I was scheduled to be banded next week until last night I decided to look at the before and after pics, and gave myself cold feet.

I was startled by the number of people posting there that have since (noticed the updates in signatures) had slips, erosions, needed a new band, "upgraded" to the sleeve or RNY, etc. It seemed to me, it was more common than not to have some sort of complication and additional surgery following the initial band for those people that got it in 2004-05.

I got so diseartened and scared, I called my doctor and cancelled my surgery today

What exactly is the average lifespan of a band?

What % of patients are still happy bandsters 5 years down the road?

Do people being banded today have better odds at band success than those being banded 5 years ago (since it's more common, more practiced doctors)?

The thought of losing this weight of my own, without the tool of WLS for support, is overwhelming. I have been dieting or "changing my lifestyle" for the past 15 years at least and all I have to show for it is an extra 80 lbs on my body.

But the thought of going thousands of dollars in debt (yay for self-pay!) for a surgery that will only work as intended for 2-3 years....

I feel so ambivalent about the surgery now... I wonder if I chickened out over isolated, rare, incidents or if my impression was correct.

Can someone point me to some information (either studies, statistics, or personal stories) about actual long term results with this surgery?

OK LULUC don't assume you know my mindset. I believe EVERYONE should question. That means that if Wasa quotes stats and can't back them up they should be questioned. That means if I say "people all post here with problems" and I'm wrong, I SHOULD BE questioned...as you did, and as I apologized for and agreed with you about. But don't assume you know my "mindset" from my posts.

What is personal opinion, anecdotal evidence, etc is NOT scientific inquiry. I know that and I think we ALL know that. Personally I don't want the sleeve or bypass. Many do! And I truly wish that you'd ended up happy with what you got. And I hope the OP finds his/her way to whatever solution works.

But don't counter one statistic with another unless you have the source. Otherwise it's just who shouts the loudest and that's not really good debate.

I think if the OP isn't happy she shouldn't get the band and think I was pretty clear about that without being anal enough to go back and reread. She's (or he's?) going to do what s/he thinks is best anyway, not something someone posts here (I HOPE not anyway. None of us are that wise)

I think it's important to remember that all of us that have revised to other WL surgeries started with the lap band and wanted and expected it to work for us as it was advertised to us. Many of us felt like we were "alone" out there struggling to still "diet" or having minor or major complications. I know the revision site over at obesityhelp.com was really helpful to me and I'm sure Wasa would agree that it's a helpful tool for a lot of people there. It's too bad Alex doesn't have one here, that could actually stay "here" so that people can get more of an insight as to problems people have had with the band to avoid them if necessary. Many do well with the band but not all of us knew that we would be a good candidate in the beginning just from what we've read or were told. I think the more information out there the better so people don't make the same mistakes we made. Good luck to the OP, I cancelled my RNY two weeks before my lap band surgery and went with that instead as I was too scared to get the RNY. But I also wasn't self-pay and that's something I never would have done if I were. Nancy.

You know, I think that when you're 100+ pounds overweight and have tried all the traditional things for years to correct the situation, then no matter WHICH path you take, you are taking a leap of faith.

There are no guarantees with any of them.

Don't have the surgery and keep trying to lose it on your own - there is no guarantee of success.

Accept yourself at your current weight and embrace life as a fat person - there is no guarantee that diabetes or apnea or heart attack or whatever won't stop you.

Lap band, sleeve, bypass... none of them come with a guarantee. People have them and do great. People have them and fail. People have them and have endless medical problems. Who knows what your roll of the dice will be.

For me, it wasn't about finding the "right" answer. It was about weighing the options and making my best decision, but still knowing it was a leap of faith in some regards.

Good luck with whichever path you choose. No, my decision does not come with any guarantee. But you know what - REGARDLESS of what you decide, neither does yours.

Linda I think you have hit the nail on the head. There is no way of knowing 100% before hand what is right for you. Even when you pick the one that seems best suited there are still other variables that can affect the outcome. Surgeon, hospital, illnesses that you may get that could affect the outcome - some which you may already have but be unaware of etc.........

So as you say it is a leap of faith and infinitely better than doing nothing.

My brother had an early form of RnY in the 80's and my sister had one 4 or 5 years ago.

My brother, after initial weight loss, gained a fair amount back over the years but has never returned to his sever super-obesity. While he does get dumping syndrome, he can eat an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers with no problems.

My sister initially lost around 90lbs (down from 365) and gained back 20 to 70lb net loss. She does NOT have dumping syndrome, so her sweet tooth keeps her from losing more weight just as people criticize the Lap Band for. We are all disappointed with her results overall.

