Hey everyone,

I had my band placed in 2/27/08 just 7 days ago and i'm going crazy!! I decided that after 7 days, I want my band removed. I'm 22 and have my whole life to look foward to and enjoy. The band is not worth all this stress I've put up with, I want to go back to living a normal life :shades_smile:. I mad a big mistake in getting it done in the first place. Has this happened to anyone eles. Please don't respond if your comment is to try to get me to change my mind. Thanks but my mind is set. All of us in this forum have or had weight issuse and now how it feels to have someone who is skiny and healthy "TRY" to show sympathy when in realaty don't konw what your really going thru. :frown::ohmy::frown::frown:

HI there. Im not going to try to talk you out of your band, b/c I havent even had one done yet! (and you asked us not to!)

I just wanted to ask what the reasons are that you want to get rid of it? You say its not worth the stress, and you want a normal life back? What have you gone through, if you dont mind my asking? Have you had physical or emotinal problems with it?

I also just wanted to say that I have several friends (5 to be exact) that went through a dark phase after getting WLS (2 were banded, 3 were gastric bypass) They were saying what the heck did I do, I made a mistake, etc. They talked to their doctors, and others about their feelings, and I gues sthey are completely normal feelings to have. And, they usually pass. All of my 5 friends feelings have passed, and they are living more "normal" lives now. They are eating more normal food, and they are thinner.

Just food for thought.

I wish you the best!

Wow. The emotions this thread has drug up! It's like being a fly on the wall at a therapy session.

Honestly, I think it's so shocking to most of us, who dieted..lost..and gained a thousand times, who fought insurance companies, who scrimped and saved, who prayed and worried, and finally found success with the band - to respond to someone who just got it and wants it gone.

Yaz - I'm curious, you didn't want to be talked out of it, but you posted your plan out here in a world full of lap band lovers. That's kind of like bringing an Obama sign to a Clinton rally. Or passing out Catholic tracts at a Jewish temple. Just a bit inflammatory. Are you sure you didn't want to be talked out of it?

My only bit of advise - please honey, don't make a decision when you are feeling depressed. Get some help and maybe meds (Prozac is my happy friend and has been for years). You can always get it taken out later.

And to everyone else - I love your passion about your bands - makes me want to lean over and kiss mine (still too fat though). Stay enthusiastic.

great post jnbwilds. I fought for months (over seven) to get approval and couldn't, so I totally don't understand it and actually have a fear something will go wrong with my band and it would have to be removed. I would be devastated!

I think the thought of the permanence of the band, the surgery/anesthesia itself and the post op diet have worn her down.

I'm sure the Dr. will know what to do.

i definitely had regrets early on...but i was able to stay rational enough to suppress any feelings to take action on my regrets.

without a fill, i can eat any and everything that i want.

you are stuck right where you are for a few weeks, irregardless of whether you chose to remove or not. the doc is not going to go back in and take this out until you heal and are strong enough to endure another elective surgery. you have to abide by the post surgery rules now, or you risk injuring yourself. you may be able to take the band out later, but you cant reverse the fact that you have doctors orders that must be followed for the time being.

since you are stuck where you are right now, just find a way pass the time while you follow doctors orders and let your body heal. once your body is healed, you will see that you will likely be able to eat anything you like.

revisit your idea when you are healed. an unfilled band is almost like a non-existent band to me. perhaps it will be the same for you. go on with your life. if you gain more weight, like most people do, and you grow up a little and decide you need a little help with weight loss, then the band will be there for you.

i sincerely wish you the best of luck, but you obviously did not think through your decision to get the band. don't make another rash decision to have it removed. especially when you can eat like you always have if you leave the band unfilled.

find a way to stop hating your band.

you just met it.

you don't even know it yet.

Hey I know how you feel, I was banded 2/29/08 and I fought with myself all night before. I was sure I was making a mistake it is sure hard. I started to read all the bad stuff that goes with this lapband. Hang in there I have to give mine a try because I am so over weight. I hope everything works out for you.

Its not for everyone and you need to do what is best for you. My Dr. let me have solid food on the 8th day after surgery which happened to be Thanksgiving day and I had a spoon of mashed potatoes and gravy and a small piece of turkey. I dont know why some drs. make you stay on liquids so long after surgery. You need to ask if you can have some solid foods now.

I can't believe they paid for hers and didn't pay for mine even though I was covered and over 40 BMI. I just lacked the proof that I was overweight for the last 5 years.

