Bandarella

I can't recommend one or the other but here are my thoughts:
Advice for those researching Lapband:
Ask what your doctor's experience is with removing lap bands. How long can I expect to keep my band before it needs to be removed? (Bands are being removed anywhere between 2 years out and onwards. I personally know of only 3 people who have had their bands 5+ years and one of those is on band #2.)
What long term negative effects have your patients experienced with Lapband? Lapband is a high pressure system. The band creates a great deal of pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter. The esophagus, in attempting to move food into the pouch, puts tremendous pressure on the LES, as well. Over time this causes damage and the sphincter fails to open. This creates a feeling of being "stuck" but your food hasn't even made it to the pouch. This situation is becoming more and more common in the banded population and causes permanent long term damage that cannot be reversed. This is what is called "difficulty swallowing" on the disclosure. It's actually band induced achalasia. Often on the various wls forums or social media groups, people will speak of random tightness, difficulty with swallowing yogurt, liquids, etc, regurgitation of meals despite cutting their food, chewing thouroghly and eating only 1/2 cup meals.
What's your practice's re operation %?
(Re operation following Lapband is upwards of 50%) any claims of lower % might mean your doctors patients are seeking help elsewhere when problems arise.
How many of your Lapband patients have reached goal weight? (Average EW loss is in the 40-60% range...if you have 100 lb to lose, you can expect to lose 40-60 lb.)
What do you consider compliance?
-attendance at support meetings?
-weighing, measuring, logging food intake?
-adherence to a particular diet?
-steady weight loss?
-monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual band check ups?
-what is the protocol for fills?
(Many doctors consider failure to lose 1-2 lb per week noncompliance despite their patients claiming to adhere to a strict protocol.)
I hear a lot about certain complications such as: achalasia, gastroparesis, adhesions of stomach to liver, erosion, band slips, band tightening without a recent fill. What's your experience with these issues. (More and more banded patients are experiencing these complications starting as early as 1 year post op and as long as 9-10 years out.)
Will you band someone with autoimmune disorders? (This is a mixed bag...my personal experience is that having a foreign object in my body exacerbated my IBS)
Do you screen for contraindications using EGD, esophageal manometry and upper GI? (These tests should be done to evaluate your ability to tolerate banding)
If I have a hiatal hernia, what procedure do you use to repair it? What type of sutures do you use? (Nissen fundoplication and pledgeted sutures are never used in conjunction with bariatric surgery to repair existing hiatal hernia).
As a final warning, recently there have been increasing reports of cardiac issues following banding...irregular heartbeat, arrhythmias, palpitations, etc. The heart and the esophagus lie sued by side in the chest. The vagus nerve(controls heart rate, breathing and GI tract) is also in the same area. Food retained in the esophagus puts pressure on the nerve and heart. This is not good.
I'm posting this because although I lost over 100 lb while I had my band, I now have permanent esophageal damage, cardiac problems and I'm on additional medications to manage the complications caused by my band. I was compliant with diet and lifestyle changes. Part of the problem was that my hiatal hernia was repaired using a nissen fundoplication and pledgeted sutures. Also, upon removing my band it was found to be placed very high on the stomach. I didn't have esophageal manometry testing prior to my band placement. (My band doctor was recently named as one of Seattle's Best Bariatric Surgeons for 2013.) 3 years later I had 0% motility when tested. I never had swallowing problems before banding. I still have difficulty with many foods.
Bands are a money maker for doctors who are still implanting them. They get paid to put them in, fill them, empty them and remove them, then revise their patients. Many reputable medical institutions will no longer implant a band and many who still do, consider it a short term device and remove within 2-3 years then revise to gastric sleeve before permanent damage is done.
I thought the band was least invasive. I have 15 incisions on my belly I didn't have when I started this. 3 surgeries, dozens of diagnostic, invasive tests, $150,000 later and I don't have a WL tool. I have a cardiac condition I didn't have, esophageal dilation and achalasia + 3 new meds costing me $150/month out of pocket.
Do your research and be open to hearing the "negative" along with the positive...it might save you from years of suffering.

