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Hello I am going through the SAME EXACT situation. Dr unfilled me to allow stomach to recover, and I am SO HUNGRY. I return to Dr on 6/13/14 to check for improvement. Uggghhh When I got my band in 2010 I was self pay, because my insurance sucked. Now I have good insurance that will pay for a revision. I just dont know what to do.

I have had the band since 2004, and it's been 5 years of rough road for me. I am only 5 lbs less then when I started with the Band, and I was self-pay. My band has no restriction in it now - they unfilled it multiple times due to extreme reflux. I have had acid shoot out of my nose while I slept too many times to count. I've gotten it in my lungs and coughed until I threw up. Even with no restriction, I have pain when eating veggies and salad. I can't even eat a tomato or an apple. The band keeps me from eating healthy food. I'm now looking into a revision to the sleeve at my doctor's recommendation.

Man - I wish I had the restriction that you guys talk about. it seems I keep trying and trying and I get it for a little bit, and then it disappears. I've never really had to take small bites of food, I've been able to eat anything - without getting stuck. I'm at 3.0 cc's, and I get my fill on Friday. I did experience being too tight once, and I was really completely closed, so I know what it feels like to be too tight. I'm just ready to get the rest of the weight off. I've been stuck for 5 months, no weightloss really, just keep losing the same 5 lbs, over and over. I'm not really going to focus on the scales, and I've been pretty good at staying off of them. I'm trying to change my mind - trying to eat like a normal person, instead of obsessing over my weight, my food etc. I'm very happy I have the band, I'm a little disappointed in myself that I have let myself make bad/poor food choices over the past months. I am ready for the fill on Friday and I think that will give me a jump start in getting my mind right again. I've been exercising, I still feel like I am not giving it my all on the exercise, I guess because I'm so limited in the amount of cardio because of my knee. Anyhow, I know when I first started exercising, I hated it and I forced myself to go to the gym, I barely gave any effort to it, but by the 3 or 4th week, something inside my clicked and I went crazy. I am hoping that happens to me again, so I continue to force myself to the gym. I have my Lasik on Thursday, so I will be off the computer beginning Thursday and for the rest of the week until next Monday. Debbie - you have done great! Lisa, so have you, 90lbs in a year, wow! I do think Exercise is the key to get the weightloss going again. Angyl - wow, did you say 7 lbs from goal? That is awesome! I know what you mean about ordering food at a restraunt, I do the same thing. I've tried to start sharing with my DH now, this helps me in not overeating. Juno - glad you like your new fill doc! The slight unfill might help with the weightloss too, I read on a website that being too tight can cause weightloss stalls. Oh, but your pregnant, so weightloss should not even be a concern. How are you feeling - any morning sickness? I just remember being pregnant and how tired I was the first 3 months. I would go out to my car everyday and have to take a nap. Sula - you aked the million dollar question for me "How do you know when the restriciton is enough"? I keep trying to find this out. It seems that I want to have take small bites of food like everyone else, and I can't seem to get to that point. I'm not sure why. I'm either too lose, too tight. Its frustrating getting to the sweet spot. My doctor said that you should have to work at eating meat, you should not be hungry for 4 hours, and should eat about the size of a lean cuisene tv dinner. Which is about 3 to 4 oz of food he said. Anyhow, I'm praying that my 8th fill will finally do the trick. Mary - you will fit into the smaller scrubs soon, I'm sure of it! Cindi - you keep inspiring me to get to the gym! You have done so great! and you look so good. Jen - Hows things going with you now that you had the revision? Does everything seems to be working correctly now? Baby - thanks for the email, I told my cousin, she is pumped! She had RNY in November last year, she quit losing weight by the 5th month and hasn't lost a pound since. She is hoping that something will help boost her matabolism. I will check in with everyone on Monday, not sure if I will be back online until then due to the amount of work I'm loaded down with at work. Talk to everyone later.

