lap band complications?

jasonweinberg

when i originally posted a thread about bariatric surgery on here i got all positive responses. i haven't been attending the support group in my program because of the length of the drive and the schedule, but felt that the feedback i got from here was a good replacement. now that my surgery is actually scheduled i seem to be getting flooded with people telling me "i don't need it" and that they have heard many stories of complications from the lap band surgery. i have been doing very well on my diet, but still completely plan on having my surgery. still, i want to do my due diligence and make sure i am not over-looking some unforeseen negatives of the lap band surgery, because frankly until recently, i hadn't heard of any, other than some people don't work hard enough and lose the weight they want to. can anyone please share all their feedback positive and negative on lap band experiences both personal and through family and acquaintances?

bella71

I had Lap Band surgery 51/2 months ago. I have lost a little over 100 pounds and I feel better than I have in a very long time. I haven't had any complications. MyFitnessPal has been really great for keeping track of what eat, as well as my cardio and strength training. My advice to you would be that if your doctor clears you for the surgery, then definitely go for it. In my experience, there will be people who aren't very supportive about having the surgery, but it really isn't any of their business. Some people just don't react well when others make positive changes in their lives. LapBand surgery has risks just like any other surgery, but the risks far outweigh the benefits (no pun intended!). Good luck, and keep us informed of your progress!

smuehlbauer

I don't have the lap band, but a co worker of mine had it done.
I personally think that if a person is serious enough to lose weight to have a surgery, they are serious enough to do it with out the surgery.
My co-worker I don't think was serious enough for either.
She was eating Culver's with in days of having the surgery. She continues to eat the same crap that she ate before the surgery, just in smaller portion sizes.
If you're serious about making a life style change - losing 1-2 lbs a week - you don't need the lap band surgery! You can do it with out that! It's called will power, healthy eating, exercise, and support.
And this is the site to get all of the motivation and support that you could ask for.
Good luck with your choice.
Steph:flowerforyou:

lilmissy2

Jason,

While you know that I feel lap band surgery can be a very useful tool for some people, it does also sometimes lead to bad experiences.

I do not see a lot of lap band patients at all but I have had a few come into hospital due to problems with their lap band. One patient had eaten food that was too 'big' ie not chewed as thoroughly as was needed and got something stuck in the opening then couldn't keep any food down. Another had eaten too much volume-wise of food for their new stomach size and the band had moved, tearing the side of their stomach. These are of course, worse case scenarios. I also know of plenty of people that do just fine with their lap band.

I hope a lot of people share to help you make the informed decision that you are after :flowerforyou:

jasonweinberg

steph i appreciate your feedback. i am not having the surgery just for the weight loss but for the long-term maintenance. i have heard stories similar to your co-workers where people simply don't hold up their end of "the bargain" and therefor the surgery is not a success. i am not worried about that with me. i simply look at the surgery as an additional tool to help me get to my ideal weight and stay there. i once lost all of my extra weight but then gained it all back and then some over time. i do not want that nto happen again.. i believe the surgery will help me tremendously with that as myself and my family all have a pre-dispositopn to becoming fairly round. it is really complications i am concerned about, not whether i "need" the surgery or not. i kind of sense some of these people who are telling me about complications are really just trying to discourage me from having the surgery for whatever reason, as they never seem to go beyond expressing vague second hand stories without any details. i am looking for details if people really have had bad experiences with the procedure.

jasonweinberg

bella i am fully cleared and scheduled.

jasonweinberg

bump.

waguchan

My surgery was a little over 2 years ago and I've had no complications at all. There are some bad side effects if I don't follow my doctor's recommendations about eating slowly, chewing a lot, and not drinking liquids at the same time as eating. But no complications. I'm happy because I'm getting close to my goal weight. And I'm 42 years old and am doing things I did as a teenager again, like jogging and Taekwondo. Sometimes I feel like the lap band wasn't much help because I'm doing all this work on my own by counting calories and exercising.

