Still hate my band

[Cleo's Mom 257]

Lap Band Failure

Are you looking for information on lap band surgery failure rates and long term success rates?

Lap Band surgery has only been in existence a relatively short time, approximately 10 years. Initial results with lap band were very positive with respect to weight loss and morbidity. Not many long term studies have been done. Here are the results on one eight year study. The study defines failure as losing less than 25% of excess weight. Average age of the patients was 38 years and included 50 men and 270 women.

ComplicationPercent affectedGeneral Complications33.1%

Erosion9.5%Slippage6.3%Port Problems7.6%Thirty three percent, fully one third of all patients developed complications such as erosion, slippage, catheter or port problems. Twenty two percent of the patients required reoperation to fix failures of the lap band.

Now for the disheartening results, only about 60% of those banded that don't have major complications maintain an acceptable excess weight loss in the long run. That means of those without complications only 4 in 10 are going to be successful. Did your doctor tell you that? Did you ask him?

In five years 40% of lap bands fail and only 43% have lost 50% of excess weight after seven years. The study concludes that LGB (Laporoscopic Gastric Band) should no longer be the surgery of choice until they figure out a way to either screen out those that have complications or eliminate the complications. The study indicates other longer lasting procedures should be used.

If you would like to read more about the study, here it is.

A reader writes regarding this study...

OK, as somebody who has been banded 6+ years, I have to say that at least 60% of the people I know who were Banded around the time I was Banded or soon after no longer have their Bands. I know that if I post something like this in the General forums... I get a lot of hands over eyes and mouth saying "no no no ... that can't be true..." because most newly Banded people do not want to hear this. I can't find any concrete statistics from Inamed/Allergan.. nor do I think they keep them (or want to keep them)... but I did find this study:

[Melissannde 41]

Hello remember me??? I'm swirl I started this thread. There have been so many replies I have got lost in them.

Someone said...The band is what you make of it

BULLCRAP!!! I just left my Doctors office and I had a nice long talk with him about all of this. He said they are finding out that the band is working for less and less people. He said it like only 70% of people that it works on. So when someone like me says "this thing just isn't getting it for me"...So Misses know it all, it may very well not be my fault. He said. I have beed filled has much has one can be filled and no restriction, but once and I throw up.

He said that they are not getting that good of results with the band, as time goes by. So in the mean time I got another fill and I go back in 6 weeks. We will see where I am at then.

If you feel like someone said (or implied) that the band not working for you is your fault, I'm very sorry. For some reason I thought you were looking for help, advice, suggestions on how to make the band work. If you were just wanting to complain about it, that's ok too and my mistake for trying to help.

Hope this latest fill does dim your appetite.

Have a great evening!!

[HDmama 0]

I hope the latest fill helps you a bit.

Everyone is different and unfortunately, the band doesn't work for everyone...even despite their best efforts. I consider myself one of the lucky ones - it's done exactly what I expected it to do and I couldn't be happier.

And just to come to FF's defense a bit...I "know" her from another forum, and I truly believe she means no harm - she did follow the rules and when she posted about her issues, some people were less than understanding and implied (or just outright stated, I can't remember) she wasn't doing her part, so I think she's very sensitive to that (which I get)....as for the caps - that's just her style .

[ElfiePoo 109]

And yet that articles does not address *why* these people failed with the band.

Did they fail because the band never did control their hunger?

Did they fail because they expected the band to physically restrict how much they ate and when it didn't, they gave up...even if the band did control their hunger?

Did they fail because they wanted to continue to eat they way they did pre-band and somehow, magically, thought the band would make them lose weight in spite of that?

The problem with statistics is that they can be skewed to say whatever the person wants them to say.

Statistics say that bypass and vertical sleeve are far more successful than band...but what they don't tell you is how they determine that success. It's not whether the patients take the weight off and keep it off. It's whether they lose 50% of their excess body weight and there is no follow-up past 5 years.

So by the rationale of the person who wrote this article, they should stop doing sleeve and bypass as well since these people are making *permanent* changes to their body when there's no indication that they do any better at taking off *all* their weight and keeping it off than do band people.

.

.

