This is gonna sound nuts, but I think I want to remove my Lapband

[Lapbandster 496]

Hey everyone!

I haven't posted in a while but I got my Lapband about 3 years ago. Needed to lose about 100 lbs and at one point lost almost 70. Recently I have gained some weight, and although still down 50 lbs since presurgery, I still feel like my lapband is failing me BIG TIME.

First of all, I never ever felt what other people have described as the "sweet spot" of restriction. I felt the same hunger i've always felt and could get everything down. Still, determined not to fail, I carb cycled, worked out like a beast and lost the weight. I kept asking myself if the band was worth it, but felt that i would still do it again if I had to choose. If nothing else, it was an internal reminder to get my act together!!

It is now 3 years later, however, and suddenly, a week ago I felt reflux... I didn't feel tight (everything would go down) but there was definitely burning in my chest. I emailed my surgeon who told me to come immediately. He was upset that I gained some weight and said that my band was likely too tight. He removed 0.3 cc's (or was it 3.0 cc's??) and sent me home after making me promise that I would keep him updated on my heartburn. (he made sure i was able to chug down a full cup of Water with no difficulties before sending me home, which I had no problem doing. it went straight down)

The next day I continued to feel heartburn and he emailed him immediately. I told him I want a COMPLETE unfill and then we'll slowly scale up from there. He found that acceptable and also said it might be a good idea to even get some xrays of the band

Suddenly I am nervous- after a quick google search on lapband heartburn it led me to horror stories about lapband removals. it is clear to me that it is NOT such a simple procedure- there seems to be much greater complication risk, scar tissue buildup around the band, and many many people still feel restriction post band removal. It started to make me feel like this band is poisonous and will destroy my body.

Sorry to sound all dramatic but you should see what people are writing! sheesh!

I know I have to take all things found on the internet with a grain of salt, but I am legitimately horrified

I just feel like I want this thing out of me before it causes me more damage, and especially since I have never seen any real positive effect. Now there is only negative effect (the heartburn/reflux)

Am I totally nuts?!?!

And advice/replies would be really appreciated

PS, aside from the heartburn this lapband always leaves me with a nagging feeling, for example everytime I travel there's this little voice in my head wondering what I will do if it slips/gets too tight.

Does everyone feel this way? Or am I the only neurotic nut??!!

Edited July 12, 2015 by Lapbandster

[Rizzle01 54]

I have definitely had a few panic attacks thinking about the aforementioned possibilities of lap band failure etc. Have you stopped to think that your heartburn might be unrelated? I had heartburn throughout most of my twenties but didn't think too much of it because I could always take a tums or two and it would go away. One day when I was about 29 I woke up drank a cup of coffee and thought I was going to die! The heartburn was on another level and nothing helped. I thought I might be having a heart attack so I rushed to the ER. My heartbeat was something ridiculous like 173/128 and I thought my heart was going to explode! They diagnosed me with GERD, hooked me up to an IV and gave me a Prilosec. About an hour later I was ok. I think that day that my flap more or less disintegrated. I have been on prescription acid reflux medication ever since. What I am getting at is that the heartburn might be so bad that it is sending you in a tailspin which can create panic attacks. You might just need to take some Prevacid and Xanax to get back to normal but idk. Just something to think about. I hope you get to feeling better :-)

[lucky1gg33 107]

I had my band in Dec 2009 and yes I lost a good deal of weight...not all that I wanted. I was getting stuck and puking regularly. On April 27 I had my band removed and gastric sleeve revision. I am happy to be free of the band and all of those weird feelings u talked about. The scales are moving again slowly... and I am happy!

[Lapbandster 496]

I had my band in Dec 2009 and yes I lost a good deal of weight...not all that I wanted. I was getting stuck and puking regularly. On April 27 I had my band removed and gastric sleeve revision. I am happy to be free of the band and all of those weird feelings u talked about. The scales are moving again slowly... and I am happy!

Can you tell me how everything went with your band removal? Was it outpatient?

I hear mixed things about it- from it being an easier surgery than original lapband placement, to people nearly dying from it

[lucky1gg33 107]

My surgery was maybe 20 minutes longer for band amd port removal step. The Dr. did warn me that a lot can happen with the band over time. He said if the band had emulsified into the stomach he would have to do the removal, send me home to heal and return for sleeve in a few months. I was nervous, but he was confident as he felt my port and noted my prior incisions. All went well and I am sooo glad I did it.

[lucky1gg33 107]

I was in patient 2 days and then 2 more days at a nearby hotel. But I traveled to Mexico for it

[bewell 222]

I am a lap band revision to sleeve. (banded 2006-sleeve revision Jan 2015)

I had a lot of problems with lap band. Had a slip early on and had to have it replaced.

Then continual pain in my abdomen always.
I had all the Fluid removed for last 4 years and still had constant pain. Nothing showed up on tests. Doc kept blaming me but it hurt when I hadn't eating a thing.

I finally had the bugger out and did a revision. (Initially didn't plan for sleeve revision, just wanted it out but Doc suggested I consider it.)

FOR ME....the best thing I'd ever done. Wish I had done it sooner. FOR ME...the sleeve is so much easier post-op. I think my body does not tolerate foreign objects well. After sleeve surgery my stomach stopped hurting immediately and feeling like it was constantly in a knot.

BTW-initially right after surgery, lap band complication are low compared to other WLS. But long-term lap band has much higher complications than other WLS due to foreign object in the body that can erode, slip, fail, etc.

Best of luck to you. I understand completely how you feel.