WASa and serious did a pretty good job summing up my reason for going to Dr. Aceves in Mexico. He is the best and most experienced, especially when it comes to doing revisions. This is serious business, and I don't want to take any chances with my health. On another note, I did notice last night that every commercial is about food! I can't wait until next week when I have my sleeve so I won't be so hungry.

so its been almost a year and your not in the green yet??? yikes! have you lost any weight? I feel like I'm going down this same road! My doctor (through Kaiser) will not give more than .5cc per fill and will not do a fill more than once a month. I have a 10cc band too. I have ZERO restriction :-( and am 1 year post op and weigh exactly the same. I saw another doctor in November because mine wasn't available and he gave me 1cc fill which created an overfill and I couldn't even swallow my own saliva so they did a complete unfill the next day and made me wait another month to get a .5cc fill. So I was back at zero restriction and got depressed and didn't go back for 6 months. I have just today had my 4th .5cc fill since my unfill in November, so my calculation is that I should have 2cc in my band. Even after today's .5cc fill, I feel zero restriction. It is so frustrating. I am considering revision surgery to a sleeve or gastric bypass but am terrified of doing that. I am going to keep getting my monthly .5cc fills and if by the end of the year I still have no restriction then I am going to strongly consider a revision. I know people whom the band worked perfectly for and they hit "green" almost immediately. I have had no such luck. Sigh.

I’ve lost about 45lbs in 7 months but overall since being with my surgeon I’ve lost a little over 100lbs. I haven’t had the revision yet but I’m hoping soon because the GERD from the hernia is no joke. Try not to be scared. It’s an amazing tool and gateway to a healthier life. Also, I asked for medicine cups to get in my water while in the hospital which helped. Having water at different temperatures also helped find one I tolerated best. And walking does help with any pain you might have. Wear a binder if they offer you one.

Girl you got this. those are all normal fears. Let me tell you the pain is not all that bad. I wish i was going through it again. I had my surgery 8 years ago and i am trying to get a REVISiON. Just got authorization for appointment. Now i am hoping they approve my REVISION. You will be fine.

Female: 42 at the time 2009 (insurance covered), HW 232lbs. Best weight 143lbs. No problems with band till the slip due to a bad stomach virus in 2017 (diff, insur, and not covered) had to pay apx 5k OOP, still 143lbs. No doctor would do a revision as they all said.... I "didn't weigh enough". Fast forward..... 2017-2019 I put back 30lbs. Came to the conclusion that I would have to go to MEX to get a revision. May 2019, I finally got my divorce property settlement. Headed to Mex. But then as luck would have it, I found a dr. 10 min from me. I still had to pay OOP, and it would be more, but I would not have to fly and all the other humbug. So I paid OOP 14k for a revision to the sleeve 8/28/19. I was 173lbs, today i'm at 123lbs. Was your removal done in an outpatient facility or in a hospital? Surgery center. Was a hospital stay required? One night How long did the surgery take? 30 min. No scaring, no erosion, no GERD, pretty open and shut. SX said if band had not slipped, I would still have her. What was your experience after the surgery? Lots of pain? How long did it take you to recover? After SX I had a little gas. I had no pain at all. SX was on Thursday and I was back at work on Monday. Was your removal covered by insurance even if WLS is not? It was not. Sleeve SX was just as easy, less the one week liq diet. Sleeved on Wednesday and back to work on Monday.

