Lapband complications section of the board

[JinTx 19]

Let me start off by saying that I dislike going to that area of the board, however as a prebander I feel it is necessary to hear the good, bad and ugly about this from all view points. However, I have noticed that a lot of people begin having problems years out and dont immediately seek medical care from their surgeon. They live with problems for months and then finally decide to go back to the dr. I guess my question is to those of you that are a success story -- how often do you see your surgeon? My surgeon requires monthly visits for the first yr - regardless of if you want/need a fill. After 1 yr post op your follow up visits are up to you but it must be at least once a yr. So my response to him was "so i can come monthly for the rest of my life?" he said yes. I look at my relationship with my surgeon as one i will have forever. Perhaps all newbies think like that though, then they make it to goal, life get in the way and before you know it you havent seen your doc in 2 yrs. My dr did say that while the majority of his long term post op patients dont come in monthly they do come in regularily-- quarterly, every other month, etc. But when i think about it how does he know the success of the other patients if they dont come in? If i end up having problems with my band i dont want it to be because of something i did. I want to follow the rules and to me regular follow ups with your dr is part of the rules.

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

great post ...just at my last visit my doctor suggested I could skip a month because I was doing so well and losing at a good pace ...

I am only 9 months post op....I may have lost 100+ lbs but I am nowhere near foregoing my monthly visits! I said thanks for the vote of confidence but no thanks! I plan on seeing him monthly for at least the first year. In fact it maybe that way until I reach my goal. once I get to goal hopefully by April 2012 I really think once every quarter seems to make sense or of course unless I need a fill.

One of the benefits of the band journey is to have the support system your doctor provides ... To ignore that just doesn't make any sense to me

[emjay 8]

Let me start off by saying that I dislike going to that area of the board, however as a prebander I feel it is necessary to hear the good, bad and ugly about this from all view points. However, I have noticed that a lot of people begin having problems years out and dont immediately seek medical care from their surgeon. They live with problems for months and then finally decide to go back to the dr. I guess my question is to those of you that are a success story -- how often do you see your surgeon? My surgeon requires monthly visits for the first yr - regardless of if you want/need a fill. After 1 yr post op your follow up visits are up to you but it must be at least once a yr. So my response to him was "so i can come monthly for the rest of my life?" he said yes. I look at my relationship with my surgeon as one i will have forever. Perhaps all newbies think like that though, then they make it to goal, life get in the way and before you know it you havent seen your doc in 2 yrs. My dr did say that while the majority of his long term post op patients dont come in monthly they do come in regularily-- quarterly, every other month, etc. But when i think about it how does he know the success of the other patients if they dont come in? If i end up having problems with my band i dont want it to be because of something i did. I want to follow the rules and to me regular follow ups with your dr is part of the rules.

My doc didn't exactly specify how often but suggested annually to make sure all was going okay. I'm about 2 1/2 years out and I feel like I'm doing pretty well with maintenance, so a flouroscopy annually to check the bank and have a chat with the doc would be fine with me - unless I feel something out of the ordinary is going on. I think at this point I don't want the band to be a huge part of my life the way it has since I got it. If all is going okay, I see no reason to make appointments unless you need the moral and emotional support and accountability. If you're at a comfortable stage where you are able to manage everything on your own - an annual visit should be fine.