Travelher

There are dozens of studies globally that all say the same thing. complications that require revisions (read surgeries) of some sort range in the 30-50% range by 10 years out. it is why the rate of banding dropped to less than 5% now and it is banned in some countries. Until the "newer" bands have been around for 10 years, no one will be able to predict whether the pharma marketing claims are true (hopefully they are, but nobody can say that yet). all procedures have advancements over the years. the data is what it is aged, in every single case for all surgeries (by about 10 years to be viably trusted). Frankly at revision rates of 30-50%, the long term band complications are significantly higher than other bariatric surgeries. Having said that, this means 50-70% are still revision free at 10 years, so issues are not a foregone conclusion. So if you are symptom free and successful, enjoy it and don't worry about it. I had a great 3 years with the band before mine went bad.
My advice though is this. if you start to have issues, don't do what I did and many others and ignore the symptoms, make excuses for it and stick your head in the sand. get them addressed and fast. If they aren't resolving, remove it before it is too late to have other options. The band is sold as low complication and virtually consequence free, that is simply not true. Yes it is reversible, but it does permanent damage in many cases. it stretches the esophagus over time and can cause reflux (which can lead to cancer), cause adhesions to other organs (my hospital roommate spent 4 hours longer than me in surgery with 2 surgeons removing the adhesions from the band to his liver and intestines. many have slips or erosion. Just make sure you are being your own best advocate for your health, and act to resolve issues, they will not go away on their own.

Best of luck with your bypass. i've had tons of success with mine and have a lot of regret about my lap band.

Dr. Weiner has a good Youtube video on this. he says it isn't the pouch or sleeve stretching. it has to do with the stretch receptors in the intestines....and sets the expectation that over time people can eat more...not because the stomach stretches but because food isn't in the stomach more than a minute or two anyway and it is the stretch receptors in the intestines that don't register the same way...sometime to that effect.
according to him when they have looked at the stomachs of people with those complaints, they look the same as the rest...

i wouldn't wish a lapband on my worst enemy. I had complications which did permanent damage. buyer beware. if you don't want a revision down the road, i'd avoid a lap band. Your chance of a revision by year 10 is about 50% with a band. and they aren't being phased out slowly. they very rapidly dropped from the most popular surgery to less than 5% due to the complication rates. I had mine 11 years. I only had 3 years complication free.

I found an ap the easiest. ive never used Baritastic, but myfitnesspal can save meals and allows you to copy over days or meals at a time. I found that a real time saver as i often repeat the same meals. 10,000 steps a day is what i did. You've got this!

I found an ap the easiest. ive never used Baritastic, but myfitnesspal can save meals and allows you to copy over days or meals at a time. I found that a real time saver as i often repeat the same meals. 10,000 steps a day is what i did. You've got this!

What works for me is to not “work out” but to fit activity into my life. That looks like walking to the local fruit market and carrying bags home instead of driving. Generally walking instead of driving whenever and wherever I can. Doing activities I like, like riding bikes in the summer with the family. Playing dodgeball at the trampoline park with my kid or doing climbing walls with him.
Activity does not seem like some sort of thing I have to do. It is just part of my life.

I found an ap the easiest. ive never used Baritastic, but myfitnesspal can save meals and allows you to copy over days or meals at a time. I found that a real time saver as i often repeat the same meals. 10,000 steps a day is what i did. You've got this!

I always ate healthy carbs. most of my carbs come from fruit/veggies. seeds. some Beans. some steel cut oats, some popcorn. I lost using balanced macros. 35%carb 25% fat, 40% Protein. Been maintaining for 6 months and have upped the carbs am probably closer to 40% carb now.

good thing exercise isn't a requirement for weight loss. it is all about the food. walking is all I did.

you are most definitely morbidly obese. I was much more afraid of my obesity killing me than a surgeon. my viewpoint was that if people who are 600lbs+ are surviving surgery, me with a mid 40's BMI should be smooth sailing.
I knew i was a heart attack waiting to happen.
Please ignore anyone suggesting a band. they categorically have no clue what they are talking about!!!!! Lapbands have horrendous complication rates... worse than the others put together. I could not roll my eyes any harder. the fact that that was suggested to you should automatically discount their opinions.
My band nearly killed me and caused permanent damage to my esophagus. my experience with it is very very very common. my doctor says any doctors using a band today should be sued for malpractice.
if you are looking for a procedure that is reversible if you need it...that is called a bypass.

he is ignorant to the reality. your excess weight could kill you. I suggest you go to youtube and start watching dr weiner's videos. he has a great way of explaining why bariatric surgery works where diet and exercise doesn't.

you are most definitely morbidly obese. I was much more afraid of my obesity killing me than a surgeon. my viewpoint was that if people who are 600lbs+ are surviving surgery, me with a mid 40's BMI should be smooth sailing.
I knew i was a heart attack waiting to happen.
Please ignore anyone suggesting a band. they categorically have no clue what they are talking about!!!!! Lapbands have horrendous complication rates... worse than the others put together. I could not roll my eyes any harder. the fact that that was suggested to you should automatically discount their opinions.
My band nearly killed me and caused permanent damage to my esophagus. my experience with it is very very very common. my doctor says any doctors using a band today should be sued for malpractice.
if you are looking for a procedure that is reversible if you need it...that is called a bypass.

he is ignorant to the reality. your excess weight could kill you. I suggest you go to youtube and start watching dr weiner's videos. he has a great way of explaining why bariatric surgery works where diet and exercise doesn't.

