Today I attended a consultation at my Doctor's office and was told that only 45 to 50% of people who have the Lap-Band done lose any weight. The nurse practioner said that their specific patients have had a 50% success rate. These figures seem very discouraging to me. :phanvan

When I questioned him as to why only 50% lose weight he said that people cheat/cannot overcome the emotional or mental obstacles they need to overcome to change their lifestyle. He went on to state that he thinks the figure is 50% because some patients who have BMI's in the 50-60 range have elected to have the Lap-Band and have not been successful, which he feels skews the results. We briefly discussed my health and eating patterns and he feels that since my weight is based more on the quantity of food I eat vs. eating foods which in the future would be cheating foods (ice cream, shakes, etc.) that I would be an "ideal candidate." I find it hard to believe that all of these people cheat after going to the expense/physical demands pre- and post-op to cheat that dramatically. He even stated that they have a patient who has only lost 5 pounds in a year. I asked him specifically what he would do if someone was not losing any weight and was not cheating. He said that he would not tighten the band - that he relies on a more conservative approach and leaves the band more open to "make more of the brunt of it rest on the patient's shoulders."

I am feeling very discouraged and misled by the information that I was given previously my the actual Doctor - I was told the success rate was more like 70%, with loss averaging 1 pound a week. However, the nurse practitioner will be in charge of all of the fills and if his approach is overly conservative it will affect my progress.

I am self pay and am feeling very hesitant about committing myself to payments of about $350 a month for the next 5 years for something that might not even work for me. I believe that I can commit to eating the right foods, however, the major benefit of the bad to me is the idea that it restricts the amount of food I eat. I worry that if the nurse practioner leaves the band to loose, I believe I will not obtain the benefit I am looking for.

Has anyone else been given this type of success rate by their Doctors? Please help, I am feeling confused! Any advice would be appreciated!

~Sara

I can't believe they did that to you. You deserve better. Find another doctor. There are plenty of good ones out there. Mine is

Dr. McKeen. He does surgery in San Jose, CA and in Utah. Good luck.

I am now scheduled to have my surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana on 2/22! So far so good. Everyone I have dealt with there so far has been great! Thanks again to everyone for your words of encouragement and advice.

I am now scheduled to have my surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana on 2/22! So far so good. Everyone I have dealt with there so far has been great! Thanks again to everyone for your words of encouragement and advice.

He is awesome!!! I was very happy with every aspect of my surgery! He has done over 4000 and has trained a lot of doctors in the US. He told me what I lost depended on me. That I could lose 28 or 58 in 6 months if I followed the bandster rules, exercised, etc.

You are in great hands!!!

I'm so glad that you are going with Dr. Ortiz instead of your local guy. He sounds like a major jerk! It's not you though. Surgeons have that "I-hate -people-unless-they -are knocked-out" personality most of the time. I have had many run-ins with surgeons in the past and they can be shockingly rude. Fortunately, my surgeon, Dr Osborne, was a very nice guy and I have read Dr. Ortiz's book on lap band and he sounds very nice also.

So happy that you made the decision to be banded. I don't know what criteria your doctor has used to measure the % of successful bandsters.

I can tell you this though....I was an ice cream eater, creamed Soup eater, milk shake drinker and so far.....since early June of 2006 I have lost 89% of my excess weight and still going strong. I still have a few to go to goal and they seem to be tougher than the first 85....but I'm satisfied that, even though its taking time, the scale is still moving in the downward direction.

Good luck....you will be a success.

Carol

I was banded on the 19th of Jan. I have not had any fills as of yet. I already can see that the reason I am fat is not what I eat but how much. I have one scrabled egg for Breakfast now. Before band I would have 3 eggs, 2 toast and bacon. For lunch now I have about a half of cup of tuna or chicken salad no bread just the salad. Before I would have the whole can made up in to 2 big sandwiches plus chips. I am amazed on the amount of food I did eat. I can tell that I now can eat more volume than when I came home and have not lost any # for the last 5 days. I am not gaining but I know that I need a fill to get the ball rolling.

I can see how people can cheat with the high calorie foods but not me. I paid too much for this and will not blow it. I have been to the gym every day this week and am up to 30 min on the tread mill. I start personal training next week. I hope that this will give me a boost.

I know that I did the right surgery for me.

