I am going thru the process now (waiting for ins. approval) and I was just wondering if any longtime lapbanders would be interested in giving their opinion on the decision to be banded....whether its positive or negative. I guess I'm just having a hard time imagining being 50, 60, 70 with the lap band. Any feedback is appreciated : )

I am going thru the process now (waiting for ins. approval) and I was just wondering if any longtime lapbanders would be interested in giving their opinion on the decision to be banded....whether its positive or negative. I guess I'm just having a hard time imagining being 50, 60, 70 with the lap band. Any feedback is appreciated : )

LOLLLL!!!! I am 55! I was banded on June 15, 2009, I was 53. I am so tickled with your comment about 50, 60, etc with the lapband. When you have been fighting obesity for years, you don't care if you are 90, if there is a solution, you want to take it! I have never felt better in my life. I went from a size 26 to a size 14/16 and I am still losing! I no longer take diabetes meds, I walk 1 1/2 every morning (had back surgery in 2004), no more problems with asthma, I was on 3 meds for blood pressure - now on only 1. I don't even feel like I am 55 ... I just feel ALIVE!!

If you are a young person getting this procedure, I say BRAVO to you! Do it! It can be life changing!

But ... be sure to educate yourself about how the band really works. Your doc may not tell you everything so review the post op forum. Knowledge is power when it comes to the band!

Good luck! I hope everything goes well for you!

~Fran

I think the poster meant having a band for that long. Well this is how I see it. There has not been enough studies done for the long term affects of the band because no one has been banded that long however I would imagine that at some point some years down the road it would have to be replaced because even a hip and knee replacement only last about 15 years. We will just have to see as it goes if it will hold up or will have to be changed. If that point ever comes for me I will have it removed and have the sleeve done I surely dont want to have to keep getting something replaced every 15 years because it wears out.

I was 44 1/2 when I got banded and I just turned 46. I hope to stay banded for the rest of my life. I hope I don't have to get it replaced, but if it comes to that I will. I think that genetics play a huge role in my obesity and if the band were removed, my body would quickly start packing away the fat. As the years pass and I reach the ages of 50, 60, 70, I want to live those years thin! I am used to eating tiny meals at this point and I can see myself continuing to eat this way for the rest of my life. My weight was dragging me down in so many ways. I feel uplifted now and want to keep that feeling more than anything. I can't stop the years from passing, but have found the solution to feeling better about myself as I age.

Thanks so much for the replys...and no offense on the age I was just wondering for the long term with lap band. My surgeon answered a question @ the seminar I went to about the band lasting throughout the years, he said the lap band is so durable by the time u pass on...years down the line the lap band will still be intact. I know that's kind of dramatic but I'm not looking forward to having to get a new one every 15 years or so. I turn 30 next year and my weight has been holding me back for as long as I can remember. I finally found the love of my life : ) we been together almost 2 years and he loves me @ 300 lbs. And supports my decision to get the band. I don't want to be a fat on my wedding day, and I sure don't want to be the mom on the sidelines who can't keep up with her kids. I really think the lap band is going to be the tool I need to get healthy : )

The long-term complications of the Lap Band have been one of my top concerns. I cannot get satisfactory answers from my bariatric program. What they have said to me is, "Do the research." So I did, in peer-reviewed medical journals. And what I'm finding is downright scary, so scary that I'm at the point now where I'm probably not going to have this surgery.

I think sometimes you can do too much research and freak yourself out about what could happen. If you look hard enough you can find complications with anything and still be missing the details that are the most important.

I will try to give you a couple examples.

You do some research and find that some people have very servere problems with weightloss surgery. Along with that research please do some about the complications of staying obese, morbidly obese, or even super obese. Staying obese is much worse for your health than getting lapband. I had family members who died from obesity related conditions.

Let's say someone is told they need to get their wisdom teeth extracted. They are told the teeth have decay and are causing an infection in the gum tissue around the teeth. They get on the web to do some research about it and find a case where someone died while having the procedure done at the oral surgeon. They get freaked out about that case.

They fear the dentist anyway and this gives them the "out" they were looking for. It gives them a reason to not make a return visit to the dentist. They fail to do the research and find the info about the risks of leaving the infected teeth in their body. They fail to find the info that many more people die from the infection being carried in the bloodstream and to the heart causing a heart attack and death.

My own father died from obesity. I chose to end my own obesity and decrease my health risks by getting the lapband. Though this was not my biggest motivation.

