Wish people would stop hating on the band

Yes I have a leaky band. But I have never been without fill except the last 2 weeks. My leak is slow. When I look back at my records I realize that I was too tight after fills, and then obviously too loose once restriction petered out.

I can't explain the extreme restriction I was experiencing last month right before my total unfill. I was sliming and PB'ing thick liquids with only 5.5cc's in my band. That made no sense. Still doesn't. I am hoping that all the stress I was going through at the time caused me to be tighter than normal with 5.5cc's.

My upper GI is clean. No slip. The phi angle is 38 degrees (within normal range) and my esophagus is of normal caliber without strictures. No esophageal diverticula.

So yes. I am going to give my band another shot. I have no medical reason not to.

I am not "complaining" about getting more support on the VSG board. I am simply stating a fact. When I discussed my problems there, I had numerous people who were very supportive, willing to listen, pm, email, take time & talk to me. Especially since I was considering a revision. Now that I have made the decision to keep my band & repair my port... I hear *crickets* when I post.

"risking my life" ... oh come on. I call BS. Not in MY situation.

Every situation is different. I weighed the pros and cons... and for ME... repairing my port is the best option at this time… taking into consideration several external life factors.

My head is finally 100% in this. I just need a working tool now. I truly hope that I don't have future complications. But I don't have a crystal ball. Will I regret my decision? Maybe. But at this time putting $11000 on a credit card does not make sense for me or my family.

I have been unfilled for 2 weeks with NO issues. So IF I have problems again, then at the very least I can remove my fill level again and go on with my life.

Lillys Ma...

~~you know what? your an ass and i dont care if i get boosted off for that comment. you were fat too just like the rest of us. it doesnt mater how you lost the wt or how your keeping it off we're all on the same boat here and you should be nothing but positive!!!! in all reality i think you choose the easy way out. these surgeries are a tool to lose wt not the solution and it just so happens with the band you have to work harder to get there. if your soooo completely happy with your sleeve then stop snoopping around the lapband forums. we do not need you here to put us down. that probably why you were over weight in the first place. eating and making others feel bad is your only form of hapiness. go get a life....~~

You are an idiot. Seriously, *****minds you to breathe 16 times a minute?

The band almost killed me and I am supposed to be positive about this instead of warning newbies about facts, stats, and peer reviewed studies? Are you freak'en serious?

I have forever esophageal damage due to the band. There are (most) days when I vomit stomach acid every couple of hours. I have barretts esophagus which means, I stand a better chance than most to die of esophageal cancer. And you have the ovaries to tell me I chose the easy way out? Seriously, are you that stupid? I lost my excess weight with a band. You have a band. And you sit there telling me I chose the easy way out? Really, how frigg'en dumb are you?

I am not even going to respond to NaBlowMe's idiocy, I'm going to let MsShell do it for me. I don't have the patience to be told I wasn't chewing my protein shakes well enough.

But I will say this, NaBlowMe aka Nana enjoys seeing newbies fail. She gets her thrills from it. She WANTS people to get a band, fail, and knock 'em when they are down.

The girl has serious issues. She won't get the help she needs so it is what it is.

NM....

~~I know that I've posted my experiences and very few people ever say much to me about it. And it was absolutely hellish, a nightmare, something I wouldn't wish on anyone, ever. But, since I'm not a Happy Rainbow Farter, I don't count, apparently.~~

I'm sorry, just keep posting on the sleeve boards. (((HUGS)))

People here, they don't get it... yet.

Awesome post! and congrats on your success! My surgery is Wed. and I have went over and over in my head wondering if I am doing the right thing. I too chose the band because of the less invasiveness of it. I have read horror stories about all surgeries and just recently began feeling from others that I am wasting my time. Well Poo on you! Its my life and I dont feel either that just because your getting other surgeries you are any BETTER nor LESS than I am. Its a personal choice. Encourage me.. dont discourage me.. We have ALL had of enough of that ion our FAT lives. Be HAPPY for each others losses!

Thank you Nicole for the original post and for the rest of you that maintained a sense of decency regarding ones right to choose their path.   I am scheduled for surgery 1/28/2011.  I have two friends who have had great success from Lap Band.  Not every journey to weight loss is the same regardless of the choice, but the spewing of venomous hate from those now "blocked", won't undermine my ability to make an informed choice based on my own research, my own experiences and discussions with educated medical professionals.   