Wait until you have a hospital stay for malnutrition, a PICC line for 5-6 weeks, and then problems from neuropathies, polyneuropathies, cataracts, and most of all not being the athlete you were, and you'd not think the tiny ones are that fortunate.
In addition it delays plastic surgery.
Oh and one last thing: it is easier to find age appropriate clothes for plus sizes than below size 4. So don't think that everything is peachy on this side of the equation. It isn't.
Forgot: I got a reflective shirt, bright yellow, with a running skeleton on it. My sister said amazing likeness.

I was told last night that I looked 'normal'.
This was in response to my asking, because I was curious about third party perception, as to whether I stood out as an overweight 'big girl' any more. I am, admittedly, always going to be 'big girl', being 5ft 10 and with shoulders like a hod carrier.
It was the highest compliment since my surgery anyone could have EVER bestowed on me.
If I hadn't been in a crowded location, I would have got up and done the Carlton Banks dance right there and then.
Naked.

Was thinking...cry me a river. I wish I had your problem.

Its a beautiful day am stuck at work and our computers are down....ugh think I need to go find a nice spot on the sun with a beer...in Jamaica...

BTW, if you read posts from people who had mgb, you'll see many of them revise due to reflux.
Also, obese peeps are prone to reflux and hiatal hernias and come into the surgery with preexisting GERD. Their "Barrets" could have been there prior to surgery.

The metabolic factor is removal of the fundus which is the primary producer go gherlin which stimulates hunger and appetite. Also since much less food is eaten, there is less food to metabolize...I guess all "diets" are metabolic, lol.

The metabolic factor is removal of the fundus which is the primary producer go gherlin which stimulates hunger and appetite. Also since much less food is eaten, there is less food to metabolize...I guess all "diets" are metabolic, lol.

Good post ^^^^, Cowgirljane.
The trouble with the studies regarding most -- and perhaps even ALL -- long-term weight loss surgery studies / surveys is the non-response bias introduced into most studies. In other words, surveys and studies based on volunteer responses are lame. All WLS patients are NOT like those WLS patients who voluntarily participate in WLS surveys and studies.
When WLS patients "fail" (e.g., they regain weight, aren't compliant, have other health problems, die) they don't return for doctor's appointments and fade from online and IRL support communities. In these cases, their subsequent WLS experiences (and data) are not included in future studies of "all WLS patients' experiences."
To be clear, I am not saying that there are no good WLS studies that attempt to minimize non-response bias. But they are not plentiful.
We need better meta-evaluations of all WLS studies. I am optimistic that such studies will increase in number and improve in quality.

@@Alex Brecher sorry I didn't see your post. Arguing ensues when someone starts using negative descriptors as @@2muchfun did towards me. Everyone here was discussing the pros and cons up to that point. It was a productive conversation for some time....

@@Alex Brecher sorry I didn't see your post. Arguing ensues when someone starts using negative descriptors as @@2muchfun did towards me. Everyone here was discussing the pros and cons up to that point. It was a productive conversation for some time....

@@2muchfun this is a discussion. Insulting me only serves to reflect on you. I have no "axe to grind".
I got an email notification of new posts on this thread...if the person I responded to can be respectful of my experience, why can't you?
The surgeons' guide to lapband by allergan. Full of stats.
http://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/lapband_dfu.pdf

My systems came only recently, long after the damage has been done. The dilating has been going on for a while and apparently I had adapted. It wasn't until it got to it worst that it presented itself and I needed to go to the dr. That is when the upper GI was done.
My point you may be doing irreparable damage and not know it until it is too late.

I was a huge band supporter, banded in 2008 lost all my weight in 9 months stayed at goal for almost 6 years no problems.. The bam I started having major issues, couldn't keep anything down, for a complete unfill still vomiting.. I followed all the band rules for 6 years! No Pasta, no rice no bread no soda.. Never ate more than a cup of food at a time I didn't drink with meals etc.. My band failed. I was devastated. It didn't slip and it wasn't anything to do with me. It had eroded. I still am super upset I paid $18,500 for that damn thing. Yes it helped me to lose the weight I just wish I had had bypass first. I had to be revised from band to bypass on May 21, 2014 and honestly it's been amazing! I haven't had any dumping at all and I am healthy. If you think your band will stick with you I pray you are right but out of the 5 friends of mine who had it I was the only one who's lasted over 5 years. @@2muchfun I understand your eagerness and joy with your band I used to be you. I pray you don't have issues as soooooo many do. I honestly only know of a handful who still have a lapband that is still doing great over 6 years with no issues and I only know of them from these type of posts.

