New to this site

I am new to this site. I have been considering weight loss surgery for a while now. I have always put if off due to all of the controversial information. I know that with every surgery, medicine, or procedure that there are risks/side effects/opinions. However, I feel that there are so many different types of weight loss surgeries that it is hard to choose one. I want to make sure that I choose the right surgery for me. I do not want to make a decision & it not be the best one. I have done a lot of reading on the various types of surgeries. I feel that they all have their advantages and disadvantages. However, I think that with each page comes a general list of problems that could exist, things that could happen, and just a standard explanation of the process.

I would feel a lot more comfortable if I had personal opinions from people who have actually been there & know from experience. From what I have seen so far I feel that this is a wonderful site. I was hoping that if everyone didn't mind that they could give me their opinion of the Lap-Band. What was the process of getting it done? What was the recovery like after the procedure? How long with no food? What has your weight loss been like? What problems have you had with the Lap-Band? How many visits are you having to make to the doctor? Have any other medical problems or concerns came about since having the Lap-Band? Have any of you had children since having the Lap-Band in? If so what was your pregnancy like? Did you have any complications with the pregnancy due to the Lap-Band?

I'm sorry that this is so long. I just wanted to get hands on information from people who have had the Lap-Band surgery.

Hi, it's nice to "meet" you.

I'm one of the unfortunate ones who had nothing but complications with my lapbanding. It was a horrible experience, honestly. I had surgery in 2002 and removal a couple of years later.

The biggest problem was the nonstop left shoulder pain (caused by irritation of the Vagus nerves near the diaphragm), as well as severe constipation and abdominal pain. My band slipped, my stomach twisted into a Figure 8 and my intestines kinked. I had to have emergency surgery to try to repair the damage but ultimately ended up having the band removed when I nearly died from complications.

My situation wasn't the norm... but the referred left shoulder pain IS a LOT more prevalent with gastric banding than other types of WLS. It sounds like something that would be "manageable," but it was truly excruciating and chronic. No medication helped control my pain.

I lost over 100 pounds, but it was due to the fact that I was completely unable to eat solid foods. I've since gained most back, but I feel so much better physically that it seems like an even trade! 

I would not recommend the lapband to anyone, personally, just because I believe that there are much better options. The VSG, for instance.  It may SEEM like a more complex operation, but with the high incidence of repeat surgeries the lapband often requires, it's a better choice, in my opinion. I have tremendous amounts of adhesions due to the multiple corrective surgeries I underwent. It's something to think about... it really affects a person in the long run.

Read all the sites here... Lapband, VSG, Revisions, Failed, Complications.... you'll have a lot more information than you'll know what to do with! But it's important to know the good and bad before you step foot into the operating room.

Best of luck to you!

And I am probably the other end of the spectrum from NM: had no major issues with the surgery, DID develop a hiatal hernia and band slip (because of it) that required surgery to repair, but overall did really, unexpectedly well, and would opt for the band again in a heartbeat.

Bette,

Your experience is exactly what I had hoped for going in! I'm happy that your experience has been a good one.

I wanted to add that I had a very bad surgeon... and that added to the number of complications I had.  It's important to have an EXPERIENCED surgeon who takes any problems seriously, wouldntcha agree!?

Thank you!  I WISH that everyone could have a great experience.

And I always wish there could be some way to figure out why the band DOES or DOESN'T work for different people. It can't just be bad/inexperienced surgeons (although I know that is a huge part of it!) And you're right: the more experienced a surgeon (in this and any other surgical arena), the better a patient's odds of having a healthy, successful surgery.

The only thing I can figure out is that some people have more sensitivity to the Vagus nerve being irritated than others. And the Vagus nerve is the root of the left shoulder pain usually and gagging, etc.

Unfortunately, there's no real way to tell beforehand how your body will react. That would be a boon, if someone could ascertain how your body would react BEFORE having a band placed, wouldn't it?   I would advise against having a band if you already have problems with your tummy, however. Chances are, it will worsen. Especially constipation or a hair trigger gag reflex. You'd be setting yourself up for a world of hurt! 

Bette, did you ever experience the left shoulder pain at all?

I don't have the picture parade that Bette has, but I've done very well with the band.

Started at 383, just a little more than 2 years later I've lost 200+ lbs and expect to lose about 20 more slowly.

Can't address the pregnancy issue as I had mine well before banding, but I've had no complications other than developing some tiny gallstones probably due to rapid weight loss.   Since my insurance requires a HUGE deductible, I'm basically self-pay for "minor" surgeries like gallstone removal, I'm trying to avoid surgery by eating low fat and so far it's working.

Process of getting it done was asking my insurance if they would cover, they said yes.  I had already met my deductible by having to have cancer surgery within my time limit, so there were no 6 month diets or other requirements for me.

Recovery for me was a little rough as my doctor's NP wouldn't prescribe pain medication that was strong enough for me.  But by the end of 2 weeks I was almost back to normal.  

