I don't know what to do Im having complications

[Jennaybataon 0]

I have been over weight since I was 6 years old. As a child my mother said I had unusual eating habits. I remember always feeling hungry. My mother tried to limit my food intake, and mostly provided healthy choices for our family to eat (she did not starve us we still had treats). I do not remember but I was told I would sneak food and hide it. I was mildly over weight up until I moved out of my parents house. At that point my weight sky rocketed to 289 lbs because of poor meal choices, and stayed that way for a few years. I decided to try to loose weight and did loose 55 lbs on my own, but then I became pregnant with my first child. I had a stressful pregnancy and did not gain any weight because of extreme morning sickness (Hyperemesis Gravidarum). I weighed 192 after giving birth. I was able to keep the weight off while I nursed, but after 6 months I started gaining.I started looking for options because I was scared of gaining all my weight back.
I went to see my surgeon in October of 2007. When I expressed my wishes to have more children in the future I was told that the Lap-Band would be my best surgical option. I had the surgery July 23rd 2008. I had no issues getting approved because I had two sources of insurance so I was able to get all but $250 worth of testing and counseling covered. My weight on the day of surgery was around 226 lbs. I had a hiatal hernia repair at the same time as the Lap-band surgery. I had normal recovery and lost weight at a healthy pace.
By my wedding day 10/25/2009 I was down to 152 lbs. I had not been that weight since I was 14 years old. I had also lost my premium insurance coverage and was receiving state added insurance.I became pregnant with my second child in December, and again suffered from extreme morning sickness. I was medicated with Zofran by mouth and still got sick daily. Because I continued to gain weight my insurance would not cover any other attempt to stop me from getting sick. When I was about 4 months pregnant I started noticing pain that came and went from my stomach area. Surgeon told me everything looked normal and I had my band deflated every month to allow me to eat comfortably and ease my morning sickness which lasted till I was almost 7 months pregnant. when I was about 7 months along I had a very bad stomach flu and at one point I vomited black. I swear I felt something give, and I started to notice more discomfort and very bad heart burn. The Surgeon said everything looked good. I was induced two weeks before my due date because of extreme discomfort. I had a healthy baby but fractured my tail bone during delivery because of the position of the baby during delivery. I weighed 235 lbs after I delivered.
I started to have my band tightened one month after I gave birth, but as the band became tighter my heart burn got worse and I started to feel more discomfort. My surgeon had me get an x-ray but told me everything was still okay. I had not even made it close to my original fill when the discomfort became so overwhelming that i had to get my band loosened. I felt my surgeon was not listening so I went and got a second opinion. The new surgeon scoped my stomach and told me there was an issue with my band and that I had another hernia. I took my report to my surgeon and showed him and he became extremely furious. He yelled at me. Told me that the other doctor did not know anything and that the xray showed nothing was wrong. The other doctor was not a specialist like he was and I should not listen to anyone but him. He prescribed me meds for my extreme heart burn and had me try adjustments again. At that point I became pregnant with my third child and went to him to tell him I needed a deflation I was uncomfortable and now pregnant. I expressed my need to have a scope done by him after the birth of my baby. His response was that every issue I had was all in my head. I lost control of my diet and I had to seek counseling before he would put any Fluid back in my band. He told me he completely emptied my band, and to come back to him after I completed my counseling (that my insurance does not cover) and he would then be able to help me. I felt like he turned his back on me.
My third pregnancy was my worst. The Extreme morning sickness was so bad I was on a Zofran medication pump for about 6 weeks. I had morning sickness till I was about 6 months pregnant. At 7 months I started becoming uncomfortable because of the size of my baby. By 8 months I was in excruciating pain. My third child was my biggest, and had caused damage to my back and right SI joint. I was induced on my due date and my large baby was born with low sugar and had to be admitted to the special care unit for two days. She is healthy now but I suffer from pain.
I have gone to see another surgeon who had tried three times to do an adjustment. When she tried to find the port she had to stab me at least 15 times before she found the port each time. (I lost count) I am feel pain in my stomach from time to time, and every time I try to get my band tightened I can not eat solids. but yet I can eat more then I should be able to eat in one setting. There is something wrong with my Lap-Band. I don't know what to do. I am always uncomfortable. I was fine before I had my babies. I am not thinking about having my band removed, and would like to get the Sleeve. I don't know what to do.

[NolansNana 210]

Wow..your story brought tears to my eyes. You've been through so much. You must feel abandoned by your Dr! I am so sorry about all the problems that you have had. I pray that you seek and find the help that you need. I know from my health problems that some drs get on an ego trip and it hurt his feelings that another Dr found a problem. My advice is to consult with other physicians. I'm sending you a lot of love and prayers! God bless you!

[gowalking 10,790]

I'm so sorry for your problems. You need to find another doctor because this one does not have your best intentions. The fact that he got angry shows he is a bully and no one should have a bully take care of them. Please let us know what a new doctor tells you.

[2muchfun 8,927]

First, the band does not stop you from eating too much. The band, if adjusted properly, helps you feel satisfied with less food. The soft stop signals are very subtle. I think it was Jack who compared it to a songbird far off in the forest. It can be faint for some and loud for others.

It seems the further out we get the harder the signals are to feel. Here are some of them:

Runny nose

Burping

Hiccups

sighs

Too many people keep looking for the full feeling and don't stop till they feel stuffed. That's not how this works. For me, I can feel the signals above but mostly, it's I just lose interest in what I'm eating. And, I put much less food on my plate these days. If you put a lot of food on that plate, you're going to want to eat it all.

You could also be eating slider foods that don't provide these signals? Many people fall into this trap when they feel too tight and don't want to bother with the small bites and big chew thing? I know I sometimes make the mistake of putting too much food and too much food that slides through my band.

tmf

[BandedSister_Lizz 22]

Jennay,

I am so sorry that you have gong through all of this! I really hope you can find the appropriate care that you are needing. Your current surgeon is not a nice guy as he yelled at you for caring about your own body! I am sending you lots of light, love, and prayers! Just take care of yourself and don't give up there's a doctor out there that will help! Keep us posted!

Lizz

[Jennaybataon 0]

The second surgeon I saw found Fluid and air in my lap band when she first accessed the port. I was told there was none when I saw my original surgeon. The pain I feel happens on an empty stomach as well as when I've eaten. I'm just discouraged, and I need to start loosing weight fast because of my new back and SI joint issues. I saw this website and thought I might find helpful suggestions.

[2muchfun 8,927]

A Bariatric nutritionist can go over your nutritional needs as well as foods that may work with your band. It would take over an hour to go over things like, how often you eat, what you eat, how you eat, a daily menu of foods you consume, starting weight, current weight and other band related issues. I don't think you're going to find any answers here without more information?

We can advise or support specific band related issues but yours seems like a professional issue such as finding a competent doctor who can diagnose your problems without getting emotional?