Miranda 5/22/07

Hey, I am not saying that the lap band doesn't work at all. It does work for about half of the people who get it. The news article was on ABC in March 2011. They said half of the people who got a lapband had to have it removed. This could be due to the fact that they were some of the first people to get it, so maybe today it has a higher success rate. I just wanted to let you know what I went through when I had the lapband. FYI- the gastric sleeve does not remove any of your intestine like the rny does. Trust me, I did change my eating habits when I had the lapband. If I didn't, I would not have been able to eat anything when I had even a small fill. If I ate the Protein that I was supposed to, I would throw up about 10 minutes later. Nothing is a magic bullet. I know people who got the gastric bypass, lost a lot of weight, and then gained it back plus. Then I know others who did exceptionaly well with the bypass. It is very difficult to know which one will work for you. I tried both and would pick the sleeve anyday. Cazzy - just my opinion and what worked for me. Have a good one.

Hi Liz. I had the lap-band in May 2007. I found it to be a complete failure. When I was doing the research, it soundd like a good idea: not too invasive, reversible if needed, no cutting of my stomach... But, after having the lap-band, I realized the flaws. Here are my issues. A band is placed around the top of your stomach so you can only eat a little bit of food at a time. So I found that my little pouch was full, but my large stomach under the band was still hungry. If I drank my calories, both my stomach and pouch were satisfied. After I had a small fill to tighten my band, I was unable to eat much of anything and just about threw up every time I did try to eat normal food. So, I had to have the band completely loosened which allowed me to eat anything I wanted because the food just went through the little pouch right into my stomach. I had a heck of a time for 2 years. Then a friend of mine was going to get the gastric sleeve. I looked into it and decided to get that. The surgeon said I had a lot of scar tissue around the band. This was mentioned on a tv program - scaring - and how after 5 to 10 years the band fails. Europe is the only place that has had the band for about 10 years and a lot of them are having it removed. I had the gastric sleeve in October 2010 and would not trade it for anything. I have never thrown up once with the sleeve and there is no malnutrition like there is with the bypass. Sure, in the beginning it seemed like I would never be able to eat normal again, but now I can eat 1/2 a cheeseburger at the restaurant and am perfectly content. Today, I can't imagine eating like I used to - "can you super size that" or eating almost a whole pizza. Currently, I have lost about 90 pounds. With the lap-band, I lost about 30 pounds and then put it all back on plus. I have never lost more than 20 pounds on my own. I can for the first time go to a regular clothing store and fit into an XL. For me that is a miracle. I am still working on losing more - I am a terrible snacker and like to graze all day, so I currently get too many calories. But if I gain 2 pounds, I just pay a little more attention and lose those evil 2 pounds. Me keeping 90 pounds off for over a year is incredable - and I don't think I will be able to gain any of it back. I know this was long, but I hoped it helped. I would never get the lap-band again. Plus, it felt like a foreign object was inside me (well one was - the band) and the port where they fill the band feels hard under the skin and is very strange. Good Luck!

I too am glad that I came across this thread. I have been thinking to myself "why the heck did I go thru all of this to not lose weight". So far the only restriction I have is not being able to eat toast or hard rolls. Even after my first fill last Thursday (July 5, 07), I don't feel any restriction. Thanks for letting me know that it will come. Because of this thread, I write my first message. Thanks again - I feel much better. PS - how soon after the first fill do people get their second fill?