Well it is official..I had an endo yesterday and my band has eroded. I eroded between July 17th when I had my last fill and Nov 21 yesterday when I had my endo. Having my band removed Monday Nov 28th.

Listen up my friends..I do not want sympathy. I have come to terms with this. I am at peace. I cried when I got home but after a good cry I realized how lucky I have been..I am so grateful for the 104 lbs I have lost with my band. I lost more then 60% of my weight with the band unlike the statistics claim . I used my head an did not rely on my band for all of it. I had only 1.5 cc's in my band I did alot of it on my own. My band did it's job, now it is time for me to walk the rest of this journey alone without my band but still with all of you. I met my original weight loss goal by losing 104 lbs so if I never lose another lb ..I'm happy. Dont get me wrong this will be tough and I'm scared to be without my band but my OCD will get me through ..I know I will channel my OCD into not gaining this weght back.

I will not gain this weight back!!!

A word of advice for those of you struggling..get your head out of your ass and use this tool the best you can. Get a grip on those mental demons.dont let head hunger get the best of you ..I am so fortunate to have had the success I had but other who are as far out post op as Iam may not have had such great success so I tell you from the bottom of my heart, lose as much weight as you can while you still have your band...dont mess around with this..Erosion can happen to any of you regardless if you follow the rules and are a perfect bandster at any time .I truly believe it is higher then 1-3%, just my opinion. To let you all know I had zero symptoms other then a gassy trummy which is from my gastritis. I have great restriction. I lost 10 lbs in October . As far as getting a new band in 5-6 months, I can not answer that at this time

Thanks to all of you for all of the support you have given me..I'm still going to be around here and help others the best I can and offer support to any of you who need it

I just want to say that I wish you the best. I know you are strong and I know you will be successful. Just be strong and keep your head on right!

Thanks for answering all of my questions! You really are an inspiration!

Hi Michelle,

Wow, so sorry to hear about your eroded band....you are truly an inspiration to me and to so many others on this board. We are here to support you with or without a band.....you are one of us!!

I am soooo Sorry this happened..But Band or NO Band your still an inspiration to the rest of us! I wish you the best of luck! Keep us updated!

Kristen

I wish the best for you. Hopefully since it has been a year, you know how to excercise, stay focused, eat the right foods and right amount. Wow, you lost over a 100 pounds You are where everyone wants to be. Keep your head up. You are truly a success.

Michelle, with everything you have learned you are gonna do fine. That being said, I am still sad that this has happened. :-(

You have such a great attitude about this, there is no way this is going to get you down. Just remember the bandster rules and apply to your new regime. If anything go against the stats. My doctor always says banding is for life because if the removed the band , we would just gain the weight back. Proove them wrong so that we can all one day hope to get this band removed and live normal healthy lifes.

Michelle thank you for staying with us, I for one really need you on here, you have always been such an inspiration to me. You have done a great job with your band, and I know you will be able to continue without the band as well. You are welcome to call me anytime you need to talk, or my door is always open to you. Thank you for all you have done for me, you have truly been a great friend.

What horrible news for you. Should I assume that you were banded in Mexico and that is the reason for some of the other threads that are springing up. OMG do I ever have to rethink everything again. I'm in a position where I have to hope by the first of Jan. that Medicare DOESN'T cover it now, because if it doesn't I can get my surgery in Salt Lake City...otherwise I'm stuck except for Mexico.

I wish you only the best.

You have been and is still an inspiration to me. Whenever I see your smiling face, LaMadam, and 104....I think WOW I can do that too. Thank You

As so many others have said, you are a true inspiration to me. You have been through so much in your lifetime, but yet you still maintain your positive, "can do" attitude.

I am eternally grateful to you for sharing your story. I know I don't have a fill yet, but I'm getting my head out of my butt and I begin exercising again TODAY. No more excuses, no more saying I don't have the time, IT STARTS TODAY!!!!!!

This makes me realize that I don't know what my doctor will find when she goes to do my first fill. It's been over a year, so who knows. I gotta rock this freekin band NOW, and I commit to gaining no weight over the holidays.

Thank you Michelle. You really are an amazing woman.

Lots of Love To You, ~Kel

Michelle,

I am so sorry to hear about your erosion. Best of luck to you and I will send a prayer your way on the 28th.

What a nightmare, I'm so sorry Michelle that you have to endure this. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise? How many times in life have we had something awful feeling happen, only to find that it was a good thing in the end? I wish you happy healing, and continued good health with everything. Here's hoping you wake up with continued restriction, and a ghost band. Good Luck and (huggggs)

(((Michelle)))

I'm mad. MY erosion was supposed to be the 1-3% for this board - NO ONE else was supposed to erode after me!!! *stomps foot*

You're what, the fourth or fifth member of this board to erode? We need our own eroded bandster section of this board!

So glad they caught it early, and that you're able to have it out right away. I remember how creeped out I felt once I'd assimilated the news, and I wanted mine out ASAP as well.

Although the actual removal surgery was a horrible nightmare (time/pain-wise), once that part was over and they got my pain under control recovery was a breeze - honestly, it was almost like I hadn't even HAD surgery. I think the initial pain was from all the adhesion removals.

People, erosions have NOTHING to do with where you were banded - this is NOT a reflection on reputable Mexican surgeons - this is just something that happens, and I tend to agree with Michelle - I think the 1-3% quoted rate is too low.

We are SO SO SO lucky to have a board where the TRUTH about life with the band is allowed to be shared. I dare you to find any other lapband support group that has participating eroded bandsters on it - the other boards tend to run us off.

Yes, it's a scary possibility. But I am here to say that there IS life after the band, and Michelle will be here to say it as well. The band is one of the best decisions I've made, and I was sorry to see it go. I need another one, big time, but it's still not an option at this time. I don't know if I will ever be rebanded, but I'm grateful that I was, once upon a time.

(((Michelle)))

This makes me so sad. I'm sorry Michelle...I know you don't want sympathy but you're going to get it from me anyway. I would be terrified if I were you...scared of living without the band, scared of what the band has done to my stomach, scared of regaining the weight. I am truely inspired by your attitide and am reminded that we can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we react.

Thank you for the kick in the pants. I need it. I have gotten sloppy with my rules. I guess this difficult situation for you is a gift to others.

I'm glad you don't feel like you have to leave this board. And like Donali said, we need those of you that are un-banded around to remind us of what could happen so we dont' take our bands for granted.

Please take care of yourself and keep us posted. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Megan

Wow I am in shock! Im very sorry this has happened... But you know what, You have dont a WONDERFUL job with the band.. you look great, probably feel great. You have a good attitude about it and you have been such a insipration to so many people on the board! Your truely an Angel!!! Hey Thanks for sticking around too... We all still need you here! ((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))