But then I remember that I've been counting calories and exercising for years without success and without being able to maintain my weight loss successes. Besides years and years of weight watchers and tons of exercise, I was in a medically supervised weight loss program for 2 years that included weekly doctor, dietitian, and therapist appointments, and personal trainer appointments 3 times a week. And I only lost about 35 pounds in 2 years. I was doing exactly what I do now: counting calories and exercising hard about 2 hours a day. But I couldn't get below 200 pounds. I was very fit, but still fat. I was told to eat between 1200-1500 calories a day depending on how much I exercised, and that's what I did. But the fat didn't go away. I just kept getting stronger muscles. Eventually, I got pretty discouraged to be working out so hard and counting all my calories just to watch the number on the scale stay the same. And then I started to gain some back.

I'm pre-diabetic/insulin resistant, so eating 1200 calories a day doesn't help me to lose weight. I just maintain at that many calories, no matter how much I exercise. So the lap band is my tool that helps me to control my hunger and eat less than 1200 calories a day to finally see real results. Thanks to my lap band surgery, and the great lap band friends I've made here on MFP, my weight is now below 200. I weigh about 157 now and can see my goal weight of 140 just around the corner. And I will have this band here to help me maintain my weight loss. I will have continued support throughout the years from my weigh loss surgeon's office for adjustments if necessary (to the band and to my attitude).

Jason, I can tell you are serious about this. You are already doing a great job losing weight on your own and you are taking all the steps necessary to reach your goals and stay there. If anyone is going to be successful with lap band surgery, I think you will be. It's your decision to make, so don't let people on this site scare you about complications. I'm sure you have already read up on the surgery and have been warned about all the possible complications from your surgeon. But the small risk of complications doesn't even compare to the health risks associated with being morbidly obese.

jasonweinberg

thanks. its not really people on this site who are expressing concerns about my having the surgery. its mostly friends and acquaintances. most of them though seem more opposed to the concept than have any real concrete info against it, or just don't believe i am "fat enough" to need it. my bmi when i started the program was 47.

waguchan

My BMI was only 40 when I had the surgery. And I didn't tell anyone about this surgery except my husband, my mom (who had gastric bypass 26 years ago), and about 1 friend who is now looking into having it done herself after seeing my success.

I never plan on telling my dad because he was so awful to my Mom when she had her surgery. And my sister only found out when she saw the scars all over my abdomen when we shared a hotel room together last year. None of my coworkers know about it. I've lost the weight so slowly and they all know how much I exercise and see me watching my portion sizes, so they apparently have no clue.

HealthyChanges2010

steph i appreciate your feedback. i am not having the surgery just for the weight loss but for the long-term maintenance. i have heard stories similar to your co-workers where people simply don't hold up their end of "the bargain" and therefor the surgery is not a success. i am not worried about that with me. i simply look at the surgery as an additional tool to help me get to my ideal weight and stay there. i once lost all of my extra weight but then gained it all back and then some over time. i do not want that nto happen again.. i believe the surgery will help me tremendously with that as myself and my family all have a pre-dispositopn to becoming fairly round. it is really complications i am concerned about, not whether i "need" the surgery or not. i kind of sense some of these people who are telling me about complications are really just trying to discourage me from having the surgery for whatever reason, as they never seem to go beyond expressing vague second hand stories without any details. i am looking for details if people really have had bad experiences with the procedure.

Are you taking classes in proper eating habits to learn how to re-eat after the surgery? It seems often times one hears when someone goes the weightloss surgery route, any type that they don't take time to learn healthy eating skills and then end up eating too much, bad foods (meaning, unhealthy, non-nutritious foods) then become terribly depressed that the surgery 'didnot work' .

I am NOT saying that's what you're about, merely sharing my corner of the world and what I've read and experienced of ppl out there sharing. One woman shared her doctor promised her he could get her down to a size 4, whaaa? How can that be promised, once the surgery is done it really is up to the patient to modify their behavior and not have the doc magically give a person a certain size to obtain. The woman went into surgery a size 52 (is that a size? Some quite large like that)

She got through her surgery, drains, yadda x 3 and then began eating french fries, wha??? The body must be quite mixed up by that time. She spoke of having to pull over to the side of the road to vomit every few minutes, wow, too intense for me.

Someone mentioned it to once, the thought passed through my head, and went out the other side. I decided I wanted to change my life for me, wanted to do all the hard work myself and be held accountable for it. For some surgery is the right choice, but for me NO it would not have been a good thing, it would have made me feel like a failure, like I was giving up that I could succeed.

