Nanook

I can understand your fear of failing again as I had that feeling myself. I on the other hand was never successful with the band and was not the right choice for me. So I can't say I lost 100 lbs and gained it back because I never lost it in the first place. So basically after a year of it not working for me I started getting reflux issues and my surgeon removed it last Friday. I chose not to revise because I didn't want to go through that fear of failure and the stress it caused me. I would never suggest any type of WLS to another person because I couldn't do it in good conscious. I can tell you though that I am much happier now that mine is removed. I can also tell you that my 20 year old daughter had RNY surgery last May and has lost over 120 lbs since then and so far is doing well even though she's gone through 2 strictures which caused a fairly quick weightloss which is not normal. So even though my situation is a bit different than yours I hope some of my information has been helpful. I also think you should discuss your fears and issues with WLS with a professional before going on to have another surgery. Good luck to you Nancy.

Could it be that the band was not the correct WLS for you? Whether you want to blame yourself or the band it's possible that it just doesn't work for everyone. I am one of those and I had mine taken out last Friday. If you find losing weight as difficult after banding as you did before banding what does that tell you? I did try Alli myself when I was going through that phase of why the band was not working and Alli did nothing for me except make me more regular as I was more constipated while banded. We all had the same expectations after being banded and not all of us got what we asked for. It's not all your fault and there are plenty of people like us out there who have had the same problems with the band and a lot of moved on to revisions after removal I just choose not to. Good luck and discuss all your options with your surgeon, Nancy.:wink2:

I also found out after a year of struggling that I was not losing weight on the band as it appeared everyone else had. I had the choice to have it removed and have a revision to another type of WLS. I chose to have it removed and not revise. That was my own personal choice as the lap band was almost keeping me at this point from having a healthy lifestyle as I was forced to eat unhealthy foods as opposed to the healthy ones that would only get stuck and I remained frustrated and starving. So like I said before this was my personal choice and I was tired of feeling like a failure all the time and now I don't. Good luck with whatever decision you make Nancy.

In the lap band world it's more "PC" to attack the people with lap band problems than the other way around but you eventually get used to it, Nancy:smile:

I can't remember if I had my original surgery during my TOM but I had my removal during my TOM last Friday and they just wanted to know. The nurse at the hospital told me I was not allowed to wear a tampon and they give me special "one size fits all" panties and a pad to wear during my surgery. I'm not sure why you're not supposed to wear a tampon but I'm sure they have their reasons. I'm sure others can chime in about this subject, Nancy.:tt1:

Beth I found you very calm considering so I don't why people are complaining about you, Nancy:smile:

Me thinks you might be right can you closeth itith?

Me thinks she maybe the "dentist"!

Thanks Plain, I appreciate it and have thickened up my skin a bit since then, take care Nancy.:wub:

Teach it or take it????:wub:

smammas, I had my band removed Friday and my insurance covered it, I had reflux but not as severe as yours. Removing the band doesn't necessarily mean the end of the world for you obviously it's not doing your health any good by keeping it in. Good luck to you Nancy.

Salome000, Saw the pic and hope you get better soon. Weird thing was after my band removal surgery on Friday I felt all itchy all over but nothing really at least not to the extreme of what you have! I wonder if it has to do with the anesthesia. Wishing you better soon, take care Nancy

