Problems with the band....

I am so sorry about your troubles.  Again, believe me I live with the fear of complications happeneing to me one day...so I would never intentionally act like it's all your fault.  I can see your point..it does sound like I'm saying that if it fails it's automatically your fault.  I of course don't mean that.  I mean to call attention to the fact that so many people (like myself) go into this thinking this is going to be so easy and it's not.  I want people to understand it's hard work.  I have struggled for my weight loss.   I see posts every day of people who get the band and their doctors didn't warn them of the hard work expected or the change in lifestyle needed or that it could take several fills before restriction happens and untill then your on your own.  That was the message I was trying to convey.  Sorry you felt bad about my post.   

Thank you. I'm sorry if I sounded like a jerk.  I think it was just because I saw several posts today that implied that band failures are all due to user error and it hurt my feelings... both for myself and for those currently going through it.

But, I realize that you were trying to help. I'm glad we could resolve it because it's never my intention to hurt others.

Maybe we need to have a disclaimer as part of our signature so people don't misunderstand our intent...I feel like I need one lately, lol.

 Well, it's actually just common courtesy, I would think.  Think about how you'd feel if, in spite of your best intentions, and in spite of going through horrible pain, your band didn't work and you had to have it removed. Wouldn't you feel kind of raw and hurt about it? 

  I mean, it's been a helluva long time since I had my band removed and I STILL have physical issues from it, so it's like time has stood still in some ways. I don't have weight loss, but I still have the harm from the band. It makes it hard to put those issues aside when you're constantly reminded of them just by the pain you feel from breathing.

  I don't think you need a disclaimer, personally. I think people just need to put themselves in the shoes of others more often, maybe.

 I probably just need to go do something different today because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

Sometimes it takes a response like yours to make us think about how we come across on a post.  You are very respectful of the choices of others and speak calmly and rationally about your experience and the complications you suffered.  I have never responded directly to you to let you know I "get it" and understand your situation.  I am very sorry you went through this and I know that there was no intent to imply that you didn't "work with your band".

When I mentioned the disclaimer, it wasn't in reference to your post.

I have to admit that I woke up this morning with left shoulder pain and a really bad stomach ache. Every couple of days, it seems that my stomach gets irritated and migrates up through the hiatal hernia, presses on my diaphragm, innervating the Vagus nerves. It's a sad reminder of the damage the band did to me and it makes it really hard to move past it.

I will fully admit to being sensitive when I'm having this pain. And I know that I seem militant about it at times. It truly comes from a place of not wanting this to happen to anyone else. 


Thank you for understanding. It helps a lot.

Has your doctor told you that your hernia is not repairable???  I had a large one that was diagnosed 2 weeks prior to my surgery and fixed when my band was "installed".  I am not heartburn free, but it is much better than it was and I am on 1/4 of the meds I took previously.  Living with chronic pain makes me grumpy too...

Yes, my doc told me it could be repaired. But, I have so many adhesions from multiple surgeries that I hesitate to have another surgery done, honestly. I am looking into the sleeve because I'd like to cut the number of surgeries down as much as possible. And if I have to get the hernia fixed, anyway, it would be nice to also have a solution to my weight  issues! 

I get heartburn a couple times a week, but the left shoulder pain is my biggest complaint. Gawd, it's enough to make me just want to cry.

It's better now that I've eaten something. I feel like an X File... sometimes eating makes it better, other times it makes it worse. It's a crap shoot!   I just wanna be... normal... or a reasonable facsimile thereof! 

i have been reading the boards here for a few weeks- undecided on which surgery to get- and have noticed that your complete hatred of the band and anger about it comes through loud and clear.  Since all your posts are negative, I thought you'd be the best person to ask, (since you obviously are not into promoting the band!)....  when you went in to the surgery did you, like the rest of us, think that it would be exactly what you needed?  What was you initial weight/ goal weight?  How much did you lose?  How long did you have it?  I'm assuming you've had it removed.... did you have a revision to another surgery?    I'm asking these questions bc my choice is between band (which I know 7 people who have it, and all of them love it.... but NONE of them have met their goal weight) and RNY, I know 2 people who have had it, both have met their goal weights, but both have had complications (gall bladder, iron problems, hernias, etc.)  I'm hoping to pick the lesser of 2 evils, i guess!  Thanks for any help you can provide!