I am happy I chose the band, I am happy it was my choice to make.  Thank you again for the positive posts and good luck on your journey. 

I trust my surgeon when he tells me that complications of the lap band WITH HIS PATIENTS are extremely rare.  When I read all the negativity, I remind myself that these people had surgery by different surgeons than mine and often in other countries.  Also, they may not be able to follow up as recommended due to distance and finances.  

My sister works nights as an OR tech at a large trauma center, of course I hear about all the emergency surgeries they do on lap band patients there.  What do they have in common?  They were all origonally done in Mexico or by new inexperienced weight loss surgeons.   The bariactric surgeon that works there has a very low complication rate, she said his patients aren't the ones who show up with their intestines wrapped in the tubing of the band or lifethreatening infections.

I think it is good to be aware of all complications that could happen and to choose your surgeon and hospital wisely.  Equally important is to have regular follow up.

I don't think anyone should be afraid to post their experiences, good or bad.   I have blocked a couple of the band bashers not because I don't want to hear that something bad can happen, but I am just sick of reading the same tirade over and over and over.  Yada Yada Yada

I'm sorry but I need to disagree with you on this one. My surgeon is not only at a Bariatric Center of Excellence at NYU Medical Center in Manhattan, but he also banded Mohammad Ali's daughter and Rex Ryan, the Jet's coach, so he's not a quack surgeon. I followed up with him every month for over 2 years, as did so many friends of mine, and he is awesome, wonderful and I can't say enough great things about him. He and the other surgeons in his practice (there are 5) do primarily lapbands, he for the last 12 years, both in Australia where he was banded, and here as well, so he and the rest knows their stuff, and I can't tell you how many people I talk to in his waiting room who have had slips, fills/unfills, and so many other complications. I have a ton of friends who have been banded here in NJ who have gone thru the same thing. I also know many people who have had their WLS surgeries in Mexico, band and sleeve, who have had no problem, so please don't blame problems on foreign surgeons. There are good and bad surgeons in every country.

I haven't posted here for a while, but anyone who's ever read my posts knows I've never been a band basher, and I'm still not, but I think that people need to be aware that there are a LOT of complications and it's not always user error or surgeon error the way newbies seem to think. If someone you cared about was going to go for a medical procedure and asked for your opinion, wouldn't you tell them everything you knew, good and bad? That's what most people here are doing. My feeling is, if you don't want to hear all there is to know, don't ask. Trust me, when I was new, I asked everything and took it all in. It wasn't always what I wanted to hear but I listened just in case I needed it someday. And guess what...I did.

Like it or not, everybody needs a dose of reality from time to time.

I had the band, it didn't work out for me, I had it remove and revised to the sleeve.  I don't come here to bash anything.  I come here because I feel an obligation to support those who are having difficulty and to tell my experience with the band to those that are trying to make a decision.

You have no more right to tell your story than anyone else.  Get it?  Not everyone's experience with the band was a good one.  I encourage everyone to tell their story good or bad. 

Ya know, when I had the band, I didn't want to hear the negative stuff either.  You want to know why?  It was because I didn't want to believe I was going to be next.  I avoided sharing bad incidences that I was having from the very beginning.  I am a very positive, upbeat, optimistic person and I didn't want to bring anybody down.  Most of all, I didn't want to be accused of "failing my band."

Insistence on only hearing the positive is why people avoid problems that they are having, don't ask questions about them, or try to advise someone else who is having the same problem.

Good for anyone who is not in pain, can eat a normal meal, is not puking just about everything they try to eat, especially the foods they are supposed to eat.  IT"S NOT ABOUT YOU!!!!

Ignore the truth of others and hope you don't become one of the others because you sure will be eating your words, even though you may not be able to eat anything else.

I think you just better get used to either ignoring the bad experiences of others or STFU about it.  More and more of us are going to be coming out of the woodwork.  The numbers grow by the day.  We want to help others, not criticize your positive experience.

I'm so glad things are going so well for you, but pray tell where should those of us not having such a successful journey go?  Should I crawl up and die in a corner somewhere?

Yes the band works for some, but for the vast majority it does not.  You have to be wiling to take the good with the bad.