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

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.

Yes, that's it...everyone who has been banded and posts here--except one--has lost weight and is doing well. Yes...sure.

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.

GeezerSue, I think that you intentionally try, always, always, always, to put the most negative spin on the LapBand as is possible. First of all, trying to compare the "rearranging" of your innards to the holes used laparascopically to place the band is laughable. All WLS surgeries use either the laparascopic incisions or an open incision to perform the surgery. All "lap" surgeries, whether WLS, gallbladder removal, etc will carry risks due to the surgery and incisions themselves. Of course, duration of the surgery and what is DONE in the surgery changes the overall risks.

Second, you state that a LapBand surgeon "walks away" after band placement...again, implying a worst case scenario in which the surgeon provides no follow up and no after care. You mention morning sickness, flu, or food poisoning all potentially undoing the work of a good surgeon. Again, how often do you think a LapBand patient encounters any of these things right after surgery? The flu is the most likely of the 3 and in the event of the stomach flu, there are anti-nausea medications to help with that. 6 weeks or more after surgery, these things are unlikely to cause a slip or any other problems related to the band.

And last, IF we're looking at worst case scenarios (which you tend to do), then IF a person has problems with the band, it is removable...and their "innards" usually work fine without the band and with no additional medical interventions needed. But IF your DS (or the by-pass) fails for some reason, such as when a patient finds that they can't tolerate any food and have to be on a feeding tube, or that malabsorption is so bad that medicines can't be absorbed, then there is little that can be done to fix the "rearranging." Surgeries to revise or reverse the DS or by-pass are risky and rarely successful.

You can't compare worst case scenarios of being banded (esophageal problems, reflux, erosions, slippage) to best case scenarios of the DS or by-pass (your rearranged innards are functioning fine).

You can compare best case scenarios (I've had zero problems with my band, lost about 75 lbs and still losing, you've lost 100+ lbs with DS and are healthy and happy, so we're both doing great!).

Or you can compare worst case scenarios of both (the band slipped or eroded, caused too much reflux, didn't help the individual to lose weight...so they had it removed and now everything is fine or the DS/by-pass caused abdominal leaks, or severe malnutrition and the patient died after multiple surgeries to try to fix it). Personally, I was determined to try to have the best possible scenario with any WLS I chose, but IF I happened to be one of the unlucky ones that had to deal with a worse case scenario, I wanted the one where I didn't have to worry about dying.

I find it rather sad that because banding didn't work for you, you're so sure that it's wrong for everyone...and yet there are MANY people who are successful with banding. And yes, there are people who haven't been successful with banding, but that will be true of any WLS, so trying to present DS as the "holy grail" of WLS isn't any better than saying that banding is the perfect WLS.

Most bandsters are pretty darn honest when someone asks about potential negatives. Yes, you have to get fills, yes, you sometimes have to get unfills, yes, sometimes you PB, sometimes you have reflux if you're too tight, yes, you still have to work at not eating junk, no, it's not super easy most of the time and it doesn't do all of the work for you. Ports flip, bands slip and occasionally erode. Anyone doing research will find these things out quickly enough. Implying that you're doing newbies a "service" by presenting the negatives of banding is giving yourself far too much credit and them not enough.

GeezerSue, I think that you intentionally try, always, always, always, to put the most negative spin on the LapBand as is possible. First of all, trying to compare the "rearranging" of your innards to the holes used laparascopically to place the band is laughable. All WLS surgeries use either the laparascopic incisions or an open incision to perform the surgery. All "lap" surgeries, whether WLS, gallbladder removal, etc will carry risks due to the surgery and incisions themselves. Of course, duration of the surgery and what is DONE in the surgery changes the overall risks.

Second, you state that a LapBand surgeon "walks away" after band placement...again, implying a worst case scenario in which the surgeon provides no follow up and no after care. You mention morning sickness, flu, or food poisoning all potentially undoing the work of a good surgeon. Again, how often do you think a LapBand patient encounters any of these things right after surgery? The flu is the most likely of the 3 and in the event of the stomach flu, there are anti-nausea medications to help with that. 6 weeks or more after surgery, these things are unlikely to cause a slip or any other problems related to the band.

And last, IF we're looking at worst case scenarios (which you tend to do), then IF a person has problems with the band, it is removable...and their "innards" usually work fine without the band and with no additional medical interventions needed. But IF your DS (or the by-pass) fails for some reason, such as when a patient finds that they can't tolerate any food and have to be on a feeding tube, or that malabsorption is so bad that medicines can't be absorbed, then there is little that can be done to fix the "rearranging." Surgeries to revise or reverse the DS or by-pass are risky and rarely successful.

