Would you do it again?

Sorry you had issues, but the thing that I take issue is  "My band gave me a hiatl hernia to top off the net weight gain I had".  The band did not cause you to gain weight period.  You did not adjust your lifestyle to use the tool that you originally requested.  That is like saying the treadmill that you bought didn't work and you gained weight even though you never stepped foot on it.  I am so tired of people saying the band doesn't work when the truth is you were looking for a quick fix to lose weight but you did not want to do any work to lose weight..  I know a girl who had the sleeve and she started off presurgery and the first month postsurgery by losing a good deal of weight and she was feeling better and losin weight, her health was improving and she was taking , less meds.  Fast forward 6 months and she has gained almost all fo the weight back.  Did the sleeve fail her as she claims?  No.  She comes in everyday with a bag of food from Whataburger for breakfast, plus god knows what else for the rest of her meals.  She did not want to continue the work and to use the tool she was given.  But I know for people like you it is easier to make excuses as to why you can't lose weight rather than to accept the fact that you did not want to do any of the work it takes.  I hope the RnY works for you and you can finally lose the weight that you want.  Good Luck

I am sorry you had issues with your band but how did the band cause you to have a net weight gain? Did the band force you to eat the food that caused you to gain weight? I don't think so. Did you have a defective band? I don't know. Did you have a bad surgeon? I don't know. I also do not know how the band caused you to gain weight? You caused you to have a net weight gain, not the band. It is a tool.

I do apologize for saying "you were looking for a quick fix to lose weight but did not want to do any of the work to lose weight" I do not know what you wanted or what you did. I am sorry for saying that. The rest I stand behind completely.

msnomer, people who have only had the band a short time think they know the answers to all the questions. Just take it with a grain of salt.  Most people who like to blame the patient end up having to eat their words down the road.

My band nearly killed me (massive complications straight out of surgery) and I still see people here who think that I must have done something wrong. The only thing we did wrong is to have human anatomy.

I had my surgery over 9 years ago (and had it removed about 6 years ago) and have watched this over and over... it's like a bad Twilight Zone episode.

That guy is judgmental and uninformed about the truth. Not surprising but completely inappropriate.  I think judging others basesd on ones own compulsive overeating habits is way inappropriate on here.  he doesnt even have a clue what led to my struggle or the fact that being in a wheel chair for two years led to my original 75 lb weight gain.  Getting out of the wheel chair was only the beginning of my recovery from obesity.  Being thin all my life until that point left me bereft of solutions so I tried the band.  Never being able to eat properly with the band I gained even more weight: 25 lbs in the 5 years I had the band, got a hiatal hernia and almost ruined my espophogus. Many many people have a terrible experience with this band.  1 in 10 have a good long term result.    hah, let him stand in line for his judgement.  

If I knew then what I know now I never would have gotten the band! I would not recommend the band to my worst enemy.

Any regrets? Hell yes! Worst possible decision I could have made. :-(

Never in a million years would I choose a lapband again. It was the most painful, damaging experience I've ever had.

The band is a good long term option for very few people.  I had my surgery over 9 years ago and have watched a lot of people suffer with bands. I'd never recommend one.

I am going on 7 years post and and YES, I would do it again. It's really NO reason to regret the band unless, you PAID CASH...and did NOT lose weight or had complications and this happens to a LOT of people and you have a LOT of bitter people that post here.

The lap band is ADJUSTABLE and REMOVALABLE...so why would I regret a tool that can be removed? I think this question would be more appropriate to those people who had a more permanent surgery like the Sleeve or RNY.....I think if I had my insides rearranged or stomach removed and did not lose weight or suffered long term problems and had to live with chronic problems I think THOSE people may live to regret their decision, since once you remove your stomach or rearrange your insides THERE IS NO TURNING BACK......

Is the lap band perfect? Heck no, I've had many fills and a few unfills during my journey, was it worth it? heck yes, I went from a size 26 to size 10 with no complications and live a normal life at 7 years and really don't need any more fills at this point of my journey. In fact, there is NO perfect weight loss surgery, each and every one comes with issues, some more dangerous than others.

You have to do what is RIGHT FOR YOU... everyone has different issues with the band, some don't follow rules, some have very bad aftercare, some never exercise, some have legitimate medical issues that interfere with the band. There are many that are doing well and never post, they lose their weight and move on.

I think the Sleeve is a good choice for people that are not good candidates for the band and don't want to deal with fill adjustments, everyone is NOT a good candidate for the lap band, and vise versa...many people DO NOT want to get most of their stomach removed since this removes a good portion of the ability to absorb NEEDED B12....does this make the sleeve a bad surgery? Probably not, but is something you need to think about. Also the lap band and Sleeve both are restrictive surgeries and BOTH REQUIRES exercise and following some sort of diet to be successful.

Good luck

I would just like to add that I don't post here because I'm "bitter", but to warn people. No reason for people to go through the pain that thousands of others have if we all just tell our story. I SO wish I would've been able to go with VSG first, but at the time I had mine done there was not a lot of research showing that lapbands had many risks and frankly, I'd never heard of the sleeve. Now there are tons. And contrary to popular belief, I worked my BUTT off with the band, lost 100% of my excess weight. As long as the band was working for me, I was working for it. Back in 2008 you couldn't have found a bigger band cheerleader on this board. Am I too be blamed for what happened? No. And I would venture to say that 90% of the other people in my position aren't either.

And lapbands may be "removable", but don't think for one second that your anatomy will be just like it was before the band. And getting any additional procedure becomes a lot more risky once you have to have it removed. If you had problems and had to revise to another surgery, how would you NOT regret not listening to the thousands of others that went before you and putting yourself at greater risks for complications? Not to mention the thousands in surgery costs you could've saved if you would've went with something else in the first place. That sounds like reasons for regret to me!

I may well have gone with a sleeve but my BMI was 35.8 (with comorbidities)and my insurance declared the requirement for a sleeve were BMI of 40+comorbidities and 45 without. No exceptions. With that I had to research other wls and the band was the very best fit for me. I love mine and am fully aware of the possibility of complications.

 I am happy with my lap band.  I had surgery on 11/10/11, so it has not been that long.  I don't know if one of the other surgeries would have been better.  I have lost a total of 52 lbs in the process. Every surgery has its pros and cons.  Do what is right for you.  Michelle.