No more Lap Bands in my future :(

Sunta

Hi Penni,

I just have to share this with you now because it's the right time. Before I got banded my husband and I were looking through all of the before and after pictures and when we clicked on yours, my husband exclaimed "Wow! She's GORGEOUS!" and to top that off, he actually asked me to go BACK to your picture when we got to the end!!! So I'll swallow my jealousy and say you are not the only one who loves your features!!! LOL!

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

--Becky

bbrecruiter2000

Penni,

All I have is hugs to offer.

Babs in TX

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Babs in TX

dishdiva

any updates? i was so frustrated after gaining 20 pounds in the first three months after having my band removed, i was ready for any re-routing, stapling, removing -- or whatever they might want to do to my body to get the weight loss bus moving again...

then i realized -- i've ALREADY been through enough with my band surgeries. (in, revision, out). i know what to do and how to do this...i need to at least give it a try.

i've been exercising 5-6 week and limiting carbs. i quickly lost five pounds...after that i've averaged only one-half of a pound a week....if that's not discouraging, i don't know what is... no wonder we all quit! but i persevere and the good news is, while some weeks i stay stuck, my downward trend continues.. AND, what's great is this weight, because i'm doing it in a more healthy way -- doesn't come right back on if i stray for a day or two...and all the band weight would come right back...

i still have a long way to go -- want to lose another 50 pounds. went to my nutritionist recently complaining about the slowness...she said, "what's your rush." that kind of made me think.

and, one final thing... i have to say the 10+ pounds I've lost somehow seems like so much more of a victory than some of my band weight lost. NOT to take away from the effort that's required to make the band work.

SO...if you decide not to go the surgical route, as of today, remember you DO have it in you to manage the weight! Don't forget that.

Good luck!
Elizabeth
banded 08-28-03
revised 03-10-05
removed 03-13-06

Curley

Hi Penny,
before you do anything, I would love you to talk (email?) with my doc, Professor Obrien in Australia. He was truely surprised when I told him of all the band removals that are going on O.S. (that I read about here).

Just recently I also had a slip, and before the operation I asked what the chances were of not being able to replace my band. He sort of laughed & said, only once (out of 100`s) could he not progress with replacing a band due to complications. He did not view the scarring as an obstical to him being able to replace it.

Also, there is a brand new band called the AV. It is much kinder on the stomach apparantly. I just got this one myself a week ago, havent road tested it yet!

You have been so helpful to others, you deserve the best solution possible. Proffessor Obrien also does much research on obesity etc, and no doubt would be very interested in your delemer. It wouldnt cost to try.
Good luck, Sharon

Penni60

Curley: Thank you for the suggestion of speaking to your doc in Australia. IT does sound encouraging but the same issue with the insurance is a factor to consider. If the insurance doesn't cover the cost then I can't get anything done. I do appreciate the suggestion. I really do.

Sunta: WOW!! Thank you for the compliment from your husband. That actually made me cry.

I am still struggling and working on it everyday. I am doing some soul searching right now and doing some internal work related and unrelated to my weight issues. Hopefully I will come to some epiphany during this process. LOL!!

I appreciate all the support and kindness shown to me during this time in my life. This weight loss struggle is no joke and is such a battle for me as I am sure it is for others as well. Emotionally it has been a rollercoaster. Just when I think I have hit the top and ready for success I plunge down the spiral and hit bottom all over again. Just when I think it can't get any worse something happens to bring me down again and to question myself.

Anyway, we are all walking this journey in our own way and in our own time. I am one that likes instant gratification, guess that is one reason why my weight loss is on the upswing instead of down. LOL!!!

Thank you all again for the support and encouragment.

I will keep you posted.

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My grandson Sam.

Penni Merrick
Disbanded Dec 2005 due to Erosion :faint:

Lindergale

Penny,

I am in the midst of making the decision b/t Lap Band and bypass. Please email me and let me know what you find out about bypass vs. Lap Band.
Thanks,
Linda

charleston-mom

Hi Linda! I'm having a revision from Lap Band to RNY. I can't recommend Lap Band to anyone - but I have had terrible trouble with it - slip, unfill - try again, slip again - this one severe. There's lots of information out there on the differences between the two. I think what strikes me the most is a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence - that put up a Myths and Facts site about the differences. It was great. Let me know if you would like the link.

Kit:)

DevilMayKare

Could you send it my way also Kit?

