Hey everyone!!

I have an appointment with my surgeon on Wednesday and made the appointment for a lap band however have been researching since making the appointment and now I am worried about the success of the band... I have joined a few chat groups and been reading into past topics etc and seems that most people who get the band regret it and end up having the sleeve done.

I would appreciate any advice or experiences to help clear my head!

Cheers

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My surgeon as well didn't recommend the band, as the results were not as good as the sleeve and more complications.....in and out of surgery etc.....once I seen the band and the fact of the sheer size I knew I was getting the sleeve....but made me even more convinced once my surgeon told me he did not recommend it.

My first surgeon (before I switched because I'm 'high risk') told me that they are, within the next few years, phasing out the Lap Band as are many other bariatric programs just due to its complication rate and lack of concrete success for everyone. I originally went in wanting it, too, because I thought of it like a tool to help me get to a weight where I could do the rest myself, but since I was diagnosed with diabetes in March and the sleeve has greater success with relieving comorbities, and a constant back and forth with all of my doctors including my kidney transplant doctor, the sleeve seemed more appropriate for my situation. My SECOND surgeon made the very good point that because the Lap Band is a foreign object, it is highly likely to become infected or be an infection magnet for someone like me who is a medicated immunocompromised patient (for my transplant).

So yeah, I'm having the sleeve on the 21st and I'm both nervous and excited.

Yeh when we were discussion options he said that if I had medical issues like diabetes he would make a different suggestion, I have in the past lost large amounts of weight on my own but been unable to keep it off so he thinks that the band will be a great supportive tool

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I think some doctors like the band because it is a long term revenue stream for them. If you have the sleeve, they aren't likely to see you much at all after the first year.

My Dr said I was young, active and the sleeve would work for me.

Good luck with your choice.

So I just had my band removed a month ago. I was considered a success at first. Lost 70lbs. The first 1-2years were hard but it worked. It pretty much makes you a bulimic. This was what I found and other that I know that have had it. You struggle to eat real food. By that I mean apples, cucumbers, meat of almost any kind, Pasta, rice etc. I slimed on almost everything. My pouch hated pineapples. Every time I ate it my stomach kicked it out. Then I got pregnant.... after baby was born I was up 20lbs and while trying to get the fill back to where it should be I gained another 20lbs on top of it. Then I got pregnant again. This time I was having severe heart burn and acid reflux. When the baby was born she was big. I never got rid of the reflux. Had to have all Fluid removed. When things settled we started to refill and the reflux came back. Did a upper GI and found it had slipped. Not the stomach up thru but the angle of it was off. So without fill and still not being able to eat good things I gained ALL the weight back plus 10lbs. From what I read on here is that it is very common to have issues after pregnancy. If you plan on having kids in future I would really research it. I've had a hard time. I was having pain even with it emptied. I had a lot of chest and shoulder pain. Once the band was removed all heartburn and reflux has gone away. I haven't had to take tums or anything since. The pain gone too. I am now looking into the sleeve and if I had known when I had the band placed in 2010 that it isn't permanent and that the complication and removal rate is almost 50% I wouldn't have gone that route. Just really research it first is my advice.

No plans for babies here! My surgeon does both sleeve and lap band and he stated figure of 80% success rate for his patients the other twenty were broken into two groups, further weight loss and failures, so failures were people like yourself who it just didn't work for at all, and further weight loss were those who needed the sleeve because they weren't happy with their weight loss after 5 years, those figures I don't remember exactly but it was close to half and half.

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I think what the ex banders are trying to say... it isn't the weight loss that is the issue... it is the band actually failing.

There are not many people who have lasted over 10 years with the band as the band itself fails... you get slippage, erosion into the stomach or your body starts rejecting it.

You can follow all the instructions from the surgeon, eat well, exercise etc, but once it fails... it becomes impossible to eat normally, you get pressure, pain and sliming.

Once the band starts failing and its removed, you gain the weight back... even if you are behaving.

All the best with your surgery... i hope it goes well.

Oh and on a side note...a friendly suggestion. i would suggest not calling people "failures" just because their wls failed... it invalidates the persons effort without knowing their story ☺

Sorry didn't mean the people were failures meant the band!

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Its okay.. i was sure you meant that... but some might be sensitive to particular words .. all good..... [emoji4]