2012 359 Posted December 11, 2013 Hello, has anyone recently had their band removed due to erosion and decided not go get another surgery? Also, if your insurance did not cover the surgery to put the band in, did it cover to get it removed? I'm pretty depressed and upset by this, but I do not have a choice and I do not want a sleeve, which is what the doctor suggested after removal. Also, for anyone that had this done, did you start gaining the weight back or could keep on losing? I'm hoping I have learned my lesson and will continue to eat like I'm banded and just try to keep myself full with Protein and Water, but right now, I'm just at a loss, I just had the EGD done today and this happened unexpectedly. I had no pain and no symptoms and had a flouro to just check things out and resulted in this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeeWee 470 Posted December 11, 2013 I'm sorry to hear things didn't go as planned. Hope it all works out for the better. When I was doing my research on what was the best procedure for me, I did notice many Sleevers were previous Banders. Issues with erosion and slippage seemed to blanket that community, along with fills and refills. Most switch due to the more permanent solution with less follow ups and great results!! Also with the sleeve, you get great restriction and can still eat just with limited portions. Maybe you should reconsider your doctors suggestions. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on whatever choice you make!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisacaron 5,075 Posted December 11, 2013 Did the Dr. ever give you a reason for why the band eroded? 1 mrsto reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2012 359 Posted December 12, 2013 Thank you MsKeeKee, I will keep that in mind and may revisit it after my healing period, which is about 6 months and only if insurance will cover it (I'm moving to another country and I think my insurance there will cover it, my current coverage in the US will not). 1 KeeWee reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B-52 7,113 Posted December 13, 2013 Any idea what caused the erosion??? Something I am always mindful of, and do routine maintenance time to time, hopefully it will help in prevention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nancy Elizabeth Harmon 0 Posted December 14, 2013 how did you know it was eroding??And only after a yr and a half,Ive had mine 3 yrs and have stopped losing weight.Is the pain the same removing as putting it in?Recovery time the same? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hiddnstar 167 Posted December 14, 2013 Hello, has anyone recently had their band removed due to erosion and decided not go get another surgery? Also, if your insurance did not cover the surgery to put the band in, did it cover to get it removed? I'm pretty depressed and upset by this, but I do not have a choice and I do not want a sleeve, which is what the doctor suggested after removal. Also, for anyone that had this done, did you start gaining the weight back or could keep on losing? I'm hoping I have learned my lesson and will continue to eat like I'm banded and just try to keep myself full with Protein and Water, but right now, I'm just at a loss, I just had the EGD done today and this happened unexpectedly. I had no pain and no symptoms and had a flouro to just check things out and resulted in this. HI! I had my band removed in September of this year after 3 years, but not for erosion. I'm sorry yours has eroded. It's good they found it early (or at least before you started having ugly symptoms). I chose to not have any more weight loss surgery. My insurance covered the removal as it was medically necessary. It also paid to have it implanted. Your idea of continuing to eat as though banded is good, in my opinion. It is what has helped me. I continue to lose weight or hold. At first I lost 8 pounds pretty quickly. Now it is slow and I sometimes stall for a while before it drops again. I want to lose at least 40 more pounds. Having your band removed is not an automatic sentence of weight gain! Not at all!!! Keep your goal as your top priority, no matter what. I feel so much better without the band because my body was rejecting it; so it helps me to feel how wonderful I feel being at a lighter weight and continuing on from here. I eat mostly Protein and vegetables. I'm finding recipes from www.health-bent.com are helpful. My surgeon suggests a modified Mediterranean diet and also promotes the cook book found on health-bent called, Primal Cravings. I also take a high quality probiotic from Metagenics called, Acute Care. Banded or not, keep heading in the direction of your goal! I feel very fortunate to have found a surgeon who realized my band needed to come out. Your surgeon may have saved you a lot of pain and grief by getting to the problem before things got bad (as other people have described on this site). I had 3 years of discomfort, the last 2 quite miserable, before finding someone who could see clearly what needed to happen. I am so grateful. I'm glad you're being proactive about diet and thinking about how to proceed! ~hiddn~ 2 2012 and Bandista reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2012 359 Posted December 15, 2013 Thank you hiddn, I feel much better! It's nice to hear from someone who has had this done and continues to lose weight. I've heard a lot about primal eating and I might just give that a try, go back to the basics and it's usually cheaper to eat this way too, so that's another benefit . 