GodsTyro

I'll be banded in October due to insurance making me go thru 5 months of weight loss appointments first. It just feels so far away and though I wish I could just start my journey now I know the hoops and whistles of it all will be worth the payment. Anyone else have a long period they had to wait for their insurance? Everyone I knew it was only 2-3 months which I thought was reasonable to make sure the person is committed, but 5 months seems a bit lengthy to me...

From what my doc has said I don't have to give up wine but I could only have one glass at night

Something I've noticed thru the years my weight went down prior to gaining it back is I was an emotional eater. But working out or finding something (crafts) to do to take my mind off of it helped tremendously

It sounds to me like you are still contemplating getting the lapband. There is a book that I got from TrueResults that I suggest everyone who is either wanting to know more information, going thru with the lap band and needing to know what to expect as well as just contemplating it should read. It's called The Lap Band Solution (not sure if you can get it in stores or not though) It was extremely helpful for me to make the decision to have it done and will be banded in October due to insurance hoops and whistles I have to jump thru. Some of the things I do want to say though concerning the lap band is it's not a "miracle pill" - the amount you put in is the amount of results you will get. Almost all of my friends that have had this procedure and including my doctor have stated there are 3 commitments that are made for the doctor and their staff (basically making sure you are safe & healthy) as well as 3 commitments you have to make which come down to being willing to follow the rules when it comes to eating (as there will be a lot of food you cannot eat afterwards) but also exercising 30 minutes a day (or breaking it up to 200 minutes per week) Being scared of surgery is something that I think everyone goes thru, and like others have said surgery doesn't come without risk, it is impossible to eliminate 100% of the risk when it comes to a major surgery and though the lap band is the least extensive out of all gastric surgeries, it is still surgery of the stomach. However, the statistics of death rates are no where close to what the statistics are in the other procedures. I know that many of our worries is "death" and because of this I want to post what I posted in another persons post (excerpt from the book concerning death) From Lapband Solution - Excerpt on death: "Any stomach operation for obestity is major surgery and carries with it the risks that would go with any complex operation. People have died form having operations for morbid obesity-it happens rarely with LAP-BAND placement, but we can never take away the risk completely. If you are older and if you already have certain diseases due to your obesity, or if you are otherwise unwell, you will be at greater risk. Death associates with obestity surgery occur mostly because of heart attacks after the operaion, cloths passing to the lungs or infection due to the breakdown of some part of the stomach wall. The LAP-BAND has been shown to be very much safer than the stapling operations, but still death is possible. If we look at the figures for LAP BAND placement across the world there has been about one death for every 2000 to 3000 people who have the procedure. This is less than 1/10 of the risk of death associated with gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion. For a death to occur, multiple things have to have gone wrong and to have gone wrong in a particular sequence. Firstly, it is extremely unlikely that anyone would die while under anesthesia. Our patients probably worry about this possibility the most and yet it almost never happens. Today, the knowledge base of anesthesia, the training and quality of our anesthestists and the prescence of sophisticated monitoring systems make having an anesthetic very much safer than 50 or even 10 years ago. If someone did die after a LAP BAND procedure, a series of technical errors usually would have taken place. The surgeron would have to have made a mistake, not recognized what error occurred, not recognized that you were becoming unwell, not thought of the possible causes nor the investigations needed in response, and not treated the problem correctly. That is not just one error but a WHOLE SERIES OF ERRORS that all have to line up into one path. Nevertheless, you must minimize this risk by ensuring that your surgeon is well trained, has extensive experience, publishes or can make available to you his or her outcome data and can show you a track record of being safe. The placement of the LAP BAND is very safe when done properly but its potential risks are higher when the surgeon is not well trained or proficient." As you can see in the above there are MANY things that have to occur in a specific order for death to even take place if something were to go wrong - and though folks might think 1 out of every 2-3,000 is a lot, please remember the other statistics of the other surgeries which is 1 out of every 250 patients had died. In the end, it is just important to realize getting the lap band is not an excuse to be lazy, and in all actuality if you are completely honest with your doctor they would probably reject you from getting the lap band if you were unwilling to do what they say (which includes working out 30 minutes a day) Lastly extra skin isn't something to worry about because of your age if you have any at all it would probably be minimal. In addition to that, in case you did its important to know most insurances cover surgery after because it's considered reconstructive surgery

Is this for the doctor or for insurance purposes?

Thanks everyone for the feedback :-)

I Know everyone is different, I will be banded in October and going back home for Christmas. I was just wondering what kind of weight loss people saw by 2-3 months? I'm certainly not expecting the exact same weightloss but also curious in case I have the same results

I like your point I think it's also fair to say the jihad doesn't actually follow the Muslim religion that many do, just like how other religions/cults have twisted the Christian bible into their own view/belief the jihad did the same with the muslim religious text

I say no because te same owners tat created this site have similar ones for surgeries you are talking about ( gastric sleeve etc)

Hey all- I have yet to get banded (Just started my journey and will eventually be banded after the hoops and whistles of insurance in October) I've been skimming this site a bit and I've learned in post op to expect due to IV's to gain some weight (Water weight) after surgery and it will fall off. In addition to this the liquid diet that everyone has to be on after surgery, obviously because of this we all drop weight. My question is after the liquid diet/mushy food phase and back onto solid foods - do you see a weight gain at all because of adding actual "food" back into your diet? Just wondering what to expect. Thanks!!

I haven't yet been banded ( just started the process and insurance will take 5 months) but I think this is a great question. Minus losing the weight as being the reward and shopping for a brand new wardrobe... If and when I ever get married I have always wanted to somehow incorporate part of my moms wedding dress into my own since I know someone that does this for a living. But until I'm down in weight it will never be an option because of my size.

From Phoenix, AZ and going thru with lap-band with True Results (has anyone else used these guys before? If so- good results?) I have 5 months to go for insurance purposes but should be banded in October if everything goes smoothly. I think I will be the only one in my family that will not be STUFFING their face for thanksgiving a month later! (Which I'm actually looking forward to) On the down side, thinking my brother would be supportive was actually the complete opposite when I told him I was considering getting this done. So I haven't bothered to tell him I have made the decision to go thru with it. My parents on the other hand are in a way ecstatic for me - not for the surgery but seeing the weight come off. Especially since everything my dad has gone thru because of his weight and what he is going thru right now health wise. All in all - it appears I am relying on one of my co-workers/friends in this more than my family that lives a block down the street (my brother) since my parents are out of state (in Maryland) I definitely have concerns, definitely am nervous but having struggled with my weight since I was 13 (losing almost 100 lbs and gaining it back) well, it appears that nothing really works and hoping this will be just another tool in my belt to help me. For once in my life I am thinking about what all this means - realizing the simple things a lot of my skinny friends don't think about (I will be able to wear cute dresses, and feel pretty in them - be able to fit in a air plane seat and not be embarrassed, be able to cross my legs -- but most importantly - for once not allowing food to control my life but let me control my life.)

Hey- I am new to the boards, just recently actually had my first appointment to go thru the lap band and this was actually a big concern for me (not neccessarily death, but just everything when it comes to risk.) The Lap band surgery is not something to take lightly, it is after all a surgery of the stomach and is not considered a "minor" surgery. With that said however, out of ALL the surgeries for the lap band it is the only one that is the least extensive. It is the only one that you can do as outpatient as well. I am going thru True Results here in Phoenix, AZ and one of the things they give to you first appointment is a book called "The Lap-Band Solution- A partnership for weight loss" by Paul O'briend MD." I HIGHLY recommend picking up this book if you have not read it for several reasons: It gives a look into the lap band, whether you want to know more about it, have decided to go thru it, or just in general want more information concerning it. It talks not just about what to expect in detail with the lap band but the difference between the lap band and other surgeries and weight-loss options. It also brings up the risk factors (like death that you mentioned). A LOT of my questions that I needed answered were answered with this book and given me the ability to decide to go thru with the lap band. It is important to remember that the Lap Band, though it is there to help, it is still surgery and no surgery comes without risk. Below though, I wrote up the excerpt on the "Death" portion from this book because it is VERY important to see that I think for you. Please remember this is a book from True Results so this is assuming the lap band group you are with is the same (safe etc) Excerpt on Death from book: "Any stomach operation for obesity is major sugery and carries with it the risks that would go with any complex operation. People have died from having operations for morbid obesity- it happens rarely with LAP-BAND placement, but we can never take away the risk compoletely. If you are older and if you already have certain diseases due to your obesity, or if you are otherwise unwell, you will be at greater risk. Deaths associates with obesity surgery occur mostly because of heart attacks after the operation, clots passing to the lungs or infection due to the breakdown of some part of the stomach wall. The LAP-BAND has been shown to be very much safer than the stapling operations, but still death is possible. If we look at the figures for LAP-BAND placement across the world there has been about one death for every 2,000 to 3,000 people who have the procedure. This is less than 1/10 of the risk of death associated with gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion. For a death to occur, multiple things have to have gone wrong and to have gone wrong in a particular sequence. Firstly, it is extremely unlikely that anyone would die while under anesthesia. Our patients probably worry about this possibility the most and yet it almost never happens. Today, the knowledge base of anesthesia, the training and quality of our anesthestists and the prescence of sophisticated monitoring systems make having an anesthetic very much safer than 50 or even 10 years ago. If someone did die after a LAP-BAND procedure, a series of technical errors usually would have taken place. The surgeon would have to have made a mistake, not recognized what error occurred, not recognized that you were becoming unwell, not thought of the possible causes nor the investigations needed in response, and not treated the problem correctly. That is not just one error, but a whole series of errors that all line up into one path. Nevertheless, you must minimize this risk by ensuring that your surgeon is well trained, has extensive experience, publishes or can make available to you his or her outcome data and can show you a track record of being safe. The placement of the LAP-BAND is very safe when done properly but its potential risks are higher when the surgeon is not well trained or proficient. In the 17 years of personal experience with the band and many thousands of people treated through our (True Results) clinic, we have never lost anyone. We intend to keep it that way." I hope the above helped in calming your fears dealing with the LAP BAND results. -Mary-