I think sometimes you can do too much research and freak yourself out about what could happen. If you look hard enough you can find complications with anything and still be missing the details that are the most important.

I will try to give you a couple examples.

You do some research and find that some people have very servere problems with weightloss surgery. Along with that research please do some about the complications of staying obese, morbidly obese, or even super obese. Staying obese is much worse for your health than getting lapband. I had family members who died from obesity related conditions.

Let's say someone is told they need to get their wisdom teeth extracted. They are told the teeth have decay and are causing an infection in the gum tissue around the teeth. They get on the web to do some research about it and find a case where someone died while having the procedure done at the oral surgeon. They get freaked out about that case.

They fear the dentist anyway and this gives them the "out" they were looking for. It gives them a reason to not make a return visit to the dentist. They fail to do the research and find the info about the risks of leaving the infected teeth in their body. They fail to find the info that many more people die from the infection being carried in the bloodstream and to the heart causing a heart attack and death.

My own father died from obesity. I chose to end my own obesity and decrease my health risks by getting the lapband. Though this was not my biggest motivation.

For me, this is not a decision about staying obese v. not. It's a decision about the best way to deal with it. The fact is many people have many complications, from moderate to severe, short-term and long-term, with Lapband surgery. And many, many people who have bariatric surgery regain the weight because they did not deal with the underlying issues of why they gain weight. In all of my pre-op classes, the surgery team talked about "doing the work." Well, you have to "do the work" whether you you have surgery or not. Part of "doing the work" means understanding what your triggers are and what foods contribute to weight gain. Through my classes, I have finally figured this out, and I am confident that I can address weight loss without needing surgery. For me, the risk of experiencing the plethora of short and long-term complications of having the Lapband is simply not worth it. I'd rather lose my weight in a less invasive way.

Hummingbird....awesome post! I completely agree with you. I knew my weight was causing me problems but I had no idea I had high bp, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and my body fat percentage is 45%!!! I know the lap band is what I need to change and I'm going to follow the directions of my surgeon and pray for the best : )

I totally understand your concerns. I see my lapband as a tool, yes it will be apart of me, but it will be more like re-training me on the foods I can/can't eat. My plan is to loose the weight, keep it off and for my band to help me in the beginning. I have this saying, "are you working for your band, or is your band working for you." If you rely on your band to do the work years down the line, you'll struggle the rest of your life! I have sooo much that I want to do that I don't want my life so focused on whether or not I need a fill because I ate the wrong things or if I know I'm going on vacation and worry about the extra weight I might put on. I want to be able to say I tried something new, I'm back home and back to what I KNOW I should do! I have many older friends that are slim and still enjoy food but know their limits. I'm trying to get to that point to where I can have a scoop of ice cream and stop..lol..

lgw I hear what you're saying but I personally know a handful of people who all had lap band and the only ones that had complications didn't follow the directions of their surgeon and thought the band was a magic fix eating things like fast food and all bs...then sure ur going to get sick constantly and then your band can slip etc... Basically I'm going to go into this with a positive outlook and believe that I will control what happens to me with the band. Good luck with your weightloss however you approach it.... : )

I did quite a bit of research on the LAP band already, but after seeing this thread did some research in peer reviewed medical journals (I am a grad student so I am very used to doing research and sorting out what is valid and what is a sales pitch). What I found was that older research showed a higher risk, like 30% of complications but when I looked at newer research, post 2001 or so, the risk was down to 10% of having erosion and having to have second surgeries. Even things like "pouch stretching" and slippage were due to user error and could be dealt with in most cases without surgery, and at 5 years out the average weight loss was 30% of excess weight, which matches what my surgeon and any other information I have looked at says. There are risks with any surgery and certainly lap band can have complications but these seem to have become much less prevalent over the last 5 years with new techniques and more experienced surgeons. I am going for it!!! I need the tools the band can give me and I know 100% that I have to do the work, but I have tried and failed so many times. My hunger controls me now, and I want it to be the other way around. I feel the band can help me learn to do that.

Allygator thanks so much for the info...you took the words out of my mouth...my eating controls everyday of my life and I'm done trying on my own. After so many years of diet and exercise to no avail I am going for it as well! Just waiting for ins approval now CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Thank you for the information. I was starting to doubt my decision for lap band. I have been reading forum from several sites and there are a lot of of people that have alot of complaint and complications. Its scaring me.