I am still really struggling with to have the surgery or not. At times I am gung ho and other times I am still wondering why I can not do this on my own and maybe i just have not not tried hard enough and what if the band does not work for me. I am so afraid of failing and then everyone will know! Anyway so today I talk to two people 1; someone at work who had the band and said that I should just do it and she lost 70 pounds 3 years ago and has kept it off..however she has severe restriction and is having a hart time keeping meat down..she can unfill a little though and it would be solved. 2; My brother who is totally against having the procedure and he is an emt. He is also overweight but feels this is too extreme and that I am losing fine on my own (I have lost 15 pounds in 1 years time..not exactly the rate I need or want) So now my head spins again..he said every procedure you do is risky.......I guess I have so many feelings....

This is good advice! Hanging skin WON'T KILL YOU, being overweight will!

It will kill you if it sags so much that it becomes necrotic and you don't have it removed.....

Well a friend of mine went from 425 to 175 with Lap Band and still has all her hanging skin and her health.

Why are you even on this forum if you are against Lap Band?

I'd rather take my chances with hanging skin than to die from a stroke over my high blood pressure.

It will kill you if it sags so much that it becomes necrotic and you don't have it removed.....

Um, skin does not randomly become necrotic. It does so from a lack of circulation. Losing weight does not negatively affect circulation.

Necrosis can also occur due to an infection, which is actually more likely in people with diabetes, which is much more likely in obese people.

So really, losing weight and skin necrosis have no relation.

Even if I could afford it, which I can't, I would not do it. A friend of mine did it...YOUR BODY WILL NOT, REPEAT NOT LOOK LIKE WHAT YOU THINK EVEN IF YOU LOSE ALL THE WEIGHT! BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!

Excuse me if I come off sounding a bit unfriendly, but:

since you have not had the surgery done, would not have it done even if you could afford it, and have no first hand information to share- just what in the hell are you doing here?

If you can't add something positive to the discussion, how about just sitting quietly at your computer? Dire predictions based on a single secondhand source are not helpful.

Excuse me if I come off sounding a bit unfriendly, but:

since you have not had the surgery done, would not have it done even if you could afford it, and have no first hand information to share- just what in the hell are you doing here?

If you can't add something positive to the discussion, how about just sitting quietly at your computer? Dire predictions based on a single secondhand source are not helpful.

ITA!!! Maybe she is really just jealous b/c she can't have it done?

I'm thinking troll, sower of fear and trembling, recreational forecaster of doom.

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......CAN ANYONE READ??

The topic here is "yes's and no's." So just because I'm a "no" that means I can't state my opinion? It means I am jealous and hateful and "doomed" and all that stuff? Are you serious? Ummmm, it's not really supposed to work that way, but OK.

I'm sorry if you don't like the truth. But what is happening to my best friend is awful and I am NOT sharing an opinion, I am sharing FACT from what I have seen. It may not happen to everyone, but I'm just telling you what is happening to HER. Regardless of the rose-colored glasses being worn here, I sincerely hope it does not happen to any of you. Good luck :thumbup:

Don't listen to your brother lol. You could do it on your own, but if you are like me, you re-gain it and then gain an extra 5-10 pounds every time.

Amen Sister:thumbup:

I agree with others, it is a personal decision. I have been dieting for about 6 years now and I always end up sabatoging myself. I lost 70 lbs with JC and then gained most of it back. 6 years ago a coworker had gastric bypass and then I went for a consult, but then decided I did not like the side efeects of it, and decided to go on a diet instead and I have been trying ever since and sbatoging myself along the way. Last year another coworker had the lap band and he started losing quite a bit of weight and I again decided to try this route. The lap band is a lot safer (IMO) than bypass. I think personally if I can just keep myself from sabatoging myself I can do this.

Even if I could afford it, which I can't, I would not do it. A friend of mine did it. She CONSTANTLY cries and has fallen into a deep depression now because her skin hangs like.......below her thighs and she says it is so gross. She says she'd rather be fat than have the body of a 90-yr-old lady and she now regrets having the surgery. Unless you are fat AND rich enough to pay for subsequent surgeries, I would NOT DO IT. Not to mention the boob job you will need because they will hang to your belly button. YOUR BODY WILL NOT, REPEAT NOT LOOK LIKE WHAT YOU THINK EVEN IF YOU LOSE ALL THE WEIGHT! BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!

So the alternative is staying fat, and remaining exposed to the attendant health risks?

Sagging skin isn't the prettiest thing in the world. It looks a heck of a lot better than skin stretched beyond capacity with fat. Obese boobs and bellies sag, too. But obese bellies pose a huge health risk.

Losing weight by any means can result in sagging or loose skin. It's not a given, however. It's dependent on genetics, age, smoking status, how long you've been overweight, how many times you've gained and lost, past pregnancies, and so on.

It is NOT affected by rate of loss (not that banding provides ultra-rapid loss, anyway) or by anything you apply to the skin.

Staying fat to avoid skin issues is like continuing to smoke so you don't gain weight--it doesn't make sense.

Tell your friend to have her doctor document all health issues relating to her hanging skin (skin rashes, and so on). Her insurance may not cover abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), but it is likely to cover panniculectomy (removal of the hanging skin).

No rose-colored glasses here--just almost 100 pounds down from my highest weight. At 48, after 3 pregnancies and plenty of yo-yoing, I look pretty damn good. Will I have surgery? Maybe. I am not sure how I will look when I hit my goal, but the way things are going, I might (and in fact have a consult scheduled for May, when I will be in the surgeon's city, anyway)---but it looks like I will need far less than I originally had feared.

Edited October 1, 201015 yr by BetsyB

I've tried to lose weigh for years and after doing endless research I decided to pursue LapBand surgery. My surgery is scheduled for October 15. I know there's a chance of having sagging skin, but being morbidly obese is more of a concern to me than having sagging skin. I've also started an exercise program hoping to prevent any sagging.

My advice to you is do what you feel comfortable doing. Don't let anyone convince you to have or not have the surgery.