I came to this site in hopes of support for the lap band. I read nothing but horrible things happening to people. I know there are people out there that are happy with their bands. Are they all so happy they have chosen not to come here anymore. Support is supposed to make you happy, yet I'm constantly unhappy about things that are happening to people that are banded. It's such an expense, I'm rethinking it seriously. I can't afford some of the things that are happening to people. My dr. insisted on this over bypass surgery because it was safer, but it seems to me to take lots more upkeep. My daughter had her bypass, a check-up, and never went back. She received some support info by mail and never even read it. She did it all by herself and with a support group that was truly supportive. I'm NOT in any way saying that gastric by-pass is an alternative for me because my dr. forbids it, but I wish my dr. read more of the stuff on here and perhaps she would not be encouraging me to get the band.

So much has happened on here and I'm sad for so many people.

Please bring the happy bandsters back

Count me as a happy banster! I love my band!

I am happy

I have lost over 50 lbs in one year and feel really great. 50 more to go and would not have done this without my trusty band!!

i am very happy. I was banded 12/13/05 amd down 27 lbs and my clothes are alresdt getting baggy I trylly feel this is the best thing I could have done.

God Bless,

Tammy

i am very happy. I was banded 12/13/05 amd down 27 lbs and my clothes are alresdt getting baggy I trylly feel this is the best thing I could have done.

God Bless,

Tammy

I'm an eroded bandster but none the less I am still a happy bandster

I'm almost 3 and a half years out and I'm quite happy with my band although the closer I get to goal, the slower the weightloss is. I think that's normal.

Also, for whatever reason, there aren't a bunch of longer-term post-ops here. So it is harder to see the big picture.

That's probably the biggest problem for me. I'm not banded yet and I only see relatively new banders stories. The longer term people here seem to be the ones with erosion, etc. all of which is scaring the hell out of me.

I wish the 5-10 year people would give their experiences.:phanvan

I'm not just happy....I'm thankful. What a wonderful tool this is. But, just like any tool it must be USED and it takes CONCENTRATION. Eat too much, too fast, and BAM!. Just like a hammer. Lose your concentration and BAM! a very sore thumb. So should I throw away my hammer? Silly.

I'm down more than a hundred pounds. IF it all stopped right now I'd still be happy. It's wonderful.

Now, here's something I wrote about a friend of mine. Read it and you'll know the real reason I'm happy about my band, and you'll know how I feel about UNREASONABLE worrying about complications. Look into it, yes, heed warnings, yes. Let hearing about the complications of others make your decision for you? NO.

Kent:

I saw an old friend today................but he didn't see me. He didn't greet me, or shake my hand, or grace my ears with his booming laugh. He couldn't.

He couldn't get out of the casket he lay in. He was a big man, and it was a big casket. You see he loved to hunt, and camp, and fish, and....eat.

His wife was out the other day, and when she got home, Kent was no longer in.

I had known him for many years. Since Patty and I met some seventeen years ago. He always had a good word, and a smile, and a merry twinkle in his eye. His beard went white while his hair was still dark, and his laugh was so joyful, so infectious that it made Santa seem depressed by comparison. And, oh yes. He had the kindest eyes I've ever seen.

When I went to my first meeting for the Lap Band Kent was there. He was just sixty years old and he was being refused the surgery because Dr. Cudjoe doesn't do them on folks over sixty.

But Kent was the kind of guy who didn't fit the actuarial charts. After he met with the good Doctor it was settled.....if the insurance would cover it. He was scheduled for the surgery on three occasions, and each time the insurance fell through.

He had enough money to cover the $40,000.00 that Cudjoe wanted but Kent's wife wouldn't let him rob their nest egg. So now he resides in an oversize wooden box, festooned with satin, and trimmed in death.

To the insurance company, and even his wife it seems, he wasn't worth it. Yet he was shown three nights in a row. And each time it was an hour and a half wait in line to pay respects. Three days of people lined up out the door and down the block. Not worth it? How many lives like mine and Patty's were darkened by his passing?

He had children who had just given him grandchildren. He had friends. Yet someone, somewhere, decided what the fat man was worth.

And, yes, that angers me. But something angers me even more. Each day I read about fears on other WLS sites. Fear of complication. Sad and fearful laments "What if something goes wrong? What if I erode, what if I reject, what if I get infected?"

The complications of Weight Loss Surgery. Ask Kent about the complications of NOT getting weight loss surgery. Risky? Yep, it's risky. So is apnea, diabetes, stroke, hypertension, heart attack. They seem risky too.

