I'm 63 and my dr. has suggested lap banding because it will help my heart. I have had 5-way-bypass surgery and quit smoking. When I quit smoking is when I gained all the weight. It's kind of a vicious circle, because I've once more put myself in danger with my heart with the weight gain. Someone told me that over 55 bandsters don't do well. Does anyone have an opinion on this and is there anyone out there that is banded and older? I'd love to hear their opinions and whether the surgery was more difficult for them. Perhaps I'll find there are no older bandsters and that should answer my question about whether to do it or not. Any feedband is appreciated.

I am 63 also, and had the surgery 1 year ago, and it is the best thing I have ever done for just me!

I started at 265, am down 57lbs, feel great, gone off my BP meds, my knees and joints feel so much better now that they don't have to support all that weight.

I went to Mexico for my surgery, had a great experience, loved my Dr's and would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

My goal is to lose 100lbs, and I am more than half way now, am eating healthy food, and don't feel deprived! If I want something, I eat it, just a small amount satisfies me now.

Hope this helps, good luck on your journey.

You can email me if you have more questions.

I was 65 in February. Had band surgery on June 7th. I'm doing really wll, almost 40 lbs down. I do not feel as if I'm dieting, nor do I feel deprived. I love my band. Yes there have been times that I wish I could eat as I use to, but they are few and far between. The band is a great tool and will help you have a better life.

Joyce-Tx

P.S. There are several of us oldsters here in the DFW area - some have lost 150+ lbs - all seem to be doing realy well.

Wow, that is encouraging. It makes me feel so much better. I read a post today where someone said older people don't do well after the surgery, and it about scared me out of having it. You two ladies have made me rethink this. My dr. has encouraged me and I'm so encouraged by the experience you two have had. Thanks so much for answering my post. I will look for both of your names as I look at these comments and try to pay attention to them. So glad you are both doing fine. That is what my dr. is hoping, that I can help my heart; go off my BP medications; and my feet will stop hurting. That alone would be worth the surgery.

Again thanks for your support. I've attended the seminar; got to speak to the dr. a little bit; have had my sleep study..good thing I did. I have really bad sleep apnea which could have really been dangerous had I been under anesthesia and am going in a week or so to see how much C-pap I need to have. I will have to have it on the OR.

I considered Mexico, but there were just too many if's for me with my heart and now this sleep apnea. Medicare tells me they will cover it but if they don't I'm prepared to pay for it. I just wanted to make sure it was well worth it, and it sounds like it is.

Please keep in touch.

I am 57 years old and 5' 1" tall. When I had my first appointment to schedule the surgery I weighed 338 pounds and had a BMI of 64. I had my band surgery September 13, 2005 and am now down to 307 pounds. I had no problems at all recovering from the surgery...I was back to work 4 days afterward. I also have sleep Apnea and have used a c-pap (continous air flow at 13) for over eight years. I had no problems with the anesthesia or recovery. I also have high blood pressure, high cholestrol and osteoarthritis.

My incisions were completely healed in less then two weeks. I feel better then I ever have! My eating is under control and I don't crave any of the foods I just felt I HAD to eat before banding, nor do I feel deprived. I feel full most of the time and am never starved! It is so weird, but true. A whole new world for me. The best decision I ever made!

I have a friend who is 63 and I'm trying to encourage her to have it done. She's worried about cost...I am a self-pay and worried about cost too but decided if I didn't do it I'd be dead, I figure it's a darn good investment!

Best wishes on your journey to a healthy lifestyle.

Hi I am 57 years old and had my surgery six weeks ago. Other than feeling really tired for the first month I have done fine.

I would recommend it.

I just wanted to add that I didn't think of myself as 'older' when I had it done. Maybe that helped!

It was probably my post. And while it is not my intention to diminish the results of any person here--or the Dallas banded folks in general--the study looked at several hundred people who were FOUR YEARS OUT from surgery. (I'm a little over three years out, and I was 55 at the time with a BMI of about 48.) I'm emphasizing the time, because many of the problems with banding occur a couple of years down the line.

Impact of age, sex and body mass index on outcomes at four years after gastric banding.

Branson R, Potoczna N, Brunotte R, Piec G, Ricklin T, Steffen R, Horber FF.

Departement of Surgery, Hirslanden Clinics, Bern, Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: Adjustable gastric banding for weight reduction in severely obese persons allows reversible individualized restriction during postoperative follow-up. It is unknown whether preoperative age, sex and BMI might modulate treatment outcome.

METHODS: 404 severely obese patients (79% women; age 42 +/- 0.5 years [mean +/- SEM]; BMI 42.1 +/- 0.2 kg/m2) completed 4-year follow-up after banding. Weight loss, complications, and Bariatric Analysis and Reporting Outcome System (BAROS) scores were recorded prospectively.

RESULTS: 4 years after banding, younger (<50 years) women lost more weight than older (50 years) men (28.2 +/- 0.7% vs 19.4+/- 1.6%; P=0.001); older women and younger men lost similar weight. Patients with preoperative BMI >50 lost more weight than patients with BMI <35 (30.5 +/- 2.3% vs 22.8 +/- 2.6%; P=0.03). 22.3% of patients (n=90) had band system-related complications. Compared to women, men had more band leaks (7.0% vs 1.9%; P=0.007), and older men had more band slippages than younger men (8.4% vs 0.0%; P=0.035). Patients with preoperative BMI >50 were less likely than patients with BMI 35-40 or 40-50 to experience gastric complications (10.6%, 18.8%, 23.0%, respectively), but more likely to experience port/tube complications (15.8%, 2.4%, 7.9%, respectively; P<0.055). BAROS scores were different between men and women (P=0.05), and between younger and older people (P=0.001). Women and younger people were more likely than men and older people to score "very good" (P=0.03, P=0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Adjustable gastric banding is an effective intermediate-term treatment for severe obesity. Preoperative age, sex, and BMI are important modulators of outcome and should be considered during preoperative evaluation.

