Serious 2nd thoughts...T minus 11 days

I agree with the others.  Please reconsider.  I have had mine for ten years and am planning on a revision.  I am at my preband weight and with no real complications that I know of except GERDS witch I developed as soon as I got the band.  I didn't know thats what it was for a couple of years. Feels like I have swallowed an egg and it s stuck in my throat.   Will find out more when I get scoped.  It sees like everyone eventually needs a revision.  If you have too much scar tissue you might not be able to have a revision.  Go to youtube and you can watch videos on band removal.  Some are kinda gross.   Someone posted  couple of weeks back that the band only has a 10 yr warranty.  Not sure it that is true or not but if it is you are going into KNOWING that in10 years you will have to have it either replaced or a revision.  When I got mine I was told it never had to be removed.  I know several people who have the band and none of then have lost and kept the weight off.  I am not pro any one surgery but I am anti band.  I actually feel sad when I read about someone who is either getting one soon or has just been banded because it , in most cases, is not what they dreamed it would be.  Believe me, I know.  Good luck with what ever you decide.           

I am four and a half months out from surgery. Got my band on 3/18/11. I realize that I am not a long term bandster but I have lost 45 lbs and couldn't be happier. I have had no adverse side effects except for getting stuck --once or twice which was my own fault for eating too big of bites and not chewing well.
I had second thoughts before surgery also. I just hope some long term bandsters who have had positive results reply as well. I known a couple who have been very successful with weight lost and have had little negative side effects.
I choose the band because my dad had the gastric by-pass and ended up gaining all his weight back. He didn't make the life style changes neccessary to keep the weight off long term. The band (almost) forces you to begin life style changes right away. I knew that I had to do the work.
Will I have complications from the band down the road? I have no idea. I will deal with them and move on. I feel so much better today and will keep working to get the rest of my weight off.
Also, check out Bandwagon by Jean McMillen. She is on this board and is awesome.
I hope that you find peace with whatever you decide to do.
Lots of prayers!
Rachael

I had the band put in November of 2006.  For the first year I did fine and went from 240 pounds down to 200.  I maintained that for a few years but could never get any lower.  Then I started slowly regaining after having issues with being too restricted/needing to be unfilled.  I never had the right restriction after that and am now back up to 240 pounds.   Not only that but my band has slipped and I ended up in the ER a few weeks ago after being unable to keep anything down.  My surgeon is taking it out at the end of this month and doing a revision (most likely to DS).   He no longer puts in bands-only takes them out because of the problems people have had with them.   It may work for some people but I can't wait to get this thing out!!!

I am banded 5 days out. I thought the same thing a few days ago, why go through this when all I have to do is train myself to eat right. You know i've tried lipoplex, lipoprotein, thyroid, adipex, ultraslim, alli, slimfast, and whatever else, but i  just gained too much weight too quickly I guess not moving around as much being a student. I'm glad now, I'm on liquids for 2 more days and have to make sure I get in 48oz. per day.. but it's just sipping alot. I get in 2 protein drinks about 7 to 10 oz. a day, plus crystal light lemonade. I'm eager to try something else. I kinda wish I would have gotten the bypass or sleeve, but those I heard can stretch bc there is no maintenance like getting fills, once it's stretched then there goes all that money, but does show significant weight loss. If you have tried many things than this will be worth it, bc people actually drop lots of weight.. I'm embarrassed being so big, well I got up to 220 and said this is not me, nothing else worked, so I just went with it. I'm looking to get around 130 to 145. Maybe be in a bikini next summer or atleast a bathing suit..lol.Hope my experience helps you out.  

Your concern/doubt/worries are definitely valid and as someone who has been plenty successful with the band (no fills, no true complications, etc) I wouldn't do it over again. Why? The revision rates are on the rise and the fact that I may face one in the future is scary, however I won't be revising to any other weight-loss surgery, if it comes down to that. I've changed who I am, how I see food, I exercise..etc. Figured if I did it without a fill, I can do it without the band.

Either way, not sure anyone has addressed it but living on protein shakes and a small meal for the rest of your life is NOT ideal and I can guarantee that you'd get tired of it soon. You would not be getting all of the micronutrients nor the macronutrients that your body needs to function properly so I wouldn't even consider this an option. Living on a small amount of calories for a long period of time ruins your hormone levels, your metabolism, your thyroid, and so many other things. Even after just 8-9 months eating 700-1000 calories a day, I'm battling this. It's not fun and not a good way to live.

I'm hoping you find what will be best for you but definitely weigh all of your options. If you are not 100% with your decision you leave a lot of room for regret and even more doubt. Maybe talk to your doctor again to really buckle down on a decision.

Best of luck!

I had alot of concerns also before I went into surgery I almost backed out 24 hrs before the cutting .

I knew all the risks of complications with the band but I went ahead with it and so far I am pleased  with the results .

I'm like Reverie in some ways.   I have not had a fill since my surgery and that was 8 months ago and I dont think I will be getting one in the near future. 

Like Reverie said  every day I am changing who I am .  I am making better choices,   I am more conscious of what I am eating, I was never ever that way before,  I love to exercise to Zumba now ,  I know I can still sit down and eat a couple of slices of pizza and not have to eat the whole thing.,  I can sit down and eat some chips and dip and not eat the whole bag.

