Jaffa

Hey, just wanted to let anyone know who is a fan. The third and probably last movie sequel from the series is being completed. I can't wait!!! Ok, this isn't really a religious thing, unless you a geek, like myself and my wife. I AM JAFFA!!!!! Sorry, I was just bored. :lol0:

After having the band for a year I have developed some pretty strong feelings in respect to self pay and the band. First of all, I had a years worth of free fills. The problem with this can be that you may not get to your stable long term sweet spot within this time. If you have a surgeon who wants to follow the "protocol" fills. This would basically be about .5cc per month. Well, that only gets you to about 6cc's in a year. I have found that this is NOT going to probably be the end of your need for fills. I dread to think of people paying from the very beginning and doing this slow fill process. I early on decided to get a fill every 3 weeks as swelling would go down and maximize my fills, usually .75 or even a full 1cc. I am just at 1 year and 10.25cc in a 10cc band. They have told me that they have seen as much as 13cc in a 10cc band. Overall, I have come to the conclusion that for self pay people the best and safest bet is to not get the band at all. The gastric sleeve done with the intent of hopefully not doing the DS later, is the best bet for self pay people. Why? Well your costs are all right up front, when they generally cover everything and complications happen up front instead of later when you already have a lot invested. You also don't have the constant fill appointment expense or upkeep of the band. These are just some considerations I have come to realize that are important to self payers. These are just reasons to not get a band if you are self pay versus insurance. I'm not going to get into all of the other reasons, as this is an area specific to self pay concerns.

I just wanted to update everyone.....its been a couple of years for me, and I think 3 for my wife. We have both lost and easily maintained a normal bmi. We love Dr. Aceves and we love our surgeries. I have zero complications. My wife still takes a PPI, but I haven't from very early on. She just had a check up with the local Dr. and she is in great health. She is over 50 so they track her bone mass, and she has lost nothing, and lost all of her excess weight a long time ago. I just thought I would post, because so many of us, move on with our lives, and our new lives become the new normal to the point that we don't even thing about it anymore. BTW, we have figured out one very important thing......since we eat about 1/4 of what we used to, this surgery literally pays for itself just in reduced food cost. If only the entire world knew what we now know. Life is great!!!!!!

I think I'm the only lapbander who comes to this site regularly. So if you have any questions about lapband, just let me know. I'll give it to you straight, the good the bad, the ugly, the pretty??

I'll stop. But this site will never stop, as long as people are here to give bad advice and mislead new people.

Actually, I changed my signature just because of this thread. I wish I could just tell people sunshine and lollipops, but it isn't true. And yes, there is a conspiracy with not only the way they track the lapband, but also how what and how they report the problems. They make it look like it is rare to have problems.....when rare, really isn't the case. Its like having a brand new car. If I track the maintenance and repairs on the car for only a relatively short time period, it majically looks much cheaper to own.

Classic...you tell them all they need to worry about is the cost of fills, but in reality, they have to worry about paying for a future surgery if the bands erodes, or if it leaks, or if slips badly enough. Or you may end up dialeted and have to have everything removed in your band, and then you will have to pay for all of the fills to get back to where you were at. "all you have to worry about is the cost of fills" Totally misleading and wrong.

Stop now, its not too late....get the sleeve instead.

Have you seen the film RUN.....think about it. Go to a sleeve meeting!!!!!! Completing my mission!!!!

Yea, I remember being a kid and being exited about the new toy I was getting for Xmas. Until I got it and it broke or didn't work the way it was advertised.

See signature....no self pay person should get a band. Any one who tells you not to get a band or tells you that it isn't a good idea for any reason is run off from this site. SO BE VERY SKEPTICAL....but start with being skeptical about the band.

My original post was from JANUARY. I hadn't posted since. My original post and beliefs were posted from before I had to have revision surgery. I hadn't posted how right I was until someome else, intentionally, dredged up an old post. Your kidding right? You people need to get a clue. If you want a war, if you want to see bitter, if you want me posting, go ahead and make it a mission for me....... My opinion is just as valid if not more then yours. Especially, if you weren't even self-pay. Go back and read the title of my post. The way the people on this board try to silence any negative posts about the band is extremely suspect to me. I think, this board is full of trolls.

I'm 10lbs less then I ever was with the band....zero problems, and it was cheaper. SELF PAYERS should consider the sleeve FIRST, and then only consider options if the sleeve won't work for them. The band procedure, aftercare, and eventual repair costs are not a good deal for a selfpay person. The othe quality of life issues are a no brainer........GET A SLEEVE, before the band creates so much scar tissue or other problem, that you can't revise safely.

