Newcomer questions

My new family doctor told me I'd still be hungry with the band and it's just that I would throw up if I ate more.  This sounds like baloney.  I think this doctor may have some financial or corporate motivation to dissuade me (I just joined Kaiser, a medical corp. and not an insurer).  That plus, my BMI is only 34 but I have Apnea.   Also, I wanted to know what challenges there are in adjusting to life with the band?  Finally, how common are complications, like slippage, scar tissue...how risky is it?

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Hi Tim55 

Your New Family Doctor was Correct you will STILL BE HUNGRY with the band, It's Not magic, you need to restrict your Intake or you can still gain weight. That being said Once you get  through what some refer to as Bandster HELL= the period right after being banded and then not gaining what they call "restriction" (to help limit food intake) Which for some can take months to NEVER happening at all. THEN If your lucky you can hope to get some help from your band in respect to feeling less hungry.

Personally I don't think your Doctor has any thing more than your BEST interest when he is telling you the Negatives about the band. When deciding on Weight loss surgery you need to take ALL of your problems into consideration,  Apnea, heart issues, breathing issues, high blood pressure, high cholesterol these are sometimes referred to as Co-morbidities in the medical profession ;)  having a BMI of 34 is still classified as Obese  SAD. I know but I didn't make up the chart.

Vomiting  is a major complaint with ppl banded. that among MANY others.

Allergan lists them all http://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/lapband_dfu.pdf

Scar Tissue is a complication of ANY surgery, the complications that Allergan lists are experienced at one time by ALL ppl that are banded I don't care if they tell you they Don't have complications IMHO I don't believe it .

Some will tell you that the failure rate is 10%, SORRY not true it's actually closer to 50%.

Complications

Band slip, = might be able to save it or may need to have it removed.

Stoma Obstruction = I think you realize this means not being able to eat.

Gastroesophageal reflux,= Dr. will give you meds for this.

 Esophageal Dilatation = think Spasms of the Chest , feeling like your having a heart attack  Cholelithiasis =Gallbladder Disease ( common with most WLS)  Incisional Infection   Abdominal Pain   Gastroenteritis= inflectional diarrhea/ inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract  Nausea and/or Vomiting (vomiting on sometimes a daily basis)  Port Leak = no Prob, just let them replace your port.  Delayed Esophageal Emptying   GI Perforation   Hernia =Yes, Can/Does cause a Hiatial hernia  Band Erosion = If your lucky it won't be a severe erosion , just one that makes  a small hole in your stomach   Chest Pain   Dysphagia =Difficulty swallow....my personal favorite!! because we are told to "eat health" but you can't swallow ,or you will experience sliming = where the saliva glands over produce and then you have to vomit to get rid of whatever your eating  Infection = Common with any surgery  Asthma   Atelectasis = Lung collaspe  Dehydration = can be quite frequent especially if you don't like water   Headache   Abnormal Healing   Hiatal Hernia   Improper Band Placement   respiratory Disorder = aspiration pneumonia  Thrombosis   Thyroid Disorder   Death  The band was first touted as a LIFETIME product It's NOT , it's REMOVABLE, it's NOT reversible as the complications are some times severe and THOSE aren't reversible. So if it doesn't work and your thinking about a WLS revision you might NOT be able to get it . If your interested in more band experiences try joining the Group in my signature line .  Good luck with whatever you decide .

Wow!  I mean wow!  Thank you for such an honest, informed and thoughtful reply!  I was ready to say "forget it!".  But I am wondering now, I talked to such a nice woman at the hospitals bariatric clinic who told me that the big difference with bariatric surgery is that I don't feel deprived.  She seemed very balanced and honest.  I don't know how to reconcile that.  Perhaps she means once I have my fills optimized?  Maybe you are saying that yes, that sometimes happens if your are lucky?

 

Yep, that was pretty much my experience.  The band is not a good option, it is temporary at best.  Many (most?) surgerons are trying to talk people out of a band and into something safer.  When they talk about the band being the safest surgery, that is true.  It is the safest actual SURGERY. Long term it has more complications than bypass in number.  According to the US govt 50% of people have their band removed in the first 2-6 years due to a wide variety of complications including what your doc told you.

You have a lot of research ahead of you.

50% success rate is really an eye opener.  No one told me about that!  So you got the band and were hungry still?  When did you have the surgery?  Did you lose?  Did you have it removed?

 

Not quite.  50% lose their bands at the 2-6 year point.  That does not mean the other 50% actually went on to lose and lose well.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/lap-band-surgery-falls-13 193458

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Obesity/25456

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-07/allergan-receives-u-dot-s-dot-subpoena-over-weight-loss-devi ce

I had mine removed 18 months after I got it, or back in 2007.  I revised to a sleeve and life is good once again.  I did lose, I lost to goal because I couldn't eat food.  I was on liquids for the last four months due to scar tissue building up under my band giving me more restriction than I could tolerate with an unfilled band.  I have forever esophageal damage to show for it.

I revised to a sleeve (at goal) because if I didn't, I would regain.

It is usually the band mills pushing bands.  Surgeons who only know how to do bands don't usually tell you the WHOLE truth.  The surgeons that know how to do all the surgery types typically push you away from the band.

 

Oh, btw... of the 50% that do keep their bands stats show they go on to lose about 40% of their EXCESS weight.  So, if you have 100# to lose, statistically speaking you can expect to lose about 40# with a lap band.

On top of that, it is not common to keep a band more than 10 years.  Some do, but the vast majority do not. Men can usually keep their band a couple of years longer than women before they need it removed.  Your doc was telling you the truth.

Still interested in a band? ;o)

Your new family doctor did describe my situations pretty well.  I was always hungry or hungry and hurting.  If I ate a bite more or a bite a little to big or a little to dry or sometimes when I just did everything right, I could get stuck and/or throw up.

Scar tissue is a very big time occurrence with the band.  If you would like to see real life stories check out the failed band group here on OH.  It has more members than the band Grad group and keeps growing.

I don't now how common complications are.  So many report issues like left shoulder pain.  When you go to report it to the doctors they tell you it is not a real complication of the band and don't report the issues.

I do know that the Mayo clinic and the Army (at least at one base) have stopped putting in bands due to the complications they are causing.

Hi and thank you!  I think I've heard enough!  It sounds like such a mess!  Maybe I should review other procedures, like the sleeve?