regrets

[Carlene 12]

I am 18 months post-op and have lost almost 100 pounds. I have had no complications, other than getting too tight a couple of times and having to have a little bit of the saline taken out.

It hasn't been as easy as I feel like I was led to believe it would be, but maybe I just had unrealistic expectations. It takes some work on your part. Calories still count. Exercise still counts. If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain - not lose. It's still as simple as that.

I sometimes miss some of the foods I can no longer eat, but not often and not terribly. I can have a bite or two of almost anything, but if I over-indulge, it will come back to haunt me (literally).

On the day of my surgery, I wore a very tight size 18/20. Now I am a size 4. It's hard to regret that.

[DonnaB 3]

Try to remember that the majority of people posting on a lap band board are most likely newly banded and very likely to be happy with the results they're achieving. The person who stays on a lap band board for years, either has made some internet friends that they want to stay close with OR they're having some issues or complications with their band and the board is their source of information and comfort. Either way, we're a pretty subjective group of people and I doubt our answers will help you with your decision.

Having said that, I was banded a little over 3 months ago and have lost 35 pounds now - must go change my signature line to reflect that loss! - and have experienced ups and downs in my opinion of the band. For the most part, I'm very happy with the band and would do it again, but, like DevilMayKare, I don't think it's for everyone.

Good luck in your weight loss journey.

[babyjane 0]

no regrets.....and i too, had wanted it for at least 4 years--still glad to have it...even though i had my first PB this afternoon---very creepy, but i got thru it!!

[Elisabethsew 50]

I'm only 2 months out of surgery and am not disappointed in getting banded but I am disappointed that the pre-op information did not adequately address the post-op realities. I was not made aware of the fact that you usually don't feel restriction until after 1 or more fills and I was not told that fills were not performed until 8 weeks post-op (by my MD).

So, I am still in a "holding pattern" at this point. The first fill has not produced restriction so I'm again waiting... this time for the second fill which is a month away.

[vinesqueen 2]

I'm about 16 months out, and I don't regret the band. I'm sitting here today with a net loss of 25 pounds, a brain tumor and I can't find an inhaler. So I'm mixed.

I'm passed being pissed about not being lose weight. Or at least for today I'm passed it. Incredibly disapointed, but for now I'm at peace.

If not for the band, the pit tumor wouldn't have been found. I wasn't loseing weight, and I DEMANDED answers as to why.

I don't know where the inhaler is because I don't need one anymore. Before I was banded I was at the very real possibility of death from resperatory failure.

[HamuChan 0]

I'm a little over a year out and have no regrets at all. I feel like I could not live without my band! Love it!

[ashagirl 0]

I was just banded 3 days ago, so I am so new to this...but I would think regrets depend on your reasons for getting the band. For example, if you were banded to help with other health issues, then that result will reflect in your feelings. But I'm glad to hear both sides....especially at this stage for me.

[cinward2001 0]

I always wonder, when people aren't happy with the band, why not? I know sometimes there's medical issues...slippage, erosion, reflux, etc. which are mostly beyond the bandster's control. But weight loss is such an emotional issue, too...and the band doesn't work on emotions. So I think that, many times (not all!), when someone is not happy with the band, it's more about *the person* than the band.

I'm a prime example of that. I can honestly say that I'm happy I got the band...I needed to lose weight (lost ~45 lbs so far...would like to lose ~50 more). Without the band, I know that I'd be gaining weight instead of losing. But there are days that I'm also grumpy about being banded. Grumpy because I still want to eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it (the "head in the sand" attitude), grumpy because I still fight the night time munchies (I want the band to do ALL the work, darn it! LOL), and grumpy because, no matter how fast I lose, I want to lose faster.

And I guess that's one reason why the band is so effective. Grumpy days, pre-band, might have resulted in my giving up the current weight loss effort, or totally sabotaging my efforts, but with the band, I can't just say "screw-it." It keeps me trying, whether I like it or no.

