Hello All:

I went to get my lap band yesterday. I was calm when I arrived. My blood pressure was good. I spoke with my surgeon and was ready to go.

Then the anethesia doctor came and gave me something for nauseau and reflux in my IV. All of a sudden, I started having a terrible panic attack. I took the IV off and refused surgery. Also, the anesthesia doctor kept telling me about all of the reasons " you might not wake up" from anethesia. I was flipping by this point!!:sneaky:

I was SOOO prepared and excited for this surgery. I thought I clearly understood all of the pros and cons. Has anyone had a negative experience with the lapband??? All I hear are positive stories....I am scared since I use food as comfort so often!

Any feedback would be great!!:smile2:

Thank you!

im sorry you had a bad experience with everything i know things can get freaked if you never had surgery. its really your choice if this is good for you but truthfully if you are a "comfort food eater" lapband might not be for you. im not saying this to discourage you or to say this to be mean. but there is so many ways you can eat around a band and you can eat so much food. you have to have the mind set when you get banded that you will be strong and take control of your lifestyle. instead of going to food for comfort try other things like excerise. it will make you happier and way healthier. i think excerise is the best remedy for situations like this. it will make you happier as well. for the band to be successful for you you have to take on your issues and not hide from them through food. because you will be able to eat around the band. best advice i can give you is try excerise for a month and see if that is something you can do i know its hard but seriously you have to just suck it up and get out of bed and say i will excerise today and i will eat something good for my body and less. and do it. alot of times if you eat like crap you will feel like crap excerising so eat something healthy and that has some good nutrition values so you will enjoy your work out.

i know this is not the answer you wanted but i believe it needed to be said.... i wish you the best of luck through your journey and hope you find the right combo for your weightloss

Only you know for sure if this is for you and if you are ready.

I ate for comfort too, I ate when I was sad, mad, happy or bored. I grazed all day long.

I took my time and had this surgery when I was ready and the band has helped me to be a normal eater. The band does not do it all for you though. You have to be ready and strong enough to do you part to make it work.

There are plenty of posts on this site about people who went into this thinking it was some magic wand that would wisk the fat away and they either failed or had to step up and do their part to make it work.

Although the surgery itself is pretty safe there are some that have had complications afterward and you can find those stories here too. As well as many stories of people who continued to struggle with bad eating habits.

Last minute fears are also very common. I wanted to run out of the hospital too.

All-in-all, I would say that you just were not ready yet. Do some more research and read about the possible complications. Go here: Lap-Band Complications - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum. And fully understand that the band will help you to feel full but you will need to find the strength to make good food choices and deal with emotional eating. And if and when you are ready then go for it.

It's all about you.

I personally thought this was going to be a quick fix. I've had to work my butt off to make it work and get to correct fills until it finally has become a great tool.

It was slow at first, I wondered why I did it~ but I would do it again in a heart beat.

I have met a great gal on this website who had the same doctor as me. We now are walking buddies and lean on each other when one needs help.

It's been great since.

OUCH! I hate this happened to you. They should have waited on the iv meds...you would have been out in a few moments anyways.

And yes, the risks do include not waking up aka death. If you aren't ready for this....

don't do the surgery.

Not saying you have to have a death wish or anything...but if you aren't ready to accept the risks, then don't do the surgery.

Your doc should have gone over these with you BEFORE you showed up for surgery. What a bombshell to never be told the risks until you show up.

They can also give you something via mouth or IV for panic attacks. I heard a gal on the other side of me getting a bit worked up. They gave her something and she was out like a light.

I remember walking back to the surgery room- getting on the table- they were putting something on my legs and Dr. Feelgood came in. I took one look at him while he played with my IV and woke up to a nurse sitting next to me. About 1/2 after that my husband came in with my kids. I drank some Water. And I was on my way home. I think it was about 4 hours all in all.

IF it's any reassurance, I had to have a root canal last summer and the numbing agent (they actually don't use novocaine, it's Marcane) has something in it to make it work fast .... and it caused me to have a huge panic attack. And I have never, ever even come close to a panic attack.

As for all the scary stuff a surgeon or anesthesiologist will tell you, they have to tell you that stuff. It's called "informed consent". The percentage of people who actually experience any of the negative stuff associated with anesthesia is very small.

Having said all that, you have to decide if you want to go forward. If you do, you have the opportunity before surgery to talk to the anesthesiologist. That's when you tell them about the drug giving you the panic attack. They have something else they can use.

It really stinks that this happened. With any surgery, there are risks. Any time you're anesthetized, you run the risk of not waking up -whether you're getting your tonsils removed or having lap band surgery. They are required to tell you all of the risks. I think maybe there was a lack of pre-op prep for you - getting you ready for what to expect.

There's a difference between being ready for the surgery and not being prepared to have the crap scared out of you because you're lying there ready to go "under the knife" and someone starts spouting off (as they're supposed to) about the risks involved, including DEATH. I can't believe that they didn't prepare you for that conversation - that is HORRIBLE. I can tell you though, its the same conversation that they have with anyone entering an OR.

On surgery day I was scared spitless too but they have this wonderful drug that the anesthesiologist gave me it's called valum. great stuff. I was nice and relaxed by the time they came back to give me the rest of my medicine to knock me out. I didn't have a care in the world by that point.

Thank you so much for all of the feedback! I have an appointment to speak with my surgeon face to face next week. He did think I may have had a poor reaction to some of the meds.

I do think I was really nervous too!!! I will be honest!!!

Did you have alot of pain after the surgery? Did you ever feel like you were chlosterphobic with the band in place???

I truly am so excited and ready! I just think I needed more time to relax and prep for surgery too!

Best,

Sharon

By the way, you are such am amazing group and so so helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is some pain but I have had two surgeries now and it is never as bad as what we build it up to be in our heads. The first 2-3 days is the hardest and it gets better every day from there.

You do not feel the band in place, that area of your stomach has no nerves. You will have pain where the port is but with medication it is completely managable.

I didn't need ANY pain medicine at all after my surgery. This surprised me as I had figured I would at least have some right after. But, nope! Went home and never needed it. And I'm 54 yrs. old. I couldn't/can't feel the band at all.

I too was thinking surgery wouldl be the hardest part of it all. But now, I know that the hardest part is changing all those bad habits I've developed over the years. Now I have to really think about me and what I'm putting in my mouth and when I'm going to eat. I work full time and it's hard for me to put me first and make my habits good habits.

Glad you're asking questions. I really think you'll do fine and hope you will let us know when you're recovering and realize you have this really cool tool to help you the rest of your life!

I didn't accept any pain meds either. i did liquid tylenol. you're just uncomfortable for a few days that's all. just make sure you have a good support team at home for about 3 days or so.