Hi, Everyone;

I'll assume that some of my comments won't be all that popular here, but if you want honesty about the Lap band, I'll be happy to give you my point of view.

I have a Lap band. It was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made in my life. I had it "installed" at one of the finest medical centers in the world, by a well-known surgeon.

It has almost killed me. And, I am entering the hospital on May 7th for a 4th and final surgery that MAY be fatal for me. The lap band will be removed, the big hole in my stomach that it may have created will be repaired (hopefully), and my colon will be opened up so that they can remove the Lap Band tube that burrowed it's way inside.

It's a long story, with lots of twists and turns.

My purpose for becoming a member here and sharing my story is to let potential Lap-Band recipients know that there is a "dark side" to the lap band. It should not be a quick or easy decision. It's only one option.

I hope my comments here will be taken seriously.

David

Until the thread is locked, it will likely never "die"---but as long as the tone has taken a turn for the better, it doesn't bother me one bit where it is.

The bypass vs. banding is out there, on past threads, and of course everyone thinks their choice is best for the most part!!!

Personally, I had health reasons that virtually dictated what surgery I had, and feel like whatever works for someone is obviously the right one for them!!! They ALL have downsides I am sure....just as they ALL have highlights that we enjoy.

The one point of this thread, even from the beginning, was through the Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, it got people talking about the band, and to those looking into it---we all need to make wise choices, and I am sure many have learned from your post Brandy, to insist on full discussion with the Dr. before surgery, concerning the follow up issues. Just as I am sure many people now know at the first sign of irritation at the port site to see the Dr. due to the OP's issues.

If you seriously want the thread gone, the best way is to discuss it with a moderator and ask for it to be locked. But with the civility returned, I don't know if they will.

Kat

Thanks, but I tend to be the type of person that seems to know what's going on so maybe I gave that impression and they went with it. I know what you mean by getting too much info as opposed to not enough. My daughter does have a different surgeon who actually volunteered in Iraq and came back to the group. My daughter feels very confident that she's getting a lot of info from her. But you know in a way too I knew my daughter really wanted the surgery and I wanted to go through everything first, kind of like a guinea pig for her just in case there were probs I didn't want her to have them first I wanted to make sure I survived before I let my baby do it. Anyway thanks, brandyII.

AthinnnerDenise,

I don't care where the thread is, I just keep answering questions from my last post, to be honest I don't remember what was the first thread anyway! brandyII

We have talked about locking this thread. It seems that everything has calmed down for now, so I guess if it stays that way, things will be fine.

Please report anyone who does not follow the lap band talk rules, such as name calling.

I will. I will totally tattle. This just isn't the forum for that.

Brandy II, not only do I not think you're a dumbass - you just plain make me laugh! You made me think of something though when talking about your dad. It takes about a teaspoon of wine to get me wasted. I was warned about this before banding but since I hardly ever drink, I didn't think much of it. Absolutely no alcohol in public anymore - not because I make myself look (more) stupid, but because I need to go to sleep - immediately!!

My "bad" foods have always been the salty/fatty ones. And Tostitos and queso slip down just fine, darn it!!

I'm trying to use the willpower I don't have (birth defect) to just not buy them. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I'm not. I think my problem is with planning. Wish I'd paid better attention in home ec.

David,

there are many of us who have recently had the lap band. We, like you, decided to be banded. Your comments are disturbing for us. I'd like statistics - how many lap band have burrowed into colons. How many ports have come through the skin. I mean you probably have all us new bandsters ready to go back to our doctors and insist that they be removed.

I'm not saying that you should not have posted this but when posting something like that maybe you should do research and state the statistics on how often things that you've experienced happen. and hopefully the stats are not high.:crying:

Id - if you're having any kind of second thoughts, check out the thread on people who have lost over 100 lbs - very inspiring!!

Knotta,

thanks, I also found tortilla chips and chili con queso do go down quite easily for me also, I forgot to add that to my repertoire, lol. But come on I didn't get the band because I was eating too many celery sticks, lol!

I remember going out to dinner after being banded and still having probs with the protein and it was an Italian chain and I think I drank 3 lemoncellotinis or whatever they were called and that's the last time I drank my dinner as opposed to eating. Actually I just don't go out that much anymore to dinner because for the amount I eat it's not worth the money to me anymore. Maybe that's a good thing. brandyII

I will. I will totally tattle. This just isn't the forum for that.

A wise man once said "...you know by tattling on your friends you're really tattling on yourself. By tattling on your friends you're really just telling them that you're a tattletale. Now is that the tale you want to tell?:crying:

ReadySteady, you tattletell....Oops, that was name calling. Here comes the lockdown!!

ooooooooooooooooooooooh plain I'm telling. Just wait. I am composing a VERY angry Email RIGHT NOW!:thumbup:

BrandyII- Is that off the Brady Bunch movie?

Ready,

Of course, who better to quote from than "Mike Brady"!

Your father's right kids.

David--

I am so sorry for your health issues. I hope that you have a full recovery and get all the compensation you deserve.

On that note, I don't mean to be a bitch. By any means. I am scheduled for surgery May the 9th. It took me two years to decide to get this surgery, and I weighed all the risks I could find. Your story makes it sound like the risks are being underestimated. David, I'm a hypochondriac. Plain and simple. I believe at times that I have every disease in the world and it took this long for me to work up the courage for this surgery. I worked out at a gym, got a personal trainer, dieted, change styles, I have hunger issues. Just that. My hunger never stops. I viewed the Lap band as far less invasive than the alternatives. My BMI is around 50.

David, I am tearing up right now. I will encourage you to perhaps move this thread to the Complications forum. I read it to welcome you, now, I can't breathe. I'm having a panic attack. Luckily, I have Lorazepam. Seriously, I don't mean to be a bitch, but a lot of us are just plain F--KING scared of this surgery and it seems to be the only thing to save our lives. I am doing this for my future and your discouragement has made it just that much harder for me.

I am sorry for my cruelty.

Hi Nicole I say take a deep breathe and take his story with a grain of salt. We don't know if he really is telling the truth, this is the internet after all. Also sometimes you get what you paid for - a cheaper doctor or one you didn't research for malpractice issues. Or he just has the worst luck. They've been doing the lapband in Australia for 15 years and have research from that far back. The revisions that his 2nd surgeon does are not necessarily from mistakes, some people choose the lapband and then either cheat - ie milkshakes and such or they just decide its not what they imagined it. It can be disappointing to people to loose "just" 1-2 lbs a week as opposed to the larger quicker gastric bypass weight loss. I actually thought about it 5 years ago when I watched a documentary on someone who had the lapband done and one on a woman with the gastric bypass. I always thought I'd do that by the time i'm 35 if I don't loose the weight. A co-worker got it done last year and it took me 6 months and a lot of questions to decide I was interested in it now. My husband decided that he was too. It still took us 6 more months to do all our tests and work through our feelings before I got it done Feb 28th and my husband on March 6th. I felt better within a week, no more wheezing. My husband did have referred shoulder pain from the gas for a week but as soon as he started taking Tums that went away. Neither one of us regret it and we're doing fine. Where I work a lot of people are either doing the lapband or the gastric bypass. Both are tools to help you relearn your eating habits. You also need to look at why you got to that point so you can learn not to fall into old habits or start new bad ones. Good luck next month!