I have just been approved to have lap band surgery and was looking online for forums..I found one by mostly gastric bypass patients and they all said they would never have the lap band and a couple of people described having serious complications and having the band removed. One of the things that alarmed me the most, were stories of scar tissue growing over the band and major pain as a result and having to have a surgeon locate the band and remove it. Please tell me if this is a fairly common thing. Makes me really worried. I thought I would opt for lap band as the least invasive procedure and less complicated. I do realize all surgery has risks..but the amount of people on that board saying that bypass is better for long term weight loss and less complications has me second guessing.

We humans have a tendency to talk about the bad and hide the good away in our hearts a little too much I think. Lap band is highly successful and if it didn't work surgeons would stick to bypass.

There is a lot of bad press on the internet for nearly anything you want. If you were on amazon searching for some new Nikes and there were 100 reviews on a shoe... you can assuredly find that

10 of them are less than spectacular. Which ones are people most likely to read? The negative. We are always more interested in what could go wrong rather than what should go right.

If you are unsure so more research, wait, go to a support group, or talk to the surgeon. You never want to go under questioning yourself.

It'll be ok!

yes, there are some people whose bands slip or erode but i've heard horror stories about gastric bypass too!

i really believe there are many more successful bands out there than there are failed ones.

there is no shame in holding off surgery if you want to do more research but i think we all second guessed ourselves at least once before having surgery!

I agree that you should do your research - and part of that is coming on here and hearing the experiences of people with the lap band. You will find that there are a lot of different opinions about it. It works great for some people and for others it never quite works as promised.

One thing I can tell you is that the people who have had GBP (and have never had the band) can only speak about what they have heard...they are not speaking from experience. For example, the support group I attend is for all WLS patients but until I joined there were no lap band patients, only GBP and sleeve. I found that they were extremely outspoken that everyone should do their type of surgery to the point that when a person interested in getting banded attended our meeting they pulled him aside in an effort to convince him that the band wouldn't work for him. I was a bit shocked by this and made sure that I told him about my experience and suggested to him that he needed to research the various types of WLS and choose what was best for him. Now that I have been a part of this group for a while and they have gotten to know me, whenever someone comes in who is interested in the band, they send them to talk to me. They are also amazed at how fast I am losing - there is a member of the group who had GBP a couple of weeks after I was banded and my weight loss is on track with hers.

All types of WLS have the risk of complications but studies have shown that although GBP patients lose weight faster at the beginning, when you look at long-term weight loss the methods are comparable. For me, I did not want to have a procedure that would alter my internal organs so I chose the band...it is what works for me...you need to decide what will work best for you.

Good Luck!

Great you are researching the choices and making serious study of what may be best for you.

I was member of several live support groups early in my Banding Life. In those days they were all RNY patients. While of good intention, I found them ill informed and highly opinionated with grossly distorted beliefs based on no actual statistical information.

No the Band doesn't work for everybody. Whatever the complication rate may be, a careful search by YOU should answer whatever questions you need to resolve in your decision making process. Asking the RNY crowd about the Band is of very limited value.

Here's why I chose the Band:

Adjustable

Repairable

Removable

Replaceable

After 6+ years, only the 'adjustable' feature has been required in tending to my needs.

Cheers in your journey....keep researching until you have your answer.

I had people at work pull me aside...they actually called it an INTERVENTION. One was banded with only 40 pounds lost. One was banded with about the same then changed to bypass (without stellar results). I watch them both make poor eating choices.

For me, i opted for the band in the end:

1. adjustable

2. not permanent (although I plan on it being for me)

3. No malabsorption of what I do eat (for me this is mentally healthiest---to learn how to properly eat)

4. fewer issues with malnutrition down the road

5. No dumping syndrome

6. Less invasive with shorter recovery time

Just a note that with the band weight loss tends to be slower, but long-term compred to bypass they pretty much equal out (Australian15 yr studies). I think it's sfe to say for us that are banded, we tend to just realize it's not a race. It's a lifetime of change.

Whaatever your decision, I just really encourage you to take your time in researching and really be sure. :-) There's no right or wrong as a whole, just what is right or wrong for YOU.

I opted for lap band based on the same reasons as Jack: Adjustable , Repairable, Removable, Replaceable. It's what I felt most comfortable doing. In addition, my surgeon will no longer perform gastric bypass because he decided it was too risky & if he wouldn't recommend his friends & family to have gastric bypass he wouldn't perform the surgery any longer either.

