If You Could Really Turn Back Time, Would You Get Banded Again??

[Sojourner 2,446]

txdee,

The band is only a tool, and one which comes with a life time commitment to modify your thinking and behaviors with eating. It's imperative that you change your relationship with food to be successful with your weight loss journey. A person who is considering that amount of behavior modification has every right to be concerned about what all that means to them. One fact is true above others: if

your "head" is not in the right place, your success will be marginal at best.

Food is not your friend; how is your life different from what you want it to be because of your weight? The same concerns about having to eat slowly were in part how you got to the point of considering surgery. We loose sight of eating to live, rather than living to eat.

You did not mention your age; if you are younger, most likely you do not have any serious co-morbidity medical issues like many of the active bandsters on this forum. For me, having the surgery was an opportunity to regain some of the health that my weight was taking away from me. If you are fortunate enough to not have weight related medical issues (i.e. hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, acid re-flux, to name a few), being morbidly obese as you grow older you are at increased risk of developing them.

My surgery had to be delayed for over a year due to unavoidable life events and some unanticipated complications in my medical condition. When I finally received medical clearance, I had no reservations about what the right decision was for me.

I would make the choice to have the surgery again...and would have done it sooner if it had been an option for me.

​I encourage you to give considerable thought to this life altering decision. Without a sincere commitment to change both your eating habits and relationship with food, you could end up resenting and regretting your decision. It's also possible that at this point in your life you have not reached a place where you are motivated to change.

Either way, best of luck to you!

[Auddie 0]

I definatley wish i would of went with the sleeve or gastric bypass. I had surgery in Apr 2009 and I have lost 110lbs which don't get me wrong is amazing....but i don't feel great at all Im in soo much pain...Its been this last time 4 days and I can't eat anything and liquids won't even go down nice. I usually throw up at least 3 times a day (if you call it that mostly slime and i can actually force the food back up after i eat) something is seriously not right but i've been in and out of the ER and all the tests show that there isn't anything wrong! i dont eat much and i have constant pressue in my chest and it severly hurts to burp or hiccup. They do say that after awhile your body can actually start rejecting the band and maybe that is it. Don't get me wrong i've had success but i also have 50 lbs left to lose and it makes me sad that I may have to get it taken out because i can't handle this way of life anymore. Is there anyone else out there that is going through this.........

[Bel12 13]

I definatley wish i would of went with the sleeve or gastric bypass. I had surgery in Apr 2009 and I have lost 110lbs which don't get me wrong is amazing....but i don't feel great at all <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Im in soo much pain...Its been this last time 4 days and I can't eat anything and liquids won't even go down nice. I usually throw up at least 3 times a day (if you call it that mostly slime and i can actually force the food back up after i eat) something is seriously not right but i've been in and out of the ER and all the tests show that there isn't anything wrong! i dont eat much and i have constant pressue in my chest and it severly hurts to burp or hiccup. They do say that after awhile your body can actually start rejecting the band and maybe that is it. Don't get me wrong i've had success but i also have 50 lbs left to lose and it makes me sad that I may have to get it taken out because i can't handle this way of life anymore. Is there anyone else out there that is going through this.........

Have you taken all the saline out of your band? Does it help? I know it's not a good choice because you still have more to lose but I'm thinking about getting banded and I just want to know the options if this happens to me

[Auddie 0]

i had all the saline removed about a year ago! Never got it refilled. Its now been 5 days of not eating....and i've lost 7 lbs since sunday but its not a good weight loss

[running_scared 125]

Auddie, I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues that they can't resolve.

I just got my band last week, but I haven't regretted it for a moment. I am back down to the weight I was on surgery day, despite the visible swelling I still have in my stomach.

I can't wait until I can shop in a regular store, and I'm not the fattest person anywhere I go. I have a very physical job, and I'm having trouble with it. I can't wait until I don't get tired from standing.

As for the mental aspect, I am ready to do the work. I haven't had any problems yet, but I'm sure I will, and I think I am ready to deal with them head-on, when they arise.

[tym4me 206]

Auddie. I feel horrible for you what a miserable way to lose weight but i do have to say. I work at a level one trama hospital heart attack we know what to do stroke/seizure we know what to do car accident/gun shot wound we know what to do. BUT we an the doctors are not specialty to lapband going to an er for this really wont give you a lasting fix to your problem. You deffinetely need to go to your surgeon for this it cant continue. You can end up extremely malnourished. I wish you well