Hi Shortgal,

I, too, was denied for not having proof of morbid obesity for 5 years. Aetna recently changed their guidelines and reduced the 5-year requirement to 2 years. I initially met with the surgeon in early 2007 and now that it's 2008, I have a weight history for 2 years.

I got approved last week and my surgery is March 13th.

If you don't have Aetna as your insurance carrier, you may wish to consider changing when your employer offers open-enrollment.

Good luck,

Mike

Well when i first started thinking about getting the band I weighed 180 lb. But because I didn't quilify I gained some and now i'm at 198 lb. I thought I did my research but I think I was only focused on the being ''skinny" part of it. I thank everyones comments and support. But I got in this mess for being LAZY :eek:. Im over weight but I'm not obese. I still do want the band removed and start being so lazy and get off my a**. To everyone in this forum who have the band and are happy with it, I bow to you . But this is simply not for someone who is just being lazy.

JUST REMEMBER THAT 90% OF PEOPLE WHO DIET AND EXCERCISE FAIL. AND THEN GAIN BACK PLUS SOME. SO GOOD LUCK DOING IT ON YOUR OWN!

JUST REMEMBER THAT 90% OF PEOPLE WHO DIET AND EXCERCISE FAIL. AND THEN GAIN BACK PLUS SOME. SO GOOD LUCK DOING IT ON YOUR OWN!

I find this thread frustrating. Especially this comment... first off, statistics can be made to say anything. Secondly, I've heard this "statistic" before, and yet the percent keeps climbing and climbing, by people who make it up. I commend everyone who has shared their experiences on this post, it really has helped myself and others who are going through the pain of newly living with the band. The emotional pain, like someone said, of living without your best friend of food is VERY hard.

This kind of post is unacceptable! This site should be supportive, and not a place where people can YELL at someone and try to make them feel bad. Sharing your experience is helpful, quoting a "statistic" and being confrontational is not. I came to this site because I found incredibly supportive and caring people... I'm disappointed that I have found a few who are not.

hmmm...

i don't think there was any malicious intent in quoting a statistic that the poster had bouncing around in their head...((regardless of its legitimacy))...

what i got from that post:

losing weight is really hard, and most of us lose, then gain the weight back, with a little extra. perhaps it is worthwhile to consider this in your decision-making process.

and despite the ALL CAPS, i did not read this as though the writer was YELLING.

i read no ill-will in the stat post!! i dont think we should be so harsh with a 21 year old who made her 3rd post here only to be bashed for putting in her .02.

While I agree that quoting unreferenced statistics may not be particularly helpful, sometimes you have to be a little confrontational to be supportive. I think that thoes of us who's reply could be considered "confrontational" had the intent to encourage the OP to consider other options instead of her "either-or thinking." Enabling behaviors that accept all things may give a person a warm and fuzzy feeling of being OK, but do not promote the kind of personal growth or change in attitude that this OP needs.

well said, linda.

and btw--

WOW AT 99.5 LBS LOST!! THAT IS GR8!!

I just find it amazing that everyone who read just a couple posts by the thread originator seem to know exactly what she needs. From this thread, everyone seems to be doctors.

While I'm not looking to tear anyone down for sharing their 2 cents, I think we should be more thoughtful about what we post. Sharing an experience or giving advice is extremely helpful and very much appreciated by many who read the post. I just have felt that from the beginning of this thread many just posted to attack her, and I have felt the need to defend her and her right to feel the way she does. Just because we're online doesn't mean there's not a person behind the screen.

you know, i guess i am just a little more optimistic when i read responses. sure, there are a few responses here that read with a bit of a sharp tongue, but overall, i read support and encouragement...i don't think the majority of responders are trying to make her keep the band, nor do i think anyone wants her to get rid of it. we all just want her to think it through and do what is right for herself!

Yaz:

if getting the band was wrong for you, and you did not foresee that, even gained weight to GET the band, then perhaps your ability to think things through is a little uninspired. the important thing here is that you ARE in the predicament that you are in...and you cannot change that right now. find a way to deal with the hand you have dealt yourself, and consider your option to remove...while keeping our words in mind. i don't think anyone here will judge you in your final decision, however, i cringe at the thought of you possibly making another wrong decision for yourself.

the band can be a great ally...don't cheat yourself of that because you miss your favorite foods already. i am 2 years in and i have not had to completely give up any of my favorite foods! those first few weeks are rough. i wish i could bottle up some strenghth to send to you, just to help you get through this part.