Nanook

I think Cleo's Mom is just being honest about her struggle with the lap band and trying to help others. Sometimes people put blinders on and see the band as their magic golden ticket or something and it doesn't always work that way no matter how they work the band. She just shows that even though she followed all the "rules" that she still didn't get the results promised to her by Lap Band! Also that there are some greedy doctors out there that will do almost anything for $$. I think that it can be very difficult to tell who the band will help and who it will not help, that is my honest opinion because I came to this site a long time ago when I got my band installed searching for answers as to why it wasn't working for me. I thought that maybe I'd get some answers here that would be the clue into what my problem with the band was and could turn it around from gaining on the band to losing like I bought it for! But after a few months here I still got no answers and did come across many of the smug people that said things like "it's only a tool" and when your band is not working and you hear that it's very frustrating to say the least! I then learned that it works for some and not for all and that's that and I wasted my time and body on the band and should have had a different WLS to begin with. I also went to see my surgeon or his PA for all my fills and checkups on a regular schedule and after a year of trying the band and it not working we decided it was time to discuss it's removal. I was very depressed after this "failure" of mine that I didn't even think of revising to another WLS after my surgeon removed my band. Physically I was having terrible GERD And was put in the ER for chest pains and because of that and my weight gain and not loss my insurance company covered it's removal. After the band was removed my normal size stomach once again appeared and I gained ever more weight so that I weighed more than I had prior to banding just like another failed diet, which is kind of my impression of the lap band although not everyones! It took a few months of soul searching and how I wanted to deal with this and also discussion with my surgeon that we would go ahead and revise to RNY. At that time I joined a support group which also helped me with my decision. I also have a daughter who had been successful with her RNY and two nieces now who have had it. So I went for it and even though RNY is not a magic golden ticket either I at least felt like I had some success and am at the point now where the weightloss stopped and so did the malabsorption of calories and I'm basically on my own now. I've put on about ten pounds since the fall and am honest to say it happens not with everyone but with many. I know that you go through stages with RNY and I'm just in that one now and am dealing with it. Anyway before we start knocking down CM with honest story of her experience with the lap band I think as others have said just because it works for you doesn't mean it will work for everyone and trying to figure that out before you have surgery is probably the most difficult task a person has! I wish everyone well with whatever WLS they choose because it can be a very difficult road, Nanook!

Thanks for posting this link Cleo's Mom found it very interesting! Nancy

I don't know if this helps but I had the lap band in 2007 and had it removed and then ended up revising to RNY. I never did well with the lap band and I don't believe it's the right surgery for everyone. Each surgery takes work but at least with RNY you get a jump start! I'm getting close to my two year anniversary with my RNY and am still very happy to have had it. I was lucky and was able to lose a big chunk of weight and the weightloss actually stopped six months after my surgery. Due to my age and my revision and my starting weight I probably didn't lose as much as the average person but for me this did make a big difference in my life. I went into my lap band surgery hoping it would work and probably not knowing enough about it at the time. I also was a bit too frightened to have RNY to begin with. Anyway long story short I gained weight after banding and also gained a few more co-morbs along with it and my insurance paid for it's removal and subsequent revision after I was put in the ER for chest pains due to GERD. I was lucky in that respect and not everyone has that option. I kept up with my appts. with my surgeon after banding and he and I both came to the decision it was the wrong choice for me and he also did my Lap band removal and then a few months later my RNY surgery. To be honest the "free ride" you get in the beginning with RNY is over for me and I stopped losing and over the holidays have put on about 5 lbs which to me seams like a ton but in reality really isn't. Most people do gain a percentage of weight back after RNY and it's "normal" I just have to be more careful now about what I eat and how much. I'm hoping to keep most of it off for the rest of my life and change my attitude about myself and my weight issues. I was a large kid growing up but forced on diets by my mother and I think that may have played into my weight issues. So learning to eat "normally" is something that I had to learn and having a much smaller stomach has helped me with this. Anyway to all of you who have issues with the lap band meaning it's not working as you had hoped it would there are other options out there and talk to you surgeon or someone who can help you with this. You didn't pay all this money and go through all of this to feel like a failure again! Good luck and take care Nancy.