I'm another looking at a revision. Have to do SOMETHING.
I can't believe I'm back up exactly where I was when I got banded 8/05.
The hopelessness is suffocating.

I haven't seen any Penni updates. Are there some threads I'm missing? Did she disappear along w/ LaMadam & Vines?

Kare

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K

annabeyta

Please just drop the idea. The lap band process is SO dangerous. To make a VERY long story short, I was in a coma for four months and had last rites read to me three times. I am just grateful to be alive after all this lap band business.

Please reconsider. Too many people are dying from this procedure, but we don't hear about all the complications.

charleston-mom

I sure agree - I think the Lap Band is one of the worst things I have ever done to myself!

Here's the link from the Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence at the University of Idaho.

Laparoscopic RNY Gastric Bypass vs LAP-BAND

DevilMayKare

Ditto. What a shame those who have had bad experiences get jumped on if they try to speak up in some of the threads searching newbies start. I do understand when that happens because I didn't really want to hear negative things when the Lap Band was my big hope--but now that it's my big $8,000 failure I wish I had seen more warning on this board. In fact, 3 years ago I don't think there even was a subhead for Complications or Life after Removal.
What a shame that as time goes on there are likely to be more and more threads on those sections.

Thank you for the link.

Kare

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K

annabeyta

Charleston & Kare,

Thank you for your support. It has been a nightmare, both physically and financially. It's hard to tell people not to do it when they are so excited and optimistic about lap band surgery. I was optimistic too, at one time. We never think that the supposedly-low percentage of "complications" will happen to us. However, I don't know that my complications are in any statistic. I've never been interviewed. There was no real follow-up once I was sent home in a wheelchair.

I'll check out the website that you sent.

Thank you,
--Ann

Alexandra

Ann, I'm sorry if I missed a thread somewhere, but can you explain what exactly happened to you? That sounds like the most severe bout of complications I have ever heard, and I'd love to hear more about it. What was your doctor's assessment? What did they say went wrong? How did you end up in the ICU, especially? I mean, even the very worst cases, band removal is pretty simple. What happened?

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~~ Alexandra
banded 8/20/03 -- Dr. Abkin, Morristown NJ
band removed 4/9/07 due to slippage REbanded 8/13/07

340 highest / 210-ish lowest / 255-ish now / 200? maybe?
5'10" -- size 28/30 then, 16/18 now, heading downward once again

Alexandra

Oh, and for what it's worth, the statistics come from the doctors reporting their results. There are all sorts of procedures for that, which almost never involve interviewing the patients.

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~~ Alexandra
banded 8/20/03 -- Dr. Abkin, Morristown NJ
band removed 4/9/07 due to slippage REbanded 8/13/07

340 highest / 210-ish lowest / 255-ish now / 200? maybe?
5'10" -- size 28/30 then, 16/18 now, heading downward once again

annabeyta

I didn't go into detail about my story, but... if you want to hear a bit of it... I had a lap band inserted at noon, by midnight (still in the hospital) I had a fever of 106 degrees. The next day they removed the band. Apparently, there was an esophageal tear (note the passive voice to the verb "was"). No one would admit how or why the tear happened. Apparently, it just "happened." I weighed 240 at 5'8" so I wasn't one of the more high-risk patients, but I did have a hiatal hernia, which the doctor did not repair during the surgery. He told me that the lap band would repair the hernia in time. Anyway, I developed sepsis, jaundice, my lungs collapsed, I had blood transfusions 3 times, I was in the hospital for a total of 4 months. I was in a drug-induced coma twice and in the ICU for a total of 2 months, in a nursing home (at age 50) for 10 days, then sent back to ICU. Anyway, it was a nightmare. It's a much longer story than this, but if I were to go into detail, I'd have to write a book. I'm glad that your surgery went better than mine. I am not trying to scare anyone, I just want to warn everyone, that this surgery is VERY dangerous. BTW, I tried to sue my doctor, but the statute of limitations went by very quickly. Remember 4 months of the two-year period I was still in the hospital... For another 6 months of that two-year period, I was trying to learn how to roll over, stand, take a shower on my own, read again, and think and speak. I was trying to survive. I didn't have the time or the wits to sue at the time. I did talk to an attorney, but the statute of limitations ran by very quickly and we could not find a doctor who would speak out against my doctor... you know how they say it's a very tight brotherhood.