How do feel about the lapband now that you have had yours removed?

[ShanC 0]

I am not a fan of the lap band. I had one errode in 6 months and I am getting ready to have a sleeve. I am really torn between scared and excited. I am hoping this works better.

[spicegirl 0]

just throwing in my two-cent experience. i was banded in march 2008 and had a really good experience with the band for the first year. i lost about 55-60 lbs and felt pretty good. at that point, i could have stood to lose another 60 lbs. out of the blue one day, i had a particularly bad pb and everything got really, really tight. i ended up going to the ER because i was coughing up blood--not very pretty. the next two years were filled with constant fills/unfills - anytime i got tightened, i got WAAAY too tight. it was horrible. i gained back about 40 of my 60 lbs lost because i was sick of the fills/unfills (and paying for them each time i went in).

nevertheless, i'm not sorry that i got banded in 2008. i lived a very different life than i would have if i hadn't gotten banded. i was out-of-pocket pay at the time and the sleeve wasn't really being offered around chicago at that time. i couldn't afford rny so i went with the band. i was fortunate enough to have insurance pay for my revision to sleeve (surgery was last tuesday!!) in an actual hospital that kept me overnight for two days and took really, really, good care of me (vs the lap band clinic that sent me home mere hours after surgery). i feel like i'm doing things the long, hard proper way this time. i also feel very fortunate that i was able to do the revision (financially and physically).

i'm looking forward to this new life

[Mariposa Bella 3]

I am not a fan of the lap band. I had one errode in 6 months and I am getting ready to have a sleeve. I am really torn between scared and excited. I am hoping this works better.

Calling Dr tomorrow to start sleeve process, I'm up to 200lbs...ugh, need do this now.

[Mariposa Bella 3]

just throwing in my two-cent experience. i was banded in march 2008 and had a really good experience with the band for the first year. i lost about 55-60 lbs and felt pretty good. at that point, i could have stood to lose another 60 lbs. out of the blue one day, i had a particularly bad pb and everything got really, really tight. i ended up going to the ER because i was coughing up blood--not very pretty. the next two years were filled with constant fills/unfills - anytime i got tightened, i got WAAAY too tight. it was horrible. i gained back about 40 of my 60 lbs lost because i was sick of the fills/unfills (and paying for them each time i went in).

nevertheless, i'm not sorry that i got banded in 2008. i lived a very different life than i would have if i hadn't gotten banded. i was out-of-pocket pay at the time and the sleeve wasn't really being offered around chicago at that time. i couldn't afford rny so i went with the band. i was fortunate enough to have insurance pay for my revision to sleeve (surgery was last tuesday!!) in an actual hospital that kept me overnight for two days and took really, really, good care of me (vs the lap band clinic that sent me home mere hours after surgery). i feel like i'm doing things the long, hard proper way this time. i also feel very fortunate that i was able to do the revision (financially and physically).

i'm looking forward to this new life

I wish you tons of luck, please keep me posted on your progress. Hope to follow in your foot steps.

[Raine 170]

I have to say that I am very proud of my doctor. I hear all these things where horrible complications and mishaps happened with the band and how many people were not informed that these things could possibly happen. My doctor is who did the seminar when I had to go. He went over every single complication that could possibly happen with every procedure. With the band he talked about the erosion, slippage, the fills and unfills, all of it. He did not candy coat anything with any of the procedures at all.

[Wheetsin 714]

I feel a bit differently than, well, just about everyone I've heard from.

(Had my band out yesterday, BTW, after having it for 5 and a half years)

I remain grateful for my band. I was banded in the 385 - 400 lb range. With the band I got down to about 210. That drop enabled me to do so many things, including conceive my daughter and have a healthy pregnancy. I firmly believe my band slipped during my pregnancy. My daughter is sooo worth it.

I DO NOT have confidence in the band as a long-term solution. I know a LOT of banded people, or formerly banded people, but I don't know anyone in the 5 - 7 year range who still has their band (well, I do, but they are not doing well... as in they still have their bands, but are showing all the signs of slippage or erosion, but are not seeking proper follow-up because they are afraid they will be told it has to come out.)

The long term stats are... grim.

If I could maintain the loss the band gave me, it would';ve been the perfect tool. Unfortunately maintenance is the one skill that has always eluded me.

I still think it's a good weightloss device. I think it has some amazing abilities to modify behaviors and change habits. I would like to say it's something I would still recommend -- but seeing as how it requires surgical removal still, I can't.

