My lap-band had to be removed yesterday

[rox63]

I've been getting increasingly bad acid reflux in the last couple of months. It recently got bad enough that it was difficult to lie down to sleep at night. Also I had started vomiting more. I finally had enough, and went to the weight-management clinic I'd gone to before and after the surgery. It is associated with the hospital where the surgery was done. They sent me right over to the hospital for an upper-GI test. The results showed that the band had slipped down the stomach, and was causing a serious obstruction. Even though it was mid-afternoon by this time, they sent me down to the day-surgery unit to have the band removed. A couple of hours later, I was waking up from anesthesia after the band had been removed. I got home by cab at about 9:00 PM, since they don't let post-anesthesia, percocet-addled people drive themselves home.

So now I have no idea what to do next. Except that I need to get over to the hospital parking garage to get my car back.

How was your day?

[packman]

1. Curious about several things---

1. Overall, was it worth it?
2. How much weight did you lose?
3. How much did it cost - any covered by insurance?
4. Were you warned about the possible slippage of the band?
5. If you had to do it over would you?
6. Did you learn anything about your previous weight gain from this experience that is going
to impact your life now?
7. Would you recommend it to others?

[rox63]

2. A few answers

1. Yes, I am glad I did it at that time, even though it ended badly.

2. I lost 80 lbs, even though I had wanted to lose more like 120. I did gain back some in the 2 years since the initial loss. But I am still significantly less overweight than I was when I started.

3. Most of it was covered by insurance. I had a $500 copay for the hospitalization, and a $400 fee paid to start the rather extensive program of pre-surgery tests and appointments. These appointments included evaluations by cardiac, neurology and psych professionals.

4. Yes, I was warned about the possibility of slippage. But they said it was a very small percentage of cases where it happened. I just happened to fall into that category.

5. Knowing what I know now, I would probably choose a gastric sleeve surgery rather than a lap-band. Not as radical as a gastric bypass, and no foreign objects that can slip.

6. Not sure how to answer this. I've been overweight most of my life, so there weren't many times before my weight gain. I was a fat kid, a fat teenager and a fat adult. This was punctuated by periods where I would diet and lose some weight, only to eventually gain it back. Since the original bariatric surgery, I've learned that I can be healthier and happier eating less and weighing less.

7. I don't think I would recommend lap-band surgery, based on my experience. And I'm told they are doing a lot fewer of those procedures these days. But I would recommend weight loss surgery for those who have intractable weight problems, and have been unable to permanently take off weight any other way.

I don't know what I will do next. I'm probably not heavy enough to qualify for another type of bariatric surgery. But I don't want to get back to that point again. I'll just wait and see how things go, and decide later how to proceed.

[packman]

3. Thanks for the answers

It is a struggle. The only real two times I lost weight was from a silly liquid protein diet which caused me to faint and an extended hospital stay with a bum knee. The hospital stay taught me that portion control is important. I thought I would starve seeing those , what I considered skimpy meals, on my tray. Three meals a day ( I ate two large meals at home) and even an evening snack dropped the pounds. I carried the lesson to home and eat 3 meals now a day with the noon meal fruits and veggies. Meat is now relegated to a secondary role in my meal planning.

Thanks again.

[auntAgonist]

4. Rox, I'm so sorry you had such trouble!

I'm glad to hear you're on the mend though.

Get yourself feeling better and then decide to go from there. An 80 lb loss is excellent.

Keep us updated on how you're doing ok?



kesha.

[rox63]

5. Thanks, aA!

I'm doing well, but feeling a little lost, food-wise. All of a sudden, I can eat like I used to. But that doesn't mean that I should. I have over 2 years experience with eating less. But no surgery can fix what made me overeat in the first place. Most of that is in my head, and that's the hardest thing to fix.

[auntAgonist]

6. I know you're right! I struggle with junk food etc and too many carbs.

I have to really, really concentrate on my protein.

I got sick last winter (not wls related) and wasn't eating properly. No appetite etc. My nutritional status went all to hell and I got even more sick!
Fast forward to today... I am on Total Parenteral Nutritional feeding through a PICC line in my left arm and have been since May 31st.
My system is so out of whack that I'm really struggling to get myself back on track.

Now there are many who would say it's because of the WLS that this happened. NO, it's partially due to the WLS that it happened but mostly because I didn't recognize the signs of malnutrition. Had I noticed it would never have come to this.

I'm hoping to lose the PICC soon as I have my son's wedding to go to in California. We're flying out there on the 18th. It's been a shitty year for me health wise. During a CAT scan to find out why I had a persistent cough they found a pulmonary embolism and took me to hospital right away. A full 7 days of bed rest with bathroom privileges if you please.
Now I have to take xarelto a blood thinner which has contributed to other issues oy!
A colonoscopy was done on Tuesday last to try to find the source of a GI Bleed.

ack, ..sorry I got carried away.

Do stick with it Rox .. go for the Sleeve Gastrectomy if that's what you and your Dr decide is good for you. Ask to see a nutritionist to help you over this rough spot.

best wishes always.

I'm here for ya

kesha

[rox63]

7. I'm so sorry you've had such a rough year

I hope your health improves soon. Sounds like it's been one disaster after another for you lately.

One of the reasons I'm reluctant to consider a gastric bypass is that I have a tendency towards self-neglect, and the possible malabsorption issues looks like a hole I could easily fall into.

I'll be back at the weight management center soon to start looking ahead to what's next.

[ginnyinWI]

8. Mediterranean style eating

Has been proven effective. Actually, any diet which raises fiber and reduces sugar will work. It's mainly the sugar--it will increase your appetite something fierce, as well as raise your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar (insulin resistance), but any overly processed foods are way too easy to eat to much of will add too many calories.

I like Andrew Weil's approach. He says eat for health as well as weight loss. His food pyramid is very Mediterranean-like. Mostly plant based foods, with some servings of dairy, fish and even meat allowed. And healthy oils in moderation.