I know there are many thoughts on this issue, my words are not meant hurtful but simply what I chose not to do. Sometimes so many complications I couldn't bare to do that to my body. SO many lose 100's on their own through hard work, including planned healthy meals, kick *kitten* workouts daily and a positive upbeat attitude. Ppl that succeed like that let NOONE get in their way of success.

I find it very sad when hearing of someone having a dangerous surgery such as weighloss surgery only to lose 100 lbs in a matter of months by drinking only liquids then within a year have put back on 200 lbs. YIKES, our bodies sure go thru alot, they are amazing but still...seems there is a limit to what they can handle over time.

One last thought and this has stuck in my head and probably always will, it shocked me so much. A woman shared on here that she was sceduled for gastric bypass and she had lost over 100+ lbs on her own while waiting for her surgery date, she had only 30 lbs left to lose. She got called in for her appt. and decided she would go ahead with the surgery!! Whaaaaaaaaa??? 30 lbs to goal and a doctor allows that??? This to me shows that weightloss surgery may have started out in the right mind set by doctors but it seems that if a patient can do the surgery at only 30 lbs over her goal weight there is something seriously WRONG now with the medical community that would allow something crazy like that.

She shared she had waited soooooo long she didn't want to cancel her appt. Hm... I think situations like this make a number of us skeptical about it more. It used to be a doctor would say 100+ plus lbs. would be the least amount a patient had to weight to even be considered, now it seems the limit has gone way down in some areas.:noway:

Merely my thoughts on the matter.

KarenECunningham

I don't no much about the lap band. I know of complications from the more involved procedure to reduce your stomach size. A friend of mine had the more involved procedure but she has gained most of the weight back over the years. From what I have read most people are happy with the lap band procedure. I think you are smart to look into the possible negatives before having the procedure. Being overweight is a risk too so whatever it

jasonweinberg

wow. a lot to respond to there. first of all, i don't really care if some consider it "cheating" or a "short-cut". that is simply a personal decision. obesity is a serious medical condition. so are diabetes, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure. is it some kind of "weakness" to seek medical treatment for those medical conditions since ultimately they can often be corrected with proper eating, weight loss, and exercise? no. the risks of treating them with weight loss only is far too risky. bariatric surgery is a medical treatment for obesity. my medical team has made no false promises to me and they have required me to be in a strict nutritional program prior to surgery including losing 10 % of my excess weight (32 lbs.) prior to surgery. as far as "losing 100 lbs drinking liquids" the liquid diet is only immediately following surgery. after you are recovered from the surgery you remain on a low calorie diet but you eat the diet you are expected to eat for the rest of your life. you refer to someone getting sick from eating french fries (the bypass surgery creates a condition called "dumping syndrome" which does make you ill if you eat the wrong foods) if they are not supposed to be eating french fries and they do that is not the procedure or the doctor's fault. its theirs. plus, while the lap band can wind up putting some restrictions on what you eat, it does not cause dumping syndrome per se. as for gaining 200 lbs back after surgery i have yet to hear from anyone directly of an experience even remotely like that. again, it seems that many who have some kind of general or "ethical" opposition to bariatric surgeries like to relate vague second hand stories about complications and failures. i am interested in hearing from people who have more direct and concrete information regarding complications.

HealthyChanges2010

Good luck to you!:flowerforyou:

Merely expressing my thoughts as we are all free to do on open forums. :flowerforyou: It truly wasn't mean to offend, my apology if it came across that way.:ohwell:

Sounds like you have a great attitude that will take you far it also sounds like you've really studied this procedure and are ready for it. Also sounds like it will help a great deal with health issues and I agree obesity can bring on a whole range of issues all it's own. I'm not as familar with the lap band but from what I've learned from others and on here it's far less invasive. I absolutely agree, it's the patient not the doctors 'fault' (for lack of a better word) if they have eaten something that their body cannot handle. Her situation was not the lapband, so it was the dumping situation as you shared.

I think the lapband surgery sound by far the better way to go, why is it that some go one route and others go the other? Is it cost, a doctors preference or it being less invasive to the body?

I really do wish you well! ::flowerforyou: Seems as though those with the highest success rate follow up on what they've learned and what the doctor/meetings have taught them before hand.

