Need advice!! Pros and Cons of Lap Band???

Not fair? What has fair got to do with it? I'm not talking about your experience, I'm talking about mine. I don't even know you.  In my personal experience (which is what the OP requested), my band and my dental work have not caused me pain and suffering but have instead improved my health and quality of life. Therefore, based on my personal experience with those implants, I wouldn't hesitate to acquire another.

Got it?

Jean

Oh believe me, I got what your selling.

No, you made a blanket statement that the band was just like any foreign object in YOUR body and YOU shouldn't be concerned about it.   I am assuming that you mean anyone when you say YOU.

 I liked my band for the first couple of years but I had complications. Since last September it started getting tighter and tighter on it's own. I had a complete unfill and that still didn't help.  I eventually developed a slipped band and scar tissue.  Towards the end of having the band I was only sleeping about 3 to 4 nights a week because of bad reflux.    I had the band finally removed on Monday and now I have the sleeve.  The mechanical problems that I had with the band should be resolved with the sleeve. 

I had a 10cc band and I could never get it past 3.5cc of fill.  I never hit a sweet spot where I could eat veggies or chicken breast without some sort of sauce to help it not get stuck.  At times I had to resort to slider type food just to be able to eat, and sometimes that was when completely open. The band did get me down from 380 to 284lbs. I'll give it credit for that, but I had a lot of pain getting to that weight towards the end of having the band.  The last couple of months was literally 1 or 2 days a week on solids and the rest of the time letting my stoma heal.  It was so frustrating.

This may not be the typical band story. Is this what you should expect from the band, possibly.  Is this something that may happen, yes.  Sometimes people's bodies do no work with the band. You can be absolutely compliant with not throwing up and you can absolutely "work your tool" and still have problems, same with other surgeries.   Listen carefully to those who have has complications and success and remember that you can fall on one of those sides and anywhere in between. 

I wish you luck on your choice. By all means don't choose a surgery because it is all that an insurance company tells you that you can have. 

I truly wish you the best in your journey.

For me, my fear when it came to options was the exact opposite. I was against a surgery that was so drastic and required removing and rerouting parts of our bodies and doing things that are irreversible to our insides. The lap band is a tool and if used correctly along with holding yourself accountable, it will work. I am newly banded but I have stood by my sisters side and witnessed her success with her band 3+ years thus far. I have lost 25 lbs in 3 weeks and already feel great. I press on my belly to feel my newly placed band/port and it makes me smile because that "foreign object" is my new best friend.

Again, Good luck in your pursuit of a healthier life style. By you weighing your options I am sure you will make the right decision for you.

The lap band does not work for everybody.  It is not like any other foreign object you might have placed in your body.  It interferes with natural digestion by squeezing your stomach into a shape that is totally unnatural.  In other words, it doesn't restore function like false teeth, it interferes with function.  It is a lot of trial and error and guesswork.

Do plenty of research and visit the revisions board and the failed band board along with all of the other surgery boards.

My band has saved my life.   With that said I really liked your false teen analogy.

All wls has problem areas with a variety of reasons.   I think hearing the good bad and ugly then studying and making the best choice for that person is the way to go.

The sad thing about some of the people that have bad things to say about the band is their rude righteous approach to reach the people on this board.

I commend you on always joining in, not attacking the band subject!

 

Thank you.

What I like about the band:  

It's adjustable so that I can have fluid added or removed depending on my needs.

It's helped me to lose 195 +/- lbs, without a great deal of struggle. 

I don't find the banded life to be particularly difficult or hard.  I keep my band slightly looser than it could be and monitor my own eating behavior.  

I hope my band will continue to work with me always, but if it should begin to be a problem and I should have to have it removed and I couldn't lose or maintain on my own, I'd then think about the Sleeve.

Would I have liked to have lost the weight w/o having an implant?  Well sure.. but after 20 years of being Obese and several of them SMO, I'd be a fool to think that would happen.  I'm grateful to those who developed this appliance and all those who went before me in learning how to use it.

Dislikes:

I'm not fond of when food get stuck, but that's not the bands fault 99% of the time.  It's usually operator error.

Not fond of the tiny little lap scars, but I dislike my c/section and hyst scars even more.  And the lap scars are barely noticeable after 2 years.

Hope this helps.

I have had my band 5 months. I'm down 50 pounds, I'm out of the 300's and I have lost 30 inches off my body, I'm down a size in shirts and pants .

I knew the risks of getting the band , but the way I looked at it  me doing nothing about my weight and I was a heavy smoker was going to kill me anyways so might as well go for it.

I knew right from the get go I could have band problems a week after surgery to 10 yrs later but what the band has done for me in 5 months it has all been worth it.

I would have never quit smoking if it wasn't for the band and that alone has added yrs to my life so it was worth getting the band just for that.

I eat all the same things I did before the band, I eat pizza, I go to McDonald's, I eat bread the rice but now I'm learning how to control them foods in moderation , and how often to eat them foods.

I never knew how to do that before and I'm learning now and that makes me stronger person because if something ever happens to the band I can continue on from the lessons I have learned and learning.

I have done all this without a fill my band is empty do I have restriction ?? I dont know I dont concern myself with it.  I am bound and determined not to let food control me anymore so maybe its more mind over matter who knows .


Three big things I follow now 100% of the time

Moderation not deprivation

I control the food I dont allow the food to control me now .

I will never have the kind of restriction where I cant eat breakfast, or I have trouble eating foods because that is not why I got the band . That is me and how I feel though and I will be very strict with this rule.  I got the band to teach me portion control and to slow down not to tell me I cant eat breakfast because I'm to tight in the mornings or I cant eat chicken, or whatever.   I want to learn to eat t hem foods in moderation not to give them up . that is why I got the band .  But like I said again this is how I personally feel and my doctor knows this we talked about this before I even got banded.  Maybe because how I look at things with the band I might lose weight slower this way but you know what I sure as heck didnt put this weight on two or three yrs so I dont expect it to come off in a yr or two yrs either .  Im very happy with my 5-8 pounds per month .

My doc said I would be a excellent candidate for the band because I was never ever a sweets eater. I had my first slice of cake on Tuesday after 10 months or so and I about barfed that up because it was so dang sweet lol.

I was never a snacker unless it was that time of the month then I really have to watch myself and I will admit I'm bad that week and half.  I do let head hunger get the best of me .

I'm going through that right now so I keep alto of peanuts around the house at least that is better then chips Lol.

This is my one and only surgery I will not be getting another one so the band this is a one time deal . If it goes poopy then I will hope for the best and hope to goodness that I learnded something with the band because if I didnt then the band didnt teach me a damn thing .