Please get the band out. What you have sounds SCARY. Another thing you want to avoid is Barrett's esophagus, the symptoms you're having could predispose you to get it . You do not want this, it is a precancerous condition. I lost my cousin JuneEllen who I dearly loved to esophageal cancer. She was 68, died on the table at Cleveland Clinic. She thought she had some mild indigestion, she could wait until it got worse, maybe it would heal on its own. It was 2 years come May and I still miss her like it was yesterday. Maybe you'll be still okay but I doubt it. You may be walking around with trouble, do you really think it's worth it? If I had a hash tag it would be # do you think it's really wise to wait?

Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

I have to agree with others that knowing the real results of the band I would never steer someone that way and then sleep at night.
Look into all your options, read the studies and make an informed decision, i for one wish i'd just done RNY to begin with.

I did not have any skin removal yet, if you have a large amount of weight to lose you will have loose skin. Exercise for health, not to reduce skin issues because it does nothing for skin...there is no muscle in skin.
I have no hanging pannus..that is luck and body composition, and also the fact that I got down to the low end of body fat for my age. That is it. I didn’t spend time in the gym (though I am active), use creams or any of the other bill of goods people sell people on to make them think they’ll avoid it.
Unfortunately, if someone carries weight around the Middle, odds are high they will have a Pannus, the only thing that will really solve that, is compression wear to disguise it or surgery.
I’ve attached a pic of my loose skin. You can see standing it is not too bad (it is crepey and wrinkled, but I’m also 50). Lying down, it slides down...that is where you can really see the excess skin, and that it really is just skin.

Exactly, so someone starting at 400lbs might lose 100 in the first 3-4 months...so from their perspective it sounds easy, right? That could explain the thinking they have, because naturally they’ll assume it is the same for us. And it just isn’t.

I did not have any skin removal yet, if you have a large amount of weight to lose you will have loose skin. Exercise for health, not to reduce skin issues because it does nothing for skin...there is no muscle in skin.
I have no hanging pannus..that is luck and body composition, and also the fact that I got down to the low end of body fat for my age. That is it. I didn’t spend time in the gym (though I am active), use creams or any of the other bill of goods people sell people on to make them think they’ll avoid it.
Unfortunately, if someone carries weight around the Middle, odds are high they will have a Pannus, the only thing that will really solve that, is compression wear to disguise it or surgery.
I’ve attached a pic of my loose skin. You can see standing it is not too bad (it is crepey and wrinkled, but I’m also 50). Lying down, it slides down...that is where you can really see the excess skin, and that it really is just skin.

10 months out. About 120 lbs down

I did not have any skin removal yet, if you have a large amount of weight to lose you will have loose skin. Exercise for health, not to reduce skin issues because it does nothing for skin...there is no muscle in skin.
I have no hanging pannus..that is luck and body composition, and also the fact that I got down to the low end of body fat for my age. That is it. I didn’t spend time in the gym (though I am active), use creams or any of the other bill of goods people sell people on to make them think they’ll avoid it.
Unfortunately, if someone carries weight around the Middle, odds are high they will have a Pannus, the only thing that will really solve that, is compression wear to disguise it or surgery.
I’ve attached a pic of my loose skin. You can see standing it is not too bad (it is crepey and wrinkled, but I’m also 50). Lying down, it slides down...that is where you can really see the excess skin, and that it really is just skin.

what you are going through is normal for many in the early post op period. it is the hormone dump from rapid fat loss and the adjustment to the healing (I remember thinking "OMG am i going to be burping my way through every meal forever?" Now I read posts like yours and go "oh yeah, i forgot about that part". you will feel totally normal in 3-6 months (for me it was 2 months, but i'm a quick healer)...I'm 15 months now, in and if it weren't for:
being amazed every time i look at a picture of myself wondering why i don't get winded anymore, ever wondering how far i need to push myself on the treadmill to get my heart rate into the cardio zone wondering how the hell these size 2 pants fit me, because that makes no sense at all ...i would not remember I had surgery.

This is what it looks like now.

recent pic, stuck at 222.8lbs...lol

wwwowwwwww you look amazing