Band erosion

How do you know if you have band erosion? I am just curious what to look for. My sister is doing and saying everything to scare me into not doing this lap-band, I really thought she was supporting me til last night, I haven't had the surgery yet but probably looking at a june date., unless I let her scare me into not doing this. I pray I don't cave in. I need some answers.

CURRENT STATISTICS ARE LESS THAN 2% SUFFER FROM BAND EROSION.

Down from 10% when the band was first introduced, due more to placement than band issues.
Statistics show that more than 75% of Lap Band patients have no complications.
Approx 15% of those complications can be solved by unfilling the band, or adjustments.

That leaves 10%...  When you consider how many are placed every day (on average my surgeon will do about 7 I think) your chances of band failure are slim.

Granted, they are there.  But statisticly...  no need to worry until you get there. 

My surgery is next week.  :)

Go for it!!! 

Support comes in many forms. Support is not telling someone what they want to hear. Sometimes support is in the form of tough love.

That being said..............visit the revision forum and see how many ppl are revising FROM the lap-band. If the band was that great there wouldn't be all those ppl wanting to put theirselves through the pain and expense of yet another WLS now would they?!

Peggy,

I dont know the signs of band erosion's but I'm sure if you google it you would find it.  Band erosion is so rare with the lap band that part didn't even concern me when I was looking into the lap band.  I'm not saying it cant happen it can but like I said its very rare.


Can I ask you a question and I'm not trying to sound mean but is the reason why your sister is scaring you so much is because of jealousy ?

She dont want you to get this done because of those reasons.  There are people out there that will say and do anything to scare somebody out of something if jealousy is part of the reason.  Especially if they are overweight themselves and they dont want to be left behind .

Or is there a specific reason why your sister dont want you to get this done ?

There are risks with the lap band but every WLS has risks and complications there is no 100% risk or complication free surgery out there.

steelerfan1, Thank you for replying, I appreciate the time you took to reply.

Hello again, I noticed you said your band was empty, have you not had to have a fill since surgery? I feel like my sister may be jealous to a degree, she is a little heavier than me, but she said I have already lost quite a bit of weight and I can do it on my own, but that is not the case, I love my sister dearly but she shocked me when she talked to me on Tuesay, a amn she works with had a somewhat bad experience with this and that has got her second guessing my decision.She tld me at one point she was jealous. I just don't hear much problems with this surgery and the ones I have heard have been minor.I won't take anymore of your time and thanks for listening. good luck on your journey.

Peggy ,

You can ask me anything you want that is how we learn. I went to support group meetings for half of a yr , I have two friends that had the surgery one 3 yrs ago and one just a yr ago so I watched and asked alot of questions to it  helps :o)

No, I have not had a fill since my surgery .  When I finally got the nerve to get this done , I was so tired of not being able to  breathe when I went out for walks, or going on vacations and scared to death that I couldn't ride the rides and watch my family have all the fun and sit by and watch and so many other things when you are overweight you cant do .

My dad was starting to have heart problems and my grandpa had a massive heart attack well it scared me so much I started to have major panic attacks that if I got off my lazy boy chair and got my heart rate up that I would kill over from a heart attack also  I was taking my blood pressure every 10 min  or so . I did this from the time I got up to the time I went to bed :o( .  I made my son eat frozen dinners because it scared me or if I did fix dinner it was simple and back in the chair I went .  I did this for 2 1/2 months .  We was getting ready to leave for Disney (09) and I just about called it off because of all this, and I love Disney .  Two days before we left I broke down and cried to my husband and we went and saw the doc.  I was in excellent shape except for my weight and he put me on some anti depressant pills and nerve pills.

I have never been so scared in my life during them two months when I was literally living in that dang chair and it was enough for me.

I was not going to allow food to control me no more and I told my husband this will be my one and only WLS done its this or nothing and if I dont make it work because I wont follow the rules or wont get off my butt to exercise then I personally felt then I deserve what  I get and if I die from a heart attack then I die this is how I felt and sometimes I still do . Unless you went through what I did which I know a few of you have on here its scary, its lonely and I never ever want to go back there again.  What happened to me right here is all the motivation I need not to over eat or eat to many fast foods , or no****ch my portion controls. If that dont scare the heck out of a person then nothing will I guess and it scared me enough believe me.

