Hello, wish I had seen a forum like this 20 years ago. This is my experience with a lap ban rotting.
My weight in 2003 was 275, my family read about lap bands and encouraged me to get one. I had not been this overweight before, I was always thin but of course I didn't eat much so I stayed thin and was very physically active. As I got to 50 years old and had a hysterectomy 10 years previous, I gained 5+ pounds a year, I could not keep it off. So, I said OK, in 2003 I had it done. Upon getting it done, I threw up a lot, acquired a hiatal hernia, could not swallow saliva, it was so thick it would not go down, so I was contently throwing it up. I lost a lot of weight back to what I should have been within 9 months but continued to throw up the thick saliva getting me to thin. I found a few things I could eat, soup of course. By 2005 I began having pain in my side, I had liquid taken out of the ban so I could eat better and maybe not throw up so much. But I continued to have a weird pain. I asked my primary doctor if it could be the band and he said no. He did blood tests and it showed I have an infection, but he didn’t know what it would be. He gave me Flagle and of course that made me even sicker but within 2 weeks I felt a little better for about 2-3 weeks then it started again. This continued year after year, antibiotics 3-4 times a year, my doctor, never had me get the ban checked, didn’t even ask for a sonogram/ultrasound or CT, nothing. I just started having more and more pain until Sept 2011, gaining weight back, needing to drink a gallon of milk at a time, it seemed to cool my stomach or something. But I was getting weaker. I went to Italy regardless how I was feeling with friends and couldn’t even stand in line to go see a museum. Walking became very labored. By 2012, for most of the year, I was in bed, thinking it was a colon problem, I scheduled a doctor visit with a colon surgeon. He took one look at my stomach, pressed on it and I screamed. He said go to ER now! I barely got to ER, they gave me a contrast to drink, and I started shaking and passed out, I went septic and died, they brought me back to life. They found my lap ban had rotted and there was a abscess size of 3 apples ate a hole in my stomach. I woke up 4 days later, in and out 3 pumps coming out of my stomach with 3 1-inch pieces of foam 11 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. They could not suture up the area, it had to slowly close on its own removing the gauze twice a day after the foam was removed. It took 3+ months for it to heal closed. As time went by, I kept having what seemed to be a poke when I walked or bent over sat in straight up chairs, it seemed I always had to be in a lounging position, or I would be in pain. I had a hernia, they fixed it but again a month later I had that strange poking pain. I figured, the hernia tore or something and didn’t work. Over the years, I had more endoscopes, CT’s sonograms/ultrasounds, x-rays, and they never saw anything that would cause this pain, again I just figured it was the hernia.
February 2023, I had a lot of pain for days, so went to doctor, she had me go to my gastroenterologist. I think it was moving or it’s infected again. July 2023, I had my 3rd endoscopy, GUESS WHAT, THE PHOTOS SHOW AT LEAST 2 INCHES OF LAP BAND, a couple sections of them maybe as many as 4 sections showing up in the sonograms/ultrasounds, not sure what they did, one of the two. Why didn’t the doctor who removed it measure to be sure he got it all out!!! 11 years later I was right, the doctor who removed the band 11 years earlier, left much of the band inside. Yes, I have pictures all alone the way. A new CT the other day didn’t show anything, probably because of the material it’s made of, but the endoscopy, sonogram/ultrasound did show this time, it had not preveously before. So now I don’t know what the surgeon is going to do yet, waiting again to schedule appointment. I have a lot of anxiety knowing what I went through years ago and pray I don’t go through that again. My weight went up to 300 so I started a diet called, McDougall, I’ve lost 25 pounds in 3 months. Yes, I have cheated a few times but over all this diet worked really fast and brought my blood pressure down, all blood tests are so much better. Before you consider doing anything check out this diet first. I have infused some vegan, vegetarian and Asian food ideas, for my taste.
My weight in 2003 was 275, my family read about lap bands and encouraged me to get one. I had not been this overweight before, I was always thin but of course I didn't eat much so I stayed thin and was very physically active. As I got to 50 years old and had a hysterectomy 10 years previous, I gained 5+ pounds a year, I could not keep it off. So, I said OK, in 2003 I had it done. Upon getting it done, I threw up a lot, acquired a hiatal hernia, could not swallow saliva, it was so thick it would not go down, so I was contently throwing it up. I lost a lot of weight back to what I should have been within 9 months but continued to throw up the thick saliva getting me to thin. I found a few things I could eat, soup of course. By 2005 I began having pain in my side, I had liquid taken out of the ban so I could eat better and maybe not throw up so much. But I continued to have a weird pain. I asked my primary doctor if it could be the band and he said no. He did blood tests and it showed I have an infection, but he didn’t know what it would be. He gave me Flagle and of course that made me even sicker but within 2 weeks I felt a little better for about 2-3 weeks then it started again. This continued year after year, antibiotics 3-4 times a year, my doctor, never had me get the ban checked, didn’t even ask for a sonogram/ultrasound or CT, nothing. I just started having more and more pain until Sept 2011, gaining weight back, needing to drink a gallon of milk at a time, it seemed to cool my stomach or something. But I was getting weaker. I went to Italy regardless how I was feeling with friends and couldn’t even stand in line to go see a museum. Walking became very labored. By 2012, for most of the year, I was in bed, thinking it was a colon problem, I scheduled a doctor visit with a colon surgeon. He took one look at my stomach, pressed on it and I screamed. He said go to ER now! I barely got to ER, they gave me a contrast to drink, and I started shaking and passed out, I went septic and died, they brought me back to life. They found my lap ban had rotted and there was a abscess size of 3 apples ate a hole in my stomach. I woke up 4 days later, in and out 3 pumps coming out of my stomach with 3 1-inch pieces of foam 11 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. They could not suture up the area, it had to slowly close on its own removing the gauze twice a day after the foam was removed. It took 3+ months for it to heal closed. As time went by, I kept having what seemed to be a poke when I walked or bent over sat in straight up chairs, it seemed I always had to be in a lounging position, or I would be in pain. I had a hernia, they fixed it but again a month later I had that strange poking pain. I figured, the hernia tore or something and didn’t work. Over the years, I had more endoscopes, CT’s sonograms/ultrasounds, x-rays, and they never saw anything that would cause this pain, again I just figured it was the hernia.
February 2023, I had a lot of pain for days, so went to doctor, she had me go to my gastroenterologist. I think it was moving or it’s infected again. July 2023, I had my 3rd endoscopy, GUESS WHAT, THE PHOTOS SHOW AT LEAST 2 INCHES OF LAP BAND, a couple sections of them maybe as many as 4 sections showing up in the sonograms/ultrasounds, not sure what they did, one of the two. Why didn’t the doctor who removed it measure to be sure he got it all out!!! 11 years later I was right, the doctor who removed the band 11 years earlier, left much of the band inside. Yes, I have pictures all alone the way. A new CT the other day didn’t show anything, probably because of the material it’s made of, but the endoscopy, sonogram/ultrasound did show this time, it had not preveously before. So now I don’t know what the surgeon is going to do yet, waiting again to schedule appointment. I have a lot of anxiety knowing what I went through years ago and pray I don’t go through that again. My weight went up to 300 so I started a diet called, McDougall, I’ve lost 25 pounds in 3 months. Yes, I have cheated a few times but over all this diet worked really fast and brought my blood pressure down, all blood tests are so much better. Before you consider doing anything check out this diet first. I have infused some vegan, vegetarian and Asian food ideas, for my taste.
