I read these posts on erosion and slips and I just start to freak out. Every day I keep a prayer in my heart "Please God, don't let me lose my band!". But I'm sure everyone has that prayer in their heart.

It's almost to the point where I'm too scared to enjoy my success for fear that one day my band may be gone.

I know there are no answers. I'm just feeling stressed about the what if's.

anyway there's really no point to this post except that I worry about this on a daily basis!

I feel the same way at times, but I think the best thing is to do what Michelle suggested in her earlier post - take advantage of the band while we have it.

There are so many "what if's" in life .. can't dwell on them, have to live...

Yes I am in a panic - 6 months and little weight loss to show. I feel like I literally have a ticking time bomb in me. I was inspired by her post to really start getting the weight off especially since there could be so little time as people have slipped & eroded in under 1 year of surgery and here I am 6months out.

Reading the Lab-band forums sometimes makes me panic!

I know they're a very useful tool, and great for finding information/support, but people tend to post here when they've a problem, giving the impression that "slipped bands", "band erosion", "flipped ports", and "no weight loss" are very common, when they're not.

Yes, I woke up last night at 3 am thinking about Michelle and her band. But I'd rather know whats happening than to be blindsided.

Stress can cause the body so much damage... we must learn to chill out, me being #1 nut.

ENJOY THE DAY !!!!!! and don't worry about it until it comes (if it comes )

I think about it like this. My lap band is a prosthetic device I obtained in order to help my body work better. If it fails, causes a problem, or needs adjustment, I just plan to have it taken care of in the same way I'd prioritize having a replacement joint maintained, or an artificial heart valve. There's no point worrying about the possibility that something will go wrong. A substantial portion of the medical community has placed its faith in this product and the inference I make is that I can too. But there are no certainties in medicine, so I have to allow for the possibility that further work of some sort may be needed some day.

I'm certainly not going to worry about it every day. For now, the band is in place, doing what it's supposed to do, and I will do my best to take care of it so it will continue to be secure for as long as possible.

Wise words Alex.

Alex,

I agree..Life is full of unexpected twists. To worry about events in the future that may or may not happen is a waste of time and we can't change the ultimate course. It is what it is.. In the meantime, eating healthy, following Drs. orders is excellent advice.

Hi

It's just that there really are a lot more complications with the band than what people are aware of or what we want to see when we are pre-op,I'm not sure which....

This is really scary to me.A lot of you know that I have been having problems with reflux and pain...real pain.I had an unfill recently and the reflux is really a lot better...only during the day now,like before nothing at night...but the pain is just no better.....in fact more often I am getting the "chest" pain feeling with the abdominal pain and yet when I complain at the dr's he just pushes on my stomach,ask if it is sore and when I say no, not particularly...my stomach is sensitive to touch but he say's all is ok......and does nothing....when I insist he says he can take out all my fill but I know that I will not lose weight then...and it feels like he is threatening me with it...(I know that sounds crazy but he knows how desperate I was to lose weight....)

I cannot get him to take this seriously.Sometimes when the pain wakes me up at night I am scared that I am just going to die because no one is listening and the dr will just carry on banding more people without anyone knowing or caring what happened to me...(again,I know this sounds very melodramatic and I am actually laughing when I read this.So I am tempted to delete this again,but if I die then this here is the evidence that something was really wrong...)

I just sometimes wish that I could not feel anyting in my stomach for a while,like before the operation......to just be able to forget about this for a few days...not to worry about it every time the pain gets worse.It got to a point where I was thinking that I was crazy or a hypochondriac until I mentioned this to my family back home....and they again reminded me how I always use to say:ha ha....to pain and sickness....I refused to give in to any sickness.Been healthy as an ox all my life....

So to me,this is a living nightmare....I am sure that pain has a reason.....this cannot be nothing even though for 7 months I have had to treat it like nothing.....and painkillers really takes the pain away but I am to scared to take even paracetamol more than once a week....

Ok,waffled enough about this.I will survive this and I will get thin...no matter what....

O,just as an after thought......if I didnt always "feel" the band and didnt always have pain,discomfort and reflux...I wouldnt have worried about having the band at all.....

Ruthie, you just learn that what will be will be, you can't worry over problem's you think will arise when the chance's are very high that they won't, but one thing i for sure know is that my weight WOULD have had led to a shorter life, and poor quality of life and what about feeling like a second rate citizen and should the worse come to the worse i have already lost weight not very fast like some but more than i ever did before and i have tried everything,so try not to worry

I feel like if I remain fat or more likely, continue to get fatter, I'm going to be there for hip replacements, knee replacements, certainly ankle surgery. I'm probably gonna get gallstones as I hit the fair fat and forty milestone, there's just a myriad of things that being obese contributes too. The likelihood of those is FAR higher than if I get a band, lose the weight and maybe, just maybe have a slip or erosion down the track. Statistically, its not common, and I guess I feel quite secure too knowing that the surgery team I've chosen has a good 10 years of experience behind them.

If it needs maintenance so be it.

I find it hard to get my head round the fact though that I could get three years down the track, be slim and healthy and NOT have changed in my head in some way. Keeping weight off is the hardest part, but how can new habits not be ingrained after that long? You'd have to get used to seeing a certain amount of food on your plate, get used to eating very slowly and carefully etc. Would you really go back to wolfing down entire platters of food in 2 seconds flat? I do wonder about that.

Thank you Jack for helping us remember to calm down and take each moment as they come I too needed a gentle reminder after the widespread panic here.

Desertmom,

You MUST get your doctor to take you serious! You may even suggest the testing that you feel you need. Remember, doctors are people with educated opinions. They are not God. If you do not continue letting him know you are having this pain/reflux - your doctor will think everything is better!

But its not - so you must call his office and get some type of testing to see what is causing this pain! Pain is not nomal!

Please keep us posted.

Hi

Firewheel.I want him to do something.If the pain is not related to the band I would be most relieved and happy....but then the unrelated pain is still a problem and need to be treated....before that can happen someone must diagnose what is going on....

Anyhow,as I see it the other bandsters dont really feel the band.They feel restriction,which I do to, and they can carry on with their lives like before,exercise....ect...thats what I want my dr to do for me......fix whatever is wrong so that I can go on with my life,without the pain,reflux and heartburn as my constant companion......at the moment I will be happy to be without the pain....the heartburn and reflux I am mostly used to after 6 months of it.....the pain you cant get use(d) to...

Some days I feel I need to get back to normal,with or without the band,and some days the realization that I might regain even what I have lost so far scares me so bad that I think I will keep the band even if it kills me...

I panic and I havent even been banded yet. I worry about the newness of this and what if it is long term problems that havent been detected because nobofdy has had it long enough. But at the same time I am eager to get it before it is RECALLED (I survived phen-phen)!