Well, i have lurked here off and on and it's time to tell my bit. I get so much help from just reading posts, i feel it's time to give back. I'll try to be concise, but that's not exactly my nature! Bear with me please LOL. Many moons ago, in August of 2001 to be exact, i got all excited about the upcoming FDA approval of the lapband in the US (where i live - California). I had never, ever considered a surgical weight loss option, even though i was over 300 lbs for much of my post baby life. I was one of those "healthy fat" people...i walked a lot, hiked some, got around pretty easy and my body was preportionate. I had a zest for life and enjoyed it. No high bp, no issues that i could tell were weight related. I had been a chunky teen, at 5'7" i had been about 170 to 190 lbs, and after i had my two children, i just ballooned up...gained 100lbs during the first pregnancy that i never fully took off, then more with the second. Being a housewife, my activity level dropped and i really had no education or thought i was the type of person that could even follow a diet, so i had almost never been on one. I had found my biological mother and family back in 1997. Out of a huge family, she was the only one that was big like me. We connected really well (it was a fairy tale, but that's another story!) and of course had the commonality of excess weight. For some reason, both of us at the same time started investigating surgical options, even though we had never before considered them! I think we ended up on the phone and realized we were excited about the same possibility...dealing with our weight with surgery. We read up on the bypass and were soon deflated. While knowing many do well, the thought of bypassing anything was scary and well, some people did have pretty negative effects and in some cases, didn't make it. We just weren't ready for that type of surgery yet. But lo and behold, the band!! Not FDA approved yet, but was done a lot in other countries. We scoured the internet, joined message boards, found that many were having their surgery's outside the US by self paying (and it was much cheaper too!) and we found a doctor in France that had lots of experience. We made a snap decision and booked our surgeries and flew to France with Grandma and my bio sister there for support. We toodled around France and Italy and Switzerland for a few weeks before surgery and while in Provence, 9/11 struck! We were scared and devestated. We were lucky enough to be in a bed and Breakfast with two fabulous English girls that ran back to "take care of the Americans" and translated for us and helped us reach our families. We had to decide whether to get home or to move forward with surgery 4 days later. We couldn't get flights out and decided we would move forward. Dr. Frering was excellent and we were successfully banded, i believe on about the 14th of September. We figured when we came back to the US, we'd be able to get after care once the band was approved and in the meantime we could manage with "underground fills" and/or going to Mexico. Well, as others have said, hindsight was 20/20. When we got back, we expected this tool to work for us, not with us. My mom had horrible pain issues with each fill and while she lost some weight, she unfilled and remained that way. I ran back and forth to Mexico, seeing Dr. Kuri there, who tried his best to deal with me, but my port was hard to access (they didn't secure down back then) and he even had to take me in and cut into the port area to find it. Evenutally my band was full and i was losing weight hand over fist by eating and vomiting for about 10 months. I dropped 170 lbs and was thrilled, but honestly was dying a little. I was so dehydrated that touching my skin left an indent! I couldn't swallow my own saliva and we rushed to a nurse who was also a bandster and doing fills on the side (secretly) and had her remove Fluid so i could swallow again. I maintained my weight for a little bit, maybe 6 months or a year, and one day was attending a Dodger game and took a bite of a hot dog and could swallow it....instead of thinking "uh oh", I thought "abondanza!!" and gained about 10 lbs a month for the next year and a half, eating my brains out now that i was not restricted. I gained all my weight back and even a bit more. I couldn't afford going to Mexico and getting fills anymore, and frankly, was just done with it and decided i had learned nothing (my own fault for not having good aftercare and not learning about nutrition or proper eating!) and needed to lose weight on my own. I tried Jenny Craig and some other things, lost little bits of weight but always gaining back. At band surgery, i weighed in at 341#. Evenutally, i hit 394#. My blood pressure was high, my back and knees were so bad i was barely walking, i started having chest pain and major anxiety issues...i was a mess for about 4 years. I knew i had to get healthy but really didn't know how. I knew the diet programs weren't for me, although with Jenny Craig i finally saw the connection between tracking food calories and losing weight when staying under a certain limit. I ended up joining My Fitness Pal and actually took off about 50lbs. Kept it off for a year, then regained it. My mom started my fitness pal and slowly lost her weight. It worked! Tracking calories and eating healthy really does work! But i still struggled and kept losing and gaining the same few pounds. My resistance to fun and happy hours and eating was minimal...i