help?!?! US to UK band revision maybe?
Hi Everyone!
I'm in need of some redirection and was hoping that someone out here would be able to help me out. I'm an active duty military spouse and was banded at our last duty station in 2008. My weight loss was slow but I was happy with that. I didn't want to loose too much too fast. I went to see my doctor on a monthly basis and was able to loose 70 pounds out of the 116.5 I had set as my goal over the course of 3 years. I wanted slow, I never intended for it to be THAT slow but again, the weight was gone and I was happy.
Fast forward a few years later and we got orders to England. I was super excited about this but worried about how my band care would be. So here we are visiting family as we make our way across America and over to England. While we were in Florida, I started feeling a little sick. I felt food not going down so well and a few times I either foamed and would spit or just felt the pain of food being stuck, sometimes even over night. My husband was worried that my condition would get worse as we flew across the pond so we called Tricare, found a local band surgeon and went to pay him a visit. Turns out, he was the top surgeon in that area and after checking my band under x-ray and determining that everything was ok, he decided it was best to deflate my band. My heart sank because I had been at my sweet spot, and loosing consistantly, for months. He advised that I'd need to find someone to pick up my care once we got settled into our new home.
So I'll admit, I took advantage of being able to eat whatever I wanted when we first got here. I mean, there was fresh baked bread everywhere! And tons and tons of cakes and pastries to try! By the time I was settled and able to see my PCM, I had gained 20 pounds. I wasn't proud of that but I felt I had gotten all the "trying new foods" bit out of my system. I made my appointment and met with my new doctor. First off, he gave me a really hard time about having been banded. He made me feel like I took the easy way out when in fact, the decision did not come easy for me. He gave me the referral I needed and I was off to see my new band doctor in London. The doctor there is great, I like him and his assistant even though they are really hard to get a hold of. He gave me a very tiny fill the first time I saw him because he wanted to do it under scope- made sense since he was not the one who placed my band. By the time I was able to see my doctor again in London, my referral from my insurance had expired (here they are good for 90 days where as in America my referrals were good for 12 months!) so I had to go back to my PCM. Again he gave me a hard time this time saying I was taking advantage of my insurance. Why? I don't know, the insurance company (Tricare) doesn't sign his checks (he's active duty as well) so it really shouldn't have mattered. Anyhow, I get the referral and back to London I went. The doctor there is aggressive with fills and filled me to capacity. I left knowing I'd be too tight and days later, when I wasn't able to even drink water, I went back. He took everything out and suggested I come back in a few weeks. Again, I had to get a new referral and again it was the same cycle: doc here on base was a jerk, London doc overfilled me (my sweet spot was 6.7-6.9 CCs in a 10 CC band and I swear I've told him this at every visit) and again I had to get liquid taken out. I've been doing this for the past 2 and a half years now. I have gained nearly all my weight back- I think I'm 5-6 pounds lighter today then the day I was banded. I'm frustrated. I'm disappointed. I need help. I need direction.
The very last time I saw my doctor in London it was the same thing- he gave me a very big fill, I spent 4-5 days puking EVERYTHING up and by the time I made it back to his office, I had lost about 16 pounds. He unfilled me again and suggested I think of a different surgery. He said that with all the fills and unfills I was stretching out my actual band and that eventually it'd loose it's elasticity. He suggested I go for gastric bypass but honestly, the thought of that scares me. Don't know why, but it does. I told him, if I could do it again, I'd go for the gastric sleeve. He said it's HIS preferred surgery and the preferred surgery of the insurance companies out here in England. My thought? I'd check to see if my insurance covered it- which apparently Tricare does not. My next thought? I'd apply for this insurance and have them revise my surgery. The problem? I'd start from square one and have to jump all the hurdles again. His assistant told me from start to fini****'d take me over 2 years and there was no guarantee the insurance would pay for it. She suggested I self pay but there's no way I can afford it.
So I guess my question for the board is, are there any spouses overseas that have had their band taken out and another procedure done? If so, which one? Why? And any advice on what I should do would be greatly appreciated. I just hit my 5 year band-aversary and have been feeling like such a failure. I don't think the band was the right choice for me as someone who will be moving with her spouse every few years. I don't want to knock the band because at one point I thought it was the right choice for me. If I could do it again, I'd push for the sleeve because I wouldn't have to worry about finding a band doctor to do my fills at every base.
Thank you for taking the time to read my rant and for any advice/suggestions you may have.
Blessings!
on 11/10/13 1:59 am
Hi Everyone!