Fair enough. I am a noob myself. The more I learn, the more I learn I need to learn. Bottom line is I won't ignore these symptoms, since complications scare me more than regaining does.

@@JustWatchMe congratulations on your success thus far...
The problem with those who experience failure or complications isn't the failure to comply or keep the band a bit on the loose side. The very concept of the band is flawed.
The band "works" by triggering the vagus nerve to signal early satiety. However, it also puts a lot of upward pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The esophagus creates strong downward pressure on the LES. The pouch created by the band only holds 1-2 oz of food, but we're told to eat 1/2-1 cup of food over 20-30 min. The opposing pressures, over time can cause damage to the LES which causes it to fail to open (achalasia). Problem is you'll just think you ate too fast, too much or that yoùr band is "finicky". That's how it feels. Your meal is now sitting in your esophagus, drinking Water sometimes helps, but not always. We don't realize what's happening until food is regurgitated from the esophagus in the same condition it went down (no acid, no bile,no foul taste, just chewed food).
I know hundreds of people who've developed this particular complication and the results have been devastating. Some are on feeding tubes, picc lines. Others like me, have a very damaged esophagus and cannot revise. My band was misplaced by my surgeon (who is very respected in bariatrics. The risk of misplacement is 3% according to the manufacturer. That's 1/33 people. Pretty bad odds.
I wish you continued success, but telling a noob that compliance and monitoring = success at 5 months out doesn't make sense.

Stay away from the lap band!
It is failing at an alarming rate. In my case as with many others I have dilated my esophagus and have been in horrible pain.
Vomiting in my sleep. I have been completely unfilled and have severe cramps and sickness.
I lost about 50 lbs at my best and gained 20 back in the last few months, going right in line with the failure of the band. Ask your dr directly, "is the band meant to be permanent?"
The answer is no!
I was not told this up front and would have chosen differently.
I am being revised to the sleeve, I feel this is probably the safest choice, after all we are modifying something from its original.
The foreign body thing, fillings are hardly a comparison.

@@okaykay, Removable, yes. The reality is that if you have complications, the effects of those complications are often permanent and can make revision impossible.

@2muchfun. When food is stuck in the esophagus, it has to come up or we can aspirate and get pneumonia. It's not being vomited up from the stomach, but being regurgitated before getting to the stomach, so stomach acid isn't an issue. You're correct in saying the op needs me fiscal help, but from her surgeon...

If you can bend over the toilet and what you ate comes back up, that's regurgitation, not vomiting and indicates esophageal damage. food isn't getting to your stomach, it's stuck in your esophagus. Please see your surgeon ASAP. Best of luck and congrats on reaching goal!

Like Jack says, call your surgeon. Congrats on getting your band removed.

@@okaykay, Removable, yes. The reality is that if you have complications, the effects of those complications are often permanent and can make revision impossible.

If you're on IV fluids you won't get dehydrated. Do what the nurses tell you to do. Your stomach has been cut and sutured/stapled, of course there's going to be some blood. It looks like more when mixed with saliva and Water.< /p>
When you get home, follow the food progression exactly. Scar tissue needs to form around the sutures and or staples in your stomach to strengthen and heal. If you overdo it in the first few weeks and put pressure on the suture line, the scar tissue fibers can break down.
Congrats on your revision!!!!

Look up sleevey wonders...won't get rid of them, but can help expand your wardrobe a bit.

If you're on IV fluids you won't get dehydrated. Do what the nurses tell you to do. Your stomach has been cut and sutured/stapled, of course there's going to be some blood. It looks like more when mixed with saliva and Water.< /p>
When you get home, follow the food progression exactly. Scar tissue needs to form around the sutures and or staples in your stomach to strengthen and heal. If you overdo it in the first few weeks and put pressure on the suture line, the scar tissue fibers can break down.
Congrats on your revision!!!!