too swollen for band to work?

In November I went into the hospital with Cytomegalovirus (cyto=cells, megalo=big, big cell virus)

After that little stint, I started throwing up most of what I ate. I estimated I was able to keep down about 600 calories a day which threw my body into starvation mode and I have gained back every single one of the 50lbs I had lost in the past year.

I had 8.5mL in my 10mL band. I ended up having to have every drop of that saline taken out.  Even now, with nothing in there, something will get stuck once a week or so.

I'm not sure what to do!  I've started the wheels for a revision to RnY. I'm not sure that's what I want but I wanted to get it started just in case.

Has anyone delt with this virus or something similar?

Hi Laura, I didn't have a virus..but I had an empty band. Had a leak somewhere.  I decided for the RNY ...and it has been SOOO much easier. Surgery was easy...no hurting stomach where the port was.   You can eat dense foods easier. I've eaten more chicken in the past 4 weeks than the 3 years prior.  The RNY makes food choices easier since you aren't looking for slider foods.  Not an issue about what time you eat or drink at night....you can get up in the middle of the night..get a drink and go back to bed without the gurgling the rest of the night.
There are other surgeries people choose after the band...they aren't offered in my area so I can't really comment on them.
I am happy I converted.   I think you will be too.
Joan

Thank you! i needed this encouragment. I posted the same thing on the lapband board and the reoccuring theme was that it was something I did/was doing wrong.

Oh i really hated waking up thirsty, because I knew if I got a drink it would come back out or having to sit by the restrooms in a restaurant.
I have an initial meeting on the 9th, we'll see :)

Thanks again!!

Laura...

That isn't true.  Three people responded to you and not a single one of them said you did something wrong.  I will copy my reply to you from the other thread:

~~If you are eating only 600 calories a day for a year you really can't gain 50#.  It's impossible.  Some people don't lose well, but you can't gain.  It takes calories to gain.  It takes at least 1500 calories a day just for your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, etc.  Maybe try tracking your food and verify the caloric content of fitday.com or thedailyplate.com with www.nutritiondata.com.  Sometimes those caloric counts are not accurate on the various food tracking sites.

Then the exercise that you are doing is going to burn even more calories.  So I think you are absorbing more  calories than you think even w/the vomiting.

Also, people usually underestimate the liquid calories they are consuming.  Just cream in your coffee can potentially add a great deal of calories.

I was talking to a friend the other day that is thinking about getting some form of WLS.  She swears she's only eating a small salad for dinner and nothing else all day.  She's not even banded so I already knew I wasn't getting the whole truth there, I've seen the girl eat!  How many obese people can stop at 300 calories a day with no band/sleeve?  But I do believe her that she's only eating one meal a day.

We started going over everything that goes in her mouth in a day and it's all liquid calories.  She puts THREE tablespoons of sugar and THREE tablespoons of cream in her ONE cup of coffee (gahhhh) and she drinks four pots of coffee daily.  There really isn't a WLS that is going to help her unless she gets RNY and hopefully dumps.  But she really had no idea how many liquid calories she was consuming.

If you were only getting 600 calories a day then RNY isn't going to help you.  It will cut the calories you are eating down even more so how would you lose if 600 puts you in starvation mode?  With bypass (in the beginning) you will only absorb 66 calories for every 100 that you consume.  So if starvation mode was possible and the culprit here, wouldn't RNY just make matters worse?~~

The other replies to you in no way said you did something wrong, that's not fair.

You never did answer my question, if you have gained 50# from eating 600 calories a day then how will RNY (lowering your caloric intake even more) help you lose weight?

I'm all for revision from a band, bands are hard to work with, it's hard to lose weight, they are not fun, it's not an enjoyable experience.  I'm not suggesting you not revise to another procedure.  But to say we were all telling you that you did something wrong isn't fair and it isn't accurate.

Sorry, i thought it was a rhetorical question.

I just needed some encouragment, it's been an incredibly frusterating and debilitating road with this virus.

I understand what you are saying, I do.  But it really isn't fair to make the claim that you did.  Nobody said anything was your fault.  I'm not sure "fault" is the right word to use in WLS issues anyway.  It is what it is and we learn to overcome the issues.

The band is hard enough without being sick on top of it.

I think one of the big hurdles of WLS is dealing with our own head stuff.  Admitting to ourselves what might be a problem.  Honestly tracking food and making sure we are eating the right foods in appropriate quantities.  I'm not saying you should be doing that... maybe the band doesn't work for you so you can't.  But changing your eating habits has to happen with RNY too.  The whole lifestyle change has to go with the surgery or the surgery types will fail.  I don't care which procedure you have you'll have to watch carb counts and protein.  Enough protein yet not too many carbs.  If you don't make those changes no surgery type is going to work.

Laura, I could pat your head and tell you that it's all starvation mode and you aren't eating enough and that is why you are gaining but would I really be doing you any favors?  Would that honestly be support?  I don't think it is and I can't do it.  I will tell you that you are going through the same phases as everyone else and first you have to look at what you are eating.  Exactly what is going in your mouth.  If the food types are correct but the quantities are not then we need to look at the band.  If you can eat bad food you can eat good food.  If you can eat chips and dip you can eat veggie chips such as this:

www.jdfinefoods.com/snacks_and_mixes/veggie_chips.htm

or this:

justtomatoes.com/

If you can drink high calorie drinks you can drink low calorie drinks.  If you can drink milkshakes and malts you can drink protein shakes.

If you are gaining weight you are absorbing calories.

If you can't stop the sugar, perhaps RNY is a better option but there is no promise you'll dump.

The only reason I am writing this is because if the band sucks (and it does) then by all means change procedure types.  But if you don't change your lifestyle and really take a long and hard look at what you are eating then RNY isn't going to work for you.

I swear to you that I'm not trying to be pissy.  But revision surgery is hard surgery, much harder than banding.  I don't want to see you revise if you don't have to and I don't want to see you fail a different procedure type.

omg nevermind.

Fair enough.  I tried.

This may be a silly question but have you talked to your lap band surgeon?  What does he/she say?  I would look into all my options before jumping into another wls.