So just as with everything in life, the band is going to elicit a wide variety of responses. Some people will be ecstatic and feel that the band is the greatest thing. Some people will find it super easy to lose weight with the band. Others will be in the middle, saying that yes, the band helps, but it's still hard work. And then others will feel that the band is a mistake because it didn't do enough, or there were too many emotional issues, medical problems, etc.

The best thing you can do is to understand, as much as possible, what the band can and can't do prior to your surgery. But even then, it's a leap of faith, because until YOU have a band, you can't know for sure how you're going to deal with everything else that goes along with it.

Cindy

[fiveholts714 0]

Nope. I regret goofing off for 3 weeks so now I am behind in my weight loss goals!

[kellymoos 4]

It was quitting time at work when I post my response, now that I had time to think about it...here is my response.

I do not regret getting the band, if I would have never experienced the chance to get the band I would still today be wondering what if. I lost 55 lbs with the band and loved it. It was after I slipped and looked back at the past three years that I was glad it was gone. After the slippage I could not eat or drink for 5 days. It was too much drama for me, to tight, not tight enough, I'm stressing=tight again, I have to evacuate from a hurricane and stay gone for 2 weeks, I'm hours away from home and my Dr evidently is evacuated too and I can't sleep sitting up without reflux. Personally, I think that the dr that did my band put the small band in me and should have put a larger....my band was very picky about fills. Out of the 6 people I know that he has banded 3, including myself are unbanded. We were some of the firsts that he did and I think maybe if we would have had the larger band we would not have slipped and would have been able to handle fills.

So, Regret it no....glad I did so I don't have to wonder. Glad I had it taken out Yes. Do it again No.

But, everyone is different. I have managed to keep the weight off that I had lost. I say to everyone if you really want it, try it..the good thing is if you don't like it or it don't work you can take it out!!!!

[EmileeKaye 1]

It will be two years in a couple of days for me. I do not regret it one bit. I NEEDED this and it has changed my life in the best possible ways. But recently I have realized I want to stop "reccommending" it. I know in the past I have talked and talked about the band and how great it is and how I really felt certain people in my family would benefit from it. But now i realize, I didnt have anyone pushing this surgery for me. I didn't need anyones stories or whatever, in my heart I KNEW this was what I needed, as if the second I read about the band I saw that I had a future here and it was going to be better than my past. So I'll talk about how great it has been for me, that I would get the band again in a second, but it may not be for you or maybe atleast not right now in your life, that's something only you know.

Sorry for the ramblings....all I know is that the band is SO different for people, the results are different. And you have to be ready for your life to be changed.

[3loves 0]

I have no regrets and so happy to have my band....I am only 7 days banded though. I agree with others, I do not think the band is appropriate for everyone. It's important to do a lot of research on ALL your options and fully understand what your getting into. I would not have 1/2 the knowledge of the band without LBT.

I am so crazy happy about this that when they took me to my room after surgery, I told my DH that even though I was in some pain, I was so happy at that moment in time. If it wasn't for the pain, I may have done a happy dance in my bed.

[Mary Ann 0]

I'm getting my band this Friday, June 9, and I think it is the best decision I've ever made. My decision to have the band is costing ME, not my insurance $15,000.00. If I didn't care about my health and being around to watch my children grow up that money could be very easily used elsewhere. If you are already doubting whether this is for you or not then

maybe you should put it off a while longer and give it another good hard think. Remember, the band is not magic, you have to work and be committed to eating right and following the rules. If you are not prepared to do that then don't bother. Getting the band put in is the easy part, you have to make the rest of it happen. Go back and read all the threads on this board. These people will be your greatest source of information and encouragement. Good luck with your decision and God bless.

[shackdog 1]

Nope no regrets, the only thing i regret is when someone ask me are there any regrets. Before I had the band I did the research, and I think that is what must be done. Once you have done this, how can there be regrets? you did the research and you made the choice.

down 70lbs banded April 17th.

[I'llsucceed 1]

not for one second!