13 years since surgery CONSTANT PAIN
In may of 2003 I had the lapband put in. I have had 4 or 5 incidences of inflamation (that is what the doctor said) and chest pain here and there. I became pregnant in 2005 and had all fluid removed...about a year later, I had a small amount of fluid put back in but had no real success with true weightloss. I became pregnant in 2010 and had fluid removed again. I became pregnant again in late 2013. ALL 3 deliveries were csections. My daughter was born in august 2014 and about 5-6 weeks later, I began having major issues with acid reflux and abdominal pain. I have severe anxiety and began to think I was dying. I had an EGD and CT scan done and I was told it was just gastritis and put on PPI for a long time. I took myself off because they just kept increasing the doses and nothing was helping. Diet changes helped. I have had intermittent abdominal pain since then. I had a pretty bad flare up of abdominal and side and back pain in September of 2015 and had several tests run again to just be told it is IBS. I am not in the middle of another (the worst yet) case of abdominal and back pain and again, chest pain. My anxiety is through the roof. I went for cardiology appointments again and everything tested fine. The cardiologist is convinced it is my lapband and wants me to see a different bariatric surgeon for help. I am scared. I want this thing out. I am afraid it has caused permanent damage. Any one out there have similar experience? HELP!
Get that thing removed. Very few people can tolerate it long term. It does cause vagus nerve damage, reflux, esophageal damage, the list is endless. If it is causing damage then the longer it is in the worse it will get. The damage is forever. :o(
I am not here to scare anyone, but I feel I must share my journey. I was diagnosed in 2001 with Bi-Polar disorder I, The medications that I had to take to save my sanity caused me to gain more than 100 lbs in a little over 2 years. I became desperate and had lap-band surgery in 2005 and after quite a few fills, I ended up loosing 100+ lbs. Sounds great, right? Not so fast. I was so tight I literally threw up everything I put in my mouth, even water. At first, I was so grateful to lose the weight that I was on an emotional high. I began avoiding social settings that involved food, if my husband and I had to attend functions, he was my wing man, explaining to everyone why I didn't eat anything, or ran off to the bathroom in the middle of a great conversation. Eventually, both he and I got tired of making excuses for my behavior.
In 2009 while on vacation, I decided that I was going to be normal despite my condition. I ate everything in sight, and this led to an obstruction so bad, it caused the band to slip after violent vomiting for 24 hours straight. I was put on a plane, sent to a hospital via ambulance, and put on IVs and injections for 7 days before my heart was strong enough to have revision surgery. The surgeon replaced the band and I was so ill that they left it unfilled for 9 months. In that time I gained 60 lbs back. I had a fill, and worked at getting some of the weight off, then in 2011 I went back for more aggressive fills. I lived in constant pain and misery because I was so tight for the next 2 years. Then in 2013 I went to a new surgeon and asked him to take all the fluid out because I simply couldn't take the terrible restrictions any more.
For the next 3 years, I struggled with vomiting, severe pain when eating, and just feeling like death every day. I wasn't sleeping because I would wake up in the middle of the night choking on my own fluids, I would run off to the bathroom at the most in opportune times in social settings and I was literally afraid of putting anything in my mouth for fear of the results. As it was, I lived on processed chips like Doritos and Cheetos, Ice Cream, and Ensure shakes, which I would down 4 or 5 a day. I lost no weight, felt exhausted and terrible every single day. Finally, this week I called my original surgeons office, told them I needed an immediate appointment, and went in for an esophogram. At this point, since I believed my band was completely clear, I feared the worst. Either my band had slipped again, or I was dealing with cancer.
I had a panic attack in the Drs office, which did not make things any better, but by the time the Dr came in I shouted "I need this damn thing out of me!" Luckily he was patient, looked at the xray, and announced that I was as full as you can get on an old band. WTF? was my response. He patiently told me that the other Dr I saw must have assumed that I had a newer band which could hold 10cc, instead of the 4cc the old band i had. I was at 3cc, which is as tight as they will fill someone. He then told me that I needed a "band vacation" and unfilled me completely. Since then, I've slept very well, I feel great, I have more energy than I've had in years, and have not had to run off to the bathroom every few minutes. I'm craving vegetables and good protein, fruit and whole grains. I'm eating very healthy and I love it. I feel so great, I actually had an adverse reaction to just the smell of someone eating Cheetos in the office.
