parisshel

While I'm no longer pro-band, I would like it to be noted that this is untrue. With an optimally-tuned lapband (correct fill level, eating band-friendly food) hunger will not increase nor will metabolism slow down as bandsters lose weight. As long as the band is functioning properly and the patient remains compliant (and this is true of ALL WLS), hunger will remain dimmed and metabolism rolls along just fine.. Well thank you! Good to know. What surgeries have you had? If you look at my info, you will see I had a lapband in March 2013. A year later, I developed complications in the form of heart arrythmia (related to the lapband and its position on the vagus nerve). I will not revise to another WLS.

While I'm no longer pro-band, I would like it to be noted that this is untrue. With an optimally-tuned lapband (correct fill level, eating band-friendly food) hunger will not increase nor will metabolism slow down as bandsters lose weight. As long as the band is functioning properly and the patient remains compliant (and this is true of ALL WLS), hunger will remain dimmed and metabolism rolls along just fine.

Just wondering why you aren't considering doing your band surgery in the UK?

This is a topic that really speaks to me. One of my reasons for getting lapband is that I felt it was vital that I experience life in a normal sized body, the body that I "should have had." (Sadly due to band complications this did not happen for me; I'm still fat and will not revise so I am resigned to never knowing what it will be like to be thin.) However, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my choice in partners would have been much saner had I not been an obese woman during my dating years. I consistently "settled" and never partnered with a man who treated me in the way I deserved to be treated/honored/loved. Men who expressed interest in me were few, as is often the case with obese people. I settled, plain and simple. I do have two great kids so at least there's that. But I constantly wonder what kind of life I would have had had I been able to go through its important stages in a normal-size body. Your sleeve will allow you to get to a normal weight. If you do some work on the mental side and clear out the consequences of what the years of obesity have done to your confidence, I'm certain you'll make choices that are good ones. Pat yourself on the back for doing this while you are young...you've just spared yourself a lifetime of physical and mental complications (hopefully).

I made a list of why I chose WLS and carried it into the hospital with me. The night before my surgery, I reflected deeply on my list. I think this is a good exercise for all pre-ops to do. It's a good thing to look at post op during the inevitable doubting moments.

Even more than your successful physical transformation, I admire your successful mental transformation. You'll end up with a fantastic partner, of that I'm sure.

I can totally understand your view here, which is completely legitimate based on your experience with the band. Believe me, I have had life-altering complications with mine. But! For anyone reading this thread who is considering a band, I think it would be prudent to say the following: --My fills do not hurt at all. They are completely painless. My fill-guy uses a numbing agent prior to sticking me. So if you can ask for this and they have it, it is useful for patients who can't tolerate the stick of a needle. --It is essential to integrate that any WLS will cost one time and money if one is to be successful with it. For bandsters, there may be more of a time-investment, in that we have lifetime followup, but really...it isn't any more time than we use to spend planning and executing our overeating moments, right? Again, I'm not trying to contradict what you are feeling....your experience has been a bad one (as has mine), but it would be a disservice to any readers out there to leave them with the impression that fills are intolerable and that the band followup is not worth the time and money spent. Good luck with your revision.

I totally agree with this post and am thrilled that someone has put words to something I've thought about for years. While of course it is hurtful to be rejected, my sense is that everyone is entitled to have their preferences when searching for love. I know I have my own, and I don't consider myself a shallow person. But I wouldn't date a guy 20 years younger than me, or a guy 20 years older than me, or an obese fellow, or a racist, or an anti-semite, or a bigot. I wouldn't date a pedophile, an addict of any kind, or a man who is unemployed. My "no date" list is extensive, but it works for me. I'm not saying that being fat is in the same category as those other vices, but I do think being fat is a symptom of underlying issues that I'd not like to invite into my personal sphere. Heck, I have enough issues of my own without having to manage a partner's! (My late father gave me good advice: never fall in love with someone who has more problems than you do.)

