Are you happy with theband and it's results or do you wish you would of chosen a different...

I notice a lot of people are getting their bands removed and getting the VSG. I liked the idea of the band because it was not permanent. Based on your experience with the band, do you wish you would of gotten a different surgery.

right now no and  this will be my one and only weight loss surgery done on me .

But I really went into this surgery knowing full well that the band wont do all the work , I still have to have will power, self control,  I am the one that has to eat right, I am the one that has to get off my butt and exercise,  I am the one that still have to watch my portions ,  I knew that I could still eat around the band , I'm still the one that has to say no when I shouldn't eat .

I knew all these things going into my surgery . I mentally prepared myself for months on this so I have not been shocked on anything about the band since I had my surgery because I was fully prepared for it .

I really look at the band alot different then alot of people I know though.  I did not want to give up foods because I got this band , I wanted to learn how to eat t hem foods in moderation and how often to eat them foods.

I really wanted to learn from this band  on how to eat healthy, how many carbs a person should be eating, learn portion control , learn how often I can eat my sinful foods . Basically, I wanted to learn how a healthy fit person eats and stays fit that is what I wanted to learn.

I do not  have a fill in my band and I am losing weight slower this way but I am learning so much more in the process also .   I use the band as a mental image that is around my stomach and it reminds me that I can sit down and eat a normal healthy meal and I dont have to go back for seconds or thirds.  I eat a normal size amount of protein 4 oz , veggies and some carbs.  If you look at healthy people that is exactly what they eat also .  That is what I wanted to learn

I will be very honest with you it scares the hell out of me to get a fill.   I have seen so many people abuse the fills because they keep their bands to the point of such restriction that they are eating five bites of food to 1/4 cup  per meal I dont want to become one of them people that get obsessed with fills.  I think that is way to much saline in a band and very unhealthy and any NUT will tell anybody that if they are any good .  People think less food you eat the more you will lose and faster and yes to a point that is true but then in the end your body will start to fight you , you are not learning a darn thing on how to eat healthy, and you will start to lose muscle mass because you are not getting the nutrients that our body does need.  One of the guys in my support group is now in trouble because of that .

Also I think deep down inside of me that the less people messing with my band the less risk of complications I will have.  All it takes is one needle slip into the tubing and you are pretty much going back into the ER for surgery to replace it .

Right now I have good will power going and I would just rather do this without a fill right now .  When it comes down to it and I just cant lose no more weight without a fill I'm talking months of a stall then I will go and get a fill and then it will be very very small .

Trust me I'm no perfect angel I have my bad days and there are times I overeat but its not like it use to be before I got the band :o)

Another thing is to remember it dont matter how much saline you have in your band you can always eat around the band .  I can sit down here and eat a bag of chips or pint of ice cream . 

It dont matter which WLS you have it always comes back to you and you alone.  It still has to be you that makes the choices in foods, it still has to be  you that makes yourself to get up and exercise, it still has to be you to say no I dont need to eat even though your head is telling you to .

WLS dont cure them problems if you go into thinking that the band is going to do all the work then you will fail that is with any WLS   That is exactly what my doc told me when I first met him.   He said before I go any further if you think once I put this band in you and you dont have to do anything then you are mistaken and you will be one of the people that fail at this surgery .

He is so right the band IMO only does about 20% of the work the rest has to come from you .

I know people that has had the band, sleeve and gastric they have lost weight and kept it off, then on the other hand from all them surgeries I know people that has gained all their weight back on them surgeries.  They way I look at it is you get what you put into it .

Just wanted to address this statement:

"People think less food you eat the more you will lose and faster and yes to a point that is true but then in the end your body will start to fight you , you are not learning a darn thing on how to eat healthy, and you will start to lose muscle mass because you are not getting the nutrients that our body does need.  One of the guys in my support group is now in trouble because of that ."

I have to disagree...

My VSG is a restriction procedure and it does reduce the amount of food I can eat (restriction is also the goal of the band when it is working properly).

This means that I work hard to make sure that each bite that goes in my mouth is something to nourish my body and not junk. I also work hard to reach my protein levels each day so that I do not lose muscle mass. This has taught me a great deal about healthy eating and my body is much healthier right now than ever before. My labs show that my protein level is good and that I am getting the nutrients my body needs.


Thanks,
Lindsey

Very true Lindsey and I agree with you  when its done in the proper way I'm 100% backing you up on this , but I'm talking about when people let their bands get to the point of restriction where they are only eating five bites of food per meal or they are eating  a 1/4 cup of food per meal.  I know people like that and we have seen posts on here like that also .

No doctor in their right mind will tell you that is healthy and good for your body that is what I'm talking about when I said eating less food.

Yes the band is suppose to help reduce the amount of food you eat but in a healthy way not in a unhealthy way.