You can't compare worst case scenarios of being banded (esophageal problems, reflux, erosions, slippage) to best case scenarios of the DS or by-pass (your rearranged innards are functioning fine).

You can compare best case scenarios (I've had zero problems with my band, lost about 75 lbs and still losing, you've lost 100+ lbs with DS and are healthy and happy, so we're both doing great!).

Or you can compare worst case scenarios of both (the band slipped or eroded, caused too much reflux, didn't help the individual to lose weight...so they had it removed and now everything is fine or the DS/by-pass caused abdominal leaks, or severe malnutrition and the patient died after multiple surgeries to try to fix it). Personally, I was determined to try to have the best possible scenario with any WLS I chose, but IF I happened to be one of the unlucky ones that had to deal with a worse case scenario, I wanted the one where I didn't have to worry about dying.

I find it rather sad that because banding didn't work for you, you're so sure that it's wrong for everyone...and yet there are MANY people who are successful with banding. And yes, there are people who haven't been successful with banding, but that will be true of any WLS, so trying to present DS as the "holy grail" of WLS isn't any better than saying that banding is the perfect WLS.

Most bandsters are pretty darn honest when someone asks about potential negatives. Yes, you have to get fills, yes, you sometimes have to get unfills, yes, sometimes you PB, sometimes you have reflux if you're too tight, yes, you still have to work at not eating junk, no, it's not super easy most of the time and it doesn't do all of the work for you. Ports flip, bands slip and occasionally erode. Anyone doing research will find these things out quickly enough. Implying that you're doing newbies a "service" by presenting the negatives of banding is giving yourself far too much credit and them not enough.

Thank you for posting that:clap2:

Since this is a LAP Band site, is there a forum out there for RnY patients? That would only seem logical.

Just met another lady last night, she is 4 years out on her lap band surgery, she has lost a total of 210 pounds, went from 380 lbs to 170 pounds and has been maintaining at 170 lbs, she is 5'11 and said the 170 works great for her.

I asked her if she had any regrets, she said the only regret she had was she wished she would have exercised from the very beginning, she is 4 years out and just now started to exercise. - Another success story.

Sunshine that is great to hear thanks!

I can only speak for me, however it is embarrassing to me when things get so petty on here. What a waste of enery and time. I will not waste any more time on that. I do hope that this childish behavior is over looked and that you are able to take what you need and use it the way that best fits you. Good Luck.

I was banded on 9/26. I went to the Dr yesterday and he printed out my progress sheet. On my initial visit I weighed 268 as of yesterday I am 187.

My BMI was 44.5 when I started today it is 31.1

I have lost a total of 81 pounds in 14 months.

I have had problems, and a major problem at that. My band and port both had a leak in them. This is pretty rare, but does happen. On February 21st I had surgery again and the port and band was replaced.

The band has saved my life made me more confident in myself. It has also made me so much more aware of head issues. For me that is the hardest part and the key to success for any type of WL.

In my 14 Dr visits in the past 14 months I have lost anywhere from 1.1 pounds to 11.7 pounds (that was yesterdays!) I did gain .8 at one visit which wasn't fun but Thank God for the option of having a fill!

My second surgery was much more difficult that the first surgery. But if it happened again I would do it in a heart beat.

Since this is a LAP Band site, is there a forum out there for RnY patients? That would only seem logical.

Yes, there are...probably with former banded people there, too. You might want to visit some of them. (I didn't have RnY.)

But, so far, it appears that I have a band and you do not...you might want to think about that for a while.

Yes, there are...probably with former banded people there, too. You might want to visit some of them. (I didn't have RnY.)

But, so far, it appears that I have a band and you do not...you might want to think about that for a while.

GeezerSue, wow. You never fail to amaze me. That was rather catty, btw.

Cinward:clap2: :clap2: My hero for today!

I was banded on 9/26. I went to the Dr yesterday and he printed out my progress sheet. On my initial visit I weighed 268 as of yesterday I am 187.

My BMI was 44.5 when I started today it is 31.1

I have lost a total of 81 pounds in 14 months.

Congratulations Sunsett! You have done remarkable! Even when you had a major complication that required additional surgery, you still would do it again. That sums it up for me! Your stats are great!

I'm doing the Atkins diet now, I figure the more I can lose before surgery, the less I will have to lose after surgery. I can't wait to get to where some of you bandsters are at!

Wow. Tough audience tonight.

Yes, there are...probably with former banded people there, too. You might want to visit some of them. (I didn't have RnY.)

But, so far, it appears that I have a band and you do not...you might want to think about that for a while.

