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.

Well done. Contrary to some opinions, there are still a lot of us about! 

Being too tight is not only dangerous, it often slows loss as there is a tendency to graze or eat soft foods which are often higher calorie. 

Why do you think you are tight? Are you bringing food back? Getting stuck? Reflux? If it is any of those things, you need to get saline out asap.  Being too tight can cause serious and sometimes irreversible damage to your oesophagus and/or vagus nerve. 

If you have been the same weight for three years, you are eating the amount your body needs to maintain your current weight. So you need to cut calories. 

Wow, must be so difficult not having a national health service. 

Whatever the cause, you need to find it out! When you say belly pain, where do you mean? Above the band, around it, below it?

And is the vomit after eating? Specific foods? 

Nuclear, your signature line has disappeared!!!! At any rate there  is no link there.

PM me any time.

Well I think if I had researched and my doctor had talked to more about other options I would have gotten the sleeve no one told me until after about other options and now I regret not doing the sleeve my aunt Jennifer had it and she is so thin she was like 400 ibs. I am failing myself I'm sabbataging myself and I don't know how to stop I'm actually looking up different low carb shake recipes maybe that will help sweet tooth u r so strong I am so happy for u. I did have trouble eating cuz of bad habits and I'm slowing down and taking smaller bites now that I am trying to get refocused it's doing better last three days. I don't exactly know how to feel if band is full enough cuz let me tell u I am hungry two hours after I eat and I feel hungry I don't know if it's my brain or what but I do actually feel a hungry sensation. 

Point by point!  Shakes are liquid calories! Liquid does nothing for our hunger level. The very best thing would be to go cold turkey. It would be HARD for a while and you would probably get carb withdrawals symptoms like  headache and maybe nausea. But they would pass. But if you feel you can't do that, find an alternative, not shakes! Bizarrely, I find fruit like melon is more filling and sweeter than other fruits. I also often have sugar free boiled sweets, many would say avoid these because of sweeteners etc and they do act as a laxative!!  But for me they provide a boost of sweetness.

Hunger, IMO it doesn't matter a damn if it is head hunger or "real" hunger. I still want to eat. So my way is first of all to get busy! Or do something where I am away from food. I might even have a bath. You can eat in the bath but only if you take food in with you! But if that doesn't work, I eat. Otherwise it will just get worse and worse.  Not just a taster, something to fill me. If I am at home,  might have three fish fingers (think you call them fish sticks) which come out at under 200 calories. But something which is solid and savoury. 

If you are eating outside planned mealtimes, it is important to keep a daily total. 

Argh!  One night, about four years ago, I went to bed with good restriction and woke up in the morning with none.  By injecting dye into the port under XRay, the doctor saw I had a leak in the tubing midway between the band and the port. It had to be repaired under general anaesthetic but has been fine ever since. 

Hi Crystsl. glad to hear it is still good for you!  

I dont think anyone ever doubted the physical band can last a lifetime.  Many say, as you do, that the time the band is IN the body is a very different issue.  I was just trying to find out if the statement made so very often on here that the manufacturers themselves say it will have to be removed after ten years was true - not the statement being true but the fact the manufacturers said it! I e-mailed Allergan and they replied that they had never said it. 

A couple of people (whom I have no reason at all to doubt)  have said they read it prior to getting their (non-band) surgery, back as far as 2003.  But interestingly, no-one (even the most bitter  ex-banded person) ever pointed out this statement until maybe around 2009 or later and when people started quoting it, they always said that "even the manufacturers *now* say this". 

Having knives stuck into you, your organs handled and then stitches put in tends to hurt for a few days! I was one if the lucky ones and never even needed pain medicine but it us going to take at least a few days. Just take it easy and in a couple of days you will feel fine! 

but if you have gas pain, moving as much as you can helps. 

That's OK, Nic!  Realise you weren't aiming at me! It was the last poster who highjacked it by apparently not realising I wasn't asking how long the band lasted but asking WHERE it was stated.