Gastric band

[aine1]

I've been diagnosed 3 years ago with primary lymphoedema after about 30 years with 2 swolen legs and feet. I am considering having a gastric band. Has anyone any experience of this or have they been told you can't have the proceedure because of their lymphoedema?

[clown]

You can have the op with lymphedema - My friends went for the bypass. Speak to people who have had it done. (One friend told me there can be more "teething Problems" with the band)Good Luck

[aine1 in reply to clown]

Thanks very much for the reply. If i do go through with it I will have to go private as I don't fit nhs criteria, and as you have to pay 200 pounds for the consultation, I thought the best people to ask were on this forum for their experiences.

[Christo]

Hi Aine1.

You do not state where is the lyphodema? I have it in both legs and spreading up into trunk/torso. I do not see how gastric banding can improve the situation. Has it been proven that this procedure will reduce the lymph fluid in the limbs?

Interested to hear more before taking such a drastic and irreversable operation

[clown]

I know that Prof. Mortimer is very much for the op. Please speak to people who have had the op.

[clown]

Sorry - Professor told me he is for weight reducing surgery - did not say which one.

[aine1]

Christo, thanks for the reply. I have lymphoedema both feet and legs also. Im due to go to my clinic soon so I will of course discuss it with them. When i discussed it with my gp he said i didnt have a BMI big enough and so i thought my only way round it was to go private. I appreciate all of your feedback folks :))

[clown]

I have a friend who has just been approved weight reducing surgery NHS even though her BMI was not high enough bec. of her lymphedema|

[aine1]

Hi clown, here's what my GP told me...you have to be a BMI of 50 or over. I am 37. When the doctor gave me a contact of the specialist, i checked him out on his website. It says on there that the BMI is 40. But if you are to far from this and you have underlying problems such a high blood presure etc you may be able to have it done. Incidently, no mention of Lymphodema. To be truthful, i can't afford the more expensive operation as i have been given a pay cut, but i will have to do something :))

[clown]

Best of Luck. I personally would ask for referral to specialist and discuss it with him/her. You just might be able to save yourself a pretty penny!

[rother]

Hi, this could be the start of a very difficult road and needs to be considered very very carefully.

the weight loss site has hundreds of people who have had banding, however we're now finding that any type of weight loss surgery can be short lived and a great number of people have regained weight and have either gone for further surgery.

check out wlsinfo.co.uk. Ask the question as most like me are hiding in the background as we feel we've failed again at weight loss.

The gastric band hasn't had great results, although the surgeons will tell you other wise, you don't mention why your considering the band.

Short term you will loss, however you will not be able to eat red meat, drink fizzy juice, bread and most carbs, if you do the pain will make you think your not going to survive. You'll find yourself being sick most of the time as food either gets stuck or you over fill the gastric area. This sickness effects the enamel on your teeth.

Are your body doesn't get all the nutrients it needs it stores what you do have, and I would say has made my lymph worse, your metabolism slows down and I have yet to get that back up and I am ten years on next year, same weight as before surgery and mega struggling with my weight.

I wasn't able to take on fluid until 3 to 4 o'clock in the afternoon, this was shear hell, although there is no restriction in my band at the moment it still lets me know its there and somethings I still struggle with water. Your GP is a freind of my partner and he is always on at me to get the band refilled, my other half goes mad as he found it difficult to live with me banded too, so other family members need to be considered,

If you do decide to go and have a band, one thing to consider is that there is a significant amount of aftercare required by you and you'll regularly have to have fills and and fills removed, these can be very costly and go on for the amount of time you have the band, you're looking at around £500 a visit. Often I would be there a couple of times in one week, as the band would loss restriction, I'd get a fill and this would over tighten the band and at times I wouldn't be able to swallow my own saliva, if that's on a Friday night it can be a long weekend until you get help.

Sorry this sounds so horrible however surgeons will not tell you the problems, they only focus on the weight loss, which as I say can be very short term.

don't do what I did and rush into it, look at it from all angles, mainly does this have to be the last option

I will probably get some negative feedback on here for sounding so negative however it's so so hard.

Think long and hard and if you want to ask anything further then please do

Good luck with whatever you decide

[aine1 in reply to rother]

Hi rother, thank you so much for your reply. Reading it has opened my eyes to the pitfalls. I havent visited the link you have provided me with yet, but i'm sure it will be very helpful. I don't think my clinic would advise this course of action either, and so when I do visit them i will share their thoughts.

I'm also sorry that you suffered so much. Did you have to go private ?

Once again thank you for taking the time - much appreciated

[rother in reply to aine1]

Yes on a bit of a whim, I travelled to France and had the op there.

