Band has to go - now the struggle begins

[momof2boys 0]

Just found out today the band must go. I have had 4 cases of gastritis and developed esophogus ulcers from the acid reflux. I am three years out and have only lost 20lbs, much like every weight watcher attempt I have made. I unfortunately was told today that the band complications are too much for me to continue having the band. They have offered me a conversion fully covered by insurance... the whole reason I got the band in the first place was because my husband was too scared for me to go through by-pass. Now I feel like I have no choice but to switch and I have to convince him that I am going to be fine. He isn't going to like it but I have to do something....

Any words of wisdom or advise to how to break it to him?

[Nanook 2]

Well you can tell him that the bypass has been done much longer than any other WLS and considering the fact that you had the lap band and it really was never successful you'd like to have a surgery that actually will work for you.

I know the fear factor involved and got the Lap band for the same reason and mine didn't work. After I was banded my daughter got the RNY and has lost close to 150 lbs in one year. Want to talk about fear factor think about having your own child go through it! But I was there with her through the whole thing and so far so good and her whole life has changed for the better! My RNY is next Thursday and if I can do half as well as she has I'll be happy! Good luck to you I know it's not easy but I think you gave the lap band a pretty good try, 3 years, my God, you're a patient woman!! Take care Nancy.

[momof2boys 0]

I gave it what I call a huge try. I don't think he realize how hard this had been on me. I am going to have a real heart to heart and discuss what this means to me. Good luck next week please post how you are doing and any special issues you run into as you are converting. thanks

[Nanook 2]

Good luck with your "talk" I know how they can be and thanks, I'll keep up with my progress and hope it's all good! Take care Nancy.

[momof2boys 0]

Nancy-

Talked to the husband last night. First step in getting this ball rolling. He is in agreement but wants to meet with my doc and NP to make sure they understand where he is coming from. I set up the appt already knowing how he works. So I begin all my retesting next week. I have to have a repeat endoscopy to make sure the ulcer has healed, blood work, ekg, etc. Meet with a nutritionist and a psychologist again, etc. I guess you have to go through everything again for insurance purposes. I will keep you informed of my progress.

Deb

[Nanook 2]

Good luck Deb,

I did have to go through every thing again, including the psych eval and testing. Some of it was due to my surgeon and some due to my insurance company and some due to the fact that I'm revising. It's good that your husband is involved anyway, maybe he can come up with questions that you won't think of and he's also a back up if you forget something. It sounds like your ball is rolling a lot faster than mine did though so that's a good thing. Keeps us posted! Take care Nancy.

[JosieK 120]

hi deb,

sorry the band hasnt worked.

have you looked into the sleeve? there is a forum on this website devoted to it and quite a few bandsters that switched over to it.

to be honest...from what they are saying....i would consider the sleeve if my band started to fail me.

while losing weight ...... i didnt mind all of the gyrations i went through with my band (ie. sliming, fills, unfills)

but i am getting a little concerned about dealing with this for the rest of my life and could possibly switch over in the future.

good luck in your next steps....

josie

[momof2boys 0]

My insurance does not cover the sleeve and I would have to locate a surgeon in my area who does them. Not sure which way to go but am starting the process and should know more in the next few weeks. First step is a repeat endoscopy to make sure my ulcers are gone.

I will keep in touch

Deb

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

My insurance does not cover the sleeve and I would have to locate a surgeon in my area who does them. Not sure which way to go but am starting the process and should know more in the next few weeks. First step is a repeat endoscopy to make sure my ulcers are gone.

I will keep in touch

Deb

I'm going to be really honest here.

I had a band and many problems with it and due to those problems I revised to a sleeve.

Even with band problems we still have to watch food choices. If you lost 20# in all that time maybe restriction alone isn't going to cut it for you. A sleeve is just another restrictive procedure. Sounds like you might want to consider bypass for a few reasons. If your reflux is due to the band then removing the band will help. If your reflux is not due to the band than a sleeve could make it worse.

Bypass will fix the weight issue as well as reflux.

[momof2boys 0]

Is there a risk of reflux with the sleeve as well. Since the restrictive process is what caused my reflux in the first place. I never had reflux prior to surgery. It wasn't food choices that lead to the reflux according to my surgeon (not to say I was perfect but I was really good most of the time). He says that the restrictive process changes the way your food moves through the digestive system and that the restriction caused the reflux. So I would think that the sleeve being a restrictive process as well may lead to reflux and ulcers as well.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Is there a risk of reflux with the sleeve as well. Since the restrictive process is what caused my reflux in the first place. I never had reflux prior to surgery. It wasn't food choices that lead to the reflux according to my surgeon (not to say I was perfect but I was really good most of the time). He says that the restrictive process changes the way your food moves through the digestive system and that the restriction caused the reflux. So I would think that the sleeve being a restrictive process as well may lead to reflux and ulcers as well.

Many people develop reflux with the band. If your reflux is due to the band then you are not likely to have reflux with the sleeve. Just removing the band fixes it. I'd even venture a guess that most have reflux with a band after a couple of years or more. It's not that the band is restrictive that causes reflux, it's the BAND that causes reflux.

The only thing that is different about restrictive is the quantity of food you can eat, it does not really change the way food travels through the rest of your GI system. It does change some hormones and such but not the way food is moved.

If you aren't at least half way to goal with a band (even with band problems) you likely need more than restriction. In my personal opinion I think those of us that are good to go with restriction only are lucky. I mean that sincerely. It isn't always a matter of DOING the lifestyle change, it's being ABLE to do it. Some can, some can't. I don't view it as a personal success that I can do it with restriction alone, I view it as being damned lucky.

Obesity is a disease, it isn't something we caused and it isn't a character flaw. It's a disease every bit as much as diabetes. There are many reasons we eat the way we do and it is not all within our control. The WLS types are a tool to help get it under control. Between WLS and hard work we can do it. Without the tool there is no way we can do it.

There is a risk of reflux with a sleeve. Not a huge risk, but it's there. The way my doc explained it to me is that some continue producing enough stomach acid for an entire stomach. This *does* happen a great deal of the time for the first month or two. Most doctors put their patients on PPIs (Nexium, Protonix, etc.) for a short time after surgery so this doesn't cause a problem. But long term... it's possible but unlikely.