Nanook

I think Cleo's Mom is just being honest about her struggle with the lap band and trying to help others. Sometimes people put blinders on and see the band as their magic golden ticket or something and it doesn't always work that way no matter how they work the band. She just shows that even though she followed all the "rules" that she still didn't get the results promised to her by Lap Band! Also that there are some greedy doctors out there that will do almost anything for $$.

I think that it can be very difficult to tell who the band will help and who it will not help, that is my honest opinion because I came to this site a long time ago when I got my band installed searching for answers as to why it wasn't working for me. I thought that maybe I'd get some answers here that would be the clue into what my problem with the band was and could turn it around from gaining on the band to losing like I bought it for! But after a few months here I still got no answers and did come across many of the smug people that said things like "it's only a tool" and when your band is not working and you hear that it's very frustrating to say the least! I then learned that it works for some and not for all and that's that and I wasted my time and body on the band and should have had a different WLS to begin with. I also went to see my surgeon or his PA for all my fills and checkups on a regular schedule and after a year of trying the band and it not working we decided it was time to discuss it's removal.

I was very depressed after this "failure" of mine that I didn't even think of revising to another WLS after my surgeon removed my band. Physically I was having terrible GERD And was put in the ER for chest pains and because of that and my weight gain and not loss my insurance company covered it's removal. After the band was removed my normal size stomach once again appeared and I gained ever more weight so that I weighed more than I had prior to banding just like another failed diet, which is kind of my impression of the lap band although not everyones!

It took a few months of soul searching and how I wanted to deal with this and also discussion with my surgeon that we would go ahead and revise to RNY. At that time I joined a support group which also helped me with my decision. I also have a daughter who had been successful with her RNY and two nieces now who have had it. So I went for it and even though RNY is not a magic golden ticket either I at least felt like I had some success and am at the point now where the weightloss stopped and so did the malabsorption of calories and I'm basically on my own now. I've put on about ten pounds since the fall and am honest to say it happens not with everyone but with many. I know that you go through stages with RNY and I'm just in that one now and am dealing with it.

Anyway before we start knocking down CM with honest story of her experience with the lap band I think as others have said just because it works for you doesn't mean it will work for everyone and trying to figure that out before you have surgery is probably the most difficult task a person has! I wish everyone well with whatever WLS they choose because it can be a very difficult road, Nanook!

Thanks for posting this link Cleo's Mom found it very interesting! Nancy

No, not at all. My insurance would never pay for it and I can't afford it. I have lost about 75 lbs, but only 15 of it post-band (well, after the post-op liquid phase was over). So my insurance would not see this as a problem worthy of revision. But I continue to fight the hunger and lack of satiety and what this doctor said could have been written for me, except I don't eat around the band, but I could.

I don't know if this helps but I had the lap band in 2007 and had it removed and then ended up revising to RNY. I never did well with the lap band and I don't believe it's the right surgery for everyone. Each surgery takes work but at least with RNY you get a jump start! I'm getting close to my two year anniversary with my RNY and am still very happy to have had it. I was lucky and was able to lose a big chunk of weight and the weightloss actually stopped six months after my surgery. Due to my age and my revision and my starting weight I probably didn't lose as much as the average person but for me this did make a big difference in my life.

I went into my lap band surgery hoping it would work and probably not knowing enough about it at the time. I also was a bit too frightened to have RNY to begin with. Anyway long story short I gained weight after banding and also gained a few more co-morbs along with it and my insurance paid for it's removal and subsequent revision after I was put in the ER for chest pains due to GERD. I was lucky in that respect and not everyone has that option. I kept up with my appts. with my surgeon after banding and he and I both came to the decision it was the wrong choice for me and he also did my Lap band removal and then a few months later my RNY surgery.

To be honest the "free ride" you get in the beginning with RNY is over for me and I stopped losing and over the holidays have put on about 5 lbs which to me seams like a ton but in reality really isn't. Most people do gain a percentage of weight back after RNY and it's "normal" I just have to be more careful now about what I eat and how much. I'm hoping to keep most of it off for the rest of my life and change my attitude about myself and my weight issues. I was a large kid growing up but forced on diets by my mother and I think that may have played into my weight issues. So learning to eat "normally" is something that I had to learn and having a much smaller stomach has helped me with this.

Anyway to all of you who have issues with the lap band meaning it's not working as you had hoped it would there are other options out there and talk to you surgeon or someone who can help you with this. You didn't pay all this money and go through all of this to feel like a failure again! Good luck and take care Nancy.

