Why did you get rid of the lap band?

Hi Everyone!  I was banded in 2007 and did great for the first couple of years.  I have since been having some problems, and am up 50 lbs from my highest weight.  I was wondering for those of you that had your band removed, why did you have the band taken out, were you having side effects, or just no weight loss?  Thanks for any advice!!!

I had lapband 06.04.2010 and lost almost 75lbs then my sister passed away in march of 2012, she had been diagnosed with sarcoma just before my lapband surgery so i had been dealing with stress the whole time i was banded, i was her medical power of attorney so that being said i was REALLY stressed...keeping things from our parents (she was only 45 and i was 42)  i am married but i dont have kids so i was definitely able to spend time with her and deal with appts and such...so being banded was great for a while since i wasnt really wanting to eat much anyway..however, after she passed i began to have horrible reflux and i was not able to keep food down, it felt "stuck" or maybe i just didnt want to keep it down, i dunno..so i was constantly vomitting, pretty much daily...my husband was so upset with me and i know had my sister been still alive she would have been furious...soooo i went and had some fluid taken out and proceeded to eat and purge afraid to gain anything..thennnn i decided i was going to eat icecream..almost daily...um chips..cheese curls..anything that was easy to go down, high calorie high fat and i was thinking it was ok...nope! by the time i wanted a fill back i had almost gained 30 lbs back..got the fill and still didnt change my ways..acid reflux still...couldnt sleep at night..finally my cousin had the sleeve, virgin sleeve and she was also 400lbs though..i was only 288 when i was first banded...so anyway she lose 165lbs the year following my sister's passing, she had her sleeve done 2 days before my sister passed (my sister was special to my whole italian family, long story) anyway her passing reallllllly effected everyone so badly for so long and my cousin found it easy with the sleeve to push herself to work out and in the end lost the 165lbs...she figured my sister was behind her giving her the energy...so anyway she was going to the same surgeon i was, and then her sister went too...he told me i would still qualify and that he felt it was a better weight loss catapult than the band now...so i made my appt, had this revision done 06.04.2013 exactly 2 yrs later...starting at 246 and stuck at 228 as of today LOL its slower because our bodies have to adjust to still eating less calories and not thinking we are actually starving and trying to hold on to water and fat! you HAVE to keep calories under 700 for sure, well thats my findings as of late...or you stay at your weight for too long..crazy!! but i was warned being revised would probably produce slower weight loss...i look at it this way. my stomach is the size of a hot dog.length wise..and it probably will never grow much more than maybe 20% larger...so the chances of me gaining weight will be dependant on my diet and if i eat "bad" again!  so for the long winded explanation lol but i was on a roll (and missing my sister a lot lately) :) 

I still have mine but it has been empty for 2 yrs. I never lost but 20 lbs with it and then at around year 3-4 it started tightening without any fills so I'd get some saline out and then it would tighten again. So I finally just got it emptied and have actually lost better with it empty than with  any fill in it, not a huge amount but at least it's not a constant battle. I eventually would like to get rid of it but don't have coverage with my current insurance.

First of all I am a little confused. Your post says you are up 50 pounds over your highest weight, and yet your signature tag says "Proud owner of a lapband!". That's not making a lot of sense to me! 

 

Anyway.........as far as why ppl revise.......I haven't yet, but only b/c of lack of ins. and funds. Why do I want to revise? Well I had 20 fills, 2 partial unfills and 1 complete unfill. Have had no fluid in my band since Sept. or Oct. I got fill after fill chasing the imaginary "sweet spot". Never happened. Complete waste of time and money! And I do mean a LOT of money!

As to why others get rid of their lapbands..........well there are over 700 members in the failed band group, with new members joining every day. So here is an overview of why many of them get rid of theirs:

 

• No or insignificant weight loss
• Wonderful and quick weight loss, then serious complications
• Reflux
• Aschalasia
• Esophageal dysmotility
• Esophageal dialation
• Slip
• Leak
• Port breakage
• Port flip
• Developed auto-immune disease after banding
• Left referring shoulder pain
• No restriction/sweet spot/green zone
• Excessive vomiting

And these are just a few that I can think of right off the top of my head.

Sorry! I have not been on in a while so I have not updated my banner!!! And I meant to say I Am up 50 lbs from my lowest weight, not my highest, lol!

I've had a band since 2007. Lost 130lbs. Had to have small 4cc band removed cuz I couldn't even swallow my own saliva if I even had a tiny fill, so in 2011 removed the baby band and got the 11 cc. Since then I have gained about 60lbs but more so have suffered severe reflux for over a year. I virtually sleep sitting up. Basically have to keep my band fill so light that I get no restriction. Surgeon recommended revision to RNY, which I am doing on Aug 13. I am self pay so don't need to deal with insurance issues.

I was banded in 2009 and had to have the band totally unfilled at 1 and 2 years.  The last 18 months was fill and than unfill over and over.  Many issues.

If you would like to hear the whole story check out;  http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/failed_lap_bands/discussion /

Marie we are up to almost 800 now.  Sorry to say the numbers keep climbing due to the nature of the beast (band).  More than the Band Grand group which is vets over one year out.

Revising to RNY after having my Lap Band removed a year ago after an erosion. I did really well with my band and lost almost 80 pounds until the erosion...I have gained all the weight back. Hopefully I will have the same success with gastric bypass!

All I had with my band was problems. Since it was put in on 4-15-08 I was sick. I could not keep much food down, I would get stuck everyday, and then the painful burping started and did not stop for hours or days at a time. The longest episode lasted for 3 days. I threw up most of what I ate. I had to be hospilized for dehydration on 2 seperate occasions. I started passing out several times a day. I was weak and foggy all the time. I was D3, B6, B12 and iron deficient. My Lap-band slipped and the port flipped so it was removed and swapped for the realize band. Then the port flipped again then I was revised to the sleeve. I lost 80 pounds with the band. I have now lost 34 with the sleeve.

I was banded in April 2006.  Lost 75 lbs but not without great struggles and what was more like dieting than restriction or anything else.  I slowly  regained 65 lbs and am now having a revision to RNY in 10 days! There are so many reasons why I want to get rid of this Lap Band!  Reflux, ulcers, band erosion, flipped port, daily sliming and vomiting with an empty band are just some of the obvious that come to mind. It has been an unpleasant and uncomfortable journey to say the least.  I would never recommend the Band to anyone.  I so regret that I didn't follow my surgeon's advice the first time when he said RNY would be best for me.  

Hopefully this time I can make it work and last!  Here in Europe the sleeve is viewed as the Band replacement surgery as it is a restrictive only procedure as you know.  As this kind of procedure didn't work for me at all the first time, my choices were between Gastric Bypass and DS Switch.  The DS is rarely performed here on patients with lower BMI so that along with my ulcers and reflux ruled it out as an option for me.  I am very fortunate that health coverage here isn't an issue - everything is covered 100% -and my decision to have RNY is based on what is best for me, not what my insurance says it will pay for.  Boy that is something I don't miss from living in the States!  

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

Ashley