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Whoa...  Stating facts, stats, and personal experiences is not an agenda.  An agenda might be pushing a surgery type that has such a low stat for weight loss and huge stats for reops and revisions.

Think about agendas before accusing everyone around you of the same.

so you don't care that I don't care?I am 5yrs out--that is considerable. And just because you didn't have the same symtoms as other ppl doesn't make the info I gave wrong.

If you are "a lot further out" than me as you indicated, when and where did you have it done? The lapband has been available in the U.S. since 2001, so did you have it done in Europe? who was your dr.? Can you point me to these studies you mentioned? (Not all studies are created equal btw) or are you just a crank who never had a band?

Wow - you have some serious anger management issues. May I suggest some counseling. . .

I had my band done here in the US at one of the top Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence by a former President of the ASBMS. I don't need to do your research for you. I'm sure you can go on pub med and find the studies for yourself unless you have difficulties with doing your own medical research due to some sort of inability.

Lapband has been available in the US since 1997. Why are you having such issues? Frightened perhaps? My band was fine for more years than you've had yours. I would have no reason whatsoever to tell people about the difficulties with my band other than to try to help them, so that they don't experience what I went through.

Seriously, get yourself some counseling to find out why you are so threatened. May I also recommend regular and periodic endoscopies to check the status of your band over time.

I totally agree with you, this is a public forum...so people can share the positive and negative about each surgery. I do not think you were trying to discourage people about getting the Lapband by sharing your experience. You were asking for advice/help from others who were experiencing any of the same problems as you were facing. If that "other person" on the forum didnt have any problem with their band then obviously "they" were looking in the wrong section because this is listed under REVISION WEIGHTLOSS SURGERY FORUM! 

Back to the subject matter, I have had the band for 9 months today. I have not had any major problems with the band other than I plateau'd at 55 lbs down (I still have 100 more to go), and I had a lot of vomiting. I had acid refulx and ulcers before the surgery so I cannot blame it on the lapband. I can say that it seems to have gotten a little better with the weightloss. I did have problems with my gallbladder as do many weightloss surgery patients, and I had to have mine removed 3 months after my lapband surgery.

I've had my band checked and it has not slipped, but I had to get quite a bit of saline taken out to make sure I am not throwing up everyday and I'm able to get more protein down. I have not lost anymore weight but I havent gained either so I guess thats the positive side of it.

I am in the process of having a revision to remove the band and have the Gastric Sleeve. My situations is a bit more tricky, I have had stomach cancer and it will benefit me having the Gastric Sleeve and reducing the chance of the cancer returning.

As far as erosion going, I go to Support Meetings every month and have not heard of anyone having erosion. Only heard of the band slipping from someone vomiting too much, and then they had to have surgery immediately to remove it.  My doctor did mention that 80% of the bands he has put in, eventually have to be removed. This is not me speaking any negativity, only the facts that I heard straight from my doctor.

So with that said, I wish you the best of luck and hope everything works out for you.

PS. CONGRATS ON YOUR WEIGHTLOSS!! AMAZING!

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum, and have never had the opportunity to speak with anyone who has lap-band surgery.  I live in Canada where it is a relatively new surgery, and it is very hard to get it covered by insurance.

I was diagnosed as having a binge-eating disorder about five years ago, and though I was not obese enough to qualify for insurance for the surgery, I still qualified as "morbidly obese" by my doctor's standards.  I tried everything--Weigh****chers, Jenny Craig, joining a gym, etc. etc.  I even saw a food eating disorders specialists (an MD) who got me into a general eating disorders program.

Nothing helped.  It was a horrible, hopeless feeling.  One day on the radio, I heard an an for lap-band surgery, and went home and did some research on the internet.  I looked up the clinic that I had heard advertised to find out the cost, but of course they don't want to tell you the cost until they have all your personal information so that they can contact you and try to talk you into having the surgery lol.  I had never had experience with private health care before--Canada has universal health care, and the system, if anything, is overburdened, so I've never had a doctor try to convince me to have a surgery that I wasn't sure about.  And I've had lots of health issues all my life, physical and psychological (binge eating is one of my coping strategies for anxiety and depression), and the vast majority of doctors have been wonderful and trustworthy.

So as soon as I input my information, I got a call from the clinic, and immediately got to speak with the surgeon (I won't mention his name because I don't want to get sued).  I told him that I had been diagnosed with binge-eating disorder, so nothing was able to stop me from eating.  I wanted to know what would happen if I binged on junk food and told him how much I would typically binge on, etc. if I got the surgery done.  He said something like, "it's simple.  You won't be able to binge.  It will make you sick." 

It was still a difficult decision for me, because the surgery was $16,000, and not only did I not have the money, but I was, and still am on leave from my work, so I've had to sell my house and trade down to an older car.  The thought of taking out a loan that big was terrifying.  But there is a history of diabetes and heart disease in my family, and I was just steadily gaining weight with no signs of being able to stop and my doctors were worried about my health, so after discussing it with my family, I took out a line of credit and within two weeks they had me booked for the surgery.

