Ask Dr. Curry

Dr. Curry,

My last fill was 2 weeks ago.  At first I felt it was just right, but for the past few days I've been feeling that my band is too tight.  I have a hard time with liquids (even clear liquids) from about 9 pm to noon, and also struggle even with purees between noon and 9 pm.  I have tried to "open" my band by drinking hot herbal tea but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

The things that have affected my restriction in that past are stress, nasal allergies and swelling from stuck episodes, but none of those is a factor now.  It can't be hormonal because I've had a hysterectomy and am on HRT.  None of my meds have changed.  The only thing I can think of that's different is that I recently started drinking coffee again (hadn't had any for the first 10 mos after my band surgery).

Do you have any guesses about what might be going on?

Thanks,
Jean

Dr. Curry,
I saw my PCP to begin my supervised wt. loss. My PCP was supportive, although he voiced a concern about infections at the port site. I've looked through all the material i have and on many web sites and can find no higher incidence of infections for LapBand than other surgeries. Are there any studies that i can show him other than the one on the LapBand site?  Is there a website i can share with him? He admittedly has not had any LapBand patients for a few years and the one he did have, had band erosion as a complication.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Pat

Hi Dr. C,

I just wanted to pop into your thread and tell you "hello".  What a blessing you are still around helping so many people. 

Dr Curry
I had a lapband placed on 5/16/05.  I lost weight very well, got down to goal in 16 months and was living quite well.  About 6 months later I started having aches in my hands, shoulders etc.  Even had some days where I had a low grade fever, and I had fatigue that wouldn't stop.  My band got very tight, so I had a couple of cc's removed.  Then the fun began.  My hair started to fall out and I now have Alopecia universalis.  For over a year I have kept my band filled on the low side, so of course I am gaining weight.  My Doctors are not clear about whether the band triggered this auto immune response.  I am going back to my original surgeon, who moved to a new state to get her opinion.  My thoughts are to have the band removed and have a RNY revision.  Any thoughts on this/
Thanks,
Barbara Conroy

Dr. Curry, I am having my port removed tomorrow because of an infection. My question is it possible for the tubing and band to be infected as well? How can they tell if its all infected or just the port?