I can sit here and name at least 10-15 stories of things going wrong from people who had bypass. You have to do the research and then make your choice, it's all about what you feel more comfortable doing. Good luck on your journey!

When I told my primary doctor that I was considering WLS she looked at me and I hope you're talking about the lap Band right? I said yes but why. She looked funny and said that "Well we've lost patients due to the other surgery." She went on to say that her practice has done follow-up care on several bypass patients that were in and out of the hospital for bypass-related problems and she repeated that she has seen patients lost after it. Meaning die. Sooo.... I'm not going there. I would however consider the sleeve, but I'm leaning toward the band because of it being adjustable and reversible.

Great you are researching the choices and making serious study of what may be best for you.

I was member of several live support groups early in my Banding Life. In those days they were all RNY patients. While of good intention, I found them ill informed and highly opinionated with grossly distorted beliefs based on no actual statistical information.

No the Band doesn't work for everybody. Whatever the complication rate may be, a careful search by YOU should answer whatever questions you need to resolve in your decision making process. Asking the RNY crowd about the Band is of very limited value.

Here's why I chose the Band:

Adjustable

Repairable

Removable

Replaceable

After 6+ years, only the 'adjustable' feature has been required in tending to my needs.

Cheers in your journey....keep researching until you have your answer.

Nice to see you back, Shirley.

I have known people who have died from bypass. Last year I took my neighbor to the Funeral Parlor, so he could see the results of by pass, with problems. He was devastated. They went through school together.

Mother, Daughter team. Mother did fine,,, Daughter withered away, and died at a Lap Band meeting. They thought she was sleeping. I sure felt sorry for the Mother.

Friend of our Family died of Organ Failure do to by pass.

So I would not give it a thought.

No wls is going to work unless you know how to work it. None of it is a guarantee on permenant weight loss unless you make it happen. You can have the band, the by pass, the sleeve and if you dont follow the rules then forget it you are not going to keep the weight off. All surgery comes with risk every single one even toe nail removal however the chances of something bad happening hasnt been enough with any surgery for them to ban it. It doesnt matter how healthy you are going under anesthesia in its self is a risk. You have to do what is right for you not listen to everyone else's stories. To me the band is a savior but also at the same time a real pain in the ass. Im happy with my results but I really cant stand some days and most days relying on protein shakes and protein bars because of various reasons my band is too tight sometimes to eat and other times there is no problem eating. No wls is easy by any means. I dont regret the weight loss but the daily chore of eating I regret. You have to decide which one is right for you because when it comes down to it in the end if you are not ready to deal with whatever complications or problems associated with the surgery of choice then it is better not to have any

No wls is going to work unless you know how to work it. None of it is a guarantee on permenant weight loss unless you make it happen. You can have the band, the by pass, the sleeve and if you dont follow the rules then forget it you are not going to keep the weight off. All surgery comes with risk every single one even toe nail removal however the chances of something bad happening hasnt been enough with any surgery for them to ban it. It doesnt matter how healthy you are going under anesthesia in its self is a risk. You have to do what is right for you not listen to everyone else's stories. To me the band is a savior but also at the same time a real pain in the ass. Im happy with my results but I really cant stand some days and most days relying on Protein shakes and protein bars because of various reasons my band is too tight sometimes to eat and other times there is no problem eating. No wls is easy by any means. I dont regret the weight loss but the daily chore of eating I regret. You have to decide which one is right for you because when it comes down to it in the end if you are not ready to deal with whatever complications or problems associated with the surgery of choice then it is better not to have any

That's true to a certain extent ! When you get low from a Vitamin deficiency, and get get back up, then in time you can die. That depends on your body's system.

If you can't get your Vitamins in, then you sure can't eat properly.

That's why this one is a little more than a 50/50 chance.

As far as the nails done,,, Had both feet done this winter. It's a breeze.

Loss of electrolytes and trace mineral balance are an issue that suffer in many malabsorbtion scenarios

I have scaring over my port. There is no pain at all. They go in with a needle to fill it, and push slow, then Waite, then push again, there in the port, and they can do whatever they want, or whatever I want..... Mind you this is pain free. There is so much fat on the stomach, that you don't even feel the needle go in, Just a little pinch, if that.