Waiting On A Surgery Date

[jes1014 0]

I was banded in Nov. 2008. in Michigan. I moved out of state in 2010 and had to find a new doctor. The new doctor was VERY aggressive with his fills and I had extreme constriction. Unfills didn't help. I had to have everything taken out about a year ago. Since then, I have had no fill at all but have been battling constant PB, terrible acid reflux, and a gradual decrease in what I could successfully eat. I moved states again in Jan. and I finally decided to have it removed when I could no longer lie flat at night without horrible reflux and aspirating that dark liquid that tends to come up at night. I can't remember the last time when I had a full night's sleep On Friday night, I had a horrible incident caused by 1 half of a piece of meatloaf and a few kale chips. It was literally the worst experience of my life and I honestly thought my stomach had perforated and I was going to die. Scary stuff! Today I had a barium swallow and tomorrow I see the doctor. I'm hoping he can do the surgery next week. Of course I'm scared I'm going to gain weight but, honestly, I only lost about 50 lbs with the band (and 20 lbs pre surgery with Optifast). I've been losing weight this past year ON MY OWN and I just want to be able to eat a little meat or a piece of pineapple or some raw veggies again without living in mortal terror.

[jes1014 0]

Saw the surgeon today and he reviewed my scans. My band has definitely slipped quite a bit and my upper pouch is quite large yet I seem to have pretty severe restriction - maybe from scar tissue? He couldn't say. The doctor was a bit of a jerk and insinuated that my overeating caused the problem (if a piece of salmon fillet that is 1 1/2" wide and a very small salad is over eating, I'll eat my hat!) and that the band was still working because I'm still losing weight (um no, I cut out ALL sugar and ALL grains and am exercising a lot) and he was insistent that I am going to regain all of the weight again. Again, no! I've not had any fill in for over a year yet I'm losing weight because I have drastically changed my diet and really upped my exercise. I didn't argue with him (too much ), I just told him to "let's focus on removing the band and then see where it goes".

Still waiting on the call from his scheduler. Looks like it may be mid-May. Until then, I'm sticking the Protein shakes and broth and taking a Prevacid knock-off. That seems to be helping with the heartburn and reflux.

[bunkie68 6]

Jes, I hope your surgery can be sooner rather than later. I'm sorry the surgeon was a jackwagon to you. The biggest reason I'm not considering going back to my surgeon to discuss my issues now is because his website strongly suggests that he's of the mindset that the band is intended to be permanent and any discussion of removal will be strongly discouraged. (Not in so many words, but when the response to the question is, "Can the band be removed?" is "It's a permanent device and not meant to be removed", with no elaboration at all, that says to me that he really isn't interested in taking a band out.)

I'm glad you're getting some relief with the Protein shakes and broth. Hang in there, and keep us updated on how you're doing.

[Cocoabean 430]

Jes, if you are totally unfilled, what is his solution for the slip? Usually unfilling is the first step. Repositioning surgery would be next. Removal isn't unheard of.

Bunkie, my surgeon says the same thing about removal, but if someone is having complications he won't hesitate to discuss removal or revision. He just wants people to understand that the band is not meant to be a temporary thing like a semi-permanent hair color that you can change easily.

[jes1014 0]

He just said that "removal is not unreasonable". Since I went in talking removal, he didn't even saying anything about repositioning. I know some people have done great with the band and have had little complications but that was never me and I just want it out now.

[jes1014 0]

I finally have a surgery date of May 24. I'm not at all happy with anyone in this office but, if they can get the job done, that's all I ask. Looks like 3 more weeks of smoothies and broth... If you live in Northern VA and need a rec. of where NOT to go, let me know!

[Cocoabean 430]

Thanks for the update. I hope the next few weeks are uneventful for you and you have a speedy recovery!