I'm in need of some redirection and was hoping that someone out here would be able to help me out. I'm an active duty military spouse and was banded at our last duty station in 2008. My weight loss was slow but I was happy with that. I didn't want to loose too much too fast. I went to see my doctor on a monthly basis and was able to loose 70 pounds out of the 116.5 I had set as my goal over the course of 3 years. I wanted slow, I never intended for it to be THAT slow but again, the weight was gone and I was happy.
Fast forward a few years later and we got orders to England. I was super excited about this but worried about how my band care would be. So here we are visiting family as we make our way across America and over to England. While we were in Florida, I started feeling a little sick. I felt food not going down so well and a few times I either foamed and would spit or just felt the pain of food being stuck, sometimes even over night. My husband was worried that my condition would get worse as we flew across the pond so we called Tricare, found a local band surgeon and went to pay him a visit. Turns out, he was the top surgeon in that area and after checking my band under x-ray and determining that everything was ok, he decided it was best to deflate my band. My heart sank because I had been at my sweet spot, and loosing consistantly, for months. He advised that I'd need to find someone to pick up my care once we got settled into our new home.
So I'll admit, I took advantage of being able to eat whatever I wanted when we first got here. I mean, there was fresh baked bread everywhere! And tons and tons of cakes and pastries to try! By the time I was settled and able to see my PCM, I had gained 20 pounds. I wasn't proud of that but I felt I had gotten all the "trying new foods" bit out of my system. I made my appointment and met with my new doctor. First off, he gave me a really hard time about having been banded. He made me feel like I took the easy way out when in fact, the decision did not come easy for me. He gave me the referral I needed and I was off to see my new band doctor in London. The doctor there is great, I like him and his assistant even though they are really hard to get a hold of. He gave me a very tiny fill the first time I saw him because he wanted to do it under scope- made sense since he was not the one who placed my band. By the time I was able to see my doctor again in London, my referral from my insurance had expired (here they are good for 90 days where as in America my referrals were good for 12 months!) so I had to go back to my PCM. Again he gave me a hard time this time saying I was taking advantage of my insurance. Why? I don't know, the insurance company (Tricare) doesn't sign his checks (he's active duty as well) so it really shouldn't have mattered. Anyhow, I get the referral and back to London I went. The doctor there is aggressive with fills and filled me to capacity. I left knowing I'd be too tight and days later, when I wasn't able to even drink water, I went back. He took everything out and suggested I come back in a few weeks. Again, I had to get a new referral and again it was the same cycle: doc here on base was a jerk, London doc overfilled me (my sweet spot was 6.7-6.9 CCs in a 10 CC band and I swear I've told him this at every visit) and again I had to get liquid taken out. I've been doing this for the past 2 and a half years now. I have gained nearly all my weight back- I think I'm 5-6 pounds lighter today then the day I was banded. I'm frustrated. I'm disappointed. I need help. I need direction.
The very last time I saw my doctor in London it was the same thing- he gave me a very big fill, I spent 4-5 days puking EVERYTHING up and by the time I made it back to his office, I had lost about 16 pounds. He unfilled me again and suggested I think of a different surgery. He said that with all the fills and unfills I was stretching out my actual band and that eventually it'd loose it's elasticity. He suggested I go for gastric bypass but honestly, the thought of that scares me. Don't know why, but it does. I told him, if I could do it again, I'd go for the gastric sleeve. He said it's HIS preferred surgery and the preferred surgery of the insurance companies out here in England. My thought? I'd check to see if my insurance covered it- which apparently Tricare does not. My next thought? I'd apply for this insurance and have them revise my surgery. The problem? I'd start from square one and have to jump all the hurdles again. His assistant told me from start to fini****'d take me over 2 years and there was no guarantee the insurance would pay for it. She suggested I self pay but there's no way I can afford it.
So I guess my question for the board is, are there any spouses overseas that have had their band taken out and another procedure done? If so, which one? Why? And any advice on what I should do would be greatly appreciated. I just hit my 5 year band-aversary and have been feeling like such a failure. I don't think the band was the right choice for me as someone who will be moving with her spouse every few years. I don't want to knock the band because at one point I thought it was the right choice for me. If I could do it again, I'd push for the sleeve because I wouldn't have to worry about finding a band doctor to do my fills at every base.
Thank you for taking the time to read my rant and for any advice/suggestions you may have.
Blessings!
~~ He said that with all the fills and unfills I was stretching out my actual band and that eventually it'd loose it's elasticity.~~
I hope you don't go back to this guy, he obviously does not know about bands. There is no elasticity in a band, it's silicone. It doesn't stretch in any way, shape, or form. That is like saying metal has elasticity, absolutely, 100%, impossible.
The TriCare folks I know that revised to a sleeve self paid.
Absolutely this guy shouldn't be doing band care. Having GREAT after care with the band is a must.
