Considering Lap Band

[Brenda B.]

Hello everyone,

I am considering having Lap Band surgery. I wanted to find out from some of you who have already had the Lap Band surgery what your experiences were. I am not a spring chicken anymore (age 55) and I am very tired of being obese. Its really affecting my life. I have pretty severe arthritis and the extra weight really makes things worse. I would love to be able to get off my BP meds and Cholesterol meds. My BMI is 40. I see in other post that you have to lose some weight before the surgery. Is this the same with all M.D.s? I would love to hear from any of you.

[Pam P]

Hello everyone,

I am considering having Lap Band surgery. I wanted to find out from some of you who have already had the Lap Band surgery what your experiences were. I am not a spring chicken anymore (age 55) and I am very tired of being obese. Its really affecting my life. I have pretty severe arthritis and the extra weight really makes things worse. I would love to be able to get off my BP meds and Cholesterol meds. My BMI is 40. I see in other post that you have to lose some weight before the surgery. Is this the same with all M.D.s? I would love to hear from any of you.

Hi Brenda,

In answer to your direct question, yes, I think you will find all doctors ask you to lose some weight before the surgery. I'm not sure I have my all my medical facts straight & I can't locate my book (the one by Dr. Ortiz advertised on the site ... a must have for your research), but I believe it's that is shrinks your liver some, gets rid of some of the fat in it. Whatever exactly it is, it facilates the surgery. You will be told how long you have to be on the preop diet according to you health questionaire.

Regarding my own experience with the band, it changes every day. I've been banded for almost 7 months. The surgery is the easiest part. OCC care is excellent and so much cheaper than the U.S. For most people the real "weight loss" function of the band doesn't start until after the 1st fill which is usually 6 to 8 weeks after the surgery. For many (I was one of those) it's the second fill before you reach a really useful level of restriction. For some it takes 3, and if you read these post long enough, there are some who don't find the "right" fill and eventually give up.

Between my 1st fill and my 2nd, I made a trip to Europe. I knew shortly after the 1st fill it wasn't enough, but didn't think it was wise to have a fill and run off to Paris (just in case) so I just got my 2nd one 2 weeks ago. I think this 2nd fill is enough, at least for now. Volumn eating is severly curtailed. That's good. I went to a wedding reception last night. There was lots of fabulous food. I did not overeat. I couldn't. That's nice.

There are a couple of things I read when I was researching this procedure that I didn't REALLY listen to. 1. The band is only a tool... a good tool, but only a tool all the same. 2. The band (properly filled) will control how much you eat, not what you eat. The band is probably of more help to those who tend to eat too much as opposed to those who don't eat so much, but tend to eat the wrong things. I still fight my sweet tooth at night. I try to stick to something like a little Weight Watcher cake because I have restriction on bready things. Ice cream & chocolate glide right though the band. I don't think my cravings are as strong though and that helps. Hunger seems somewhat lessened, but not gone.

For some people the band is a dream come true, or so it seems from their posts. They eat whatever they want, but just not much, and the weight falls off. For some it's a miserable failure. I think most of us are somewhere in the middle; after struggling to hit the right fill finding that eating one too many bites feels like a golfball in your chest, trying to avoid "eating around the band", and not losing weight as quickly as we would like (I've lost around 25 pounds). Finally we HEAR ... the band is just a tool. Most of us aren't sorry we did it because it can really help, and it seems to be the best thing we have for now.

Good luck on your journey.

[Kari]

Hello everyone,

I am considering having Lap Band surgery. I wanted to find out from some of you who have already had the Lap Band surgery what your experiences were. I am not a spring chicken anymore (age 55) and I am very tired of being obese. Its really affecting my life. I have pretty severe arthritis and the extra weight really makes things worse. I would love to be able to get off my BP meds and Cholesterol meds. My BMI is 40. I see in other post that you have to lose some weight before the surgery. Is this the same with all M.D.s? I would love to hear from any of you.

Hi Brenda

I am 57 and know exactly how you feel, because I have those same feelings. I was banded 7-16 by Dr. Ortiz and it was the smartest thing I have ever done. I agree with all that Pam has said here. The pre-op diet isn't too bad. I drank a glucerna shake for breakfast and lunch and then a lean cuisine for dinner and all the green I wanted with diet dressing. It was for two weeks and you lose about a pound a day. Each doctor has their own diet but I found this one worked for me. Right now, I just started solid foods last week and can't wait for a fill. I just can't wait to get down and romp with my grand kids,

[nita57]

I would just like to add that you should really do your research. Everyone is different and everyone's experience is different. Be prepared for all possibilities, including the possibility that you may receive a VG band, which requires 4 or 5 fills to reach your sweet spot. Don't depend on other people's experiences. If you truely want this and you do all the research, reading all the good and bad that you can find, then and only then will you be able to make an informed and intelligent decision. Please read other message boards besides this one. This board is great, but it is mostly newbies and wannabes and it tends to lean more to the very optimistic. I am in no way trying to discourage you. I am very very happy with my band. I have had some frustrating times, but because I did my reading before, I knew what I was up against with my VG band, and I have managed to remain mostley positive. This is the best thing I have ever done, but I think it is a very personal decision which should be researched beyond this board. Good Luck and Many Happy Weigh In's !! Nita

[tombourn]

My 2 Cents.

Ditto to all the responders. Brenda, you avereceived some very sound advise from some on the most level headed people on this forum. There isn't much to add that they haven't already said. Good luck with your decision.

Tom

[dfrenchy]

Hello everyone,

I am considering having Lap Band surgery. I wanted to find out from some of you who have already had the Lap Band surgery what your experiences were. I am not a spring chicken anymore (age 55) and I am very tired of being obese. Its really affecting my life. I have pretty severe arthritis and the extra weight really makes things worse. I would love to be able to get off my BP meds and Cholesterol meds. My BMI is 40. I see in other post that you have to lose some weight before the surgery. Is this the same with all M.D.s? I would love to hear from any of you.

I was worried about the surgery also but it was the best thing I have ever done in my life. I am 6weeks post-op and down 31lbs. and feeling better every day. I had to loose 5% of my body weight before surgery by Dr. Ortiz it was hard but I had a goal that was only days away. So it was a little easier than a regular diet to loose weight and then end up gaining it back. My sister had surgery from a different Dr. in TJ and he did not require you to loose weight pro-op. It is for the best because it shrinks the liver and makes it easier for the Dr. to move it during surgery. Hope this helps.