100% restricted-empty band,help!

[desertmom 297]

hi

If this is posted in the wrong forum please forgive me as I havent been on this forum since its had its new format and that must be ages.

I havent been on the forum since 2008.Had the band in 2005 and had loads of complications.Eventually in 2008 I had it completely unfilled and as by then I didnt have a doctor anymore,I decided to just live with the band.And I have.It's been behaving very well all along as long as I didnt take any meds I wasnt suppose to and I always got some restriction because of hormone changes once a month.Other than that I have to eat slowly and usually while eating out in restaurants something will get stuck but will go through with some patience (I think one eats faster when eating out.)

Until this afternoon.

I have been taking meds that I could feel is affecting the band a little.I started feeling this band again.Well,I started taking Nexium and had no more issues.

This afternoon I started eating a piece of fish and voila,stuck.Thing is the fish came up like a projectile and everything after that as well.I have tried sips of warm water...just comes out.I have a pain in my chest..not to bad but I cannot swallow anything and it has been 5 hours now.So,being and old hand at the band but also a doctorless old hand I just dont know what to do now.

How long before I should get worried and try to find a doctor to see me?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Desertmom

[amberakamom 13]

I would see a doc ASAP, your band could've slipped.

Good luck!

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

Hopefully you have called a Dr by now.... seriously not being able to swallow anything is not healthy!

Sure hope oyu feel better soon!

[desertmom 297]

hi

There is 100% no way that I will find a doctor now.It is 21:00 in the evening and this is Dubai.lol.As far as not being able to swallow anything...I remember how that feels from when I still tried to have little fills years ago.The doctor never seemed to be too concerned about it for the first 12 hours.

I will however phone the hospital where I had the surgery in (I cant even remember if it was 2004 or 2005).Their website shows that they have a local surgeon that does the follow-up for this dr. De Bruyne that did my band and then abandoned me when I had complications.

So,please pray for me as this is the day that I dreaded all along.I just dont trust the doctors here but I seem to have no other option now.Staying calm about this and not feeling like they are going kill me should I need a surgery is the important thing here I suppose.lol

Desertmom

[BajaMedGroup 6]

I agree with the others. You definitely need to see your doctor. First thing I would do is a barium swallow, and most likely some blood tests. What you have is called dysphagia and definitely can turn into a serious complication.

Best of luck,

[Karon 1]

Hi, Well I am not even banded yet, looking at June. But I would say you need to see a doctor and someone should certainly be following you with the band still in your stomach. Just my opinion. I'm sure some more experienced people will reply. Just hang in there. I'm curious why you have waited so long to find a doc, are you having insurance problems?

Kay

[desertmom 297]

Hi

After a few years of struggling I gave up trying with the band,had it unfilled completely and started managing it by doing the right things eg.never take meds that irritates it,eating slowly trying to not over eat.I didn't have any problems with it until now.

If you read on the boards you will see that my surgeon goes to countries and does the surgery and goes home.There is usually another dr that follows up on patients but mine left the hospital and the new guy that came was just concerned about filling it again and losing weight.Never mind that I have been going out of my mind with heartburn for a few years by then and no meds helped at all.I just stopped going to the dr and started managing my life so that I could have some quality of life again.....and I have been doing great.......

I always had the intention of having the band removed and have seen a surgeon at the American hospital here that didn't want to touch me....they want me to get dr de Bruyne to remove the band.....my problem was that I didn't and don't exactly trust him too much after all I had to endure and not being able to see him even once in all that time...

Anyway,I don't seem to have a choice now as it is 4 in the morning and it is not getting better.I seem to be getting a bit dry now and I know I will have to go to the hospital....trying to give the dr some time to sleep a little seeing as I just remembered they work till 22:00 in the evening at the hospital.

I will be fine..

Will, go just after school drop off this morning...

[desertmom 297]

Should have gone to hospital in the pm though,forgot that they work so late...silly me.

[kll724 3,055]

How are you doing? I had to have .5cc removed from a fill I had done on Wed. I lost 10 lbs in 5 days, because I also could not keep anything down. (then on Friday had a most "helpful" nurse suggest I call later when I said I had pb'd on a smoothy). I am so much better now, but still on liquids as surgeon said I am really swollen. Good luck to you. Hope that everything turns out ok. Karen

[elcee 3,341]

Don't panic. You probably got stuck which caused you to vomit and that has now irritated the band and oesophagus. The best thing to try is to suck ice chips. The ice should help to reduce swelling and hopefully you will absorb some of the liquid. It may take a while but eventually you should be able to swallow. Don't panic as that will make you feel worse.