[Liblady 1]

This study was done in 2006. It followed approximately 600 people, took place in Switzerland, and recorded information from people who had their surgery in 1997-2003. Statistics can be skewed. It happens daily even during legitimate research. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

My thoughts are--surely they've improved since then.

Did they keep adequate records?

Did these people have the benefit of the same education pre-op that we did?

How many of these people worked the program the way it's supposed to be worked? (Not saying anything--just asking.)

With that in mind. When I did my own research, nowhere did I read that this was guaranteed 100%. I did this knowing I might have a smaller weight loss than desired. I understood I needed to cooperate, but never was I told, do this and you'll be thin. I was given another opportunity to lose--but a lot of it is up to me.

Don't let this study scare you. What was right in 2006 isn't necessarily right today. If it was right to begin with.

If you want, I can find more stats for you and support both sides of the argument. It's what I do!

Let it rest, ladies. It will work for some and not others. We are each unique and splendid in our own ways.

Lap Band Failure

Are you looking for information on lap band surgery failure rates and long term success rates?

Lap Band surgery has only been in existence a relatively short time, approximately 10 years. Initial results with lap band were very positive with respect to weight loss and morbidity. Not many long term studies have been done. Here are the results on one eight year study. The study defines failure as losing less than 25% of excess weight. Average age of the patients was 38 years and included 50 men and 270 women.

ComplicationPercent affectedGeneral Complications33.1%

Erosion9.5%Slippage6.3%Port Problems7.6%Thirty three percent, fully one third of all patients developed complications such as erosion, slippage, catheter or port problems. Twenty two percent of the patients required reoperation to fix failures of the lap band.

Now for the disheartening results, only about 60% of those banded that don't have major complications maintain an acceptable excess weight loss in the long run. That means of those without complications only 4 in 10 are going to be successful. Did your doctor tell you that? Did you ask him?

In five years 40% of lap bands fail and only 43% have lost 50% of excess weight after seven years. The study concludes that LGB (Laporoscopic Gastric Band) should no longer be the surgery of choice until they figure out a way to either screen out those that have complications or eliminate the complications. The study indicates other longer lasting procedures should be used.

If you would like to read more about the study, here it is.

A reader writes regarding this study...

OK, as somebody who has been banded 6+ years, I have to say that at least 60% of the people I know who were Banded around the time I was Banded or soon after no longer have their Bands. I know that if I post something like this in the General forums... I get a lot of hands over eyes and mouth saying "no no no ... that can't be true..." because most newly Banded people do not want to hear this. I can't find any concrete statistics from Inamed/Allergan.. nor do I think they keep them (or want to keep them)... but I did find this study:

[isaviolinist 11]

The formula for losing weight is pretty simple. Consume fewer calories than you burn. If you do that, you will lose. If you consume the SAME amount of calories as you burn, you will maintain your current weight. If you consume MORE calories than you burn, you will gain. So OP, if you have not lost and have not gained, then you are eating the same amount of calories as you are burning on a daily basis. It really doesn't matter if you cut your portions in half, and cutting portions in half does not necessarily mean weight loss. If you were consuming 6000 calories daily previously, and now you are consuming 3000 calories daily, you won't lose weight (unless you spend your entire day at the gym....doesn't sound like that's the case for you). It is, in fact, possible to lose weight eating hamburgers or whatever other thing you feel like you want to eat. However, if you eat more than what you burn, you won't lose. That's the story. Simple answer to your query. Track your food, see how many calories youre consuming, and adjust it. (And if you do track your food and you find your eating 1600 or 1700 calories or day, and you're not losing, it means that your body burns that amount per day...I'm 5'2, and despite my crazy workouts, my body only burns 2300-2600 calories daily where others would be burning 3000-3200 doing the same activity...sucks for me, but just means I have to eat fewer calories).

[ElfiePoo 109]

Let it rest, ladies. It will work for some and not others. We are each unique and splendid in our own ways.

Yep, yep and yep...and on that note, I think I'm done posting in this thread. Have a good one y'all!