The moral to my story is know your body, know your medical situation, and never, ever take what a professional says at face value. I hope that someone out there will benefit from my story.
Cheers!
on 5/23/16 3:18 pm
Hi
I can add my story to the long litany of people who have shared their problems of the band with you.
I was banded in May of 2010 and did very well with managing the fills, weight loss and exercise. Then my mom got sick, and I brought her up to live with me until she passed from lung cancer. The stress of everything involved in her illness and death, the settling of the estate ( I was executrix) made my band very tight and changed my eating habits. I switched to soft foods, comfort foods, foods that would not get "stuck" and cause problems. So I gained some of my weight back ( not a lot, though) However, the main symptom and issue that continued to persist as the band became tighter and my vomiting/sliming was persistent was my atrial fibrillation (AF) (irregular heart rhythm of the top chambers of the heart that, if left untreated, could result in clot formation and subsequent stroke or ischemia of other organs) My episodes of AF were very frequent, resulting in ER visits several times a year (accumulating over $5,000 per year in medical costs!) I went to my cardiologist who was very pro lap band and told him that I thought the AF was vagally mediated (from the vagus nerve); he did not believe me at all. I went to my primary doctor, same thing. Even after presenting medical journal after medical journal article about the vagus nerve influencing AF and even CAUSING AF, my primary sent me to someone who would objectively test the function of the vagus nerve which showed objective evidence that the vagus nerve was indeed over stimulated (Excess) possibly, they admitted, from the irritation of the GI system and the vagus nerve pressure from the band. However, they left me in AF for over 3 months! until they could "decide" what was causing it. The NP sent me for sleep apnea eval which was negative for sleep apnea, and blood work and an entire barrage of tests all which came out negative for the reasons to cause AF. They would not convert me to normal rhythm (via electrocardioversion ((electric shock paddles)) ****il they found the reason. My heart remodeled into a different pattern of electrical activity in the mean time and I would not and could not stay in normal rhythm after all that time! But, I participated in clinical study that was geared to reduce the vagal excess effect on the heart and other organs. It included a very specific exercise regimen (quite a dedicated one!) and a medication which was an anti-cholinergic (reduces the effect of the vagus nerve on end organs). With in six months, I no longer experienced the shoulder pain, the GERD, and the EKG showed "Significant changes" in heart function. I continue the regimen for another 9 months and am re-evaluated. So, at least my cardiologist and primary were open to hearing that the vagus nerve CAN and DOES get irritated and damaged by the band ( I forgot to say that before the testing, I had the band completely emptied, much to the chargrin of the WLS doc and WLS RN. ) I have had NO episodes of AF for 9 months, can sleep normally-including sleeping with my head completely level with my shoulders instead of elevated and have no pain anymore. The band is still there and I will someday have it removed.
So, I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I am persistent when I know I am right. So it seems the damage that was done to the vagus nerve may still be there, but the effect of that damage has begun to improve. I would NEVER recommend the Lap Band to anyone. Even as one who was very cautious with all the rules and had great success, there were problems. Ya' just can't go compressing a major nerve, creating wide spread inflammation of the GI system and assume there will be no consequences to the patient. But the medical model is flawed (as we all are). I am thankful that my heart has improved and will, hopefully, continue to do so.
Best of luck with your endeavor to have the band removed and your subsequent healing. Keep us posted. I wanted to pass along my story so that you can be affirmed in your suspicions but at the same time realize some hope to the situation.
Good luck!
Susan
Like Nic I too suffer from permanent damage from that piece o'crap band! I have severe heartburn and so far no drug even touches it. I have gastroparesis or slow stomach emptying which is painful and means very careful eating. I was a healthy fat person and now I'm a sickly skinny person, nope it wasn't even worth the trade off. Wish I had never heard the words lap band! So glad you are getting yours removed, it can only make your life better
FluffyPuff · 2 replies · 892 views
Member Services · 0 replies · 745 views
