Dont do it.

I am 8 yrs out from having the Lap Band put in. I lost a total of 170lbs. I gained 70lbs of that back and am waiting to have a revision done to a RNY. I still vomit 6 times a day, although I have no fill in my band.

It worked for a while....then I have been getting this pain that runs from the base of the neck to my stomach. This is called the Vagus Nerve and no Doctor will tell you about it. it gets irritated and the pain is intense. Since you are not supposed to take Ibuprofen, the only thing that worked for the pain, I had to get a prescription for Tramadol.

And a note from my Doctor, he said that if you have just 100lbs to lose its a good idea. But not more than that, and he wishes he would have done the RNY instead. He no longer does Lap Bands.

So while it may sound like a good idea....at least for now. You may find that you are running into the same problems as I am.

I realize I will get quite a few responses back from this posting, I am just saying that I will be quite grateful to have this thing out of my body. I dont want to be sick anymore.

The Vagus nerves get irritated just by the band's being there near the diaphragm (and those nerves run through the top portion of the stomach, too!) Whoever thought putting a foreign object in close proximity to those nerves was a fool.

I, too, had tremendous Vagus nerve damage (it's been over 7 years since I had the band removed and I still get the left shoulder pain.)

In the near future, banding will be phased out. As soon as more doctors fear more for the safety of their patients and care less about the money to be made, we'll see fewer and fewer bands being used.

Good luck to you on your revision. If you're horking all day (I was, too) it's not too soon to get that sucker removed.

Its' funny though, I didnt have any problems with it until last winter. Every day is pain.

So, you think I will have nerve damage?

Thank you for sharing!!! We keep trying to tell folks but many just flat refuse to believe it. So all we can do is wait till it's their turn and try to help.

I wouldn't recommend the band to anyone at this point.  Too many problem cropping up years down the road.  Almost everyone who influenced my decision almost 3 years ago is either having problems, has lost their band or revised.  Many who were banded in 2010 like me are having similar issues, through no fault of our own.

Its just not a viable long term solution.

It's a horrible procedure! So sorry you're having the usual band problems. Hope you can revise soon!!!

That's unfortunate that you're having so many issues.   The only reason I had WLS is because lapband/REALIZE band was available. I'm a big ole' chicken  and I didn't like the descriptions of the other surgerys. Lapband/REALIZE appeared to be the least invasive of the options available. If RNY had been the only thing available to me, I'd not have WLS. I'll keep hoping that I don't have any complications that you guys have mentioned.

I'd be glad to see my band go to if I'd been dealing with that kind of pain.

I just wish someone would devise a truly safe and effective treatment for obesity, surgical or otherwise. Better yet, a cure for it.

Wow that sounds horrible, I could not deal with all that vomiting for 1 week let alone a few months or years, it must be causing your quality of life to be horrible, my band would have to go immediately if I was vomiting that much daily. It's so strange how we all have different experiences with our lap bands.

I was 7 years post op yesterday, and my journey has been bumpy too, but not what others have posted about on this board, I've never had problems last longer than a few weeks (knock on wood) I am wuss when it comes to pain/vomiting or reflux, so anytime things don't seem right or if I've been too tight, I see my lap band surgeon immediately and so far so good and the problem's I've had they've always been treatable/fixable and I am grateful for that.
 
If you are revising to RNY you may want to research that surgery in-depth as well, since you are not allowed to take Ibuprofen with that surgery, and your diet will be much more stricter.

I agree with Jean, if only there was 1 weight loss surgery that was safe and effective for everyone, I would be the first in line to get it, but until then I guess it's me and my lap band.

Wishing you better health with your bypass!

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