Hi all. I am considering WLS. Initially, I was all the way Lap Band. However, I read websites that seem to give discouraging success rates. They say things like 30 to 40 percent weight loss after 1 year and 60 percent after 3 to 5 years. Those may not be exact but they are similar to what they say. That got me thinking about the gastric sleeve which touts higher statistics. The thought of having a lot of my stomach cut out is sickening though. Anyone have any thoughts on the LB statistics and/or words of encouragement to convince me LB is the way to go? I have my consultation next Tuesday. Thanks!

The lapband weight loss prognosis for the first couple years is less than gastric or the sleeve. After 3 years, weight loss is comparable between the surgeries.

You have to remember that the other two procedures severely limit what you can eat. After a couple years, it is possible for the stomach to stretch or soften, allowing a person to eat more food. There is no fix for this. With the lapband, you lose slower but don't chance the possibility that after x amount of time, you can regain (unless of course you don't eat correctly).

The sleeve or gastric is the best idea if you like the idea of less maintenance. The band requires constant visits with the surgeon due to the nature of the band. The other options are a one stop shop.

Thanks Steph. I'm okay with the extra visits to the doctor. You said something that made me think of a question. I hear that some regain lost weight. Say years down the road you start gaining weight, can you go back in for a fill to help with appetite control? The office I'm going to offers lifetime fills for free. If this is the case, I see huge advantages to this procedure.

Hi! I was banded 12/1/2010 (I'm 15 months post op) with a 10cc band and currently have just over 7 cc's. To date I have lost 200+ pounds. I have had tremendous success with the lapband, it has given me my life back. To answer your last question, you CAN go back to your doctor years later. Hopefully with the better eating habbits you will become acustome to you will have no weight regain! But yes, you can always "start over" Hope that helps! Good luck on your journey.

Thanks bhursey and congrats on your awesome success! You inspire me. I have about 150ish to lose. Your response pretty much convinced me that LB is the way to go. I like the permanent feeling of this and being able to "start over" if need be.....not that I'm planning on that. But, hey, you never know.

I like the fact that I have ongoing visits with my surgeon as it helps me to stay on track. He provides great support as well. To be honest, I didn't consider other WLS options, but I have been extremely pleased with the band. Banded 13 april 2011, lost 58kg so far.

Congrats on your wright loss SageTracey. That is awesome!

Congrats on your wright loss SageTracey. That is awesome!

Oops! Weight, not wright.

Also with the sleeve and the other you can loose lbs too fast and in some cases, will have extra skin hanging and sometime the insurance won't cover to have it remove.with the LB it will come off in just the right speed so that you won't hqve the extra skin.

Sent from my PC36100 using LapBandTalk

You need to look into the new iband, it's the lapband over gastric plication. It's the newest wls. Im having mine done April 2. They are seeing results like with the sleeve. The best part is there is no cutting or rerouting of the stomach. They just fold the stomach into a sleeve and stitch it in place, no staples!

I started at a relatively low BMI but the change I've seen over the past 8 months is huge. I lost 27 pounds during the pre-op phase but the 29 pounds since then have made the biggest difference in my health. So over the past 10 months, I dropped from being 60 pounds to only 7.8 pounds from a "normal" BMI. First time in so many years. It wasn't all Lapband, I had to make changes in my view and use (abuse) of food. You can have any type of WLS and regain the weight if you deviate from the diet.

I chose Lapband over sleeve because I didnt want anything done to my body that couldn't be reversed and significantly altered my anatomy. I liked that it is reversible if necessary, adjustable and my doctor recommended it based on my BMI and lifestyle.

Good luck and happy losing.

For most people the success of the lapband depends on them and how hard they work at making it a success. There are positives and negatives for all WLS but i chose the band above all else because i didnt want something that wasnt reversible. I have never regretted getting the band and even if something went wrong i know this was the best decision i made ..

ive been banded 3 months, down 22 lbs, and continue to lose . I never even looked at anything other than the band because i didnt want to rearrange my insides (too drastic !) and i knew the band was reversable. i had 2 relatives get banded june 2011, she is down 45 lbs and he is down 110 !! ( my heros !!) also the recovery time is very quick usually. i was banded on a tuesday , and by friday i was so bored and felt fine so i went and did some light xmas shopping . i took 1 week off , then back to work with no probs. can your other weight loss surgery do all that ? dont think so !!! good luck !

I just don't know how accurate those statistics are, or how they are compiled. I lost 80 lbs in one year, and even though my BMI says I need to loose more weight, being a man I am more muscular and do not feel I can loose much more.

So I consider this a 100% success. I am extremely happy with my results.

One thing about the lap band, it is adjustable. Which means you can be very aggressive and have your food intake (portions) completely under control and limited, have you hunger and cravings taken away. But it all comes with the risk of stuck episodes, sometimes pain, and definitley a large learning curve by the user.

OR

You can choose NOT to be aggressive, have your band adjusted loosley, letting you eat more, making you depend upon your own will power more, keeping you safe from the possible "Stuck" episodes, etc. It is this approach where I can see people only loosing 40-60% of weight goal.

I have a friend who did the sleeve and hasn't lost weight, and another one who has done it and lost weight. I think you can fail with both.

I know a few people that also failed miserably with the band and others who have become models! Statistics don't matter, your committment does.

As for which to do, just decide which risks you're willing to live with more.

I considered the sleeve but cutting out 80% of ur stomach was a hard decision. What if some time later you god forbit get a cyst or a tumor in ur stomach and have to have part of it removed, you'd only have 20%! I didn't check these concerns with a doctor though so this may be me being a bit paranoid.

As for the band, it really is only a tool. I am a pretty crap bandster, I struggle every day to eat well. So I've only lost 18 pounds in 4 months (started at 209 pounds so i expected to lose like 30 pounds till now). I used to take Meridia before it was banned and it curbed my appetite so much I lost quickly and was able to eat better, so far the band hasn't had the same effect. But I only had two fills. I am hopeful that more fills would help.

I also worry so much about this foreign object in my stomach and all the slips and leakages.

From where I stand the band has been there for longer, so people are more experienced with it, and it's reversible. I am an emotional eater, if something terrible happens to my family or something I will need food otherwise I'd go crazy. It's comforting to know that if I need my best friend back it's only an infill away.

But then again I am a pretty crappy bandster so keep that in mind when ur considering what I say.

Wow! Thanks for all the support and information. Everyone is making me feel confident in my original decision of LB surgery.