tulips

I read something that she was having her band removed in December and even in the past year (with the band) she has gained 15 pounds. She had lost 125 pounds with the band and after removal will rely on psychotherapy to cope with her weight issues. "I have to figure out why I do what I do to myself," she said.

I am 36 and am noticing losing the weight is much more difficult this time around. You are right, the really hard part is going to be keeping it off. That is why I am really focusing on "lifestyle" and not "diet". We even ordered pizza tonight, but I only had one peice -- in the past I would've had at least 2 and maybe 3. It's nice to know that the band is there as an option if I am unable to get and/or keep the weight off.

I totally understand your question and am not insulted in the least. First of all, I have decided against doing it -- for now anyway. You have understand that I have been fighting my weight all of my adult (and late teen) years. I have never been technically "obese" until recently. Still, it seems like I always need to lose anywhere from 25 to 60 lbs. In the past, as soon as the weight came off, I would gain back plus some. After have 2 kids I weighed 175 for quite awhile. I decided to diet and get the weight off. I did. I got down to 142 and even though I was still technically slightly overweight or the bigger end of the "normal" range, I was happy with that weight. I maintained the weight for a few months, but over the next 1 1/2 year or so I gained it all back plus 20 more. I sat at 194 and a bmi of 35. That's when I started researching the band. The constant up and down is not good for me and I hate the yo-yo thing. You should see my closet. I have an assortment of clothes sizes ranging from a size 6 to a 16. Anyway, as far as the doc being willing to do it-- there has been quite a bit of research showing lots of great success for banding people with bmi's b/w 30-35. The doc I went to asked me lots of pointed questions and I asked many back to her. She told me I did not "technically" meet the requirements for the band, but given that I was not going into this lightly, my family history (lots of obesity and early deaths from obesity related illnesses -- my dad died at 69), and my 15+ years of yo-yo dieting she would be willing to perform the surgery.

Another doc you may want to check out is Dr. Wanda Kaniewski in Lenexa. I went to her seminar and was extremely impressed. The practice is a center of excellence, which I think is pretty hard to get. She has done over 800 surgeries. No mortalities and none of them converted to "open" instead of laproscopically. They have an awesome website with lots of great information. It is iabsobesitysurgery.com. The best part is it is less than some others if you're self-pay. I think it's $13,500 for the band. Good luck!

Back in March I hit an all time high of 194. That's when I first started looking into the band and found this board. Then, my bmi was 35 (just barely) and I tried to go through insurance, but no co-morbities so that was a dead end. I have been trying not to "diet", but really change my lifestyle. I have actually adopted some of the band rules to help me. I am watching my portion size, eating Protein -- fish, chicken, etc., and lots of veggies and eating slowly and chewing my food well. I will allow myself a cookie or treats now and then, just not everyday and not 3 or 4 at a time like before. I was at 185 for quite some time earlier this summer and reconsidered the band and self-paying. That's when I went through all the consults and went to the seminar. As I said earlier, I chickened out. Especially since I was self-pay, I would have to pay if complications. I mainly worried about 3 or 4 years from now. The weight loss is finally coming off again slowly, and I'm okay with that even though it's slow. No one has noticed my weight loss, though. I have been running too. Honestly, I maybe only run 2 days a week, but it's 2 days a week more than what I had been doing. Anyway, I certainly don't intend to gain my weight back -- but who ever does? I certainly have lost weight in the past thinking it was gone forever only to gain that back plus some. Still, I think that it is going slow for me, may give me a better chance of keeping it off for good. I didn't mean to write a book here. Good luck with your surgery, I'm sure you will do great!

According to Adjustable gastric band - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia these celebrities have been banded: Khaliah Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali) Brian Dennehy Anne Diamond Joseph R. Gannascoli Sharon Osbourne<SUP class=reference id=_ref-1>[2]</SUP> Ann Wilson Mikey Robbins I don't know who many of them are. Also, Sharon Osbourne is having her band removed.

