Lap Band problems

I would like to know what some of the symptoms could be if a lap band is going bad.

Reflux, trouble swallowing, referred left shoulder pain, trouble eating solid foods and sometimes even liquids. Esophageal dilation, nausea, vomiting, pneumonia, and chronic coughing. 

Are you having any symptoms that lead you to think you are having band problems? Sometimes a person can have an episode or two of something and it doesn't necessarily mean that the band needs to be removed. And sometimes you may have no symptoms and then it comes on very suddenly that you might need band removal due to excessive scar tissue build up (or other complications.) 

Good luck to you. 

Thank you for answering my questions. I have been experiencing persistent cough, nausea, pain and swelling around port.  I made an appointment to see a WLS surgeon, hopefully he can figure this out.  I am tired of feeling yucky. Thanks again for the information.

I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling yucky. I think it's smart that you're seeing your surgeon so he or she can help you find out what's happening. Maybe it will be a simple "fix"... the swelling around the port might be an infection or maybe just irritation. Hopefully that can be remedied. 

The nausea and pain could be from gastritis and there are medications that can help. 

I hope you feel better soon.

Just wanted to say love your new avatar. 

Me? Thanks! It's actually a really old one, to be honest. I'm a little older and chubbier now.   I just got sick of my other avatar and didn't feel like taking the time to resize a photo, so I grabbed one that I used before. 

I had my band since 2003 and was just revised in Feb to the bypass.  I had no issues for several years and did pretty well.  Then I started having port pain, which then led to heartburn/reflux and just feeling like crap.  Come to find out even though my band was ok it became encased in scar tissue which led down the tubing to the port.  When I had the band out it took my surgeon over an hour to chisel it out. 

My band was completely empty for 2 years, yet due to the scare tissue I had restriction.  One day I could eat protein forward meals and the next day I was lucky to get down water.  I did end up make bad choices just because slider food would go down and stay there.  I was also popping tums like tic tac.  I could eat two bottles a week and that was on top of a PPI.

Just be prepared incase your band has to come out. 

Hello, thank you for your help with this problem.  I just saw a surgeon and he said it sounds like the band is the culprit to my problems.  He  will take it out and if the band comes out easily and with no complications he will then do an RNY. He also told me that only about one third of the people who have the band put in work so the other two thirds are left with failure.

If I had known this I would never have had the band put in, in the first place.  It was my fault for not researching this procedure more. Oh well, it is a lesson learned.

How are you doing with your bypass, what did you have done?

Thanks again, Rise'

I am doing great down almost 80lbs and so close to onderland that I can taste it.  LOL.

I had my band removed, gallbladder removed, and the RNY done all at the same time.  I was in surgery a bit over 3 hours.  I was lucky that the band didn't do much damage.  My surgeon did remove a small area of my stomach near the band as he felt it was weak and didn't want to chance any complications.  He is a great surgeon and cares very much about his patients. 

Don't beat yourself up about not knowing about the issues as they really aren't mentioned all that much even now.  People are still getting the bands and they are not told of the potential issues that come up down the road.

Wait the relief you will have once the band is out is just amazing. 

Thank you so much. I told the surgeon my concerns about the lap band giving me pain.  He reassured me that it is not my fault that it didn't work.  That made me feel better but I am still worried that the RNY will fail also. What makes the RNY so different? Why is the outcome so much better. 

I so appreciate your help with this.  The doctor wants to do this surgery sooner than normal because of the problems with the  band. Normally the RNY procedure would take about4 months from start to finish. He would like to get this all done in about 2 months.  He did say if the band is problematic he might have to postpone the RNY until a later date. That would be awful, as having this done twice is bad enough.  I know I  just have to be positive, but sometimes it is hard to do.

Rise'