hi all,i have recently been approved for the lap-band through my insurance and the only thing left for me is to set a date for the surgery,i'm at the very nervous stage,does anyone out there have any regrets at all about having the sugery done?? i have heard mostly all good abot it,but i want to hear it all,,,,,,,please let me know thanks,,,,,,,,,Bobby 35yrs. old 270lbs. at 5'6 i want to reach 170lbs.

feel free to e-mail me cooperr1234@aol

I'm a happily married woman, the mother of a wonderful adult daughter and I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me. USUALLY, I'm happy. Except that simple people irritate the crap out of me. Everyone has had horrible things happen in ther lives. I don't respect people unless they have EARNED my respect. Did I miss anything?

Spoken like a true unhappy person.

So you show a total lack of respect to everyone until you think they have earned it from you?

Wow...

I'm a happily married woman, the mother of a wonderful adult daughter and I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me. USUALLY, I'm happy. Except that simple people irritate the crap out of me. Everyone has had horrible things happen in ther lives. I don't respect people unless they have EARNED my respect. Did I miss anything?

Ok, sounds good sweetie. You keep doing what you do. It must work for you. Have a wonderful day. :-) God Bless

Spoken like a true unhappy person.

So you show a total lack of respect to everyone until you think they have earned it from you?

Wow...

Great!!! Now I have TWO uninvited spokespersons who are more than a tad off plumb on the details. I do not respect--as in "honor"--people who have not given me a reason to honor them. If you do, have at it.

And as far as SHOWING a total lack of respect--such as by entering this discussion when it didn't really involve you and inferring that I'm a "true unhappy person"--you are doing such a good job of it, I'll defer to your expertise.

Other than that...I've lost 112 pounds, my labs are great, I've gotten laid twice today and the night is still young...and we're headed out to dinner. NOT an unhappy person at THIS computer...

Ok, sounds good sweetie. You keep doing what you do. It must work for you. Have a wonderful day. :-) God Bless

It usually DOES work and the really simple folk usually manage to keep their distance. Buh-bye, now.

Anyone researching banding *should* know that erosion and slippage are possible. They are a risk with the lapband. Just as there are *known* risks with RNY, DS, weight loss drugs...even exercise programs involve some risk. There are risks involved in the surgical procedure itself.

The key is to weigh what is an *acceptable* risk with your "chosen" WLS method against the risk of staying obese. For me, everything about my way of life was being negatively affected by my obesity. So I looked at LapBanding, looked at the risk of surgery, the potential for erosions and slippage, etc., and weighed those against what my life would be with continued obesity. I KNEW I had to do something.

I also looked at RNY and DS. BOTH of those operations have a higher risk than LapBanding. Risks are STATISTICS..meaning that, just because we have one, two, or three (or more) successful DSers here, doesn't mean that, overall, it's less risky than Lapband. Same for RNY...many RNYers are successful...but statistically, more RNYers DIE from either surgical complications or issues directly related to the bypass.

So for me, the risks associated with RNY or DS were MORE than I was willing to accept. That doesn't mean that no one should have those surgeries done. They're options...you have to weigh the risks.

But by the same token, just because someone has had an erosion or a slippage, you can't say that banding is a poor choice for WLS. Yes, in that particular instance, the banding failed. But as a WLS option, it has a high success rate. A complication with the band might lead to its removal, but then your stomach and intestines are still intact. With RNY and DS, IF there are complications, it's difficult to reverse what was done and in some cases, you're worse off than you were.

Now, what really annoys me is when people are here on the boards and they say "Yes, I regret banding" but they don't tell you why. It creates an "oh my gosh, what horrid thing do I not know about the band?!" sort of scare tactic. Erosion? Ok, fine, then look at the statistics for erodiing and hope that you're not in the 1-3% who erode. Slippage? Ok, fine, again, look at the statistics and see if that possibility is worth it to you. Also, in the case of slippage, look at your surgeon. My surgeon, having done thousands of bandings, has a 0% slippage rate.

You also have to be skeptical of the "doom and gloom" people because you can't really know IF something was their fault or not. Erosion and slippage have been linked to situations such as having the band too tight, having consistent acid reflux, PBing excessively, not following the post-op "rules." So before I put too much stock into someone's story of erosion or slippage, I want to know exactly what they did and didn't do.

It's like when someone posts "Oh no, I'm not losing! Why isn't the band working for me?!" and you find out that they're still trying to eat sandwiches and french fries. Or that they're too tight, so since nothing solid stays down (and they blame that on the band, too, instead of getting an unfill), they eat soft, calorie dense foods and then say "But I'm not eating anything!" and yet they've taken in 2000 calories in liquids and mashed potatoes.