I don't mind. I developed a heart arrythmia (atrial fibrillation) around 18 months post op. The band surrounds the vagus nerve which controls, among other things, heart rhythm. I ended up in ER with my heart completely out of rhythm, beating at a rate that was close to having me have a stroke, and blood pressure also sky high. It took seven hours to bring everything around using medication, and now I'm on medication for life. I had my band's restriction loosened so as not to touch on the vagus nerve and just went back in last month to get a bit of fill as I'm gaining weight and hungry all the time. Immediately following the small fill, I went back into atrial fibrillation. That's pretty conclusive evidence that there is a correlation, at least with my particular anatomy. If you google gastric band, or lap band + atrial fibrillation, you will see a lot of people who have now experienced this. There are several on this forum right here. So yes, I regret what I did. Living with a-fib is no picnic, and the side effects of the three medicines I now have to take have greatly compromised my quality of life: extreme fatigue, memory loss, inability to do any sports that might raise my heartrate...wish I had chosen a different path. Would a sleeve revision correct the afib? Unfortunately, no. Once you have afib, you have afib. In fact, afib begets afib. In other words, once the electricity in your heart becomes chaotic (which is basically what afib is), it will constantly create new "bad" pathways in your heart. According to my cardiologist, it is unlikely that even removing the band will make the afib disappear, as the band has already done its damage. All I can do is keep it loose and off the vagus nerve, and continue with my meds (or, in the future, ablation or pacemaker if the afib worsens). I would not do another WLS in any case. I'm out of the game. For me, these are "Flowers for Algernon" situations. When I was doing my research, I was convinced WLS was the gold standard for permanent weight loss. Now my thoughts are different, especially concerning the lapband (since I had a bad experience with it) but also with other surgeries. There really is no tinkering with major body parts that is going to come out ok in the longterm, imho. We are seeing wonderful transformations in the short term, yes...but my sense is longterm we are going to see some health-complications from all WLS that have yet to reveal themselves. I would not even consider going under the knife again.

@apaige203: Thank you for contributing to this topic. I'm sorry you have been experiencing such horrible complications and would very much appreciate following your post-op. Particularly interested to see if removal resolves these issues (I hope so) so please do check back in with us.

I don't mind. I developed a heart arrythmia (atrial fibrillation) around 18 months post op. The band surrounds the vagus nerve which controls, among other things, heart rhythm. I ended up in ER with my heart completely out of rhythm, beating at a rate that was close to having me have a stroke, and blood pressure also sky high. It took seven hours to bring everything around using medication, and now I'm on medication for life. I had my band's restriction loosened so as not to touch on the vagus nerve and just went back in last month to get a bit of fill as I'm gaining weight and hungry all the time. Immediately following the small fill, I went back into atrial fibrillation. That's pretty conclusive evidence that there is a correlation, at least with my particular anatomy. If you google gastric band, or lap band + atrial fibrillation, you will see a lot of people who have now experienced this. There are several on this forum right here. So yes, I regret what I did. Living with a-fib is no picnic, and the side effects of the three medicines I now have to take have greatly compromised my quality of life: extreme fatigue, memory loss, inability to do any sports that might raise my heartrate...wish I had chosen a different path.

Happy bandiversary, and many many more.

Absolutely. It's great that you recognized that you had been overfilled right away, and that they team removed some saline immediately. It's best to build up your fills slowly, imho, rather than get overfilled and have to resort to soft calorie syndrome (perhaps even gaining wait because you can't get down dense Protein, but ice cream goes down just fine). You can still practice good band habits as you build your fills. "Pretend" you are at optimal fill level until you get there.