Although mine required my CPAP machine for every and all surgeries I've had they've never actually had me use it. In the hospital room I'd be hooked up directly to their oxygen machine with a nose plug. They monitored me in the hospital and kept tabs. If for some reason I wasn't breathing "enough" they'd call down to my room to tell me to take deeper breaths with my oxygen, lol. I'm sure they're all different but if they require that you bring it then bring it anyway whether you use it or not. Good luck to you Nancy.

I had type 2 diabetes when I was banded and I don't know if that was a factor in my failure or not but it may have been. After banding I found that my eating went from "normal" food choices to softer foods and I still really craved sweets, be it yogurt with fruit which I could eat endless amounts of or ice cream which I could eat endless amounts of or even Cereal. Mainly I chose the softer foods because I could eat them without throwing up and could eat any amount I wanted. So after losing weight preop I gained it all back afterward and then some. Plus my diabetes worsened and I also had high blood pressure and high cholesteral.

I can still eat some sweets now that I've had my bypass over a year but only certains ones. Everyone is different and I have dumping syndrome still which for me makes ice cream intollerable, I get nauseous, which I see as a good thing as it was my main weakness prior.

It can be very difficult to see these issues prior to surgery, at least for me it was as I wasn't even aware that I could eat large amounts of certain slider foods after being banded. People are more aware of the pitfalls now so that's a plus.

I made the lapband choice first but had to revise eventually to RNY in order to lose, it wasn't easy and I can't take back what I orignially did but was a bit too scared to have RNY in the first place but I feel pretty normal and take my supplements and have bloodwork done and have survived. I also have a daughter who had RNY and two nieces and so far we've all done fairly well. So I'm just giving you some insight into a different point of view but it's your decision in the end and I just hope you pick the right one the first time, good luck to you, Nancy.

I saw my surgeon on a regular basis after I was banded and when it looked as if things were not going to work as planned he and I discussed the fact that we would wait a year and then make a decision on what to do at that point. I also developed GERD which sent me to the ER and due to that the insurance was able to cover the removal. I also still had all my same co-morbs and then some and so a few months after it was removed I revised to RNY. I think as long as you're working with a doctor and and are honest and up front with each other about your expectations etc... a year is plenty of time to give it. Good luck to you, Nancy.

I think it just shows that the band works for some and not all! I can relate more to people who've had issues with problems with the band more so than people who were successful that's for sure. I don't expect that people won't be successful because I wasn't but in that respect I don't think people should assume that just because they are successful that everyone can be or that it's some kind of character flaw if they're not!

I revised to RNY and can honestly say I still experience hunger and hormones still play an issue. When I am hungry I know I should eat, it's my body telling me to do so but with the smaller stomach I can only eat so much so that is why I've been able to have success now that I never had with the band. I'm restricted in ways I couldn't be with the band and need that restriction. I wish all well no matter what procedure they choose but hope they make the right one the first time! Nancy.

Cleo's Mom....this has to be one of my all time favorite posts in the last almost three years I have been on LBT. You put it all in a nutshell.

I cannot tell you how many lapbanders I have visited with that are so NOT informed. Some due to tunnel vision but truly believe there are a lot of ppl out there with a plastic ring around their gut that left that hospital with that ring and no guidlines provided by their surgeon.

Ditto that!!!! Cleo's Mom, Nancy:thumbup:

Update: I gained a total of 35 lbs. they slowly put everything back, and I got my weight down to 225. Then, in May, I had a vomiting episode that started two months of troubles and pain and vomiting. I was decompressed from 6.25 to 4.25, then to 2 and then finally to completely empty in the hopes that this would allow the inflammation to go down and get me back to normal. I also switched to non-mechanical food. On Labor day, NOTHING would go down (even liquids), so I went into the emergency room. At that point I was 210. They admitted me to the hospital and started me on intraveinous fluids and ran a cat scan. By the next morning I weighed 217 (same scale). That's 7 lbs of saline&glucose Later that day they performed an upper GI. It turned out that my band had slipped. The right side was still sewn in properly, but the left had detached and my ENTIRE STOMACH had slipped up through the band. The band was now vertical and was cutting off the very lowest part of my stomach where the intestines start. They had me in the operating room two hours later and they tried to reposition the band, but weren't able to, so they removed it.

It's now been about three weeks, and my appetite has returned full-force and I'm having a very hard time eating healthy. I'm at 235 already and without medical insurance, I'm likely to keep climbing.

When the band was in, I never felt hungry, so I'd eat a small portion and stop. Now...

:-(

Ok, could it be possible that the band was not the right procedure for you??? It happens and happens to many more than you'd like to think including myself. So if things don't improve consider revising to a different procedure, good luck, Nancy.

