Failed Band

I was banded for 18 months.  I knew 4 days post op it wasn't a good match for me.  Just to be clear I went to one of the best surgeons around.  I went for two 2nd opinions and there was nothing surgically wrong with the placement of the band.  It was perfect.  Perfect size, perfect placement, textbook surgery.

After the post op diet I went on to live on tuna (some days) and protein shakes for 13 months. Then after that was 4 months of thin protein shakes made with water at room temp.  Due to all this I ended up with malnutrition that took me about six months to recover from after my revision to a sleeve.

I was so weak I couldn't do simple grocery shopping towards the end.  I couldn't walk that far, heck... I couldn't walk from my car to the store.  And you know what?  It didn't matter because I couldn't eat anything from the grocery store anyway.

I experienced nausea daily, I actually tracked how many times I hurled and I averaged 21 times weekly.  Keeping in mind, I was drinking room temp, watered down protein shakes at that point with an unfilled band.

I was at my docs office every other week for the most part.  I seriously considered renting a small apt in MX because it would have been cheaper than the hotel fees.  My doc did absolutely everything to try  and make this work.  Fills, unfills, pills, xrays, diagnostics, endoscopy, everything.  The band surgery was $8K and the complications were around another $7K when you figure in all the travel expenses and keep in mind, I was driving distance so we aren't talking flying here.  Also, my doc never charged me a penny after my band surgery for complications, the hospital did for radiology, labs, etc., but my doc did not.  BTW, tack on another $10K for a revision.  Since many ins co's are going to a once in a lifetime WLS you may want to keep these figures in mind in case you need to self pay for your own revision from band to whatever.

I experienced esophageal spams, esophageal damage (this is forever), my teeth are shot from all the vomiting, severe reflux (still have this from the esophageal damage) where I vomit stomach acid several times daily.  If I take enough meds to fix that it damages my liver.  If I don't take enough meds I vomit acid throughout the day.  The only fix for this is bypass and quite frankly, the idea of another pouch and stoma makes me cringe and I'd rather dig my eye out with a rusty nail.  Bypass will never ever happen to this body.

Do you know there were so many days I could not ge****er down that I actually own an IV pump?  I still have the tubing.  A few months ago I moved and I found all the tubing, IV start kits, and saline.  Just seeing that stuff brought back horrific memories.  I remember trying to start my own IV (i'm a nurse) and due to being so tired and dehydrated I couldn't do it and at 3AM I would call my friend who is an IV nurse to come over and start an IV.  I was soooo thirsty.  Do you have any idea what is like to be severely dehydrated and so thirsty yet holding a glass of water knowing it's not going to go down?  It's a horrible and frustrating feeling.

Finally my doc and I agreed it was time to get the band out.  I refused to just remove the band and not revise to a sleeve, I knew I would regain and I wasn't going to go through all that again. I fully admit, I was dragging my feet on the revision, I was so scared it would just make my problems permanent but at the same time, I refused to regain 132#.

I used to keep plastic bags stashed everywhere so I could grab one in a pinch and have something to vomit in on my way running to the bathroom.  For six months following my revision I found plastics bags EVERYWHERE.  You know, I used to go shopping at stores according to their plastic bags.  The cheap ones...  I wouldn't shop at their stores.  They had holes in them.  I would find bags in my car trunk, glove compartment, every drawer in my desk, my purse, behind furniture, every single room in my house... everywhere.

I quit going shopping with friends because what do you do when you go shopping?  You go out to lunch afterwards.  I quit going to our phoenix support group meetings because it was for lunch and in those days I honestly thought my problems were unique to me and I didn't want newbies seeing me spend the entire time in the bathroom puking.  We quit going to dinner with friends because I'd spend the entire evening in the bathroom horking up whatever was stuck.  I began to isolate, didn't want to leave my house, didn't want to leave the safety of my bathroom, it was horrible.

I recall one time I had a business meeting in Nogales, MX with a friend and his friend.  They were working on a project and wanted my help.  I did NOT want to go out to dinner, I wanted to meet in my hotel room.  They insisted on dinner.  They are both MDs.  I knew better than to order food so I ordered soup in a broth base and just ate the broth.  Well, guess what?  I got stuck.  I had to keep running to the bathroom to puke.  It was humiliating.  My friend, Carlos, actually confronted me the next day and asked if I was anorexic.  I was skinny, not eating real food, and barfing up what I did eat.  Damn, it really did appear I was anorexic.  I never saw that before.  In reality I had surgically induced bulimia.

We used to have long threads on various band boards about funny stuck experiences.  My biggest stuck experience is when I tried to eat salad.  I got stuck on lettuce and puked for 12 straight hours.  Finally at midnight I puked so hard lettuce came shooting out my nose.  It looked like seaweed.  At the time of those threads we all thought it was funny.  It wasn't, it wasn't funny at all but it's this mentality you get into where the scale is moving and you just do what you have to do.  It's sheer insanity and I don't see myself tolerating that again but it's the norm, it's the new norm when your band goes bad and make no mistake, unless you are in the minority of banded folks, it will happen to you one day, too.

A girl was posting on the band boards about funny stuck stories and she related a story about how she and her husband went out to a very nice restaurant for their anniversary.  She was eating food and it got stuck. She was trying to wait it out and suddenly, there was no more waiting.  She ran to the bathroom but didn't quite make it.  She ended up vomiting in the middle of the restaurant but she vomited so hard she farted.  She went to the bathroom, got some paper towels, went out to the restaurant, humiliated as could be to clean up her mess and then went to the table. Her husband was gone, money was on the table and her husband was nowhere to be found.

