Does something have to be wrong with you band to get it removed?

amber, are you having any symptoms such as heart burn??

I would talk to your surgeon and see what your surgeon says.  One of the reasons my band was removed is because I could not get to restriction, I was too tight or too loose. 

I had heart burn even with no fill in the band.  I had a problem with my esophagus so they had to remove the band. 


Tamara

also look at your insurance policy and see if they cover revisions.  One of the reasons I was also covered is because I had not lost enough weight after 2 years.  It has actually been cheaper for insurance for me to have the revision.  I don't go to the doctor as much!!

Actually thats the one GOOD think I can say about the band. Before I got the band I had really awful awful heartburn and sense they day of my surgery I have not had it even one time! I just get worried I mean the point of the band is to have some restriction on what you eat and if thats not working for me why have it in? I mean alot of people have slips and erosion and other problems it just seems scary to leave it in for now reason at all so that one of those things could possible happen. not to mention if Im not having any restriction and can still eat alot is that dangerous with the band being in me?

Also I just want to add that I havent had heart burn but for the last 2 months I have been having some chest pains. Not like fall to the floor horrible but I have noticed at least once a day my chest will hurt a little bit. Im making a doctors appointment this week with my primary phycisian to get that checked out. Can chest pains be a sign of something being wrong with the band?

Hi Amber,

Is the chest pain in the upper left part of your chest/ shoulder? If it is, it's referred pain from the band irritating the diaphragm, most likely. 

Mention to your doctor that you are having chest pain... it should be noted so that if you do decide to have the band removed, there will be record of it.

I had severe chest pain but no reflux after trying to swallow a large antibiotic capsule. The capsule couldn't pass through my stoma so it sat in there slowly dissolving into a corrosive sludge. The chest pain woke me up in the middle of the night. I thought I was having a heart attack and went to the ER, where they checked me out, dismissed the idea of heart attack, and sent me on to my surgeon for an unfill, at which point the pain disappeared.

Jean, just as a suggestions.  If you feelthat chest pain again and you can narrow it down to the medication, drink something warm.  That tends to "melt" the medication and let it get on through.

And I know I don't need to tell you this but others may not know....if you get that chest pain (which my support group refers to as the heart attack syndrome), you either ate too much or you ate to fast or you could have something stuck.  I know its not the best idea but I'll dissolve an alka seltzer in a room temperature soda and that will surely make it go down or come GUSHING back out.  If it happens during the week in the day time, a call to the surgeon should do the trick as they'll tend to see you right away and do an unfill.  The bad news is that with an unfill, you can't have a complete refill in the next few minutes.  Fills have to be gradual even with this situation because of any swelling or irritation that might have occured from the whole experience.

LaWanda

LaWanda,

I'm doing my utmost to avoid that chest pain in the future, and that includes taking antibiotics in liquid form.

I've tried drinking hot liquids like to treat a stuck episode, and that almost always produces an instant power puke of the liquid but not necessarily the food. So...I'm doing my utmost to avoid stuck episodes altogether. Live and learn!

Jean

Thanks for posting this question.  I've often wondered about this myself.  It has taken me about a year and a half to lose about 50 pounds and I have been in the longest plateau ever.

Thanks everyone for the replies! Im going to make an appointment and see my surgeon again. Im not ready to get any kind of revison just yet Im still not ready to give up on the band. I just wonder can a tiny fill make a difference? I went and go a fill about a month ago I had no restriction he put in 1cc. Then for two days I couldnt keep anything down so he did an unfill. He took a little less than half out. I wonder if maybe he put a little back in would it make a differance?