I've been contemplating the lap band. I'm 4'11' and 185. I have a BMI of 38. I went to an informational meeting tonight and I was not impressed. She had zero bedside manner and was condescending at times telling us if you're eating even the food they give you in a restaurant you're eating too much. The surgeon seemed to push the gastric bypas and gastric sleeve. She said with the lap band you have to chew way too much and eat so slowly it's barely possible for people in our society because we take enourmous bites when we should take a bite the size of a pea. Of course, she added, you have to eat slowly with the bypass and sleeve too just not as much. As someone on the other side of this process, what can you tell me, anything? I do not want half my stomach cut out!

hi! I love that you're asking for opinions! It isn't every day one is actually asked for one's opinion

I was banded in 2010, but had it removed last year because my body rejected it.

I've seen lots of people here have great success with the lap band. I agree with what other people have posted in response to your request. Lots of wisdom and experience!

Good call on the doctor who held the informational meeting. She does not sound like the kind of surgeon I would want for this kind of surgery and all the follow up. It's important to be a team and that the surgeon (or whoever it is who will do the follow up) is capable of being sensitive and intelligent in their attitude and response to their obese patients.

My opinion is that getting a lap band is a drastic change in many aspects of one's life. It's a caring intervention (often life-saving) on your own behalf. And It's not for everyone. There is a lot of learning to do and absolute compliance required. Everyone responds to the banded life in their own way.

Im glad to see you are doing your research. There is a lot to learn, to be aware of, as well as a lot of responsibilty. And it can pay off with wonderful results, good health, an incredibly positive and exciting change in your life.

It is intended to be permanent, so keep in mind that when you are 80, you will most likely still have your band and the follow up that goes with it to make sure it stays in the correct position, the port is in place and not infected, etc.

It's a good idea to look at the biggest picture you can, not just the fact that you want to (and need to) lose weight somehow.

The surgeon who removed my band is in Santa Rosa, California (Sonoma County) -- if you are anywhere near there you might check out his program. He is the director at Healthy Steps in Santa Rosa (it might be called a weightloss and metabolic center...not sure of the whole title).

On their website, Dr. Robert Woodbury has a blog where he posts the latest research being done on obesity; it's very interesting. People at the center lose weight and may or may not choose to have weight loss surgery ---they are finding that often people do not need the surgery after all! A modified Mediterraen Diet is followed and I am told people never have to be hungry!

I wish I had been able to go there from the beginning, to lose weight without the aide of surgery.

When interviewing surgeons for your surgery, I'd want them to describe the symptoms of the complications they have seen...and what the signs of band rejection are. Find out what they expect from YOU, what they want you to do if you have "symptoms". Get a good feel for their availability and expectations.

My original surgeon did not recognize the signs of lap band rejection and repeatedly told me my symptoms had nothing to do with the band. I saw several specialists (over a 2 year period) who couldn't diagnose anything helpful, finally ending up back at my surgeon's office because I was sure it was the band causing the problems -- and he actually told me to not bother coming back! Dr. Woodbury, howver, recognized the symptoms, did a test and came to the conclusion that the band needed to come out. Thank goodness!

So--be sure your surgeon is open to listening to YOU.

I'll stop here with my opinion

Thanks for asking!

Take good care and use your background and intelligence in making your decisions

~hiddn

Tyger's Mom, that doctor is a jerk. Dump her *ss. Get a new doc. It's a perfectly okay thing to do. You need to be a strong advocate for your own health care. Start by kicking Dr. Jerk to the curb.

Weight loss surgery is a huge step to take. It can be a fantastic, health improving, life saving step but it needs to be done thoughtfully, carefully and only after you have done a great deal of research, reading, given it a great deal of deep thought and know without a doubt that you are making the absolute right decision for yourself.

Not only is there the consideration of surgery, there is the type of procedure you will eventually decide to have. You are thinking Lap Band? Are you absolutely sure it is right for you? For your body, health concerns, the way you eat now and can adjust to eating in the future? Can you live with lifelong aftercare appointments to maintain and keep watch on your Little Silicone Friend? Do you LOVE the idea that you can control and adjust your WLS to your very specifications? Can you learn to eat very small portions, take small bites and chew very well? Can you learn to time out your bites? Learn to listen to your band? It does talk... You have to learn to listen to it! If you can answer yes to these questions, the Lap Band may be for you. If the answer to any or many of these questions is no, a different procedure may be more suitable for you.

In the end, only you can know what is perfect for you, for your body, your health concerns, the way you eat, can learn to eat, what you can live with, what works with your personality and so on. Don't let some judgmental doc who just met you and doesn't know the real you tell you. Let you tell you. You won't steer you wrong.

