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Hi everyone, Thank you for your replies and the showing of support for my wife. It is Saturday morning October 8th and I am sitting here inside the hospital room next to her bed side watching her sleep. She had surgery yesterday morning to remove her band but she had multiple unexpected complications during the surgery. Initially we were told the whole surgery should last between 1 to 1.5 hours in total and it would be done laproscopicaly. Unfortunatley once they got into her stomach they discovered the situation was far more advanced and complex than they could had ever thought. We were told that not just part of the band but the ENTIRE lapband clamp and some of the tubing had eroded and pushed itself completely into her stomach cavity. Because of this complication they abandoned the lapiscopic approach and made a vertical inscision about 6 inches above her stomach to go and fix the problem. Once they got in they discovered the ulcers in her stomach were also larger than orriginaly expected and the surgeon ended up having to bassicaly remove a portion of her stomach and repair it with tissue collected from elsewere in the body. The concern now is will the inscisions hold and will her body accept the essentialy patched layers of skin that are being used to repair her stomach. In whole the surgery lasted almost 5 hours and she is on a Morphine pump to control her pain. We were told her recovery time just here in the hospital will be a minimum of 6 to 7 days and the next step will require a barium swallow to confirm there are no leaks in the stomach itself. She also cant eat or drink anything for this entire period which I can only imagine what she is going to be like in a few days with that news. I have to tell you, the more and more I read on here about the simualrities of many people posting their complications of the lapband and what it has done to their bodies and life "ESPECIALY 5 to 6 YEARS LATER" I really have to wonder if this device is miracle that we all once belived it was. Both me and my wife have experienced the joys of weight loss and now unfortunately the cost associated with it. Yes, I am also having complications with my band and even though I work for a major company with thousands of employees and we subscribe to a major healthcare provider here in the US guess what else is happening? We found out the This past Thursday afternoon that our insurance will not cover this surgery at all. It is considered an complication due to a non covered gastric band removal and even though it was also considered emergency surgery, the insurance company is denying the claim. What else can be said, I am not sure but it makes you wonder if all those people out there that use to baulk at us when we told them we had this surgery and how some of them would say we just cheated to loose weight were maybe right. Stephen Wallace / Atlanta, Georgia

My big reason for choosing the band....my sister was in the hospital for 2 months after her RNY and nearly died, very severe complications. Now all her weight is coming back on, I feel so bad for her. She feels so hopeless. Thank God the lap-band was invented. It is the BEST option for me.

You are so positive. I am only post op day 4 and cannot stop reading about complications. I think I am going to drive myself crazy. I know that only God knows what the future holds but I cannot wait to be past 10 days when my doc said I would be out of the woods.

I had started looking into lap band in June 2010 had an appt set for the end of July and found out July 9 th I was pregnant... That scared me to death I was 39 over weight and on blood pressure medicine. And my 12 year old son was 9 weeks early due to complications and I was young then... Oh and not married to my bf of 6 years who is a "few " years older than me. So we got married and and I carried my daughter 9 months with no complications other than advanced maternal age... That's what they called me.. Anyway I had her went on weight watchers and lost 45 lbs and then Stopped..got stuck. Gained 10 lbs back and my husband said what about lap band? So I went to my first appt in sept 2012 had my surgery oct 17th and to date have lost 34 lbs... I've struggled my whole adult life with my weight and I don't want this to be something my daughter deals with, we eat less and healthier and I am so happy I financed the surgery... Yes it will be hard to afford the payments but when I think about what was around the corner for me... I believe it's well worth it.

I had my surgery with Dr. Christeau at the Royal Vic. It went well. I had it 1.5 years ago, and have lost to date 200.8 lbs. I am almost at goal. I started running a year ago. I have done a half marathon and plan to do a 30 km run in Ontario in the spring. I feel fortunate to have been so lucky with this... no complications at all. Dawn Banded April 4th, 200 Montreal 358/157.2/148

You were being asked about in these parts...so glad you are home. I'm sorry about your complication, though. I was super tight post-surgery, but not like you have been! Take it slow and easy. It's good to have you back!

I got my band on 3/6/06. Unfortunately this is my first full day home from the hospital. I had a rare complication that my doctor says only happens to 1-3% of band patients. My stomach swelled so tight around the band that it was choking my stomach. This caused discomfort and a lot of dry heaves. I had to spend a few days with a tube through my nose and into my stomach to pump out all the stomach fluids to help with the heaving. I still had it off and on for the following week. But it has finally settled down. I also now have almost uncontrollabel high blood pressure. It topped out in the hospital at 230/108. Now that I'm home, I'm just taking it easy, taking my meds and praying that I can stay here now. I have lost about 28 pounds though, the hard way.