I just have it so in my mind right now that the band is around my stomach and I can only eat this much food and some snacks and that is how I have been doing the band and it's working for me right now .    I am self pay for the band and I will be honest I'm to damn scared to overeat all the time or no****ch what I'M doing because I dont have insurance to fall back on and I dont have 20 grand to have another surgery .

Maybe its will power, maybe its a major head game I'm playing with myself right now but its working and I lose 6-8 pounds per month .

I can go at least a good 3 hrs of not wanting to eat and there are times I can go as long as six it really depends on that time of the month to be honest. When its close to my TOM I struggle alot and its very very hard with no fill in me .

I did talk to my doc about that and he said he was to scared to give me one because I do so well the other weeks of the month. And a fill dont cure head hunger or cravings that is something I have to stop myself not a fill so after I talked to him I could see his point and there was no since in getting a fill .

I will do this as long as I can and when the time comes I will go get a small fill.  But, I will be brutally honest , I will never have my band to the point where I have trouble eating certain foods or cant eat breakfast.  I do know people are like that , and that is fine for them but that just isn't me and I made that very clear to my doctor before I even got the band and I asked him if I would have problems because of my way of thinking and he said no.

From all the testing I had done and talking to shrinks and my NUT they said I would do very good with the band. I was never a snacker , I was never a sweets eater, and I was not a carb person .   I just had problems with my portions at meals and doing alot of fast food and I mean alot and alot of Pepsi .  I went through the Pepsi big time and there was times I would eat out three times a day five days a week .

Everybody is different though .What I'm doing might not work for you . You might need a fill the first six weeks when you can then you might never need another one again or you might need several it all depends :o)

My doc has always told me its alot of mental aspects to this also .  I never once went into thinking this band was going to do all the work for me , I saw my girlfriend struggle and she still struggles today so I knew it wasn't going to be easy . 

 

Band erosion is not as common as a slipped band. Usually people who experience slipped band have problems with acid reflux their band is tigher harder to consume food. Sometimes a simple unfil and get the band a rest for a short period time helps sometimes surgery is required. Your doctor should speak to you about the pros and cons and you should have faith and confidence in your doctor.. not your sister. You will read a variety of answers here .. but again we are not doctors :)

I see you want to lose 86 pounds which I think is possible with the band so far I have lost approx 100 pounds in 14 months.. just be realsitc with your goals... and know the band only helps with your portion.. volume eating.. things like cookies and chips slip pass the band .. so it takes effort on your part to make good choices daily. The band has helped me with the amount of food I can eat which has helped me lose weight but I personally made the choice to eat good for me foods like lean proteins, tons of fruits and veggies and a few complex carbs if I can fit them in, it has really been a lifestyle change..

Many of us have lost friends along the way or we proved family members wrong.. but at the end of the day you need to have this surgery for you.. you and your body benefit from weight loss surgery. Alot of people around us don't like change.. you fit in "said" box and your sister might not like that you might change... just my two cents

I have no idea, but I imagine I would notice when something was wrong.  Especially if something was eroding into the top portion of my stomach.  I have complete trust in my nervous system.

Any surgery has risks.  They have to legally state these, even though the chances of it happening are very slim.

I've never met another bander who's had erosion happen, and I have no fear of it myself.  However, if it did happen, making sure you keep your regular check-ups with your surgeon will be beneficial.  My surgeon requires a yearly scan of your digestive track (upper GI), where they check to make sure all things were still in good shape.

I don't know the signs of band erosion, but I suspect it would be suddenly having no appetite dimming.

In my two years of banded life, I've talked to one person who did have band erosion and they have an auto-immune disorder.   At the time they were banded, there were no prohibitions against banding someone with an auto-immune disorder, but now the band makers advise against it.

I think erosion is rare, but it can happen.   It's like plane crashes are rare, but they do happen.  You have to decide if the risk is worth it to you.  For me, the risk has definitely been worth it.

Don't let your sister make your decisions for you.  She's likely either jealous or afraid herself ..or both.