1 Bandista reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2012 359 Posted December 15, 2013 Nancy, I had and currently have no symptoms, no pain, no vomiting, nothing, actually I feel great. I am moving to the other side of the world in a couple of months and I had a flouro done just to check out how my band was doing and this is how it was found, just a checkup. And I can't answer the rest of your questions as I don't know myself. I just know it has to come out since I have a hole in my stomach with part of the band in my stomach. My doctor said that 2-3% of people's bodies reject the band and I'm one of them. I did not have problems with my band like you usually hear from people on here when they have them removed, so there was no warning I even had an issue, I'm just glad I found it while in the US and not while I was on the other side of the world. If you are concerned, just get a flouro done and they can tell if everything looks okay and if they are still unsure from the flouro, then they would probably do an EGD (camera down throat to see internally). I was all worried about the EGD and it was nothing, they knocked me out, woke me up, and then told me the bad news and showed me the pics of my insides, no pain and not even a sore throat like I thought I would have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandista 7,466 Posted December 15, 2013 So sorry you have to have your band removed but it sounds like you have a good handle on your diet and exercise......good luck with your move and all that lies ahead. Even if you're on the other side of the world the forum is here and you're not alone. Best wishes! 1 2012 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2012 359 Posted December 15, 2013 Thanks Bandista, I appreciate it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nauman Ahmad 3 Posted April 24, 2014 Hello, has anyone recently had their band removed due to erosion and decided not go get another surgery? Also, if your insurance did not cover the surgery to put the band in, did it cover to get it removed? I'm pretty depressed and upset by this, but I do not have a choice and I do not want a sleeve, which is what the doctor suggested after removal. Also, for anyone that had this done, did you start gaining the weight back or could keep on losing? I'm hoping I have learned my lesson and will continue to eat like I'm banded and just try to keep myself full with Protein and Water, but right now, I'm just at a loss, I just had the EGD done today and this happened unexpectedly. I had no pain and no symptoms and had a flouro to just check things out and resulted in this. HI! I had my band removed in September of this year after 3 years, but not for erosion. I'm sorry yours has eroded. It's good they found it early (or at least before you started having ugly symptoms). I chose to not have any more weight loss surgery. My insurance covered the removal as it was medically necessary. It also paid to have it implanted. Your idea of continuing to eat as though banded is good, in my opinion. It is what has helped me. I continue to lose weight or hold. At first I lost 8 pounds pretty quickly. Now it is slow and I sometimes stall for a while before it drops again. I want to lose at least 40 more pounds. Having your band removed is not an automatic sentence of weight gain! Not at all!!! Keep your goal as your top priority, no matter what. I feel so much better without the band because my body was rejecting it; so it helps me to feel how wonderful I feel being at a lighter weight and continuing on from here. I eat mostly Protein and vegetables. I'm finding recipes from www.health-bent.com are helpful. My surgeon suggests a modified Mediterranean diet and also promotes the cook book found on health-bent called, Primal Cravings. I also take a high quality probiotic from Metagenics called, Acute Care. Banded or not, keep heading in the direction of your goal! I feel very fortunate to have found a surgeon who realized my band needed to come out. Your surgeon may have saved you a lot of pain and grief by getting to the problem before things got bad (as other people have described on this site). I had 3 years of discomfort, the last 2 quite miserable, before finding someone who could see clearly what needed to happen. I am so grateful. I'm glad you're being proactive about diet and thinking about how to proceed! ~hiddn~ There is another great site on Mediterranean food that I know about. Follow the link to check it up, and there are a number of great food recipes of all Mediterranean Cuisines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Martha Howland-Shafiei 118 Posted April 24, 2014 i am so sorry for u-----stay true to ur diet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackonynx 27 Posted June 10, 2014 I'm scheduled for removal in 3 weeks. It's been 5 years for me. I lost 45 lbs the first 5 months and nothing since. I was too tight and loosened several times. I ended up gaining back 13 lbs but have managed to maintain there. Right now I can't exercise or sleep on my left side due to pain that's sometimes there NOT ALL THE TIME THERE. I'm afraid of the whole process, but I still have at least 40 more lbs to lose. Like you 2012, I'm having no pain at times but I do know that after 5 years, I want to be sure that nothing bad is going on. Good Luck to everyone! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Short and Chunky 230 Posted June 11, 2014 2012, so sorry to hear about your band and the erosion. Good thing you kept alert and kept getting things checked out. I had my band just shy of 3 years, got deathly ill this April and almost 30 hours of vomiting blood later, my band was removed. My band had slipped and almost 1/3 of my stomach was on the wrong side. I was throwing up my stomach lining. I had plication at the same time I got my band so when my band was removed, the plication remained (like a sleeve except it can be reversed). All of this happened 4/25/14 and I promptly gained 11 pounds..I am now headed back down. The doctor told me it was normal and not to panic. Keep walking and try to stay away from the carbs. Now I am at almost no carbs and the weight is coming off. Yes, I am scared and I really wish this had not happened, but it did and now I have to move on. Good luck with your surgery and what ever decision you make down the road about revision. There are lots of us out here who no longer have our bands - you have lots of company. Best Wishes Melinda in Florida Share this post Link to post Share on other sites