I’ve been looking at this bariatric forum for many years and have appreciated the insight of the stories on here and thought I’d share the end of my lap band journey and my story might be helpful for anyone considering having theirs removed.
Banded: April 2004, Dr Talbot, Sydney, Australia (79kgs at consult, 85 kgs at surgery)
Unbanded: February 2017, Dr Ali, Glasgow, Scotland (85kgs)
When I was banded I thought it would be a quick fix to weight loss and was advised to gain a few kilos to be eligible for the surgery. I wasn’t mentally prepared for the drastic lifestyle changes I would need to make and the band was not a success for me. My problem was binge eating of sugar and carbs – chocolate, ice-cream, biscuits, cakes etc. and unfortunately the band did not help with the psychological issues that caused my binge eating. I never had a problem with healthy or normal food or portion sizes; my weight issues were due to junk food and binge eating excess calories when stressed, happy, sad … sugar and carbs were used as an emotional regulator as such and no form of weight loss surgery will help to fix this – I’ve since learnt that psychological understanding and therapy including CBT is more successful. In fact, life with the lap band created bad eating habits as I could no longer tolerate the majority of healthy foods including most meat and vegetables, this was even with no liquid in the band.
I have been lying constantly for the past 13 years as very few people knew I had the band, I was ashamed of it. Eating out was a nightmare as could only tolerate certain foods and having to find a way to get food unstuck without having red eyes from my eyes watering when regurgitating. Dinner parties were a nightmare so lots of declines when I would rather have gone. Work dinners and travel/functions made me anxious of thoughts of getting stuck. Always having to review menus ahead of time when they were available to have a plan of attack of what I might be able to tolerate (if I could tolerate). Some days no issues, other days full restriction regardless of what I ate and especially in the mornings. I was unhappy. And I could still consume sugar and carbs in binges with no problems most of the time.
I had my removal surgery yesterday and was wheeled to surgery at 1pm and woke up in recovery around 2.45pm. New incision scars were required but this time with internal stitches and I can’t see them at the moment due to the dressings but they look small and I’ve been told very neat. Was told my band and port were in perfect order with the original sutures still intact, they were removed along with the capsule that had formed and was told it was one of the best placed bands he had seen with minimal scar tissue and after 13 years I feel blessed to have had no erosion or major issues.
Pain after removal is minimal and I was so worried and nervous, would have had this done years ago if I knew how good it would go. It feels like I’ve done a lot of sit ups and that is very easy to deal with, I can even sleep on my side if I’m slow with positioning myself. I do have a mild sore throat from the anaesthetic and shoulder tip pain from the gas used during surgery to see my organs and that will eventually dissipate from the body and go away. I’ve had a stitch feeling on my right side (near the port) today when I move quickly and have been told that could happen and hopefully that will go away over time also. I had some panadol before going to sleep last night and some today after the car trip home but that’s about it for pain relief requirements.
Overnight stay in hospital but could have left same day I felt so good, I ate chicken with carrots last night in hospital with no restriction a few hours after surgery! That is the first time in 13 years … was a bit emotional. I’m not particularly hungry but the surgeon warned me at consult, before and after surgery that most patients gain a voracious appetite and gain weight rapidly after having the band removed. He wanted me to have conversion to sleeve surgery but I was not interested. Time will tell … I’m hoping to get my binge eating reasons sorted and be able to eat a healthier way … I wasn’t even in the obese category when I went for consultation 13 years ago (BMI 29 and then went into obese with the weight gain I was told to do to be eligible). Fingers crossed this decision ends up being a good one all over with no weight gain going forward.