Thanks BJean and congrats on your sleeve!! I know you waited a long time before you revised and glad you finally were able to do it. Good luck with it! I pretty much stopped losing after 6 months, partly because I had some surgeries in January but I think with my age etc...I just wasn't going to do as well as someone a lot younger. Anyway I'm happy to have done as well as I have! Anyway continued success with your sleeve and take care Nancy.:blushing:

stands for Roux en Y and is the gastric bypass procedure.

My band removal was pretty easy and was an out-patient procedure. There was much less pain having it removed than having it put in. Plus I really didn't have any dietary restrictions afterward. Just the day of surgery. It didn't take long before my stomach felt it's normal size again and so a few months down the road I revised to RNY. Good luck with your removal, Nancy.

Nanook, thank you for sharing your experience in your first post, that is exactly what I was looking for. I am sorry you got sucked into to all the self righteous B.S. This post stopped being about me a long time ago and I feel sad for all the narcsissistic unhappy people. They don't know my story and the anonymity of the boards should not override their sense of politeness and decency. Good luck in your journey.

Good luck TxC, I'm glad I could help and I know it's not easy. Everyone wants to have a postive lap band experience and no one goes through all of this for nothing but sometimes we end up picking the wrong procedure and it can be difficult to tell prior to surgery if this is the right one.

My insurance covered my first, it's removal and my revision so I feel as if they were supporting my surgeries also. I went through a lot to be approved for both surgeries. Prior to my RNY I was told to join a WLS support group and found one at my closest hospital even though they don't perform them there. I found it to be very helpful, I haven't been back in a while but took advantage of it when I really needed it. You might want to check one out now if you don't already go to one.

We're all different and sometimes people need to understand that just because they're able to work the band to perfection doesn't mean everyone will or can. Anyway good luck to you, Nancy.

mother: German-Mexican

father: Scotch-Irish-English

me: lover of many cultures

Behaviors aren't forced. Google defines behavior as a "manner of acting or controlling yourself." No one forced you to drink with your meals. You chose to do it. You went into the LAP-BAND® surgery knowing well enough that you won't be able to drink with your meals. So, please explain how you were forced to drink with your meals...

Manda I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I could easily drink after eating with the lap band but after I had my RNY surgery I physically could not drink after eating, so I am now forced not to drink after eating a meal and have to wait at least an hour. Sorry if you didn't understand my point. It gave me the help I needed to lose the weight. Also with the malaborptive aspect of RNY I was able to lose a big chunk of weight in the beginning which doesn't necessarily happen with Lap Band patients. So that is what I meant by it forced upon me and in a good way!

Nancy, the LAP-BAND® didn't fail her. She failed the LAP-BAND®.

Do you honestly think a revision will help her if she refuses to do things as simple as not drinking soda and whole milk?

Howdy, I only know a handful of bypassers but none of them dump any more. They all did for the first year or so.

All I know is sometimes the behaviors are forced upon you as they were for me. I used to be able to drink with my meals as a lap bander which I know is a no-no but I did. Now I physically cannot drink with my meal or I get full-er. You don't really know what is going to happen until after you've had the surgery. I also was never able to lose that big chunk of weight in the beginning which is something some people need for their own sanity. That was something that is going to happen too, so weight loss was forced upon me too.

Trust me I've heard all the "the lap band doesn't fail you, you fail the lap band" crap from people here but not from my surgeon so I was lucky to have a good one, take care and peace, Nancy.:biggrin:

I think the focus should be on finding the procedure that is right for you and if you can't lose weight dieting anymore and then still fail at the lap band then it's probably not the right procedure. Everyone is different and so some dump some do not. Some stop having dumping syndrome some do not so it's a gamble, the lap band was a gamble for me and I lost. I've had both procedures done so feel like I know a little bit about it.

If you go to obesityhelp.com you'll see people revise to and from every type of procedure. The OP wouldn't consider a revision if the lap band had been the right choice for her. It's not easy to revise and going from lap band to DS or RNY is a big deal so it would be nice to encourage her instead of telling her right off the bat that she will fail at that also, just saying, Nancy....

Is this a typo? Do people want to have dumping syndrome? I've heard of people having bowel movements on themselves in public. Gosh, I seriously hope that was a typo...

When people hear the term "dumping syndrome" they think "dump" so I understand why you think that's what it is but it is not! Well possbly for some everyone is different but basically it has to do with your body eating a bit of sugar and thinking you just ate a truckload and it reacts that way.

