Lap Band Warning!!

it's well documented & known that there are outside "influences" that make the band tight: PMS/Period, stress, flying, certain meds - one can't just point to the fact that someone has their band too "tight".....especially those who are completely empty.

social settings were something i had to pay CLOSE attention to early out.    i did very well @ home eating, but when out w/friends & the constant gabbing goes on, i didn't chew as properly as i should have - or i might have been nervous of others paying too close attention to what / how i was eating.

i barely have a fill & prefer it that way - stress makes my band tight, and it's been a tough yr.    i can eat what i want & enjoy a healthy diet of ALL foods, hell my nephew is sleeping in my lap & i snagged 3 of his twizzlers.  

i think those that HAD a band, have every right to be on here as those who just got one.
the combo of the 2 w/those who are happy & been successful make it a really balanced forum.

~i think those that HAD a band, have every right to be on here as those who just got one.
the combo of the 2 w/those who are happy & been successful make it a really balanced forum.~


Thanks for being a voice of reason here! With all the opposition I get I do appriciate those bandsters that do voice their opinion and stand up for what's right.

Only if we know the whole story about the band can we make informed decisions and I strongly beleive that is something that we ALL should want for other bandsters/potential bandsters.

 

That's a good question. As far as me...........no I don't keep it too tight. Just can't seem to get it at the right point. 14 fills and 3 partial unfills when it was filled and I could tell it was too tight. Then it can vary at times too. The band just seems very unpredictable.

As far as not being able to eat certain foods. That varies from person to person. I think some can eat anything. some things with me have gotten stuck so I am cautious about them. Breads seems to be something a lot of ppl have trouble with. Some can if it's toasted. I can eat a little of it but I DON'T pu**** Pizza Ican eat the thin crust but not the thick. The thin crust I can eat when it's delivered, but if I tried to re-heat it in the microwave that doesn't work for me. Meats can rarely be an issue for me. I have heard flour tortillas are difficult for some ppl. The corn tortillas seem to be no problem. If I have a flour tortilla I will just eat part of it b/c I don't want to see it it will be a problem for me. Some meats if I think it is a problem I will take some Papaya Enzyme with it.

Basically I very seldom have a problem with getting stuck............but I am cautious.

Others on the forum can give u more feedback about if they get stuck or on what.
 

I didn't think there was anything wrong with the question you (Steelerfan1) asked and I didn't think you were trying to start a fight. And I hope you didn't think I was simply trying to talk anyone out of getting the lap band, as I was not. I was just sharing a different experience than what I heard about prior to getting the band.

Maybe you were able to find the "sweet spot" quick and easily? Maybe you lose weight easily? I don't know. I do know that when I still had the band and was having problems, I had asked my surgeon (and did some online research) about whether there was a difference in results between lap band people who struggled with weight all their lives and lap band people who happened to get heavy as they aged; because I felt strongly that genetics played a big role in how well the lap band worked. (Of course, I say this as someone who is 45 years old and was fat all my life, even as a little baby I was a big butterball ham!) But as far as I know, there has not been any research with that as the purpose of the study?

But I do know that in my lap band support group, which was a very large group, there were only 4 people that I know of, who were happy with the band and happy with their weight loss. Everyone else talked about pain, about sliming, about throwing up, about difficulty eating certain foods, like chicken (a big one that was common for pretty much everyone), etc. I don't know what the problem was? Maybe it was the surgeon (although he had a lot of experience)? I didn't go back to him for the VSG.

To answer the question from TamifromAL, in the post below, about what I define as "too tight" for me was when I couldn't get even water to go down...that was what I would call too tight.

I understand that you've had a positive experience with the band, with meeting your weight loss goals and with no complications, I truly think that's great and I am definitely very happy for you! My intention was not to talk anybody out of the band, but just share other experiences, that are not all just positive experiences. Their are experiences that I was unaware of before I got the lap band, only to find out later were fairly common experiences. It is most certainly the right procedure for some people, but it is best that everybody be fully informed before making the choice of a lap band.

I truly wish good luck and best wishes to everyone with the lap band and those planning on getting the lap band!

I know you was just telling your experience and I do appreciate that :o)  I'm nosy so I always like to ask alot of questions if something dont make sense to me lol 

I hope you dont take this the wrong way because I truly dont mean it that way , but once again being nosy lol did you go to any of the support group meetings that your doc holds before you even had the surgery ?

It just seems like if your doc had that many people having problems with the lapband it would have scared me off to use that doc .  The odds right there are not very good.  It makes me wonder if the doc was placing the lapband in the proper position if that makes sense ?    I could understand if the lapband was placed to high that is why you had all them problems eating, slimming and things like that .  It really makes me wonder if he even had the darn thing in the right place

I went to about four group meetings meeting different folks and watching them and asking them all the questions about eating , what they couldn't eat and so forth to get different answers from different people.  Gosh nobody had problems like you said so that just made me very comfortable with my doc that all these people that has their lapband from newbies to 5 yrs plus had no problems like this .

I'm truly sorry you had a bad experience with this and to me and I'm sorry to say this it was more your doc then you to be honest.  I honestly IMO dont think he had the lapband in the right position :o(

I believe if my doc would have put the lapband in the wrong place also to high up then I would probably be sitting in your position also that is very scary to think about .


