I had my orientation tonight, which was very informative.

However, it was suggested by the surgeon that "people who get the lapband usually lose 30% of their excess body weight".

From lurking on the forums for a while, it seems that most people (here at least) have a pretty high success rate and lose a significant amount of their excess weight.

It could all be in my head, but it seemed the surgeon was pushing people more towards the sleeve or gastric. He implied that the band is "the surgery of the past".

Can people please give their suggestions and opinions?

(He isn't my choice surgeon, by the way. I have 3 others ahead of him that I'd like to speak with.)

Thanks,

Jen

Thanks for the support. I'm going to make an appointment with both my first and second choice surgeons and see what they have to say. I'm not going to "settle" for a surgeon who gives me 'bad-vibes' just because he has an open appointment book. (There's probably a reason for that!)

Keeping my fingers crossed that things go smoothly from here out.

IMO pick a surgeon that's aggressive, that is one that makes the point that getting you to the green zone is the goal, as soon as possible.

I read about people only getting 1/2 cc fills at a time, 6 weeks apart.

That would take entirely too long. Many feel they are soaking you for $ adding more appointments than the next person.

But that's my opinion.

IMO pick a surgeon that's aggressive, that is one that makes the point that getting you to the green zone is the goal, as soon as possible.

I read about people only getting 1/2 cc fills at a time, 6 weeks apart.

That would take entirely too long. Many feel they are soaking you for $ adding more appointments than the next person.

But that's my opinion.

I agree with B-52 on this one. I think the key to my success was reaching the green zone early in the process. I put in very little effort, so I give the band and being properly adjusted most of the credit.

I'm not sure where they get the success rate figures. They are not following every banded person. They don't include me in the rates. My % of weightloss has not been tracked by anyone but me at this point. When we reach the normal BMI weight range (25) it is 100% of excess weight gone. I am sitting at a BMI of 24, so I have lost more than 100% of my excess weight. Wooo Hooo!

It's all a state of mind. I started losing fast at first and then hit a plateu and decided to hit up the gym. Once you realize that it's not just eating but also working out is when your golden. I now get disgusted when I see people I know eating like I use to eat. Lap band is great but you have to work for it

The oatmeal is my dinner the rest is all my brothers SMH

My surgeon told me that, in the end, the weight loss will be the same whether you have a lap band or gastric bypass. The difference is with gastric bypass you'll lose weight more rapidly in the beginning. He also said that gastric bypass is overall more risky because it's so invasive. I think the lap band is a good compromise... gastric bypass just sounds scary from what I've read.