Unsuccessful with band but no revision?

[Nanook 2]

Probably the numbers are few or is that low, small for you grammar freaks, and probably you don't even come here anymore, lol, but has anyone had their band removed just because it wasn't what you expected or wasn't working and did not get a revision?

I'm curious as I just had all my fill removed today, my one year bandiversary, and will be scheduling in the future the removal of "lappy". Thanks Nancy

[thelonedaisy 0]

i am curious is the band not working or you????

is that why you are having it removed???

i only know o one gal it didnt work for. and she is in the process of having it removed to go fr the complete bypass.

[Nanook 2]

I'm not sure why I couldn't work the band but I couldn't. I was at a point prior to my surgery last year that I had a really difficult time sticking to a restrictive diet and was also on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds which don't help, lol. Anyway given the pressures that most women have to be thin I thought this would be the answer and was probably not given enough information ahead of time and thought that the pitfalls that people had, like eating ice cream while banded would not affect me. I thought that I could eat normally but smaller portions because of the band and I would lose weight.

I was under filled for a while by the mistake of my fill tech and I had no idea I was practically unfilled for the first three months post-surgery and was chewing like crazy anyway, lol. I had not lost any weight and began gaining as I had no restriction. After being on a liquid diet for five weeks prior your body normally wants to go out of starvation mode so that's pretty normal if you're not restricted.

Then my surgeon checked my fill and found the error as my fill tech did not know the size of my band which was in my chart and boom put in a little over 3 ccs which brought me up to almost 3.5ccs. So right before Thanksgiving I was feeling pretty tight! That's when you're pbing after Protein etc... and was new to me. Due to the fact that it was the holiday season I tried a cookie or two and found that they went down without a problem. Now as I went from no fill to a lot of fill I don't know if it was a mind game or what but because I was choking up on Protein and veg and my body wanted food I would eat the foods that lap banders are not supposed to eat just to get it in as people tend to do.

Then every time I'd go meet with the fill tech, which was on a normal basis I gained a pound or two and her answer "more fill". Which I now know we should have been more gradual and the 3.5 was too much. But whatever.

So eventually I'm up to close to my original weight 253, down to almost 225 after surgery so this was very frustrating to me and of course my doctor's office just saw it as I needed to be filled more and I eventually came here to find out answers.

Maybe there aren't that many people like me, most people seem to do well and lose the weight or get a revision once they've realized the band wasn't the ideal surgery for them. But I'm tired of focusing on the weight and diet all the time and didn't want the lap band to be another diet which it became, in my mind. Now there will be plenty of others who will slam me and have that I'm just lazy, or I refuse to follow the "rules" but sorry I didn't get the lap band to make my life worse I thought it would make losing weight easier and it didn't. I'm not the only one, I know that but this site tends to condemn anyone who doesn't follow the rules and has problems with the band because "bands don't fail, people do" is the motto!

So although it didn't work the way I wanted it to and expected it to I'm going to have it removed and as crazy as it sounds not get a revision surgery. I would if I were much heavier than I am and couldn't walk or couldn't breath or something was keeping me from living a full life but I can do all those things I just happen to be fat and not a size that our culture seems to idealize. I understand the pressures we woman have to look a certain way but is it us or the people that are putting the pressures on us?

Anyway that's my story and like I said I'm pretty rare in this aspect especially in this particular forum but I'm happy not to have that pressure over my head anymore! Take care Nancy:smile:

[*susan* 1,709]

Nancy, I think you need to do whatever is necessary and best for you. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, we need to do what makes us happy and what works for us. I wish you all the best.

[kimaly 57]

Didn't you already do this on another thread you started and then get mad because you didn't like what people were saying and if I recall shut the thread down and change your screen name? why would you do it again? I agree you have to do what's best for you, But i still think you're giving up and you yourself said (not in so many words)that you wanted the band but were not willing to do the work. last time you blamed the band and this time your blamming the fill tech. When are you going to own up to your role in it? I wish you the best and i will tell you the samething i told you on the last thread:counciling would be a good thing in your case, sometimes it really helps.

[*susan* 1,709]

I think that Nancy has already heard enough negativity in regards to her situation. Perhaps, we can keep this thread related to her specific question, which was is there anyone else out there who has had their band removed and not revised to a different surgery?