And some people think its okay just to eat five bites of protein per meal , or its okay just to eat a  1/4 cup of food per meal .

Is that really teaching you anything about food and eating in a healthy way ?  Is that really getting in the nutrients that your body needs just to function every day let alone if you exercise ?  Do you really think your blood work down the line is going to be good eating 1/4 cup of food per meal ? You might be okay for awhile but down the line its going to come back and get you .

I have a friend that eats about 4 small bites  ( size of a M&M  bite ) of a hamburger patty and she is done . That is not  healthy at all but she has the band to the most restriction she can possibly get and she loses 10-14 pounds every 5 weeks. I would love to have that kind of weight loss but I'm not willing to risk my life for it either .  She is not learning anything about nutrition , proper portion control, she is just not learning and that is what we are suppose to be doing when we have this surgery just not to lose weight but to learn things also. 

Do you think my friend will be successful if the band has to come out of her ? No IMO she wont be because she didn't learn the tools of the trade.

There comes to a point that to much restriction is just as bad and unhealthy as eating to much .

" I will be very honest with you it scares the hell out of me to get a fill.   I have seen so many people abuse the fills because they keep their bands to the point of such restriction that they are eating five bites of food to 1/4 cup  per meal I dont want to become one of them people that get obsessed with fills.  I think that is way to much saline in a band and very unhealthy and any NUT will tell anybody that if they are any good .  People think less food you eat the more you will lose and faster and yes to a point that is true but then in the end your body will start to fight you , you are not learning a darn thing on how to eat healthy, and you will start to lose muscle mass because you are not getting the nutrients that our body does need.  One of the guys in my support group is now in trouble because of that ."


How do you know people are abusing their fills ?

The reason the lap band is attractive to pre-ops is because:

1. It's " Minimally invasive.

2. It's "adjustable..."

Nobody wants to abuse their band. The biggest problem with the band is everybody has different stomach widths. The new and " improved lap band has two sizes. The older version came in two sizes as well. That's 4 different sizes that your surgeon gets to choose from.

There are not enough choices in band sizes to meet everybodys needs. My daughter who was roughly 50 lbs heavier then me had a thinner stomach wall then I had.

We were both given the inamed 10 cc band and both bands unfilled were still to tight. Later when our bands slipped, I was given the larger AP band which if I remember correctly was a 14 cc and my daughter came out of surgery with the smaller AP 10 cc band.

There is no " One size fits all " when it comes to the lap band. This is why you see so many people that are either not able to find any restriction or they are unable to tolerate even the tiniest of fills. Then you have all the others that fall in between.

Many bandsters will go in needing a small tweak and then weeks later will require total unfill. That doesn't mean that they didn't genuinely need the fill.

Fills " fluid" can get vacuumed sucked into the tubing and later as pressure in the tubing releases. It causes the band to become tighter. This is why some bandsters experience tightening of their bands even after they have had their bands completely unfilled.Their surgeon cannot empty the band completely because of the pressure in the tubing.

Nobody wants to abuse their fills. It's an extremely painful way to live.

One day I went in for a fill and my surgeon had me chug water down as I was being filled. He stopped when I was able to communicate to him that it felt just right. I left his office with perfect restriction. Two days later I was unable to swallow my own spit and went immediately back for an unfill.
A week later another unfill, and a few days later...a complete unfill.

Unfortunately there is no visual gauge that measure how full or empty our bands are. ( Kinda like the gas gauge in your car)

I think your doing a huge disservice to all the bandsters out there that you imply are " abusing " their bands. You call these people "obsessive" and IMO you are providing completely false information.

You paid for a lap band and you are afraid to use it because you have seen so many people " abuse " their bands to the point of
" obsessiveness " 

WOW Unbelievable

Yes I am happy, at well over 5 years.

No, I wouldn't do any other wls, even if I lost my band. That is not to denigrate any other wls, just my personal choice.

Kate

I'm six months post-op, and so far, I'm very happy with my band.  What do I like about it?  I like that the weight loss is slower than the other WLS, giving my body more of a chance to adjust to getting smaller.  And being someone who used to be a grazer, the band is perfect for me, as it lets me know (in a subtle way) when it's time to stop eating.  I also like that the band requires me to do the work as well.  I like the options of getting fills if my Dr & I feel it's needed (have only had one so far).  And I like that my digestive tract hasn't been re-routed.

The other procedures are good ones too.  This is just the one that was best for me. 
~ Barbara

I have no regrets about my band, and I would do it over again.

Like Kate, I don't want to denigrate other WLS procedures. If the band hadn't been available to me, I would have chosen whatever procedure my insurance covered.

Jean

nope, I have no regrets at this point in time.

WOW, Lisa, great pics!  Very inspiring!!!!!