Lapband removal

I have had a lapband for 8 years and pretty much hate it. It's been empty for years. I still have minor issues. When I say "minor" I mean inconveniences that bother me on a regular basis. Like really hard hiccups. And when I do certain exercises or even stret*****ertain directions, my port area turns into a massive muscle cramp.

To my knowledge, my band and port are in tact and fine. I've been thinking about revision to VSG, but part of me just wants to be DONE with being a bariatric patient. I have 100 lbs to lose btw, so I could easily qualify for a revision to VSG. I'm cash pay, so I'll probably go to Mexico for any procedures.

I just keep going back and forth on whether or not to remove it. I find myself thinking, "Well, what if I just get fills and follow the rules to the T?"

And I keep thinking, "What if I just have it removed and lose my weight 'the hard way'?"

I keep putting band removal on the back burner because it's just not bothering me bad enough to jump, kwim?

I feel like removal is inevitable though. Am I right?

Mostly rambling here. I'm nervous and having all kinds of feels just thinking about this. It's time to do something. I just don't know what to do.

For what it's worth, I'm 14 months post-VSG, I've been at goal for 5 months and I don't feel like a bariatric patient at all. I feel like a normal person!

This is worth a lot! I think I need to spend some time scrolling in the VSG board and learning what life is like as a post-op. I thought my post-op life would be "normal" too since I didn't have a malabsorptive procedure. Lots of rainbows were painted in the lapband board back when I had mine put in.

It's a shame. A lot of people have suffered quite a bit from that little device. The VSG isn't malabsorptive either, but at least there are no foreign bodies involved.

I'd really recommend having the band removed, especially if you're having hard hiccups. You don't want it to damage your diaphragm (I speak from experience on this. It can really jack up your whole life.)

You're right about the rainbows painted in the Lapband board! Those of us who tried to warn about the dangers of the band were really called every name in the book. I notice none of those rainbow-painters bother to come back and help anyone who's struggling now. How altruistic of them, huh?

Good luck to you. I hope you can get it figured out and feel good!

New avatar Nic! I almost didn't realize it was you.

Ha! It's Maria Bamford of Lady Dynamite. I'm a big fan of her absurd humor. And I'm sick of my own face.

Even while not at goal, I don't feel like a bariatric patient in the least. I live my life. Sure, I probably stress over calories more than the typical girl (or maybe not?) but, I'm happy and much much healthier!

Just a word of caution about going from band to sleeve. Not all, but I have seen many who went from the band to the sleeve end up with GERD/heartburn so bad that they needed to revise again to the bypass to resolve it. I myself am a band to bypass revision as I such bad reflux/heartburn from the band that I wasn't even a candidate for the sleeve. My surgeon said getting the sleeve would make it worse.

I thought I would have my band forever, but as time went on I was eating tums like candy just to get some sort of relief. Then even with an empty band I was having issues eating good proteins and ended up eat junk. When I had my revision my surgeon found extensive scar tissue around my band, port and tubing. Both my port and tubing had an infection growing around it also.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but something to ask yourself when you're asking "what if I just have it removed and do it the hard way" would be "if I could lose it the hard way, why am I still 100 pounds overweight?" Since, really, nothing is stopping you from losing the weight now, right?