Good luck with yours.:clap2:

Rene'

Count your blessings! It sounds like this surgeon is NOT the best one for you.

As a follow up - even though the Nurse Practioner had said that I would be an "ideal candidate" for Lap-Band they have since changed their minds. Because I asked questions about the discrepancy between the information I was provided with at the seminar (70% success vs. 45-50% success) they have decided that they will not perform the sugery on me. Because I specifically said that I felt that the information seminar had been misleading and in conflict with what I was later told they said that they "believed that a relationship with a patient had to be established on a more positive note". I was pretty shocked. I mean asking questions about what I can realistically expect made them think I should be denied as a patient? I am just trying to be as informed as possible before I invest a total of about $18,000 in this surgery! I guess most people walk in there with no questions or concerns? Geez! Sorry for trying to obtain clarification about such an important decision!

Have you considered coming to Canada to have the surgery done? It's $16,000, includes all fills and I'm sure they wouldn't discrimate because you asked some tough questions. Weight loss is personal, and there isn't a cookie-cutter formula. I'm shocked you were disqualified.

Keep trying with other clinics. Where are you from?

the idea of a health professional who withdraws the offer of treatment because the patient as asked questions is trulley disgusting! I have been an RN for 26yrs and find this to be unacceptabel. Ther is an issue of informed consent, this does not simple mean consent based on what they decide to tell you, it means making sure that you have a clear understanding of risks benefits etc- the only way you can have a clear understanding is if you have had the chance to ask and have your questions answered- Its sounds like you have made the best decision- He may have been a tecnically superb surgeon but his arrogance in avoiding answer your questions raises a lot of doubts- No one would thing t reasonable to be asked to sign a blank check these days and signing a consent without having your questions answered/addressed woul amount to the same thing

Actually there was a very good study just recently published by Dr. Paul O'Brien which showed an excess body weight of 87% in patients pretty close to your preop BMI of 38 (the study was for BMI 30-35). The results of weight loss for band patients with a BMI above 50 don't mean anything for you. My wife is a low-BMI bandster and she has already lost 64% of her excess body weight in only 2 months!

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Today I attended a consultation at my Doctor's office and was told that only 45 to 50% of people who have the Lap-Band done lose any weight. The nurse practioner said that their specific patients have had a 50% success rate. These figures seem very discouraging to me. :phanvan

When I questioned him as to why only 50% lose weight he said that people cheat/cannot overcome the emotional or mental obstacles they need to overcome to change their lifestyle. He went on to state that he thinks the figure is 50% because some patients who have BMI's in the 50-60 range have elected to have the Lap-Band and have not been successful, which he feels skews the results. We briefly discussed my health and eating patterns and he feels that since my weight is based more on the quantity of food I eat vs. eating foods which in the future would be cheating foods (ice cream, shakes, etc.) that I would be an "ideal candidate." I find it hard to believe that all of these people cheat after going to the expense/physical demands pre- and post-op to cheat that dramatically. He even stated that they have a patient who has only lost 5 pounds in a year. I asked him specifically what he would do if someone was not losing any weight and was not cheating. He said that he would not tighten the band - that he relies on a more conservative approach and leaves the band more open to "make more of the brunt of it rest on the patient's shoulders."

I am feeling very discouraged and misled by the information that I was given previously my the actual Doctor - I was told the success rate was more like 70%, with loss averaging 1 pound a week. However, the nurse practitioner will be in charge of all of the fills and if his approach is overly conservative it will affect my progress.

I am self pay and am feeling very hesitant about committing myself to payments of about $350 a month for the next 5 years for something that might not even work for me. I believe that I can commit to eating the right foods, however, the major benefit of the bad to me is the idea that it restricts the amount of food I eat. I worry that if the nurse practioner leaves the band to loose, I believe I will not obtain the benefit I am looking for.

Has anyone else been given this type of success rate by their Doctors? Please help, I am feeling confused! Any advice would be appreciated!

~Sara

"Actually there was a very good study just recently published by Dr. Paul O'Brien which showed an excess body weight of 87% in patients pretty close to your preop BMI of 38 (the study was for BMI 30-35)."

Thanks, Dr. C! :hail:

Here is an article and the medical study if anyone else is interested in reading it:

http://doctor.medscape.com/viewarticle/531562

http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/144/9/625?hp