Information & Support

Very well put Tom...

As in the original post, I am just here to let everyone know of complications that happened with me and MY band...

I am not going to go and say that EVERY surgery will fail, there are complications no matter which route someone takes.  I did NOT have RNY, Gastric Bypass, or any other, therefore, I am not qualified to say what can go wrong there.  I did have the Band, therefore, that gives me some right to say what happened to ME....

If ANYONE wants to see the actual damage that the band did to ME, I just added pictures to my profile from MY surgery of the damage the band did.

Nana, since you want to think that I am lying about the damages that I incurred, I highly suggest that you go and look at those pics.  Those were taken during my emergency surgery.  That is gangrene on my stomach, where the band had just slipped a little over 3 days prior to that.
As for the band being TOO tight, I had NO fluid in the band for 3 years prior to that!!!
Even I did not realize that a slip could cause that much damage in 3 days time, however, my surgeon is the one that told me YES it can....  It had cut off ALL the blood supply to my stomach, my surgeon is the one that told me another 12 hours and I would have been dead!!!

So, Nana.... I believe my surgeon is much more knowledgeable about MY situation than YOU are!!!

This is just one of the pics of what my band did to me

 Wow, is all of that black part necrotic (dead) tissue? 

seriously, i am sorry you had such troubles.
i can only hope that you are fine/healthy now.

all the best. thank you for all your posts

 Dear SD
I had my band in 2005 & lost a 100lbs, I looked great, I was very happy....wearing size 6 clothes.
I was the Lap Band Poster girl....went to meetings, got monitored by my surgeon & then life happend, I got laid off, started eating stuff I wasnt supposed to, ignored my band, gained 15 lbs, beat my self up for gaining the weight....was stressed out (I'm an emotional eater) so I go to my surgeon to get a fill to tighten me up.....I dont chew right because I'm stressed, I PB again & again, fighting my poor beautiful band til it finally slipped.
Then when I went to my surgeon's & he gently told me my band slipped, I made him promise me he would give me another band. I cant begin to tell people how bad it is when you  violate the Band Rules I was on ice chips overnight puking black bile. When I awoke from surgery my surgeon told me he was able to replace my band but my poor stomach was so swollen he had to put in a larger band.
Whole different ball game! Restriction is different, I was scared,but knew how great the band could be WHEN I BEHAVED & FOLLOWED THE BAND RULES, NOT MINE. 6 months later I thought I was ready to be restricted again......got tightened & wound up in the hospital again vomitting, severely dehydrated, my potassium level was so low I didnt even see my daughter in front of me.......then they moved me by ambulance from my local hospital to my surgeons hospital....@ 10.30 that night they removed my fluid & I was given a glass of water & the lights came on in my head.
Now 2 years later, after gaining some of my weight back, I'm ready to go back to obeying the rules of driving on the Lap Band Highway to Health & Beauty. I have learned:
1. The Band is not a toy.
2. The Band can be either my best friend or a beast...it is up to me. 
3.I'm grateful I chose the Band because 4 years after my second band was placed I can choose to learn my lesson & go ahead with the business of living a healthy life & pick up where I left off IF I FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE BAND.
4.I will never walk around again with a very tight band.
I hope my story helps someone out there.

thank you for sharing nina. one question, how do you know if its too tight?
by violating the rules, what do you mean by that?

congrats on your continued health

 happygirl12
If you keep pbing 2-3 times a week, & youre banded for a while, youer not chewing right & paying attention to your band.
That's 2 rules I violated....
1. Too tight band
2. Not chewing my food properly
the combo is lethal!

thank you very much. have a great day.

Nina first of all you have every right to share your story and I'm glad you have done so. BUT...............what I resent is that b/c of ppl like YOU, WE get blamed! The band cheerleaders want to accuse US of doing the same thing! They ASSume that b/c you and a few others have done this that this is the reason that ALL of us with band complications are having problems. IT'S JUST NOT SO! Most of us have followed band rules and tried to work WITH our bands.

I in no way blame you for  this. It is NOT your fault that some psychotic band cheerleaders want to group everyone with band complications together and ASSume that WE are to blame, but I just wanted to point that out. WE have never denied that there are bandsters out there like you that have not followed the rules and have caused all or a portion of their band problems..........but you all are the minority. WE are the majority. WE have done nothing to cause our bands to fail!!!!!!!!!!!! And I am sick of band cheerleaders that are in denial and don't want to face reality and would rather insult and blame those of us that have NOT caused our own band problems! They just don't "get it" until it happens to them! Then they run and hide on a different band forum, lol.

Susan, yes that is all necrotic tissue.  I now have a sleeve, not by choice, but by necessity.
Happy Girl... thank you...
Nina... I too was the poster girl for the band in the beginning.  I lost 80 pounds within the first year.  I followed ALL rules.  Then I had the hernia.  At that point ALL the fluid was taken out.  I continued following all the rules.  After about a year, I could no longer digest protein.  First to go was chicken, then I developed an allergy to fish (no fault of the band here), then I couldn't even digest eggs.  I even tried to survive for a while on protein drinks to keep the loss going.  I could not digest salad, well, after about another year, I found that I could digest mashed potatoes.  Yes, very bad for you, however, when you go so long with nothing being able to digest, no matter what you eat with NO fluid in the band, the doctor refusing to take the band out.  My original surgeon had moved 5 times to 4 different states, finding another doctor to help you.  I surrendered and started eating what I could digest.  I have damage to my esophagus, teeth, hair, etc.  I NEVER go another fill.  Then in December of last year, the band just slipped.  I was hanging a mini blind, next thing I know, I was laying on the floor in excruciating pain.

I will say after having the band removed, I can now eat chicken and salads again.  So, yes, I learned the rules of the band, and I think it is important for anyone that has the band to follow the rules.  Now I can eat the right way.  For that I am thankful.  The funny thing is, I have met several people that understand where I am coming from with the inability to digest protein.  I would never have thought that was possible, however, it does happen to some of us.

I wish you all the luck....  :)