When I have "dumping syndrome" after eating something that is high in sugar or carbs I feel bad, really bad. I feel nauseous but do not vomit. I feel like I have to lie down and do nothing till it passes, not out, just passes over time.

During that time you do not want to think of food! Because of this "ill feeling" it keeps you from wanting to eat more, not saying you never do it again but you eat small amounts because or not at all. Ice cream used to be my best friend now I don't even crave it! It makes me feel sick to my stomach. It's a positive in my book as I was able to lose a lot of weight by not eating sugary foods that I craved all the time. The lap band did nothing to keep me from craving sweets but this has.

Not everyone experiences dumping syndrome and yes I am glad I do as sugar was my enemy!! I still drink it in my tea every day but just a teaspoon. I cannot eat a bowl of Cereal anymore as the combo of milk and carb does something to me too even if it's a high Fiber Cereal. I can eat some chocolate as a treat but try to eat some with nuts to get some Protein with it, makes me feel better about eating it but I don't eat a ton.

Hope this clears it up for you a bit, Nancy.

TxC...

I don't know where to start after reading all the critiques by people here on your obvious weaknesses and failures, lol. Well I know it's not really funny but still...

I gave myself a year as did my WL surgeon who does two procedures, banding and RNY. I was too chicken to have RNY in the beginning becasue I knew ice cream was my friend and I didn't want to have a procedure that would do something horrible to me after eating it.

Little did I know I could still eat gallons of ice cream after banding, I was old school and came to the world of WL forums after banding, what can I say.

Anyway long story short I also developed GERD which made it possible for me to have my band removed after a year of "trying" to lose on the band but then gaining instead and becoming very depressed because I felt "I" was the only one failing at this! I was so depressed I didnt' think anything would work for me so just had it removed. Afterward I was given my stomach back to it's same large size I started to gain even more weight and weighed the highest I had ever and became even more depressed.

Luckily my daughter had her RNY about six months after I was banded and had done well with weight loss and so I decided to give myself one more shot and discussed it with my surgeon and went through the steps to get approved all over again including the psyche eval etc..etc..etc.. and had the surgery done and haven't regreted it once.

I am lucky enough to have dumping syndrome but I also had type 2 diabetes and sometimes wonder if there is a correlation. I am off my meds for that now so it's under control, had gotten worse during my awful diet during banding. I definately have restriction now as my stomach is much smaller and nothing goes through it like it did when I was banded.

Now everyone is different and so I suggest you discuss with a good surgeon, if it's not the one you currently have and also join a good forum that has many types of WLSs on it like Obesityhelp.com. They also have a revision section which I found to be wonderful and helpful and also positive. Now people do compete for "my surgery is the best" over there so you have to really take the time to educate yourself to figure out which is going to be the best for you. For me so far it's RNY and I still live pretty much day to day and keep a check on things.

We all have issues or weaknesses with food, doesn't make us bad or failures just makes it harder for us to get to a weight that makes us happy and healthy. I wish you luck finding the right procedure, Nancy.

It should go back to the regular size it was prior to lap banding but if you have issues make sure you go back to your doctor! Nancy.

I wouldn't say my removal and then revision was only done because I didn't lose weight but it was a major cause of it. I was able to have it removed due to GERD and my insurance covered it but I also had a year of not losing weight and actually put on some pounds. I do think I eventually would have had it removed even if there was no GERD involved just because I kept up my visits with my surgeon and he knew my struggles with my weight. Good luck to you, Nancy.

I would suggest joining the forum at www.obesityhelp.com because they discuss all forms of WLS there and have a revision section also which I found very helpful after my band was removed and eventually revised to my RNY. So far I've been happy with my revision but learn as much as you can prior to moving back to the states and finding a new doctor. Good luck to you, Nancy.

Married,

Good luck to you in your recovery, Nancy.

Hammer,

I gave my self a shot at the lap band and if it didn't produce results or caused any physical damage it would be removed. I think it was just under one year where my doctor and I decided it was not the right procedure for me and I had it removed. I also was very distraught about it and thought it was "my fault" once again but that was not true. I turned around and a few months later revised to gastric bypass surgery which was the right procedure for me. I won't over analyse why we are "fat" but we have to stop blaming ourselves and just get the right help to fix our problem. I do believe it's much more of a physical problem than an emotional one or lack of self control that many people tend to put on us! We get it every day by watching TV and seeing how many products there are out there to "fix us fat folk" and do they work no they don't! If they did we'd all be thin!

Anyway don't be so hard on yourself! The lap band is not for everyone so look at other positive options for yourself if this is what your really want it's achievable but don't look at it as a lack of self control or character it's just not the right procedure for you! Take care Nancy.