[Nikiban 0]

I feel quite negatively about my band and I always feel angry when I see the band advertised on television. I had some intial success with the band for the first six months but then I had a partial slip and I could no longer tolerate any fill at all. I wound up in the hospital on more than a few occasions to have the fill urgently removed. If I had known then that there is a 60% removal rate at five years (at least there is in Australia, not sure about the US) I NEVER would have had it done.

[vf59 5]

When I told my Primary Care Physician that I was thinking about wls, he was all for it but did not recommend the band. He had previously worked with a bariatric clinic as their referral doc for their patients. So he had alot experience with the procedures and complications. I still thought about getting the band, but when I attended a seminar & learned about the sleeve, that's what I decided to do. My surgery is scheduled for Oct. 20. I am a 52 year old female, 5 foot 6 inches now (used to be 5' 7"), worked in automotive factory for 23 years, and had just reached 260lbs when I started the process.

[CowgirlJane 14,260]

I had the band implanted in March 2001; removed Sept of this year - so 10 years! My band did slip, and other then the fact that I weigh more now then when I weighed when I was banded, I guess I am not too much worse for it, stomach scar tissue aside.

There is alot of info out there about how poorly the band performs, but we tend to not want to hear it. I went back through my paperwork and I had a brochure from Bioenterics stating that the lapband was a "temporary device" and would probably need removing. I didn't remember reading that. Looking further, i found a copy of a statement THAT I HAD SIGNED, saying that I understood that the band was not a permanent device and would likely need removal at some point. I have no memory of this, but there was my signature! I guess we put filters on what we want to know and remember.

My BIGGEST fear of the sleeve is that "we" are doing that again. I hear very few negatives and I that is exactly how it was with the band in 2001. Sure, we knew about erosions, but that only happened to people who kept their band too tight (who knew that ALL the bands made during that time were probably too tight for most people!). Sure, Slips happened, but that was only to those people who "didn't follow the rules". There was alot of blaming of the people that these things happened to - it was a way of deflecting the real risks I guess.

I read a sleeve related post where somebody actually made the statements that "leaks only happen if you cheat on the post op diet" - and I couldn't help but think... sheesh, here we go again. Minimize real and serious risks by blaming the victim when they do happen.

I am also very skeptical of certain reported results with weight loss procedures because they do not match my actual experience of people I know. I know several people who had gastric bypass 5-10 years ago and they had very high complication rates. I know only one person who was banded 10+ years ago and still has maintained her weight loss. If she had her band removed, not sure she would tell since she makes her living in a band-only surgical practice. Even a few well known surgeons have had their bands removed! I am normally a very optimistic person, but on the subject of weight loss surgery, well, I guess I think a little skepticism is healthy.

Reading forums is very informational, but it is also a poor way to know how things go over the long haul. People tend to move on after awhile AND people who were never successful tend to post less hen the ones who have done well. It tends to bias the impression you get.

anyway, I am glad my band is gone, and I do plan to revise to the sleeve, but I do wish there was another path that actually works.

[Pegsinthewoods 8]

My BIGGEST fear of the sleeve is that "we" are doing that again. I hear very few negatives and I that is exactly how it was with the band in 2001. Sure, we knew about erosions, but that only happened to people who kept their band too tight (who knew that ALL the bands made during that time were probably too tight for most people!). Sure, Slips happened, but that was only to those people who "didn't follow the rules". There was alot of blaming of the people that these things happened to - it was a way of deflecting the real risks I guess.

Reading forums is very informational, but it is also a poor way to know how things go over the long haul. People tend to move on after awhile AND people who were never successful tend to post less hen the ones who have done well. It tends to bias the impression you get.

anyway, I am glad my band is gone, and I do plan to revise to the sleeve, but I do wish there was another path that actually works.

