Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting on lapbandtalk. I was banded in March of 2007. I'm currently below my goal weight and have maintained my goal weight for almost a year.

I've had problems with my band from day one. From being extremly too tight without a fill to having a dilated pouch. Now my doc thinks I have scar tissue built up under that band and wants to do a revision.

I've decided I'm going to have it completly removed. I say that with excitment too.

So there's a little history of me now and I have a ton of questions for those of you who had your band removed and not replaced or any other surgery on top of it.

1. Did you have any complications during the removal of the band?

2. Any complications today because having the band

3. When did you have your band removed? (Month and year is fine)

4. Have you gained or lost any way since the removal?

5. How was the pain? I've hear the area where the port is at is the worse

6. What are your eating habits like now?

7. How long did it take for you to eat "normal" again?

I'm sure I'll have more questions. Thanks for your help:thumbup:

I was banded for 18 months, started at 303 got down to 200. Band removed 7/04 due to 40% erosion, gained back to 333 from 7/04 to 08/09. Vertical Sleeve done 8/14/09, down to 197ish depending on the day.

Once my band was removed my hunger kicked back in to pre-band levels. :-(

I feel like my band controlled my hunger better than my sleeve, but I'm still restricted enough (apparently) to achieve the same results. I did have a rocky time at the beginning of my sleeve journey due to a self-contained leak and spent the month of November in the hospital, but all is good now.

Without the help of the band most people will not be able to maintain their weightloss - depressing, but true. No different than going off a "diet".

That being said, there are those rare folks who are able to manage it.

Best of luck -

Donali

I'm ready to have the band removed. I was banded on January 2009 and have only lost 16 lbs to date (December 2010). That's too little weight to justify keeping something in my body that might erode or cause more complications down the line. I'm preparing to convert to a Mini Gastric Bypass by Dr. Rutledge (look him up on youtube). This will ensure that I continue to lose weight, get the surgery that will really decrease my hunger and take the weight off. Of course this is a more invasive surgery, but that's ok as long as it gets the job done.

Most people I know with the lapband have fairly unpleasant lives... vomiting, food getting stuck, morning tightness so bad you can't even drink Water when you wake up, etc, etc. I've also had the doctor blame me for eating the wrong things too. Since the surgery does nothing to decrease "real" hunger you are constantly in danger of eating whatever is on hand and won't get stuck in the band. I admit now that I made a mistake with the surgery. What's sad is that so many bandsters have problems and are still told that lack of weight loss is their fault. You can't get fruits and veggies past the band... of course you'll go for the ice cream! I'm excited to get the band removed and have my conversion surgery by Dr. Rutledge early next year. I'm looking to get it done asap, like March or April. I'd seriously consider getting another weight loss like MGB or Sleeve done upon removing the band or the weight is likely to come back on.

You can get fruit and nuts and veggies past your band if you don't have it too tight. The band reduces hunger and allows you to control what you eat but if you try to lose the weight too fast and have it that tight that you can't eat anything healthy then you are setting yourself up for disaster. Most folks want to feel full and can't work out that the band is all about not feeling empty rather than feeling full. I have been banded for 16 months, lost 48kgs and 4 months ago had all the Fluid out. I have since put on 5 kgs (almost straight away and nothing since) I am working out how to eat right without using my tool before I have it removed. I have the option to have it refilled in one large hit if I decide I can't go it alone. If your band is too tight then you learn nothing, you will probably get complications and if you have to have it removed you will probably regain all the lost weight because you don't take the time to learn while you lose.

These things I knew before I was banded through reading everthing I was given and researching as much as possible. Those of you saying it is a scam; can you honestly say you were given no information and you had no opportunity to research for yourself or were you given the info that told you how it works and then expected it to work differently because that is what you wanted to believe? Were you really told that you would always feel full, you'd never think about food, the weight would drop off without any work from you and there was no possibility of any complications? or is that just what you wanted to believe?

Slow down, take responsibility. The worst thing is an over filled band, fill it slowly and feel the difference, have it topped up as you lose weight because it gets looser. Learn as you go and don't blame the band if you don't give up ice cream/fizzy pop/alcohol/chocolate/lattes or whatever else you claim to be addicted to.

What would you think of someone who bought a vacuum cleaner and then said it didn't work and that vacuum cleaners were scams just because they couldn't be bothered to take it out of the box, plug it in and push it around. If you used your vacuum cleaner right and had lovely clean carpets you would be unable to takeseriously those saying that vacuums didn't work at all.

There are folks that the band fails but there are way more that fail their bands through lack of input. You hear about the band, you want the band, you dream about the band, it is the answer to all your problems then when you wake up with the band you don't like the reality because you prefered the dream and then instead of working to make the dream happen, you just move onto another dream, bypass or whatever. Let's face it, if you have half your stomach cut off then it has to be easy, right?

I wish you all luck with your weight loss journeys but I think many of you need to start being pro-active and think about how to use this tool you have. And by the way, imho, once you have healed post surgery, you should eat good food slowly untll you are no longer hungry but never until you are full. Learn the difference between 'not hungry' and 'full' and if you are hungry an hour later then have a little more. Learn the difference between good foods and bad foods, good liquids and bad liquids and make the changes. Most of you will find it is up to you and if you do it right, it will work.