That is what I wanted from the band was to learn how to eat right,    I didn't get the band to say I cant eat this food no more , or I cant have that food because it has to many carbs in it.  I personally think that is no way to live life and I refuse to live my life like that.  I eat the same foods as I did before I got the band I haven't changed that part at all.  What I have changed is the amount of them foods I eat,  how often I eat them foods that is the most important two things right there IMO.

I believe if we truly want to be successful with the band or any WLS for that matter you have to change who you are , you have to learn the tools first to be successful and that is what I am doing.

I am probably losing weight slower without getting a fill , but you know what that is fine and dandy with me , because I'm learning the most important things right now to make better decisions about food, and to learning to control the amount I am eating .  And if I ever did lose my band which it could be tomorrow who knows I have the knowledge to do it own my own because basically I am doing it that way right now .

I have lost 65 pounds and over 30 inches in 8 months and this past week I was on vacation in the Mountains and I ate what I wanted,  wasn't so picky about the foods , no exercise, except for some walking and I didn't gain a single  pound !! I didn't lose but I didn't gain. 


good luck on your decision though,  every WLS out there has its risks, its complications, its weight gain , and so forth .  There is no 100% risk free, complications free, you will lose weight surgery out there .

Basically it all comes down to you , and you alone and how bad do you want it :o)

Hi I know you are worried and I had posted that I was heading to the ER to have mine removed on 8/1.  They took it out - but I ended up with a blood infection and was in the hospital for 3 days on IV antibiotics. I still have an open wound that a nurse has to come and pack everyday for me and I am one so many antibiotics at home I could literally lick the floor of Port Authority in NYC and be fine. :) 

Please, please, please reconsider. I really think this thing is dangerous and our bodies are not meant to have foreign object out inside. They make is sound all rainbows and unicorns in the doctors office but it can get very real very fast. I only had mine 15 months.


Just want to be sure you have ALL the info! 

Good luck whatever you decide!
Christine

I had my band placed May 11th this year.  Still no regrets.

It's funny how you mention you wonder why you can't just do it yourself.  I had the same thoughts during my pre-op phase.  If I can do this for 2 weeks, why can't I just keep going?? 

My answer was...  I've always been able to do it.  Short term.  In the long run, I can't keep it off myself.

I'm still feeling no restriction from my band.  Only on my first fill, so this is normal.  I'm keeping myself on a 1200 - 1500 cal diet and still losing weight on my own with no help from the band.  But...

Old habits die hard.  I find myself occasioanlly slipping into some of my old patterns without even thinking about it.  And I have to remember to stop myself.  I figure by the time I get to the point where I would usually start reverting back to old habits, my band will be restricting me like it should.  I don't intend to rely on it, but it's nice to have it there to remind me...  hey, you need to stop now.

As far as possible complications, if you look at the statistics, they are very low.  I chose the lap band out of all the others because A.  It's reversible.  B.  It's adjustable and C.  I can put a "stop" to it by not getting fills if I decide to for health reasons or whatever, then go back to it later.  D.  less change of malnutrition issues.  E.  Quicker recovery time.  F...  I could probably go on for a while, but you get the idea.

Once I had my sugery date, I flip flopped between do I or don't I as well.  They had me in the O.R., on the table w/ the oxygen mask on, and I was changing my mind yet again "I don't want to do this" when the anesthesiologist kicked in w/ the Versed and I was gone.  Lol. 

Love my band!!! Over 50 lbs in 6 months gone~~

I LOVED my band but now I seriously cannot wait to have it out. PLEASE reconsider. There is a reason you are questioning your decision. Please give this to Him and let Him guide you. Perhaps that's what's happening now?

Just put it off one month. Read all you can. Look at studies, ask around the boards and see if this is the right decision.

Here is something I found from 2008 (it's from Canada)........

Long-term complications are increasingly worrisome, and one of the U.S. centers that have been performing bands the longest recently reported 41% of patients have second surgeries to remove them because of intolerable side effects and another third were currently wanting second surgeries to have their bands removed or get gastric bypass because the bands had resulted in inadequate weight loss. One of the first long-term studies on bandings reported that 7 years post-op, 58% of patients had had second operations, almost always to have their bands removed or converted to bypasses. The reasons were esophagitis, band erosion, pouch dilatation, leakage from the balloon, and esophageal dilatation. As surgeon and author of the study, Dr. Westling Gustavsson, M.D., at the University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden, wrote: "Our prediction is that laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding will not stand the test of time."

As the Herald Sun reported today, the number of medical claims resulting from lap bands far exceed those for other surgeries:

Paul Nisselle, general manager of risk assessment at Avant medical insurers, said...the number of claims "is disproportionately high for the volume of the surgery being performed, even allowing for the fact that you are starting with a risky patient pool... I am talking about situations where there has been a complication as a result of the surgery, not the patient."

...Weight management expert Dr Rick Kausman said the number of patients coming to see him with lap-band surgery problems had doubled in the past two years. ............


PLEASE think it through. You might well be one of the ones that do well long term. You might not. Give it God, let Him decide....

Best of luck to you. I hope you are well...