I'm looking for advise about getting Lap Band, and I'm curious if anyone can compare it to a prescribed appetite suppressant like Phentermine.

About a year and a half ago I started taking Phentermine as an appetite suppressant. I had great success with it, but after about a year my will power started to deteriorate. Eventually my Gen. Practitioner wanted me to stop because he didn't like the idea to begin with.

I lost about 70lbs and in the last four months that I haven't been on the pill I've put almost all of it back on. My thoughts are that lap band could be similar to the pill (when it was working well), but I'm worried that after a year my will power will go away and I'll put all the weight back on, like I've always done in the past.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever taken phentermine then had Lap band. I want to know if you think it works the same or better... or worse? If you hit a wall like I did with the pill and EVERY OTHER DIET I've ever been on. ha!

What are your thoughts on Lap Band versus a prescribed appetite suppressant like phentermine?? I really could use help in making my decision.

I'm really hoping to hear good things - but I want to hear the cold hard truth!

Thanks!! :D

I used Phentermine years ago for about 4 months and lost about 50 lbs. The problem is it came back on FAST when I quit taking it. It also really messes with your metabolism. I love my band. I have learned portion control and how to eat right and excercise. It is not a quick fix. You have to work with it. I excercise daily and really watch my calorie count. Could I have done this on my own? Maybe. But, I am a pro at loosing and gaining it back. I am thrilled I now know how to eat correctly. My band has given me back my life. I have control over my food......it no longer has control over me. Good luck in your decision! You definately have to be ready to fix your eating problems and excercise regularly. The band does not deal with all the head hunger issues.

Have you considered getting therapy to help discover the reasons you aren't maintaining your weight loss? It has helped me so much - it might be worth looking into.

I'm looking for advise about getting Lap Band, and I'm curious if anyone can compare it to a prescribed appetite suppressant like Phentermine.

About a year and a half ago I started taking Phentermine as an appetite suppressant. I had great success with it, but after about a year my will power started to deteriorate. Eventually my Gen. Practitioner wanted me to stop because he didn't like the idea to begin with.

I lost about 70lbs and in the last four months that I haven't been on the pill I've put almost all of it back on. My thoughts are that lap band could be similar to the pill (when it was working well), but I'm worried that after a year my will power will go away and I'll put all the weight back on, like I've always done in the past.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever taken phentermine then had Lap band. I want to know if you think it works the same or better... or worse? If you hit a wall like I did with the pill and EVERY OTHER DIET I've ever been on. ha!

What are your thoughts on Lap Band versus a prescribed appetite suppressant like phentermine?? I really could use help in making my decision.

I'm really hoping to hear good things - but I want to hear the cold hard truth!

Thanks!! :D

There really is no comparison. Appetite suppressants are designed to help you lose weight. They do absolutely nothing to help keep it off. As soon as you stop taking them the weight will come back. Lap band is designed to help take it off and, equally importantly, KEEP it off. When you take something like Phentermine, you are dieting. Lap band isn't a diet, its a life style change. Before my surgery I could lose weight but I didn't have a clue how to maintain the lose. Having lap band has helped me learn it.

I took phentermine about 2 years before having lapband surgery. I did well with it and lost 60 pounds in 5 months. Around the 5th month I felt that the phentermine was not having as much effect on me, so I quit taking it, my doctor only allows you to take it for 6 months, then off for 6. I regained everything I lost and a little more within a year. I tried it again after about a year and it still had little effect on me so I only took it for about 2 months and started the process for lapband surgery. Having tried phentermine and now having the lapband, for me personally, there was nothing psychological about keeping the weight off. When you are on phentermine not only is your appetite suppressed but so is your desire to eat, which is why it is usually effective (while you're on it). I would not change getting the band for anything, I am so happy I got it. My personal experience has been very positive and successful, I have little to no hunger. As far as keeping the weight off, I believe I will be successful with that as well. I am 10 pounds from goal, although I may lower that a little after speaking with my surgeon, and feel that if I have not felt deprived while losing an average of 10 pound per month, then maintenance should be really easy Good luck to you on your journey!

It seems outrageous to me now, but i was put on Duromine as a teenager, when I was a whopping 180lb at 5ft 10. Not even obese! Overweight, yeah, but not obese.

For me personally, having a lapband is nothing like that. It was similar for the first eight to ten weeks, where I forgot to eat, took no real pleasure in or had no interest in food. That was fantastic, the weight literally melted off me. But over time, my appetite returned. Six years later, I have a normal appetite, it just takes a smaller meal to satisfy it. But I have the same between meal cravings, the eating for inappropriate reasons, the same responses that I ever had. I have simply learned to tip the balance so that I give into them less often, but ever day is work for me.

So its important to realise that you wont have a lot of physical hunger - i can go all day without eating and not feel particularly "hungry" but you will have an appetite, which is a different thing. I often think my band is doing nothing, but if I"m working and therefore busy, a 1000 calorie day's eating is easy for me and brings absolutely no hunger with it, if I"m at home, I want to eat all darn day because its there and I can.

I also rely a lot more on heavy exercise for weight control than you have to when you eat virtually nothing.

I wouldnt swap it. Duromine made me completely mental, hyper, it was awful stuff and its absolutely diabolical for your health too. Its dangerous and addictive and I wouldnt touch anything like that. A lapband, assuming its properly functioning, does not otherwise affect your body's functioning and its long term, so you dont get weight regain. But you do have to take responsibility for your choices and actions, it wont work that well if you dont work it well.

I got my lapband March 2011. Since then, I have also taken Phentermine. I LOVE that the band teaches you to eat smaller and allows you to feel fuller longer. Once you get the proper fill, it is AMAZING! The reason I began taking Phentermine was because I wanted faster results. I plan to go off of it in a couple more months and rely only on my band. My advice for you would be to not rely only on "diet" pills. Once the pills are gone, so is the strength to eat small. With the band, it is a lifestyle change; a tool that helps you succeed. HOWEVER, the lapband is NOT magic. Just because you get it, does not mean you are going to lose weight. You have to eat smarter and participate in exercise. I think Phentermine is a good way to boost initial weight loss as long as you are able to maintain when the pills no longer work.

I do not regret my lapband and would do it again in a heartbeat. BTW: I got my band in Mexico and am self pay for all of my fills so I do understand the financial struggle if that is something you are experiencing.