This board makes me nervous!!!

I don't know if it just me...but I get stressed out reading everyone's posts. All the problems everyone has had with their band. I think I'm paranoid everytime I have a wierd burp....have I slipped? am I too tight? am I damaging my band? is my port leaking?

I know some will say ...quit reading them!!! But I am here to get info, and I do appreciate the info that I can take from these posts. I don't know...it just makes my palms sweat.

 Even when you DON'T have an actual problem, those thoughts may enter your head. Along with: am I eating too much, am I eating too little, am I going to screw THIS up too, etc.

It's normal.

 
You should be nervous! The band has the highest complication rate of any current WLS! You might want to read the info from the ASMBS citing low marks the band receives!

 Everyones band is different. Take things with a grain of salt and take what you can use.
For myself i learned to trust that things will be ok. The problems are not everyone. You only hear about them because people are looking for help. 
Take a deep breath.
Wendy

While sometimes scary, it can be useful to read these posts because God forbid if you do have something crop up, you may have an idea what's going on since you have seen it mentioned. For me, the first thing I recognized was referred pain in my left shoulder. I was actually just relieved to know it wasn't a heart attack.

I'd like to just ease your fears, and do hope your band works well for you, but problems do arise, and if you think something is wrong, DO have it checked by your doctor. 

 Did you see the stats thread I posted? Yes, things can go wrong and you need to know about them. But according to those studies of many thousands of people over many years ( as opposed to anecdotes), the vast majority do not have serious problems.  

A friend was recently banded in France and her doc, who has with his colleagues has done over 6000 bands, answered her concerns by telling her that amongst his patients he has had fewer than 100 with serious problems and not all of thse necessitated removal. (hearsay not evidence, I know!)

In Australia, over 90% of wls is the band, and has been for  longer than they have been used in the US. So does that make all Oz docs blind idiots?

And in my case, losing my band would be a disaster but I would not regret having had it!

Weight loss stats are a different  issue. It is harder for us to lose and this is reflected in the stats.

Kate

In Australia, over 90% of wls is the band, and has been for  longer than they have been used in the US. So does that make all Oz docs blind idiots?

my friend in perth has had her band 9yrs - no issues.
we joke that they super glue the band in place there :)

Reading about others experiences with the band will give you broad knowledge of what can go wrong with the band. In fact, reading about all the horror stories of band slippage from others over the years has made me more aware of the warning symptoms and I honestly credit other people issues with me having great band health today, I hate to say that.

No one wishes ill health or band slippages or port problems on anyone, but in my opinion with all the knowledge there is out there today verses when I got my band placed over 6 years ago, people are really stupid to allow their bands to slip and be irresponsible with their aftercare, the band REQUIRES AFTERCARE especially in the first few years, especially if you are actively getting fills.

Bands are NOT easily to slip -- if the surgeon placed it correctly and you allowed it to heal post op, I've had a stomach bug, got a pill stuck and have had many occasional stuck episodes that resulted in repeated vomiting over the years and my band did not slip, but this is rare with me and I don't do this often and I don't maintain my band too tight, so I no longer fear slippage.

Also most surgeons nowadays have charts of the danger signs of what a patient should look for if they get too tight, fills are not an exact science, it's just common sense to get saline removed if you find yourself a little too tight after a recent fill, being too tight does nothing for weight loss, but it will guarantee you complications, sooner or later, things like port leaking and any other type of mechanical issues that may go wrong are rare, but they do happen and in most cases easily fixed. Nothing to sweat about if you are doing the right things and keeping abreast of your health.

I might also add that buried in the article posted by maria (formerly fluffy) is the following statement:

Arts and colleagues evaluated results in 201 patients who had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedures during 1995 to 2003

I think anyone will tell you that the early bands, their placement, and the understanding of how to use them bear little resemblance to a 2012 band.
This data ending 10 years ago has helped the banding technology tremendously.

Early cars were less safe, but by evaluating accidents we learned to use seat belts, and air bags.

Frightening people that are desperate for weight loss to save their lives using data from old banding may make maria feel like she is doing her duty to warn others because she had such a nightmare (and I AM NOT  saying that those things don't still happen to a lessor degree), but I feel that the majority of people benefit from the band and it is still a very good option in WLS.
 
Data from this decade will look much different than from the 90's when banding was in it's infancy.

 
All it takes is just a quick glance on this forum and you will realize that the new bands have no better results than the older bands. How many do you see on here that are 5 years out that haven't had to have a 2nd surgery? How many are 5 years out and haven't had complications?? Hell how many are just 5 years out??? Now since the B.S. excuse I usually see to that is that there are so many successfull bandsters out there............but the band has made them so happy and skinny that then no longer have time to post on here. Let's pretend that that claim was actually true............SO WHERE ARE ALL THESE HAPPY, SKINNY, SUCCESSFUL, NO COMPLICATION BANDSTERS IN REAL LIFE?!?!?! NOT online. Where are these that you actually KNOW  in real life??? I know one. Kind of sad don't you think??????????? How many successful, skinny, no complication long term WLS'ers do I know from the other 3 WLS? MANY! Common sense tells the effectiveness of the CRAP-BAND!