I am ok with it all, we make mistakes in life and I am ok that this has happened, however I just wanted you to see it from the other side, surgeons will let you speak to people it worked for, hopefully someone with our condition that it did work for will come on and give you their side.

I excerise as much as I can, have a mainly shake diet and try and stay healthy. Weight loss is a great help, however as we all know when your limb feels so heavy you can't move it even with support stocking on,we focus away from the leg and blame something thats still there.

I hate this heat, feel as tho someone has blown me up - where is jack frost

[Harveygirl]

Hello Aine1.

I have primary lymphoedema in both legs and feet and it has also been suggested to me that I have bariatric surgery - funnily enough by Prof Mortimer, just like Clown - but I am not keen for several reasons. Rother sums it up very well IMO. My BMI is high enough to qualify for NHS treatment but that isn't really a good enough reason to do it - just because it's free!

I think the point is that losing weight will improve one's overall health and mobility and enable one to exercise which helps lymphoedema. I'm sure that this is true and I have seen it happen when my Mum lost a lot of weight and her legs and feet were much better (thanks for the genes Mum!) but life isn't as simple as Prof Mortimer seems to think it is - he is a fierce supporter of bariatric surgery whilst being very slim himself and I don't think he understands the complex reasons for most overweight people being that way.

Good luck and take care of yourself. x

[goodtimes]

I was rejected for this surgery because I had a Hernia and the Dr said it would complicated my Acid Reflux. I later found out that I would have to take a large amount of vitamins as I could only eat certain foods and yes there is many complications with this type of Band surgery I later found out. I have tried swimming when the weather is good and the Lymph seems a little better. do your homework on this and they also recommended something called the Sleeve..I opt out of both as they both come with plenty of side effects.

[norberte]

hi aine

i have to agree with the other nay-sayers, sorry

if your bmi's high purely cos of your lymphoedema then you need mld, sld, kinesiotaping, compression etc to help get rid of the lymph - bariatric surgery doesn't do that

if you're overweight anyway (& you're not alone - for me, exercise is difficult .... but eating chocolate's easy!) then, for the vast majority of people, it's cos we're taking too many calories in & not exercising enough calories out - it's a psychological problem or a problem about lack of knowledge, & those problems are best dealt with by psychologists / counsellors & dietitians, not surgeons

bariatric surgery can be spectacularly successful, but only if you address the underlying problems as well - otherwise, what happens with a lot of people is that they gradually find ways of getting more food in (liquidizing mars bars isn't an urban myth) & the benefits just don't last

& just to emphasise again, 'fat' bits of your body aren't fat if they're full of lymph - absolutely, it can interfere with how your fat cells work but the answer to that is to get rid of as much lymph as possible, not to do something that forces you to massively reduce your calorie intake until you find ways to 'cheat'

so other types of surgery - debulking, lymph node transfer, lvn etc - make much more sense if you decide surgery's the right way forward for you

& don't forget, also, that if there's one thing we know on this site it's that many, many gp's just don't know enough about lymphoedema!

good luck - me, i'm going back to slimming world

[aine1]

Norberte, big and all other people that time to answer my question - many thanks to you all for your feedback. Reading your comments have really made me stop and think. In many ways i think i was looking througg rose tinted glasses. I certainly wont be rushing into anything. Again thanks a million x

[maid]

Please think very hard about this it is not a quick fix, I had a band fitted ten years ago and have nothing but being sick daily, lots of pain on morphine tablets. I was in and out of hospital for years lots of tests for all sorts. My surgeon said that he was sure it was the gall bladder but all the tests came back negative. Then when I went in again he said that he would go in and look he took the gall bladder out and it was putrid which was contributing to my sickness and pain. In October 2014 I received a call to see a Bariatric Professor he put me through a barrage of tests, MRI, CT Scan, X Ray and Barium swallows. The swallow showed that the band had twisted my stomach and I was given an emergency gastric bypass procedure. This has changed my life completely I still have days when I am sick but no were near as bad as the band, the diet is life changing you really have to be aware of your food and what is in it. Sugar is a big no no it is almost impossible to find foods with no sugar even fresh food has sugar, if you go over 3grams per meal you will be ill this is called a dump you get sweats, headaches, cramps and severe diarorhea this can keep you in bed for days. Going out with family and friends is great but they watch as I eat. You can only have a starter and that is that. If you have a drink any kind you have to wait about 20 minutes after you have eaten. So please ask lots of questions and go from there but is I knew then what I do now I would NEVER of had the band in the first place it is JUST NOT WORTH IT. Good look with your decision hope whatever you decide.