The Reason I was rebanded

[katerzz 4]

DeLarla asked me if their was a post about my story and why I was rebanded a couple days after my first band and I realized it would be much better to post my story then to keep responding to the PMs I get about it hehe so here goes..

As most everyone knows the month before my surgery I was a nervous reck.. just like everyone else is. It wasn't until the night before when I decided that this was my only option and if I didn't do it I would die anyway.. at least be unhappy and miserable until I did. So the night before my surgery I decided the risks were minimal and after 2 years of research I was absolutely certain that nothing would go wrong.

I must mention that this post isn't intended to make anyone second guess their decision however; I want people to realize there is risks that no one ever told me.

I went into surgery on April 11th at about 11 am, my biggest fear at that point was that my liver would be to big and I'd go through the surgery only to come out with no band. When I came too I don't remember much. I was moved to the floor of the hospital and settled into bed.

My surgeon came by soon after reaching my room and told my family everything went great and I should be out of the hospital the following day following my Barrium swallow. That night I was to only do ice chips and small sips of Water.< /p>

Well that evening things seemed fine as I didn't know any different. I tried ice chips and small sips of water but it felt very odd and I just decided it wasnt worth it. My throat began to hurt something terrible and because I couldn't swallow I was unable to take my birth control pill.

I walked throughout the night and did as requested by my nurses. I was on a morphine drip and was also given lortabb twice throughout the night.

The next morning I went for my berrum swallow and well 45 minutes later I was informed that the liquid wasn't moving. I was sent back to the room where my surgeon met me and told us it was probably swelling and we'd try again in the afternoon.

So by the afternoon (almost two days without anything to eat or drink) I went for another swallow and this time it was moving but it was barely moving. I ended up staying in the hospital for another night and we would try again in the morning.

The night was a lot harder this time around considering I hadn't had my birth control I of course had a little visit from something most of us really wouldn't want to deal with when you can barely move! I also was getting dehydrated (even with IVs.. which btw my IV had to be replaced about 4 times by this point) so I also got extreme diahrea.

So the third day in the hospital (April 13th) I was woken up at 7 am to do a barrum swallow. This time it was just as bad as the day before and at this point my surgeon decided to call around and fiind out what could be wrong and what to do about it. He called Inamed along with some of the top band doctors in the world. At about noon I was informed i'd be going in for another surgery and we would get to the bottom of it.

So here I am scared and sick out of my mind. We didnt know if the band was misplaced, if it had slipped some how or if I'd wake up with no band at all. I was taken into surgery at 3 pm on April 13th.

This recovery I dont remember at ALL I remember waking up that night in my room. During surgery they put in a picc line (for those who don't know its basically an IV that goes to your heart that your vein can't collapse on)

I was horribly groggy and literally thought I was dying. I couldnt control anything including my thoughts. This I find out now is probably from going under twice plus the morphine and lortabb build up.

So the next day I had another berrum swallow and everything went down slow but much better than before. My surgeon came in and met with us and let us know that they took out the 9.75 band and put in the VG 11 cc band. He told me that basically I had an artery that was blocking the band due to swelling and it was causing the acids in my stomach to eat away at my esophagus and such. which is why my throat hurt and the swelling was the reason I couldnt swallow anything.

I was gonna stay in the hospital one more night and if i could drink by the next morning I would be able to go home. That night was the best night I had the whole experience. With my new picc (IV) line delivering the morphine and being able to swallow made a HUGE difference. I was a lot more sore than I should have been since they did have to go in twice but overall I was in good shape by that point.

The next morning I was able to eat my Jello and drink some tea. I had a barrium swallow and by the afternoon I was able to go home.

The next few days were VERY rough. Being at home was not as easy as being in the hospital (the hospital i was at had bariatric beds.. made things much easier) I was in extreme pain for a couple days and then I started to feel a lot better. By the following week I was feeling pretty good and things looked good.

Basically I think its important that people realize

-you may need more than a couple days to recover. the last thing I expected was to be in the hospital an extra 4 days.

-there is a LOT more that can go wrong than what you hear about. Every person is different and no one had ever heard of an artery being the cause for such problems. This artery is apparently the same one that we all have mine just wasnt in the same place as most people.

-make sure you have faith in your surgeon. I've heard many times where a surgeon has just taken the band out in situations like this. My surgeon did *everything* he could for me and used every resource he had to get things to work for me. Thank god he was my surgeon or right now I could be bandless.

So what about now?

I have lost 40 lbs since April 11th. I feel great and things are going great. I had my first fill at 6 weeks and when normally they would put in 4 ccs into the VG band 4ccs were too much for me. I couldnt swallow at all and it really hurt. He took out 2ccs and I will be going in for another 2ccs in a week. He told me that I just must have some special force that is letting me loose the weight I am without having much restriction. He wasnt surprized I couldnt handle 4ccs after the ordeal I went through in the hospital. Hopefully things will work out in the future fills and really it wont matter much as long as I still loose as well as I am.

Every person is different, every situation and case is different. I just thank my lucky stars that I can trust and rely so much on my surgeon. Who knows what would have happened if I would have been sent home or they couldnt have found an alternative way around the massive swelling.

[DeLarla 22]

Kat, thank you so much for posting. I'm a huge advocate of letting people know how bad things can get since I think it's only fair that people see the whole picture before jumping into this. I asked before my surgery of all the possible complications, and nobody ever mentioned anything like this. Then again, they never mentally prepared me for a port infection, either. I've had two ports removed and appreciate this post. I hope you're doing well. Thanks again.

P.S. I'm in Vegas and hope to meet you some day. Keep me in the loop on Reno events. My best friend lives there and I owe her a visit. I would love to meet your surgeon, too. I'm glad he found the problem. If you were banded in Mexico.... YIKES, let's not go there.

[vinesqueen 2]

thanks for posting Kat. The band isn't "one-size-fits-all." Espeically if you have ... diviatiations from "standard" physiology. (hi mom!)

[Vera 7]

Good post Kat. I'm so happy for you. Thanks for sharing.

Lisa, a simular situation happened in Mexico while I was there for my re-banding. Dr. Sanchez had banded a large BMI lady with the Inamed 10 and she couldn't swallow, she was even vomiting. The next day Dr. Sanchez went back in and removed fat between her stomach and the band. 2 days later she was at the guest house explaining the ordeal in detail and how happy she was.

[hagerteresa 3]

Thanks for Sharing! You made some excellent points and I'm glad you came thru it all okay. My surgeon told my brother that I had very fatty organs and esophagus and he had to carve a lot out where the band was placed... Don't know if that is a good or a bad thing but found it worth remembering. Best wishes, Teresa

[Mita 2]

Thanks for posting your story. I am glad that the outcome is postive and you are doing great with your weight loss.

[Jammin & Losin 1]

Thanks for posting your story. I hope you will continue to have a problem free journey with your band. I wish you lots of success and congrats on being such a strong person and on your great progress so far!!!!

[Madeline's mom 0]

Thanks for sharing your story with us that is a very interesting! I hope that with everthing you have been through that the rest of your journey is smooth sailing!