just couldn't say no. Eventually i lost about 65 lbs with MFP and felt good overall, that i had the secret to weight loss and maybe, over the next few years would be successful. In my mind though, i still wasn't sure i could ever keep it off. My primary care provider was convinced my chest pain was anxiety, but i was not. I pushed and pushed for all kinds of tests (found i had a premature heartbeat, a thyroid node, etc. etc.) and eventually asked for a referral to a surgeon who could check my gallbladder and also my band. I knew i had gallstones before band surgery, but they were big and unlikely to cause a problem, but i was at my wits end. I had done some research and chose a surgeon with a good reputation. Dr. David Martin in Pasadena. He was not a doc in my medical group referral system, but i convinced my primary that i needed to see someone close to home due to work time off and we took a chance on the approval and got approved to visit him. On my first visit we decided it was probably not my gallbladder causing pain (it was on the wrong side) but that it was my band. He agreed to take me on as a patient and I was elated! Over the previous 10 years, i either couldn't find a doctor who would touch me because my surgery was out of the country and my band was a MIDband, not the bands approved here in the US, or my insurance was not covering anything. I felt blessed that my insurance covered band fills now, and i was able to see this surgeon! We worked on filling the band, but at one point my port flipped over. Dr. Martin suggested we go in surgically and flip it and mesh it down so i wouldn't have that issue anymore. I agreed and asked to have my gallbladder removed at the same time as i was having pain issues that i were thinking might be referred gallbladder pain. He agreed and away we went. Had surgery in June of 2011 and everything went swimmingly. We went back to filling the band. But I was in the office every month adjusting, seemed my body just wasn't reacting very well to the band and although some pain did disappear with the gallbladder removal, overall, i was still suffering off and on with shoulder and other pains around the band location. Eventually i decided to talk to him about the sleeve. We decided to put in a request to the healthcare group/insurance to see if we could get an approval since i was already his patient and he knew me well at this point. Lo and behold I got a call a few days later. His office staff asked if i was sitting down, and then let me know i had been approved for the band removal and the sleeve! I really felt so blessed at this point, while i had struggled for so many years with no care, or no insurance approval, here this last year it seemed like i never got denied!! Of course my surgeon did not guarantee he would do both surgeries. My band was an unknown and he really cares about his patients and their safety. If my body was not in good condition, he would remove that band, but we would have to wait for healing before doing the sleeve. I was okay with that. Of course i wanted life more than a sleeve! And his reputation is so good, and he is such a caring doctor, that i trusted his opinions about my health. Problem was, the though of getting the sleeve was a bit of a whim, i hadn't really thought i'd even get approved...so my brain went a little wonky on that one! Then my company sold and my insurance was going to move over from Anthem Blue Cross to Cigna. I didn't want to take the chance on losing approval, so decided to just go with it...the stars had aligned after all...and picked a surgery date just 2 weeks later. I knew i wanted the band out, and knew i wasn't wanting a bypass and the problems that can come with that. I also knew that while i had lost weight calorie counting, my health still wasn't the greatest and i really worried about losing it all and keeping it off. It seemed to me that out of all the options out there, the sleeve was the most simple, requiring little after care throughout life and very successful. I was going for it. I was sleeved just 9 days ago, on October 17. The surgery was a little tough...we found a big hernia, and my esophogus was dilated from the band. I had a lot of scar tissue as my band was wider than the bands approved here, so more work for that. I was in the hospital for two days, mostly just because i was so nauseous and had a bit of a fever! But overall i'm doing great. I feel totally blessed to have found my surgeon and get all my approvals so easily. I don't know why i've gotten this lucky, but i have! I have to say that being on liquids is a little hard. Food does smell good, and overall i'm a little headachy and nauseous off and on. My mind is blown that i decided to forever cut off a portion of my stomach LOL, but in the end, i'm thrilled! I truly believe i have my life back, and knowing that my stomach capacity is reduced to approximately 1 1/2 to 2 cups of food when i'm all healed and eating regularly, helps me know that i have more than just my "feeling" of fullness to rely on, i can be sure that i'm not "overeating" by keeping an eye on quantity. Anyhoo, that's my story! I'm looking forward to support on this site and continuing with MFP once i share my story there. I think that the band works for some, and i definately feel that good support from a care provider is essential, but for me, i believe the sleeve is the right choice and i'm so happy to have had a revision. Feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

