Major Complications Due To Rapid Weight Loss

[wasamkins 0]

Let's see I was banded December 27th of 2010. I have since then lost a total of 87 pounds and went from a size 18/20 pants to a size 12. Every thing was great in the first year until around October 2011 that is when everything went down hill from there. I woke up one evening and was in the most excrutinating pain I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. I had shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, massive pain in my chest, shoulder/back area was hurting so bad. I threw up 2 times all the while trying to call my bff which she had to rush me to the emergency room. After arriving there they hooked me up to all kinds of machines, took blood, had a cat scan/mri done to see what was causing the pain. After 3 hours in the emergency room I was diagnosed with a gall bladder spasm with bladder stones which can mimic a heart attack. Needless to say it had to be removed due to my rapid weight loss. You see I lost all that weight in less then 7 months with diet & exercise. So while I was in the emergency room one of the nurses asked me about my surgical scars on my stomach and I said I had a lap band done and she said well that would explain your gall bladder issue. They see alot of patients that come in with some sort of problem relating to the lap band. Well so about 3 weeks later I had the gall bladder removed and thought great I can get on with my life. Well that was easier said then done. I had started dating the most wonderful man 2 months prior to my gall bladder removal and well everytime we were together I noticed that I was getting bladder infections all the time (5 of them in a 4 month time frame). I couldn't figure out what was causing them. I tried cranberry juice to cranberry pills and an assortment of medications and nothing was working. Finaly my doctor referred me to a urologist and come to find out I had a prolapsed bladder in which with having the rapid weight loss made my vaginal walls weaken and made my bladder drop in which why I was getting uti's all the time because I wasn't able to empty my bladder completely out or the other. So in January 2012 I had a bladder mesh sling put in to raise my bladder back up. That healed up nicely except that I now have Incontinence (leakage) and am waiting to see if my insurance company will pay for the $250 each week visit that I need for 12 weeks to have an electrical current shot up my leg to my bladder to strengthen it to stop me from having leakage. And mind you I am only 38 this is something child bearing women or older people get not people my age. So now on top of the ever growing medical bills that are my responsability after the insurance paid. I am selling my house to pay off the medical bills..and wondering if I should sue my lap band doctor because of all of this as none of this was ever discussed in the class nor in any of the meetings prior to my surgery. I am looking to have it removed because who knows what else will happen. I have kept my weight off and I am happy that I was able to lose the weight but not happy that I had to lose organs and have to live with this current issue I am dealing with now.

Has anyone else had any major problems which required additional surgeries to remove or fix other organs after having a lap band done?

[Yve 6]

I am so sorry that you have encountered so many health issues. I am not yet banded, but I am hoping that your health will get better. Best of health to you!

[elcee 3,341]

Gall bladder problems are common with weight loss. It doesn't matter how you lose the weight. Sorry that you had to go through the pain and the removal but you are certainly not alone.

As to the prolapsed bladder I have never heard of that being related to weight loss and I would seriously question if that is indeed the true cause. Do you have children? Being pregnant and giving birth is the usual cause of a prolapse.

There is no way you can sue your lapband Dr. If a lawyer advised you that you could I would be very wary - the lawyer is probably just after your money. Not being American I do not understand the culture of sueing for every thing that goes wrong. Sometimes we need to accept that things happen and that it isn't anyone elses fault.

I hope that your insurance co pay and that you are able to solve this problem ASAP. Have you being advised to do Kegels? This is something most women are advised to do to stop this problem occuring although I confess that I have never done them.

Good luck

[#MagicWithinme 173]

so sorry to hear you had such a hardtime. I totally agree that people are not being informed what "risks" actually are. I'm so glad for this site, I have learned so much here than from my own doctor. Some doctors are more approachable than others, but for the most part the information given to patients are limited. I'm so glad now that my lapband dr does a check on the gallbladder and if there are any problems gets the stones or takes out the gallbladder before he will do lapband. (which is what happened to me) I do have to wear pads because if sneeze or sometimes don't make it to bathroom fast enough, well you know.

