K B (Tucson)
I had band surgery 11/22/05 in Mexicali, Mexico with Dr. Alberto Aceves. I do recommend Dr. Aceves and the Almatar Hospital in which he conducts the wls. The experience was postivie and the doc is very professional. Although I have health insurance, wls is expressly excluded from coverage. I have done well with the band and have lost 115 lb in just under one year. I am now only 10-20 lb from "ideal" weight!
The only issue I have had with the band is related to my seasonal allergies. This year, my allergies have caused a lot of nausea due to all the drainage from my sinuses. The drainage has irritated my stomach and caused me to vomit, something to be avoided with the band. Consequently, I was diagnosed with a slip yesterday (11/2/06). My doc has asked me to stay on liquids for the next three weeks and feels the slip will correct itself. I will actually see my doc again 2 days after my wl surgery anniversary. I hope all goes well and that I have good luck with my allergies and band for the rest of my life.
I am now getting used to being "normal" weight. What a ride!
2/6/07
My pouch is still a bit distended, so the doc surgically repositioned the band. I start all over with the post-op diet, but I do know what the journey is like now and am not scared. I am wearing a size 10 (bottom) and 12 (top) now. I never thought I would EVER be this thin in my life. I hope to maintain this weight and size. Dare I think of becoming even a bit smaller? Who knows.
3/13/07
I am learning that where the band is placed on the stomach really makes a difference in the "band expereince". The first time around I could only sip water for several months post-op, could only eat very small meals and always felt some sense of restriction even when unfilled. This time I can drink liquids normally, eat more food per meal and feel almost no restriction in my wide-open band. I feel lucky that I had a good sense of restriction during the bulk of my weight loss journey as it sure helped me curb my appetite. I am coming to think that because my band was always "tight", this increased my chances of having a band slip. Now that I am at goal weight, I need to rely much more heavily on my own sense of willpower to keep me from overeating. I am not gaining weight back, YEAH, but this band expereince is definitely different than the first.
5/26/07
By early 3/07 I found I had an infection oozing from the port incision following band repositioning. Four ER visits, 2 hospitalizations, and a multitude of oral and IV antibiotics later, the infection is back. I now must have the band removed. I will not have the band replaced due to all the complications I have experienced. I dearly loved the band, but this last year has been one thing after another. I will have vertical sleeve gasterctomy (vsg) at the same time the surgeon takes out the band. This way, I hope to maintain my weight loss and perhaps lose another 10 or so pounds. I understand that vsg is similar to the band in how it works, but fewer overall complications. Of course, with vsg I do lose 3/4 of my stomach. Ouch. No way back from this one. It is not reversible like the band.
6/7/07
I had vertical sleeve gastrectomy (vsg) yesterday and the band removed as the infection reappeared 1 week after the second PICC line and IV medications were discontinued. My new doc (who is not a fan of the band) told me that the surgery was difficult and that I had a tear in my stomach (erosion) that casued the infection. So, if I had not had the band removed, I would still have the infection. He also told me that my esophagus had lost "mobility". I"m not sure what the implications are for this. I will ask him when I see him for the first follow-up next week. So, for the third time in a year and a half I am on the post wls diet. Two weeks clears, 2 weeks fulls with 1 egg a day added and then mushies. Your hunger is supposed to be greatly diminished with vsg, but I tell you I could eat right now if I didn't already know that I would really hurt myself by eating real food. I can do this. I hope for a future of pure good health and no more complications.
6/12/07
I saw my vsg doc this week for my one week check-up. He told me that my esophagus was "corkscrewed" due to the band and he did not know if it would right itself. He said that this was due to the band being too tight. I asked what the implications were and he said he did not know. He also told me I had a hole in my stomach (erosion) that caused the infection. Yicks. My post-op healing is much like that of my second band surgery. I can drink well, but get diarrhea within a half hour of consuming anything with calories. I am seeing on the vsg board that some vsgers have this as a chronic problem. I hope it passes. I don't know what is causing this, but it is very annoying.
6/2/08
One year since vsg and doing well. No re-occurance of infection and I am healthy again. I have gained a few pounds (10-15) and am working on taking them off. It took several months atter the last surgery to realize I COULD eat solid food again. But since I had been so sick, I started "rewarding" myself with sugar. Lo and behold, I gained back some weight. Criminy, I wish wls was a magic bullet and I did not have to work at this, but I do. I am still excercising with my trainer, take a kick boxing class (fun) and have started a circuit training class 2x/wk that is mostly aerobic. I have muscles and tone, but still bat wings on my upper arms and saggy thighs. I did however, get plastic surgery late last year (breast lift wih augmentation and a tummy tuck). Next best decision, after wls, that I ever made. Perky breasts and a flat stomach - quite a new expereince for me and loving it. Now just waiting for the scars to fade to nothing (I hope). Let's see what another year brings.
