Want Lap Band Removed!!

Hi it's been years since I posted here...

Long story short I had my lap band surgery in 2008 - never been very successful...had fills, unfills, tried many different things, I've thrown up and sip up for years and honestly I'm just tired of it!! I cant get eat solids a lot of times...even when I drink something hot. It's not worth the struggle....

Anyway, just wondering if anyone here is in the same situation? I am NOT knocking this surgery - it just has not worked for me!

My insurance no longer covers weight loss surgery so I'll be a self pay to have it removed. I live in Georgia and would love to hear from anyone in area that could recommend their surgeon.

Thank you all in advance

Hi A.C.

I have a very similar story. I was banded in 2010/2011 and failed at losing weight on the lap band restrictive diet. I have vomited after nearly every meal since day 1 regardless of my efforts. I am currently seeking a surgeon to get mine removed. I did end up losing weight, but I had to start drinking with meals to get my healthy food down. It's taken me 8 years to lose 155 lbs. I am in Florida, so I do not know of anyone in your area, however there is a really great facebook group called "Failed Lap-bands and realize bands" that offers a few things:

1. a sense of community and support through the painful insurance approval/denial process

2. 3,500 banded people to ask for advice and referrals

3. A regularly maintained document with surgeon suggestions by state

I hope you are able to find what you need to get rid of this awful band.

Hang in there.

-Amanda

Hello! I was banded in 2006 and lost 105 of my desired 130 pounds I wanted. It was 12 years of pure hell. Never was hydrated enough and some days nothing would go down. Every morning around 2am... I would wake up choking on fluids that were still sitting there. This past Friday I had my band removed, thank goodness! Be cause I know myself, I WILL regain, but Im sad I have to gain a fair amount of weight before my surgeon will do GBP..I dread being fat again..For all those folks that say those of us that choose surgery for weight loss is the easy way out... shame on you- every single day was an enormous struggle.

I was banded in 2008 and was successful to lose about 65 pounds. In the past 1.5 years, I have been having issues that nobody seems to figure out what is causing my issues. I have really bad nausea that come and go. I have seen every kind of specialist there is and have run so many tests, CT scans, etc. that we have ruled out many of the things that scare people (cancer, heart, etc). Now I started to get these pains at the base of my skull, a slight throb in the back of my throat and the nausea still shows up at least weekly. What I think is that the vagus nerve could be getting irritated and cause these issues. Could the band be irritating the vagus nerve and cause these issues? Either way, I have 2 doctors appointments setup this next week...I see a neurologist and a bariatric surgeon. I plan on having my band removed because we have ruled out everything I can think of and this is the last thing left that could be causing issues. Fortunately, my insurance covers removal and we have met our out of pocket for the year!! I have no doubt that the removal will cure the issues and after referring to Dr. Google for the past year, I am looking forward to having this band removed!

I'm surprised that your insurance will not cover band removal since it's technically not a weight loss surgery. I have United Healthcare, and they are covering my excision. I did develop issues with stuckage and slippage and a small hiatal hernia that developed above the band, so I guess removal is justified.

I just had my removal surgery on Tuesday. 72 hours later, I'm still having some pain whenever I have to use my abdominal muscles, but it seems to be getting a little better so far. No issues with restriction at all, as you might guess since the band is gone, but this leaves me having to be very careful with my eating habits so as not to gain weight. In six months or so, I'll make a decision about whether or not to pursue sleeve gastrectomy or just go it alone.

Good luck with removal, but I would really have your surgeon seek approval from your insurance company. They are good at writing just the right kind of letter to get payment approved.

Jen