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

ok , NOW I'm going home..... :rolleyes2:

I agree shortgal, it is worrisome to read of complications, but it is something we all need to stay on top of.

Just today I got an email regarding ovarian cancer---and citing the statistics of women getting the equivalent of ovarian cancer, even when they no longer have ovaries!!!! That means me! I researched the info in the article, and learned new things from it.

I have no doubt that as long as this band or any other is in my body it will be a learning experience. And if the OP wants us to learn from his experience---then share the info. It just did not come off that way at all. But he has said point blank it is not us he is addressing. It is those considering the band. Unfortunately for him though, many of those readers are not as demanding of answers.....as we have been today.

I can honestly say I did not say anything to him today that I would not have said to someones face, whether it be friend or foe. I don't think anyone did, and if he is getting the drift that many are finding his story a bit difficult to swallow---he is the only one who can clear things up.....He put himself in this position. He can fix it....and I for one will be glad to give him the chance to do so, and to learn from his experiences.

It might not be things I want to hear---or even like to hear. I also did not want to think after a full hysterectomy I could get the equivalent of ovarian cancer either....but it seems to be so!

Kat

Headhunter, while your story is likely true you have presented it and yourself in a spectacularly imprecise fashion. You mention this bariatric hotshot who has done over 600 surgeries, some of them to repair Lap Band catastrophes, yet you do not mention the percentage of these surgeries which were devoted to Lap Band reversals nor indeed what kinds of problems this surgeon has encountered vis-a-vis the Lap Band. You certainly don't provide your surgeon's name and generally speaking well spoken of individuals like to have their names made available to the general public.

You also mention that one can eat around the Lap Band. Well, this is true and is one of the first lessons that bandsters learn. We learn that the band is merely a tool. It gives one the sense of being satiated after having eaten much smaller portions. What one eats is out of the control of one's surgeon; this area of responsibility lies solely with you. And, by the way, all newly banded are advised to follow a liquid diet while recovering from bariatric surgery. This permits the band to "seat" itself amongst other things. Chugging or attempting to chug down chunks of top tenderloin is not recommended by any band surgeon, and most certainly not during the first 5-6 weeks post-op.

Your information would be of more interest to us if you were to tell us when you were banded, by whom, whether you honestly did follow band dining rules. And we should know how long it was after you were banded that your problems began. And how did the problem first manifest? What did you do? Whom did you consult? and so on. This would be providing us with a full and a coherent picture.

And re your projected teevee publicity campaign and the multi-billion dollar lap band business interests which are currently ranged against you, well, we who live in the affluent west live in Fat City...and all fat fighting techniques, effective or ineffective, are big bucks business.

Ok, so that answered one of my questions.

Any one of us with a band worries that at any time we could be the ONE with a complication. I dont think you can come on here and state certain things, with one short original statement.

I do think it is very hard to explain a complicated situation but then perhaps if you've waited this long to tell your story, then waiting until it's over and then explaining it in more detail might be prudent.

So far, if the surgery can wait, then upcoming surgery might not be any more life threating than any other surgery. Aren't all surgeries potentially life threating? A young girl recently died during PS.

Personally, if I was in the middle of all this, I'm not sure I would be in a place to begin to warn others of the dangers yet. I'd worry about getting my life back first and my own family and when it was over I'd warn people. And certainly millions would get warned, if your whole story goes public to the degree of lawsuits and talk shows.

Here in the Los Angeles area, there is a company that is advertising on the radio that is calling it the "One-Hour Weight Loss Solution", implying that the whole process is an hour or less. They also state that they will do it if you are only 50 pounds overweight. I think that is CRIMINAL. And just plain WRONG.

David

No it isn't. It is not criminal and it is not wrong. Depending on your height a 50# weight loss could mean the difference between MO and normal healthy weight.

The US is about the only country in the world that waits for Morbid Obesity before we do anything about the problem. Every other country will band someone at a BMI of 30 or more. By the time someone is 40 or more they are risking joint damage, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other problems.