[tommaney 0]

Hi Nanook...Sorry I've been absent for so long :tongue: There's been a lot going on.

I just wanted to say that I think it's quite natural to know you're not alone in your circumstances, no matter how many times you post to ask. I've gotten to know you over these past months through your posts and pm's, and I think you've got a handle on your situation. Like the other poster said, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. What's best for you may be totally unique compared to anyone at LBT!

[Nanook 2]

Nancy, I think you need to do whatever is necessary and best for you. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, we need to do what makes us happy and what works for us. I wish you all the best.

Thanks Susan you've always been supportive here at LBT something we all appreciate, thanks Nancy. :biggrin:

[Nanook 2]

Hi Nanook...Sorry I've been absent for so long :biggrin: There's been a lot going on.

I just wanted to say that I think it's quite natural to know you're not alone in your circumstances, no matter how many times you post to ask. I've gotten to know you over these past months through your posts and pm's, and I think you've got a handle on your situation. Like the other poster said, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. What's best for you may be totally unique compared to anyone at LBT!

Hope things are going well for you and not too crazy!!! It's nice to have a person who can at least be a bit empathetic when it's needed. Take care Nancy.:smile:

[Nanook 2]

Didn't you already do this on another thread you started and then get mad because you didn't like what people were saying and if I recall shut the thread down and change your screen name? why would you do it again? I agree you have to do what's best for you, But i still think you're giving up and you yourself said (not in so many words)that you wanted the band but were not willing to do the work. last time you blamed the band and this time your blamming the fill tech. When are you going to own up to your role in it? I wish you the best and i will tell you the samething i told you on the last thread:counciling would be a good thing in your case, sometimes it really helps.

kimaly, I shouldn't even bother with you as you obviously have your knickers up in knots! I believe I opened up a thread here on the "Life After Lap-Band Removal" thread and if you have something to add to that particular subject feel free to post otherwise you'd probably be happier in Rants and Raves, thanks Nancy.:biggrin:

[kimaly 57]

I wasn't trying to be mean i'm just a straight forward person I speak my mind and don't think when you start a thread the only people that should post are the ones that agree with you. i do feel for you even if you don't see it that way. all i've tried to say on both threads is i think it's deeper then the band and i don't think your gonna be happy until you figure out what it is. i just would hate to see you give up after everything you've been through and regret it later. i'm afraid you may be taking the easy way out and i think that may be what got alot of us in this place in the first place. with what ever you decide i really do hope the best for you and my prayers are with you. we only get a short time on this earth so please make the best of it and be happy. and if removing your band does that for you then so be it. please forgive me if you feel i have insulted you that was not my intension. so i will stop beating this horse and wish you the best

Edited August 24, 2008 by kimaly
added something

[Nanook 2]

kimaly,

I think that you were just being "reactive" as it was my post and it was a post about me and my band issues. I have no problem with people not agreeing with me as that's what the world of forums are for but as you've been banded for a month and I've been banded for just over a year now I think I know a bit more about my body than you might. Plus feel free to add all you know to the "Life After Lap-Band Removal" forum as I'm sure you're an expert.

As you were not in my situation you cannot relate or obviously understand what impact being under-filled was for the first three month was like as I trusted my tech to be a professional. I know now to question all professionals. She also was the same tech that did not read how much fill I had a third time and put in an extra cc in that sent me to an emergency visit with an on-call surgeon after midnight and also blew off my daughter who had been vomiting for days after 3 months post-op RNY and was then that night in the ER getting IV fluids and then the following day admitted to the hospital for an endoscopy and a dilation of her stoma.

So though you think I'm not taking credit for my "failure" of the band I think I have the right to vent a bit about a tech who has made four mistakes so far and the one that was made on my daughter ranks to be the worse in my book anyway. We now avoid her at all costs! I think anyone would.

Basically I was responding to a poster who asked me why I had problems with the band and was trying to give her information without "bashing" the band as that was not my intent. I do not know the statistics of those who do not do well on the band and as one can see who does not just "react" to my posts but actually reads them and understands them people who have issues with the band are individuals with circumstances that add to their failures, it's normally not as simple as just doing A or B. Although I have read posts of people who just freak out that they have a foreign object in their body and want it removed fairly soon post-surgery, that would be a different situation.

