STUPID f'n band! what is WRONG!!!

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Michelle,

I am sorry that your band is not working for you anymore. As I sit here with an empty band and suck down liquids because of pouch dilatation, I understand how you feel. I have not given up on my band yet though. So far, the liquids (15 days worth) a break and now 9 more til next wednesday are doing me some good. I have dropped some of the weight i have gained and hope to get back to goal in the next 3 -4 weeks. Of course, when I go back, I know that they will not refill me and if I am lucky will get only a partial fill or be told I need another operation. I still have hope, but I understand the diet mentality and I REFUSE to gain any more weight regardless of my situation. Please hang in there !!!!!

Hugs from TX

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

-150 ish

[shellyj. 0]

leatha and babs,

i am not through with the weight loss battle i am just through with my band and getting the fills/unfills. it will continue to do damage if the same thing keeps happening of the continual swelling and motility issues. i get an E for effort but now it's just over. i dont have the optimism i once had for the band.

i am not going on a diet. i eat healthy, the most improtant things for me and my weight i think will be exercise and Portion Control. unfortunatly i suck at both. i will be content if i can stay my current size. i will aspire to lose more on my own.

bettina, unfort. i dont think anyone will know how the newer bands are affecting the esophogus for a few more years. i would like to know how many people 2+ yrs out (we are all 3 yrs out) are having these atrophys. my drs both say they havent had anyone with problems like this. 1 has 2 yrs with lapband the other 4 yrs. i find it hard to believe that we are that select.

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Shelly,

I didnt think you were giving up. Afterall, you are a fighter. I know my throat is @#$#% up and thats what caused the pouch dilatation. I have been eating more and more, but if the band can't tell me when to stop, then what good is it to me?? I have noticed that regardless of the fact that my band is empty, I still have restriction. I know this will dwindle as I get further along with no liquid, but nevertheless, I am fighting the demons and winning since I have lost a significant amount since the unfill. #%$% the band for the moment. I am just doing this on sheer will power. Next week is the docs appointment. I am curiously optimistic of the outcome, but still I know that even with a refill, the band has done all it can for me.

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

[anniemay 0]

I have to go for my first fill in a couple of weeks, how do you know how much to get, is it pretty much left up to doc?

[em1125 0]

Shellyj,

I am so sorry that you're feeling so badly. I truly hope you will find some relief soon. The bright side to this is your down 68% of your weight. That's awesome and something to be proud of. You hung in there like a trooper. I thinks thats unbelievable given your problems.

I see that you were banded in 2003. Have you had problems ever since the band? What kind of esophagus problems do you have? Do you mean that you PB alot. I would think that having that many problems is really not good for your esophagus. I will be banded in a week and I really need to know about the cons. I understand about PB'ing, erosion, slippage. But you seem to have more issues than that.

Wishing you the best.

Regards,

[shellyj. 0]

babs, we are in a frustrating place!!! one of the most crushing things about this is that i (we) got the band thinking how AWESOME it would be to have my band be ADJUSTABLE the rest of my life and now knowing that my esphogus is clucked up and i will not ever have restriction again.

annie- i tell my dr how much and what i am eating. he makes the decision.

emily- 2 yrs ago i got a small fill that was to tight and i had to get an unfill. from then until now i have gone back and forth to the dr and er for fills and unfills. i got them in the smallest increments to be safe and to avoid overfilling. each time i would gradually swell to the point where i couldnt get liquids down. the past 6-9 months worth of fill/unfills i also was having issues with liquids not going down but things like yogurt would make my band open and start allowing liquids. as far as PB'ing yes i definitally have. not much though and since i made this post i only PB'ed 1 other time. i hicuped and slimed sometimes for 45 minutes but avoided pb'ing at all costs! if you read this whole thread you'll see i am not the only one having these problems. several who were banded around the same time as me posted similiar problems.

i got a total unfill today and am getting a upper gi and endo on the 11th and 13th.

[Maryland 0]

Some of you may be interested in my experience with esophageal spasms BEFORE I ever had the band. I was in a job with an enormous amount of stress, where a lot of people were complaining of physical ailments caused by the working environment. I began to have trouble eating. I would eat a piece of meat or something, and all of a sudden my esophagus would just clench up in a knot and the piece would be stuck. It was very scary. Sometimes the feeling lasted for over an hour, then it would gradually subside. Well, this would happen periodically. I realized at some point that it was related to stress, and would happen especially when I was thinking about something negative, related to work, or just rushing. When I left that job it started to decline, and slowly went away. I would consciously work at relaxing while I ate, which helped. It took a couple of years for it to go away completely, but I haven't had any problems for a long time, and none at all since being banded.

It was very clear to me that the esophageal spasms were triggered by stress. It's amazing how much the mind and body interact.

[Iulizbug 0]

I agree. I am definately MUCH tighter when I am stressed out.....sometimes I just drink my Protein b/c I already know the band will be fickle on those days..its better than pbing..

~Liz~

03/10/06

241/169/160

5'7''

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Michele,

All week, I have been coughing a lot and attributed it to allergies. I am sure some of it was, but last night I noticed that I woke up coughing after falling asleep for a half hour. I am pretty sure it is reflux. Since my band has now been empty for 3 weeks, it would seem that this is a new problem associated with the unfill. I did not have reflux before the unfill, so now I am really worried. food is going down fine, but I guess I am concerned cause my band is empty. Things aint lookin too good for me either. I have been on a liquid diet for most of the three weeks and if I am having problems with reflux on liquids, I am not too optimistic that I have a pouch dilatation. It seems like a slippage might be more like it..... Something new to worry about....