It is neither criminal or amoral to band someone with 50 pounds to lose. It does not make a bit of sense to wait until someone already had permanent damage from obesity before being proactive.

Last stats I read show that a whopping 3% of MO people can lose weight and maintain that weight on their own. Obesity is a huge problem in this country today, 1/3 of our population in the US is overweight, another 1/3 is obese. Obesity could potentially bankrupt our medical system as it is close to doing in Australia.

I understand your frustration and your passion regarding your own experience but you are in the minority. There is no weight loss surgery out there that is without risk and complication and we go into this knowing full well what could potentially happen.

What happened to you is on the extra rare side of the coin. I agree with you that I don't really know if the band will be around in a few years, I suspect it will but I do question if it will prove to be ineffective over the next 20 years. So I'm not debating your specific medical issues or long term stats. I am and will continue to debate if we should step in at a BMI of 30 or wait until the damage is permanent before acting.

Cheers.

And if I had the option, I WOULD be.

Are you saying you have a perforation?

If so, get off the computer and go to the hospital.

If not, you'll grow septic and won't be able to post much more.

:rolleyes2:

Well you're posting for some reason and I dont believe for one minute that it has anything to do with "helping" or "saving" someone from a big mistake.

I believe it. I can see that Headhunter has got "religion". He's like the guy who just quit smoking and wants to tell everyone how dangerous smoking is. Only he had lap band surgery and it went horribly wrong and he wants to save other people from that.

This is very understandable, but it can also be very annoying. :rolleyes2:

It also shows me that some of you are NOT reading my comments; you are reading what you WANT to read INTO them.

I think in this case the problem is that you didn't communicate clearly. Because lots of people got the impression you were saying that this is part of why you had problems, not just the ones who don't believe you.

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Obesity does NOT happen because you were born without a plastic noose stitched to the top of your stomach. It happens because you eat TOO much of the WRONG STUFF.

Obesity happens for very complex reasons. If it was as easy as "don't eat too much of the wrong stuff" then diets would work for more than 2% of the population.

Look, Headhunter, the stuff you are recommending DOES. NOT. WORK. for the majority of people. WLS has a much higher success rate. Even if Tony Robins and the Fast food Nation works for you and you keep your weight off 10 years from now (and you don't know yet if that will happen because it hasn't been that long), you will be one of a very, very small percentage that that stuff works for.

Telling people who have struggled with their weight for years, been in therapy for it, taking drugs for it, gone through various WL programs for it, etc. that they should just try one more time because WLS is dangerous is the kind of crapy advice and pressure that people who have never struggled with morbid obesity pull. It's about 100x more inappropriate and annoying coming from someone who has been there and should really know better.

If you really want to save people from themselves, this is my advice to you:

1) This is a support board and there are two sections -- complications and life after band -- where you will be able to get and give ample support from/to people with complications or who are worried about complications. People who are researching the band are also lurking there and may be moved by your story -- your "target audience" as you call them.

2) Start a blog -- take the time to tell your story right rather than scattershot postings on random message boards and make sure what you post is okay with your lawyer.

3) Go to places where your target audience *really* is. Like a dieting site. By the time people get here, it's well past the point where hearing one horror story is going to have a major impact.

4) Tell us the name of the doctor and hospital where you had your original surgery done. That way, we can avoid the place if it's on our list of places we're considering the surgery. :tongue:

Obviously, you don't have to do any of this. But if you really want to stop people from getting WLS, I think you should at least think about it. After all, that's exactly what you ask those us without bands to do. :biggrin:

I don't believe a word! If your condition in so "life threatening" and that death is a "very real possibility", why are you not recovering in ICU instead of typing such long-winded entries on this forum? If I had a plastic tube burrowing into my colon, I would insist on getting it the hell out of there ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!. I think maybe something went wrong with your band but I doubt that it is what you said.