In my case, I NEVER had a sweet tooth. I ONLY had a severe Portion Control Problem.

The reason I went with the LapBand is because IT IS PERFECT for people with primarily a portion control problem. I am going into my fifth week post-op and have not once grazed. I never grazed anyway. But when I sit down for a meal, I get full on much less food. Before, my voracious appetite would constitute a severe risk to anyone getting physically between me and the food.

Moreover, the adjust ability was a key factor for me as well and the RnY had already had limited success in my family. If I do have complications I can always have the full compliment of alternatives. Not so with other procedures.

I am already down 40 lbs and very optimistic. I am not naive either. Let's face it, NO SINGLE WLS is best for every aspect of every type of obese person.

Lastly, if your RnY or Sleeve is a disappointment, where do you go then? Your options are greatly limited apart from major surgery.

At least if there is a problem with the Lap Band, there are other viable alternatives.

Edited August 3, 200917 yr by Albacheeser

You're right Ala.......if there is a problem you can revise to another surgery just like if you have RNY you can revise. They have a whole revision section over at obesityhelp.com and people are getting RNY after lap bands and lap bands on top of their RNYs and RNY over sleeves and many other combinations! It would be nice if we were able to pick the "right" one in the first place and also that science can come up with better alternatives for us also!

i can't give you Inamed's stats, they removed them.

The internet has a memory, my friend...

Internet Archive Wayback Machine

My brother had an early form of RnY in the 80's and my sister had one 4 or 5 years ago.

My brother, after initial weight loss, gained a fair amount back over the years but has never returned to his sever super-obesity. While he does get dumping syndrome, he can eat an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers with no problems.

My sister initially lost around 90lbs (down from 365) and gained back 20 to 70lb net loss. She does NOT have dumping syndrome, so her sweet tooth keeps her from losing more weight just as people criticize the Lap Band for. We are all disappointed with her results overall.

In my case, I NEVER had a sweet tooth. I ONLY had a severe Portion Control Problem.

The reason I went with the LapBand is because IT IS PERFECT for people with primarily a portion control problem. I am going into my fifth week post-op and have not once grazed. I never grazed anyway. But when I sit down for a meal, I get full on much less food. Before, my voracious appetite would constitute a severe risk to anyone getting physically between me and the food.

Moreover, the adjust ability was a key factor for me as well and the RnY had already had limited success in my family. If I do have complications I can always have the full compliment of alternatives. Not so with other procedures.

I am already down 40 lbs and very optimistic. I am not naive either. Let's face it, NO SINGLE WLS is best for every aspect of every type of obese person.

Lastly, if your RnY or Sleeve is a disappointment, where do you go then? Your options are greatly limited apart from major surgery.

At least if there is a problem with the Lap Band, there are other viable alternatives.

Alba,

I was a portion eater too. At fast food joints I would have two value meals, I would always be the one eating the last slice of pizza, for home cooked meals I always had a big portion and went back for seconds. I was never a big snacker and am not really a sucker for sweets. I think that is why the band has worked well for me so far. I eat 3 small meals a day and rarely if ever have between meal Snacks. I haven’t had any problems in the six months that I’ve had the band. I agree with Luluc though about not ever wanting to gain the weight back. If I had a slip or other complication I would be looking at every viable solution to maintain my loss.

I love how every thread these days seems to turn into a band vs sleeve thread.

To the OP, the band, like any surgery, will have those who love it and those who've ended up having bad experiences and therefore won't recommend it. Whether it will work for you or not, whether you will suffer complications or not, is really not anything anyone can promise you one way or the other. Go into it with your eyes open, expect complications, and if, like me and many others, your weight loss is smooth and uneventful, well, it'll be great, and you will likely (like me) get to a point when you have lost all the weight you wanted to, the band is doing what's it's supposed to, and you can go on living your life without much thinking about it anymore.

Or you may have complications. Complications aren't as common as it seems by looking at this forum. You're less likely to actually have complications than to NOT have complications. But be prepared in case you do because, let's face it, anytime you fiddle with your insides, you're accepting that there may be a risk of something going wrong.