Just some back ground info. I had my band totally unfilled and when they started refilling they never could get even close to the ordinal fill level. I never found the restriction level I had before and choked with over 2 cc less fluid.
I revised to the sleeve. No more fills and unfills. Restriction only like the band so I don't have the mal-absorption issued that you have with the RNY and DS.
Good luck!
BAND REMOVED 9-4-12-fought insurance to get sleeve and won! Sleeved 1/22/13! Five years out and trying to get that last 15 pounds back off.
I agree the doc is nuts, the band doesn't stretch and he's just making business for himself by filling and unfilling and at your expense healthwise. Please don't feel like a failure even people with good functioning bands end up having to revise because of band failure not their own failure. My personal preference would be a sleeve just because it doesn't cause malabsorbtion and you lose nearly as well as with the RNY but you aren't limited by the 12-18 mo honeymoon period. This is where you lose the best. Get the surgery YOU are comfortable with.
I felt the same, like I was just a pay day for him after my last visit, it's why I quit going thru all the trouble. I was last seen 2 July and went from 5CC to 7.8 CC in one go. I knew it was too much but gave it the benefit of doubt. By the 4th I was sick as sick could be. Everything I had in my stomach was gone. What little liquids I was able to tolerate didn't stay down for long. I was even out of bile and was dry heaving. I was finally able to see him on the 6th and by that time I was weak and had lost about 15-16 pounds. Once he deflated the band I chugged sooo much water, it was really sad actually. I left his office thinking some OJ would do me some good, restore some vitamins in my weak body but 2 sips into my juice I was back to vomitting. I had to get more liquid taken out and am sitting at about 5.5CCs- not doing me any good.
I would love to switch from band to sleeve but it doesn't look like my insurance will cover it. I have been going thru posts on this site and have found threads about other Tricare patients going from band to sleeve however they are dated back in 2008-2009. In these threads, some post about going thru the base hospitals to have the new procedures done but I have no clue where to go or how to get the process started. Being a self pay patient would require a loan or credit card for us. I KNOW my husband would support me however, I want to exhaust all options before self paying. We are a 1 income family and it would mean drastic measures would need to be taken. Of course, my health and my life are worth it to me as well as my family however, I want to know I did everything I could before I put my family in that type of financial debt.
You might have to fight and appeal and you may have to still pay out of pocket. I was going to go to Mexico for my sleeve if I didn't win with the insurance company. I researched the Mexico boards for months and had narrowed it down to 3/4 surgeons. I believed in the sleeve that much and it is doing for me what I had hoped the band would. Good Luck and thank your DH for us!
I would have thought you would have gotten better care in the UK with the band.
BAND REMOVED 9-4-12-fought insurance to get sleeve and won! Sleeved 1/22/13! Five years out and trying to get that last 15 pounds back off.
I can't speak much for the UK health system since I've had little experience with them and I wouldn't judge an entire system based on my experience with one doctor. My insurance though is sooooooo slllloooooowwwww. I was suppose to have back surgery when we lived in Vegas but because we had to move sooner, the surgeon decided it was better for me to get it done here. I've waited 2 years and 4 months to have it done and just recently had it about 6 weeks ago :(
I had a friend who suggested I go to Mexico as well. She got the sleeve done not even a year ago and is down over 100 pounds. I'm happy for her but it's hard to see her picture updates...hoping I too can share mine with her some day
Pineview, the majority of us are self pay. The NHS is coming round to wls but still only offers it to those with serious co-morbidities. I think the band care by the private providers is much like in the US. Varies from atrocious to outstanding and all points between. But we do seem to get better information. As I have said to you before, some US doctors do not seem to accept the now generally accepted view of how the band works. European and Australian doctors all seem to use the new understanding and I know many US docs do as well. But, from what I read on these and other boards, some US patients are being given what is now known to be out of date info. ! And it makes a big difference to how we manage our bands. Of course, it may be patients ARE being told but don't listen!
i am very lucky. I paid for my surgery but then the NHS agreed to take over my aftercare. A supportive family doctor and a wonderful NHS bariatric unit! I get phenomenal care! Even though it is NHS and so totally free, I have a named nurse who answers my e mails and phone calls immediately or if at the weekend, as soon as she starts work again. Appointments are within a day or so. My surgeon does all types of wls and now does more sleeves than anything else but still gives good care to his band patents.
but as in the US, VSG is becoming the surgery of choice.
Highest 290, Banded - 248 Lowest 139 (too thin!). Comfort zone 155-165.
Happily banded since May 2006. Regain of 28lbs 2013-14. ALL GONE!
But some has returned! Up to 175, argh! Off we go again,
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