If you can, I'd advise going straight to the cortisone shots. Don't let anyone tell you that they are "dangerous" or they will "make you gain weight." They are not like steroids that circulate in your system...the cortisone stays localized (that is how it works!) and will eliminate the PF inflammation while it heals. What a godsend this stuff is. I've done them twice. Once the PF heals, you can then keep it at bay with all the above PT. But get yourself out of the acute pain now. I cannot understand why people don't go immediately for the proven cure and fool around with all the other methods. That said, make sure the shots are administered under xray or other, because the person shooting you needs to target the precise area or it will be of little relief. Also (they often forget to tell you this), you will have a lot of pain 24 hours after the corisone is injected. This is merely the stuff setting up in your foot and sparking nerves. It goes away, and then....blessed, pain-free walking.

This is a thread that should be read by band doctors (if there any out there that are still putting in bands!). Like the OP, I'm convinced that once an unfill is performed, it is unlikely that a refill back to the same level of original fill will provide the bandster with the same, good level of restriction and feeling of satiety. My sense is that you have to go up and over the original fill level to find, if it is even possible, the green zone again. So many on this board never find a sustainable green zone again after an unfill. What all pre ops should know, and what all banding surgeons should tell them, is to take the utmost care of their bands, working them to the max in the first year of banding. That's where we all see the most weight loss...motivation is at its highest, and the band and the banded area is pristine. Barring a surgery screw-up or medical issue, no unfills should have to happen in the first year if the patient is compliant with the post op way of eating. There are a couple of well-known bandster bloggers who just had unfills followed by refills and are now struggling with weight gain (small, but gains nonetheless). Anyone read Chronicles from Bandland or Lapband Gal? Both are star bloggers, longtime bandsters with perfect track records for compliance. Both lost massive amounts of weight and got to goal in their first year. Now, five years out (more or less) both have had issues and have had to get slight unfills. LBG got refilled but her weight is up a bit, and CfB has gained a bit and can't get it off, even with restricted calories and lots of sport. The minute the band gets tinkered with, weight will seek to return...even if we are eating the same amount of calories as before. It's an area that really should be studied but of course won't be because you can't control the study unless you lock up the patients and control their caloric intake. But damn I wish a medical team would look at this and figure out why it happens! And then find a way to stop it from happening!

Thanks for letting us know that you've had a good outcome! I likened my unfill (for similar symtoms) to the effect Drano has on a drain. You really can feel the stuff all the sudden unblocking. Sweet relief!

First of all, it's normal not to be losing until you find your optimal fill level, so don't beat yourself up about the gain. Until your fill level is correct, you are "just dieting" with all that implies. For me, I usually have a headache following a fill (not sure why) for a day. It's easily mitigated by taking Tylenol so I don't worry about it. I also get stomach-sick from the barium they use for my fills (my fills are done with fluorscopy, hence the barium milkshake) so I always schedule a fill for one of my days off...'cause I know I'm not going to be feeling well. Congratulations on the start of your banded journey. Stay on those liquids for the time prescribed...the fill-area will now be irritated and swollen for a bit and you don't want to go putting any food down there while it recovers.

I loved the very first bath I took once I have dropped some weight. I had been limiting myself to showers for years, because hauling myself out of the tub had gotten to be such a chore (not to mention a risk!). I remember my kids hearing me draw my bath and saying "Mom! You NEVER take baths!" I love being able to cross my legs again (and often do selfies of my crossed thighs!). Things I don't miss: Planning my errands to conserve my energy as much as possible Planning my subway/bus ride to arrive as close as possible to my destination, and checking to see if the subway station had an escalator rather than a stairs-only exit Planning my day around my food indulgences, waking and immediately thinking of what I'd eat that day. And then going to bed at night feeling disgusted at myself and the bad food choices I'd made, once again. Feeling that I'd outgrown the world, and as such, feeling embarassed about myself everywhere I went.

