Did the BAND really FAIL????

I am going on 7 years post op and I don't any more stuck episodes than the first year...hence all stuck episode have been user error..

I think it is disservice to come here and tell a bold face lie about lap band tightness....dysphasia and/or the inability to swallow with the lap band comes from it being too tight OR it has already slipped and has  caused permanent damage...please report about your OWN problems and stop making general statements that this will eventually happen to everyone....my lap band capacity with my 4cc lap band is about 4cc maximum, I never got passed 2.7css without it being too tight...and when I had my band emptied twice about 4 years ago....I had NO restriction as if I had no band....so everyone experience will be different depending how the band was place, size and individual anatomy.

thank you for writing this from a pre bander who is to be banded on june 6.
i came to this site looking for support, ideas and for people like me. i applaud your success
and can hope i can do the best i can. the doctor is giving me this tool and instructions on how to use it (eat/dieting/exercise) and i have went through alot to get this procedure done as this is what my insurance ok'd me to have. so i will do what i can be to a success. lie yoi.

id be interested in any/all adice, support, ideas, food menus that you can offer me. feel free to pm me on respond here.

please do not stop posting as i need to view items like this.

thank you 

 Tom, as you know, Michelle and I did experience failure with our bands.  3 slips between us.  My theory is this: men are more successful with their bands than women.  A woman's body is inundated with hormones that cause our bodies to swell all of the time.  With swelling tissues, you now have a band that is a bit too tight to eat healthily.  I tried to never keep my band tight, especially after the first surgeon placed the band incorrectly and left me with a slip that wouldn't allow me to swallow my own saliva!

I kept my band just tight enough to diminish my hunger.  The band advertises that it will tame your hunger.  You should be able to go 3-4 hours without being hungry.  If you don't have help from the tool to control hunger and portion sizes, then why have surgery at all? However, my body swells at the drop of a hat (why did you keep dropping your hat?). LOL so, with the swelling, I wasn't able to eat good protein and veggies.  It was a frustrating cycle, and after 4 years of fighting the good fight, I gave up and turned to slider foods.  

While I take responsibility for my bad eating, I blame the tool for driving me there.  The band is not for everyone, and not all women experience extreme hormones and swelling issues.  I fought the good fight, and give credit to my band for helping me to keep 60 of my lost pounds off, but I have found a new tool that works with my body and allows me to make healthy choices.  

I wish you nothing but continued success....I know personally, that you have really put the work in to be a healthier and slimmer, Tom.  I am very proud of you, but you need to understand that bands do fail at a high rate.  My surgeon noted in his operative notes that the band was technically in good shape.  No malfunctions, but even he considered it a failed tool.

I have never known anyone personally that had a Band fail them but I have read the heart breaking (and scary stories here).  I do believe that some are very intolerant of the Band.  I am just the opposite and can tolerate my band almost completely filled and still eat a full meal...we are built differently.  

I can understand someone who cheats because their band isn't working the way they had hoped.  For months I felt like I had no band and could eat like "normal".  Now how in the world am I supposed to eat 4-6 oz of protein and feel satisfied?  I was HUNGRY all of the time.  If I was good at controlling my hunger and my willpower when hungry then I would have never gotten the surgery and  I would have never weighed as much as 362 lbs!!!  My band was supposed to make me feel satisfied after a small meal...it wasn't doing that for me for a long time.  I was sad and depressed.  To me my Band had failed but I'm sure others would have said I failed since I was constantly giving into my hunger.  Thankfully about 1 1/2 years after my surgery I did finally get a fill that worked.  I now have about 9.8 ccs in my band.  I can eat whatever I want...chicken, eggs, pasta, bread, fruit.  I just can't eat much.  I can eat 4-6 oz of protein and 1/2 - 1 cup of veggies and feel very satisfied.  This is what I wanted my band to do and this is what it thankfully started to do.  The band doesn't choose what I eat but I was told the band is good for people who are volume eaters and that's what I was.  If you are a volume eater you need that band to work for you or you will keep eating.  So now instead of sitting here and eating a whole pizza by myself...a slice or two is enough.  But mostly I eat good foods and I am happy with this.

I have since lost 154lbs. But I can tell you if I never got into the "green zone" I would have never lost the weight...Would that be my fault or the band's fault???    

 Well, no intention of fighting here but in my personal life I know many lapbanders and not one who had had complications in the first 4 years. My doctor says the newer bands do not have the same complication rates. He showed me the stats and his stats. I believe him because I know many of his patients. I do think they fail, perhaps not as often as this forum would led you to believe, however. I do not live under a rock and have a lot of exposure to lapbanders. 

I have had my band for almost 3 years, and I have not had an adjustment since 4 months out. All of a sudden last year I was TIGHT and had to have an unfill. Now at almost 3 years and still nothing in my band I am still getting stuck. Lot weight initially, went from 43 bmi to 35, now back to 42. Not happy here at all. Most days can't keep food down if it isn't liquidy. Reflux is back, shoulder pain is exhausting and the golf ball feeling in my throat is making me nuts.
I will say it loud..."THE BAND FAILED"... like it or not it happens. Have a friend that got the band the year after I did because of my initial success, she is having many of the same issues. Big difference is she has insurance and can revise to sleeve, while I have to get insurance in order to do so first. UGH... if only my insurance had covered the sleeve initially, and if the stats out for the band now were available 3 years ago, I would be sleeved now.

 Cruiser, those are the exact issues I am seeing a lot of! Good luck! Sorry you are having problems!

Well said Tom! I will repeat my post from last week. It is great to learn from everyone's experiences, but why do people have to be so hateful? One bad/not so nice post is not cured or made better with another one! Remember, we were all taught as children that two wrongs do not make a right. People's opinions and experiences belong to them, who are we to say whether they are right or wrong. Accept them and learn from them.

I hope everyone's week starts out better then this weekend ended...

Hello Tom,

The band most certainly did fail me after 5 years.  It slipped and I was within 3 days of death (according to my surgeon).

I pray this never happens to you or others that continue to lead newbies to a life of short term happiness with the band.