I am getting banded in Detroit MI on Jan 29 and am really getting excited. One thing that bothered me is that someone told me they take the band out in a year. Is this true, I hope not.

Thanks I will be visiting here a lot

No they dont' take it out lol..whoever told you was badly misinformed...

thanks for the info

Did the person who told you that have a lap band?

It has been my experience that often it is people who do not have a lap band that pass along info that is not accurate.

My doctor said it is permenate; that being said he also said IF there would be a medical need or I just felt emotionally I could not handle the band it COULD be removed.

But other then a medical reason why would I want to take out the tool that controls my eating and helps me maintain a healthy weight.

There are alot of good websites that you can educate yourself on the lap band as well as great books. I would listen to what a surgeon who actually places and treats patients with lap bands say. Not someone who has no experience or knowledge of the lap band.

Good luck on your journey!

Christie

You are right they did not have one but they were in the medical field years ago so I thougt I would ask. this is a really good site for info Thanks

Hi everyone.... ok the band is permanent.. but what I'm wondering is what percentage have to be taken out because of medical problems????

well it's not permanent you can opt to have it removed but I don't know why anyone would...lol....but only 1% have had to have it taken out due to medical problems from what my doctor said to me...

Hi everyone.... ok the band is permanent.. but what I'm wondering is what percentage have to be taken out because of medical problems????

Quoted statistics will vary ofcourse. I would suggest doing a google search for "Dr. Paul O'Brien" he had been one of the leaders in research on the lapband for over 10 years in Australia and has several published case studies that are very interesting to read. One thing to be careful of with the stats is to look at what pool of patients they used. Where they all banded with the same band, or the same technique. Some studies have potentially inflated removal rates due to the inclusion of patients from earlier versions of the band and more importantly earlier surgical techniques for placing the band.

My doctor told me I could if I wanted to, but he said all of his patients tell him they NEED IT, even after they lose their weight, because it keeps them on their diet plan mentally and physically. The old lap bands had some problems with erosion, but the new ones are pretty good and don't slip as often either.

thanks for info everyone

My doc also said if the band could be removed if someone wanted it to. But then even if you were so confident you no longer needed it. Whe pay thousands more to remove it in an elective surgery when you could just pay little to no money to just have the band adjusted to its loosest possible fit and be able to eat nearly if not fully unrestricted? That would give you both a cost benefit and an insurance policy against any future failure to maintain your weight loss?

It is sad but true the lap band was only placed around my stomach NOT my head. I was recently reminded of how true this was when I went in for a sizeable unfill as a precaution before a surgery. I told myself that after 2 years of living the banded life and losing weight it would be easy to maintain my weight without my normal restriction. Oh BOY was I kidding myself. Without the restriction the band gives me the same old hunger demon came rushing back full speed right along with the other little demon whispering in my ear to take advantage of my loss of restriction and eat all kinds of foods I had previously given up and hadn't even craved for ages. Thankfully I'm back on the bandwagon both physically with a new fill and mentally and the few pounds I gained in the last couple months are almost gone already. But boy oh boy did it really remind me how much I really do need this band. It helps reduce the physical "hunger pain" cravings drastically and limits my capability of eating too much when I give in to the mental cravings.

Hi Dianna,

Good luck with your surgery! Everyone here is very friendly and all know what you are going through, so keep in touch!

Jen

11 days til I get banded and I can't imagine not wanting to eat like there is no tomorrow. Or not being very hungry. Counting down

HI Dianna,

Although I am only 3 weeks post op and things will change I'm sure. Be prepared to still get so hungry you'll want to eat like there's no tomorrow. After the first week (when I wasn't hungry and still on a soft or liquid diet) I was sooooo hungry sometimes I wanted to eat and eat and eat. I could still eat 2 cans of campbells chicken noodle soup. I pureed an entire big bag of broccoli and poured it in 2 C. of Lipton cream of chicken Cup A Soup and ate that!! A WHOLE bag of broccoli!!

After 2 weeks I slowly chewed and chewed and chewed a spicy chicken burrito from taco bell.

With the program my surgical team puts us on I already made some life changing eating habits that are now just a fact of normal life I had lost 30 lbs by surgery day. And 10 pounds the week after my surgery.

But the hunger to eat a horse is still here! As I'm writting this now I want to go out and scramble 6 eggs. But my logical side which is NOT GROWLING says ok 2 eggs and a choc. Protein shake. You WILL get the hang of eating with the band, But that tame your hunger I guess will come with time.

I heard somewhere skinny people don't think of food ALL the time. Maybe in ten years or so I'll get food off my mind.LOL :-)

Good Luck with your surgery. And remember to eat very little in the next 11 days so your liver gets a little smaller.

You'll do great!!!

Thank you everyone for those posts above. Even helped me out with my pre-op worries.

Hi there!! Just wanted to know who is doing your surgery. I had surgery in Detroit on December 28th with Dr Weiner. So far so good. Good luck with your surgery! I actually go back there on the 28th of this month for my first fill.