I'm just wondering...I friend just said to me "Well good luck my wife and her friend both had lapband and it didn't work for them", Now I'm kind of freaking out about it. So does anyone know the statistics of the failure rate?

Thanks,

Karie

Getting banded April 26, 2012

What I have found from reading people's stories, 90% of the time people say "Lap Band didn't work for me" it should really read "I didn't work with my Lap Band"

Too often go into this surgery thinking it's some magic bullet that will make them lose weight without any work or change on their part. They don't follow up on their fills so they don't have any restriction and can eat as if they weren't banded at all. Or they eat small amounts but unhealthy foods, high in fat and calories. Some even eat around their bands, washing food through with Water so they can eat more or eating slider foods like crazy.

You must change your eating habits for a life time and work with your band. It's a tool and just like all tools if you don't use it correctly then it's not going to work.

It is pretty rare the band to truly fail someone, usually it's a matter of the person failing themselves.

My friend was banded about a month before I was. She was very succesful at first and then (like most women do) decided she lost weight so she could cheat. When she started gaining and couldn't stop then her mentality was I eat a lot of ice cream because that is all I can get down. When I would say why can't you get a sugar free popsicle down she would shut down. Now she says she can't get anything but liquids down but I go to lunch with her and she eats the entire plate of food. One of her problems is she thinks the band is her miracle and she will go get filled but she is using slider foods and probably overfilling the band. I try not to say anything but I have suggested she just get it deflated and when she is mentaly ready start over because she is just torturing herself. I have had success but it isn't fast (I started with a low BMI) and it hasn't been easy. I have a short list of foods I can eat comfortably and my band is very touchy. You can be very successful but you have to be the one to do it and not expect the band to do the work for you.

Some even eat around their bands, washing food through with Water so they can eat more or eating slider foods like crazy.

I don't know how people do this because if I touch liquid close to my food then I PB everything up. IDK how they can wash food through.

I sorta agree with above post, working lap band can be difficult at times. It really does require you to learn to work the program. I have lost 96 lbs and I did not lose that weight just because I had lap band. The lap band is my new conscious, it makes me think before I eat and requires me to make a conscious decision about what I put in my body. There are no alarms, no bells and whistles. If I want to eat junk, believe me I can eat junk and it always goes down when protein will not. If I am having a difficult day eating like today for example, I have to work extra hard at making sure I get in my protein. I do not regret my surgery it has given me the tools and is teaching me to be accountable for my life and all of my decisions good or bad. Good luck to you, just remember to have a positive attitude and know that if you do this you need to walk into it with your eyes wide open.

I agree with all of the above post, my surgery was 8 months ago, with a BMI of 35 and I have lost close to 70 lbs. But I have work hard at it, I don't expect the band to do everything for me. I actually have only 2 fills so far, and I know

I'm in the need to get another one, (my surgeon is 6 hour drive) but even If I can get just about anything past my band, I have make a conscious decision of not failing one more time in my life. I can honestly say that for the first time in my life I actually enjoy working out, I go to the gym 5 and even 6 times a week. But most of all I like the new me.

I sorta agree with above post, working lap band can be difficult at times. It really does require you to learn to work the program. I have lost 96 lbs and I did not lose that weight just because I had lap band. The lap band is my new conscious, it makes me think before I eat and requires me to make a conscious decision about what I put in my body. There are no alarms, no bells and whistles. If I want to eat junk, believe me I can eat junk and it always goes down when Protein will not. If I am having a difficult day eating like today for example, I have to work extra hard at making sure I get in my protein. I do not regret my surgery it has given me the tools and is teaching me to be accountable for my life and all of my decisions good or bad. Good luck to you, just remember to have a positive attitude and know that if you do this you need to walk into it with your eyes wide open.

Great post LovetheNewMe....I love your insight /perspective!