I was told that because it was a laproscopic (sp?) surgery, it wouldn't be too painful, and they'd have me in and out in a matter of hours. So I showed up that day thinking it was going to be a breeze. They led me up to a sitting room, told me to get changed, and handed me a booklet with some information about the rules I had to follow regarding my diet after the surgery; they said I needed to take it home with me when I left.  Then the anesthetist came in and said not to worry, it wasn't a painful surgery, and if I felt any pain, it might be some discomfort in my left shoulder where the gas goes after the surgery.

I have had numerous surgeries, including two brain surgeries.  Waking up from this surgery was the most painful experience of all. I felt like my body had been through a blender. I couldn't really see anything or talk, my stomach ached, and it felt like someone had stabbed me in the shoulder.  I drifted in and out of consciousness for apparently half an hour at which point a nurse said, "okay, time to go! Your mother's going to pick you up at the side door!"

I literally couldn't believe it.  I said I couldn't move, it hurt too much, but she gave me no choice and somehow, between her and my mother, they half carried me to the car, where my mother put the seat back and I basically passed out from the drugs and the pain.  The painkillers they sent me home with (oops! turns out someone had made a mistake!) were these codeine tablets--seriously, I think the biggest pills I've ever seen-- that I couldn't possibly swallow.  But I was in so much pain that I couldn't bear NOT taking something, so my mom tried crushing up one of the pills in water and I tried to swallow it.  The taste was so vile, I spit it out and my body started to convulse. Only by crushing it up in grape juice was I able to get any of the painkillers down. 

Anyway, I'm getting waaayyy too detailed.  I just wanted to respond to a post that was very pro-lap band and very accusatory towards someone who was warning people of potential problems.

I had the surgery about two years ago.  To date, I have lost 0 pounds.  Because what the surgeon failed to mention is that I get sick eating CERTAIN foods (i.e. carrots, celery, crackers, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, dense bread) but things like cookies, doughnuts and ice cream go down like butter.  So now I simply cannot eat the greens I used to eat to try to get some nutrition, but I still binge quite successfully on the soft sugary treats that were always my biggest weakness.

Because I haven't lost any weight, I have serious acid reflux and bloating.  Oddly, unlike some people on here, I CAN'T vomit since the surgery--my body seems to have lost its ability to do so.  Even once when I was very sick and actually WANTED to vomit in the hopes that it might make me feel better (I'm not bulimic, btw), I stuck my finger down my throat and nothing happened.

So, for those of you who have found the surgery helpful, I think that's great.  But for me, all I got out of it was thousands of dollars of debt, an excruciatingly painful surgery, and whenever I tried to contact the surgeon for an explanation re: my ability to binge on my favourite junk foods, not once did he respond--I would get a general message from someone who worked at the clinic, just telling me that I needed to eat less if I expected to lose weight.  Well!  AS IF I DIDN'T KNOW THAT BEFORE THE SURGERY!

arg.  Anyway, there's nothing I can do--private practices aren't accountable the way that public health care doctors have to be.

So for some, it might not be that painful and it may work, but I wish that I had had someone to warn me at least of POSSIBLE problems ahead of time before I made my final decision whether or not to have the surgery.

Meghan this is and almost 4 year old post.  Most likely these pro band people are either no longer here or don't even have bands anymore.  You would really benefit from joining the failed bad group.  So sorry you had this happen.  Sounds like your should be the one suing.

I'm sorry you've gone through this. I also went through pure hell with the lapband. It's a torturous device. A dangerous, damaging, piece of **** actually.

Please know you're NOT alone. It's been over 9 years since I was banded... 7 since removal and I still have damage from it.

 

Take care. I am glad you shared your experience.

I think a lot of the problem here is that the band is not doing all that well in the US.  Sales are down per Inamed yet doctors are still as busy as ever doing revisions, sleeves, and bypass.  I think there will be a time in the not too distant future where the band will be a thing of the past.

Per Inamed 5 year stats for weight loss are between 55-60%, reops are anywhere from 30-50% within the first 5 years... it's not good.  I think that is why the sleeve is taking off the way it is.  Three years ago my doc was doing about 30 bands to every sleeve.  Today he's doing 3-4 sleeves to every band and he's busier today than he was 3 years ago.

I can understand why banded folks are scared, I would be too in their shoes.  I WAS scared when I was in their shoes.  But I went into banding knowing there were no long term US studies and I knew full well I was a guinea pig of sorts.  I was okay with that and still am.  That doesn't mean I think the band is a good option or a safe option, we live and we learn.  Right? ;o)

 I had a Swedish Band placed August 28, 2007. Shortly after I could eat solid foods I developed a sharp pain in my back. Most erosions I hear are felt in the chest area. It gradually became more painful to eat. I saw my doctor they did a flouroscope and coludn't find anything wrong. I went to my primary physicain and he couldn't find anything wrong. I was having to take pain killers to eat. At one point they thought that I could be having psychological problems. That was until they did an EGD and I had to have emmergency surgery. My ban had erroded completly through.  There was so much damage done to my stomach that I can not have another band. I have gained most of my weight band and am considering another surgery.

Anyway..... If something is wrong with you ..... you should know it. If you are experiencing pain find out whats causing it. Keep searching until someone can help you. If you want to get a clearer picture of whats going on with your stomach get an EGD.

My mom got the band the same time I did and shes doing great lost 75lbs.

I'm so sorry to hear about your erosion.  That sounds horrible.

How many weeks from the time you had the band until you had symptoms, and how many weeks until you had your band removed?