NEVER, NEVER AGAIN....

[TexasMama 2]

It is a wise decision to have the lap band removed, but it is not wise to have bypass surgery. Your problem is a lack of will power and self-discipline and no amount of surgeries, or even weight loss for that matter, will fix that. No one needs surgery to lose weight. You just have to be committed to living a healthy lifestyle and eating healthy food.

Wow. Could not have said this better. Great post.

I see posts like the OP's scattered throughout this board. I think it's important to stress accountability. If you get called to the carpet, it's probably for a reason. I'm very new to my band (and vice-versa, I suppose ) but I already know how powerful my psyche is just 6 days post-op. It will always be a struggle. It's how you react to that struggle that counts.

Repeat after me: If I work with the band, the band will work for me. If I give up on the band, the band will give up on me.

YOU are responsible for you.

Good luck.

[parker62 8]

Let me add here that i am not yet Banded. I have done my fair share of research and have decided that i will have the Band. My surgery date is March 8th.

Today i started my 14 days of Optifast shakes. Shakes are five times daily. WLS is not the same for everyone.I now weigh 269 lbs, if i am blessed to lose the 69 pounds i would be very happy. All wls poses risks and the possibility of not working. I accept that i have a lot of work to do and my band will only be a tool to help me get the job done. Thats all it is a tool. i will have to use it to get any result. Its up to me and me alone. Not the band, not the surgeon, me, me, me.

[Momto3redheads 18]

I have a friend who had the bypass surgery around the same time I had the band - she lost 130 lbs or so - but she has been in and out of the hospital a dozen times with kidney stones and blockages...THAT scares me!

Sorry the band didn't work for you...it doesn't for everyone.

Kim

[HeatherinCA 10]

Not everyone can do it. It's still a diet, it's still lots of exercise, it's still no junk food as with ANY diet, weight loss plan, or surgery. There is no quick fix or everyone would be skinny, the Bypass and the Sleeve aren't quick fixes either. We all have severe food addiction problems, we have to tackle that to lose weight. No matter how we decide to do it.

[nomorejellybelly 77]

After a certain point, you have to use your own self-control also. If you're continuing to eat right and exercise, you can keep off the weight. I'm not at my goal yet (about 1/2 way there), but I'm simply determined not to gain my weight back.

[snowfie9 6]

Perhaps it is possible that only one or two in ten reach the DESIRED weight. But that doesn't make what weight loss they do achieve not worth the effort. I need to lose 120lbs. If I end up only losing 100, I'll consider that a monumental success. Whether I get as low as everyone tells me I should be or not.

[janetj 1]

Sorry that the band didn't work for you but how do you know that in the long run RNY will work for you? One of the best things about the band is that it is adjustable. I am two and one half years out and with my last fill I have as more restriction than I did one month, two months, three months after surgery. How many RNYers can say that? Or has their stomach stretched and they can eat almost normally? Let us know how you are three years out.

As for how much banders loose, I have lost 100% of my excess weight. I started at 290 and met my goal to be 145. It took over two years to get to my ultimate goal, but in the first year I lost 80 pounds and I am a slow looser. At 18 months I had lost 120 pounds. It's true that the lapband does not work for everyone, but in general, if you can get to the right fill level, and be patient, it can work.

I documented my journey--from surgery to goal--on YouTube. My name there is usalbgirl. You can watch my experiences--good, bad, and ugly.

I love my band, but I do know that it does not work for everyone, but to act like the RNY does, is not true--they may loose faster, and they may loose all of the weight in greater percentages, but at five years, the numbers show the same results for bandsters and RNYers.

[DaChanginQueen 0]

The difference between a restrictive WLS and a malabsorbtion WLS..(IN MY OPINION) is that initially you will lose weight during the first 18mnths relatively easy with a malabsortion WLS ...even if you are not learning new eatting habits.

With the Band you must begin to learn new eatting habits from the beginning...it takes a period of time to get to a "sweet spot" and during this time you must diet to lose weight.

After the first 18mnth "honeymoon" period I've noticed that with the malabsorbtion WLS weight gain happens with some people because they never changed the things they were eatting...except for maybe the exclusion of sweets because of the dumping syndrome experienced.

The band can be a slow process but IMO a better result in the longrun because it can be tweeked forever and when weight loss slows you can evalutate if it's because of wrong choices or needing a adjustment.

It seems there is a window of opportunity with malabsorbtion WLS and if you don't learn new habits during this initial window the weight WILL come back on. For this reason I am glad I chose the Band.. I may have lost more weight with another surgery by this point but I feel I have learned better eatting habits and have a tool that I can adjust for a lifetime if need be.

