Question?

[KatieOkieDokie 171]

I hope you guys/girls don't mind me posting this question here, I figured since I don't belong to any lap band forms ,and this form is for those who have had or has the lap band and struggled maybe you can help. I'm sorry if this is the wrong place.

So my cousin had the lap band surgery over a year ago. She has lost over a 100lbs and seemed to be doing great! However, she has recently told me that she is indeed having problems. She is unable to eat or drink anything other than her Protein shakes, and I guess she is really having issues with her hair falling out, and breaking out. She throws up everything. She seems to think she may have some Vitamin deficiency. I fear that there may be something wrong with the band itself.

Has anyone of you ever had this problem? If so what was it?

Thanks.

[COnative 192]

I hope you guys/girls don't mind me posting this question here, I figured since I don't belong to any lap band forms ,and this form is for those who have had or has the lap band and struggled maybe you can help. I'm sorry if this is the wrong place.

So my cousin had the lap band surgery over a year ago. She has lost over a 100lbs and seemed to be doing great! However, she has recently told me that she is indeed having problems. She is unable to eat or drink anything other than her Protein shakes, and I guess she is really having issues with her hair falling out, and breaking out. She throws up everything. She seems to think she may have some Vitamin deficiency. I fear that there may be something wrong with the band itself.

Has anyone of you ever had this problem? If so what was it?

Thanks.

I have heard of this happening from being on this site for awhile. And most of what I have heard from the people with a band who have joined this site its because they are getting a revision to a sleeve. That was my deciding factor to not go with the band because I keep hearing people having problems later on. I wish it wasn't so and maybe we are just hearing all the issues on this site and not hearing the success stories (in regards to the band).

[JMarshall 352]

im 11 months out and 200 pounds total and have not had any of these issues. i had my Vitamin levels checked last week and all were fine except for d3 which was just a little low. i have only thrown up once since sugery and that was because i made the transition from liquid to solids to quickly. it seems like she is having problems with her band. she might want to have a band to sleeve revision. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/13-band-to-gastric-sleeve-revisions/

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I didn't have hairloss or Vitamin deficiency (although they didn't actually do bloodwork to check early on!).

If she is not keeping anything down, even shakes, that is a sign of a band slippage. A year out, she should be able to eat food too, but the band is a fickle and harsh mistress, so much depends on how much fill etc. Oddly, weight gain often happens with a slippage too. She needs to get herself checked out - endoscopy for starters. It could be serious because what happens with a slip is it can slip so you can't consume anything - not even Water - and then you wind up with emergency surgery.

[Questions? 18]

I had my band for 4 years and had problems the last 3 1/2 with it. Hormonal or stress seemed to trigger inflammation and I was only able to tolerate liquids/shakes. I also had the band completely unfilled at about 9 months out and was that way until I had it removed. I didn't have Vitamin deficiencies or Hair loss surprisingly. I was never so happy as the day I had it taken out last year. I was just sleeved 2 days ago so can't give any input on that as it is too early.

[girliegirl 49]

it sure does sound like a problem. her band might be too tight, has she seen her fill dr? she needs to be sure it isn't a slip or something else. she should be able to eat food and not throw everything up and her hair should not be falling out. tell her to call her dr.

[kekerene 35]

I had the band for 5 miserable years. My advise is to talk with people that have had the band for at least 3-4 years. Not the people in the "honeymoon phase". I lived off of milkshakes for 4 years with the band because it was too tight. When the doc would loosen the band then I would gain weight. I lived a very poor quality of life with the band. I was always tired and sluggish due to the fact that all I could keep down was shakes. Then after 5 years the band slipped on me. I have now had a revision to the sleeve and wish I had done it a lot sooner. I can finally eat and have lost way more weight with the sleeve than the band. If you look at my before pics, I actually had the band in those pics. The after pics are the success I have had since I had the band removed and the sleeve performed

[mandyMO 67]

I had the band for 5 miserable years. My advise is to talk with people that have had the band for at least 3-4 years. Not the people in the "honeymoon phase". I lived off of milkshakes for 4 years with the band because it was too tight. When the doc would loosen the band then I would gain weight. I lived a very poor quality of life with the band. I was always tired and sluggish due to the fact that all I could keep down was shakes. Then after 5 years the band slipped on me. I have now had a revision to the sleeve and wish I had done it a lot sooner. I can finally eat and have lost way more weight with the sleeve than the band. If you look at my before pics, I actually had the band in those pics. The after pics are the success I have had since I had the band removed and the sleeve performed

This is probably awful to ask but when i had my band before i had to have a emergency surgery cause of major slip did it feel like you were swallowing razor blades when you drank something this was when i was to tight and then nothing was going down when i had the slip ?

[mandyMO 67]

She is probably to tight and i had Hair loss and i was told that was because i was getting enough Protein !

[mandyMO 67]

sorry wasnt getting enough Protein

[kekerene 35]

Well I had a partial slip. My doc said that if it were to slip completely that would require emergency surgery. Being that mine slipped partially it did not cause pain when I ate. I just threw up everything I ate. But, even before the band slipped I still threw up everything I ate so I had no clue that it had slipped. The only difference was, I was gaining weight instead of losing it and we could not understand why. That is when my doc did an upper GI x-ray to check the band and noticed that it had slipped. Within a month I had booked a flight to Mexico and had it removed and had the revision to the sleeve. I was lucky. If it had slipped completely I am sure I would have experienced much worse symptoms and pain. Just glad to have that piece of junk out of my body.

[mandyMO 67]

Well I had a partial slip. My doc said that if it were to slip completely that would require emergency surgery. Being that mine slipped partially it did not cause pain when I ate. I just threw up everything I ate. But, even before the band slipped I still threw up everything I ate so I had no clue that it had slipped. The only difference was, I was gaining weight instead of losing it and we could not understand why. That is when my doc did an upper GI x-ray to check the band and noticed that it had slipped. Within a month I had booked a flight to Mexico and had it removed and had the revision to the sleeve. I was lucky. If it had slipped completely I am sure I would have experienced much worse symptoms and pain. Just glad to have that piece of junk out of my body.

I had a partial slip in april and i just had major acid reflex then it just went down hill from there im thinking it fully slipped in june and then i started putting on weight then at the end of august thats when i had the emergency surgery and it ended up my stomach folded in half and i got a obstruction in there i am to glad to to have it out and start my new journey with the sleeve when i get it in november !

[kekerene 35]

I had a partial slip in april and i just had major acid reflex then it just went down hill from there im thinking it fully slipped in june and then i started putting on weight then at the end of august thats when i had the emergency surgery and it ended up my stomach folded in half and i got a obstruction in there i am to glad to to have it out and start my new journey with the sleeve when i get it in november !

You are going to LOVE your sleeve in comparison to the band!!!