I have been banded for 6 years and have lost 185 lbs.  I have done well with my band.  It has been a lot of hard work.  Don't think it's the end of struggling.  I struggle to eat healthy and ignore the voices in my head that tell me to eat bad foods and lay around and watch TV.  I struggle to not let myself slide into old habits...that led me to obesity to begin with. 

Just like Kate, I don't keep my band so tight that I can't eat.  I feel my success has come from me not tightening my band unnecessarily, cutting out junk food and fast food and exercise.  This is how I lost and maintained.  I have not had McDonalds or soda in over six years.  The band will help you lose weight if you are willing to work at it.  That has been my experience.  My band has been good to me.  I haven't had any problems.  I only have to go in now for a yearly check up. 

Clearly there are people the band failed and visa versa.  Ultimately in the end the choice of what surgery to get is up to you...after research and many conversations with your WLS doctor.

Good luck

My mother and I were both banded over 7 years ago. We are both very happy with our decision. My mother was diabetic, high blood pressure, and on a CPAP machine, but now only has to take half a pill for her high blood pressure. Both of us have been very successful with our bands.

There are a lot of people on here that will tell very scary stories about the LapBand, but I know there are people with scary stories about EVERY type of surgery. Ultimately, regardless what anyone else says, you have to pick the surgery that is right for you.

I wish you the best of luck deciding your path and success on the path you choose. 

Really ?

Changed it for or against?  

Please bear in mind that I am a very happy and very successful bandit now 9 years post-op. I do not regret my band, would do it all over again and if I ever have to have it removed, I would hope to have a replacement.

When I was banded in 2006, it was a miracle surgery. And for some people, who accept that they will still have to work hard, it is just that. It was and still is for me. But over the years it has become clear that serious complications necessitating further surgery are much more common than originally thought. Some of these are avoidable by careful eating and by not keeping the band tight; unfortunately others are beyond our control.

We used to be warned about band slips, leaks and about ( very rare) erosion into the stomach tissue but it turns out that a build up of scar tissue round the band (causing it to tighten) is quite common. It can be very difficult to get the right level of restriction and some people are tempted to keep it tight enough to physically limit food, in fact it was once thought this was how it should be. But this causes food to back up into the oesophagus and that risks problems such as oesophageal dysmotility which may be irreversible. It can also damage the vagus nerve.

Some doctors have stopped implanting bands as they found the removal rate was unacceptably high and it was too easy not to lose enough weight. Revision from band to sleeve is not uncommon! On this site you will read more bad stories than good. This is partly because there simply have been a lot of people who had problems but it is also partly because about three years ago, it became a very unpleasant board for banded people and a lot left. I was called a liar for saying I have been successful; people who had just had their bands implanted were told they were stupid and would inevitably have serious issues. People with the smallest complication were told to revise before catastrophe struck.

The band makes it easier by dimming hunger, but it does nothing for head hunger and, contrary to popular opinion, it does not and should not physically stop us eating. If it does it is too tight!

Having said all that, I love my band, I know many successful long term bandits in real life. My own experience has been good and so has that of almost all those I actually know and have met. I know IRL around 50 banded people; all over four years out, many over 8 years. I admit I have lost touch with some but of all those I know about only two have lost their bands. One of these admits she abused her band deliberately, the other had a no -related medical condition. My own doctor tells me he has removed a very small number of bands. He didn't specify what that meant but, unlike US doctors he is salaried and has no financial incentive to perform band as opposed to other surgeries (which he also performs). He still believes banding is a good option.

No surgery is perfect. I know two sleeved people whose lives are now truly miserable because of their sleeves and one bypass patient who very nearly died because of her operation and two years later is still severely affected by it.