Gwendolyn Smythe

Hello All,
I have been banded over five years. NO PROBLEMS. I am afraid to think how much weight I would have gained with out the band. I am gratefull to who ever came up with lap bands and my wonderful surgeon who did the surgery.

Hello All,
I have been banded over five years. NO PROBLEMS. I am afraid to think how much weight I would have gained with out the band. I am gratefull to who ever came up with lap bands and my wonderful surgeon who did the surgery.

So I have to start my saying that i had my lapband in 2006 and have lost 45 kilograms, and have had a Tummy Tuck and my arms done 12 months ago. Believe it or not im still recovering, my arms are pretty great i must say im very happy with them.
My tummy has been a long process, i still have some pain in my abdomen and part of it is still numb a year on! I think i can feel scar tissue as it hurts to touch, and i had an infection in hospital after the surgery where they had to go in and reoperate.
I do lots of gym work but unfortunately i have skin EVERYWHERE... to be removed.
I have 3 more operations ahead of me, my upper tummy, thights, and breasts.
Im just trying to get to my goal weight before having anymore surgery and im still about 10 kilograms off it.
Finding weight loss at this point really difficult to achieve.
Despite my surgery issues, i would recommend this to anyone that has taken the time and effort to lose a substantial amount of weight..
I just need to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Congratulations Hazel! I am also anxious to see the pics. Hope you are doing well.

Yayyyyy! I'm so excited for you!! Do you feel good? I had my body lift and I cried when I looked in the mirror on the 2nd day and my 'overhang' was gone. I can't wait to see pics!

Oct 8th I had my cosmetic procedures done. It's been 3 days and all is going well. I will be posting pics and a write up on each day as soon as I return home in 2 weeks. Hope it'll help all those interesting in CS in the future.

hi,
i was banded 6 years ago and havent had any problems except ones i caused (ie. not chewing enough; eating too fast; having my restriction too tight.)
i havent had a fill for 2 years but i still have restriction which i'm happy.
the only issue i'm dealing with now is the head hunger and i am going to beat this.....
while i was losing my weight, i came on the site alot and stayed away from the negativity. the site seems to be more positive now. back then there were alot of trouble makers and what i call "princess sharp-tongues" ha!
but i dont think i wouldve been as successful as i have been without information i received on here. i found both my lapband doctor and my plastic surgeon on here and am thrilled....
anyway i am really happy i have my band....

The only that helps even a little is weight strengthening. But even then, there's no guarantee you won't have loose skin..
Whether or not you have excess is decided by a lot of factors. Genetics, age, how long you've been overweight and how overweight you are, hydration, whether or not you smoke, and even where you carry the weight. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, if you're going to have excess skin there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it.

CONGRATULATIONS. I had my "wings" removed for several reasons. Pain was way less than I expected, hardly any at all. Healing started very quickly, slowed down, and now is going quickly again. I look at my arms and can not believe how great they look. Very proud of your accomplishment.

Just a quick update... I can't believe my surgery is less than a week away! Due to stress eating and a loose band, my weight is up by about 15 pounds from my lowest... Not where I wanted to be but right now it is what it is. After surgery and recovery I will have my band re-tightened and get back seriously into diet and exercise.

Best wishes!

I have stayed the same weight, within 1-2 pounds for about 2 years now without counting calories or really even watching what I eat much. I think the key for me has been getting a tiny fill about once a year. I can feel when it's time and don't wait for a big weight gain before I go get that tiny "maintenance fill."
Of course it may not be that easy for everyone......I don't have hormone issues (hysterectomy at young age).
As far as things being back to normal...... it's is a new normal. Life in general is back to normal, but my eating will never be the way it was before the band. I have not eaten a full plate of food since July of 2009. This is my normal now.

OMG, I thought I was the only one having problems! I feel like a lapband failure. I got the band in February of 2009. I was doing great, the weight was falling off until my third fill after surgery. I couldn't keep down scrambled eggs. I've tightened/loosened/tightened, and I just can't find that sweet spot. The nutritonist says that I need to get at least 8 hours of sleep, but I have horrible insomnia. So I take OTC sleeping pills to try and sleep, and when I finally get into a decent sleep, I wake up gasping, coughing, stuff coming out of my nose, sometimes running to the bathroom to throw up. I gain weight every time we loosen me, so I don't want to get anything taken out this time. I am SOOOOOO frustrated, I can't begin to tell you. If I eat out, I don't have this problem - I watch what I'm eating, I don't finish the meal, but I don't have sleep problems. Only when I cook for myself. All I can eat right now is calorie countdown milk (1 cup) with Carnation sugar free instant Breakfast, 1 chicken thigh and broccoli (both boiled), and a hamburger (hamburger pattie, whole wheat bun toasted really dry, 1 slice of cheese (thin sliced, 40 calories). I don't know what to do. My doctor told me when I first went for my consultation that there is a 30% failure rate, and I think I'm in that 30%. This was the last resort.

I had a similar experience, to the point that I had to stay up later at night than I wanted because I could tell that lying down would make it worse. I went back for a check and the PA at my physician's office told me that acid reflux wasn't possible with a lapband, that what I was experiencing was an inflamed esophagus from food getting backed up in the esophagus because my band was too tight. She took out 2 cc and I immediately felt better and have had no more problems. I'm to go back in a couple of weeks for a small fill, about 1 cc, to keep me losing. Has anyone else been told that acid reflux is impossible with lapband?

