After 3 years and 1 month to the day, i had my band removed three days ago.. and now i have to try and figure out my life without it.. at least until my follow up with my surgeon to talk options. I have grown an intolerance over the last year and a half with my band and had even scheduled with another group for removal and conversion over to sleeve. Some days i was scared to eat because who knew if it would throw my system into an episode and eventually slip. It never did.. time after time i would go for a fill only for a few months down the road for Lucy to be emptied out. Yes i named her Lucy. She never slipped though until about a week ago.. i was emptied out completely so i am not exactly sure what led to this .. I was completely and utterly miserable with her.

But i will miss her. She gave me a wonderful tool to learn to eat smaller portions. She helped me loose over 100 pounds from my highest weight. I had her for three years and while i had my complications i didn't regret getting her.. and now she is gone. Its bittersweet but a blessing in disguise.. but now i have to learn this food thing all over again.. to train my brain to not over do it just because she is gone..the mind game..it is one i wish we did not have to deal with but we do. Fingers crossed it's not to bad for me and that my surgeon says we can convert to the sleeve.

Please if you feel something is off with your band.. call your doctor and if you feel in your gut you need a second opinion or feel like just a heartbeat with insurance... get a second opinion. You're worth it.

Hi. My story is similar to yours, and we have very close band dates. I'm sorry things did not work out in a positive fashion but glad your removal went well.

I have a question for you. Do you sense a difference in appetite/satiety now, without the band? Or is it similar to when you had an empty band?

I ask the question because I'm supposed to have my band removed. It's empty now, and has been for awhile, due to an Afib I developed because of the band's restriction, but I'm fearful to have it totally removed. I'm not sure just having the empty band gives me any restriction whatsoever (I maintain my loss by dieting, sadly, with the same crappy mindset that requires), but I figure it may be better than not having any band at all.

Your thoughts about differences between empty band/no band and hunger levels are appreciated!

I am sorry to hear about your pending removal! It stinks to say the least! My hunger right now is the same as if i just had an empty band but i am still swollen from surgery. I have noticed today that the hunger "pains" have come back so i am just eating as if i have the band . Small portions still and very little carbs. It definitely is a tough battle we are faced with.

Try not to stress about the hungry issue post removal just concentrate on getting well and healing.

Are you going to try and get a conversion over to the sleeve or is this it for you?

Thanks for your response, and I hope your recovery is going smoothly. I think eating "as if you still have the band" is a good strategy.

No, I won't proceed with another surgery. My new heart condition would be a risk factor for any surgery, and I'm all about mitigating all risks nowadays! I regret not going with the sleeve as my initial WLS choice, but I just couldn't get my mind around the amputation part of that surgery. Bypass was out too, as I'd read too many scary stories of complications with that type of WLS.

I suppose if I were in my twenties, I'd rethink this. But I'm not, and I've just come around to accepting that life at this weight will be the life I have. I'm glad to have lost what I did with my lapband, and sad that I never got to see "thin", but at least I'm now so much more normal-looking on the outside, even if my heart- health is actually worse now that pre-lapband.

My motto now is this: I don't regret getting banded, but I'd never recommend the band to anyone. There are so many more-perfected options now on the market.

Wishing you the best as your recover and convert. I'm sure you'll do well.

I agree with your motto and have actually told several people that over the last year. I wish you all the best with everything.