[Rainydayz 3]

Wow, with this kind of gung-ho attitude and amazing will-power I'm surprised anyone posting here was ever overweight to begin with!

I'm still looking for clinical research on the long-term efficacy of the band so if anyone has that information please forward it to me.

[stateofzen 46]

Perhaps it is possible that only one or two in ten reach the DESIRED weight. But that doesn't make what weight loss they do achieve not worth the effort. I need to lose 120lbs. If I end up only losing 100, I'll consider that a monumental success. Whether I get as low as everyone tells me I should be or not.

Amen.

I may desire to weigh 150 when this is all said and done, but even if I never lose another pound, the 90 that I've already lost have greatly changed my life and my health.

And nobody can tell me that isn't a success story.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

Wow, with this kind of gung-ho attitude and amazing will-power I'm surprised anyone posting here was ever overweight to begin with!

I'm still looking for clinical research on the long-term efficacy of the band so if anyone has that information please forward it to me.

My thoughts exactly. Additionally, both the band and RNY require a whole different approach to eating and relationship with food. And as all these gung ho people get older and their metabolism slows down they are going to be faced with increased exercising or continued reduction in calories. And constant tightening of the band and relying on it tightness is not the solution.

I suspect that 20 years down the road we will be looking at more barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer in lapband patients from years of being overtight and food and acid going back up into the esophagus (even without symptoms). It doesn't belong there and there are major consequences when it happens over and over again.

There are just too many people who say..."I have heartburn, reflux and vomit frequently but I LOVE MY BAND and am losing weight and am down ____pounds. " Someday they will pay the price for this.

[Jennifer Hathaway 12]

I have been banded only 9 months and i have never had a problem with reflux, heartburn, pb or anything. I have lost MORE than 100% of my weight goal. I started at 262 and my doctor's goal was 169, my personal goal was 160 and I now weigh 155. If you want to fail keep doing what you have always done, if you want to succeed you need to change your head and your eating. Good Luck, I have only seen people fail after rny. The Band works.

[mattie7632 24]

I personally know 3 people who are 2 or 3 years out and all three have been extraordinarily successful. I agree with the other posters that losing weight even if not exactly what my desired goal is--is still a blessing. Also, I believe the band requires life long maintenance. I actually believe that if I don't visit my surgeon regularly for LIFE, at some point I will regain. So I plan to be sure that DR. and I are always friends. LOL

[littledutchee 0]

I totally agree! Just because one procedure doesn't work for one person doesn't mean it won't work for another. It is disheartening to log on and see people post that the LapBand will not work or that everyone gains their weight back, etc. The LapBand is a TOOL, not a CURE!!!! Too many people are having these procedures thinking they will instantly drop the weight with no effort and will always keep it off. This is a huge misconception! It's a shame.

Any weight loss surgery means a life style change. If people aren't going to change the habits that got them into the situation, then why go through all of the trouble, expense, pain, and months of preparation to have the surgery??!! I am set to have my LapBand Surgery on 3/10/11. I am excited to begin the journey to a healthier, better self image, but I am also a little scared. I know it is going to be hard work and a long journey.

Good luck to everyone who has a weight loss surgey! You can do it!

I know 4 people who have had RNY. One nearly died from it. One has lost all her weight and started gaining some, 20 pds,back, one can only have liquids 3 years out, and one has gained 50% of the weight lost back.

I know 2 people w/ the band very well. One has lost 80% of HER goal weight. One had to have it removed but was loosing and doing well.

Bottom line is this: Weight loss is work! With the band and RNY. You may not have to work so hard initally to loose weight w/ the RNY but 3 years out you will. You will HAVE to eat good, low fat/low calorie meals, and workout to keep the weight off. JUST LIKE THE BAND.

We have to be ready mentally and emotionally to succeed at WLS, whichever one we choose. We can't go in expecting it to do the work for us.

Rules are there to help us succeed. And only you know if you were giving it your all. Even with GNY you are going to crave foods. It isn't going to stop that. You are the only one who can control what goes in your mouth and if/how often you work out.

To tell others that the Lap Band won't be there for you in the long run isn't fair to those looking into things. Where is the back up. It wasn't for you for whatever reason. But to say that it doesn't work for anyone, come on. RNY nearly killed my Aunt, but that isn't to say that no one should have that type of WLS. Maybe one day the band will be obsolete, does that mean that it wasn't "good?" Not neccesarily, research may come to find something that works better.

To those considering WLS remember that many people have been EXTREMELY successful and YEARS later they still are. Do your research and make whatever decision that is best for you.

llcarlos48 - Good luck w/ the RNY. I am glad that you are happy with your decision.

[TracieCat 8]

Sorry that you felt the band was not the right path for you, I wish you the very best with your new decision and hope things work out for you. Best wishes.