It has happened to me before and it is really uncomfortable and annoying .

If you still can't get any liquid down in the morning then I would go and see my Dr for an unfit.

It is unlikely that your band has slipped.

Keep us updated and hope you feel better soon.

[karewpah 173]

Desert mom I could have written your post. I've just went through the same thing, unfortunately while traveling in France on business. I made it back home and had email my nurses before i boarded. That was the longest flight ever...I vi utter the whole way home...all blood. When I arrived, I had an email from my nurses and the on call lap band Dr. He said to call him and I did, we agreed to meet @ the hospital emerg immediately. After blood work and crags he put me on the list for immediate surgery. My band had slipped with gross pouch dilation. I too was completely unfilled and was aghast that I was having this problem. Anyhow, i'm through surgery now and feeling much much better. The recovery from this surgery is much easier than the original procedure.

Be well.

[desertmom 297]

Hi thanks for all the replies.What happened was by the next morning I could sip Water and that in itself was wonderful.I have seen the surgeon,had a barium,he still insisted nothing wrong with the band.Why would I not want to fill the band and lose weight?Why didn't I see him more often?blablabla...after just telling me again that the discomfort and swelling must be stress related and that the pain is not real....

That was the moment that gave me courage to insist the band should be removed...and I don't want to discuss this anymore with him.I finally have had enough.

In the past year I have learnt to eat normal.I see a behaviour therapist that is helping me understand the relation between food and emotions and it is working.she has also helped me understand that the ego of the dr's here is huge and should be ignored.that they are not always right and not to keep second guessing myself about the way I have felt over the past 7 years since the band.

I am having gastroscopy on Monday and then I will get a date for Removal.I am giving myself a year with normal eating and exercise and will then decide if I will have the sleeve.all my friends that had it is doing fantastic.

Ok,that is my band saga...xxo

[elcee 3,341]

You have made your decision and I wish you luck with that.

Personally I believe if it's not broken don't fix it. If your band is in place and not eroded etc why not leave it there. If you believe you have addressed the reasons you overeat and can cope without it try that with an unfilled band. If that works great, if not you could look at using the band again. I would be very reluctant to put myself through another 2 surgeries that are possibly unnecessary. If you really think you want the band out and a sleeve instead why not have both done at the same time. 1 surgery has to be preferable to 2.

[desertmom 297]

hi

The point is the band has been unfilled for the past 3 years (longer dr says since 2007) I am doing very well learning how to eat normal.The only limitations I have is when the band closes up for no reason and reminds me of everything that was not normal in my life since the band and .I have to take Nexium every day of my life.My band has been in for the past 7 years and have been useless to me for most of the time.It has cost me a fortune in medication and doctors visits and caused me a huge amount of pain and discomfort.It hardly sounds like something that is not broke and does not need fixing.

I am still quite overweight and I know it is not healthy in the long termThere is no dr here in the UAE that does band to sleeve conversions.Not one.I would have loved to do that so I have consulted a few surgeons and they just dont do it

.The band has never caused me to lose any weight.Focussing on eating not too much,not too little,doing a whole lot of exercise,enjoying food as it was suppose to be enjoyed and not overdoing anything...that is what is helping me lose weight and become a balanced person.

Now,I am a healthier more balanced,happier person that just needs to get rid of the band to put all this behind me

.I also believe that,even though no one wants to hear this,at some point most of the bands will have to be removed as this is not a lifetime device they are implanting into people.I do like to not get into emergency situations with stuff but to plan things and now it is just my turn to have mine remove and to move on.

Please dont take what I say here personal.I know that for a lot of people the band works.That is super and I really wish everyone with a band just the best of luck with it.Enjoy the proses of getting thinner.

I am,however,enjoying more than anything else,being normal for the first time in my life.

xxo

[Cocoabean 430]

Hi Desertmom, glad you are feeling somewhat better, and have made some decisions in how you want to proceed.

I do have a question for you. Is your band a 4cc band?