soooooo - I'm getting very encouraged by everyone's success stories (and the photo's on this site are inspirational!) but I'm wondering - do people fail with lap-bands?

I don't have the numbers but it would scare you. It is close to 50% but that depends what you refer to as a failure.

Many fail and from the looks of it it is "usually" those that were clueless as to what was going to be required of them and their surgeons should be held accountable for this.

They going into it thinking that the band is an easy out or magic pill and don't realize they will actually have to work to make the tool work for them. Their surgeons should make this clear to them before slicing through them and placing a foreign object inside of their body.

Others lack the will power it takes follow the rules required by the lapband and are not ready to change their lifestyles and eating habits for the rest of their life. They think of it as another diet and as we all know, diets don't work.

I think that mot of these people should seek therapy to understand the reason behind their overeating and then try again since they already have the tool inside.

Then there are the complications from the band; slippage, erosion, etc...

The lapband is not a fix-all and should not be taken lightly. You have to be ready and want it for yourself.

I don't think the failure rate is 50%. Basic statistics say that the AVERAGE is to lose about 50% of the extra weight you carry. Obviously. an average is just that.....a combination of all the people who managed to eat around their bands and all those who lost successfully however much they lost.

Those who simply fail with the band are going to include those who believed it would magically solve all their food issues. Unfortunately, most of the food issues an overweight person has are in their head rather than their stomach. You'll read here often that the band doesn't help with "head hunger". To succeed, you have to work with your band. If you can make the changes in lifestyle (regular exercise is key) and eating (and this is where the band helps you....portion control) then the odds of success go up greatly for you.

I believe it's completely what you bring to the program. It's NOT a magic bullet, it's a tool.

That 50% failure rate seems very very high. Not buying that one, sorry.

I don't have any statistics as to how many fail, etc. However, I know that in order for MY band to succeed, I have to use it properly. Which for the most part, should be pretty easy (in managing portion sizes).

What I know I WILL have to work on is my cravings for sweets. Over the holidays, this was tough for me, as when I went to my mom's for Christmas, she had lots of sweets, and even though I said I'd allow myself a little, my little became a lot.

We had a New Year's Eve party and while I didn't provide any sweets, a couple of people brought over Desserts. The leftover strawberry cheese pie was left at our house, and I ate more that I care to admit.

However, now there are no sweets in my house. I have my sugar free jellos and puddings and popsicles, but nothing else. I also have to keep my desk free of any sweets. If I don't then I know I will crave.

So for my band to be successful, I have to do my part and make sure I stay away from the sweets. I will allow myself something (maybe once a week, once a month, not sure, haven't decided yet). But this will be something I'll battle every day.

Oh, and one other thing. While one of my goals in getting the band was to lose weight, that was actually just a side effect goal (if that makes sense). My main reason for getting the band (in order to lose weight) was so that we can try to have a baby. We've been through IVF and it failed. We will have to do it again using donor eggs or embryos (full story on my blog), and to reduce any complications during the pregnancy due to being morbidly obese, I have to lose weight. So keeping that in mind (and the fact that I was self-pay), I will not allow myself or my band to fail!