My Story

[jbrod2616 0]

I guess I need to talk about this to get it straight in my head so writing this is helping me find closure and also maybe it won’t happen to someone else if they recognize the same symptoms.

My lap band story condensed:

I had my initial consult in early 2008 at “loose weight seminar” that was a seminar held by a local surgeon selling the idea of getting a lap band procedure to help people like me loose weight. Back in 2008 the procedure cost me 25K (Out of my pocket) I went thru the whole get ready process and had my lap band surgery 6/2/08. The surgery went longer than anticipated and the surgeon said he had some problems with the size etc. (details were not discussed)

The lap band was a source of pain from the time it was put in. The pain was a nerve like throb that was constant in my left shoulder and neck. The pain was more severe if I ate something that got stuck or drank too fast and put pressure on the band. If I got a fill the pain would be severe for a few weeks and then it would become less or maybe I was just ignoring it better. The fills would only restrict my intake for a week or two and then it seemed to be less restrictive as time went on. Even with little saline in the band I still had some real definite restriction. I discussed this pain with my surgeon and he had no real answer as it seemed to be unexplainable. I lost a bunch of weight to start but as life went on I found that my eating habits became very poor. I found that I would eat all the wrong things making it go down easy. I ate lots of fatty foods, dressings, liquids, Soups, Pasta just too many carbohydrates and calories and not enough lean meats and vegs avoiding any pressure on the band. This was real bad for me because I have diabetes and my blood sugar was a constant battle. I struggled with the thought that I made a poor decision and had no real confidence in the lap band working for me. In about 2 years I gained back the 120lbs I initially lost with-in a few pounds of were I started and I struggled with the shoulder pain off and on every day. I knew if I had the band adjusted it would cause pain so I avoided it. I spoke to my surgeon about the band not working and he started to discuss getting a sleeve? I did not want to hear about another high $$ procedure to fix one that was not working. I knew I was gaining weight back and that made me feel bad so I avoided discussing the lap band and it not working or me just not doing or eating the right things. This was bad..

On November 16^th Friday other than having no appetite that morning or the night before with a sore stomach and feeling gassy the day started like any other. Even thought I’m a large man I’m active with a busy job and a busier lifestyle. Mid day on Friday I started to feel unusually fatigued and I contributed it to my blood sugar being a bit higher than normal even with no food intake and perhaps a stomach flu. That afternoon my wife and I were traveling and while sitting in the truck I felt fine. I stopped at a Sam’s Club to pick up some supplies and found that I could not walk more than 20 feet without becoming extremely short of breath and very fatigued. I made it back to the truck and it became very apparent that something was wrong. I was not getting oxygen to my body, muscles, organs, etc. even gasping for air I had the sensation I was suffocating. I was convinced by my family Dr after a short phone call and some soul searching to find the nearest emergency room. I was rapidly declining and after a short time in the ER it was determine that my hemoglobin level was extremely low and almost simultaneously I starting passing digested blood at a large uncontrolled rate. The smell of digested blood is unique and it became apparent right away to the doctors working on me that I had blood in my stomach. A scope put down my throat confirmed that I had a bleeding hole in my stomach with a piece of the lap band sticking thru. The ER doctor showed me the pictures from the scope and showed me that the part sticking thru was not the saline lined inside of the band but some other part of the band like the fill tube or thick part of the fill tube. The ER doctors put a pick line in my neck and started giving me blood as fast as they could however it was going out my rear as fast as they were putting it in my neck and my blood PSI was going down fast. The bariatric surgeon on duty told me the lap band had to be removed and he had never done that before. They initially planned to transfer me to another Hospital to have a lap band specialist get the band out and fix my bleeding stomach however I was loosing blood too fast and that option came and went. They did emergency surgery 6 hrs long removed the lap band, fixed the hole in my stomach and stopped the bleeding. I took 6 liters of blood and spent 4 days in intensive care and 3 more days in the hospital before I checked my self out and went home on Thanksgiving.

