I have completed all of my requirments and I am waiting for a surgery date. I am still undecided between the Lap Band and Bypass. Every time I decide to do the Lap Band someone at the support group will tell me not to. Any suggestions. I feel the Bypass is too drastic but I am scared to death that the Lap Band will not work. People say it comes off to slow and does not always work. Any comments.

Thanks

I think you have to do your research and make the best decision for you, nobody else can make that decision for you. Each of us on here have very personal reasons for choosing the band.........me, I didn't have to have my insides reconfigured, I still have to do the work and make good choices, I should not have problems with malnutrition, and in case of emergency, it is reversible. The band is not going to work just because it is in you, you have to do the work and it is a tool to help you. Weight loss is usually slow, but it didn't come on fast, so.........slow and steady I say.

The decision is yours and yours only. Perhaps having a heart to heart with your pcp, nutritionist or psychologist might give you a better idea of what might work for you and what you can handle.

good luck

I have completed all of my requirments and I am waiting for a surgery date. I am still undecided between the Lap Band and Bypass. Every time I decide to do the Lap Band someone at the support group will tell me not to. Any suggestions. I feel the Bypass is too drastic but I am scared to death that the Lap Band will not work. People say it comes off to slow and does not always work. Any comments.

Thanks

i was banded june 6 and am down 73 as of yesterday

i'd say the lap band works fine (if you let it and help the band)

the bypass and the band are not cures..we have to help it along

The band does work but you have to go into it with your eyes wide open and realize this is not a one stop shop and fix all. You have to change your behaviors and have to develop a healthy life style. You get out of lap band what you put into it. Everyone loses at different rates. It has taken me just shy of two years to lose 120 lbs and to be at my goal weight. I have had plateaus along my journey but I have never given up and have always tried to learn from my mistakes and my frustrations. There are cases of Lapband failure and there are people who do not do as well as others. But there are also people who have gastric bypass that lose weight and gain it back if they do not change their behavior. I love my lap band and it has worked very well for me, I have learned to make healthy choices and develop healthy ways that make me feel better about myself. Good luck to you and let us know how we can help support you. Please talk to your councilor, your surgeon and nutritionist, they are your best source for helping you make your decision.

It basically comes down to you. No weight loss surgery will work if you don't make the lifestyle changes to make it work. There's successful lap band and bypass patients, and there's unsuccessful of both. Each surgery has their own set of challenges. I myself chose the band because I wasn't really to re-arrange my internal organs. I knew that worst case scenario, the band could come out and I could return to "normal". With bypass or sleeve, there's no going back (bypass is reversible but the surgeons I've spoke with say that 1 - it's VERY rare to reverse one and 2 - it's even more rare to get one reversed successfully). But, my goal is to lose 80 lbs. I think if I had more to lose (like over 150 lbs) I might have opted for a more invasive procedure. So far, my band and I are getting along just fine