The band is going to fail you eventually!

HOLD UP JEAN!

  You are using LOGIC?  You DARE to tell the truth AND ONLY THE TRUTH about weight loss surgery choices to others in a clear cut, LOGICAL way????

GASP!!!! 

Im not sure everyone can handle that....... 

(hehe)

...just keep swimming,

Swoosh :)

I know, I know. This is clearly not a place that appreciates or understands logic.

 P.S. Jean, I know we've had words in the past, but I truly hope you can get better and revise to another procedure if need be, I just learned of your problem from a person that I had blocked. I wish you well regarless if you revise to the Sleeve or any other wls.

Thanks, Naomi. I'm glad you're back on the band forum because we needs as many successful vets as we can get to answer questions and set a good example.

My hubs and I were just talking about this a few hrs. ago, I was saying my band was such a dissappointment and ergo a failure. He, being the eternal optimist said it's not really a failure, maybe a dissapointment for me but without it I might weigh 400 lbs right now instead of the 265 I am. I started at 315 (my heaviest) was 305 at surgery and now down to 265. Altho I don't credit the band with my recent 20 lb loss because I still dietted and journaled (just like I did before banding) and I have been put on a lung med that kills appetite. The band is like anything else in life, there are no guarantees on anything. I think some folks let their dissapoinment with what they were told about the band over rule their usual nice behaviors and I guess some can be just mean spirited. I guess what I'm rambling to say is I try not to rain on the parades of those who have working bands but at the same time I will tell of my band story and how it simply wasn't the correct surgery for me because of other health issues. So let's all just get along and be supportive and share our info with out being pissy about it! OK?

These post scare the hell out of me.  I'm due to have my Lapband on March 8.  I know with all surgeries there are risk, but to see so many posts on the subject it makes me second guess myself.

 Don't be scared, the reasons that made you choose the band are still valid.  The band is not the be all end all, it's a tool, and as a tool, you have to work it.  Not everyone uses the same tool, and some use it with different results.  I was 280 at my highest, I am 212 now, had the band last June.  I lost 58lbs with the band alone, but then I found it slowed down alot.... I researched the reasoning, and found that with the band people usually lose 50- 60% of their excess weight with the band alone, and then it's just a device that makes healthy eating choices easier.  I am now losing again, slowly, but I am happy SO FAR, with the band.  I havent a clue what's going to happen down the road, but I know I can exercise now, am off my blood pressure meds, and had a very short recovery time.  Will it fail?  maybe.  Will i need something else? maybe, life is full of question marks, and all anyone can do is make the best decision they can with the information they have in the situation they're in.  Each weightloss journey is totally different, as we are all unique.  I wish you well!

I wish I had second guessed myself and never had the band.  I wasted all those yearsending up only able to eat the soft sqishy foods and having a net weight gain because of it.  I also had a lot of vomitting which was bad for my teeth and gums and damaged the esophogas.  I ended up with a hiatal hernia that damaged my stomach irretrievably.  Even coughing when one has a cold is terrible risk with a band.  I lost initially with the band but never reached a sweet spot. I always had problems with dense protein foods even if I took teeny tiny bites and masticated ad infinitum.  This result coupled with going to the band support groups at my hospital where only a few people were reaching their goals was depressing.  The band is appealing initially due to the 'no cutting" aspect but it doesnt address the hormonal compnent of obesity.  If I were you I would listen to the intuition that is causing this second guessing.

I wish I had second guessed myself.

I wish I had read the revision, regret, and failed surgery boards here, and questioned why so many of some surgeries, and not others were represented there.

I wish I had read real research studies, and not trusted a surgeon selling a procedure, and believed the stuff put out by the companies that made the band.

I wish I could undo the damage left by the band, as the "reversible" thing is a lie. It is only removable, because it has to be.

I wish I had my money and heath back. There is no point getting a surgery that will not let you be a success for the long term. You have time.

 My geometry teacher failed me in 8th grade.  What's your point?