Am I eroding or does this just suck?

[shananignz 8]

Hey everyone. I'm new here and am looking for some advice, I guess. I was banded back in April of '09. The most weight I've lost with the thing was 15 pounds my first month. Because of bad placement (my band was placed to high and has caused me a veritable slew of side effects) I can't have more then a minuscule amount of Fluid in my band. Even with that very small amount, I was still getting stuck on a regular basis which was fine with me. Showed that I still had some sort of resistance. The past month and a half though, whatever resistance I had is gone. Nothing get's stuck anymore and I'm having the most horrid heartburn. I know that heartburn is normal with Banders, but until a month ago I didn't have any after my surgery. I have already been scoped, and that's when the doctor found that my band is to high and because of that I have esophageal erosion and I get frequent cases of aspiration pneumonia. My real question, however, is does this sounds like it could be band erosion? The loss of resistance and bad heartburn? I can't say for certain but I think my port area might be a little swollen, but I can't say that there's any pain in it. Also, lately when I eat anything I get bad stomach pains and nausea. But unfortunately because of my piss poor band placement, I haven't been able to throw up since I was banded. I have an appointment with a new bariatric surgeon and am starting the (slooooooow) process of getting my band removed and replaced with the gastric bypass. Has anyone experienced anything like what I'm going through? If so, what was the outcome? Thank you for reading my non stop rambling.

[Mikee57 699]

SHANANIGNZ-so thankful you are getting with someone new...THIS DOESN'T SOUND GOOD!!! best wishes on your next WLS!!!

Edited April 29, 2014 by Mikee57

[2muchfun 8,927]

Sounds like a slip to me. Not something to mess around with and should be brought to the attention of your doctor?

[shananignz 8]

I have an appointment on May 9th to see him. I'm worried though, because my insurance is pretty crappy and I'm afraid that they will deny my WLS even with all of this going on because I have no co-morbidities. When I was first going through this process six years ago I was so excited. But now I wake up everyday wondering what is going to go wrong next and wishing that I had listened to my gut when it said to get the bypass instead of the doctor who pressured all of his patients into getting banded. Who knows, maybe he was getting kickbacks. *sigh* I have two autistic children that I need to be healthy for, but I'm at such a breaking point anymore and I'm tired of feeling like holy hell because of this band. Not ashamed to say, I'm so envious of all your success stories, but I'm also very glad that people have found success with it.

[shananignz 8]

@@2muchfun You're very right. Now that I really think of it, it definitely sounds like a slip. I have all the symptoms, right down to the chest pressure.

[2muchfun 8,927]

If you're not going to the dr today or soon, monitor yourself and if you feel any sharp pains, regurgitate blood or bad reflux, go to the ER. jmo

So sorry to see anyone experience this.

I think 3-10 years ago, many surgeons saw this as a panacea for WLS. The fact is, many doctors didn't understand how and why they needed to filter patients for the correct surgery. Many did not understand how this all works and many still don't. Of course, placing the band incorrectly can lead to so many problems. Curious as to what happened to surgeon number 1??

We have another forum member who had her band placed too high. Bandarella is her name. She could be a good resource for your dilemma?

[shananignz 8]

I know that surgeon numero uno is still practicing. I've also met a few of his patients through sheer coincidence and they all say the same thing. He pressured them into getting the band and it didn't work the way they thought it would. After I was banded and started having issues with my fils he sent me for blood work and when everything came back normal he said "I don't know what's wrong with you, but it's nothing that I did," 1 year, 10 different specialists (two of which were at Yale) it took an over filled band, an emergency unfill and surgeon numero uno's partner to say "There is something wrong with your band and it needs to be taken care of." Unfortunately right after that, I got laid off and lost my insurance. I will look up Banderella (awesome name) and chew her ear.

[Bandarella 223]

A band placed "high" doesn't create a pouch...slips are unlikely. Your band should have been repositioned when your surgeon realized it was placed high, since this us surgeon error. The band is supposed to be 2-3 cm below the gastro esophageal junction...that's only 3/4 to about 1 1/4 inches so there's very little room for error. Time for a frank discussion with your surgeon. Leaving the band high just means more problems later.

[shananignz 8]

I'm working with the first surgeons former partners to get this resolved. I should have been worried when, on the day of my surgery, he walked into my pre op room, flopped down on the chair and said "I'm exhausted. Just flew up from Florida." I do have all the symptoms of a slip though. The pain, nausea, heartburn, chest pressure. Th only thing that is missing is the vomiting, and man what I wouldn't give to be able to throw up again. My original surgeon has started his own practice and doesn't take my insurance. Even if he did, I wouldn't go back to him.

Edited April 29, 2014 by shananignz

[Bandarella 223]

@shananignz. I can't throw up anything...I've had 3 bouts of violent vomiting since my band and nothing ever came up....very painful. I haven't had a virus since removal, thankfully, but will be interesting to see when it does inevitably happen. With my band removal, the surgeon performed a modified Heller Myotomy to loosen the circumferential rind of scar tissue that formed under my band on my esophagus. A Heller procedure is often used to treat achalasia in the non bariatric population.

I do still regurgitate food that gets stuck in my esophagus...that is very different than vomiting (no bile or acid). IMHO, many banded peeps think they are vomiting, when in fact, they are regurgitating...

[Bandarella 223]

BTW, stomach viruses are the #1 reason I think bands will become obsolete. There is no way to 100% prevent exposure to norovirus or other pathogens and avoid food poisoning. There are so many that have little ones at home and we know that kids bring home all kinds of nasty germs lol. Also many who lose a lot of weight develop gall bladder issues which causes nausea and vomiting. It's just not practical to expect a person to not ever vomit because they are banded. Anti nausea drugs are not always effective, either, especially with food poisoning, where your body will expel the offending substance one way or another...

[shananignz 8]

I have two little ones myself, so I'm always coming down with something. If it isn't the aspiration pneumonia, then it's a stomach bug. All I get are dry heaves and the only thing that comes up is blood. So, you got your band removed and I'm assuming you weren't rebanded. Did you have another type of WLS to replace the band?

[Bandarella 223]

No more wls for me. My esophagus cannot tolerate it.