Actually, thank you for your courteous response, yes... I was asking so I could go do some research. Do you have some web-sites? Instead of picking a fight, that would actually be benefical information toward the topic of this original thread.

I know you didn't have RnY -- This may come as a surprise to you, but just like my first post... I was not talking directly to you. There are many other people on this web-site. Although you think that the world (or at least this thread) revolves around you, I am sorry to report that it does not.

That post was what you would call a "general" question... perhaps you might want to visit a dictionary and look that up.

So far, it appears I have intelligence, decency, and class... and you do not.

I, none the less, still wish you the best of luck and hope you someday find peace within yourself.

FONT="Comic Sans MS"]

GeezerSue, I think that you intentionally try, always, always, always, to put the most negative spin on the LapBand as is possible. First of all, trying to compare the "rearranging" of your innards to the holes used laparascopically to place the band is laughable. All WLS surgeries use either the laparascopic incisions or an open incision to perform the surgery. All "lap" surgeries, whether WLS, gallbladder removal, etc will carry risks due to the surgery and incisions themselves. Of course, duration of the surgery and what is DONE in the surgery changes the overall risks.

Again, for those who didn't read it the first time...here is the question:

isnt bypass/ds/etc "damaging" the body by removing/sectioning the stomach?

ANYTHING that invades the body has the potential to "damage" the body...but if the same part of the stomach that is removed in DS is removed due to stomach cancer or severe damage due to ulcerations, is that also damage to the body? Or is it just a procedure to correct a problem?

If you want to read in some negative thing that I didn't write, go for it. But know that I am not the source of the negative spin...THAT comes from people who don't want to hear anything that might burst their bubble.

Second, you state that a LapBand surgeon "walks away" after band placement...again, implying a worst case scenario in which the surgeon provides no follow up and no after care. You mention morning sickness, flu, or food poisoning all potentially undoing the work of a good surgeon. Again, how often do you think a LapBand patient encounters any of these things right after surgery? The flu is the most likely of the 3 and in the event of the stomach flu, there are anti-nausea medications to help with that. 6 weeks or more after surgery, these things are unlikely to cause a slip or any other problems related to the band.

ALL surgeons walk away (not to imply abandoment) after the surgery. (Again, WHO is looking for a negative spin? I wasn't implying anything...I don't tend to "imply" things...I just say what I'm thinking.) They have to trust their work...but the band surgeon has to trust that the band will stay where he put it...and that just doesn't always happen.

I've been on wls boards for close to five years now and slippage due to vomiting is not as rare as some would like to believe. And, it isn't always easy to detect. Usually, it takes people a while to accept that something bad is happening, and then not all surgeons--and not everyone gets in to their surgeon right away without first going through a gauntlet of his helpers--sometimes miss the diagnosis. It often takes a while.

And last, IF we're looking at worst case scenarios (which you tend to do), then IF a person has problems with the band, it is removable...and their "innards" usually work fine without the band and with no additional medical interventions needed.

If I were focusing on worst case scenarios, I'd forever be mentioning the woman whose band cut off blood flow to her entire stomach and--last we heard from her--she was looking at a future with a bag. And, yeah, her band was "easily" removed...leaving behind a mess. I tend not to go there...I tend to focus on the more frequent problems.

But IF your DS (or the by-pass) fails for some reason, such as when a patient finds that they can't tolerate any food and have to be on a feeding tube, or that malabsorption is so bad that medicines can't be absorbed, then there is little that can be done to fix the "rearranging." Surgeries to revise or reverse the DS or by-pass are risky and rarely successful.

Who can't tolerate food? I had solid food post-DS far sooner that I did post-band. I know of some people who have had problems at surgery who have had feeding tubes...for a while...but that is a far easier fix than a band removal. "Malabsorption so bad that medicines can't be absorbed?" Where is this coming from? Most medicines come in more than one form...which people with bands should be aware of since they are not--after banding--good candidates for NSAID's for pain relief.

You can't compare worst case scenarios of being banded (esophageal problems, reflux, erosions, slippage) to best case scenarios of the DS or by-pass (your rearranged innards are functioning fine).

You can compare best case scenarios (I've had zero problems with my band, lost about 75 lbs and still losing, you've lost 100+ lbs with DS and are healthy and happy, so we're both doing great!).

Or you can compare worst case scenarios of both (the band slipped or eroded, caused too much reflux, didn't help the individual to lose weight...so they had it removed and now everything is fine or the DS/by-pass caused abdominal leaks, or severe malnutrition and the patient died after multiple surgeries to try to fix it). Personally, I was determined to try to have the best possible scenario with any WLS I chose, but IF I happened to be one of the unlucky ones that had to deal with a worse case scenario, I wanted the one where I didn't have to worry about dying.