I'm with you also in that my insurance is not covering all bills related to lapband. I called the billing office and was told that my insurance only pays so much and then the rest is out of pocket, I was totally unaware of that. As to having it removed unless it's medically necessary that would be out of pocket as well.

There's alot more to the lapband than helping you loose weight. I wish you the best!

[Jachut 487]

Kind of. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in August 2010, five years after I was banded. In hindsight, I'd had symptoms of the tumour at around the time I was banded, but nobody looks for rectal cancer in a 37 year old. It had nothing to do with my banding, the timing just coincides.

But, with my band I lost about 120lb, taking me to a BMI of 20, so I am very lean. It is not uncommon for weight loss to lead to problems with the intestines - in terms of twisting and obstructing due to not being held in place by abdominal fat. When I had a CT scan after my cancer diagnosis, my colorectal surgeon could not read the scan properly because I dont have enough intra abdominal fat to separate my organs, intially we thought that a uterine fibroid I unknowingly had and which was right by the tumour in my rectum was one enormous grapefruit sized tumour - extremely scary!

I went on to have surgery and now I have about a metre less colon than I had and no rectum. I went on to have a couple of bowel obstructions last year, related to having an ileostomy but it was remarked that every single xray I had of my guts looked entirely different - my intestines are extremely moveable due to being shorter, and having very little belly fat, they now have a big old empty space to coil around in. I have been warned to be cautious of ever feeling that obstructed feeling again, just to be aware that I *may* be more prone to a twist or torsion of the small or large intestine.

I've also had a rather severe Iron deficiency - probably related to both diet following banding and to chemo and other treatments. But every time I come off the Iron supplements I become anaemic again - I just simply cannot eat enough red meat and green leafy veg to keep that iron up.

As far as the problems you've encountered, well yes, weight loss is well known to contribute to gallstones. And bladder prolapse, well its also well known that obesity puts pressure on your lower abdominal organs and can indeed make you much more prone to prolapse. Not to mention your core muscles and pelvic floor muscles bear a much greater burden when there's a big load of visceral fat in the abdomen. That's more likely to be your problem than actual weight loss. But you willingly signed up for a lapband with the specific intention of losing weight - fast, slow, it doesnt matter. I fail to see how you could have a legal case for something you voluntarily sought.

[Jachut 487]

Kind of. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in August 2010, five years after I was banded. In hindsight, I'd had symptoms of the tumour at around the time I was banded, but nobody looks for rectal cancer in a 37 year old. It had nothing to do with my banding, the timing just coincides.

But, with my band I lost about 120lb, taking me to a BMI of 20, so I am very lean. It is not uncommon for weight loss to lead to problems with the intestines - in terms of twisting and obstructing due to not being held in place by abdominal fat. When I had a CT scan after my cancer diagnosis, my colorectal surgeon could not read the scan properly because I dont have enough intra abdominal fat to separate my organs, intially we thought that a uterine fibroid I unknowingly had and which was right by the tumour in my rectum was one enormous grapefruit sized tumour - extremely scary!

I went on to have surgery and now I have about a metre less colon than I had and no rectum. I went on to have a couple of bowel obstructions last year, related to having an ileostomy but it was remarked that every single xray I had of my guts looked entirely different - my intestines are extremely moveable due to being shorter, and having very little belly fat, they now have a big old empty space to coil around in. I have been warned to be cautious of ever feeling that obstructed feeling again, just to be aware that I *may* be more prone to a twist or torsion of the small or large intestine.

I've also had a rather severe Iron deficiency - probably related to both diet following banding and to chemo and other treatments. But every time I come off the Iron supplements I become anaemic again - I just simply cannot eat enough red meat and green leafy veg to keep that iron up.