I’m not mad at the way things went just disappointed in the whole process. I’m still recovering and getting better each day. The pain that was always there in my shoulder is gone like a switch was turned off. I think I lived with the pain so long I just ignored it. It’s like a weight was lifted off the left side of my body. I know I still have to loose weight if I want to live to see my grandkids and I have to find a good way to do that. The surgeon that removed the band and fixed the hole told me that he was not an expert on LapBands but it should not have been put in the way it was in forcing a part of the device thru my stomach. Who knows really what happened but I’m not upset or feel like blame needs to be placed to make me feel better or move on. I made the decision to get the band and quite frankly I’m glad to be alive so thoughts of pursuing a legal resolve are confusing.

It seems my case was a bit unusual because a typical erosion problem with the band results in symptoms that don’t result in excessive bleeding. My stool that morning was very black and that is a tell tail sign of internal bleeding in the stomach or thru the stomach but I did not recognize it. I hope this information is relivant

(Jimmy 42 years old)

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Oh my goodness, I am so incredibly sorry you went through such hell.

Granted I'm no doctor, but it sounds like the band was too tight from the very beginning and pressing on your vagus nerve. It will cause the exact pain and left shoulder symptoms you're describing. Because the band was too tight, it erroded into your stomach, which also makes perfect sense.

Being as the doctor mentioned a problem with the size immediately after your original surgery in 2007, have you considered taking him to court? It's obvious he knew something wasn't right from the start and he allowed you to live in that dangerous condition for years despite it. I'm not a lawsuit happy person, in fact I think people sue way too often and for stupid reasons in this country, however I honestly believe you'd be totally justified in suing him for negligence. (just my opinion)

I'm glad you're doing better now. Best wishes to you, Jimmy. Thanks for sharing your story. It's a good warning to others.

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

Sad story... and scary. I hope you are fully recovered now.

[dee257 1,516]

~hugs~ glad your on the mend....so sorry

[wallflower 188]

Wow! Stories like this scare the crap outta me! I'm glad ur recovering well, and I hope u don't give up on ur weightloss journey even though this didn't work out for you. Best of luck.

[lassie 247]

thank you for your story it will be a good warning to us all for what to look out for. I hope you are still on a path to be healthy. Hugs to you

[SPEDteacher1 1]

Thanks for sharing! This was something that I needed, and your story lets me know what to look out for and the questions that I need to ask. Best of luck to you.

[tym4me 206]

Thank you for sharing. Hoping you fully recover

[brannewmee 103]

Hi Jimmy. Claudia here. This is a very scary episode that happened to u n sorry things turned out that way they did. Just curious did you have to do a liquid diet before surgery? I hear some people do n some don't. I had a two week liquid diet n I was told it was to shrink the liver for a safe surgery n so the organs could b nice n firm. Either way you say you'd like to eat healthier to live to see your grandkids. My husband is 41 years old n had to get on a diet for back surgery. I suggested weight watchers; it worked for me as long as I followed the program. He's been doing a great job at it as I have been a great help with Portion Control, n still cooking a lot of the food he loves to eat. We are both trying to cut most red meat out n maybe have it as a treat. Edither way, weight watchers allows you to eat anything as long as you stay within the limits they give you. Oh by the way everyone thinks it's funny that my husband's on a diet since he's this big Mexican gangster looking man, n has always ate anything hes wanted. He's never been this overweight but has been on disability for about 9 months n has become a board couch potatoes. Good luck to u n a successful weight loss journey.

[KellyGram 36]

Jimmy, I highly recommend a book called Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. I also recommend putting away all large plates, bowls, and glasses in your kitchen. Eat off dessert plates or cup saucers, as this helps with Portion Control while also helping trick your mind into believing you're eating a plate full of food.

As for the lap band, the moral of this story is to never ignore pain. You should consult with your surgeon about what happened and the feedback from the surgeon who removed the band. Did he ever order an upper GI to look at the band placement when you were complaining about pain? If so, I would have the results reviewed by another surgeon. You may have grounds for a suit, or preferably, can work something out with the surgeon to get a revision surgery like Sleeve done at no expense. You could probably get him to reimburse all of your expenses in lieu of a suit.

Take care of yourself!