For anyone considering lapband.

[Kim Lovejoy 0]

I had the lapband put in in August of 2007. Loved it. Lost 110 lbs in one year. I did have some throwing up here and there though I don't recommend the lapband to anyone In Sept of 2008 I was diagnosed with a rare eye condition called retinitispigmentosa and I found myself going blind. In June of 2014 I was diagnosed with a rare condition of heart called sacoid in my heart. Now my heart is failing My eye doctor now thinks my eye condition may be the sarcoid also which is considered in the auto immune category No one in my family has this and I was a pretty healthy overweight person that self paid for my surgery on banding because I didn't want health issues in my future. I had the band removed in sept of 2014 because I do believe in my heart it caused havoc on my body I'm only 50 and having to fight for my life now Please reconsider another option

[deeberry 9]

Thank you for sharing your story it's so true every surgery works differently for everyone I've had my surgery in 2013 doing great got injured gain some of the weight back you see your friends who had surgery they look amazing and wonder why you don't look the same

[Sharpie 3,306]

Had my lapband on Jan 15 2013, have since become healthier than ever. I no longer take meds for Diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. I am active and loving life. Sorry for your problems. Not sure how you determined the lapband caused your health issues but I wish you well.

[Lapbandster 496]

I am also having issues with my band.

What I find interesting is how OVERLY CONFIDENT the surgeons are when discussing a surgery that there isn't THAT much research on. (I think we have maximum 15-20 years of research, and we didn't have real reliable data until about 10 years ago since it was such an uncommon surgery. That's my opinion at least)

My surgeon was so pumped for me to get the lapband and minimized the risks

-Now I am reading that 40-50 percent of lapband patients get the bands removed within 10 years (easy to believe based on the amount of posts in the complications forums)

-It is linked to esophageal dysmotility

- Scar tissue builds up around the band making the removal surgery much more complex than the insertion

- The scar tissue can build up so much that it can cause permanent restriction even once the band is removed

I went into this thinking that it was GREAT because it can be "reversed" if needed. That is not the case.

I personally doubt I will recomend this surgery, and am hoping to get my band removed because the more i read the more I feel that my band is a "ticking timebomb" and that something will eventually go wrong. Why wait until it becomes an emergency?

[Band07 374]

That was my thoughts too, I removed it when I had a chance even though it had served me well for the most part. Revising to the sleeve did not work for me though and I gained a lot of weight with it. I'm now almost 3 months post MGB and down about 30 lbs, only 15 more to go !

[betrthnever 107]

I'm not sure about the liquids for some reason Iv never been a big drinker of anything so the band just increased what was already a struggle with the whole don't drink and eat thing and wait 30 mins...

Dehydration is common with any WLS, but probably more so with the band as it is harder to drink when too tight. That's when it gets scary - not eating is one thing, but not being able to drink is very real. I almost ended up in the emergency room for dehydration - I live in Phoenix and it is already a struggle to keep up with liquid intake. Puking up Water is a sure fire way to have the body shut down. I'm unfilled and can drink Water again.