I just wanted to point out to those of you thinking of getting the band that you should ask your lap band dr if he will remove the band or treat you if you have problems with the band and at a later date have no insurance.

That is what has happened to me. I can not eat anything at all hardly. Some days I am in so much pain I barely want to be alive and there is nothing I can do. I can not find a doctor who will help me period.

I am angered that (some of all of the ones I have contacted) are willing to take money from insurance companies and private pay patients but I can not find one willing to help a patient in agony who is banded.

No I do not think it is another doctors responsibility to fix my problem. I understand I made a choice to have the surgery but at the same time you would think with all of the money these dr's are making they could help patients especially their own when they are having problems.

So I suggest you talk to your Dr prior to surgery and get something in writing saying how he will assist you in the event of a crisis situation with regard to your band.

I live everyday in fear that I will die because I had this surgery. Finally after a month I can drink Protein shakes, but things are still far from good.

I just wanted to put that out there cause I think people don't think about 6-10 20 years down the road.

Whilst I feel sorry for you having a problem with a lapband is no different to having any other kind of medical emergency. Dr's are in business to make money, they cannot operate for free. The US healthcare system has always confused and confounded me and I am glad that I am not part of it. I would have thought that it was essential to have some form of medical insurance - if you are not insured how do they treat emergency medical situations?

I am lucky that living in Aus we have a public healthcare system. However it is underfunded, overloaded and very slow.I know if there was an emergency situation and I wasn't insured I would get treatment. For anything elective the wait can be months or years. Therefore I keep my insurance and make sure that it covers my band. Being insured is a bit of a double edged sword - it means you get treated quicker but you also end up paying a fortune in out of pocket expenses because of the difference in the scheduled fee and the actual fee the Dr's charge.

I hope you manage to sort something out and get some relief soon.

^{I didn't have insurance when I got banded, so I don't think there will be a problem with me not having insurance if I have a problem. I will just have to finance it and make payments like I did the first time. My min. monthly payment was around $100.}

^{I'm not sure I understand. Are you expecting a surgeon and a hospital or surg. center to do surgery for free? Just because you believe a Dr. is rich doesn't mean he or she should do your surgery for free. Here in the US if you have a true life threatening emergency you can go to most E.R.s and they have to treat you. Many people never pay the ER bill and that is how they get medical treatment free. The rest of the people who do pay end up paying for those unpaid bills in some way or another. That is one reason hospitals are so expensive.}

^{I'm not sure what kind of work you do, but I would think you expect to get paid. The surgeon also expects to get paid for his work. Many surgeons donate time to the needy as a mission, but I'm not sure lapband would fall in the guidelines of those missions.}

I have been to the ER and the doctors who have never even seen a lap band say there is nothing wrong and are looking at the size of my stomach. It has nothing to do with stomach size. The band is on my esophagus at this point anyway. Which is most certainly not correct.

The doctors have no idea what to do and no surgeon will touch me because I have it. I am not sure what will happen?

I am not saying they are I am simply saying that the fact they will not is something to think about.

I never dreamed as a business owner that I would one day leave it to care for an ailing loved one and be faced with limited resources.

Life changes and I wish I had considered that. My quality of life is far worse than I ever imagined it could be. I was not aware the surgery once healed could cause all of the problems it has caused?

It is scary to think I may not find a doctor who can help.

The ER is not the place for help with lapband. It is a place for emergencies. That being said .....

Where are you located? have you contacted all the bariactric surgeons ? The reason I ask is because my lapband doc retired in October and there were quite a few surgeons in the area wanting to take on all his patients. Income is income and there were at least 4 other surgeons wanting all the retired guy's patients to come to them.

There are no bariatric surgeries where I live, that is the problem.

It is what it is I simply wanted to post this because it is something I never thought of so I thought it was a good idea for others to consider it. I am incredibly sick and it is something I never dreamed would happen. I don't think anyone does to be honest.

I don't know where u live. U should be able to find. A Dr who will remove some silicon from your band it's better to take out more so u don't have to worry till u have coverage again I'm in the same fix as u r