Cheers:drinker:
Becca

foxyforce

try to get info from those who have had the surgery more than a few months ago for sure. good luck.

jasonweinberg

becca i did find that the bariatric team tended to recommend the bypass surgery because typically it provides better results. the lap band is purely restrictive, whereas the bypass also reduces absorption of calories (and nutrients) into your system and creates the dumping syndrome which theoritically forces you to eat better. i definitely find upon further inquiry that when many people refer to complications they are not aware of the differences between the two surgeries. my pcp had specifically referred me for the lap band surgery as he felt it was the better procedure for me. the stat they told me was that typical results of the bypass surgery were a loss of 40% to 80% of your excess body weight and lap band is 20% to 50%. this is based on years of statistics kept by bariatric programs nation-wide. i have already lost about 30% of my excess weight on the program prior to surgery. i will remain in the program for life. i have also been told by my nutritionist that she has worked with many lap band recipients who lost 100% of their excess weight. they do it by eating right and exercising, above all else.

Lisamarie1226

Jason,

As I stated in my 1st response (to your original post), lap band surgery is a TOOL to HELP you lose weight. It cannot and will not be your saving grace if you do not follow the program.

I had lap band surgery in January of 2009 and lost 100 lbs by my first year. Then I lost my way. It wasn't strictly that I was eating badly or even making bad decisions. I began dating, I had job stress, I started working out less. I did have an issue of an "obstruction" - meaning I didn't chew a piece of meat enough times and it got stuck. I wasn't able to keep fluids down and then had to have all the saline removed from my band and needed to start all over with putting in a few ccs at a time. It was a pain, but that was the worst issue I've had. I have been "over" filled a couple of times too, but it's hit or miss. Everyone is different. People feel different restrictions with different amounts and different people have more tolerance for certain foods.

My younger sister and mother both had gastric bypass earlier in 2009. My mom has not had an issues whatsoever. However, my sister has had 2 surgeries due to problems with her esophagus. Lap band MAY be the slower approach (although I've met some people on this site who have been extremely motivated!) but it's also much safer than gastric bypass.

I too haven't told just "anyone" about my surgery. There are a lot of people that seem to think bariatric surgery is a cop out or an easy out. It's not. True, we all know someone or have heard of someone who had the surgery and continues to make bad decisions (fried foods, breads, etc.) but NOT everyone is like that. For every 1 lazy, quick fix person, there are TONS others who are taking this seriously and making the necessary lifestyle changes. Yeah, it can suck that you will not be able to eat like you once did. But after awhile, you don't even miss it! You can find other things to fill up --or even substitutions for your favorite foods.

The biggest thing is that you ARE indeed acknowledging that this IS a lifestyle change. You KNOW that you will have to put in the effort to be successful. You are ready for this! And you WILL succeed...you have the right mindset and attitude! And you do have your lap band support system here on MFP to help you through your journey.

LoveMy4Kids

I haven't known anyone to have the lap band done but I wish you success in whatever you choose! Obesity sucks, its scarey and I just hope that no matter what route we take that one day all of us won't have to be where we are at now with it!

I have known several people, family and friends who have had gastro bypass done and ALL of them gained their weight back PLUS! I know not everyone does, but seems how all of the people I have personally known have it just makes me second guess the surgery. A friend of mine had a very bad experience with it too and ended upi n and out of the hospital afterwards because she couldn't keep ANYTHING down and her kidneys started to shut down because of it all, was pretty scarey! She went from 320 to 160 and back up to 340 within 3 years! I have often thought about having surgery done myself, but the risks of surgery scare the poop out of me, lol. I am doing it on my own now and pray hard that I can continue to do it on my own!

I hope your surgery goes well and look forward to seeing your results!!

