Hello! I was banded in 2006 and lost 105 of my desired 130 pounds I wanted. It was 12 years of pure hell. Never was hydrated enough and some days nothing would go down. Every morning around 2am... I would wake up choking on fluids that were still sitting there. This past Friday I had my band removed, thank goodness! Be cause I know myself, I WILL regain, but Im sad I have to gain a fair amount of weight before my surgeon will do GBP..I dread being fat again..For all those folks that say those of us that choose surgery for weight loss is the easy way out... shame on you- every single day was an enormous struggle.

Hi Michele,

You are definitely not alone with your band woes. I too have not been in the office for years - 7-8 years.

I have been successful in losing weight, but it took a very long time for me to educate myself on losing weight naturally (diet and exercise). I struggle to eat literally everything good for me. Processed foods are about the ONLY things that go down with ease (chips, cereals, bars, cheese, pizza, fried snacks, etc.) and I struggle to eat REAL foods (leaner meats, veggies, even eggs barely pass)

It was then I learned to eat small bites and drink carbonated water. Yeah, I know it's a CRAP BAND no-no, but it works and helps the food bubble and pass to the lower stomach and relieves the pain. It still takes me about 60-90 minutes to eat a meal. Using this methodology I've lost the weight and keep it off, but even my morning coffee has started to make me over-salivate and gurgle. I am heading in to a surgeon soon to see what things look like internally and discuss my options for removal/revision. I cannot take the torture anymore.

Hopefully your July appointment went well and you have some hope.

Hi A.C.

I have a very similar story. I was banded in 2010/2011 and failed at losing weight on the lap band restrictive diet. I have vomited after nearly every meal since day 1 regardless of my efforts. I am currently seeking a surgeon to get mine removed. I did end up losing weight, but I had to start drinking with meals to get my healthy food down. It's taken me 8 years to lose 155 lbs. I am in Florida, so I do not know of anyone in your area, however there is a really great facebook group called "Failed Lap-bands and realize bands" that offers a few things:

1. a sense of community and support through the painful insurance approval/denial process

2. 3,500 banded people to ask for advice and referrals

3. A regularly maintained document with surgeon suggestions by state

I hope you are able to find what you need to get rid of this awful band.

Hang in there.

-Amanda

Hi There, I just relocated to Seattle and need my lap band adjusted. Any doctors suggestions, please?

• Hi! I recently started having the shortness of breath since around March. I did have pneumonia and that was cleared. Then they thought it was my heart and ended up having a heart cath, only to find out that my heart is healthy. Still at point nobody could tell me what was causing my shortness of breath. Saw a pulmonologist and of course they said it was asthma/COPD and was put on inhalers, prednisone which has not helped much. I go to bed wheezing and wake up in the middle of the night coughing, wheezing and short of breath. That's when I happened to think about my lapband and could it be causing these issues. Now after researching I see there are others having the same problem.
• Nancy