Jack, For me the decision to get the band would be a no brainer if I had even 1 co-morbidity. As of now, I would say I am 90% sure I won't get the band. Why I'm still hanging around on this message board? I'm not sure. I do know it is great to hear all the positive stories of the band bringing people back into the land of the living. I mean, it really seems to have given so many people their lives back. Anyway, I always enjoy your posts and think you have accomplished a lot with the band. Congratulations!

I have similar feelings too. I really have little doubt that it would be an effective tool for weight loss. I actually had a surgery date of 8/20. Ihad done all my pre-op testing and everything. Needless to say, I chickened out. I go back and forth on whether it was the right thing to do or not. I figured I can always change my mind and get the band, but it is much harder and more expensive to undo it if I changed my mind the other way. My concern is more long term. It seems a lot of people 18 months and longer post op start to have a problem with reflux. I worry about that. Currently, I'm 5'2" and 173 with no health problems. I was going to be banded and am still toying with the idea, but can't totally justify it considering I don't have that much to lose (I'd be very happy at 145 lbs) and have NO health issues. I know complications from the band are low, but the complications seem to increase the longer you have the band. If you don't mind me asking, what is your bmi?

Okay, I want to preface my response by saying that I am not banded, just researching the heck out of this thing right now. I was looking at the lap band complications thread and this caught my eye. I hope this helps and I hope your problem is resolved soon. There is another thread over there that is a poll regarding reflux. It seems to happen a lot to people banded for 18 months to 3 years. Also may be worth taking a look at. Keep us posted. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f78/major-reflux-no-restriction-very-little-recent-weight-loss-stretched-pouch-39137/

I wish I could be of help to you. I don't have a band, but I just went to the seminar for it. Anyway, they empasized 4 rules for success they are: 1) No liquid calories. 2) No eating and drinking at the same time. In fact wait 90 min. to 2 hours to drink after eating. 3) Eat protein/solid food and not soft (easy) food. 4) Try not to snack. Eat three meals a day and eat until you're full, but then stop. They made it sound like as long as you follow these rules you will lose weight. They said you should reach that point of fullness at about a cup of food. Good luck to you!

Hi Amy, It sounds like you and I are in similiar situations. I am 5'2" also, but I weigh a little more. This morning I weighed 179, so my bmi is 33 I think. Anyway, welcome. I can tell you, I came on hear so excited and couldn't be banded soon enough. After reading many threads, I still think the band may be for me, BUT it is really going to be a lot of hard work and MAJOR behavior modifications on my part. I keep second guessing myself and still can't say that I will for sure have this done -- even though I have a surgery date of August 20th. I live in the KC area. The doc I went to said I didn't technically qualify, but she could tell I wasn't taking this lightly and it was obvious I had researched and read everything I could get my hands on about the lap band. She said she thought my head was in the right place and as long as I agreed to follow the rules and so forth, she would do it. I am self pay too. It's going to cost $13,500 plus I will have to pay extra for fills, pre-op testing (that was around $250). The $13,500 does include Dr. visits for 1 year after banding (not fills -- just visits); support group, behavior modification and nutritionist classes. I hope this helps and good luck with your journey.

Thanks! Don't forget. I am only 5'2". I am still technically "obese" and will be even if I lose another 15 lbs or so. That's a little depressing. I have to say, I am sooo confused right now. At times, I REALLY want the band and it can't come soon enough. Other times, I'm not sure I want it. The scariest part to me is the long term medical effects of it. I did find an interesting study on lower bmi's getting banded. To summarize, they took 80 people all with a bmi of 30-35 and divided them into 2 groups -- a surgical and non-surgical group. The provided support and dieting help with the non-surgical group. After 6 months, both groups lost the same amount of weight. After two YEARS the surgical group (lapband) had kept the weight off and the non-surgical group had regained almost all of their weight. I will try to find the study again and post it if you guys are interested.

I just got this from another thread, but I thought I'd post it here. Advanced Platform Here's a link to a thread about it on Dr. C's forum: Trace W. Curry, M.D. :: View topic - New AP band and a pic thread: Trace W. Curry, M.D. :: View topic - pic of new AP band Basically, weight loss may be faster and a few other benefits to the new band as well. I'd love to hear how anyone with this band has done with it.