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I backed out of the surgery 2 times. The 3 rd time was the charm. Fear can be nasty sometimes. For myself I had to get in touch with what I was afraid of. When my fears of not having the surgery and what my life would be like without the surgery out weighed the problems with having the surgery it was easy. Gosh I hope that makes sense. Let me try to clarity this. The first two times I was afraid of the procedure and what complications I might have after ward. Then after time had past and I had lost and regained the weight several times other fears developed. This time my fears were ..what if I continue on the road.... this extra wieght will slowly immobilized me. The fear of living a more and more shallow.life out weighed everything else. Oh my I hope that makes sense and helps.a bit. Best Wishes to you.

Hello all, I found this site and joined now that I am serious looking into getting the band. Little about myself: I am 6'4" 354 lbs at the age of 33. I guess you can say I hide my weight well since I am so tall and some would look at me and say I don't need it. But for the last 5 years I have tried every diet (WW, Atkins, South Beach, went to a NUT, etc.) I had the most success with the South Beach and lost about 12 lbs. in the first phase, but really stalled after that. The big issues is keeping it off for good which is the issue and my heaviest weight was 371 lbs. I need to change for not only me, but my daughter and wife who I love so much that I fear leaving them way too early in life. Size and the complications that go with it run in my fathers side of the family and I witnessed his father pass away because he refused to do anything about it. It scares me that my Dad is settling in to his fathers old ways. I want to make the change and I think the band is the best options for me after doing tons of research and I attend a conference in a few days for the surgical group that I am interested in having this done with. Well, I am on the path to a better me. Talk to you all soon with many questions and will keep you updated on my status.:rolleyes2:

This is really good thinking on our moderators part, Thanks, I learn something new everyday. I hope though that there isn't an awfull lot posted here as none of us wish to have any complications, however Im sure that this thread is needed. Good job!

Thank you!! Yes I’ve seen so many people who say they wanted this so bad, regretted and now are grateful for it. As well as the other way around, were scared but ended up with no complications and hardly any pain. I’m a pretty strong person and have a great support system BUT I know this is a life change and I pray my strength continues mentally. I’m trying to prepare myself for “the worst” (as far as healing, pain, learning to use my new tool, transitioning into a new phase, etc.) but hopeful for the best experience!

My doctor does 40, he has found the least complications at this size. Unfortunately I had a leak. My restriction has been great so far though.

Hey folks, She probably won't be here for a few days, but Rachele is having a LapBand-to-DS Revison today. She did great with the band at first, but then had complications. She tried to make it all work, but decided that enough was enough and that it was time to move on. For those who are not aware, the DS is the most extensive of the usually performed weight loss surgeries, but has much greater success rates than the others. (Yin and Yang and all that.) The surgery itself requires a much more experienced surgeon and there are not really many DS surgeons in the country. When she is finished with the surgery, there is a long recovery period, with rapid initial weight loss...about 30% of excess weight is gone in the first couple of months, and by six months post-op, it's closer to 50% of excess weight loss. There are lifelong malabsorption issues and routine labs must be done and Vitamins and supplements MUST be taken religiously. The payoff is about a 75-80% excess weight loss, maintained over five to ten years post-op (maybe longer) and a 99% cure rate for type II diabetes. More info is available here: http://duodenalswitch.com/ Anyway, you can see Rachele's before and after LapBand photos in her profile and, if you are so inclined, I think you can send a PM or something through there as well. Sue

Hi Sue I wish Rachele the best of luck. I was wondering how much did you guys lose with the band? Did you have troubles finding restriction? Im hoping I am not asking too many personal questions I was just wondering what the reason was the band didnt work for either of you. I agree letting people know the possibilities of what could happen with the band, even though I read all the stories when I was researching and the small amount of complications was not enough for me not to give it a try. Good Luck to both of you

Dr. Patel performed my surgery. No major complications and James and the Tbs staff were/are great. I have no complaints. I have lost 60 lbs in less than 3 months. Only saw Dr. Patel once right before surgery but he did a great. So happy I had the surgery.

Am a week until my surgery just wondering about this topic.

Hello: I am considering lapband surgery and wanted to get feedback from ppl who have had this surgery. How has it been? Any complications? Weight loss, etc etc. Thanks, Karen Ross:smile2:

I can sooo relate to this. At first, I was shocked my mom seemed so supportive and then when she realized I was serious, her tune changed. Keep in mind my mom has been overweight as long as I can remember.....she told me all I had to do was push the plate away. WHAT?!?! I didn't understand where this was coming from. Eventually, it came out that she was concerned for my well-being and was scared and the biggest reason was b/c she didn't know much about the band and none of her friends did either. I offered to share info and websites with her. She didn't want to know. I told her that I've already made my decision and I had total peace about it AND I wasn't asking her to agree with my decision, but would like to know she would support me regardless. She did warm up to the idea a bit. The day b4 my surgery, while talking to her on the phone, she said she was going to call to her "nurse friend" and if she had bad things to say about the band, she was going to call me and tell me not to do it. Now, telling me NOT to do something is like saying sick-em to a dog....it doesn't sit well with me. I told her not to bother, it was a DONE deal. I had given this careful thought & prayer....I would go forward no matter what. A couple weeks ago she told me she was going to be jealous if I started losing a lot of weight. I told her it would be good for her to get motivated and I hope we could lose weight together. The bottom line with moms is that they care for us, yet sometimes their opinions are very complicated.....at least with my mom. Good luck and put trust and faith in yourself and your ability to make sound decisions for yourself. Keep your mom informed and let her know she is and will always be important in your life, but you are capable of making wise choices.

