Of course! I'm very sorry you're going through it. I really feel for you. 

Really praying I don't have that shoulder pain with fills or ever again, for that matter...lol!!

OMG!!! How insensitive of a dr to say that to u! I'm sorry to hear that. So u never lost any weight at all with the band??!

Well, not normal, exactly. I feel a million times better than when I had the band. I still have ulcers, gastritis and diaphragmatic damage. I also have diverticulitis episodes that screw me up, big time. My guts have never recovered from the damage the band did. But like I said, I feel a million times better than when the band was in my body. The other stuff is manageable through diet and medication.

I am not here to scare anyone, but I feel I must share my journey. I was diagnosed in 2001 with Bi-Polar disorder I, The medications that I had to take to save my sanity caused me to gain more than 100 lbs in a little over 2 years.  I became desperate and had lap-band surgery in 2005 and after quite a few fills, I ended up loosing 100+ lbs.  Sounds great, right?  Not so fast.  I was so tight I literally threw up everything I put in my mouth, even water. At first, I was so grateful to lose the weight that I was on an emotional high.  I began avoiding social settings that involved food, if my husband and I had to attend functions, he was my wing man, explaining to everyone why I didn't eat anything, or ran off to the bathroom in the middle of a great conversation.  Eventually, both he and I got tired of making excuses for my behavior.  

In 2009 while on vacation, I decided that I was going to be normal despite my condition.  I ate everything in sight, and this led to an obstruction so bad, it caused the band to slip after violent vomiting for 24 hours straight.  I was put on a plane, sent to a hospital via ambulance, and put on IVs and injections for 7 days before my heart was strong enough to have revision surgery.  The surgeon replaced the band and I was so ill that they left it unfilled for 9 months.  In that time I gained 60 lbs back.  I had a fill, and worked at getting some of the weight off, then in 2011 I went back for more aggressive fills.  I lived in constant pain and misery because I was so tight for the next 2 years.  Then in 2013 I went to a new surgeon and asked him to take all the fluid out because I simply couldn't take the terrible restrictions any more. 

For the next 3 years, I struggled with vomiting, severe pain when eating, and just feeling like death every day.  I wasn't sleeping because I would wake up in the middle of the night choking on my own fluids, I would run off to the bathroom at the most in opportune times in social settings and I was literally afraid of putting anything in my mouth for fear of the results.  As it was, I lived on processed chips like Doritos and Cheetos, Ice Cream, and Ensure shakes, which I would down 4 or 5 a day.  I lost no weight, felt exhausted and terrible every single day.  Finally, this week I called my original surgeons office, told them I needed an immediate appointment, and went in for an esophogram.  At this point, since I believed my band was completely clear, I feared the worst. Either my band had slipped again, or I was dealing with cancer.  

I had a panic attack in the Drs office, which did not make things any better, but by the time the Dr came in I shouted "I need this damn thing out of me!"  Luckily he was patient, looked at the xray, and announced that I was as full as you can get on an old band.  WTF? was my response.  He patiently told me that the other Dr I saw must have assumed that I had a newer band which could hold 10cc, instead of the 4cc the old band i had.  I was at 3cc, which is as tight as they will fill someone. He then told me that I needed a "band vacation" and unfilled me completely.  Since then, I've slept very well, I feel great, I have more energy than I've had in years, and have not had to run off to the bathroom every few minutes.  I'm craving vegetables and good protein, fruit and whole grains.  I'm eating very healthy and I love it.  I feel so great, I actually had an adverse reaction to just the smell of someone eating Cheetos in the office.  

The moral to my story is know your body, know your medical situation, and never, ever take what a professional says at face value. I hope that someone out there will benefit from my story.

Cheers!