I remember coming home and drinking chicken broth.  Next day was jello, broth & popsicles.  The day after that I think I went to campbells soups whirled in the blender.  By the end of 2 weeks I was back on soft regular food.  There was never a period of "no food", but there was a short time of only liquids.  A little difficult, but not too bad.

Weight loss was slow until I got back on regular food.  This is because liquids and soft foods tend to be higher in calories.  Besides, the immediate post-op time is not about weight loss, it's about healing.  Once I was back on real food, I lost close to 4lbs a week.  Much higher rate than expected.  First 7 months I lost 100lbs.  Again, much higher rate than expected.  

No problems other than the gallstones mentioned above and it's been almost a year since the last attack.  One episode of being too tight & having pain when trying to eat.  A small unfill fixed that.

The first year, I went about every month to every 6 weeks.  I got tiny fills most of the time (.5 or .2cc's) to get my appetite dimmed.  While it might seem a long process, I liked going up slowly as it has let me adjust slowly to new eating habits.  Other doctors or bandsters have different philosophies.   The second year, I went in about every 2 or 3 months.. sometimes getting a fill and sometimes not.  My last fill was in December 2010.  I last saw the nurse in March for my 2 year anni and did not get a fill.  I go in again in June and think I will ask for .3cc and that should hold me at least another 6 months, if not longer.

I'm very pleased with the band and the results I've had.  I do work the band.. it doesn't do it for me.  I eat lean, green and (mostly) clean.  I also exercise quite a bit.  Hope this answers some of your questions.

 I don't have the picture parade that Bette has, but I've done very well with the band.

LOL - well this old broad has been at it a lot longer than you! 

I also just don't like pictures of myself.  :)

I do have some somewhere on here.. some post about 5K's.  But nothing from before surgery.  Too skeery!! LOL

Here is my story:



Part I--Getting the LapBand

So, in 2002, retired early due to disabilities and having a BMI of around 51 and SEVERAL comorbidities that could have killed me, I started looking into wls.

I found this board and old spotlighthealth.  I read here and joined at Spotlight.  The LapBand had recently been approved for weight loss surgery in the US and I thought I had found the best new thing ever.  It was a less invasive surgery, it was adjustable, two years out it provided the same results as RnY, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I started looking for the most experienced surgeons.  My insurance wasn't going to pay for it...it was too new.  So I might as well get my money's worth.  My local surgeons...I think back then Quebbeman and Cuneen were the only ones, had done a few dozen bands.  I checked Europe...Weiner in Frankfurt looked promising...so did (I'm drawing a blank right now...Jacques...I'll get there...Himpens ?) in Belgium and Favretti somewhere in Italy...and then I found Roberto Rumbaut Diaz.

Dr. Rumbaut is a resident of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico...he could be a citizen there, but I don't know.  He was born elsewhere and he grew up for a while in Ohio.  He is fluent in English, which I am not in Spanish...I have survival skills and not much more.  He had participated in the pre-FDA trials of the LapBand with the doctors in Washington state and he practiced at the hospital in Monterrey, Mexico where, if the President of the US needed a hospital while in the area...that would be the one.  What could be better than that?  I'll tell you what.  He was also a band patient.  And the most experienced band surgeon in the Americas.

He implanted my band in October of 2002.

It was the usual up-and-down experience...you just had surgery and there's no restriction and so on.  I don't even remember where I had my first adjustment...it may have been Kuri in Tijuana, who did a lot of adjustments on Rumbaut's local patients.  Later, I flew back down and had an exam by Rumbaut.  After that, all adjustments were done locally.


~~~~~~~


Part II--Living with the f'ing thing

After the first few months of the Where is the Restriction...I had some restriction.  But, I had barfing to go along with it.  Banded people like to call it "PBing" for "Productive Burping."  That's bull****  It is NOT "productive bull****"

You open your mouth, you put food in, you chew carefully, you swallow and shortly thereafter you move on to the next bite.  And then, when what went down, comes up and flies out of your mouth.  That's pretty much puking in my book.  If you want to call it, "Productive Yodeling with a side of Koo-Koo-Kachoo," you go for it.

So the weight came off...slowly, painfully and pukefully.  I'd go to the doctor and get an adjustment and everything would be too tight...and then I'd go and get saline taken out and there was NO restriction.  Weight loss slowed and then stopped.  But that's to be expected when you get to the point that you enter the LapBand Soup and Ice Cream Diet Phase.

Let me start that by mentioning that I've always been a little lactose intolerant...and ice cream has always been a possible problem, so it was NOT high on my list of things to eat until AFTER I had entered LapBand hell.  But eventually, you get to the point when you go out for dinner and want to eat SOMETHING!!! And you know that the cream of something soup is probably the ONLY thing that is going to go down and not cause you to barf on the table.  So that's what you order.  AND, you are still hungry, so you order the ice cream or the lemon meringue pie (because you won't eat the crust... that would get stuck...and you can eat the rest as it will melt in your mouth.)  Guess which way the scale moves when all you can eat are liquids.

This is also the phase where the "I Can Puke Up Bigger Balls of Disgusting Viscous Slime Than You Can Contest" starts.  Here's how that works:  At some point, the brain of MANY banded people decides that the reason things aren't moving on down to the stomach in normal fashion, is that there is a blockage.  Without asking your permission, it decides to "lubricate" said blockage.  It sends goo...slime...a see-through, mucousy ball of snot.  And it can't get through either.  So the brain says, "Oh!  Here's some more!"  And sends even more of that snot...a big ball of mucousy snot..on down toward the blockage.  That reaches about half-way down the esophagus and has no where else to go.  And the brain says, "Oh, ****"  And you start to feel a wave of nausea, because the brain has decided that if it won't go DOWN...yeah...you got it...it's coming up.

We eat out a lot and I knew/know where every restaurant restroom is and how many stalls there are, because when you go running for the restroom, you have to know your chances of finding a stall.  And the parking lots...yes, I've barfed up SLIME in many a parking lot.  And on strangers' lawns on our way home.   This was disgusting an embarrassing and a terrible way to live.