So, you're thinking about WLS? And you're worried that something bad MIGHT happen? Well it might. BUT.........if you don't do it.......Something bad WILL happen.

And I wonder something else. Could all the worry over complications be your addiction trying to survive? Could it be a subconscious stalling tactic? A tricky form of denial?

I beg anyone who is wavering to think of Kent. He had no doubts. He was ready to forge ahead. He knew the risks, and he knew that SOME chance is still better than NO chance. If you have this tool at your disposal why continue to plod slowly but surely up Death's walk and to His doorstep? Turn aside, and take a chance to live. To put life in your years. Fear is the enemy.

Love, Ryan.

Happy here too! Oh yeah wouldn't change it for anything!! Losing weight and gaining a whole new perspective on life. Besides I love this board and the people. Everyone is supported through good and bad!!! Cool bunch of folk on this sight!!!!

So happy to read a positive post about the band. There have been so many recent negative things happening...slippage, erosion, port infections and leaks, that I was beginning to not check in so often. I'm sooooo happy you are happy and hope you continue happily on your journey. You have given me new found confidence about being banded.

For those of you who want to stop checking in when the news here isn't as good as you hope, why not start your OWN thread about the good things for you about the band?????

Why not start your OWN thread about how happy the band made you today?

DON'T stop coming here! Starting posts about how the band has made a postive impact on your life helps EVERYONE, including yourself.

It helps make the board more balanced. It gives people something to look forward to. It reminds you of how good it is to be banded.

It is NOT a slap in the face to those who are having problems.

I challenge all you happy lurkers out there to start your OWN posts about how happy you are with the band today. Come on, you can do it!!

If you want to read happy news, post happy news - it doesn't have to be a major happening!

:clap2:

51 days out and down 30 ish lbs i feel amazing. there is no doubt in my mind that i would have continued to gain had i not done this for myself. i am getting ready to go to new orleans for 6 weeks to support the katrina relief effort there. 30 lbs ago it would not have been possible. i was just too uncomfortable...my knees would not have allowed me to be on the go for 12 hours a day. my weight was keeping me from doing the things in life i wanted to do.

is it always easy? no. but i would do it again and again. very happy bandster here!!!

Hi everyone! I am two days out from getting my band. Surgery went well and I am sore but dealing with it. Staying close to pain meds. I am very hungry. I try to sip all day long but doesn't seem to help. Will this get better? It is very uncomfortable. I wonder if it is hunger or pain?

I am on clear liquids today yet and tomarrow I start on full liquids.

Hi everyone! I am two days out from getting my band. Surgery went well and I am sore but dealing with it. Staying close to pain meds. I am very hungry. I try to sip all day long but doesn't seem to help. Will this get better? It is very uncomfortable. I wonder if it is hunger or pain?

I am on clear liquids today yet and tomarrow I start on full liquids.

Congrats Hairagain! I bet it is more hungry than pain, but only you can figure it out. Good news it it will get better everyday-for sure!! As to being uncomfortable well it took me about 2 wks to feel 100%.

If you were to start your own thread topic I bet you'll get loads more of responses. This thread was on a different subject & started by Tomorrowsdream & therefore may not get you the support your needing. Try & start a new one under "Support" by yourself & I promise people will help you out. Good Luck

Tomorrowsdream- I am a happy bandster allbeit a slow loser. I do find that I have learned more & more about size proportion as each mnth goes by. I believe my brain may actually be catching up w/the program. Its taken about 7 mnths & finally things have started to click for me. I know no matter what your going to make the right decision & I also know that no matter what when the weight comes off & your feel lighter & stronger you'll be so much happier. Best of luck on your journey!

I am a happy bandster also, lost 90 pounds in 7 1/2 months, my dr. says alot of the weight loss is due to following directions and working out so much not the band but I couldn't have did any of this without the band, I think it is the best thing I have ever did for myself. and it has made a huge change in my life...I wish anyone considering the band the best of luck in dealing with Insurances and the journey with the band itself, it has been a godsend for me...

(the other minute is when I step on the scale and either jump for joy or swear...my husband finds the whole morning ritual hilarious now )

I just had to laugh at this. I'm not a bandster yet, but I do have a funny story about the scale. Years ago I used to have a digital scale that was not 100% accurate. I would weigh myself 3-4 times in the morning and then take an average of the numbers.

Well one morning I didn't have my glasses on and I couldn't see the scale. So I would step on the scale, wait until it beeped, get off, bend over to see the result, step back on, and repeat.

My husband watched this strange ritual and asked me, "Why are you bowing to the scale?"

:clap2: Although an innocent question, what a great summation of what we do!