2 Years with the Band

[arc 3]

I was banded March 28th 2013. I was 23 years old and had enough money in my pocket to pay for my lapband without borrowing. I woke up miserable. The first 3 days I cried because of what I had done to my body. Then the weight started falling off. It's pretty hard to be upset when you lose 30 pounds in 2 months. I didn't have many issues. Pretty much normal lapband stuff. Eat slow, chew everything, choose your food carefully. I vomited (like every other bandster out there) but for the most part it was fine. December of that year I started having more issues. More food intolerance than before. Vomiting became an everyday occurrence. I ignored it until July 2014. I started vomiting up when I drank Water. Eating normally was completely out of the question. I had put myself on a soft food diet without realizing how ridiculous that was. My diet consisted of Soup, soup, and more soup. and then I saw blood in my vomit for the first time. I'm a nurse and when I saw the blood there was no more delusions that my band was just not working right. I saw my doctor and he removed all the saline out of my band. I experienced relief temporarily. My heart burn was manageable, I could eat at least a decent supper and I put it out of my mind. Now, I have the worst heartburn I've ever had in my life. My normal day goes a little something like this: wake up, get ready for class, try to drink Powerade while I get ready, drive to class, more than likely throw up powerade, sit in class, watch my classmates eat lunch as I chew on tums and sip water, go home, make myself a soup at hand, drink 1/4 of it, get full, throw up and throw it away, work on homework, make supper, sometimes I can eat, sometimes I can't, shower and repeat. My grades have slipped. I can't concentrate anymore. I am constantly fatigued. I can't wear enough layers to keep myself warm. In all sense of the word I am malnourished. I write this in hopes not to scare off a future bandster but that one person out there will recognize that they are not alone. It is a sad life to walk into a new place and immediately scope out where the bathroom is, or obsess about food. Monday I see my doctor to discuss scheduling a lapband removal.

[meggs353 118]

Hi Arc - I'm so sorry to hear about your story. Something I got out of this, and hopefully others will too is that being sick and throwing up should not be a part of daily life with the band. Over time it can lead to serious complications. I'm so glad for you that you are seeing your doctor and working out a plan to get healthy. Good luck to you on your journey back to health!

[Gr8estyaya 19]

Hi arc!! I had the exact same problems with my band 18 months ago...when a CT was done they found it had slipped to the other side of my stomach...surgeon said worst he had seen. I've since gain almost back to my pre-band wt and I scheduled for a sleeve March 26th...maybe they can replace your band and all will be fine. Then bands had improved in the last 5 yrs. good luck and best wishes????