I read it and appreciate it. You might save someone's life, too. I am doing so well, as you, so how easy could it happen to anyone of us, this year or five years from now. The lesson=Growing pain in stomach=see surgeon immediately! Gratz on being your own advocate and getting them to fix you! I hope the revision works.

I am April 4th. Sleeve to MGB revision. BariatricPalMX with Dr. Illan. Can’t say I am nervous. More anxious about leaving my one year old twins for a few days. I’ve never been away over night so it’s going to be hard on me as a mom. Needs to be done though.

The world of bariatric surgery is full of myths. Every time myths are repeated, they gain strength and credibility (deserved or not), so it’s important to look at them closely before accepting them as true. TIME TO THROW OUT SOME OLD MYTHS It’s time to throw out some old myths about the adjustable gastric band, but before we start flinging those myths around, let’s all agree on what a myth is. The traditional definition is that a myth is an ancient story of unverifiable, supposedly historical events. A myth expresses the world view of a people or explains a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. For example, the Greek god Zeus had powers over lightning and storms, and could make a storm to show his anger. If you think myths are dry stuff found only in schoolbooks, think again. They surround just about every aspect of our lives, and travel much faster now, in the age of technology, than they did in the dusty old days of ancient Greece and Rome. They’re a way for us to make sense of a chaotic world, both past, present and future. They affect thoughts, beliefs, emotions and assumptions in our everyday lives, coming alive in our minds as we, and the people around us, seem to act them out. Some myths are helpful because they give us a shared sense of security and express our fundamental values and beliefs, but some myths are just plain wrong and can be harmful to us and to others. A good example is the myth that having weight loss surgery is taking the easy way out. Every time I hear that one repeated, I want to laugh and scream at the same time. If you’re a post-op, you know why. Weight loss is hard no matter how you do it (surgery, diet pills, prayer, magic cleanses, and so on). On the other hand, WLS is supposed to be easy, compared to the dozens or hundreds of weight loss attempts in our past. Why on earth would I put myself through a major surgery if it wasn’t going to help me lose weight and keep it off? Now that we’ve shared a little laugh (or scream) over a WLS myth we can all agree upon, let’s test out some band myths whose validity may not be as clear. This kind of examination can be uncomfortable, but believing in a falsehood is almost guaranteed to make your WLS journey bumpier than it needs to be. Let’s start with the myths that are easiest to digest and end with the ones that can be tougher for a bandster to swallow. #1 – THE BAND IS THE LEAST INVASIVE WLS PROCEDURE I believed this one at first, mainly because I knew little about the other WLS procedures back in 2007. It’s still a widely-circulated myth, one that even my surgeon’s well-intentioned dietitian endorses. So, what’s the truth according to Jean? Face it: any surgery done on an anesthetized patient, during which a surgeon cuts into the belly in several places, does some dissection (more cutting) and suturing (stitching) of the internal anatomy, and implants a medical device (the dreaded “foreign object”), is invasive. It is true that band placement generally involves less internal dissection and suturing than other weight loss surgeries, but neither is it on the same level medically as having your teeth cleaned. So while the invasiveness of a surgery is worth considering, you do yourself a disservice if you let that override other considerations. A bariatric surgery might last 45-60 minutes, with recovery lasting a week or so, but its effect on your health and lifestyle last a lifetime. Or I sure hope it does. Some people associate invasiveness with irreversibility. Although the band is meant to stay put once clamped to your stomach, it can indeed be removed if medically necessary. Gastric bypass (RNY) surgery can also be reversed, while the sleeve (VSG) cannot and only the “switch” (malabsorptive feature) of the duodenal switch (DS) can be reversed. Removal or reversal is not as easy as operating on a “virgin belly” (as my surgeon so colorfully puts it), so it’s important to weigh the benefits against the risks of reversal or revision surgery. #2 – BAND WEIGHT LOSS TAKES TOO MUCH WORK Aside from the desire for instant and effortless weight loss (which is a fairy tale if I ever heard one) that so many obese people share (me among them), this is a myth that often turns people away from the band and towards other WLS procedures. While this myth may be true in the first 12-18 months after surgery, eventually everyone ends up in the same boat, rowing hard against the powerful tide of obesity. Weight loss and weight maintenance is hard no matter how you achieve it. A dietitian who spoke at a band support group meeting I attended a few years ago said that while band patients must change their lifestyle immediately in order to succeed, every WLS patient must do that sooner or later. It’s a pay-me-now or pay-me-later deal. You can slice it, dice it, sauté it and serve it on your grandmother’s best china. However you serve it, weight loss and maintenance is a lifetime project because obesity is a chronic disease with no cure. No matter how successful we are as new post-ops, all of us must face the possibility of regain. That’s why I cringe when someone proudly crows, “XXX pounds gone forever!” #3 – THE BAND’S SLOWER WEIGHT LOSS PREVENTS SAGGING SKIN This is a fairy tale. According to several plastic surgeons I’ve heard speak on the subject. The effect of weight loss on skin depends mostly on your genetics and your age (because skin loses elasticity as we age). Other factors can be how obese you were, how long you were obese, how you carried your weight, and how much (and how) you exercise as you lose weight. I’ve heard women say that they’d rather be obese than have sagging or excess skin. To my mind, that’s a sad statement, because I’d rather have sagging or excess skin (as long as it didn’t interfere with my ambulation or activities) than excess weight. Don’t get me wrong: I loathe the excess flab on my midsection (whose nickname is “The Danish Pastry”) and I’m not thrilled about my batwings, throat wattles, or anything else that’s happened to my skin in the past few years (during which I’ve undergone the double-whammy of weight loss and the fast approach of my 60’s). On the other hand, I think I look pretty good for a woman my age, especially when I conceal my