my band has a LEAK and has to be replaced... anyone else??

[peaches9 3]

Hi there. Update: Not a good situation. I still have the broken, leaking/empty band. This is becoming VERY complicated and maddening. I'll get to the most recent/worst part thus far... I went to a new doc on Friday, the only one my insurance would let me see for a consult (which, even with insurance, I had to pay $300 for ONE 15 minute office visit, but anyways)... I was told by this doctor that I can have my current band removed, no problem, however, it is unlikely that my insurance will pay ANYTHING to replace the band, because I am no longer "fat" as he put it. He told me he has run into this one other time recently, and that he is still battling for that person, but it's not likely the insurance will budge. This is soooooooo maddening, and insane! Almost six months now with this broken band, and counting. Up 17 pounds (which I'm surprised isn't more). Just hanging on by a thread everyday, my mental health (stress/anxiety) is really not good. So... I would be happy to share the rest (there's more to this), but would rather not share it all here. Feel free to PM me or email me, and I'll give you the full scoop. (There a side of this that has to do with Allergan as well.)

I am SO glad to hear that you were able to get this solved! Congrats! Cross your fingers and toes for me! I need a miracle.

This is a terrible story. I also had a nicked tubing(near the port) and had to have re-surgery.

It took months to convince them that I had NO restriction after a fill... I was up to 9.75 cc's in a 10 cc band (dah!!!) where did they think the Fluid was going?

I've had my surgery in March and the band is now working o.k. I have had several fills and have restriction but now I can't get my "HEAD" back into the losing mode. I am making poor food choices and although I am maintaining my 60 lb loss, I still have considerable weight to go.

Have you considered going back to your original Dr. In Mexico? What are your thoughts.

Peaches

[skminnie 0]

I fear that my band also has a leak and it is pissing me off. After I get a fill I feel restriction for about a day, maybe two and then nothing. I haven't really had any restriction since early on and I feel horrible about this whole situation. Mad, sad, angry, depressed and worried about how I am going to pay for another surgery. I am going to call my doctor today and express my concerns and ask about alternatives. I want to know how much it will cost to have a second surgery. My insurance doesn't cover anything since I was a self pay. I never really lost much weight and didn't know anything was wrong until about a month ago. Maybe I just didn't want to admit that there could be something wrong. This is just great.

[peaches9 3]

I fear that my band also has a leak and it is pissing me off. After I get a fill I feel restriction for about a day, maybe two and then nothing. I haven't really had any restriction since early on and I feel horrible about this whole situation. Mad, sad, angry, depressed and worried about how I am going to pay for another surgery. I am going to call my doctor today and express my concerns and ask about alternatives. I want to know how much it will cost to have a second surgery. My insurance doesn't cover anything since I was a self pay. I never really lost much weight and didn't know anything was wrong until about a month ago. Maybe I just didn't want to admit that there could be something wrong. This is just great.

Go back to your Doctor and get him to fix it... It should be covered by HIM. My Doctor (also self pay) follows his patients for life. If there are problems that have to do with the faulty band, or faulty fills resulting in a leak that is THEIR problem.. and they should fix it for free...

Stand your ground,

Good luck

[SHAZ 0]

Hi Everyone

It's been a while since I posted anything, but I think this is worth my effort.

I was banded Jan 2005 and have had some of the difficulties I have read here, such as acid reflex, vomiting and trouble swallowing. I had my band completely deflated and was still experiencing the clogging of the band therefore vomiting. I decided to try and deal with this but it definitely decreased the quality of my life.

Recently, I began experiencing sharp (ice-pick-like) pains in my lower abdomen. The pain moved from one side of my abdomen to the other constantly. I visited two emergency rooms, my private doctor and an urgent care facility before finding out via a c-scan (the second one), that the band had completely broken away from the port and was floating around in my belly. I had the band totally removed a week ago along with a Diagnostic Laporoscopy ( they look around in the abdomen while they are doing surgery). Now, I am experiencing something that feels like some stitches may have broken. I took a deep breath and felt something like stitches breaking away. Has anyone had an experience similar to this?