ONCE AGAIN... this is my experience with a lap-band. Many have wonderful results with no complications.

[Lapbandster 496]

Thanks for sharing!!

Can you tell me how the removal surgery went??

Glad your doing better!

[katgio52 1]

I had lapband 3 years ago and only had it for 3 months! I was losing at a good pace. Then I had a fill. Once I did, I couldn't keep anything down especially Water. All the fill was taken out. Just kept burping. My surgeon and gastroenterologist agreed to remove it. July 10, I had gastric sleeve. Hoping this goes much better since it's permanent.

[bewell 222]

@@Lapbandster

My band to sleeve surgery went just fine. The surgery was about 1 hour longer than just the sleeve surgery because they had to remove the band first. Scar tissue builds up around the band and port so they have to carefully remove it. My biggest pain post-op was the incision where they pulled out the port. Having said that, I was down for about 10 days. I could have gone to work at 8 days but that would have been pushing it. For me, about the same as the band surgery. Everyone is different.

Some surgeons remove the band and put in a sleeve in two surgeries. I was only wiling to do one surgery. My surgeon prefers to do it in one surgery whenever possible. The only time he can't is when there is so much scar tissue it takes too long to remove the band. This has happened only once for him.

The recovery was maybe a little longer with the sleeve than the band but I'm 10 years older (now 64).

For me the big difference is the lap-band is a restriction. The sleeve is a small pouch which limits the amount you can eat. They also remove part of the stomach that creates the hormone grulin (SP?). I am not hungry at all, my cravings are gone. I love healthy food. (I'm told that can change in the years to come but for now the sleeve is working well for me.

There is a lot of information on this board about lap-band to sleeve revisions.

[Lapbandster 496]

@@Lapbandster

My band to sleeve surgery went just fine. The surgery was about 1 hour longer than just the sleeve surgery because they had to remove the band first. Scar tissue builds up around the band and port so they have to carefully remove it. My biggest pain post-op was the incision where they pulled out the port. Having said that, I was down for about 10 days. I could have gone to work at 8 days but that would have been pushing it. For me, about the same as the band surgery. Everyone is different.

Some surgeons remove the band and put in a sleeve in two surgeries. I was only wiling to do one surgery. My surgeon prefers to do it in one surgery whenever possible. The only time he can't is when there is so much scar tissue it takes too long to remove the band. This has happened only once for him.

The recovery was maybe a little longer with the sleeve than the band but I'm 10 years older (now 64).

For me the big difference is the lap-band is a restriction. The sleeve is a small pouch which limits the amount you can eat. They also remove part of the stomach that creates the hormone grulin (SP?). I am not hungry at all, my cravings are gone. I love healthy food. (I'm told that can change in the years to come but for now the sleeve is working well for me.

There is a lot of information on this board about lap-band to sleeve revisions.

Thanks for sharing, really appreciate that!

I'm so so frightened to get the band removed because I keep reading stories about permanent phrenic nerve damage, scar tissue, but worst of all: Permament tightness around where the band was.

I did NOT know this going in. I was assured that removal was an option in the worst case scenario. No one told me that scar tissue builds up around the band making removal much more complex than putting it in

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

My band removal - after 10 years and epic failure - was more emotionally distressing then physically difficult. I felt the crushing weight of failure and I was hungry like a wolf. Omg it was terrible.

Once I processed some grief I was so glad to be rid of it. The port for example just symbolized that foreign body that caused me so much pain and embarrassment (vomiting).

I know others do well with the band but I am so grateful it is gone....it was removed nearly 4 years ago.

[Lapbandster 496]

Wow so sorry to hear that. Yeah the part about feeling like a failure is something I can really resonate with. Despite the fact that I followed the rules ( I wasn't one of those people who kept the band too tight intentionally just to expedite weight loss etc.)

For a long long time I pretended like the band was working- I never wanted to admit that I was a failure but looking back it truly never worked. It never abated my hunger and I NEVER felt satiated. Either I felt stuck/uncomfortable pressure in my chest or the food went straight through he band leaving me at square one.

I would tell this to my surgeon but he would always assure me I was in my "sweet spot" every time I left his office.

I was ashamed it wasn't working but now I'm gonna have to come to terms with it.

[notabandaid1 5]

I was banded 9 years ago this month. The band has been empty for the last 8 years because I had such reflux and was unable to eat solid food. So, now I'm going through the process of slowly filling the band over time to get to a working level of restriction. If the reflux comes back it's coming out. I don't think I will consider any revisions. I'm pretty sure there's complications with every form of WLS and now I'm feeling pretty nervous.

[horsegirl315 114]

I did feel a panic at one time or another, I'm quite young, was banded in my mid 20s and have been banded since jan 2012. Lost 80 pounds, then one day a switch flipped that just stopped me from eating. It got so bad after a while I couldn't even drink. It took a month for that to happen and once I couldn't keep Water down I knew I needed fill out. I was reluctant at first because previous to that I was in my sweet spot, but had a few issues with PB...nothing unusual from eating too fast or too big of a bite...but for whatever reason, my band got angry! I am now at 62 lb loss, so I did gain some once half my fill was removed. Still not sure if it slipped, we started with an unfill to see if that would help first. I allowed myself to heal and feel totally 100% before I began fills again, almost a year. Sometimes I do freak out thinking about how long this foreign body is going to be inside me, but I know I was at a point where I physically couldn't have lost weight without it, and it will always be there for me to use as a tool. But, if I was having issues and it never even worked for me, I would definitely consider taking it out!