Please tell me your views on this.....

Maria....believe it or not THERE ARE MANY Lap banders out there ...MANY who never post here, there are more people that have lap bands that have Sleeves....

The thing is half of the people get their bands overfilled and as a result -- they ruin their bands....those who STOP at the green zone and never get it filled any tighter tend to KEEP their restriction and satiety longer than those who unfill and refill often.

I made that mistake with my old band, it was still new and surgeons did not have the clinical experience that they have today. I ventured into the RED ZONE with my old 4cc band and made a big mistake and drove from DC to Florida and it dilated my pouch...

That was in 2006, and my old band was never right after that point. I had to get my band totally unfilled, I had numerous fills after that...and remember you guys joked and made fun of me when I was having lap band issues and said I had over 60 fills...well I was not exaggerating...after my pouch was dilated, it took about 10 fills to get restriction again, then I had issues of saline disappearing from my port, I would never keep restriction so I had to go back and constantly get fills. I even thought about suing my old surgeon, thank god I had insurance to pay for most of those fills.

Then I had a rare hernia in my uterus in 2008 that almost killed me, and then my band surgeon had to totally unfill my band again, and that required refilling my band again, so I had about 20 more fills after that...so I had a LOT of fills/unfill with my old 4cc band.

But even with my old 4cc band with all the fills/unfills I was still able to lose weight ...turns out my old surgeon was not filling my band properly, and I had a undiagnosed hernia that was causing reflux and every time we would fill where I had good resriction, I would get reflux, that is when I decided to change surgeons, and when I changed surgeons in 2010, I never needed any more fills -- and then after eating too much spicy foods in 2012, an undiagnosed hiatal hernia got inflamed -- that is when I decided to get a new band....

With my new band, I've had 6 fills, and I am at my sweet spot, I learned my lesson from my old band, and I KNOW what restriction should be like now, I now have 6.2ccs in my 10cc band, I can go tighter, but I refuse to add anymore saline, I can eat all foods, I can;'t eat much and for example, I eat a small turkey pattie about 2 oz for breakfast, and a piece of cheese, and do not drink any liquids with my food, I will not be hungry until about 5 hours later...for example for dinner last night I ate 1 hot dog and about 4 teaspoons of baked beans and was stuffed...most people with tight bands cannot eat that without vomiting....

If I add another drop of saline to my band I will probably start Pbing and vomiting my food and I don't want to ruin my new band getting any unnecessary fills. My goal is to eat normally, but only eat like a skinny person, the bands goal is not to stop people from eating but to help them stop. I got my last fill about 2 months ago and I probably will not need any more fills any time soon. If I drink water between meals, I get really full and can't eat much after my small meals.

If I want to lose weight I have to exercise, drink water and follow band rules. If I revised to the Sleeve or Bypass I would have to do the EXACT same thing, but probably with less restriction than what I now have with the band.

 I Personally had more of a problem with the Actual Band,/Scar tissue whatever the case.  I spent 1,5 hrs getting removed and yet to have a copy of the operative report. (not for lack of trying)   I even consulted a 2nd doctor that told me my removal would take 10 minutes ..( makes you wonder)

You decide. I had severe stabbing pain in the left shoulder, limited range of motion and constant discomfort of some nature.

( I was never comfortable) I didn't abuse my band this all started after losing 70 lbs/ banded 4-09 so in 10-12 I had severe food poisoning  and these symptoms started. I jumped though all the hoops that my Doctor felt necessary  Chest, shoulder, spine X-rays, ENG, CT Scan of the abdomen and pelvic region  and he still wanted an MRI....all to be told  that the Band was FINE!!

 I didn't want to believe it was related to my band But guess what , IT's RIGHT IN THE ALLERGAN literature. SO after being told 12 times by my surgeon that he didn't feel it was band related, the last time was right before he removed it in the OR,

I not so kindly told him I DON'T CARE TAKE IT OUT!!  My point is this I Don't believe anyone can tell any of us  ALL the complications to ANY WLS. And the Medical profession DOES NOT share ALL the Info.

yes, I felt satiety, but I also started to have constant issues with reflux even after having 5cc taken out of a 14cc band, so coupled with the shoulder pain, I wasn't interested in my surgeon's offer to do "exploratory surgery"

Did I think the band was permanent/would last a lifetime NOPE, NEVER.

Thankfully I'm happier now, I listened to My instincts, and have full range of motion in my shoulder and have not once had shoulder pain since the band was removed.

As far as getting over filled, I also believe part of this is not the Patients' fault, I  can't imagine ANYONE wanting to be too tight. I was at one point, and my Surgeon made me wait an entire MONTH before doing anything about it!

FIlls and refills are NOT always a Patient's choice. Too many fills I believe is the fault of the physician, they are supposed to be the Professionals (but I use that term loosely)THEY need to know when to fill or when not to fill PERIOD.

If  your happy with your Band Great!  I truly mean that, but it's my own belief that soon ( not soon enough) the LB will be gone or used so infrequently that  the sleeve is going to be what the  majority of surgeon's recommend. JMHO