Another thing that is very deceptive, is how the band surgery complications statistics are constantly being referenced from "surgery complications". Well, I agree most band complications happen later, when they don't have to count them anymore as complications from the surgery. Pretty convenient way to count. Heck my band, doesn't even count as a failure. Everytime you filled it, it leaked out after 3 weeks, but it was long after the surgery...an entire year....so that doesn't count as a complication from band surgery. OH PLEASE....the statistics are manipulated to whatever suits them, and if you can't figure it out, you just plain ignorant.

Sorry, but your the one who brought up the complications rate being higher then the band first. So, since you brought it up first, you should be the one showing the proof. I'm not going to waste a bunch of my time convincing the obvious unconvincable. I'm not going to bother.....there is plenty of information out there showing the statistics on complications of sleeve versus band. And no you don't get to lump bypass with the sleeve against the band....they are two entirely different surgeries. You can carefully word it to make it sound better or worse, but you need to actually look at all of the statistics. And yes, most importantly you should look at the statistics of your doctor in reference to the surgery they are going to perform on you.

xavier, you are correct about the complications being the problem for self payers. Especially, because they have to pay to have it fixed. Thats why I think the sleeve is much better for self pay. The complication rate is actually lower then the band. And if you are going to have complications that cost money, they are in the beginning, when any good doctor will pay for the extra costs. The band, it seems the complications always come later, and conveniently when the self payer will have to pay for it. As for effectiveness, well now were on to an entirely different subject that frankly makes the band a real loser. It is so much easier of a life, and so much easier to lose weight, and after four months I'm already below my best weight ever obtained with the band. Never having to worry about getting stuck, and being past the period of complications, I am now worry free. I just work at making sure I get my Protein and Water in, or I will forget to eat and drink, and its as easy at that.

Frankly, I am really happy, I had the leak. Forced me into doing something about the band.

I agree with everything you said jms, but I think those expectations from people aren't proving to be statistically realistic. Note, you see how in the very next post hummingbird thinks the doctor should have been concerned well before #13, but they certainly weren't. Well, as they fill more and more, I was concerned, but they weren't, heck more fills, mean more money for them, and almost no one gets diagnosed with a leak while still in the warranty period.....I wonder why that is?

OK, I'm going to agree with you. So most people having trouble with a band, are having those problems because of getting too many fills. Your first theory....more fills increases your chances of having a leak? Ok, I had about 13 fills, as apposed to your 3? So you really think 10 more fills is going to cause a leak in a port that is suppose to be able to have thousands of fills without leaking? Or maybe the thing leaked from the very beginning? Either way, how is this a good product, if it is so unreliable or the doctors so often make errors using the band. But, wait a minute....these people are doing self fills? The doctors are doing them, and they are suppose to know what they are doing. Are you saying the doctors don't know what they are doing, or that they are just out for the money they get doing the fills? This is classic....you blame the consumer for the problems with the product. You never suggest it may be a bad product or the people selling the product, may not be competent. The only theories are those that leave the fault on the patient. That is just to convenient for the people making money off of this product.

Well you may be right, but I don't know how you are coming to your conclusions? Do you know "most people", so that you can really even form an opinion about "most people". I don't think so, I think you are totally guessing, which isn't really all that valuable or accurate. In fact, I had a lot of fills, and it may lead you to believe I was overfilled, when in reality, it turns out I had a slow leak. When they defilled me, they figured it out. Now back to the subject of this post. Since I'm paying out of pocket, do you really think I want to pay for another surgery to fix a leak....when I could just pay for a sleeve and be done with the cost forever? I THINK NOT. Simply put, the band is much, much more expensive in the long run and sometimes the short run. It is not a good idea for people who are self pay. All of the risk, is shifted to when it costs the patient to fix, instead of all the risk being up front and covered by the surgeon.

I was always under the impression that a revision was going to result in more pain then the original band surgery. NOT at all true for me. This has been a lot easier and everything at 5 is going great.....I'm having such little trouble at this point, I'm beginning to worry that something terrible willl happen to me, just to punish me. I'm on Clear liquids for another 10 days......this is the worst part. Dr. Aceves wanted me on on clears until day 15 after my surgery, due to a lot of scar tissue from the band. I have my band and I'm planning my special tribute video farewell for it next week. I will post it on youtube. I'm thinking a small ceremony with a creamation at the end!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure the lapband people will be horrified.

I did throw up once....ate too much too fast. I eat about 3/4 cup or 6 ounces of food....about 1/3 Protein, 1/3 carbs, 1/3 fat

My wife has tried a couple of times to go off of the nexium, and it just doesn't work....for me, it was a piece of cake.

Wasn't for me. I also went off the Nexium this week with no issues at all. All seems perfect.....I think, I may be one of those 0 complications people.

If we gave the prisoners in Guantanamo the lap band, it would be considered cruel and unusual punishment. If they videotaped them living with the band, people would be outraged, and consider the rest of the stuff to be very minor. So go ahead, torture yourself, and get a band. Nothing, like never feeling full, but being hungry the rest of your life.