I honestly dont know if I have found the "sweet spot" or not to be honest.  I just dont think about it or make it my daily concentration if I'm there or not.  All I know is I can go 3 hrs or more not being hungry.

Now I will admit there are some days I get hungry within 2 hrs and that happens if I dont eat alot of protein for my meal, but I wouldn't run to the doc's to get a fill just for that though.  The only way I would go get a fill is if it stayed like that for weeks and after every meal , but just once in awhile to me I dont  think its worth the fill , but that is just my opinion only .

I have skipped my first fill and from the looks of it will be skipping my second fill that is suppose to happen in the next couple of weeks unless some major changes happen lol.

Maybe , I'm to scared to get fills after hearing all these stories about fills ??  That is why I'm prolonging getting a fill that might sound silly to some people but maybe I'm playing more of a mental game right now with me and the band ?  Maybe I'm to scared to get that first fill because it might make me to tight, or I wont be able to eat this or that ?   The mind is a very powerful thing and as long as I'm not starving myself I guess I'm okay .

I know I will have to get a fill , that would be silly to think I can go through this whole weight loss adventure not having one, but as long as the weight is coming off, I'm feeding my body good foods, then I will prolong the fill as long as I can if that makes sense ? Why get a fill if you dont need one is what I'm saying .

But as long as I'm losing my 8-10 pounds per month and all I'm doing is playing this mental game then that is fine with me at least I'm losing weight :o ) and I'm not hungry I guess I'm not hurting nobody and my body is getting the nutrients it's needs .

I wish you well on your continued journey and wish you nothing but the best !!! It's been very nice chatting with you and letting me ask my nosy questions lol 

To everyone who is considering the band please keep this in mind.....

Everyone has their issues... and of course there will be those that have their problems with the band..... just the like the people I know who have DIED from Bypass or been in the hospital on a regular basis.... or lost clumps of hair, or have gained back all their weight after losing 100's of pounds...

So all of you who are reading this and worried about getting the band just keep in mind there is a percentage of people that each type of procedure won't work for!!  And.... you have no idea if they followed the Dr's instructions, or ate too fast or too much or had -3-4 milk shakes a day and on and on and on.....

I know as many people listed above (and more if you look at this forum on a regular basis) who are TOTALLY successful with their band!! So keep that in perspective!!!  It may not be for you but don't let the band-bashers change your mind unless your decisions is weighted in real facts and based on your own personal decision, not on fear tactics!

I for one LOVE my band!  Essentially I have lost .5 lbs a day since I had my surgery.. I don't recall ever losing that kind of weight without my Tool!! And honestly to loose it too much faster will cause even more skin hanging!  Not something I am excited about regardless of the procedure.


If you feel the need to attack me go for it, but I just believe it just needs to be a balanced conversation. 

I think that is all anyone is asking for is "balanced conversation."

I hope nobody attacks you, they don't have any right to as you certainly have a right to voice your opinion!

As I said in one of my posts above, I was not attempting to discourage anyone from getting the lap band, but just thought it was important that those thinking about the band should hear both sides and not just the good side, which is what happened to me prior to when I was banded.

You're right, just because 1 procedure doesn't work from one person, doesn't mean it won't work perfectly for another person.  One of my best friends had the bypass 10 years ago (when they were just first starting to do them laproscopically, and at 340 lbs, she was considered too big for laproscopic surgery and her's was done as an open procedure), after some initial complications she lost 200 pounds and all these years later she's only gained 30 of those 200 pounds back.  But then in the past few years I had 2 co-workers have the bypass and both of them have gained it all back already.  So you are exactly right, different procedures are the right one for different people.

But I will note, for other people reading these posts, that I noticed that you just got your lap band this past November 30th, so at just 7 weeks out, I'm guessing that the odds are you haven't even had your first fill yet.  You got your band and have had enough time pass for the swelling to go down, so you have virtually no restriction yet at this time.  Things will change after you start getting fills.  I do genuinely wish you the very best luck in the world, but you haven't really even begun your lap band journey...yet.

As a matter of fact I just had my first fill! (However I have lost all 25 lbs prior to the fill-because I am doing what my surgeon says to do!) 

One thing that my *AWESOME* doctor does is a full under fluoroscopy and I  think this is really a revolution for the Lap Band.  Now I realize this is not offered at all Doctors offices, however I did inquire before my surgery about it and it really takes out a lot of guess work.  It was pretty cool!

Brief description of how it works if you are interested....

Puts the needle in, walk over to the x-ray machine they pinpoint where the band is and then they put in the fill amount which in this case was 3cc's, I drank this stuff and you could watch it go down my esophagus, slow at my band and go through.. so my Doc said Ohh we can do more!  So did the procedure again adding 1 addl cc and he could see that it stopped so he pulled out .5cc, that still seemed a little limiting still so we back it down to 3cc's and walla!! That was the right thing!  No guess work no concerns!  I drank my bottle of water..sipping slowly and all was well!  I can feel the resistance of the band but know it will go through... assuming I eat small bites and slooooowly!

So this is something all pre-banders might want to inquire about before getting their surgery.

Hope this helps, from a newbie!

 
Nobody seems willing to answer my question, perhaps you will.

Is a band basher someone....

Who had a band and a very bad experience?

Someone who posts stats, facts, and peer reviewed journal articles?

Or, someone to calls the band bad names.

Thank you.