figure flaws in flattering clothing which, I might add, no longer needs to be purchased at Lane Giant. #4 – TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR SWEET SPOT I used to wonder how the Sweet Spot Myth could survive in the face of so much clinical evidence against it, but last year I heard the “you gotta find your sweet spot” claim uttered by a bariatric dietitian, so apparently this is a myth being validated by medical professionals who ought to know better. Instead of the sweet spot, Allergan (the first to introduce the band in the USA) uses a zone chart to illustrate band restriction, with not enough restriction in the yellow zone, good restriction in the green zone, and too much restriction in the red zone. In other words, restriction happens in a range of experience, not at a single static point. That experience changes over time as we lose weight, deal with ordinary processes such as hormonal fluctuations, hydration changes, stress, medications, time of day, and so on. It’s also affected by our food choices (solid vs soft/liquid food). In my banded days, I traveled through and around a sweet spot many times. It might last for 30 minutes, 3 days, 3 weeks, but it never stayed exactly the same, and yet I still lost weight! I don’t actually want to stay exactly the same for the rest of my life (throat wattles notwithstanding). As any Parkinson’s disease patient will tell you (if they’re able to speak), a body that gets stuck in time is a very big problem (and with my luck, I’d get stuck in the worst sinus infection or case of the flu of my life). Some people who are very sensitive to their band and its fills find sudden or unexpected changes in restriction to be very, very frustrating, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, either. To read more about the sweet spot, click here to go to an article, The Elusive Sweet Spot. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/post-op-support/the-elusive-sweet-spot-r59 #5 – NO SIDE EFFECTS MEAN MY BAND ISN’T WORKING Equating side effects with a properly working band is very common, and potentially very harmful. The two most significant signs of the band’s proper functioning are (1) early satiety and (2) prolonged satiety. Those signs are rarely expressed in large, bold, uppercase letters, such as STOP EATING NOW! Those signs won’t be accompanied by clanging bells or flashing lights, either. In fact, the less noise and distraction (such as “Why don’t I have stuck episodes?”), the more likely you are to be able to recognize early and prolonged satiety. Before I tell you why the no side effects = broken band worry is a sign of mythical thinking, let’s make sure we agree on the definition of a side effect, and how that relates to complications. A side effect is an unintentional or unwanted effect of a medical treatment, and it’s usually exceeded (or at least balanced) by the benefits (the intentional, wanted effects) of that treatment. For example, antibiotics can cause diarrhea. That’s an unpleasant side effect, but an untreated infection can have far worse consequences for the patient. Side effects can often be managed by tweaking or changing the treatment, and they are rarely worse than the original condition. A complication, on the other hand, is a more acute, serious consequence of a medical treatment, and usually needs a more aggressive approach, including surgery to fix the problem. Now let’s go back to the antibiotic example. An allergic, anaphylactic reaction to the antibiotic can be fatal without prompt medical treatment. That’s a complication, and it’s far worse than the original condition. So in the context of all that, it seems strange to me when bandsters long for side effects like regurgitation (PB’s), stuck episodes, and sliming. Instead of looking for more subtle clues from their bodies (like early and prolonged satiety), they go looking for problems, and worse than that, they tend to “test” their band with foolish eating and/or overeating, hoping to provoke a side effect that will signal to them that they really do have a band in there. One of the many problems with that approach is that it can also provoke a complication. And that brings us to the final myth in today’s article: #6 – THE MORE FILL, THE BETTER I’ve heard bariatric surgeons comment that some band patients seem to be addicted to fills. I can identify with that because I had a good relationship with my band surgeon who not only administered my fills but gave me a lot of encouragement as well as answers to my many questions. I left each fill appointment with a renewed sense of commitment and hope. How can you not get hooked on something good like that? The problem with equating fills with weight loss success is that more fill is not always better. In fact, too much fill (which varies from one patient to the next, and also varies in a single patient as time goes on and the patient’s body keeps changing) can be downright dangerous. An overfilled band, and the side effects it causes (see #5 above), can lead to a complication like a band slip, esophageal dilation, or stomach dilation. While complications can come out of nowhere, most bariatric surgeons agree that too much saline in the band puts too much pressure on the stomach. Eventually something’s got to give. That’s often hastened by the patient’s efforts to eat around the problem, and it is absolutely not a guarantee of weight loss. I gained weight several times because of what’s called Soft Calorie Syndrome. My band was too tight and I was dealing with it by consuming mostly soft and liquid calories that offered little or no satiety. The human body is an incredible organism, capable of amazing feats of growth and healing that we take mostly for granted, but it’s not endlessly forgiving. Too much fill in your band, too many eating problems, too much inflammation and irritation in the upper GI tract, can compromise your body’s ability to recover from a complication like a band slip. Sometimes a complication can be treated conservatively, with an unfill and rest period, but sometimes it requires a surgical fix, including removal of the band. And after all you’ve gone through to get that band wrapped around your stomach, shouldn’t you be doing your utmost to treat it (and your body) with respect? Finally, the fill myth can cause us to overlook a very important guest at your WLS party….you. If you are going to succeed with your band, lose weight and keep it off and keep that band safe and sound inside you, sooner or later you will have to take personal responsibility for your success. Expecting your band alone to carry you to your goal weight is like expecting your car to safely deliver your child to school without anybody in the driver’s seat. And I sure hope that you are a very important person in your life!

