Allergan Considers Lap Band a Discontinued Operation

Zee,

I loved my Band for a long time.  I cried when I found out it had to be removed.  I cried more as I was vomiting nightly - mouthfuls of acid!  I cried again when my voice started changing and I realized I was gaining weight because I could no longer eat healthy!

WE can warn all we want, people will do what they want to do, it's easier to ignore the bad stuff and just live in denial assuming they will be the success.  All we can do is be honest and tell our stories.  We don't do it because we are haters, we do it because we actually care about those who are in the same shoes we once were in.  I know the struggle I went through, if I can help one person avoid it, I will.

I was fortunate, my insurance agreed to remove it and revise me to the Sleeve, not everyone is as fortunate and not everyone gets it removed in time before serious damage is done.

My BFF has one.  She got it because I was so successful, I regret that because she's now starting to have trouble.

I think you should get a band.  Nobody deserves one less than you!  Go get it, hurry up while they are still available.

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For the same reasons we have explained 100 times.  

Could Dee still be around......

please take the time to educate yourself if you intend on getting the lap band.  the information that is out there now is very different than when i got my band +10 years ago.  with the information on re-operations (highest of all wls procedures) and complications (could be permenent)  I am amazed with 2 things, those who would still get one and the surgeon who would implant them.  Ignorance is bliss.....but you can't dismiss the information out there.  the lap band first came overseas, so they have more infomation...they have essentially abandoned the band, I am sure the US will follow soon.  To have a band implanted more than 10 years ago is very different, to have it implanted today, I think is irresponsible, but is is an individual choice. 

I had the lap band or 8+ years, the last 2 years were torture for me...it was not about weight loss as i was very successful, i went down to 127 lbs...i had no quality of life......the band had permanently damaged me, I had so many complications, of which are permanent....I have had my band out for 3 years.....ahhhh the pain is gone,,, revision is wonderful....be very careful what you chose, the information out there is very different....if i had the information now 11 years ago I would have never gotten the band....good luck to you

I agree with you on so many things, Airbender.  

I had a similar experience, as well... permanently damaged from the band.  I'm glad you're sharing your story. People need to know it.

Nic,I have posted bits and pieces, of course there is always more..  sorry for you, gee do I understand.  I think everyone should pic the surgery that is best for them, and I don't think any one surgery is best for all. and i am sure that the information on all the 4 WLS will change in the next 10 years .  And it really depends on what part of the world you are in, what is considered "the gold standard"  The information in 2002 that I had with my lap band when I was researching (I actually had an Inamed proctor perform my surgery)  is very different than in 2013. there wasn;t that much info.  we are all in the same boat, trying to find something that works for us....we just approach it differently  the human body is a wonderful thing.....

I had surgery a year after you, in 2003, had been researching RnY up to that point, but was told the band was a better option since I had "only" 100 pounds to lose. I remember talking to Don at Inamed, trying to find help for all the complications I was having after banding. Of course, the people at Inamed weren't actually medical professionals, so they weren't really sure what to advise. My whole experience was just cruddy, all the way around.  But who knows if I had chosen RnY, maybe that would have been disastrous, too. (Did you receive the VHS tape with Ann Wilson talking about how the band changed her life? That was about the extent of "research" I was able to do! Yikes.) 

Maybe they'll make strides in the next decade, hopefully. 

VHS tapes,  Nic you and airbender are sounding like a blast from the past.  If anybody belongs here it is you two!