Hello, I had a Lap-band implanted in 2012. I am a nurse and spent hours researching and learning about the procedure. I knew the risks and it sounded reasonable. I wasn't prepared for the complications that I had, despite what I learned. I developed an infection in the port incision post-op. After completing a course of antibiotics, the infection healed. When the doc went to do my initial fill, he could not access my port in the office. We scheduled at the hospital for adjustment under fluoroscopy. While seeing your spine and device like an x-ray is pretty cool, I did not get good news. My port had flipped - something I had not fathomed happening - and he could not add fluid. Surgery #2 to revise the port. Incision infection #2, round of antibiotics #2. I have had 2 C-sections without issue, so the repeated infections are odd to me.
By this point, it has been 4 months since my initial surgery placing the band and still no restriction. Next come the office visits to add fluid - wait 2 hours, spend 5 minutes with doc and on to the next month. The first few fills I felt no restriction (although I did learn the hard way a few off limit foods!) - although I could eat more than I should at one sitting, I could not lay down due to coughing and gagging - even brushing my teeth triggers gagging fits. Doc ordered tests and found my gallbladder was not working correctly, so surgery #3. Guess what happened next? Infection and antibiotic round #3! By now I am seriously disheartened and depressed, have not lost weight in months because I have taken to swallowing whatever is easiest to keep down. My next fill took me from feeling little restriction to not keeping down water - went back to doc and he determined that my port had flipped for a second time - he wanted to do another revision and to stabilize with mesh (another foreign object!). He didn't listen to my issues, rather he chose to lecture me about eating correctly. I decided that I needed a second opinion - my doc only did banding so I wondered if he wasn't biased about the alternative options. I wondered if I could be rejecting the band - he did an EGD and said it was in a good place and wanted to do the 4th operation.
I called and went to see my current surgeon, Dr. Shin. He told me that sometimes people are a "hard-fill" and don't ever hit the sweet spot. He said some people just can't tolerate the band. We discussed options and decided to convert to the gastric sleeve. My insurance required 6 months of appointments for diet monitoring as well as a dietician and psychology assessment - I actually went through this twice for the band because I ended up pregnant with my daughter after I had a pre-op apt scheduled and had to repeat the entire process. It has been a long road and the closer I get the more I am worried. Food has been my self-medication for years - I suspect the hardest part is going to be the mental aspect - after all that's what has stopped me before. Open to any advice and suggestions regarding adapting
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