Happy Sunday! So yesterday was a great day, I ended up going shopping for a bit and then went out to dinner. I sat on the couch for a couple hours and chatted with friends. It was awesome. I woke up today feeling great and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom and exhausted myself. No going out today. My hubby has been shampooing our basement carpets today so I have been watching TV for the past couple of hours. Well my body is feeling awesome but so very weird. I have alot of the creepy crawly feelings which my hubby thinks is nerves reawakening. My scars are all really looking great. On my tummy scar though on the farthest spot on my right the skin is puckered alot. When I get my thigh lift I will get a revision there. My breast are still extremely swollen and hard. They kind of feel like when I had my babies and my milk came in. REALLY ENGORGED. We tried to find a bra but to no avail. I couldn't find anything without underwire in my size. I haven't taken pain meds, not even tylenol in 2 days. I know for sure when the drains come out I will be my old self. I can hardly wait for the rest of the swelling to go down so I can shop! I have lost weight every single day since surgery. I am glad I got that little bit of an unfill but not a total unfill. I can eat but still have restriction. My hubby is getting worried about my weight so he made me drink an eggnog shake today lol. I know it will all work out in the end. I can hardly wait to start excercizing. I have so much motivation right now. I want to tone my legs as much as possible before my thigh lift to get optimal results. I will be taking pics friday when I can put on some panties. I will post as soon as they upload lol. I have been putting up pics in my private album. Well, I am off to check on my hubby. Have a great Sunday evening!