Melolo, I have quite a history here and began in 3/08 when I was trying to figure out why I was gaining back all my weight after getting banded last 8/22/07. I had lost 25 lbs on the preop diet but started to put it back on. I found this forum after my surgery and after being "informed" about the band. I had all the reading material and discussions with my surgeon that the average person does. Psych eval, preop testing too and also other meetings with their team and with the surgeon more than once. I was even going to have the RNY done but chickened out because I found it to be too drastic. Basically I did not have all the information needed to be banded. I did not know that most solids still would go through the band like the foods I had problems with prior to banding. Cake, candy, Cookies, chocolate, chips, crackers all these things would go right through the band but the Protein and veg, the healthy foods would get stuck. I was told to "avoid" those foods but didn't know that was because they would still go through my band even if I had recently pb'd because of a piece of chicken. So it took awhile to realize that yes, I was not totally informed, and I don't think it was all my fault, that is information that should be told to a person prior to banding don't you think. Most of us have yo yo'd all their lives on diets and when you can only eat a bit of chicken and veg and still your body wants food you're going to naturally eat the food that will go through the band. It's not all "head hunger", it's your body not wanting to go into starvation mode. So if I had issues with willpower prior to banding I would have those same issues after banding and did not know that $30,000 later plus whatever else it costs to have my band removed. I am not one of those people who had their fill removed and then put on weight, I've actually lost weight because my body was never dependent on the band to lose the weight in the first place. My fill was removed over a month ago but I still had a lot of restriction. It's frustrating for people who have gone through this with the same high hopes that everyone else has to have them crushed in the end. No one is better at it than anyone else it just doesn't work for everyone. It is not the correct procedure for everyone and that doesn't discount anything that works for you or anyone else but just is a warning to those who are thinking of getting banded who may have been in the same circumstance I was in. My surgical team had been doing the RNY for many years but the Lap Band was fairly new when I got it. I had a wonderful surgeon but that doesn't mean I received the right information, just have wonderful incisions and am fortunate that the only bad side effect other than it not working for me was that I acquired esophageal reflux. So It is now gone as of last Friday and I feel good physically and feel much better mentally as I know I'm not a failure the Lap Band was not the right WLS for me and possibly others who should be aware of this issue. It's also possible I could have known and still thought it wouldn't have been a problem, that I don't know but I'm hoping I was smart enough to not have gotten the band if I had known that in the first place. This is not to attack you personally as you are just one person responding to my post, it's just something I need to get across to people who may have the same problems I do and sometimes people ask me to explain why I had it removed and for what reasons. Thanks and take care and I hope you do well, Nancy:thumbup: Oh one more thing, I am pretty proactive when it comes to my health and when I spoke to my surgeon after being banded about my issues with not knowing that the "bad" foods would go down easy and the "good" foods were the struggle this is how the conversation kind of went. I said "I didn't know I could eat a cookie and have no problem with it going down" and he said "Well you still ate the cookie didn't you" WTF, what woman is not going to try to eat a cookie around Christmas, I just looked at him and thought to myself this is a man who does not get it!

True Plain, I know the op was considered a troll but it grew and grew and grew like the crazy posts usually do, so most people don't even remember what it said, lol. I don't like accusing people of being trolls because I was also accused of that at one time and I may have frizzy hair when it's humid but I am no troll! She may have stirred the pot but there are enough people here who are unhappy with their band that any post like that is going to cause a bit of conversation that may not be pleasant to a newbie's ears.

I had mine removed on Friday and the only one that has the yellow bruise is the center one too, it's very normal, good luck to you Nancy:smile:

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I think I went through an angry/frustrated phase because it didn't work for me like it did for everyone else. Thought things would be different but I'm glad to have it out now. Good luck to you both! Nancy.:crying:

OHDEBBO. I understand your nervousness as my 20 yo had the RNY last May and not a day goes by that I don't worry, it's normal. She would not go on line either so anytime I was worried or there was a situation I went to a different forum that had RNYs also and they were very supportive and helpful to me. They helped calm my nerves a bit. Good luck to all of you, Nancy.:crying:

Got mine 8/22/07, removed it 10/3/08.

I still think anything goes when you're in a forum room like "Life After Lap-Band Removal". People should be able to express their problems without newcomers freaking out because they don't want to hear anything negative about the band. If I had heard more information I may not have been banded in the first place and would have avoided a whole year of frustration and grief! It's not the right solution for everyone and sometimes difficult to know if it will or won't work for you, Nancy

Babe, Just be aware that the junk food that a lot of us crave will go right through the band no matter what your restriction unless of course you can't swallow your own spit which would be too tight! I had my band out last Friday because of eating around the band and also reflux problems. Certain antidepressants and anxiety meds can make losing weight difficult anyway so take all that into consideration when deciding on what WLS to have. Good luck Nancy.

I think I've been pretty vocal about my issues with the band. I was a yo yoer and I did not do well with the band and it was removed last Friday. Had it for over 13 months.

I don't know much about acting in Australia but here in the states we have community theaters and you have people in all shapes and sizes and ages. My daughter has always been active in the theater and she's always been a plus size girl and has had many starring rolls, she also sings and has a beautiful voice and has much confidence in herself which I'm very proud of. If they have something like that there jump in it's a great place to meet a lot of nice people. It's not like movies or TV where there's so much emphasis on being a certain look or size, at least not here, good luck Nancy.

That's good to know about the dial soap. I was banded about 13 months ago and they made me wash with dial antibacterial soap for three days prior to surgery, it was just routine for them. So maybe things have changed, thanks for adding that info, Nancy.:crying:

I was banded over a year ago and it just wasn't right for me. I didn't have the self control needed to not eat the stuff that went right through the band. I was under the assumption that it would limit all solids but I was wrong! Plus I had some complications recently with my esophagus and acid reflux which should be taken care of now that it's gone. I was the same way about not wanting to touch my incisions when I was first banded but for some reason I have the exact incisions as banded but I'm not as nervous now, it's weird! Good luck to you, Nancy:smile:

Thanks Kathy I appreciate it and hope you do well also, Nancy.:crying: