nellietheelephant

.......... I'm talking about any complications that are likely to arise many years down the line. I read somewhere that long term complications of the band are not great....... I've heard of slippage, erosion, ulcers etc Does anyone have experience of having the gastric band for a number of years, and not having any complications? Does anyone know whether it is inevitable that a band patient will develop some complications, due to the band, eventually?

I want to have gastric band surgery. However I was watching a programme on bariatric surgery where people who have had gastric bypass were saying that there minds had been altered in relation to food.... they no longer craved bad foods.. did not want to eat after being full... their tastes had changed... they appreciated the taste of food more.. sweet food appeared sweeter etc... I was just wondering if these feelings were the same for gastric band surgery. I have posted before and heard that people say that it's all down to the individual... that with gastric band, one still craves foods... that it can slip etc... In the gastric bypass the stomach is made into the size of an egg....... In gastric band the stomach pouch is also a similar size... So my question really is.... Why would cravings for food be any different in band or bypass? I understand that more weight is lost through gastric bypass... Is this more due to the fact that parts of the intestine are bypassed.. rather than eating less food than a band patient (because cravings are less than those who have gastric band)?

I currently weigh close to 15 stones. I'm 5'5 and have a BMI of approximately 34. I think I have a very big tummy. There are white stretch marks on it (which I'm not that bothered about) but I am scared of having loose skin. It looks like I am pregnant after I eat or drink anything. My tummy tends to protrude right out (like a pregnant woman) but there is also a slight overhang. Will people with overhangs almost definitely get loose skin if they were going to lose approximately 7 stones? I am hoping to get a gastric band but have yet to see the surgeon. I have heard that gradual weight loss, toning exercises and rubbing various scrubs into skin, as well as moisturizing, helps to reduce loose skin. However, is there any way to tell in advance if loose skin is going to be a problem? I am worried about my breasts as well... I'm around a 40 C at present. Does anyone have the experience of sagging skin after losing a lot of weight? Thanks, N.

I currently weigh close to 15 stones. I'm 5'5 and have a BMI of approximately 34. I think I have a very big tummy. There are white stretch marks on it (which I'm not that bothered about) but I am scared of having loose skin. It looks like I am pregnant after I eat or drink anything. My tummy tends to protrude right out (like a pregnant woman) but there is also a slight overhang. Will people with overhangs almost definitely get loose skin if they were going to lose approximately 7 stones? I am hoping to get a gastric band but have yet to see the surgeon. I have heard that gradual weight loss, toning exercises and rubbing various scrubs into skin, as well as moisturizing, helps to reduce loose skin. However, is there any way to tell in advance if loose skin is going to be a problem? I am worried about my breasts as well... I'm around a 40 C at present. Does anyone have the experience of sagging skin after losing a lot of weight? Thanks, N.

I currently weigh close to 15 stones. I'm 5'5 and have a BMI of approximately 34. I think I have a very big tummy. There are white stretch marks on it (which I'm not that bothered about) but I am scared of having loose skin. It looks like I am pregnant after I eat or drink anything. My tummy tends to protrude right out (like a pregnant woman) but there is also a slight overhang. Will people with overhangs almost definitely get loose skin if they were going to lose approximately 7 stones? I am hoping to get a gastric band but have yet to see the surgeon. I have heard that gradual weight loss, toning exercises and rubbing various scrubs into skin, as well as moisturizing, helps to reduce loose skin. However, is there any way to tell in advance if loose skin is going to be a problem? I am worried about my breasts as well... I'm around a 40 C at present. Does anyone have the experience of sagging skin after losing a lot of weight? Thanks, N.

I am actually UK based.

Thank you to all of you for your advice. Have booked a private appointment and will be seeing surgeon soon. Cheers, N.

Thank you to everyone who posted. I found it really helpful! Cheers, N.

At the moment I have got bad eating habits and like to eat until I am full. For people who have a gastric band done, do they get full more quickly and consequently have less cravings for junk food. I saw a horizon programme for obesity, and it was said for patients, following bariatric surgery, that they asked whether the surgeon had operated on their stomach or their brain! I took this to mean that they no longer craved the bad foods..... but is this only for certain types of bariatric surgery? At the moment, I am 5'4/5'5 and weigh 14.5 stones. How much weight could I realistically expect to lose? Does everyone, who has gastric band, lose at least some amount of weight? Thanks, N.

I have other comorbidities such as diabetes type 2, PCOS and underactive thyroid. Grateful for any advice. Thanks.