She found him sitting in the car waiting for her.  She asked... did anyone hear me fart?  Why do you think he was sitting in his car?

This can be a way of life for banded people.

After 18 months of this nonsense I was a 20.8 BMI and revised to a sleeve.  As of this writing I have been sleeved for over 2.5 years, maintained my weight... even gained a few pounds so I don't have that crack ***** look anymore, I am no longer malnourished, and life is grand!

wow...........that  was a horrible thing for you to go through.. I am glad you are feeling better!!

Thank you, MsBonita.

You know what is spooky?  My story is not rare, not in the least.

Allergan's advertising makes it sound as though least invasive means safer.  It's not safer.  Oh, the actual surgery is safer than say ... a sleeve but only by less than 1%.  But long term the band has more risks and complications than bypass.  Not the same complications, different, but in number long term banding has more potential risks and complications than gastric bypass.

I should have written this out a long time ago for newbies to read before they get their surgery. Hopefully it will prevent others from going through what previous bandsters went through.

If someone wants to talk to those that had a band they need to post on the sleeve, bypass, and DS forums, not the band forum.  People that revised from band to anything else typically don't post on the band boards anymore.  If anyone is interested in honest banding stories post on all the other surgery type boards and ask who used to be banded.  It will be eye opening.

I can promise newbies, those that were previously banded will be more than happy to tell you their story.

A doctor reports of his conversation with a sister company to Allergan;

www.lapbandtalk.com/1189828-post18.html

Allergan's own website showing an 88% rate of complications from banding, please read the whole page:

www.lapband.com/en/learn_about_lapband/safety_information//

An ASMBS study on WLS showing bands are not a great surgical options:

www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ASMBS/20919

BTW...

Anyone is free to ask me anything.  Be honest, if you think I might have been doing something wrong, breaking rules, I won't be insulted.  Ask away.  I promise for this to be a drama free zone on my part.

Ask me anything.

Thank you so much for posting this.  My situation has not been as severe as yours, but I hate my band with a passion and am tired of the perpetual hurling, being stuck, and fear of eating.  I had my band unfilled when I got pregnant and now I am about 75 lbs OVER my banded weight.  I was a lightweight when I got banded, 217, and I wish I had never done it.  I am considering revising to a sleeve or the whole DS, so hearing your experience is so valuable to me.  What does eating feel like with the sleeve?  Do you feel satisfied when you eat?  With the band, you never feel satisfied... you may have food in your pouch and have the rest of your stomach growling with hunger.  :(  Oh I hate it.  I am having a hard time getting insurance approval for a revision to anything, and may go to Mexico and self-pay to revise to a sleeve because of it.  

 
Eating with a sleeve feels just like it did before I ever had WLS, I just get full faster.

You know how "full" feels differently banded?  It feels like one more bite and you'll hurl?  Full with a sleeve isn't like that at all, it's full like full is supposed to feel like.

Yes, I feel very satisfied when I eat.  I can eat about 3oz of dense protein or about 5oz of soft foods and then it feels like I am Thanksgiving Day full without having to unzip my jeans. ;o)

My suggestion to you is to not wait.  Do what you have to do to get the band out now.  I was so afraid a sleeve would make my problems permanent that I waited too long and pay the price today with esophageal damage.  Do what you will, remove the band or remove it and revise to something else just don't wait to remove the band.

LOL, how many times did you envision sticking a coat hanger down your throat to push whatever it was through the band because you were in so much pain.... how about drinking something to try to get "unstuck"... or stretching and moving your chest to help it along.  All of my friends know the look on my face that let's them know I am stuck.

 
Oh sheesh... there were days I was tempted to drink Draino to get unstuck. I used to take NSAIDs for inflammation and it actually worked most of the time so I could drink water.

I have horrific reflux now from esophageal damage from banding.  There are days I throw up stomach acid every couple of hours.  The only fix at this point is bypass.  Each time I see my surgeon he asks when I'm going to let him revise me to bypass.  Another pouch and stoma?

When hell freezes over, I'd rather vomit stomach acid.

Yeah, Draino, drinking ice cold water to try to vomit, anything to get unstuck.

Wow that was rough. It sounds like you were 1, band was too full, or you ate too fast, ate too much, or didn't chew good enough. How do I know this? I did all those things too.

I too had a lot of problems and am taking it out on Friday and getting RNY. I'm very excited.

 
No, I really didn't do those things.  If I couldn't do it with the band I would have the same issues with my sleeve and I don't, never did and I've been sleeved for over 2.5 years.

My band was empty most of the time.  At first I thought it was the surgeon, perhaps he put a band in that was too small.  Two US surgeons I went to for 2nd and 3rd opinions said the band was placed perfectly and if it was any bigger I'd never get restriction and it makes sense.  One day I could eat a porterhouse with all the trimmings and the next day I couldn't drink water with the same fill level.

How well does one need chew water and protein shakes?  I was struggling trying to keep liquids down and I was drinking protein shakes made with water that were very thin at room temp.  And sipping.  How is that user error?

There are people that just can't chew well enough, maybe they have dentures or something similar. That wasn't my issue.  I couldn't even drink liquids many days.  The further out I got the worse it was.

There is a mentality that is promoted on the band board that it just can't be the band, it has to be user error.  This isn't true.  25% of people need to have their bands removed in the first five years. 88% of people have complications and this is according to the band makers own website.

It's not user error a majority of the time when problems are so bad the band needs to be removed.  It's the band.

If you are not chewing well and if you are eating too fast, you realize you'll have the same problems with any other WLS, right?

Good luck with your RNY!