Surgery in ten days - any good stories?!?

I Wish you success , but unfortunately My Favorite saying is that The lap Band isn't the ONLY weight loss Option IT"S YOUR WORST!

Many will try to tell you that So many HAPPY people that have the Band are OFF enjoying their success, but I've come to realize IF that were True SOME would be back here and other LB Boards telling everyone else what a Wonderful thing it is..BUT I still can't Find them. And I'm NOT talking about those that are 1-months -3 yrs out those are Banded newbies

If you want to know what your in for with the Lap band just look at the Allergan literature They Had to post all the complications that were reported or the FDA never would have approved it.

http://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/lapband_dfu.pdf

And I don't care what others say as far as "well they did it to themselves" they just haven't Come to terms with the fact that it's a complication and NONE of us no matter what the Doctors tell you, YOU/THEY didn't cause the problems that they experienced the LAP BAND caused it. 

It's NOT a lifetime Option OR least evasive. Like they try to make everyone believe, Anyway No matter what you Decide I truly hope your ONE of the Lucky ones, We all thought we might be as well....you see how that turned out

Hi, I had my band 11 years ago and I would do it again in a heartbeat. You made the right decision for you. I feel better and have kept the weight off for 9 years. I know there is a lot of negativity on this board, You need to do what is right for you. I wish you the best of luck in your journey. Mona

I am 5 1/2 years out and have had great success so far with the band, maintaining 130-pound weight loss.  I am able to exercise like crazy and I think that really helps with the maintenance.  Good luck to you!!!!

Honestly, if I could do it over again and by that I mean if I could go back to April 2006 and the sleeve were an option then as it is now - no question I'd have chosen the sleeve.  I've just had a revision from Lap Band to RNY because of all the complications and damage done, RNY was the best option for me today 7+ years later.  It's great that there are a few people out there with Bands that are happy and healthy. But I think you'll find that there are more who aren't!  Please look at all your options and if you still go with the Band then I hope you are one of the ones who can enjoy it 5--8-- 10+ years out.  It's pretty telling that the Mayo Clinic among plenty other centers (my own included) won't even place the Band anymore due to it's high rate of complications.  

So no, I can't really think of anything postive or encouraging to say about the Lap Band. 

I just wanted to wish you good luck. Unfortunately, the band did not work long term for me. In the beginning it was great, and then things went wrong very quickly after almost 5 years with the band. 

DON'T DO IT!! Go for another surgery, sleeve, RNY, anything but band!!

All this relativeism about WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU is a little disturbing. In general, people often do take different paths to achieve a goal. But specifically with the band, the numbers of failures as the years pass is absolutely asstonishing and if that doesn't give you pause, it is astonishing. I would not do it again. It did help me some, but the danger, the damage does not justify forging on and still ending up with all the damage. Ignoring that fact is self destructive.

I'm with the majority of the posts here. I wish I could tell you a positive story. But I cannot. Had the Lapband for 6.5 years......it was a long story....you are welcomed to friend me and read my blogs. I had the band taken out and revised to the DS in Jan 2013....down 93 lbs. I lost 20 lbs in those years with the band. Please, Please, Please reconsider.......anything but the band!

My band was great for about 15 months.  I was compliant, measured, weighed, logged my food, chewed, tiny bites, etc.  I began having pain at night that would wake me...it radiated up from my sternum/upper abdomen to my left arm, back, neck, jaw...thought it was cardiac.  After a complete cardiac work up it was determined not to be cardiac related.  I had a complete unfill in June 2012 due to a completely closed stoma, despite only 3 cc in my 11 cc band.  I got better for a while, then started having regurgitation of stomach acid during my sleep.  After 9 months of testing, being Dx with gastroparesis, achalasia and generalized GI dysmotility I was referred to university of Washington Medical Center to Dr Carlos Pellegrini for evaluation.  Manometry showed zero motility of my esophagus.  Within a week, I was in surgery to remove my band and the amazingly large amount of scar tissue in a 3+ hour procedure.

Its been 3 months and I'm nearly symptom free.  I'm able to eat fruits, veggies, lean meat and I'm working to lose 5 lb I gained over the summer.  My nails and hair are growing again...I was losing a pound a week on cream soups and other soft foods that would not come up.  I couldn't tolerate solid foods much...it would get stuck in my esophagus due to the scar tissue caused by my band.  I still have to use liquid ibuprofen for knee and back pain.  The doctors are concerned the tablets could get stuck in one of the folds in my dilated esophagus caused by the achalasia.

Please reconsider...if you go forward, best if luck to you, but be alert for the signs of trouble.

I just want to add that sharing my experience isn't "being negative".  The EXPERIENCE was negative, but trying to save someone else from the pain, fear, anxiety and dozens of diagnostics is a moral obligation.