Layla,

My condolences on your mother's passing.  Have you considered participating in a grief workshop or group?  I am sure your mother would want to you gain back control of your life and to be happy.

I dread my birthday every single year since 2006.  My mother was terminally ill (although she denied it) and made the effort to go out to dinner to celebrate my birthday.  She passed away two weeks to the day later and it was HORRIBLE.  However, much as I miss her, I know she would want me to go through life and give it my best shot.

Lisa

It was time for me to leave.  The house is getting emptied out and my brother, our nephew and my nephew's family are moving into my house in Colorado, since my niece elected to vacate instead of sharing a 2,500 square foot house for four to six week while I flipped properties.  Her loss.  They will stay in that house at least as long as I am in Germany; depending where I end up, possibly a bit longer.

Why not hop on a plane and visit me?  I'm renting a townhouse than is nearly 2,000 square feet.  Plenty of room.

Welcome to the club.  I, too, had a slip but revised to sleeve in the same surgery removing the band. 

With a band removal (or even having a band put in), you should be fine to drive if you feel up to it and you are off painkillers.  But I don't know the full extent of your band issues so this is a generic answer.  Your best bet to to call the surgeon's office and ask.

Do you plan to revise? 

I hope you feel better.

Checked the failed bands board.  I think that's a huge issue there.

It may well be genetic.  Unless your dietary habits are similar.  But, given that you don't live under the same roof, I doubt that's the case. 

Any other family members have it?

Well, what are you EATING now?

Are you eating a lot of beef?  If so, try grilled chicken or fish.  But make sure you add in more iron supplements.

However, sometimes, high cholesterol is genetic at least in part.  When my eldest nephew was about 12, he was diagnosed with high cholesterol.  Nearly all the white males on both the maternal and paternal sides of my family have this issue.  Yeah, just the white males.  None of the females or any of the males of color have this condition. 

What I would do is talk to the doctor *****quested the labs and a clinical dietician who specializes in patients who have had weight loss surgery.

People in Alaska don't typically have bands.  The RnY tends to be more common.  Although Jess has DS.

Unless things have changed in the last few years, the likelihood is that you will need to go out of state for an adjustment. 

I have family issues and I'm getting ready to move to Germany.  So, this year, I am doing what I do on years when I am on vacation on Orlando: I'm going to a theme park.  It's either going to be a Disney park or Universal.  It'll be me and my brother.

It appears to be affecting both Lap and Realize bands.  While surgical misplacement can create massive issues, even correctly placed bands can result in problems, whether or not they slip.

In my case, I ended up changing surgeons midstream for the revision in part because, despite classical symptoms, one surgeon insisted I did not have a band slip on the basis of a Upper GI she had done NPO.  If it's done NPO, you generally won't see the slip because there is nothing to demonstrate.

In my case, my body tried to reject the band and couldn't physically dislodge it from my body.  So it started enveloping it in scar tissue.  Including the inner donut portion.  My band was literally choking me slowly to death, despite being emptied.  I can't say exactly when but my band also slipped.

Like I said, I changed surgeon midstream during the revision process and switched to another surgeon who listened to what I had to say, had a competent staff and adjusted his fees for the self-pay portion of the process (my insurance paid for the band removal but not the sleeve).  What I ended up paying for the sleeve itself amounted to about what I would have to pay out of pocket anyway.

BTW, during the removal process, my port ended up being the worst due to surgical mesh.  Also covered in scar tissue.

The scar tissue throughout my digestive system was so bad that, even if the sleeve hadn't been scheduled, it would have had to been done anyway.

I'm not trying to scare you and I hope I'm not telling you more than you intended.  But you asked a question.  I'm giving you an answer.

I also hope, since you have had surgery, that you never develop problems.

I revised from the band to the sleeve four years to the day after I got the sleeve and over two years after it became problematic.  I wouldn't wish what I went through on my worst enemy.  The reported estimate of bandsters who have to have subsequent procedures to associated issues is about 30%.  I suspect the number is higher than that.  From what I see and hear, I suspect the band is on its way out as a preferred method of WLS. 

That said, there are plenty of happy bandsters.

If you have had all the pre-op work up, you can switch to another surgery fairly easily.  All the way up to the time they wheel you to the OR and put you under.  I would suggest you consider your options based upon valid considerations. 

Depends upon your insurance.  However, during a period following surgery, medical care associated with that surgery is considered global; that is, the after-care is included.  With my insurance, I believe it's 90 days. 

With self-pay, it can vary.   When program fees are assessed, it will generally specifically stipulate the global period.

Part of my surgery was paid for by my insurance and I have really good insurance.  Even with the self pay, had something gone amuck and I needed medical services, they would have paid unless they could show some sort of malfeasance on my part.

I think you might have a valid point about pressure in the bands.  A woman from my support group went in for a fill and, after the nurse tell her that she wasn't exercising enough and was eating too much, repeated her intake and exercise to the surgeon (my original surgeon, BTW) who gave her a fill of a higher density because she WAS on track on with intake and exercise.  It was the first and only time I had heard fill can have different densities.