I was trying to decide if I was going to tell my parents or keep it a secret from them. My sister had bypass done a few years ago and she met with opposition pre surgery and lots of complications after her surgery (I told you so's insued). Well, I told my parents at Thanksgiving and they were supportive after I provided a lot of information and the research on my surgeon. They said they thought it was the right decision for me and wished they were candidates for the surgery too. I was surprised at their reaction!!!!!! I think it is because this surgery makes sense to most people who know about it.

Jack I'm curious in light of another discussion going on elsewhere. You've had the band for a long time. Have you experienced any complications? Are you "one" with your band and completely happy with it?

It went awesome! I have no regrets about going to Mexico and Dr. Casteneda and Premiere Hospital were both fabulous. The hospital facility is very nice. I had no complications and everything went as planned. Cecelia the coordinator is very helpful and she too has had the surgery. Let me know if there are any specific questions I can answer for you.

Hey Ann, I was only in the one night (that is all the insurance approved) but I did not have any complications. I also went the insurance route as I could not afford self-pay. My insurance (Aetna) approved me in one day. You may want to call them to make sure they have your papwework and see if they can tell you the status of your case. Good Luck.

This is strictly my opinion. I'm no doctor and I'm no expert. With that said, if it were me, there is no way I'd get the Lap Band if I already had gastroparesis. Gastroparesis causes the muscles in the stomach to not function properly and because of it there are issues emptying. It's rare but gastroparesis can be a complication of the Lap Band anyway as a result of the pressure on the Vagus nerve. This then can lead to other serious complications, including band erosion because of food sitting and digesting above the band. Again, just my opinion, but if it were me there's no way I'd get the Lap Band if I knew I already had gastroparesis.

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I will be seeing the surgeon on Oct. 30th so I will be able to ask more questions and have a better understanding then. I am a nurse so I know what gastroparesis is and though I don't deal with lapband patients in my area of practice, I am familiar enough to know that gastroparesis can be a complication of being banded, which is why I was curious if anyone ever had it prior to being banded and what the outcome was. I do know that there are certain things that can cause exacerbations of gastroparesis, one of those being elevated blood glucose levels. Gastroparesis can and often does improve with better blood glucose control. So I don't know if he suspects that the cause may be related to my weight or something caused by my weight and maybe that's why he thinks it's ok to proceed with surgery ? I do want to know what his reasoning is and whether he's had other patients like me. I want to know, given that gastric sleeve seems to be a treatment used to help facilitate gastric emptying, why would he not recommend that instead? Another possibility is that perhaps he's thinking its medication induced? There are certain medications that can cause gastroparesis and 1 of the heart/blood pressure medications I'm on is on that list. I don't know if he intends to do more testing prior to making a final decision either so that may be another possibility. I was just waking up from the anesthesia when he came in to speak with my husband so I don't remember too much from the conversation anyway and hubby isn't a medical person so he doesn't ask the same questions I would ask if I were a bit more awake. All he cared about at the time was that I was ok and nothing horrible happened during the procedure. He figures I can worry about the rest later!lol...anyway, thanks again to everyone who has responded and if anyone else has any experience with this, I would love to hear about it.

@@Thendy I am sad that your surgery has been postponed! I can remember how bumps in the road made me cry uncontrollably. I was so ready to begin my new life. I know that you are already glad that they found this problem because it likely would have caused complications almost right away. They want you to go into surgery with a good solid base because there are a couple of months right afterward that literally sucks all the stacked up nutrients away from you. The best thing is to get your infusion and follow up with a cardiologist to make sure your heart is healthy enough to go through such a major transition. The surgery is the smallest part, it's life after and learning your way that takes a lot out of us. I hope everything works out for you and you are back on the schedule quickly. Keep us posted and certainly reach out if you need anything. Hugs!

He has a WLS website with many devoted followers; some are even quite militant about negative remarks about him. He performs many more surgeries per day than most WLS surgeons, so for the same percentage of complications, he will have more total complications. But given that, just the number of surgeries he reportedly performs per day (even with others opening and closing) is a concern. I like the mechanic who works on my car to have a lot of experience, but I don't want him to rush the repair of my car. He did not perform my surgery, I can't speak first hand about his capability as a surgeon.