WHEW! My thoughts EXACTLY!! Please, please, please veterans help us who are pre-op understand your lives. I am scared. (lap band erosion survivor)

[trouble 0]

I had the band and when I went for my first fill he couldn't find the port. It had come off. So, I had to endure another surgery to put it back on. (My insurance does not cover any of this so you can imagine how I was feeling). After that I did great. Lost 100 lbs then my band slipped. Like someone mentioned earlier I couldn't even swallow my own saliva. I was so sick. They went in and fixed my band and after that it was never the same. I could never get it tight enough without it making me sick all the time. I finally had my doctor take all the Fluid out and I gained most of my 100 lbs back. Even with no Fluid I was constantly getting things stuck, had horrible heart burn and reflux. None of these things started until after my band slipped and was fixed. Before that time it was great. When I had my doctor take the fluid out completely he talked to me about the sleeve. My first thought was absolutely not. I was sooo scared because it is permanent and I hated feeling bad all the time with the heart burn and reflux. I was worried if that happened with the sleeve then I was stuck for life where with the band I could take it out. I'd rather be over weight and happy than skinny and miserable. I made the decision finally and had the sleeve done. It's been over a year and I have had absolutely no problems at all. I feel great and feel "normal" I didn't realize I never felt normal with the band but with the sleeve I feel just like I did before I ever had any type of stomach surgery. I definately tell people not to do the band and to go for the sleeve.

I surely do not hide my hatred for the band, and the makers of the band ploys and marketing tactics. I'll bash the band until my last dying breath. I have a close friend here that has the band and has only had it for 6 - 7 months. She's still in the honeymoon phase, and I'm glad she's happy with her band, and she knows my story. I don't bash it around her because I don't want to sound condemning, but she knows my story, and she knows what to watch for. She, like I, knew the complications going in, and we both have/had the mindset that maybe we can/could beat the odds. I wasn't lucky, thus far she has been.

I do tell everyone about the pros, cons, good and bad. I direct every person that asks me about my choice to this website, and obesityhelp.com I also copy/paste all my notes to them via email. I don't want my bad band experience to be the only thing they have to base their decision on. The stats don't lie, and I send them true research information.

I hate the band commercials as well. I hate going to support groups because I want to scream "DO NOT DO THE BAND", but that isn't "support" apparently. So, I'm pretty much a walking billboard for the VSG, and to avoid the band like the plague LOL.

[Catracks 865]

I just went over to the Lapband forum to find out what a PD (productive burp) is. This lady was eating milk and Cookies and it came up in a bunch of slime.

First of all: She is complaining about not losing weight and then asks if her band is too tight.

Should band people be drinking while eating? and eating Cookies (plural!)?

These are the kinds of things that scared me off the lapband (slippage, erosion, fills, unfills, things sticking, vomiting, etc. UGH!!!!

It stands to reason that the band would have to eventually come out in the best of circumstances.

What I want is a smaller, but working stomach. The restriction and hopefully less hormone hunger will be enough for me.

Honestly, I don't think you'd all be "doing that again." This board is SO different than the lapband board. The successes here give me much hope.

[CowgirlJane 14,260]

My band has been out for 3 weeks. I am so glad that I did this in seperate surgeries as this experience has erased ALL doubts from my mind about proceeding with the sleeve.

My band has been unfilled for years, and who knows when it slipped. I didn't have a bunch of problems, but could eat alot - really didn;t feel the restriction. Well, since about 10 days out from the band removal, I have been STARVING. I feel like I can eat pretty much 24/7. I have been shocked by this. It confirms that while i may have bad habits, I may have emotional eating issues... the real problem is that I am physically hungry all. the. time. The drive for food has actually been a bit embarrasing, a bit horrible feeling. I feel like I could eat dinner, right after I just ate dinner! It isn't like a binge in the sense of it is just a constant all day feeling of being hungry and not satiated. Sometimes, first thing in the morning, I am not hungry, but otherwise, pretty much constant.

I have been trying so hard to keep my eating in check, but I know that if I don't do the sleeve, i am going to just keep gaining weight and my quality of life will be severely impacted.

[sroberts25 0]

I've had my sleeve for 10 days now and I have to say I'm much happier already. I had the band put in back in Jan 09, lost about 60 lbs in the first 2 months, it was great until I got the first fill. After that I was stuck all the time. Took the fill out. Stuck all the time. Test after test all came back normal. I was miserable. I would get stuck on chicken, mashed potatoes, ice cream, yogurt, Water, whatever. I'm still kind of terrified that will all start over again when I can eat regular foods but I'm crossing my fingers that I'm like the rest of you who don't have that problem anymore. Maybe I won't have to be embarrassed anymore when I go out to eat and the waiters are like what!? wasn't the food good you haven't touched it! or go out with family and have them ask me why I'm not eating more than one bite and have to explain everything and hear their suggestions that won't work. I've had a couple people ask me about the band and I've straight up said it's evil don't do it it's not worth the risks. Sure some people have great success but a whole lot of people don't.