Take this for what it is, just my personal thoughts and experiences but that being said, I had a lapband for 6 years, Iv had the sleeve for a year and a half and I worked for a bariatric surgeon for almost 7 years. I LOVED my band, I went from 223 to 139 lbs and I maintained around 145 for years ! However, in order to do that I had to keep the band very tight. I couldn't eat anything before noon or after 6 without pain and suffering. When my body had enough I had shoulder pain and chest pain and never just felt full. I was always dehydrated and ended up with kidney stones twice but i was happy to sacrifice because I was a size 6/8 for the first time in my life ! But live long enough that way and it causes problems (severe reflux) and just misery any time you eat or try too. Of the hundreds of patients Iv worked with over the years, very few (maybe 30/40% ) have kept off weight and been successful long term with the band. My surgeon started offering the sleeve and after years of "selling" the band to others (with my personal success as a witness) I asked him to revise me to the sleeve because everyone said how wonderful it was. Well for many it is but for me I hate mine. It's not always the same for someone who has had prior surgery so as I type this today, I have gained almost 20 lbs since the sleeve and it's a fight (that I'm losing) to not gain more. That being said, if I was starting as a virgin patient today; I would choose the sleeve or the mini gastric bypass (which I'm revising too). We didn't know enough about the band in 2007 when I had mine but we now know there are cases of it fusing to the liver or embedding in the stomach wall and the chances are if you go with the band you WILL at some point have a revision. We really don't have all that long term study on the sleeve and while I don't worry and complications, I do think it will be at risk for regain. Do your research, make your own decision but i at least wanted to share my story

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

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.

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?

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 !

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.