Initially I went into my surgeon's office wanting a RNY. After, a brief overview of my history he said that wasn't something he would do. He recommended gastric banding with plication( folding my stomach much like a VSG) to me. I heard band and froze. I have heard so many horror stories about bands that I walked out of that appointment discouraged and unhappy. I have relaxed a bit and continued researching and it seems people love them or hate them, with little wiggle room. I guess the questions I have are these:

1 How long does a band last before having to be replaced?

2. Did you lose the weight faster with the plication ( more than an ave. bander)?

3. How uncomfortable are refills?

4. What side effects, if any, are commonly experienced?

I know these questions probely sound rudimentary but I feel like I'm starting all over again, research wise. Thanks for any help!!!

Initially I went into my surgeon's office wanting a RNY. After, a brief overview of my history he said that wasn't something he would do. He recommended gastric banding with plication( folding my stomach much like a VSG) to me. I heard band and froze. I have heard so many horror stories about bands that I walked out of that appointment discouraged and unhappy. I have relaxed a bit and continued researching and it seems people love them or hate them, with little wiggle room. I guess the questions I have are these:

1 How long does a band last before having to be replaced?

2. Did you lose the weight faster with the plication ( more than an ave. bander)?

3. How uncomfortable are refills?

4. What side effects, if any, are commonly experienced?

I know these questions probely sound rudimentary but I feel like I'm starting all over again, research wise. Thanks for any help!!!

What you really need to understand is that most peoples banded life will be as good as the surgeon who installs it, the aftercare they receive and patient compliance, so you have various factors of why someone may love or hate their bands.

1 How long does a band last before having to be replaced? No one knows, some people have had a band for over 12 years with no problems, some people don't last but a few months. What REALLY helps the longevity of the bands is following up with your surgeon when you need to, and reporting any adverse side effects immediately, band problems can be taken care of quickly, but time is of essence, if the patient has issues and ignore them and wait too late, a complication can happen that may require band removal. However, the band is meant to last a lifetime, but can be removed or replaced if any issues occur. I don't want to burst your bubble but with RNY IT IS NOT EFFECTIVE FOREVER EITHER, rerouting your insides and taking the required Vitamins ARE FOREVER, but the effectiveness of RNY where it HELPS with weight loss is temporary, some people dump forever (which has no correlation with keeping weight off, I have many friends that still dump over 9 years out and are STILL obese, they learned how to eat around dumping, ), which is something that many do not want.

2. Did you lose the weight faster with the plication ( more than an ave. bander)? I did not have plication.

3. How uncomfortable are refills? It depends, with some people they can be painful, can't access the port, etc, but for me, I've never had issues with fills, they only last for 1 minute, just a slight pinch and I am done.

4. What side effects, if any, are commonly experienced? Side effects will depend on how tight you keep the band (which is a choice), the tighter the band the more unpleasant side effects. But most with optimal restriction may experience slimming if they eat too fast or eat food that is too thick to pass through the band, this can be easily avoided by eating band friendly food.

I've had my band for almost 8 years and I've had two bands, got the old one replaced with a new one due to a hiatal hernia, I would not change to any other procedure.

Good luck

Congrats NaNa on your success! May I ask about your second band? How did your insurance (if any) react to that? I only ask bc we are a military family and my insurance is very definitive about paying for only one bariatric type surgery. When I inquired they said complications would be covered but I didn't think to ask about revisions or replacements.....

Congrats NaNa on your success! May I ask about your second band? How did your insurance (if any) react to that? I only ask bc we are a military family and my insurance is very definitive about paying for only one bariatric type surgery. When I inquired they said complications would be covered but I didn't think to ask about revisions or replacements.....

Funny you ask this, when I got my first band almost 8 years ago, my insurance paid 100 percent, I had really good insurance, I did not pay a dime.

Fast forward I changed jobs over the years I've had my band and last year, when I learned that I had a hiatal hernia which was causing pain when I tried to fill the band optimally, my new employer had a exclusion for any type of bariatric surgery.

Which means if I wanted a revision to another weight loss surgery like the Sleeve or RNY they would not pay for a revision surgery.

But what I found out, they would pay for ANY complications related to my band which also meant replacing the band if medically necessary, so I had my old band removed, hiatal hernia repaired, new AP band, port, tubing put in all in one surgery and I did not pay 1 penny, no co-pay, nothing.

BUT I had really good insurance with a PPO that paid for any type of hospitalization at 100 percent. So it all depends on how good your insurance is, and if you have good insurance and you have a complication, they SHOULD pay to either fix any port issues, or if necessary replace the band.

Good luck.

I love the band. I would never have a sleeve, too much removing. The by pass, never. I know of at least 6 people who had by pass and after 6-10 years they are all huge again. The band can be repaired, replaced and your body is not all cut up. I see my doctor every 2 months and have had 3 fills for a total of under 2cc's. The needle hurts like any other needle you would get. Every doctor has their own rules about fills, seeing a dietitian etc. I go to my monthly support groups and love them. The meetings are all WLS people not just bands, so you learn and listen to everyone.

I never did any research. My lung doctor made my appointment and said you are getting the band. I didn't question it at all. I am off all meds except for the vitamins and minerals that they say to take every day. Blood pressure is super!!

Just keep asking questions and we will all answer you, honestly.