Corbinsmom

Hey, I don't have any valuable feedback to give you but to say I wish you luck! I belive you can meet your goal and think this is a terrific sight to help encourage you on the way. I am confident you will make the right choice for you. You are doing great already! Good fo ryou for doing something about your weight!!

jasonweinberg

i'mm amazed that i keep hearing stories about gastric bypass recipients gaining all their weight back. i honestly thought the surgery made that virtually impossible because of the reduced stomach size, malabsorption, and dumping syndrome. how do these people manage to consume enough calories to gain their weight back?

dgroulx

Lap band is better than a full by pass. I've seen too many patients in the ICU who have lost bowel function. When it gets "bypassed" it no longer works. When you need to get it working again, too bad. I've seen necrosis of tissue. I've seen death. These are all 20 years or so post surgery. Maybe they have improved on the surgery since the earlier ones. It was enough to scare me into never doing anything like that.

lilmissy2

i'mm amazed that i keep hearing stories about gastric bypass recipients gaining all their weight back. i honestly thought the surgery made that virtually impossible because of the reduced stomach size, malabsorption, and dumping syndrome. how do these people manage to consume enough calories to gain their weight back?

Actually, theoretically a gastric bypass patient could eventually return to normal eating and normal absorption... the body has crazy adaptive processes sometimes. I mostly see bypass patients who have had the surgery for reasons other than weight loss (ie cancer) and they usually adapt reasonably well. The malabsorption can be hideous and patients often become very malnourished very quickly. You do have to remember though, that for obese people having a bypass, there is an extra risk simply from rapid weight loss. Dumping syndrome is not what you are thinking (from how you have described it in other posts)... and it's not usually a long term thing but it is very nasty and very dangerous because it can result in very fasts drops in blood pressure and blood sugar. I personally do not think gastric bypass should be offered as an obesity treatment but I do think lap banding is appropriate for some people although not as a first-line management option (ie they should be offered appropriate lifestyle counselling first and if this fails, ie they do not lose adequate weight or they regain lost weight then it should be considered).

jasonweinberg

lilmissy2 i have spent quite a bit of time learning directly from the dr.s at the program i am in so let me clarify what i am referring to as dumping syndrome. this is pretty much verbatim what they have taught us: because of the introduction of a previously lower section of the intestine directly to the now smaller stomach (which also doesn't digest food as fully) foods high in either (or both) sugar and fat will cause the eater to feel nauseous and often vomit. this is basically supposed to act as a behavior modification to force people to avoid high sugar and high fat foods. my dr. pitched that to me as a major advantage to the bypass and why results are so much more consistent with the bypass.

i do know that the stomach can stretch back out over time. i suppose once it does, the no longer newly introduced intestine could lose its sensitivity to sweet and fatty foods, allowing the eater to return to bad habits. i just didn't realize it could be dramatic enough to allow them to gain back all of the weight they lost. my understanding is that with the lap band they can continue to adjust the restriction if needed down the line.

i tend to disagree about not offering the lap band unless lifestyle modification fails, because the lap band really won't work without lifestyle modification anyway. you can still eat junk if you so desire, only in smaller portions.

lilmissy2

Only early dumping syndrome has anything to do with vomiting or bowel symptoms and to be honest, most gastric bypass patients I have seen experience late dumping. Late dumping syndrome refers to altered hormone responses induced by rapid intestinal transit that cause fast drops in blood glucose and blood pressure especially if the person stands up not long after eating. I think people (Drs included) get side tracked by the name of dumping syndrome, just because you have vomiting and diarrhoea does not mean you are have it and not having those symptoms certainly doesn't mean you don't have it. It is a very complicated condition to diagnose. Also, while sugar intake is reduced in treatment, fat intake is generally increased.

http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/digestive-health/nutritionarticles/uklejaarticle.pdf

lilmissy2

i tend to disagree about not offering the lap band unless lifestyle modification fails, because the lap band really won't work without lifestyle modification anyway. you can still eat junk if you so desire, only in smaller portions.

My point wasn't that I think people are pathetic and want to see them make the lifestyle change. Every surgery has risk and I don't think patients should be put at risk when they haven't exhausted other options (I didn't take an oath like Drs but I still believe in do no harm!). Also, when I said 'failed at lifestyle modification', I didn't mean ate loads of junk food when they should have been eating healthily. There are actually a good proportion of people out there who struggle to lose weight even when they restrict calories successfully... especially if they have lost and regained weight in the past. That is what I would call failure of lifestyle modification.

