I was curious what the thoughts are of people with the lap-band or anyone really, but what you all think about the lap-band and the big likely hood of having to have a revision or it just plan removed. Basically the fact that it does not seem to last forever. Did you know this when you made your decision or did you find out later? Would you do the same thing or would you do it differently? Do you have any advice for someone contemplating the band? So far I've decided to go with the band anyway, my insurance will cover having it taken out if there is a complication. I'm going to bring it up to the Dr. though. I'm just tossing around the idea of whether or not my thinking is right. I'm thinking I don't want my insides re-routed or cut up and I like the fact that it can be adjusted as you need, although I would do plication but they don't offer it, I'm looking at that possibility of it happening anyway in the future, but I'm thinking they'll maybe know more by then, and there will be different options. What do ya'll think?

~~~Stephanie

I had thoughts just like you, before banding. Like you, didn't want good parts cut up. LB can be reversed.

As far as longevity of band, trusting God, all I can do.

100 times yes, I would do it again in a heart beat. Only wish I could have had it when I was younger. Really enjoying it now!

Here's a recent, accurate study on this topic. Only 5% of Lap Band patients have serious complications of no fault of their own.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/weight-stays-off-long-after-lap-band-surgery/

I've read your post for a while now, and realize you are still on the fence about this. If I could redo today, I'd do the same surgery....But, I'd find a doctor/COE that was approved for plication if possible. Not because the band can't work by itself, but because after reading about it for the last couple of years, I think it will one day be the standard. I think it'll replace the sleeve.

I had those same "should I or shouldn't I" questions you are going thru right now. Everything I read about this surgery 4 years ago, as far as serious complications go, holds true today.

I'm friends with a person on LoseIT who has been banded over 10 ( TEN ) years...and has had no complications.

which ever surgery one gets (sleeve/bypass/ds/band/plication)

unless the person truly changes the type foods they eat (fresh vs boxed/processed) and watch their caloric intake (if one eats more cals then they burn off) they will gain regardless of which surgery they get...just having WLS does not guarantee they will lose..bypass patients are now getting banded.....i feel strongly people want WLS to lose weight and NOT do a dangum thing to help it and then are (surprised) they are not losing 5 pounds a day...

its a mental thing

whichever surgery you get, decide to do the best you can

no half assed, no drama, no bs...that is what i had to do.

seeing my scale at that all time highest number and me having trouble wiping my butt helped me say, yeah, i must do this....

I'm happy with my choice so far. Although there have been some days that I could have thrown in the towel, I'm not going to because this is WORTH IT to me and I'm willing to work through the bad days to reach my goal. Trust me, this is NOT easy and sometimes its just plain hard work, but so worth it. I'm so grateful for the friends I've made here that encourage me along the way as well. Best wishes on your journey.

I was curious what the thoughts are of people with the lap-band or anyone really, but what you all think about the lap-band and the big likely hood of having to have a revision or it just plan removed.

Well, compared to the "Big Likelihood of dying from a heart attack if I remain fat, or the big likelihood of major complications from from the VS or GB, the band is a walk in the park.

The problem is Steph you made an assumption in your question. That assumption is that there is "a big likely hood of having to have a revision or it just plan removed" when there is simply no hard data to support that. Are there risks? Yup, are the risks much less than other forms of WLS? Yup. Would I do it again in a heartbeat? Yup.

I have nothing against other forms of WLS, but they simply aren't for me. I am willing to take the band, with it's track record of lower, slower loss and fewer complications over the higher loss rate and higher complication rate of the other WLS.

again let me add, sure things can go wrong..but what if it doesnt and everything goes right? like my friend T said, well worth the wee risk..

The wonderful thing about the lap and is its reversible, if my body rejected it (though it didn't) I could have it removed. If something better came along in the future- again could replace it. However, I don't regret the lap band- I considered it for years prior to getting it done.gastric and all other surgeries are permanent, but also gastric specifically you lose weight way too fast as well as chances of gaining back is a lot more likely.

The lap band is a weight loss surgery, but mor importantly its designed to not gain weight. Of course if you go from a 7-8000 calorie intake to 1200-1300 intake you are gonna lose a lot of weight by that alone.

I didn't have any issues other than retraining on how to eat (slower and smaller bites). There are foods that are harder to eat for me now, but nothing impossible - bless I stick two hard to eat foods together- for example, lettuce is hard for me as is red meat- together though it won't go down.

The one thing I have stayed away from is carbonation - I don't want to drink my calories but also I burp every 10 seconds with just a tiny bit of carbonation