issues with this of course they said talk to the surgeon and also my PCP. I’ve been having crushing chest pain. And weird strong spasms below my ribs on the left side. Of course I forgot to mention it to my PCP I was too annoyed by her attitude when I caught her up on the surgery and everything after it (she was on maternity leave a few months) well that’s a long story I won’t bore anyone with. My gastroenterologist scheduled me for a colonoscopy the end of this month to rule out possible colitis (a ct scan result said colitis) I was supposed to have had it before my RNY but it didn’t work out that way. I’m not sure how I’ll manage prep. They gave me a prescription for one that is less to drink but I’m allergic to it. Ill have to do clear liquids two days prior to the colonoscopy. Does clear protein count as a clear liquid or do I not have protein? I’ve had colonoscopies before but this is my first after RNY. Also. I have endometriosis and it’s possible he won’t see the problem in the colonoscopy since that won’t show up if it’s on the outside. I worry it won’t answer the problems there. As for endometriosis. I saw my uro/gyn because of hemorrhagic cysts on my one remaining ovary. Which also has endometriosis on it. I guess it’s time to have it out now and I’m scheduled for that October 14th. Which means .............. menopause. But I’m hoping it will ease the endometriosis and pcos symptoms. He had removed my other ovary that was covered with endometriosis during other procedures he was doing at the time. I’m too chicken to ask him about an issue with one of the other procedures he did. Just like my follow up with my bariatric surgeon. I’m at a loss what to say and when I’m exhausted I lose my words. Also doesn’t help that I speak to several people before he enters the room. I feel like they expect me to be cured of all my ailments after surgery, even my pcp had that attitude but with lifelong chronic illness it doesn’t work that way. In fact I knew things likely would get worse for me but this was my last chance at a tool to fight my out of control weight gain. You can only eat so little calories without help of some kind. My surgery wasn’t reliant on comorbidities since my BMI was 40. I have them. But most wont just go away with weight loss. But it doesn’t mean I regret the surgery. (My pcp had the attitude of why did I have it if it didn’t help those things ... well I was already at least 208lbs and BMI 40 (height 5’) like isn’t that enough of a reason? Im sorry I just wrote a very long rant. My memory is so terrible I don’t remember when my last two appointments were and what was discussed at the last one. I don’t think they even mentioned my bloodwork. All I know is that was when he scheduled the tests. Now I’m following up on that. I almost don’t even want to go. I feel like I won’t be able to explain anything. And honestly surgeons just want to hear that you lost a huge amount of weight and that you’re doing great not “it’s complicated. “