I think what hit me was my HR person had lapband and today talked of her experience. She is happy with it but went on about all of the things she cannot eat and throwing up at times. She said it was slow for her but she lost 40 lbs the first year. Last time I put my mind to it I lost 75lbs in 8 months so it had me thinking - what went wrong? I went back to bad choices. The greatest power of any WLS is that it is much easier to not make the bad choices because your appetite and stomach capacity are lessened. So, while you did take off more weight in 8 months with traditional non surgical dieting than your co worker took off in one year, chances are great that she will not put back her weight, if she remains compliant with her band and keeps her band well-adjusted. This is kind of hard to understand before you've had WLS...this notion of non-hunger..because when we dieted as pre-ops, it was all so dreadful and joyless, that fighting the cravings thing and thinking about all the foods we couldn't have. And then, of course, going off the diet and diving right back into all those foods.With WLS, you are freed from that mindset. So you go about your day without food occupying your mind. Essentially, a good WLS, well-done, puts you into the mindset of a naturally-slender person. So making the correct choices to get you to a good weight and keep you there are much much easier.

Alex's chart was very interesting. It really shows that there are trends in WLS focus, just as there are trends in diets. It is clear that the lapband is no longer the hot new WLS tool and is going the way of stomach stapling. Still, my band surgeon supports bands for patients who meet the criteria because he says there is so much longterm data on them, vs. the newer procedures that he won't (yet) do.

@Bufflehead: Thank you for taking the time to write this all out. I'm saving it in a Word doc to refer to, too!

You've asked a good question and it's a good sign you are doing thorough research. My surgeon did band or bypass. I knew I only wanted a band, as I mentally could not handle the idea of any other more-invasive WLS. The band is also invasive, certainly, but "less" invasive in how I perceive it. My surgeon also thought, after reviewing my pre-op evaluations (psych, dietician, health issues) that I fit the criteria for a successful experience with the lapband. So I felt supported by him and his expertise. I wish I had had the mindset to have been braver, and to have gone with either the sleeve or the bypass. My band was terrific the first year out...I loved it and sang its merits to everybody whose path I crossed. Then I got complications. I've said this before on this platform...when considering WLS, or any elective surgery, read closely all the risks and potential complications, and picture yourself living with any or all of the complications. This is a good way to evaluate the risk and benefit of this elective surgery. So, with the band, if you are one of the patients whose band erodes into your stomach....picture that and ask yourself how you would resolve that? With the sleeve or bypass...look at the potential for GERD or malabsorption properties, and ask yourself how you would resolve those issues? The thing is, we are human and really can't predict outcome. I know for me, I refused to read the posts from bandsters who had experienced complications, or the band-bashers, or even the blogs of bandsters who had failed. I didn't want to be dissuaded from my decision and I was convinced I was going to be a winner at this...no issues, no complications...I wasn't going to be "like those other people." And indeed, I followed my band rules to a T, and still ended up here today, with a dormant band, unable to tap into its usefulness to the extent I need to support finishing my weightloss. All this to say that I would not today choose a lapband. It was perhaps the gold standard in its time for WLS, but I think it has now gone the way of the Blackberry. It can still work for people, but there are other, less-problematically-prone WLS on the market (at least for now they appear to be...who knows, tho, ultimately?).

There are loads of band to sleeve revisioners on this forum. Just do a search. All seem to be really pleased with the second surgery, saying it is so much better than the band's complexities.

This is a great topic to ponder. I've probably been asking myself that question for 30 years. You know what? Sometimes I am convinced that obesity is merely a genotype--similar to being short or having brown hair. In other words, there are many of us who are fat not for any psychological reason, but because this morphology is the "voice of our genes." There are those that hang onto weight because of trauma or other, but really, I am convinced that there is also a set of us that have fat inscribed in our genes. So weight loss is all that more challenging (though obviously not impossible, just harder) because our we are battling genetic code and nothing more.

I always give credit to my WLS. I feel it is only fair. If I were to leave out this essential tool, I might make the other person feel bad, as if he/she couldn't do it "like me." It's so very rare to have significant weight loss/sustainable weight loss without WLS, so giving credit to a real and useful tool is important to me. Omitting WLS in my story (such as it is; I'm hardly a success) wouldn't feel right to me. I would never want another overweight person to walk away from me thinking I did this through sheer willpower.