Melody

[Cleo's Mom 257]

If the lapband is going to be promoted as something that will restrict the amount of food you can eat at any one time, provide satiety and curb your hunger then it should work that way otherwise it is no better than just dieting which has a 95% failure rate. With dieting you must make healthy food choices and count calories and try to live with your hunger. Hunger will almost always win.

With the band you are supposed to make healthy food choices but the band is supposed to allow small amounts of this healthy food to keep you satisfied and keep hunger at bay for a certain amount of time. That's why it's supposed to be more successful than dieting alone. We've all done that and wouldn't be here if it worked.

The lapband is only promoted as helping to lose about 50% of your excess weight. So if you have 100 lbs. to lose then it would help with 50 lbs. I think a lot of people go in thinking they will lose 100% of their excess weight and many do, but not all.

I hear ad infinitum, ad nauseum that the band is only a tool, but if a tool doesn't work it isn't much help. It needs to do it's job of restricting food, providing satiety, and keeping hunger at bay. Your job is to eat healthy, exercise, not drink with meals.

I am glad to see that some are finally getting it that the band doesn't work this way for everyone who follows the rules but unfortunately there are still some who are such promoters of the band that they refuse to believe it or that it fails more than we know.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

The study also defined late complications as those requiring surgery to remove the band - including band erosion, slippage, pouch dilation, catheter/port related problems. These are complications that are for the most part outside of the control of the patient. And this rate was 33% after 7 years, which I think is significant, even if the study was done in 2006. Nothing I've read on here about what patient's doctors are telling them, requiring of them or information they are getting or published information leads me to believe that significant improvements have been made in lapband surgery since then. In fact, my surgeon says that the band is falling out of favor in other countries where it had an earlier start and the sleeve is used more.

[Humming Bird 275]

These studies about failure rates do freak me out a bit. I guess I am just happy I am one of the people the band does work for. At least my chances for continued success are better with the band than without it.

[Liblady 1]

Hummingbird,

Don't freak out. I went back and reread the article. The research only sampled 317 people. I made a mistake earlier.

Three hundred seventeen people is a small sample. We don't know the variables. If you are having success, there's no reason for you to doubt what you see on the scale and in the mirror. Congratulations.

I'm sorry for the misquote, but the small sample speaks volumes to me. I am looking for more current stats, if you are interested, feel free to email me through the forum.

These studies about failure rates do freak me out a bit. I guess I am just happy I am one of the people the band does work for. At least my chances for continued success are better with the band than without it.

[Spartan 4]

Swirl;

The "experts" here have weighed in and done their usual damage.

It's too bad I went on vacation. It might have been fun to get in on this one.

This place is like a Box of hamsters. Pure comedy.

People love to compartmentalize the Band experience into neat little boxes. It works like "THIS". "THIS" is what you have to do. "THIS" is what you should eat. "THIS" is what you shouldn't eat. It's "all" about the Calories. It's "all" about the Vagus nerve. And if you don't do it exactly THEIR way, well, you're doing it wrong. And much of what people think/say is baloney. And the REASON it's baloney is that the same process does not work for everyone. I believe it was Cleo's Mom who stated (correctly) that the Lap Band works in different ways for different people. And that is true. There ARE some absolutes, though, that everyone should do/not do. But even those are disagreed upon here.

It might be entirely possible that you would have been better served by having another type of surgery, such as the Gastric Bypass. The various types of Weight Loss Surgery are all different….and meant for different people, with different eating, weight, and metabolic issues. So, it might not be a problem with the Lap Band. It might be that it was not the right surgery for YOU. SO many times on this forum, I see people describing the problem they are having with the Lap band, and it is so clear and apparent from what they say that a Bypass would have been better for them. But, I usually don't say anything because it is not always a pleasant thing to hear. And, well...they already HAVE the Lap Band, so why not do all you can with it?

People do NOT put nearly enough work into the discovery portion of the WLS process. They see the ads on TV, Billboards, and Bus Benches about how easy it is to lose weight with the lap band. And...they simply go ahead and DO it, without seriously looking at the alternatives, or perform the due diligence and choose the RIGHT Bariatric professional to advise them.

