Has the Lap Band Really Worked for Anyone?

 I was Banded on Sept 10 and am reading all of these posts and seriously getting nervous/scared.  Has anyone been banded and had a good experience?  I mean  is there anyone who has anything good to say about the lap band?  Almost everything I see on here about the Lap Band is negative.  I am getting really down and depressed that I have made the wrong choice and I am not even a week out....I feel like I should deactivate my membership here.  I did the Lap Band because my surgeon and I thought that this was the right choice for me.  Did I make the wrong choice?  My insurance only allows one weight loss surgery per lifetime...if it doesn't work, if it slips, flips, something goes wrong...then what? 

Jennbrenna,
For me it has worked! I had surgery July 25,2011 and right now down 85 pounds!
Just so you know, you have to be serious about dieting and exercising for the band to work!
If your not 100% dedicated to the change you could have problems.
I know the band was the right surgery for me since I had always done dieting but had problems keeping the weight off, for me the band is exactly what I need to help me be successful.
I do wonder though.. if BCBS covered the sleeve last year like now if that would have been my choice.

FYI: mentioning those sites in a forum post is against OH terms of service, so it's best to communicate that in a private message.

sorry, I deleted the post.

Hi Jenn, Yes there are some happy bansters and a lot of successful lapband patients. Unfortunatly a lot of them do not post here much any more as you can see. If you need any thig send me a PM I will be happy to help

The dynamics of this board has changed unfortunately. It used be like how the Sleeve board is now. I've been here on and off over 7 years. I remember someone telling me about 4 years ago, only people are in "trouble and keep their bands too tight post here" because every other post was about PBing..aka vomiting with their bands. Which was the "opposite of how the band was suppose to work.

Honestly if I was a newbie NOW, I would not post here for support, scale victories and to stay on track with weight loss this board has changed, since most who hang out here now are people who've had band slippage or complications and seeking another surgery or those who are no longer banded.

The band works great for a lot of people, if you trust your surgeon and have great aftercare, you should not be worried. If you are looking for happy lap banders and support you probably need to check out lapbandtalk.com. If you honestly THINK that Sleevers, RNY's and DS'rs are full of sunshine and rainbows and just losing weight effortlessly with no complications you need to think again.

Despite what people report on THIS board the lap band is still the safest weight loss surgery OF ALL, being too tight and vomiting or reflux is not serious, since these problems can be fixed easily and quickly with unfilling the band or removing it.  Never feel like you made the wrong choice, the only thing you need to worry about is exercise how the band works and learning the dangers of being too tight and you should be ok.

There is NO weight loss surgery without issues, NONE, the problem with the band is that if you experience complications YOU LOSE IT,

Complications happen with all surgeries, those are the risks we have to take, my banded journey has been bumpy, but I've not had any thing serious happen so far at 7 years, all issues that I've had were MINOR compared to issues I've seen friends had with other weight loss surgeries and many don't report problems, I think lap banders report more problems because there is a RISK of removal, and may have poor aftercare.

I've never had port problems with my band, although I've had many BAD fills, but that was resolved by changing surgeons. I am 7 years post op and would not trade my band for any other surgery,  weight loss surgery is a journey there will be good days and bad days, not rainbows and sunshine all the time regardless of which surgery you get.

P.S. 7 years and still loving my band.

I am 3 1/2 years out and have lost 158 lbs.  I have had no complications with my band.  I can eat whatever food I want to eat just smaller portions.   I would say I am a success. 

It hasn't always been easy but I eat right and exercise and completely changed my lifestyle. 

 

The band worked splendidly for me. I had a band slip and a port flip but in the grand scheme of things, those were not disastrous. Unfortunately another medical condition forced me to have my band removed and eventually I revised to the sleeve. The sleeve isn't wonderful for me so far and I still miss my band.

You can drive yourself crazy the second-guessing your decision, and burning time and energy on that will not help you succeed with your band. If something goes wrong, you will deal with it somehow. Since the future is impossible to predict, I suggest that you make the best of your band. And keep in mind that people who are struggling or having problems post more often than people who are doing fine.

Jean

I have been told that I am lying when I post the following. I'm not! But people have to decide what they want to believe. 

I know, in real life not online, just over 40 bandsters. They range from a few months post-op to nine years post-op. - so the newer ones don't really count for this purpose! But of this group (now 42 people to be exact and including myself),  1 is 9 years out, 5 are well over 6 years out, and about 10 are over three years out. A few (can't remember everyone's dates) are over two years out.

Of this group, the over two years out, so about 20,  the majority have lost all the weight they wanted to or enough to be happy with where they are. Just 2 people are really unhappy with their loss but they haven't given up. Of this group, the 20, two bands have been removed. One was for reasons totally unconnected with the band, the other lady openly admits she abused her band. She deliberately kept it so tight eating was difficult, ate out socially a lot and made herself PB, a sort of bulimia. Did herself a lot of harm! 

My (private) doc and my local National Health Service Trust for this area have the same stats, under 3% slips, under 5% removals and under 1% erosion.

Kate