Is this directed to me? It's very sporadic that I receive notification. But, it looks like it's a question for me, so I'll answer.

I was originally going to have the RnY but my doctor convinced me that the band would be better.
My weight was about 285 when I went in for surgery. I came out of surgery in absolute agony and the referred left shoulder pain never subsided the 2 years I had my band. Left shoulder pain sounds like an abstract concept, but if you go through it morning, noon and night, it absolutely ruins your life. It's very prevalent with banding due to the band or the tubing innervating the Vagus nerve system.  You'll hear people talking about postoperative left shoulder pain and that's due to the CO2 gas used during surgery. The left shoulder pain I experienced was from diaphragmatic damage and was disabling and chronic.

I was unable to eat solid foods, so I lost 110+ pounds in a year and a half. I lived on soup, protein shakes and ice cream. I became malnourished and anemic during this time. I suffered from extreme constipation and abdominal pain daily.

After 6 months of complaining to my doctor, I "fired" him and sought a specialist who determined that my stomach had twisted into a Figure 8 and my bowels were impacted and kinked. I had gone 2 weeks without a bowel movement and was septic. I had to have a corrective surgery in the hopes that it would alleviate the pain and allow my band to work. Unfortunately it was to no avail and I went on to have worsening pain. I was absolutely convinced that the damage was done and band removal wouldn't help my situation. I thought that I would simply get fat again if I had the band removed. I was of the mindset "thin at all costs," which I realize NOW is insane.

I had chronic pain treatments (narcotics which didn't work, injections which didn't work, acupuncture which didn't work...)  Finally, my then 13 year old son begged me to have the band removed when I couldn't even lift my head off my bed. I was brainwashed into thinking that I had to have done something wrong, when it reality, the nature of the band is such that it causes immense damage to your soft tissue of your stomach.

I had the band removed and lived to tell about it. I think the lapband is the worst possible choice I ever made.   I've shortened the account considerably and didn't even mention some of the worst parts... but I think it's still pretty clear why I'd have a hatred for the band.  I'm usually not too fond of things that almost kill me! 

I'm finally healed enough to consider a revision surgery... 5 years after band removal. I'm scared to death to HAVE it done and I'm scared to death to NOT have it done. I've regained all the weight back over the past 5 years. I did well without the band for the first 2 years and then I quit smoking and had a hysterectomy. I also had a bad reaction to contrast dye during a CT scan and had to take an extended regimen of steroids. It was a lost cause in my case. I probably wouldn't have been able to keep the weight off even without those other factors, though. I'm an overeater. That's my problem. I workout daily, but it's still not enough.   However, I CAN walk 5 miles on the treadmill and I can do a half hour on the StairMaster, which would have been absolutely impossible when I had the band. The pain kept me from everything. 

I was recently diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and the left shoulder pain has returned. I am short of breath and have chest pain. My doctor determined that it was most likely from damage done to my diaphragm during banding that is causing this. So, I've been forced to curb my workouts lately, as well. I'm doubly afraid of gaining even more because of this.

So, to sum it up... I had a really ****ty surgeon who didn't really know what he was doing. He was inexperienced and I suffered because of those things. If mine was an isolated incident, I'd chalk it up to just having a bad surgeon. BUT, I have known dozens of people who've had massive complications and revisions since 2002 so that also affects my perception of the band.

I don't see posts "not promoting" the band as "negative." I see them as forthcoming and informational. It's really a life altering surgery, no matter how much it is advertised as being "less invasive." There's really no such thing, in my opinion.


Good luck to you with whatever you decide. There is a chance that you'll have no problems whatsoever, but it's really luck of the draw. There's no way to tell beforehand whether you'll fall into the Lucky Grou*****t, unfortunately. I wish there were for everyones' sakes!