I had to analyze why I was eating the wrong foods while banded and why it wasn't working for me, doesn't mean to say that I've never taken credit for my part to me that's obvious. I had the intention in the beginning like everyone else here does and did the five week liquid diet and was able to lose the 25 pounds that they expected but it just wasn't working out as I had expected it to.

As someone who has been dieting since they were young, also knows what it's like to drop 100 pounds twice only to gain it back again I know a bit about losing weight and it got tougher and tougher as I got older and also while on my antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds. I don't know if you have a difficult time understanding that part of the picture or maybe you do but once off those meds I can lose weight but I tent do have a major breakdown during that time which is not worth it to me.

I really thought the band would over-ride some of these stumbling blocks for me which it did not. It wasn't something that I would have known prior to banding, it was trial and error and after a year of trial and error and also working with my endocrinologist to get my meds right again I'm hoping to now get to a healthier me.

You don't have to feel sorry for me and I don't see where I'm "giving" up on the band, to me that's just silly! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell me that the band was not the right solution for me. It maybe the right solution for 99% of all people but I'm that one lone 1%. I'm being generous with this percentage as I have no idea of the actual one.

Anyway being straight forward can be a wonderful way to communicate at times and in the right situation but not always taken in the "spirit" as it was intended. I know there is a group out there that believes in "tough love" and that their posts are only there to inspire and help those of us who are not in touch with reality but they need to really think about how they come across as it is not really that helpful and they end up looking pompous. Oh and I accept your apology, thanks Nancy.

[dwrd73 0]

Nanook, I will be banded tomorrow and it's sad to hear you had such a difficult time with your band. It doesn't bother me either way if you keep the band or get it remove. However, you are coming across extremely frustrated, disappointed and mad. I understand this is due to not losing and the problems with the fill tech but in my opinion it's not the right frame of mind to make the decision to go through with another surgery. To me you are coming across with the attitude "because they messed up I'm just going to quite." I don't mean to offend you by saying that but that's how your posts are coming across to me.

Now that you had all your fill taken out my suggestion would be to use this break from the band to get some counseling to help you past these feelings of anger and disappointment. Then in a few weeks or months once you are feeling better, with the help of your counselor and doctor make your decision to keep or remove the band.

[Nanook 2]

Nanook, I will be banded tomorrow and it's sad to hear you had such a difficult time with your band. It doesn't bother me either way if you keep the band or get it remove. However, you are coming across extremely frustrated, disappointed and mad. I understand this is due to not losing and the problems with the fill tech but in my opinion it's not the right frame of mind to make the decision to go through with another surgery. To me you are coming across with the attitude "because they messed up I'm just going to quite." I don't mean to offend you by saying that but that's how your posts are coming across to me.

Now that you had all your fill taken out my suggestion would be to use this break from the band to get some counseling to help you past these feelings of anger and disappointment. Then in a few weeks or months once you are feeling better, with the help of your counselor and doctor make your decision to keep or remove the band.

PS: good luck with your banding tomorrow and I wish you health and success, the surgery was a breeze to me as I've been through many surgeries prior and this by far was the easiest!

dwrd73,

Sorry if I come across as angry to you but most of my anger and frustration is really directed towards posters and past posters who have insulted me due to the fact that I have not done well with the band and made note of it on this forum. If I were to go to another forum, which I have I would be supported and given suggestions, normally they do tend to deal with revisions but at least they've been where I have and tend to be a bit more understanding.

It's not the treatment by the majority of people here only a few that have come across as sour to me so I don't want people to get the wrong impression. There are mostly wonderful people here but once in a while I'm attacked and I suppose anyone would be who tends to have some sort of issue relating to the lap band and are honest about it.

As of right frame of mind I am not having a revision surgery and plan to keep the band for a few months, my surgeon's request, to make sure removal is the right choice for me. I've had problems from the get go and I've been banded for over a year now and don't really think more time is necessary. Just because I had a problem with my lap band and want to discuss it, it isn't my intention to take away from those with success.

I came to this thread, "Life After Lap Band Removal" because I really want to know about others with similar situations to mine and am not asking for people to try to talk me out of it as it's a done deal and am content and happy with my decision. People sometimes need to know they are not the only one, but in reality they probably aren't here anymore if you know what I mean, thanks Nancy.

Edited August 24, 2008 by Nanook
addition

[kimaly 57]

Thank you, i'm gonna take the high road on this one and end it.