And if you're going to use the argument that only those bandsters banded for more than 2 years can say anything positive about the band (because of the stupid honeymoon analogy....I knew I was happy in my marriage the first MONTH...and I've been married almost 20 yrs now), then by the same "rule," you can't say anything postive about ANY OTHER WLS unless you're 2 years out. After all, many RNYers are *thrilled* the first and second year...and then, in the 3rd year, the weight starts creeping back. Or the Vitamin deficiencies start showing up. Or they develop strictures.

And then, you can't say anything NEGATIVE about banding unless you've had it removed for at least 2 years, because who knows? Maybe in 2 years you'll have gained back all of your weight and be miserable again. Or your current WLS will have causes problems that make the lapbanding problems look minor.

Cindy

Cindy - Amen. Great post!

Cindy -yes awesome post... and you're so right.

"And if you're going to use the argument that only those bandsters banded for more than 2 years can say anything positive about the band (because of the stupid honeymoon analogy....I knew I was happy in my marriage the first MONTH...and I've been married almost 20 yrs now), then by the same "rule," you can't say anything postive about ANY OTHER WLS unless you're 2 years out. After all, many RNYers are *thrilled* the first and second year...and then, in the 3rd year, the weight starts creeping back. Or the Vitamin deficiencies start showing up. Or they develop strictures."

People that are trying something new are in no better position to judge their progress than those of us just starting out on the band.

Who knows what the future holds for any of us?

You hit the nail on the head! :-)

In the end, we are all in the same boat...

No regrets for me.

Has it been instant gratification? Hell no. But I never expected instant weightloss - nor did I actually want anything dramatic.

Some people might get all excited if they haven't lost 50% of their weight in the first year. I think that I would be FREAKED OUT if I lost 100 lbs in a year. There is a lot of emotional baggage wrapped around my fat cells - and it is only because my loss is so gradual that I haven't run screaming for the hills. Not to mention that my skin is getting a little bit of a chance to shrink as my body does.

In the past using different diet methods and losing more quickly - I used to get that "sick" look. People always thought I had cancer or something. I haven't had any of that with the band. Plus - using other methods, I was miserable - hungry, obsessed with calorie counts, or fat grams, or carbs or whatever the Diet Du Jour made us keep track of. Only complete OCD dieting ever worked - and you just can't keep that up for the extended period required to lose 200 lbs.

My goal for year one is 50 lbs. I think I will hit that and I know I will be happy about it. AND - I will have lost 50 lbs without depriving myself of my favorite foods, without obsessing over every bite or becoming a gym nazi. I do what I can do, when I feel motivated. The rest of the time, I just coast. And I still lose, ever so slowly.

Can you ask for more than living a normal life and still losing weight?

I think not.

Cindy,

Beautifully said.

My only regret is the band was not available to me years sooner.

the only regret i have so far - and many people have said it - is not getting this tool put in me a year or more ago ...

and just a thought - - isnt bypass/ds/etc "damaging" the body by removing/sectioning the stomach? :phanvan

Cindy, great post and well put.

"If you don't know the history of the author then you don't know what you're reading...." KRS One

Yay Cindy. So right.

I think there's a slight risk that a lapband can turn you into a bitter and twisted old sourpuss, but statistically that's very rare, less than one patient per lap band forum.

For most people, they just lose weight.

and just a thought - - isnt bypass/ds/etc "damaging" the body by removing/sectioning the stomach? :phanvan

I can't speak to the RnY, but the stomach removal part of the DS is done by a surgeon...just like the punching holes in the belly parts of the band placement are done by a surgeon. If done correctly--which is why you want a really experienced guy doing it--there is a "rearranging" but everything functions.

A well-placed band is not always as reliable as one might hope, because once the surgeon places the band, he walks away and the band can still move. Morning sickness, a nasty bout of flu, and food poisoning can all undo the very good work of a very good surgeon and the best intentions of a totally compliant patient. The band CAN make the esophagus stop working or cause relux so bad that sleep is non-existent or that Barrett's or some other problem develops. In other words, it CAN cause things to STOP functioning.

So, I don't think that having my innards rearranged is damaging things any more than my having a breast reduction damaged anything. It made it DIFFERENT, but functioning.

No regrets here, even with the complications I've had, the band is still the best thing I've done for me, bar none.

No system is perfect, but for me, this was as close as it gets.