Kelly, Congratulations on taking this step, you will be so glad you did! If your surgeon recommended a pre-op diet, know that it is essential to follow it carefully because the purpose is to shrink the liver, and get it out of the way so they can safely perform the surgery. If it is not done properly you have a higher risk of serious complications. Some people don't have to do a preop diet and your surgeon will let you know if you need one. Welcome to the forum!

Excellent point VSGKirk.....this is why men's multivitamins often leave the iron out. In addition, men typically have less deficiencies of iron than women....but this research is with normal stomach sizes and intake. So, an iron deficiency may or may not occur with sleeved men....add a history of hemochromatosis and it gets more complicated. You're spot on.....for the rest of our lives, take your blood work seriously and stay compliant with whatever vitamin/diet regimen is recommended by your provider.

I am pre-op but have been dieting and exercising with weight lifting as a part of that routine. I really enjoy it, nothing too heavy but definitely lots of reps (25-50) 3-4 times each exercise. Anyone know how long before you can resume cardio and weightlifting. And how did it go any complications, were things different?

What if any complications have you experienced? Thank you for answering..I have just joined this site. Thinking of having the surgery. ann

this procedure was done about 10 years ago, in one of my appointments they said bowel obstruction was a slightly less than 1% risk of all abdominal surgeries.....that is more than relatively safe in my book. But it is still the reason for the negativity...I'll be armed with facts....I have a higher chance of dying from heart disease or complications of diabetes.....that is a true fact!

How Many people have a slip and have to have surgery. I read that there is 88% chance of a band complication over 3 years and slips are the most common. I am scheduled for surgery in one week. I don't want to go blindly into something that could cause major problems but I want the change so bad. Has anyone else asked their dr how frequent slip rate is? I plan to do so ASAP. Please lete know about slips and if you had one if you still liked the band. Any other info as well. If u have gone yrs without a slip please post also! Trying to gauge things.

Currently waiting for gastric bypass procedure , I have an appointment in September which will involve me having a comprehensive medical inc seeing the Anethetist , weigh myself meet the nurse , surgeon , blood tests and psychiatric evaluation . Does any one know roughly the time between going to this evaluation and the operation itself as still have not received a surgery date yet and thought there might be a time frame that can't be exceeded between the evaluation and actual surgery inc pre op diet . As circumstances and body may change ... A less complicated way of explaining what I mean is that all the results from the evaluation made on me could become invalid or wrong if operation is not preformed relatively soon after my medical ....?? Any one else know?

You are not crazy at all- completely normal. I did have a complication from surgery and still didn't die. LOL. Incredible pain for 5 days and I truly did feel I was dying, I wasn't. The body is an amazing thing. I'm feeling 100% now and even with my complication surgery was 100% worth it!!! You will do fine.