I don't pop on here at LBT as much as I used to because I figured out how the band works with my own body. I'm still working it. I have been busy living life and loving every moment. The band has been the best thing I have done for myself in a very long time. Believe me, this is the first place I will come if I start having any sort of problem. It's a great place to learn and a great place to find out how other bandsters deal with any problem that may happen.
I believe the band works differently for different people. We all have to figure it out on our own somewhat. I posted my thoughts on many topics over the first couple years and hope I helped many after me in some way. There have been bad attitudes and people who don't agree with my methods..... oh well....... that ignore list can come in very handy

Hi, the best advice I can give you is to have at least 60 grams of Protein every day. When I do this my healing is quicker than when I don't. The reason I did not do it for one surgery - is I forgot. Once I increased my Protein, the healing went quickly.
Thanks or keeping us posted.

I am having a breast lift and arm lift in 20 days! I am so excited. I will post before and after pictures. Any advice on preparing for the surgery? I see my doctor on the 9th for the pre-op appointment.

I am having Breast lift without implants and an arm lift done at the same time. I will let you know how it goes!!

Lots of interesting things here, I was banded in Nov of 05! I am happy to report that had I lost 130 lbs and was at goal weight for 2 years, That was then Nov 08. In Feb 09 I developed stage 2 Her 2 nu+ breast cancer. I had severe complications. I truly believe that had I not been physically on top of things, I don't think I would have survived. So, before my cancer surgery, I went to get a complete unfill as I expected to be vomiting a lot from the chemo. I was bed ridden for 30 months. Yes. I lost a lot of muscle, I did gain weight. I was absent from this forum because of the extreme meds I was on. I experienced and am still recovering from cognitive impairment, I am alive. I have circadian sleep disturbances from not having a day nite life for a while. I am in physical therapy in a warm Water pool to build muscle. I have begun to loose weight but It is a mental and physical battle I have a very minor fill. I don't think my band Dr. could really believe my journey and he was not sure I should have a fill, so it is just 1cc.. I am taking things slowly, give myself grace as i feel like at my age, I am not sure muscle will ever return again. My body is disfigured terribly, I just want to be healthy, not beautiful, (necessarily lol) My hair is back, My skin is over sized but I will not be able to have reconstructive surgery. I want to regain my focus. I checked into the forum because Alex sent an e-mail inviting me back as I have not posted for such a long time. I do not know if it was auto generated, but it doesn't matter, IT WORKED! My band has been my friend. It taught me to listen to my body. I still have it and we are still friends. It is a tool. We need to take care if it and it will take care of us. Please know I am not superwoman, but I am blessed. It is my faith in God that kept my hope alive to press through to now and I will continue to press on and fight the good fight. I believe there is more for me to be here on this earth for, so I will need to be stronger to be able to do it! Ok nuff said, its true if things go well, folks usually drift away, but also if things go terribly south, folks are away too! Good night!

I went 15 months without "complications". My history with the band is documented in my blog and visible to all. You can mess your band up by overeating, causing yourself to vomit, taking NSAIDs. You can fail to lose by eating around your band, eating slider foods, Cookies, chips crackers. BUT, and it's a very big BUT (no pun intended) you can do EVERYTHING right and still have complications and/or failure to lose. There are so many variables to the band equation (surgeons, PAs, individual anatomy, conditions, diseases, etc) that affect your ability to lose weight with the band and keep it off.
ID like to also point out that while posting about complications is regarded as some as "negative", "complaining" or "bashing", those of us who have done so are either looking for others who've had similar issues to help resolve our problems or to make newbies aware that these things can happen and help others recognize them early on to avoid much bigger problems. In no way is sharing ones experience honestly, intended to be a negative, complaining, bashing post by most people.
I want to add that the risk of complications is found at http://www.lapband.com/hcp/en/risk_information/
Patients can experience complications after surgery. Most complications are not serious but some may require hospitalization and/or re-operation. In the United States clinical study, with 3-year follow-up reported, 88% of the 299 patients had one or more adverse events, ranging from mild, moderate, to severe. Nausea and vomiting (51%), gastroesophageal reflux (regurgitation) (34%), band slippage/pouch dilatation (24%) and stoma obstruction (stomach-band outlet blockage) (14%) were the most common post-operative complications. In the study, 25% of the patients had their band systems removed, two-thirds of which were following adverse events. Esophageal dilatation or dysmotility (poor esophageal function) occurred in 11% of patients, the long-term effects of which are currently unknown. Constipation, diarrhea and dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) occurred in 9% of the patients. In 9% of the patients, a second surgery was needed to fix a problem with the band or initial surgery. In 9% of the patients, there was an additional procedure to fix a leaking or twisted access port. The access port design has been improved. Four out of 299 patients (1.3%) had their bands erode into their stomachs. These bands needed to be removed in a second operation. Surgical techniques have evolved to reduce slippage. Surgeons with more laparoscopic experience and more experience with these procedures report fewer complications.