With regard to your original comment, the Lap band does NOT work for everyone. That is absolutely true. And when it does work, it doesn't always work that well. People who are having success with the Lap Band HATE it when someone suggests that the Lap Band might have problems, most likely because they fear that THEY might suffer erosion, or slippage, or another of the problems that have been associated with the Band. A classic case of "shoot the messenger".

But, as others here have said, the patient DOES play a significant role in the efficacy of ANY WLS. You DO need to make certain that you have done ALL you can to make it work.

Weight Loss Surgery is an INDUSTRY. It is full of crooks, thieves, sleazy marketing types, and "Patient Coordinators" (Pimps).

It is filled with half-witted money-hungry doctors who have jumped on the Lap band gravy train in order to line their already bulging pockets some more of YOUR money. There are plenty of inexperienced Doctors performing this surgery, and they really don't care if it's the RIGHT surgery for you or not. Just as long as you PAY them to perform it.

But...there are also some wonderful, experienced, caring Doctors that really only want what is BEST for their patients. And part of YOUR job as a potential WLS patient is to find the Surgeon that will give you what you NEED….which might not necessarily be what you WANT...

The Lap Band industry makes it seem all so easy. In and out in a few hours. Go Home. Lose Weight. Done.

Of course, it does not work that way at ALL.

Here are some simple facts about the Lap band:

MOST people who have the lap band will lose SOME weight.

SOME people will lose very little or virtually no weight.

A small percentage (thought to be single-digit) will lose all the weight they want.

For some, the Lap Band is a remarkable, life-changing experience, providing a new lease on life. For many others, it is a mind-numbingly brutal experience, filled with disappointment, pain, financial loss, and sometimes disastrous health consequences.

Of course, MOST people's experience falls somewhere in the middle, usually toward the part where they don't lose nearly as much as they want.

I think that it is important, though, that you maximize the investment you have made in time and effort and money and make certain that this is, in fact, the case.

The Reality of the band is that there are many, many factors in play that determine whether or not it will be successful in any given patient.

My suggestion to you at this point: Get a second opinion. Find another EXERIENCED surgeon, someone who has a demonstrable track record of success with multiple WLS procedures. Have them do a complete review of your case. They might find something that can turn this around. I have seen it happen before.

Remember: you can always revise to another WLS. There is a long-time member of this forum, someone who is very highly regarded here. She has nearly 7 thousand posts, and is considered to be one of the best WLS information sources here. She was considered to be something of a "champion" of the Lap Band. She struggled with her lap band a LOT..then she began to have some success, but it was HARD. Very hard. Finally, her band slipped. She decided that she was done with the process, and she had a gastric bypass. It turned out that IT was what she needed all along, and she is very happy that she had the revision.

It MAY be that this is what you might have to do.

But, I would seriously suggest that you seek out another opinion. I do believe what your surgeon said, though. Many surgeons are echoing his sentiment. Some people on this forum don't like it. But, it is what it is.

S.

[sld21 26]

Yep, yep and yep...and on that note, I think I'm done posting in this thread. Have a good one y'all!

Melody

But I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your responses. It amazes me when people post and you don't give them what they want to hear. It's quite humorous.

[Msbandtastic 1]

I have had a few fills and never got any restriction till the last one. I would get food stuck and start throwing up. Doctor took some of the fill out. I go back this Tuesday. I am able to eat just like I did before the surgery. If I have to eat baked chicken and green Beans the rest of my life to loss weight, then why did I need surgery? If I could do that I would of done that on my own. I really don't understand this band thing. Even it they get where I have restriction and don't throwing everything up, I don't want to eat baked chicken the rest of my life. I really wished i had just had by pass and been done with this.

I don't understand why you are eating baked chicken and green beans if you do not like them. I am only thirteen weeks banded and have yet to eat baked chicken. I am eating mostly the same foods that I ate before except that I have chosen to limit most breads, sugars, and processed foods. I still can eat them and will occasionally but am trying to retrain myself to eat healthier foods.

[sld21 26]

Swirl;

The "experts" here have weighed in and done their usual damage.

It's too bad I went on vacation. It might have been fun to get in on this one.

This place is like a Box of hamsters. Pure comedy.

Oh and Spartan too...Spartan definitely makes me laugh.....intelligent, sarcastic humor....the wittiest kind!