Today I found out I have a "mild displacement" of my band. I also have a hernia of the Esophageal hiatus as well as dilation of the esophagus.:smile: I have been peeping in and out of LBT but never really participated in any discussions. Now I wish I would have made time to read more post and what to watch for. I didn't realize being too tight can cause these complications, until I read several posting about slippage tonight. My current events ~~~~~~~ I have been too tight since Aug, but pushed through the symptoms (gastric reflux and pain w/ certain foods, PB) - I have a lot of toleration for pain. I Slowed down w/ weight loss so in Nov, I had more fill of .2cc - to bring me to 2.3cc in a 5cc band. In Dec had the .2cc removed to see if it would help the reflux. It did midly, but I gained 10lbs over Christmas (bad food choices, even though there were some mild restrictions & but no exercise ) Jan I had .1cc added back and 4 weeks later .1 added again to bring me back to what he orginally gave me in Nov. I loved it because it restricted me well, but I would have slimming, PB and vomited a couple of times - 4 times in 2 months. I was trying to "tough" it out knowing I would get used to it, but it was difficult to eat and drink. I had a 20lb wt loss in 2 months. Finally about 3 weeks ago I woke up in the night had coffee ground emesis - it tested positive for blood, & I began taking aciphex that day. All symptoms and problems completely stopped, and 6 days later I saw my suregon who removed the .2cc from my band to see if that would help, but also to schedule a GI swallow. Well I had my swallow last week, and today was told I have a slippage w/ dilated esophagus & hiatul hernia. So I have been a little bummed out and really afraid that I will gain some weight back. There is a reason I have this tool, and am not ready to be completly w/ out restriciton, but I have to really try hard to at least maintain and not gain. I am concerned I may need surgery, but because I have a small band(5cc) it could be a good thing to get a new one, that way there is less chance of the same problems. I will f/u with a brrium swallow in 2 weeks to see if there is improvement and then we will go from there. He said my pouch is "genrerous" but not bad and the slippage is mild. The dilation of the esophagus is mostlikely due to being over tight and obstruction and he hopes and thinks w/ time it will shrink down as long as I am not too tight. As for the Hernia there are a couple of options surgery or no surgery, but not all hernias need repair. I have heard from my friend that her father who is a chiropractor reduces these types of hernias, but when I told that to my doctor he gave me that weird look (you know the anti-chiropractor look) but said if I wanted to try he didn't think it would be contraindicated in me just because I am banded. My surgery was paid for by my prior insurance, but now I have another insuance who is not contracted w/ this doctor, and i have been cash paying for the fills. I am wondering if I do need surgery how they will look at this and if they would approve him removing and replacing the band, or if I would have to go to another doctor. They do have him contracted for other general surgeries, but not for barriatric. They are contracted w/ another barriatric surgeon in town, but he does not do lap band and I choose LB for a reason. Today I come to realize I think this is of my own doing and I am upset that I didn't realize it and seek medical attention when I was too tight. I am just 50lbs to goal, and don't want this to stop me! Any support or advice would be welcomed. Thanks for reading I know my long was long.

I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope you are feeling much better now. I'm really not sure why you haven't had any replies about your condition. Erosion is one of the main causes of having the band removed. Maybe you could re-post in the section of October 2009 (maybe there are others in your month who've had the same troubles) or in previous months.. It is odd they haven't replied here. I hope you manage to get everything sorted. I have had MAJOR troubles with my band in my first few weeks.. from port flipping 180 degrees to infection to inflammation of my oesophagus ..and all in the first 6 weeks!.. I've been banded for 18 months now and have lost 50 pounds. not as much as I'd like but it is easy to stray and forget the rules.. I was offered to have my band loosened so I could enjoy my vacation last summer.. I was MORTIFIED.. NO WAY!.. I told my doctor.. "you don't understand.. my friends and family.. they EAT!.. and I have no willpower.. I NEED my band! '... So as you can tell.. with all of my complications.. I love my band and it has certainly helped me from GAINING anymore weight.. I just need to refocus on my goal and start following the rules again.. otherwise my dear band may have to be taken out due to neglect and abuse!.. take care and let me know how you get on!.. :thumbup:

So this is my first post. I've been researching and contemplating bariatric surgery for a few years now, but it's only recently that I decided to put my foot on the road and start the journey. A little background: I'm a 38 year old woman, 3 kids, and husband, cat mom (hoping to bring in a dog soon too, hehe) I've been overweight all my life. All 3 pregnancies were with gestational diabetes, but I managed without meds, and that has been the only time I've ever lost significant weight. Actually, prior to my first pregnancy, I cut out soda, and stopped relying on hamburger helper/boxed meals for dinner, and went from 255 to about 230. My weight over the years has fluctuated between 200 to 230. My biggest problem now is diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 2 a few years back. I'm on metformin, which my body doesn't handle well. In 2015, I lost my mother, who was over 300lbs and had diabetes to complications from diabetes. It has really scared me, enough that I've had anxiety issues since, and what's really pushing me to find a way to lose weight. After all my research, I'm aiming for the sleeve. I've been to my program's orientation, and met with the Nurse Practitioner. I now have loads of appointments, and a goal of losing 12 lbs by January 24. It feels like a lot, only because my timing is poor and I'm doing all this through the Christmas season. While I'd like surgery in March, I'm actually thinking May would be better since my older kids would still be in school, but my husband would be home (he's a professor) so that he can take care of my 3 year old. I could try to time it right so that it happened over his spring break too, but that's going to take the stars aligning just right, lol. Anyways, I feel like I'm taking on a whole bunch of stuff at once, and I'm not sure how to handle it all. My husband is a good man, who listens, but as he says "I'm not a therapist and other than listening, I'm not sure how to help you." I've got an appointment with a therapist, but not until January, so I'm on my own. So I guess here's my questions...how do you keep focused? I have little direction at this point, and find my confidence wavering. It's always a stressful time of year for me, and while I realize that I have to change how I handle stress, I feel a bit "thrown into the fire" by doing all this now and not say...next month, when I'd have more time to learn more ways to deal with everything. (Another back story, December goes like this: Christmas Eve, Christmas, my oldest' birthday, my youngest birthday, and 10 days later but within the 12 Days of Christmas, my middle child's birthday.) I find the site here too big so I'm not sure where to read in order to get more positive stories and other helpful information. I read a few books, but I guess I'm not ready to invest in any sort of emotional eating books. I'm counting calories and watching what I eat, and trying to exercise more, but really, that's not enough to keep me focused completely. So what other resources do you use? Sites with good articles and information, positive stories of success, etc? And finally, on a grosser note, and a rather...embarrassing question to ask, but how are bowel movements after surgery? I mean mostly on the long term, but I ask because one of the biggest factors to not just simply "losing weight with diet and exercise without the surgery" is I can't handle the thought of being on metformin for the rest of my life. Even at 1000mgs, the loose BM's are horrid and painful and interfering with my every day life (with my current primary care physician pushing for me to move up to 1500mgs despite my protests). I have this worry that I'll still be dealing with intestinal issues after surgery. So if you have had the surgery, and were on metformin, did you get off of it? If you've had intestinal issues in the past, have they continued after surgery? Sorry for the novel!