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

[shellyj. 0]

hey babs,

its weird you mention the reflux. i got unfilled yesterday and lastnight after my light dinner i had the weirdest feeling in my stomach and my whole banded area (upper chest area) was SORE (like i had been wearing jeans that were so tight they were about to saw me in half and i finally took them off after a month.) after laying down for a while and really feeling the feelings i think i was feeling reflux-y. then all night long when i would wake up (normal) i was nauseated each time and felt reflux-ey. i didnt actually taste anything its more like i felt it in my stomache. i just dont feel 'right' everytime i drink something it feels weird when it hits my tummy.

it will be nice to finally have these things looked at so we dont have to worry. i feel like whatever happens, living the 'adjusted' life with the band is over. i really hope that this doesnt hold true for you to babs.

when is your next appt? did you take anything for the allergies (just in case the coughing was allergies) i buy liquid benadryl for kids.

talk to ya soon babs!

maryland and liz,

thanks for the input. i do think stress plays a role in the bands tightness. if this were more an isolated occasion i would think it would be more stress related. this has been happenning for a long time (2 yrs) and doesnt seem to be stress related. in fact when i get fills i usually wait till my life has nothing major going on.

[Becky Lambert 0]

Shelly and Babs, I got banded in Jan 2005 at age 46 I did fine until like Shelley I was given a too tight fill, since then i have had every test known to man to determine why my esophagus muscles do not work they do not push the food or liquod down into the stomach. I have just recently been dismissed from a rhemotologist with the report that i do not have a disease causing this lack of muscle motility.So we are back to the band. I was completely unfilled for about 3 months to be tested and then allowed to go back for a 1 fill. it worked fine all reflux dissappered for about 6 weeks an then wham !I was sitting up allnite long with reflux coming up even thought I have been on prevacid for 3 months. (this was after drinking one can of slimfast all day.)I had to go back for unfill and reflux stopped again, I dont think I ate or drank anything to cause this sudden tightness?Why would it get tighter for no reason?Now I am again empty but feelling fine. Do I go back for a small fill again in a few weeks or just try to stay banded with no fill? I think i can maintain that way but not loose. I am so confused ! My doctor said maybe another type surgery. I only weigh 150 and I can not imagine getting my insides rearranged at that weight. I dont PB or throw up I just get chest tightenss when things wont go down the esophagus as they should. I can live with that I think but the reflux at nite is not going to work . I will not live like that.I have lost 55 pounds and I think if I can maintain I will be happy enough. Do you think this band will tighten up on me again with no fill in it?I know I was never able to have more than a 2.2 fill, so it must be tight fitting. Help me figure this out .

[Becky Lambert 0]

Shelly and Babs, I got banded in Jan 2005 at age 46 I did fine until like Shelley I was given a too tight fill, since then i have had every test known to man to determine why my esophagus muscles do not work they do not push the food or liquod down into the stomach. I have just recently been dismissed from a rhemotologist with the report that i do not have a disease causing this lack of muscle motility.So we are back to the band. I was completely unfilled for about 3 months to be tested and then allowed to go back for a 1 fill. it worked fine all reflux dissappered for about 6 weeks an then wham !I was sitting up allnite long with reflux coming up even thought I have been on prevacid for 3 months. (this was after drinking one can of slimfast all day.)I had to go back for unfill and reflux stopped again, I dont think I ate or drank anything to cause this sudden tightness?Why would it get tighter for no reason?Now I am again empty but feelling fine. Do I go back for a small fill again in a few weeks or just try to stay banded with no fill? I think i can maintain that way but not loose. I am so confused ! My doctor said maybe another type surgery. I only weigh 150 and I can not imagine getting my insides rearranged at that weight. I dont PB or throw up I just get chest tightenss when things wont go down the esophagus as they should. I can live with that I think but the reflux at nite is not going to work . I will not live like that.I have lost 55 pounds and I think if I can maintain I will be happy enough. Do you think this band will tighten up on me again with no fill in it?I know I was never able to have more than a 2.2 fill, so it must be tight fitting. Help me figure this out .

[babsintx3 0]

HI Shelly,

Earlier in the week I was taking cough medicine with a decongestant. This seemed to work. Last night was different though. I had some burning in my throat and just a little bit of coughing. There was no congestion involved. IT felt like reflux. Today, I have a little bit of burning all day in my throat. Not enough that its disruptive, but enough I know its there.

I am gonna call and get a gastroenterologist because I also have lots of noise going on in my intestines, gurgling in my esophagus and what appears to be some kind of dymotility issue as well. Maybe an EGD would help resolve any questions I have about my throat issues.....

I go to see the new doc for my followup on the 6th of September. They have me scheduled for a barium swallow and flouro. If things are looking good, they will add half my saline back to my band. I dont want to jinx myself, but I am not completely convinced everything is alright...

Becky: I think too tight of a fill and then an unfill and then a refill messes with the balance of the band and then things are never right again. Its either that or our esophagus turns to rubber causing all kinds of problems like achalasia which is what you described.

Who knows?? I never see docs posting the answers to our questions relating to esophagus issues long term!! I wish there was some new data....

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

[leatha_g 4]

Who knows?? I never see docs posting the answers to our questions relating to esophagus issues long term!! I wish there was some new data....

Babs in TX

334/180 ish

If I were guessing, I'd think that might have some impact on how many bands they did.. lol.

[babsintx3 0]

Hi Leatha,

:clap2: :clap2: Very true!!!

Maybe we can contact some of the Australian Docs... Whaddya think???

Babs in TX