I will probably regret posting this but here goes anyway.  

I do not deny band faults. Some, like Nic, have bad surgeons; others never get restriction; some poor people get internal damage. I truly feel for them. They have had awful experiences, not of their own making. This post is no way doubting their stories or belittling their experiences.  

On the other hand, some abuse their bands. They expect instant miracles, accept being too tight and constant PBs. They do not make the necessary life changes. By getting an unfill, following basic rules, these people could help themselves. This is not the same as the first group I described.  

But in real life,  this is MY personal experience:-

I have been banded for well over 6 years. i am happy and successful. I did have a leak repaired a couple of years ago but am not unhappy about that. I eat all foods, I very rarely PB,  I do not slime, get reflux etc. etc..  

In the US ( three years ago), I met Bette ( now 8 or 9 years post op) Mira (over 6), Debbie (5) - all today still banded, all still slim, all still happy. I also met poor Pepsi/Sue who has since died of unrelated causes. Kirsten and Nekton no longer post but when last heard of they were happy.  

In the informal support group I am part of in my local major town, I meet regularly with 20 people; they range from newbies to six years post-op. Everyone is happy!  

Of the four people I met when I was first banded, one had her band removed due to unrelated causes, one had it removed, as she freely admits, because she abused it. The other two are happy.  

Last time I went to my doc, there were three women in the waiting room with me and we got chatting. We were all happy; me at ( then) 5 1/2 years, the others at 6, 4 1/2 and 3 respectively. One was there for a defill, so it is possible there might have been an issue.  

My own doc reports a re-op rate of 20% which seems a lot but of those, the vast majority are minor - flipped port, leak, reposition. Still ops, I know!
 
I have ( for non/medical reasons) changed hospitals and the new hospital has a slip rate of slightly over 2% and under 5% removals.  

I asked my support group and they say that the experiences they hear in their own clinic waiting rooms reflect those I hear in my own.  

I have no idea why people posting on here have such different experiences. People who have several family members with problems; people who say they know IRL large numbers of seriously damaged people.   I am not in any way denying their problems. Just saying, it really is not all doom and gloom.  

I fully expect to get posts full of stats ( but please, not that wonderful survey about the 80 people ( started with 151, but they lost touch with half of them), who were banded using the now obsolete surgical method, with the old bands. Not wildly relevant!  

I know I am going to get flak for this! Comes with the territory. Curse the band, that's fine! Praise the band and you are an ignorant moron. Well, I'm not a moron. I' m not ignorant. I know I may not have my band for life. But I am grateful to it for enabling me to eat well for over six years, for changing me from a lethargic couch potato into a very fit, active person. I look good, I feel good. If problems start tomorrow I will deal!    

Kate  

Well (and kindly) said Kate.

 Can I just say, "ditto"? 

 Thank you for this post.

Great post Kate

Whaddya mean? I love my band. It's awesome.

 You are blessed to have your band, Kate and allowed to share your success...no one would begrudge you that.  Cheers!

Well said Kate, like you I have been banded 6 1/2 years. No major issues with the band except when I am the one making it go crazy because I like something and I want that last bite then the band reminds me that she is still there and in charge.  I could easily overeat if my band would let me, that was my problem I am a volume eater, I eat good foods but just to much of them so that is why the band has worked well for me.

I to understand and NEVER criticize someone when they have trouble with their band because I don't walk in that person's shoes and do not know what is going on with them but I DO HATE the blank statement that I WILL HAVE TROUBLE WITH MY BAND. Maybe and maybe not you do not know me and how my body reacts to things. That is like saying YOU WILL GET CANCER, no one knows that so please think about what you are saying when you lay down that blanket statement.

I have friends who have had trouble with the band and no fault of their own and I empathize with them because I know they have done all they can but it is like everything else and every other weight loss surgery nothing is 100% guaranteed not to mess up. If you have something that is 100% guaranteed please let me know because I want in on that action,

If you are thinking about the band be your own best advocate and do all the research and chose what fits you not someone on a message board.

That's all, I will get off my soap box for now.....lol

Kate ,
I think I actually remember when you got your band. I am happy that you are doing so well and I hope everyone that chooses the band has great success with it.
Believe me , I NEVER thought I would have to change to bypass especially after I was so upset when my twin daughter's chose bypass over having the band 6 years ago.
What you wrote was well said and respectful

I haven't been here in months!!!! What????? Did not know you had a revision! Good for you! How are you feeling?