~~~~~~~


Part III--And it Went Downhill from There

The next thing that happened...and we're into late 2004 early 2005 at this point...is that my esophagus joined my brain in not liking or understanding or adjusting to the band.  It did that by ceasing to function.  A working esophagus massages food on down the line until it gets to the stomach.  If it stops massaging, it pretty much becomes a gravity operated deal.  Don't drink water a half hour before your workout or up it comes because it just bounced around in your esophagus and
never GOT to your stomach.   And food?  Some days, you could take one or two WHOLE tablespoons of soup and then you could feel it bouncing around in your esophagus.  Like Venus was on one end and Serena on the other, batting it all back and forth.  Sometimes it would just stop...and for the longest time, you had no idea if it was going down or coming back up.

~~~~~~~


Part IV--Enough is Enough

By late spring of 2005, I had decided that the band was coming out.  I was almost back to my pre-op weight.  Meanwhile, most of my friends who had had the RnY about the same time I had gotten the band were starting to gain weight.  But my two skinny ***** friends with the DS were still pretty skinny.  So that's where I headed.  It took a while and I spent the next several months complaining about my symptoms--some GENIUS doctor decided I needed to learn about life with the LapBand.  (Eat **** and die, doc, I could write the friggin' book.)  No one could find anything that was causing me to barf all the time and or anything that would make me feel those esophageal tennis matches.  But I knew what tests doctors wanted and I had all of them, except the endoscopy, done before my first appointment with Dr. Keshishian, in late summer, I think. 

Dr. Keshishian wanted the band completely empty of any saline and didn't own a Huber needle, so we drove to Tijuana to see Dr. Verboonen.  He was training a new radiology guy.  Verboonen, the radiology dude and my husband were watching as I drank the barium and Verboonen emptied the band while explaining to the radiology dude (this was in Spanish, but I was able to follow) that as soon as the band was empty, we would see the stoma open wider and the barium flow through at a faster rate.  But it didn't even GET that far.  It got about halfway down the esophagus and took a break.  They all just stared.  I started laughing and said, "And THAT is what I've been trying to explain for the past year or so!!!"  When I laughed the barium moved down a little and then back up farther.  Verboonen used the magic controls to make sure the table, which reclined, was in the full upright position.  When I was standing, I bounced a little and the barium finally went through.

~~~~~~

Part V--Yeah, I know

Dr. Verboonen had a very serious look on his face and started to assemble his English to try to explain to me what was going on...and to save him the trouble, I just said, "Esophageal dysmotility?"  He sad, "Oh, thank God...you read a lot, don't you?"

So my esophagus was ****** secondary to the adjustable gastric band.  It hadn't worked well in months, but most of the EXPERT doctors I saw thought I was nuts.   Maybe I am...but the band had ****** up the esophagus regardless of my mental state...and now, finally, it was documented and witnessed.

AND...I had a date to have it removed.


~~~~~~~~

Part VI--Free at last...

It took eleven weeks for the esophagus to heal...and I was very fortunate that it did.  That was a LONG and terrifying eleven weeks, during which I was pretty sure that I had permanently screwed up my entire esophagus and my life.  

The adjustable gastric band, as I experienced it, is a dangerous piece of **** that should be illegal.  As we know now, I was already high risk for band failure as my BMI was too high.   (And I was in another high risk for failure group...older patients...I was 55 at the time.)  But that wasn't why the band almost ruined my esophagus.  It made the mess that it did because it's just a bad, bad, bad idea.


~~~~~There's more...but I'm worn out even THINKING about that time.

Sue