I agree with MOST of what you say..and wish I saw more of it here. I did have a higher risk of dying during my <120 minute DS-revision than I did with my 40 minute banding...but those things each happened in less than one day. It's the REST of my life that I was focused on.

Yes, this is a banding support site. But, as such, it isn't necessary to promulgate FALSE information about the hazards of the other choices. Some people--well, according to European statistics, a LOT of people--will move on to another wls after banding. They should be considering the band the FIRST step...and if it works, fine. They should not be getting fed false rumors about how the other surgeries will kill them or make them stink or ruin their lives...because that just is not true.

I find it rather sad that because banding didn't work for you, you're so sure that it's wrong for everyone...and yet there are MANY people who are successful with banding. And yes, there are people who haven't been successful with banding, but that will be true of any WLS, so trying to present DS as the "holy grail" of WLS isn't any better than saying that banding is the perfect WLS.

NO wls is the perfect one for everyone...I've said that repeatedly. And I've mentioned that, at age 60-ish, I have different long-terms concerns about malabsoprtion that someone who is 30-ish might have. But banding did "work" for me as well as it "works" for number of people. I lost some weight, I got reflux, I had multiple adjustments and weight gain, I had esophageal dysmotility. Other people--several years out--have other problems. SOME people have no problems. But the flippant "oh, well, no biggie, it can always be removed" comments coming from people who haven't lived through those espisodes of Life With the Band, is--at best--a tad irritating. It ISN'T "no big deal" when you can't swallow, or when what you swallow comes back up even if it's only Water, when you aspirate stomach acids, or when you live through months or years of band-related problems.

Most bandsters are pretty darn honest when someone asks about potential negatives. Yes, you have to get fills, yes, you sometimes have to get unfills, yes, sometimes you PB, sometimes you have reflux if you're too tight, yes, you still have to work at not eating junk, no, it's not super easy most of the time and it doesn't do all of the work for you. Ports flip, bands slip and occasionally erode. Anyone doing research will find these things out quickly enough. Implying that you're doing newbies a "service" by presenting the negatives of banding is giving yourself far too much credit and them not enough.

First...about the honesty of bandsters. They are NOT as honest as you might think. They keep trying to protect/defend their decision to have chosen the band rather than one of the other surgeries and they blame themselves for not doing their part instead of considering another move. And they sit there, still (or again) obese or still (or again) MO. (That behavior is particular to the band, btw.) Band patients almost all blame themselves for the band's not delivering the results they were hoping for. AND THEN, because they think of themselves as the weak link in the chain, they don't go out in search of a procedure that does work for them. (In Europe, where patients are taught they the band ios what they'll try first, they accept that fact that some people will have success and other will not. One European surgeon who is a long-time band/RnY/DS surgeon wrote me and said that fully 20% of his practice is now removing bands and revising to another wls.)

Then, maybe you haven't read enough "newbie" posts (here and other places). Post-ops who really believe that they could eat just like before only a little less...who didn't know about drinking with meals...who didn't know about taking food slowly after adjustments...about why they aren't losing weight immediately post-op...about why the left shoulder hurts...about why they lost 20 pounds the first week and then nothing for three weeks..about NSAID's post-op...and on and on.

When there were thirty banding doctors, the patients were FAR better informed. We KNEW what to expect and there were no surprises. Now, there are more INexperienced surgeons banding UNeducated patients. It's a dangerous combination. [/font]

GeezerSue, wow. You never fail to amaze me. That was rather catty, btw.

Cinward:clap2: :clap2: My hero for today!

Telly,

I'm glad you have something positive in your life today.

So far, it appears I have...class... and you do not.

Yes...THIRD and LOW.

Geezer, I joined this forum about 6 months ago and it didn't take me long to recognize that you have an axe to grind. Your posts are always negative and it seems to me that your intent is to discourage anyone who comes to this board looking for info about the band. You think you are being helpful by always painting the worst possible picture. Okay, so the lapband didn't work out for you and you decided to get the DS. Apparently, it was a good choice for you. Great. So, why don't you move on now? Isn't there a DS forum you can join? Go vent about your bad experience with the lap band on the Regrets forum, or a DS forum. I don't think your doom and gloom posts are helpful to anyone here. There's nothing wrong with having a positive attitude. The people who subscribe to this forum are not stupid, or should I say "simple", as you so nicely stated. Enough said.

Cindy, your posts were great and very helpful. Thanks for joining the thread and responding to Geezer with common sense anwers. They are much appreciated.

Debi