jasonweinberg

you already referred to the fact that most of the bypass parients you are familiar with did not have it as a weight-loss surgery. supposedly, early dumping, which generally does cause the vomiting tends to be caused by fatty foods and late dumping, which as you described and can be more serious, is caused by high carbs. that's why, for example, the person earlier in this thread described someone vomiting after eating french fries. i am sure many times when people who have had the bypass as weightloss surgery make bad choices they are actually eating foods high in both fats and carbs.

jasonweinberg

i understand what you are saying about weight loss surgery as a last resort, i just don't really agree. if i did, i obviously wouldn't be having a weight-loss surgery. i don't really know where the term "pathetic" came out of what you read from my post. lots of people eat lots of junk. i have made lots of bad food choices over the years that have helped lead to my morbid obesity. if i continue to make those bad choices after my surgery they will continue to punish me. it only works if you work with it.. for many years, i have been treated with high blood pressure medications and a cpap machine. high blood pressure medicines have side effects, including slowing your metabolism and contributing to potential weight gain. but you have to treat high blood pressure or it wreaks havoc on your body. i also lost down to my ideal weight previously in my life and managed to gain it all back. a wls is going to hopefully help me avoid that, and help me to stay off or at a lower blood pressure dose and maybe even allow me to sleep without a breathing machine. i was also tracking towards diabetes and can hopefully avoid that as well. i can also lead a more active life, which will have all kinds of health benefits. to me, the risks of potential negative side effects are far out-weighed by the potential benefits. my doctor and my insurance obviously agree, or they wouldn't be recommending and paying for it.

sbased

Hi! First of all congratulations and good luck you have my support. I am also considering lap band surgery after being on weight watchers for two years and losing 35 lbs the hard and I mean hard way. I have exercised, restricted, gone to behavior modification and over eaters anonymous. I have asked for the surgery for me and am reading up and doing research like you. I put in my initial paper work and hope to hear something positive.
In the meantime, I have not heard of too many problems with people other than obstructions and dumping. I want to feel what someone's stomach is like after the surgery - do they always have a bump or port feeling? Also I want to continue losing at a slow pace (which I have done more than slow over the past two years) so that it is natural so lap band seems perfect to me.
I think its all about how you feel its a personal choice. I've asked my therapist - who is great by the way - and while she does not think that its the best decision she supports me and we will continue to keep working on this together.
I also get told "you don't need it", "its a cop out", etc. well struggling with this weight, counting every calorie and working through my issues is not a cop out and i think lap band is just another tool like therapy, healthy eating and exercising. Good luck again!

SarahElittlebit

Hi. I'm new on this site, but wanted to give it a try. I had the lap band surgery a year ago. It took 3 months to get it filled to where it was working successfully. After that I lost over 60 pounds in the next 6 months. Then, I had a set back and regained all of it. I injured my hip falling on the ice, so I couldn't work out and had a lot of stress happen all at once: death of a brother, fighting in the family, worries about keeping my job due to budget cuts, and medical conditions. I have a hypo thyroid which makes losing weight a challenge. This too was off the limit this spring and I was getting too tired all the time and starting to get depressed. I also had a breast cancer scare, which thankfully just turned out to be a cyst.

Last month I finally made an appointment with the Bariatric Surgeon, who is awesome by the way. He added some fluid to the band which was too lose. I hadn't seen him in a year as I felt guilty. Now I have 6.5 cc's of Saline in the band and it is working beautifully again. I had my Thyroid checked and the dose readjusted. I've lost 15 pounds since then and am back on track. I have more energy and am looking forward to each day.

My suggestion to anyone thinking about having this surgery is to make sure it is right for you. Can you stick to the restrictions? Will you commit to keeping in touch with the doctor whether things are going well or not? It is a slower, but healthier alternative to the Rouh-N-Y procedure but takes more dedication and determination to see it succeed as there isn't the dumping that occurs with that process.

I have run into others with severe complications that have had them worked out in the end, but haven't seen many myself. Most of the problems I've seen, other than what I listed was in regards to what I eat. I find I can't eat anything too dry as it won't go down. I have to be careful about who I eat with. If I eat with people that I get in a heated discussion with at the table, I forget to chew properly. When I get blocked, I find my chest hurts. I usually drink water to loosen it and throw up what ever I ate in order to clear the block and prevent further problems. I don't go back to eating. I wait until I am hungry again and then I have a small snack.

jasonweinberg

had my surgery and everything went smoothly...