Thanks

Shaz

[make33 2]

youknowit: I'm in the same boat as you! 2 1/2 years out and suddenly I realized I lost all restriction in January. Under fluoro my surgeon kept putting in 3 1/2 cc and only getting back 3 1/2cc--so there was nothing in my Band (should have had 4 cc in it already).

He gave me 4 1/2 cc that day but the restriction only lasted maybe 4 days, if that. He says they can replace the tubing or the entire Band if needed--and I totally emphathise with the weight gain--7 pounds and counting. :thumbup:

I'm going to call my insurance company today to find out whether a "fix" is covered--because so many of you brought up good issues.

So where are you with this mess now? Please say you were able to get it fixed or replaced with no issues...

[Daisalana 33]

Gosh it's been a while, my update to update to update.. HEH! My tube broke while I was pregnant. I had to pay (out of pocket) about $10k to get a new band put in. Well actually, I had to buy the whole band (you can't buy pieces) and they replaced the tubing & port.

Allergan is currently entertaining reimbursement. My doc kept the tubing to show it was defective (it actually just snapped in half). I'll let ya know what ever happens.

And my band is not covered by insurance..

Oh man and as for weight gain... pregnancy + Broken Band = bad.

I lost 120lbs the first year, gained 60lb while pregnant, and since my band has been fixed (Oct. '09) I haven't gained or lost a single pound.

[youknowit 11]

So where are you with this mess now? Please say you were able to get it fixed or replaced with no issues...

I'm going to be totally frank with you... this whole journey with the band, from the day it broke, has been a nightmare. I don't want to sugar coat it. No, I didn't get it replaced, no ALLERGAN wasn't willing to help (they even told me I could just "leave it there, it won't hurt you"). A local doctor (not the one who did my original surgery) told me the same bullshiz - keep it in, no big deal. Well, it turned out to be a pretty big deal. I was self-pay, and my insurance wasn't going to kick down anything to help... the local doctor that my insurance recommended me to wanted 10k for REMOVAL (yes, this was just for removal, to replace they were going to charge a total of 18k). It was going to be impossible. The final outcome... I got a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy last week (Feb 1, 2010). However, that's not the whole story...

In March of 2009, I had the band removed in Mexico with an excellent doctor... We had planned to revise to a sleeve at that time, however, when they go in there they found I was severely eroded in three places, and they had to literally cut the band out in pieces, five pieces to be exact. I was not able to get the sleeve at that time. This was a terrible experience, waking up with no band, no sleeve, and a bunch of scars on my stomach from the severe erosion. I was pretty unwell for a while after that, both mentally and physically. Took me a long time to heal, and it was just rough... So after that, I had to save up and wait ANOTHER year (until last week) to get my sleeve. I gained back 60 pounds during this ordeal. It has been one of the most mentally trying times of my life...

I wish you the best, and am glad to hear that your doctor is at least going to try to go for a replacement, if that is what you want. Personally, before you jump right into getting it replaced, I might recommend that you do some research on the success of replaced bands and associated weightloss, problems, etc. I have read a few studies and bits of material here and there about this, and the stats aren't very good... Many have slips and other problems with a second band, many don't lose the weight they've regained, etc. Just do your research, and I'm sure you'll do what's best for you. I guess the best research in regards to this was my gut... At first I wanted another band, I was so freaked out, I had lost 78 of the 100 pounds I needed to lose, I was so happy... I didn't even consider something else. Then my gut told me (along with the associated research): This might not be a good idea. You might need to do something else. Do you really want another very expensive piece of plastic that can very likely just break again, BACK into your body? The ultimate answer for me was NO, so I moved on... I am not saying you should do this, I am just saying you might want to consider ALL of your options...

I hope everything goes well for you. Hang in there, sister! :thumbup:

[lpglarry 1]

i am sorry to her about your leak on the band,, what type band did u have,?when did u get it done?good luck, you might want to get the sleeve done instead,seeing u had bad luck already