I am officially living every lapbanders worst fear. I was banded on May 8th, and have done everything by the book. 64 oz of water a day, exercising daily, eating healthly and the right # of meals. As of the last time I got on the scale I only lost 10lbs. Ive been on the lupron injections every 3 months for another ongoing medical condition, and no matter what i cant stop them. when i lost saw my gyn and surgeon they both said the same thing, the lupron's whats keeping the weight on.......... in the past ive had pbing episodes and now cant eat a lot of my favorite foods. i am sooooo grateful for losing the 10lbs that i lost, but i have 75 more to go and now im never going to see anything less than where i am... i am so discouraged and heartbroken that i went through all of this, including surgical and post-op complications and everything else. I dont know if i want to kick and scream or just crawl into a ball and cry. i always heard ppl say thats their worst fear and theyd rather die than go through what i am and it makes it worse because i was one of those ppl. Sorry about the venting i just had to get this out...... the biggest loser on lapband. tabitha:think

I was banded in October or November 2010, and lost about 80 pounds. By 2012 I'd had all the fluid removed due to regurg, pain, etc., even with minimal fills. Even with the band unfilled, foods still got stuck and some things were completely off limits. I just dealt with it for a few years, ignoring the problem. Earlier this year, I finally decided to do something about it and saw a bariatric surgeon here in Minneapolis (my band was placed in Omaha). In June of this year, I had a barium swallow xray done, and I was diagnosed with esophageal dismotility, a complication of the band. So, the band needed to come out. (For anyone reading this curious about the insurance approval process, I have Blue Cross Blue Shield and it was pretty straightforward, I just had to show proof of getting fills done (got my records from my old surgeon's office) and proof of a complication (the barium swallow showing dismotility).) I had the band out in August, and will be sleeved on December 7, in just 2 days. My surgeon does the revision in two different procedures because she feels there are fewer complications this way. Though there are other surgeons in the same group who do the revision in the same procedure. Waiting in between is not exactly easy on the pocket book (though I would have hit my out of pocket max either way), and my sick time at work has really taken a hit, but I understand the reasoning. Looking back on it, I'm really glad I've had the time between getting the band out and getting sleeved. I've had time to unlearn all the unhealthy habits I developed while dealing with my failed band. (And yes, I realize the failure was likely partly my responsibility, too, for anyone looking to jump all over me for that one.) I had to sip with my meals to get food past the band, and I definitely wasn't getting enough protein because that was likely to stick, too. Basically, I've had time to practice the "way of the sleeve" to replace the "way of the failed band". Between the band and the sleeve, I also have been hungry. My stomach hasn't rumbled this hard in years! (Maybe because it couldn't physically do so?) Protein shakes have helped, and paying attention to whether or not I'm actually hungry (or have any right to be based on what I've already eaten) or if it's just mental "hunger" have kept me from gaining weight. I've actually lost about 20 pounds now, and not just from the liquid diet I'm on before surgery. While it's frustrating to have to do two procedures, I hope you find the time in between helpful. Good luck! Wishing you the best.

Hi! Well a good place to start is to look up all of the bariatric surgeons in your area, then give them all a call. Most of them will require you to attend a seminar or watch a video about the procedure before you can go any further in the process. Then you will have to fill out an information packet about all of your health issues, previous weight loss attempts, medication, etc. You can then make an appointment with them, and usually they will have a financial counselor who can help you with getting insurance approval or getting financed. I would suggest that you go through this process with several surgeons to see which program feels the most comfortable for you, and which surgeon you like best (eventually you will need to research their statistics including number of procedures performed, complication rates, and read patient reviews). The whole process can seem a little daunting, but most places will help you through the whole process. If you cannot get insurance approval, there are a number of surgeons in ::gasp:: Mexico who are very experienced and have excellent stats. They offer the surgery at a fraction of the cost of American surgeons, but have a much more limited aftercare program. It all depends on your needs and preferences. I am still a newbie here too, but there are loads of people on this site who are very knowledgeable. Definitely you are in the right place, keep asking questions, and good luck in your journey! You are taking the first steps toward a new healthier life...congratulations!!!

Yeah? Wait until you see part of it try to slide out. LOL. I have to keep a tight rein on those puppies. I'm already on it. I've been to my dermatologist and complained about the rashes. He gave me cream of course. My insurance says the panni must be below the pubis and it must cause complications like rashes and back pain. I think I've got it covered. The rashes aren't bad, but I already have the beginnings of osteoarthritis in my lower back and it's causing some pain. I'm already starting to document things.

About a decade ago, when I had lost what I thought was a good amount of weight, there was an online group (do not remember it) where you could post sizes and pics of clothes you had and them arrange to swap/send to someone else. Usually whomever was receiving the clothes paid for shipping and sometimes if the item was dressy/expensive/with tags, you would work out an acceptable arrangement with that person. Likewise, as I lost weight, I posted my clothes and arranged for new homes. I realize this sounds maybe complicated but it was vastly easy at the time. Perhaps I had more energy? I don't see anything like this these days. I'm not a big FB person but I guess that might be the likeliest place for something like this to be done..especially if it is centered in your own 'local area'... Just thinking/writing out loud, I guess..

The burning you're describing sounds like an ulcer. I'm prone to them and will develop one quickly if I stop taking Pantoprazole. So it could be that, but with the vomiting complication and severity of the burning sensation you're having I'd be going to the ER. This needs checking out!