I Have had my band for 5 years in september.I just went through a bout of throwing up old blood and am in the hospital. Now they emptied my band for now.The blood was from my stomach is all ulcerated and oozing from reflux and acid.I had acid reflux even b4 i had the band so the band did not cause it.They are saying my band may  need to come out now I am devastated.I can not imagine life withot my band now.they aresaying it has slipped.Anyone have this happen after so long?What did they do?Thanks for any input.

Hi,

I just wanted to say I'm so sorry you are going through this. My band is coming out too but for a different problem.

Take care and I hope everything works out okay for you.

Trixie

Oh no.  I'm so sorry you're going through this.  I'm still a relative newby so I've got no words of wisdom for you.  Although you might want to post over on the revision board.  Someone who is going through a revision may be in similar cir****tances.  Also, I see many people posting about a private "failed band board."  Hopefully one of those posters on the failed band board who has had difficulty will reach out to you. 

Best of luck and take care of yourself.

klcrock...  I had my band placed May 1, 2007.  In 2008 I had a hernia so all the fluid was removed at that time and I never had any more put in.  I actually had problems with my band from then on, even empty.  Before the hernia, I considered myself a success with the band, lost 80 pounds in about a year, was feeling great.  After the hernia, everything changed.  I got so I was throwing up all the time.  One day I could eat just about anything, the next I may not even be able to hold down a protein drink.  Around year 3, my body wouldn't digest protein of any sort anymore.  My doctor had moved around to 3-4 different states and finding another WLS surgeon to cover his work was impossible.

December of last year my band slipped.  It had cut off all the blood supply to my stomach at that time.  Of course my first 2 ER visits, they couldn't find anything, then they finally realized my white blood count had doubled.  With mine,I had to be rushed to a larger hospital with bariatric experience in which they did emergency surgery to remove the band, I didn't have time to think about anything, or any revision.   If you are vomiting blood and it has slipped, sorry to say, but the best thing is to get it out.  By the time they took mine out, it had killed off over half of my stomach. I had to have a partial gastrectomy which my doctor told me was similar to the sleeve. 

I am glad that the band is out.  I can eat protein again.  I am not throwing up constantly. 
The problems with mine is that the infections that had set in, has caused or "woken" up rheumatoid arthritis.  I have never had joint problems before and was just diagnosed with Ra.  The problem that I am having is I can not take any kinds of anti-inflammatory drugs to help with the Ra. 

If you need the band out, you will survive.  The band was a tool to help you learn how to eat right.  We all have set backs, but knowing you can do it with the band, know that you can do it without it...

Good luck to you... please keep us posted...

We all get told just before surgery that this is a TOOL, it is not a cure.

Learning to eat without the band, yes there is a way around this, but people fail to realize this.

Because we ALL want this band.

During your meal, you are to chew, chew, chew the food as good as you can, we lose the nurtrition by drinking whatever liquid and as for chewing the food throughly. Second by having a drink with our food is another NO NO.

If your medicine must be taken first, then go ahead, take first then wait 45 minutes to eat breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.

Number #1 exercise is Walking!

For those of you like me, swimming after being banded (June 26th) . . .we have to wait awhile, sucks cuz it's summer and I want to go swimming! I know its not the end of the world, yet. LOL

So onto what you said about losing your band, is this what we will ALL face?

Lap band as I am told you lose the weight slowly, where as the sleeve/gastric you lose to fast.

If you accumalated over time health problems, and you get the sleeve/gastricdone, this can cause your system to crash.

This is what I hear from the surgeon.

Your post has me thoroughly confused, I'm afraid.

Learning to eat without the band, and the "way around it" and what people don't realize... I totally do not understand this statement.  Maybe you could explain it, if you have the time?


You lose "too fast" with gastric sleeve or bypass? And your "system" will crash if you revise? Why would you think this? And what do you mean by it?  A lot of people have revisions and their "systems" are fine. I don't think I understand what you're saying.

You don't lose any nutrition by drinking with meals. You might get bunged up and gag and puke... or it might wash the food through the stoma, but it doesn't affect the nutrition you get from food. Unless you hork it up, of course, which happens quite often with the banded.

You just got your band on June 26th? Way to go. You must have really researched, huh? Best of luck to you!

~We all get told just before surgery that this is a TOOL, it is not a cure.~

Correction. The band *can* be a tool. For MANY of us with the band, we got NO tool at all! Kind of like having a very freaking expensive scrunchie around our stomachs, lol.

~Learning to eat without the band, yes there is a way around this, but people fail to realize this.

Not at all sure what that is suppose to mean?

~Because we ALL want this band.~

We all wanted it when we got it. Then many of us found out how the band really works. Now.....not so much.

~we lose the nurtrition by drinking whatever liquid~

Not at all sure where you got this from, lol.

~If your medicine must be taken first, then go ahead, take first then wait 45 minutes to eat breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.~

Why???

~So onto what you said about losing your band, is this what we will ALL face?~

According to statistics about 50% of bandsters face this at 6 years out. A new band every 6 years can get REALLY expensive! Huh?

~If you accumalated over time health problems, and you get the sleeve/gastricdone, this can cause your system to crash.~

Just how does this cause " your system to crash"???

I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but your surgeon is feeding you a giant spoonful of unsubstantiated facts, and I urge you to find a more qualified surgeon before he kills you.

I'm really sorry to hear this. I hope you won't have too much damage.

Take care and I hope all goes well for you.

~Nic

I am so sorry you are going through this. The others are right, get it out now. Don't worry about what may come tomorrow because today you need to concentrate on your health. Nothing else. Perhaps after some healing time you may be eligible for a revision but if not then I would enroll in a medical weight loss program with your surgeons practice. There are always alternatives. The only thing that matters right now is your life.

I will be praying for you.
Sue

 omg, get well soon.  THis must be very scary for you :(
See if you can get a revision to a sleeve, but right now your LIFE is more important.  If they say it should come out then so be it.  Hugs

Having the band removed is the best thing you can do for your health. If the band hasn't caused too much damage you can revise to an effective WLS. Good luck!

Ok, sorry you got lost on my random distracted thoughts, but what I am going to say is this.

Before I got the band, I had lost weight on my own, just by doing what this band is doing, by helping us to rethink how we eat, by chew, chew, and between bites is to take our time.

I was taught as a kid to eat everything off my plate.

So now as an adult, this bad thinking has to stop.

One group I was in back in the 90's, was you gave up flour, yeast and sugar.

It takes about two weeks to get off this, and start to read labels, and eat healthy.

Retraining the brain is hard because food tastes so good, you want seconds, thirds.

So if you were simply eating with a band, and next the band is no longer there, don't let fear eat you alive perse . . .keep doing what you were doing.

I was, I lost 8lbs on my own.

I ate with a small spoon, I didn't drink with my food, only after.

I haven't had any pop for over a month, love slushes but I make my own.

Sorry you are having a hard time.
I hope it gets better for you.