Nancy,
Doing much better than I expected, not really sure what I expected , no complications ( so far) I have lost in 3 months about what I lost the first year with the band....but I still am loosing slow...it is all very weird. Surgery was a "breeze" my doc is taking out several bands a week so I am not alone , I was his 2ond smallest patient he has worked on and surgery was only 1-1/2 hours
I no longer have pain when I eat and that has made everyone in my family happy , not drinking , was planning on having a glass of wine over the 4th but nobody else wanted any , so why bother with opening a bottle , I miss it a little bit , especially when we are at the lake and socializing , but I just put a Fuse drink in my wine glass and that has been fine.
It is hard to believe it is almost 4 months since my surgery , time really flies I guess. I still have my doubts about this or any WLS working so I need to change my head , and need to eat more.
Vitamins have been a challenge for me but I HAVE to have them the rest of my life.
I will be having hip and double knee replacement sometime in the future , holding off as long as possible, mayyybeee won't need the knee replacement if my weight gets down further.
Hope YOU are doing well...miss you

Miss you too!!!! I wish we could have a weekend in Mexico again! Are you not drinking because of your surgery? My band doesn't do for me what it did in the beginning as far as controlling hunger, but it does restrict how much I can eat at one time, and it's not really bothering me...so I leave it alone. I did tweak it a little bit with a local band doctor that Kaiser pays for (yay!!!), over the last 6 or 8 months, had a fluoro and all is good. Any less and I"m too loose, any more and I'm too tight.

I went through that to loose , to tight, I think finally it was too tight but I just left it like that and gained about 40 and my esophagus burned all the time ( it was becoming part of my stomach ).
I am not drinking because I want to loose the weight and I am on pain killers for my knees and hip ...AND because I am a bit worried how it would affect me now that I have had bypass.
Fun times in MX with you and Deb , I don't see her at all now that I don't go down to Stanford, I can't tell you how happy I am to have a doc close to home and how much better I feel .
Hope you are well !!

 Thank you for this post. I am seriously considering the Band over Bypass. I never reached goal (RNY) and have gained 60 pounds. I do not want the DS. So your insight is great. Can you tell me are you LAP band or Realize Band?

Whit

 Hey Whit.  For my BOB, I had a LapBand not a realize band.  I got a large band (14cc) due to excess scar tissue. I currently have 9.7 cc in my band.  Dr. Kurian thinks the large band was needed due to the scar tissue and the amount of potential fils due to my RNY.

Heather, I don't mean to be intrusive but what is the cause of the scar tissue?

My concern is both for you personally and to understand how the BOB works with the situation.

No, I'm not a fan of BOB but, when I run across someone who is having such a terrific experience with it, I'd like to know more.  I clearly won't be having it but I want to be able to understand when it might be a viable alternative.

Lisa

The scar tissue is from the Open RNY which was done 10 years ago.  Plus a hernia repair.  Im not an MD so I trust my surgeon as I've known her for 10 yrs.  

I don't think I am an exception to the rule, everyone I've spoken to who has had the BOB seems happy with it.  

Why is it a viable alternative?  Bc we WERE successful RNy patients for 5+ yrs and we did what we were supposed to do and either our pouch stretched or the stoma enlarged and we know what it takes and we we don't want to fail twice.  We took the "easy" rn weight loss for granted, but, well, trust me, you DO NOTHING WITH THE RNY BUT BREATHE AND LOSE WEIGHT and now we are just grateful for restriction agaion and to NOT BE HUNGRY!  Im not hungry. I haven't been hungry since June 2011.  But, I was hungry from 2003-2011 even though I had my RNY in 2002.

Thank you for the explanation. 

I'm not sure why you aren't hungry, since neither the band nor RNY affects grehlin (spelling?), which is the root cause of hungry.  I wonder if it's related to the personal changes you made in life that might have brought more joy and peace.  But I have neither adequate knowledge or credentials to make that type of definitive call.

What I do know is that what you are doing seems to work for you.  You seem satisfied with your progress and you look beautiful.

 I am, and have always been, a volume eater.   I don't eat sweets nor do I graze. The band seems to be the perfect solution to my volume eating bc well, you cannot.  I have also embraced exercise, as I did after the RNY.  I walk home from Queens to Manhattan daily (5 miles) and I also walk my doggies a few miles a day. What I credit my success to is determination.  To be honest, anyone else in my situation, would have maybe failed. I lost my job RIGHT AFTER my BOB. I was laid off alomost a year and had SERIOUS depression. But, I chugged along, worked out, embraced the band and now I look DAMN GOOD!

Congratulations to you!  You kept hold of your life instead of letting it overwhelm you.  You are a determined lady, truly to be admired.