I had to leave my lap band open for almost all of the time I had it. (5 years) I kept getting mucus plugs and couldnt get even hot water into my body untill after 1pm. I just had revision surgery on the 28th of January and am happy to say that I have finaly found a weightloss tool that I think will work for me.Good luck to you my dear, lap bands dont work for everybody but if you have the means for revision surgery, I have researched it a great deal and it seems like I made the right decision.