Band hell

[rockylinx 0]

Hello All,

Well, here is my story, I was banded on the 14th. In the hospital the surgeon mentioned that the band was tight around my stomach. Apparently men have a larger fat storage around the stomach. This was my issue. She (surgeon) did an xray and said I had a little contrast pass through the band. I was also told to do a 6 week liquid diet so the excess fat deposit around my stomach would shrink. In the hospital I was started on the basic 1oz per 15min routine. On the 15th they had me swallow my heart melds and continue with the liquids. I was released the afternoon of the 15th. Friday the 16th the crap hit the fan. Around 2 Pm I took my heart med and the pill got stuck. I couldn't get Water down. Everything that went down came back up!!!!!! I was rushed to the hospital that night. They did another xray and the the band was completely closed!!! the night doctor said that its choking my stomach inside and out. I was put on an IV from the 16th until today the 19th. Im happy to be home and back on the 1oz per 15 min so far so good.

Help is this normal has any one had a tight band ?? If its too tight why was it installed ??

any encouraging feed back

What does my future with the band look like?? :scared2:

[Sue Magoo 71]

Rocky:

I think there are different size bands, and also everybody's body is different. You may have had more swelling once the band was implanted than some people have.

I hope they figure out what to do soon so that you can get on your way to loosing the weight you want to loose with the least amount of interruption in your normal, day-to-day life.

I love my band. I hope you can soon love your band too.

Take care.

Sue

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Which band did she put in? I have the Lap band APL...(the large one)....

[crzytchr 3]

I am glad that you are starting to heal. It sounds like your stomach is sensitive to being disturbed and was swelling. Mine is like that. I had restriction just from having the band put in place, so I lost 25 pounds before I ever had a fill and each fill I get is only 1cc. Also, I just had a hysterectomy. They didn't really get anywhere near my band, but just disturbing my abdominal area caused swelling and my band became tighter. Since you are having this kind of response from your band, please make sure you start your fills off slowly. It is real easy to get too tight and you already know what happens when that occurs.

Also, have they given an alternate way for you to take your heart meds? Can it be broken, or is it available in a liquid? I would hate for this to reoccur. Oh, and sometimes drinking something warm will open your stoma a little more. Try drinking some warm tea or coffee if your surgeon allows.

[itschoice 0]

I got my band put on on 1/15/09 and on 1/16/09 they had to go back in and unbuckle it. Now I have a standard size band that is unbuckled until the swelling goes down (about 4 weeks). The doctor said sometimes this happens and I will probably have some restriction even without a fill.

I am a 5' 2.5" female and I weigh 225lbs. He said he could change it to the bigger band but as I lose weight will it get too big? Well who knows...I do know that the entire thing was quite traumatic. I am glad that I am not alone in this. I thought it was just me.

I hope you feel better and I hope they can buckle mine in 4 weeks with out swelling. Let me know how things go with you.

[rockylinx 0]

Hello itschoice,

My heart goes out to you. They told me that I will have to unbuckle it as well if it doesn't heal. When they said that my heart broke. I fell your pain and im sorry.

I will no longer take whole pills. Crush split or liquid meds. I talked to the doctor, so that issue is resolved. They installed the Realize band due to its bigger size. The doctor had the ability to install both the lap or the realize band in case of these issues.

Pete

[Brandy~ 2]

I am sorry to hear youre having complications. I think that you are experiencing swelling and you may just be more sensitive than some.

I think that staying on liquids and waiting for the swelling to go down is going to be the answer... Along with crushing your pills.

Hang in there.. This isn't the most common issue but it can be resolved I am sure.

[itschoice 0]

Hi Rocky

I hope you are feeling better. I am feeling a bit better myself. I am also optimistic that the swelling will go down. I do worry that it will swell again when they close it again. However, I know that every pound I loose will give it a bit more room so since I am on liquids anyway I am sure I will loose a few pounds in the next 4 weeks. Also, my doctor said that the procedure to close it is not even close to the amount of trauma to the body as when the band was put on. So I think everything will be fine.

I am glad your band is still hooked and you can get fluids in. The swelling will go down soon. You have stuck it out this far a day or 2 will make a big difference in swelling.