My wife and I are going to visit the surgeon on 3-5-07. We both are looking for tool to take off the weight. I have been reading about problems with the Lap-Band in the long term and am wondering if this is the best way to go? My insurance does cover this surgery so it is on to making the right decision. My wife is a diabetic, and has highblood pressure. I have highblood pressure and severe back problems from the weight. We live in the Reno area and our doctor is Dr. Kozar. Any advise would be welcomed

Thank You

Jim

Hey Jim,

Welcome!

I chose the band because it is the least invasive and damaging choice in weightloss surgery.

Sure - you see lots of people here talking about complications - but for every one of them, there are 5-10 other people with no problems at all - the only difference is that the people with no problems don't need any help - so they don't come here as much, if at all.

Maybe on Bandiversaries, folks will come in and leave a "Gee, everything is great" kind of message - but on a daily basis, who is going to do that?

So, what you see here is skewed toward complications and sometimes it really seems like this is a scary, scary surgery, when it really isn't.

I feel for the people who have complications - and I know that if you don't pay attention to your body and get treatment for them, they can be dangerous - but for the most part, even the complications are easy enough to treat and repair.

If you go for one of the more extreme cut & paste surgeries, then you have double the complication rate - and the complications are usually more severe.

I, myself, have only had ONE PB (productive burp) and no other complications at all.... in over a year. I am pretty sure that others will come out of the woodwork and say the same thing.

I consider the band to be the best decision I have ever made. While I haven't burned up the board with my huge weightloss, I have lost some weight. If I had been working more, instead of flaking off for the last year, I would have lost more.

Go to the Before and After thread. Take a look at those pictures...

Hang out on a ByPass board for a while. Check out the complications (and the mortalities) over there. Research all the choices.

Maybe for you and your wife, some other option would be more effective - but for me, I am 100% for the band. It's the only surgery I would consider having. The risks with the others are just too high, IMHO.

Good Luck in your research!

Jim-

My wife I and I went through last November/December what you guys are now. I was banded on 1/31 and my wife 2/22. We are both doing great. She's lost 22 lbs and I've lost 38 lbs. While we know we won't continue to lose at this rate we know it's for our best interest to lose the weight.

Do your research and talk about it with your wife. There are some sacrifices (food choices and eating habits), but if you work at it the rewards are there. The weight loss is going to help with the problems that you said you and your wife have.

Good Luck!

Bruce

if you listen to your physician you will probably be fine like many of us - it was scary at first but for the first time I am in control and it is a powerful feeling:)

good luck!!!

Tina