Info on an empty band- so mad I could just.....

I could spit nails!  It looks like I will have to start over like I was banded yesterday as far as fills go!! I go the following ibformation from Sandy of Smarterbandster.com. She is a lap-band educator and workes in a US clinic.

Charline, I don't know the cir****tances here, but I have to say it's best if we never (ever) allow anyone unfamiliar with the band to touch our bands. They will have no training in accessing ports, and it is far trickier than it seems. If he used a fluoro to help, that is another matter - the port will show up like a target and is hard to miss.
However, they also may not know to use the special Huber needles, and very few (if any) docs not in band or chemo practice will have these special needles available. Hubers are the only needles approved for use with the band, as they do not harm the port membrane as they pass thru it.

There was likely no need to completely empty the band. a band surgeon could have assessed how much to withdraw, depending on your symptoms.
A smaller unfill, and possibly RXing anti-nausea meds might be what a trained band surgeon would have preferred.

No major harm likely was done, though.

There are a few cons to completely emptying the band.
1. You'll need to start all over with fills, slowly and gradually. you cannot just jump right back to any previous fill level. The stomach quickly resumes it's normal shape after an unfill, and then we need to start again just as if a brand-new bandster with no fill.
2. Lengthy unfills in someone who has lost a lot of weight increases the risk of slippage. After a big weight loss, the band is quite "loose" and it's best if some fill is always in there, to help secure and seat the band. An unfill of a few weeks is ok, but more can be a problem. Be especially careful to avoid vomiting if you're unfilled after a big loss.

It's a very good idea to have some anti-nausea meds on hand for situations like this. You want suppositories, not oral meds. And also check with the doc to have him assess if it may be food poisoning and not the flu. With food poisoning, you do NOT want to suppress the vomiting and diarrhea - these are what gets rid of the toxins so you do not become more ill. If the doc ok's the anti-nausea meds, then you have them there to start right away.

Hope you're better soon!

Sandy r

Oh Charline, this is so disappointing. You must be beside yourself. Did the Er doc not even try to get in touch with Dr. B? You must be so angry. You'd think the ER there must see a few bariatric sine this was the first hosp in the prov doing bariatric surgeries. He must have known that he was not qualified to be frigging with it.  Wasn't it "the dumont crew" who told you to present yourself at the ER if you felt no better?

I am so sorry you have to go through all of this. Will you call the "crew" on Monday and try to get back in to see Dr. B?  I can't even imagine how it must eel to have to now take so many steps backward after getting so far forward. SUCKS!!!

Please let us know what happens and if there can be some better news to be gleaned from all of this. Fingers crossed. eh?

I am hoping against hope that I will be able to get in tomorrow (I had a fit in appointment from Friday, that is if they didn't cancel because I went to the ER) AND that Dr B will be a bit aggressive with his re-fill. But from what I read, he should only go to what he out in at the time of surgery. I am going to INSIST on an aggressive schedule of fills. What else can I do?

When I called the nurses for the second time on Friday, she assured me that they would be taking 2 cc out, but that I had no choice because nothing was getting through. Since the doctor didn't tell me he was "new" to the band, I was shocked with what he took out.  I am really discouraged. To top it off, I am now hungry for the first time in months. I could eat a horse right now, but I am trying to stick to the hay!.

When I spoke to Carolyn before I went to the Dumont ER, I asked her if I would have to start over with my fills if they completly emptied my band and she said that yes, they probably would have to start from the beginning.  Who at the clinic told you that they would only take 2cc out?

Dr Beausoleil emptied my band once and I did not have to start from the beginning. When it was time, he filled it again with what I had previously. There is obviously conflicting information out there.

The nurses at the clinic also told me that if a visit to the ER was required, 2cc's is what Dr. Beausoleil has instructed them to remove.


Jet

Dr. B had unfilled me in the early fall, and sadly my hunger got the best of me...37lbs worth...disguisted..but anyhoodles I have to remember that I had not kept a full meal down before that for almost a year and a half..sooooo...Time to get off my own back maybe.

I went back in last month and he filled me up to 5ccs..and that is what I had in originally so he will probably fill you back up again.    Hope to see you soon, Miss talking with you.

He out 5 of the 10 cc back in.