Although mine required my CPAP machine for every and all surgeries I've had they've never actually had me use it. In the hospital room I'd be hooked up directly to their oxygen machine with a nose plug. They monitored me in the hospital and kept tabs. If for some reason I wasn't breathing "enough" they'd call down to my room to tell me to take deeper breaths with my oxygen, lol. I'm sure they're all different but if they require that you bring it then bring it anyway whether you use it or not. Good luck to you Nancy.

I had type 2 diabetes when I was banded and I don't know if that was a factor in my failure or not but it may have been. After banding I found that my eating went from "normal" food choices to softer foods and I still really craved sweets, be it yogurt with fruit which I could eat endless amounts of or ice cream which I could eat endless amounts of or even Cereal. Mainly I chose the softer foods because I could eat them without throwing up and could eat any amount I wanted. So after losing weight preop I gained it all back afterward and then some. Plus my diabetes worsened and I also had high blood pressure and high cholesteral. I can still eat some sweets now that I've had my bypass over a year but only certains ones. Everyone is different and I have dumping syndrome still which for me makes ice cream intollerable, I get nauseous, which I see as a good thing as it was my main weakness prior. It can be very difficult to see these issues prior to surgery, at least for me it was as I wasn't even aware that I could eat large amounts of certain slider foods after being banded. People are more aware of the pitfalls now so that's a plus. I made the lapband choice first but had to revise eventually to RNY in order to lose, it wasn't easy and I can't take back what I orignially did but was a bit too scared to have RNY in the first place but I feel pretty normal and take my supplements and have bloodwork done and have survived. I also have a daughter who had RNY and two nieces and so far we've all done fairly well. So I'm just giving you some insight into a different point of view but it's your decision in the end and I just hope you pick the right one the first time, good luck to you, Nancy.

I saw my surgeon on a regular basis after I was banded and when it looked as if things were not going to work as planned he and I discussed the fact that we would wait a year and then make a decision on what to do at that point. I also developed GERD which sent me to the ER and due to that the insurance was able to cover the removal. I also still had all my same co-morbs and then some and so a few months after it was removed I revised to RNY. I think as long as you're working with a doctor and and are honest and up front with each other about your expectations etc... a year is plenty of time to give it. Good luck to you, Nancy.

I think it just shows that the band works for some and not all! I can relate more to people who've had issues with problems with the band more so than people who were successful that's for sure. I don't expect that people won't be successful because I wasn't but in that respect I don't think people should assume that just because they are successful that everyone can be or that it's some kind of character flaw if they're not! I revised to RNY and can honestly say I still experience hunger and hormones still play an issue. When I am hungry I know I should eat, it's my body telling me to do so but with the smaller stomach I can only eat so much so that is why I've been able to have success now that I never had with the band. I'm restricted in ways I couldn't be with the band and need that restriction. I wish all well no matter what procedure they choose but hope they make the right one the first time! Nancy.

Ditto that!!!! Cleo's Mom, Nancy:thumbup:

Ok, could it be possible that the band was not the right procedure for you??? It happens and happens to many more than you'd like to think including myself. So if things don't improve consider revising to a different procedure, good luck, Nancy.

Thanks BJean and congrats on your sleeve!! I know you waited a long time before you revised and glad you finally were able to do it. Good luck with it! I pretty much stopped losing after 6 months, partly because I had some surgeries in January but I think with my age etc...I just wasn't going to do as well as someone a lot younger. Anyway I'm happy to have done as well as I have! Anyway continued success with your sleeve and take care Nancy.:blushing:

stands for Roux en Y and is the gastric bypass procedure.