[Toddy 758]

I'm with Elcee on this one. I hate that we have become such a litigious society!! My husband had to have his gallbladder removed in his twenties -- had nothing to do with weight loss. I had to have mine removed in my forties, and it had nothing to do with weight loss. I know a couple of people that have had prolapsed bladders and I seriously doubt they've had lap-band surgery. If you had not lost all that weight, who would you blame for your health problems due to obesity?? Sorry about the lack of sympathy and that you're having some medical problems, but there is no one to sue here!!

[wasamkins 0]

I am not going to sue anyone I am more upset at the fact that none of this was ever mentioned in any of the classes I went to. If I would have known that I was going to lose my gall bladder and have a prolapsed bladder I wouldn't have ever had the lap band done. I am thankful that I did lose some weight and still mainting it. I wasn't obese maybe just a bit overweight as I weighed 190 and am 5'10. I did it because I was pre-diabetic and didn't want to get diabeties. My insurance covered about $18k and I have to cover the rest but with the additional surgeries that I have had I have had more medical bills pile up and now am selling my house to pay those off but I guess I do what I have to do. I am thinking about having it removed but not sure if I want to undergo another surgery..I know my bf doesn't want me to have to do that either.

I don't have any kids so that didn't cause my prolapsed bladder..it was due to my rapid weight loss and that came from the urologist himself. I guess if my insurance doesn't cover this electric shock therapy that I need to fix my leakage issue then I will appeal and if be pay out of pocket but really don't feel like forking over $3k but have no desire to wear a pad the rest of my life either.

[Toddy 758]

I don't think you can say with any certainty that you would never have had to have your gallbladder removed or your bladder tacked if you hadn't had lap-band surgery. Lots of people have both of these conditions without having ever had lap-band surgery. A five minute search on the Internet into the possible causes of prolapsed bladder show that it can be caused by heavy lifting, straining to go to the bathroom, AND obesity. One of the things I saw recommended for prolapsed bladder was weight loss. I think you've just had some bad luck with your health lately. You may very well have had these same health problems (or worse) if you had not had lap-band surgery and lost a great deal of weight.

[debbie221 4]

I am not going to sue anyone I am more upset at the fact that none of this was ever mentioned in any of the classes I went to. If I would have known that I was going to lose my gall bladder and have a prolapsed bladder I wouldn't have ever had the lap band done. I am thankful that I did lose some weight and still mainting it. I wasn't obese maybe just a bit overweight as I weighed 190 and am 5'10. I did it because I was pre-diabetic and didn't want to get diabeties. My insurance covered about 18k and I have to cover the rest but with the additional surgeries that I have had I have had more medical bills pile up and now am selling my house to pay those off but I guess I do what I have to do. I am thinking about having it removed but not sure if I want to undergo another surgery..I know my bf doesn't want me to have to do that either.

I don't have any kids so that didn't cause my prolapsed bladder..it was due to my rapid weight loss and that came from the urologist himself. I guess if my insurance doesn't cover this electric shock therapy that I need to fix my leakage issue then I will appeal and if be pay out of pocket but really don't feel like forking over 3k but have no desire to wear a pad the rest of my life either.

I have never heard of a prolapsed bladder due to weight loss. I did know however that your risk of gallstones increases by 80% after lap band surgery. I was on meds for 6months post op to prevent them. Maybe the data was not available at the time of your surgery

[bigenuff 302]

Gallbladder is weight related up or down .in nursing school we learned the most common indicators for gallbladder problems were FAT,FEMALE, over FORTY eating FATTY FRIED FOODS. If u were at least 3 of these things u probably were already having gallbladder problems before the weightloss started.As far as the bladder issue.I'm really sorry to hear that never heard of it as a weightloss problem ,more with child birth and old age.I started doing Kiegal exercises as soon as I read that.Also I don't think you have a case to sue cuz ur problems particularly gall bladder could have already been there and surfaced with the weight loss.but take care of yourself and I really hope the insurance covers u.