PMID: 15999426 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Also, I may be reading this wrong, but in this group, although people were much happier after banding, it looks like the percentage of excess weight lost by the most successful group was 28%.

Thanks for all the help.

Danistar, you are from right around where my youngest daughter lives who is also interested in the lap banding. She is in Harriman and worked in Oakridge for about a yr. Nice area. I love Tennessee and visit every chance I get. I love to go to Gatlinburg for a few days. Beautiful country, although the rain gets to me after awhile.

Sue, you just made me think some more about it, but not change my mind. I think I have to do this for my health. I don't expect to lose as rapidly as gastic bypass patients, but then I'm not getting my intestines re-routed either. The lap band is the safest of the surgeries for me with my heart condition. I have to think of it as a new lifestyle, and promise myself I will succeed. I wish it had worked for you and you didn't need more surgery. I know nothing about the surgery you are having. What does it involve? Is it more like gastric bypass, or something newer.

Anyway, I'm glad to meet you all and look forward to hearing more from you all. I too could well end up paying for the surgery, but Mexico is completely unrealistic for me and not even a consideration. That is for the young and healthy, of which I am neither. If I have to pay for it, I shall pay for it, and think of it as an investment in life. My dr's. feel that Medicare will pay because it is for my heart more than anything, but Medicare doesn't pre-approve anything, so I have to be prepared to pay. It will be a small price to pay for happiness and feeling better.

Thanks again for all your help.

My mom was banded in April @ 73, she's 74 now, and I'm a young 55, now.

Thanks for all the advice.

Jack, you are a funny man. You crack me up, but you are right on about the smoking. I was very angry to have my smokes taken away. I was someone who truly enjoyed smoking and also doesn't like to be told what to do. My heart dr. did both and I remained angry with him for over a year I think I ate out of stress; because the healing process from my surgery took so long; because for awhile physical activity is limited; and because...well because I guess I ate just to compensate for not smoking. No excuse is a good excuse. The pounds just crept up while I wasn't watching, or I was sleeping

I'm glad to hear you can get off C-pap eventually. My husband was killed in a car accident 10 years ago and I'm thankful he doesn't have to see me with this silly thing attached to my nose at night. Bless his heart he had a great sense of humor and probably would have milked it for all it was worth. He also would have been very relieved if it had stopped me from snoring. I don't know yet how much I'll be on. I have to go back to the hospital to spend another night to work with the C-pap.

I'm kind of gettting geared up for the surgery and now looking forward to it. I have to say the older bandsters have fewer complaints then the younger ones, or are we just plain tougher?? Maybe we have just weathered far more storms. (Just kidding you young ones)

Anyway glad to hear from all of you, please keep on writing.

Jack, share some more humor with me anytime. Glad you are doing well.

Hi Tommorow's Dream

Well I live in Harriman too.

Anybody interested in starting a 55 and older thread? I am 61 and agree w/Jack. If I don't get this surgery, I am sure I will not be around much longer. I just found out that I am only 5' tall, down from 5' 3". I weigh 280. (Just diagnosed with osteoprosis and taking meds). Was tested for sleep apnea years ago and diagnosed w/being on the borderline. Have gained about 50#'s since then. Surgeon wants me to get sleep study. I am resisting. He said if I was having Gastric Bypass he would insist. I want to be banded. I have to admit that lately I have been wakiing up 2-3 times a night gasping for breath. I cannot sleep on my back ever. I know I snore. As I read postings on this site, I am thinking more that I need to follow through w/the sleep study. It was not painful after all, just unpleasant. Better safe than sorry. I also have some heart problems and high blood pressure along w/panic attacks. He mentioned a stress test. Right now I can't walk even short distances w/o feeling like a fish out of water. Stress test scares me to death. Also have asthma. He wants pulmonary function test and asthma under perfect control before surgery. Also the usuual lose 10-15#' before to decrease fat on liver. So now I know what I need to do. I need to grow up, face the facts, get sleep study, stress test and asthma under control while losing up to 20#'s. As you all know I have plenty of time since the referral is just now being submitted to the insurance co. I have 2 adopted teen-age daughters and a 5 yr. old grandson. If I want to be around for them I need to get busy. Following through will mke me healthier after the surgery. You guys help me to keep my feet on the ground. I love the support and information on this site. Funny, I take all these meds for various medical conditions, yet was basically in denial that these conditions are serious and need to be addressed. God has laid out the path and with His help and yours I will keep my feet going in the right direction.

Thanks for listening and most of all for sharing.

Sandy

Sandy take the test so you can be informed moving forward. I know the sleep test are unpleasant I have had 4 of them myself, but they can save your life. huggs

I think it's a great idea (55 and older thread)! Someone, please start one...and I'll be there!!!

I know what you mean Sandy. I had every excuse for not doing something about getting surgery and the major reason was my insurance would not pay for it. I finally came to the conclusion that without it I would end up dying way too soon. I was 57 years old, 5'1 and 338 pounds.

We took out a 2nd mortgage on our house to pay for the surgery and by far, it's been the best investment I ever made!!! I invested in myself and it's paying off! I'm losing weight and feeling great!!! I have sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholestrol, arthritis, anxiety attacks and depression, all controlled my meds. I hope in the near future not to have to take meds or use the C-pap. My doc says losing the weight will most certainly up my chances of dropping these.

My whole attitude about eating has changed...I just don't have the cravings that I used to and I'm actually able to tell when I am full.

I love my band and how well it works for me (as if you couldn't tell!

pam