Wow, I went to the mall, bought a new outfit at NY & CO then went and looked around victoria's secret then went to Target. All in all I was gone for only 2 hours but jeez I was exhausted. Oh I did stop by wendy's and got that damn cheeseburger. GAHH. I got home ate and crashed. I woke up 2 hours later. Whew. I think I bit off a little to much. Just because I feel good doesn't mean I can go gallavanting. lol. I noticed today that my left nipple is a little lower than it was before the popping I felt. It's very slight but before my nipples were exactly even now the left is just a tiny bit lower. I am hoping when I go for my thigh lift it can be revised. If not it's not like it's a big difference at all. I hope everyone has a wonderful evening!!

Julie (nu2ywg) down 4lb to 248 This is just my second challenge and I'm wondering if I make my goal early should I revise the goal? My original goal was 249 so maybe I should aim for 246 for next week or if you don't think I should change it, I'll just be happy with doing better than goal.

Hi all, Sorry I have not been on but I am just now getting on the computer to let you all know I had my surgery with Dr. Almanza and well things went well. There were only two sleeve's done that day and one port revision on a band. The nurses were nice and well some of them did not wear gloves but some did. I had to remind myself that I was in another country. They did however wear gloves when they treated my incisions. The recovery houses were absolutely impressive to me, I was expecting something so bad after reading some posts on this website, however that was not the case. They were spotless and they were not very crowded the day I was there. All in all it went good and everything was great. I am now down 10 pounds so far and looking forward to losing more. I want to send a special thank you to all of you that pmed me on the much needed information, the good and the bad. I did want to mention that I did not see Betencourt at all the four days I was there. Thanks again.

I am not going to get caught up in all this political mess. I will say this, I would love to personally sue a certain someone for telling me false things about Jerusaleum Clinic. To scare me to death about my daughters health just so you thought I would change my surgery to the doctor you are now working for....shame on you! That being said, my story goes like this.........In Feb. of 2009, my daughter and I both had lap band surgery by Dr. Almanza. No problems.......In Jan. 2010 daughter was revised and I had to have my band removed because of errosion. April 2010 (just last week) my husband and I had a sleeve. All these procedures were done by Almanza. I find him and his clinic to be both professional. We have never had an infection or complications. I thank my stars everyday that there is a healthy option to obesity surgery for those of us that do not have insurance coverage. I know how hard it is doing the research...please don't listen to all this garbage about Almanza........I think he is great. Surgery sleeve Dr. Almanza April 14, 2010

For those doing revision surgery - May I ask you your story??

I’m planning a revision from the sleeve. I look forward to keeping up with everyone’s journey

I had my revision on Thurs 4/18. Besides gas pains the first two days, I’m doing well. I am a little worried that I don’t feel the restriction I did with the sleeve at the beginning. I can drink as much as I want without any pain.

As @vovo2013 mentioned, I would get the sleeve because of the reflux. I didn’t even have any issues with reflux but after my sleeve, I developed severe GERD and I’m now revising to the RNY mainly because of GERD. Whatever decision you make, I wish you great success and health!

Band to sleeve revision 12/29, down 12 lbs. start wt 228 today 216.

Hi I am from Lakes Entrance, Vic and was banded last July at Latrobe Hospital. I have been having ongoing problems with diaphragm irritation pain even after revision surgery to move the tubing out from under my diaphragm. Has anybody else had this problem or heard of anyone who has. I am desperate for answers as even my surgeon has no idea what it causing it and I really dont want to have to have the band taken out!!!

I agree don't be scared! I had my band removed and revision to bypass on May 21. I went home the following day and feel awesome! No pain just a little sore.. So glad I did it!!!! Good luck!

Don't be scared. I had my lap band revision to bypass May 7. I was expecting this surgery to really take a toll on me, but it was not bad at all. I had minimum, very minimum pain and left day after surgery to go home. Only took Tylenol once. So excited for you!!