Here it is, Shortgal:

"If you have a "life threating" medical condition, I would think you'd be in surgery this very minute."

And if I had the option, I WOULD be. As I have stated, this is a very complicated issue on a LOT of levels. The Doctors are STILL doing tests (One more colonoscopy this next monday, and another Esophageal Endoscopy), and there is the little issue of this being a "pre-exisiting condition"...meaning that my present insurer does NOT want to cover the cost of this. They told me to plan on two weeks in the hospital, in addition to the surgery. Any idea how much that might cost me? And the life-threatening portion of this, it is my understanding, comes at the TIME of surgery.

Again, this is a very complex issue. Doctors from FIVE hospitals, lawyers, insurance companies, and whole lot more people will ultimately have their fingers in this pie.

Why would your insurance cover all these tests for your pre-existing condition? If you truely had a LIFE THREATENING problem, you would worry about money and insurance coverage after you recovered!! I'm sure that many lawyers would be chasing you down to take part in the enormous settlement you'd be getting!

I don't appreciate the use of the words life threatening when you are clearly not in that position. Life threatening would infer that you can't breathe, are bleeding to death, your heart has stopped, you are in shock, etc. It is usually imminent and if not addressed within minutes, you'll DIE.

Ports just popping out of skin, punctured colons, and all this "more on that later" stuff is just strange. I really hope you wouldn't make up such craziness for a little attention.

this sounds like a lonely person who is looking for a fictional story and audience. I think I have wasted too much of my time on this already. You have definatetly "lost" me from your taget audience!

Headhunter-if your claims are real I wish the very best for you and hope you recover your health. If they aren't, I STILL wish the very best for you!

I smell a troll and call bullpucky on all of this.

#1 if his colon had been perf'd by the tubing then he would have been in emergency surgery having the tube removed, and the colon repaired. Also he would have been in ICU for quite some time for fear of sepsis.

Ok, that is my only point really .. I mean my time as an EMT I dealt with a few issues where a patient had gone septic, they were all life flighted out *we didn't have the facilities in our itty bitty town* due to sepsis and complications with sepsis.

So, yeah I call major MAJOR bullshit on this.

"Are you saying you have a perforation?

If so, get off the computer and go to the hospital.

If not, you'll grow septic and won't be able to post much more.

"

I am NOT saying I have/had a perforation. My doctors have not used that term. They used "burrowed" and "embedded" to describe what has happened in THIS chapter of the saga. As I have stated, there are many layers to this going back over several years.

OP...

Did you start out with a port infection?

Just a yes or no will do.

Did you ever have a port infection? It sounds like you did.

Just a yes or no will do for now. ;o)

I smell a troll and call bullpucky on all of this.

#1 if his colon had been perf'd by the tubing then he would have been in emergency surgery having the tube removed, and the colon repaired. Also he would have been in ICU for quite some time for fear of sepsis.

Ok, that is my only point really .. I mean my time as an EMT I dealt with a few issues where a patient had gone septic, they were all life flighted out *we didn't have the facilities in our itty bitty town* due to sepsis and complications with sepsis.

So, yeah I call major MAJOR bullshit on this.

You can smell anything you like, my friend. Again, I never used the term perforated. I have, however spent time in the emegency room as a result of this, and "septic" was the term used. I spent 12 hours in the ER, and then was transported over to the the hospital that has performed the ORIGINAL surgery, because they couldn't figure out what had happened. I spent a week in the Hospital because of the sepsis, Again, another layer.

MAJOR bullshit? I think not. Please explain to me what I might possibly gain by spending hours reading and responding to these questions, other than to possibly help someone.

I received a PM from a member of this forum who asked me for the name of my doctor, because her mother is experiencing the SAME problems that I had when this whole thing started. I am going to do everything i can to help her, because NO ONE should have to experience what i went through. Hers can be caught in time, it's only in the beginning stages and can be repaired.

Some of you people need to open your minds up a little more, and not be so quick to pass judgement.