But we all go into this with the hope that the benefit outweighs the cost. And for many people, it does. So it's as simple as that, really - you do it because the potential benefit usually outweighs the cost. Just make sure you're aware of the potential benefits, and the potential costs, and weigh it all up for yourself.

hi,

i have to say i agree with those that say going into this....we just dont know how whatever WLS will be for us. we make the best decision based on what we know at the time.

i was one of those who said they would never, EVER have anything but the band. i didnt want my intestines or stomach cut, etc.

even without much of a fill, i experienced issues with eating. i still cant eat sitting down.

now that i am at my goal....i have to say i'm not sure i can keep living with the band. while i was losing weight....i didnt mind the pb's, sliming, etc. but i'm starting to think a permanent "diet" of these issues is not in the cards for me.

i havent decided anything definitely yet....

the sleeve has peaked my interest but i must say i want to see more history developed on this surgery. i dont want to "switch seats on the titanic". but people that had similar issues with the band that i do...seem to have a much easier time with the sleeve.

most importantly i have to say everyone is entitled to their own experience and opinion....and sharing it with someone that requests it is the best we can do to help.

josie

To start off with the band is a very good "Tool" but that is all it is. It is not a quick fix. It is a "Tool" designed to aide in weight loss. i think the problem with the people that are not happy with it. are the people that DID NOT listen and understand what their surgeon tried to tell them BEFORE they had the surgery. There are complication with some of the people that have had the lapband, but alot of the times it is their own doing. THEY didn't follow the instructions of the surgeon, because as with most obese people we seem to want to try and "get around" what we really are suppose to do to lose weight. We don't want to be FAT but yet we still EAT what are not suppose to. all i know is my surgeon explained all of the risks before i was cut into and i UNDERSTOOD the risk and was willing to take them. I personally have not had any complications with the band, but i have followed doctors orders. i do not eat or drink the things my doc has warned me not to. Now as far as selfpay and the surgery and complications. Do you not think you may have some with the sleeve or they gastric bypass? YES you could and i can tell you now that it would cost you a heck of alot more to CORRECT that mistake. My surgeon won't even let his patients do selfpay with the gastric because they said if there are complications it could run you into the 100's of 1000's of dollars but he will do the band on selfpay. So what does that tell you? My surgeon is probley one of the best out there. his success rate is out of this world. So i think i would tend to believe him. Plus everything he has told me has been right on as of this point. So BOTTOM LINE if you do or do not get it that is obviously up to you, but if you do decide to go through with it. know that it WILL NOT be a QUICK FIX and you will have to GIVE UP somethings and most importantly you will have to WORK VERY HARD to get to the goal you want to be at. Either way i wish you the best of luck!

To the original poster.

YOU were absolutely correct in cancelling. If you have serious doubts, you should not do something.

What you noticed, about the pre and post op pictures section is very very true and representative. I say this because I believe people post the before and after pictures before they start having problems. Then they change the signature line on there account months or years later and it updates the signiture. So you are actually getting a pretty good sample of people. By the way the people who post the most are the people in there first 6 months. Not people having problems, but people who have problems do tend to update there signitures. It was actually, in my opinion, a brilliant if not accidental way of sampling long term success.

As a SELF PAY, I would not agree with a band over a sleeve. Unless the sleeve scares you to the point of doing nothing.

Lastly, if your RnY or Sleeve is a disappointment, where do you go then? Your options are greatly limited apart from major surgery.

At least if there is a problem with the Lap Band, there are other viable alternatives.

Oh my, where to begin. If there is a problem with the sleeve, (IOW, if restrictive alone does not work JUST like the band) then one can revise to RNY or DS.

Education, it's a good thing.

The internet has a memory, my friend...

Internet Archive Wayback Machine

It's not on Google Cache. Funny how that works with drug companies that have unlimted pockets.

It's not on Google Cache. Funny how that works with drug companies that have unlimted pockets.

Or maybe they just know how to direct google's expectations of what should and should not be cached, and for how long. That doesn't require money.

IIRC, the wayback machine predates google. At least, that's my memory of it, seeing as it had history of old websites of mine from the mid-90s.

Oh my, where to begin. If there is a problem with the sleeve, (IOW, if restrictive alone does not work JUST like the band) then one can revise to RNY or DS.

Education, it's a good thing.

It's not on Google Cache. Funny how that works with drug companies that have unlimted pockets.

You are right education is a good thing so maybe you should research a little bit more. With the sleeve the cut into and shrink your stomach, but with the lapband the just simply put the band around it. The lapband is the safest and most effective bariatric surgery on the market today. If you RESEARCH all of the surgeries you will see that. Also you will see that NONE of the surgeries are guarnteed. At the end of the day it is up to whom ever gets the which ever surgery to lose the weight and keep it off themselves. Bottomline the with any of the surgeries you can gain your weight back or not lose what you wanted to at all, so if i were to choose i would go with the lapband because atleast you can reverse that one and not have as many complcations with it.( oh oops i did go with the lapband lol)