Cancelling Surgery?

[GLove 44]

Yesterday someone posted a comment on the regular forum. I replied along with a question to her. She then sent me a private msg telling me how horrible the band was...advising me not to get the band. She explained in detail her horrible experience with esophogal issues, how she cant eat or drink anything, the pain, the stuck episodes, etc. She is having her band removed. It scared the crap out of me. I then realized I have only looked at the happyside of lapband...so, I researched the dark side......for 4 hrs....until I fell asleep at the IPAD. I was all set for the band. Im 1.5 wks away. Im on pre op diet. Doing good. Yes, having my doubts..scared..worried, but moving forward. Why did this email pop into my LBT Inbox? Why were her issues related directly to my worst fears? What's going on? Why am I Seriously considering cancelling my surgery ? Was I just not serious enough to begin with? I've been in this for over a year now. Do I believe the scare stories over the success stories? The 20% failure rate? Do I really understand what a huge life change this will be? Do you? Considering the failure rate, do I want to gamble with my health? i ask all these questions in the utmost seriousness. Im scared and wish I had a crystal ball.

[Cazzy 725]

I think everyone get some sort of negative feeling before going under the surgeons knife but u have to weigh up whats the lesser of 2 evils, if u dont get surgery u will face a long slow death from obesity related illnesses, if you do get the band you stand a chance of changing your furture for the better and living a longer healtheir life. Worst case scenario is u get problems and have to have the band removed at some point. The band alone is not life threatening in any way other than risks associated with any surgery.

Yes it is good to go into this with your eyes wide open, but equally you could feel the same having a knee replacemnt or hip replacement, you still end up with something inside you that you werent born with. I think i can guess from previous posts who that was who messaged you, i am quite prepared to have this band removed if theres a problem, that is my eyes wide open ..

If we dont take some chances in life we never progress.. We all were prepared to take chances with our health and life span everytime we ate something we shouldnt have or ate too much .. were you anxious about your health then ?

I am not wanting to sound hard but sosmetimes telling it like it is needs to be said .

I really hope you can find the inner strength to do something and give it your best shot !

good luck ..

[elcee 3,341]

Cazzy couldn't have said it any better.

Ignore the negative Nellies and do what is right for you.

I would also report the person that sent you the PM as to do that to try to put someone off is unethical - I wonder how many more people she has tried to scare off.

[GLove 44]

BUT, it did raise an awareness that caused me to do research on the failure rate and esophogal issues and those stats are hard to deny. What can I say? im a Libra and look at both sides of everything until Im paralyzed!

[waitingpatiently 250]

It so normal to start 2nd guessing yourself. I have NEVER once reconsidered having the band....untilll 3 or 4 days before the surgery. Suddenly I started feeling like I rushed into things...maybe I was doing it for the wrong reasons....I rationalized it a dozen different ways as to why I shouldn't do this. Ultimately....I couldn't come up with anything new to tell myself....I was aware o the risks from surgery, I had educated myself on what the band can and cant do, I educated myself on the lifestyle.....So I decided that changing my mind when I was in the middle of the pre-op diet would not be an educational decision, but more of an emotional (I can't do this) decision.

So my advise for you would be ask yourself.....am I telling myself anything new? If not.....Go for it! Now if you hadn't done the research then thats a different story? If thats the case postpone it and educate yourself......But my guess is, your as ready as any one can be......and you'll do great.

[pink dahlia 2,513]

Honey, EVERYTHING has a "failure rate !!!!" you can have a failure just getting up in the morning ! you can trip on the stairs, slip in the shower, choke on Breakfast and get in an accident on the way to work.! but that does'nt stop you from doing thoses things . does it ???? Even marriages have a failure rate > What does'nt ??Why ? Because nothing is perfect and so you just gotta go with mostly positive and not the occasionly negative. if you dont get the band you will continue on the same downward spiral you've been on, and if you do get the band you have a very high chance of success. im 3 months out, down 25 lbs. Best. Decision. Ever.

[Cazzy 725]

The stats and failure rate problems relating to the lap band still dont come anywhere near the stats for obesity related deaths. A lot of medical proceedures dont carry a 100% success rate. if you need a cast Iron guarantee this will work then u wont get one. Maybe you need to write down what you are anxious about if you dont go ahead with surgery to help you lose weight.

The only comparison i can make for you and i really dont like to say this but ..

Imagine something really bad like cancer, would u agree with someone saying i am not going to get treatment because i dont want to go through all the side effects of chemo and radiotherapy and surgery, or would u encourage them to do something as otherwise they may ultimately not survive .. I know what i would do if that was a loved one .. maybe you just need to love yourself a little more

Ultimately you have choices, you can cancel the surgery and pray and hope that one day you wake up thin and healthy and you never had to do anything to get there .. or you can take control of your life now before its too late and give yourself a chance at changing your future. The other choice i would consider is going to see a therapist and sorting out why u are possibly self sabotaging.

At 57 yrs old and weighing 400lbs do you think this was easy for me because it wasnt, this was last chance hotel for me, i was worried sick about surgery, i knew all the risks but still went ahead. Even if tomorrow i woke up with all the problems u have read about, will it have been worth it , my answer would still be YES !

[NWgirl 574]

ask yourself this- do you think she followed the rules? Sounds like someone who was too restricted, overate to cause the esophagus issues, and probably did not rely on her surgical team.

just take the negative with a grain of salt ans really think about the why here.

[journey4me 23]

I had surgery a couple month's ago and it is has been fantastic....really! I have lost 25 pounds and I feel great. The pound are coming off steadily and I am happy with that. Ignore it! Move forward, you are going to do great!

[idahoanmom 6]

My mom had a terrible experience. Hers slipped, but in my journey I am able to see what she did wrong! First off she went to Mexico. Probably had a sample implanted.

Go talk to your surgeons coordinator about the things this gal brought up. See if there are ways to avoid those pitfalls. Everybody has a different outlook and different experience just like in childbirth. What is right for you is right for you. Write your pros and cons list. Then talk to the specialists not the gossips. Be informed not impressioned by others. Make up your own mind. Because one bad story weighs no more than another persons good story! What is YOUR story!

[Yve 6]

Be wary of the negativity of this email. Sometimes a person will use their failures to get you to question your decisions and fear that you may be successful with the band. "Misery loves company"

[SageTracey 608]

Life has a 100% failure rate - we are all going to die in the end.

Morbid obesity hurries that process along and leaves us all feeling pretty damn miserable on the journey.

Taking action to improve your quality of life will have have its risks but are they lesser or greater than the risks of doing nothing, of continuing on the same path that has led you to consider these changes?

I did my own assessment and came up on the side of improving my life. No failures, no issues to date. Benefits in health, quality of life, marriage - out of sight!

[momlapband 0]

Go for it! i was warned to delve through the negativity as there is always someone like that, who as some of you have said - probly didn't eve nfollow the rules! It's like when you look up a hotel on tripadvisor and someone totally bashes it, you go anyway and it is awesome. The b____ probly got dumped by her boyfriend there - you just never know the details. Two weeks to surgery for me - EXCITED!