I haven't had any complications with the band. I have gained some weight back lately, but it was due to my own problems and had nothing to do with the band. I had gotten down to 192.4 and now I am back up to 207 :rolleyes2: it wasn't the fault of the band...it was just me. The only "problem" I had was when I went in for my first fill they had some trouble finding it and had to wiggle the needle around a little bit (doesn't really hurt, just felt weird) other than that things have been great!!!

BIG VG bander here too. My Dr uses the VG band only now too, says there is less complications with them. It took me a little longer to reach restriction too, but then some of my very lucky friends had restriction with one fill with the VG. It all depends on your insides I think. Good Luck with it and trust your DR. As for Dr Fielding I have heard alot about him since I started my lapband journey, he studied and worked here in Australia and to date he has performed over 2000 bandings. He underwent lap-band surgery himself in December 1999 so who better than him to understand and know what we are going through. I think you would be in the hands of ONE of the best banding Drs in the world....but thats just my opinion :cake:

Donali's sister, Cheryl, called me an hour ago. Sorry it took so long to post but I'm going in too many directions this evening. Donali was in surgery 4 hours. Cheryl didn't call them "complications" but the surgeon had some repairs to do. I don't have any other information yet, other than her sister is with her at The Oasis Hospital, and her mom is waiting at home for her in San Diego. I think we can all agree that she's truly amazing. Actually, you all are. Cheryl told me Don was touched with all the support here. Believe it or not, I'm at loss for words.

Bitter, it strikes me from reading your posts about your life with your mother that you are exhausted and that your emotions concerning your present life and your mother are complicated. This only makes sense; you are between a rock and a hard place and your sib is not pulling his weight, is he? Perhaps some talk therapy might be indicated. You would be able to sort through your feelings, maybe figure out some new approaches to your relationship with your mum, and perhaps learn some distancing or relaxation techniques.... Who knows? It might be worth a shot. (I mention this because my own family life has been a difficult one. I have been seeing a psychologist for some years now and this has been most useful. It really saved my sanity when my mum and my kid brother suddenly died not so very long ago.)

Hello, I am currently on my 6 month diet (Health Allience) and am hoping to get an approval. I have gone to the seminar but have since learned that I will have to have co-morbid conditions due to my size (38.4) BMI. I actually weighed in at 255 lbs 2 1/2 years ago but have managed to loose 70 lbs on my own. The bad part is that I have now gained back a good deal of that weight (now at 223) but still fall below the 40 BMI requirement. I am wondering if they will use the starting weight back whwen I was 255 or if they will only use my current weight? I considered doing this by self pay but I am really scared about the fact that insurance will not coever any problems related to complications of the lap band. I have had other surgeries that went bad so I know first hand that things can go wrong. Anyway, sorry to keep rambling on,,,,I just wanted to say hi to other people in my area that is going through the same things. The support is wonderfull and I hope the best for us all. :smile2:

Hi and congrats on taking the steps to a healthier and better you. The sleeve is a wonderful and I absolutely love life post-op. As for your questions, I'll answer honestly and openly as I can. 1) I am a smoker. Smoking inhibits healing, and can cause ulcers. Not only that, it increases your risk of a leak due to hindering healing of the staple line. My surgeon knew my smoking status, but I didn't quit pre-op. Could it have contributed to the fact that I did have a leak, yes, but the biggest issue in my recovery and leak issues was because I had a band first that destroyed my stomach tissue. Smoking also complicates anesthesia recovery. Your abdomen is sore, causes more coughing and I had to use a spirometer to help prevent pneumonia. That really sucked because coughing caused major discomfort. I have quit twice since surgery, and am now trying to quit again. I actually went on Wellbutrin to help with the withdraws of nicotine as the patch, gum and cold turkey make life with me pure hell. 2) I had a huge panel of labs, a chest xray, psych eval, and consult with a nutritionist. Some surgeons require an upper gi and sleep study. 3) I didn't have a drain initially. A lot of surgeons use drains to make sure there is no leak, and some pull it before discharge, some require it stay in for about a week. I only had drains due to the leak repair surgery, and they stayed in for over 2 weeks. 4) I was not catheterized for my revision. I urinated before surgery, and was dry when I came out. 5) hair loss can happen to anyone that goes through surgery. It's a pretty normal occurrence. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. It's a combination of anesthesia, surgical stress, and rapid weight loss. I lost hair for about 3 months, and I lost half of my hair. Luckily, I had super thick, coarse hair and no one that didn't know me before never guessed that I had lost all of my hair. The only thing you can do pre-op and during your recovery is to take hair/nail/skin supplements to help with regrowth. Biotin is usually the one most people choose. I didn't do anything to help with regrowth until I started losing. I used Folicure extra care shampoo. I started having new growth pop in while I was still losing. Currently, I look like a chia pet, and have chopped my hair off, layered it and bleached the top to help hide some of the new growth. I kept the back and underneath dark to help give the illusion of depth and volume. Unfortunately, hair loss seems pretty inevitable. There's several patients on this board that got in there Protein and extra protein, and they lost more hair and lost it for a longer period of time than I did, and I didn't get in my protein until I was on soft solids when I could eat chicken and other meat. My main advice is make sure you can handle the mental and emotional aspect of this surgery. It's a huge change, and no matter how much you read or talk to people will you really grasp it all until you go through it. I truly believe going in positive, and upbeat helps. Find strength within yourself, and know that you are doing something absolutely fabulous for yourself and your family. Know that recovery can be difficult, you'll be tested, you'll be exhausted, you might be mad at yourself especially during the post-op diet, but all of that is just temporary. Questions to ask your surgeon: What size bougie do you use to make the sleeve? What are your leak/complication stats? What are your expectations of my weight loss? Do you provide follow up care, labs, access to a nutritionist and psych if needed post-op (especially since you'll be self-pay find out what all is included in that cost)? Do you prescribe an acid reducer such as Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium to protect the sleeve, how long should I be on it? Post-op diet instructions? Pre-op diet instructions? How many sleeves have you performed? How many bariatric procedures have you performed? How long is the hospital stay? Leak tests, how many and when are they performed? That's all I can think of right now. Best wishes on your consult, and if you need anything ask away. We'll all be here for you through this journey.

Hi Sooverit. I am sorry you are having so many problems with your insurance company. You don't even want me to start my speech on insurance companies, and WLS, or this post might be called a book. It does sound like you have some options - don't give up on your dream. If your primary doctor is going to be trained to give fills, going to Mexico might not be a bad choice. Have you researched what you would have to do if any complilctions came up?? And if you go to Colorado, with a buddy, will that end up being as much as if you have it done there?? And once again.... if you have post-op check ups or any complications, would you have to fly back to Colorado?? There is no where closer to you that would do it for less?? I know I'm not much help - wish I could be more. Maybe a list of all the pros and cons of each one of your options would help. I wish you luck. I was a self pay and went to all of my loved ones for help. I didn't have a rich relative, but all of my not so rich ones kinda pitched in and helped me to get the band. They love me and want me to be healthier and around for awhile. I know not everyone has people to help - I am blessed. I will keep my fingers crossed for you - please let me know how it turns out. If you need someone to talk to - I'm a great listener. Becky