I am seeing all kinds of posts about damn port infections and having to be in the hospital and having to have port taken out etc....I'M REALLY STARTING TO FREAK OUT HERE NOW!!! I was all set in my mind to have this surgery done, but seeing all these problems with the port and infections etc...it's giving me second thoughts BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :rolleyes2::tt1:

Mine's not infected, never has been.

Weighing the options...hmmmm, be continuously fat with high blood pressure, backaches, leg pain, diabetes, limited mobility

Or

continue to lose weight, have restriction and be able to eat like normal people to my goal weight where I can once again resume a healthy and active lifestyle with a miniscule risk of maybe something going wrong post surgery.

It was an easy choice for me.

I think what you have to remember is that there are an enormous number of people on this site. Out of who knows how many, there are people who have had port infections. I think they're the minority here. I had my surgery on 12/26/07 and haven't had one issue with my port. It's unfortunate that it does happen but I really don't think it's the norm. It's perfectly normal to be scared esp. after reading about the difficulties that some people have experienced. Hang in there and keep going forward.

Jenn

A lot of threads are specifically about problems and people looking for support or solutions. Those of us who don't have problems don't come on to say, "I'm doing great!" when someone else is suffering. In fact, I'm more likely to accentuate any problems I have to let the sufferer know she/he isn't alone.

In other words, you are going to hear more about the problems than the good experiences on a forum like this. That doesn't mean that there aren't a whole lot of us who are just doing fine.

Here's an interesting article that I think puts things in perspective:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/lap-band-surgery-sounds-like-a-risky-business.html

hi ThinDolphin3

I had it done a week ago and i'm still in a lot of pain. But despite the fact that i cried most of yesterday, i know long term this is the best option for me.

Dont be put off by reading the problems that people are having... when we have problems we are more likely to post looking for support.

I would still do it again, even though i havent got to the good part of no pain yet.

t

Like others have said, you will get a skewed view from reading here in some ways, because people come here looking for advice.

The worst(and only real) complication I've had was an esophagus spasm that did send me to the ER, only because the symptoms felt like those I'd heard go with a heart attack. I was fine a few hours later, and it was a clear signal to me that my band was indeed too tight. I knew it was, but was liking the fast weight loss. I guess I needed a reminder that it wasn't a good thing!

Well said, Snowbird.

Also, the article that you listed the link for was great!