Thank you all so much for the recent replies to this post. Right now, I have decided to try out the app called my fitness pal where you log in all your food and activity. I've lost ten pounds. I am now at that point of finding the whole weight loss journey depressing. I've been here so many times. I am one of those 'on the border' of needing surgery people so that's why I decided to try this app. I figure my insurance won't approve a surgery and there is absolutely no way I can pay for it myself. My thought on the lap band is that if I know I have that thing inside me, I will have zero choice but to comply with all the restrictions. Plus, I figure all the joy will be removed from food. At this point my sugar cravings have subsided. My other worry at this point is that I'm a teacher and off for the summer so all this change is easy, it's when I go back to work that I have a hard time making it stick. Hiddnstar are you gaining weight now that the band is out? That surgeon said that's what happens and I don't doubt it. This is one of my fears also - failure yet again - either due to the device that my body doesn't like or my own bad self. Thank you all again. I find this to be the most supportive group of people.

Good for you. I wish you success, however you go about it.

If you don't feel ready for WLS, it is not right for you. You need to be certain. It is a huge, permanent step. Yes, a Lap Band can be removed but it is intended to be in for a lifetime. So, barring an erosion, slip or, in very rare cases, rejection, it stays with the patient.

I went back and forth on surgery for years. Will I? Won't? I tried. Did okay a while. Then blew it. Looked in to surgery. Changed my mind, tried again, did okay for a while, failed, gained back, considered surgery, rinse and repeat. I finally got to the point and a weight where I knew that I had to get off that roller coaster. But that was my process, my decision, my reasons. We are all different and have to do what works for us.

There is more maintenance with the band (meaning the fills) and I have a feeling some doctors offices are getting tired of that. Personally I like the maintenance because I feel I have more chances to be held accountable because I have more visits to the doctors office. The band has been a wonderful tool for me and I've had it 5 years and still LOVE it.

Thank you all so much for the recent replies to this post. Right now, I have decided to try out the app called my fitness pal where you log in all your food and activity. I've lost ten pounds. I am now at that point of finding the whole weight loss journey depressing. I've been here so many times. I am one of those 'on the border' of needing surgery people so that's why I decided to try this app. I figure my insurance won't approve a surgery and there is absolutely no way I can pay for it myself. My thought on the lap band is that if I know I have that thing inside me, I will have zero choice but to comply with all the restrictions. Plus, I figure all the joy will be removed from food. At this point my sugar cravings have subsided. My other worry at this point is that I'm a teacher and off for the summer so all this change is easy, it's when I go back to work that I have a hard time making it stick. Hiddnstar are you gaining weight now that the band is out? That surgeon said that's what happens and I don't doubt it. This is one of my fears also - failure yet again - either due to the device that my body doesn't like or my own bad self. Thank you all again. I find this to be the most supportive group of people.

HI Tyger's Mom!

Im very interested in how you're doing with with fitness pal. Would you mind reporting back? Congratulations on losing 10 pounds!!! Yay!!! How very encouraging!

You asked if I am gaining weight now that may band is out. Yes, I have gained some. I didn't at first, in fact I lost more.

My weight now goes up and down; very frustrating. But I do see that when I focus on losing, I lose. It's when I use food as a treat or reward that Im in trouble. Same ole "old" pattern.

I also have some of the throat symptoms I had with the lap band--and unfortunately, what makes them feel better is the feel of food passing. The band did some damage somewhere as it migrated up and I don't know that anyone knows how to fix it (or exactly what it is). I don't have the funds to do another round of specialists and then, more than likely, end up where I started, like last time.

I continue to research and ask around to see if anyone has had these symptoms and what it turned out to be and ideas for resolution, but so far the only thing that seems to actually make the symptoms go away for a while is a certain stretch and exercise I do for my throat and abdomin.

Im thinking of using something like fitness pal or purchasing one of those things you wear that keeps track of steps and calories, etc (Im not real sure what they do!). I think the key for me will be keeping really close track of what I eat(write everything down), limit the calories to 1200, and daily exercise - pretty much no matter what.

I would say avoid weight loss surgery if you can. For some it is not so much of a choice and, as I said earlier, it can be a true life-saver.

I loved that I had the band and I love that it has been removed,now.

My body may not ever be the same because of the damage caused, which could not have been foreseen. It feels wonderful to have lost a chunk of weight that I believed would never happen.

But when it gets down to brass tacks, my true opinion is avoid surgery. (any kind of surgery, not just weight loss) If it's unavoidable, we are very fortunate to have the surgical options available

I applaud all those who have been very brave and very loving towards themselves to go thru the procedure and do what is necessary for successful weight loss afterward. Surgery is NOT the easy way out.

So please don't think Im knocking the band or weightloss surgery. I am grateful to have had the option.

Please write about the fitness pal and what it involves when you get a chance!

Hang in there. You're going the right way

~hiddn

Here's the scoop on my fitness pal - it's a free app (I have an iphone) and you set a goal like I want to lose one pound a week or in my case I set a goal of 2 lbs a week. It gave me 1200 cal to eat a day. I put in the food I eat at each meal and it has a data base of foods you can search or even scan the bar code and it adds the food for you. You say how many servings you ate and it calculates the calories. You can also log in your activity and Water. If you have the iphone 5s (I have a 5c) then it will even count your steps like a pedometer. I know people with the fit bit and they are not getting any thinner. I went out to panera for lunch and made sure to check the calories before I ordered a half salad and sandwich. It's holding me accountable and it's free. I am at a point where I refuse to count weight watchers points or eat Jenny Craig food. I think it's well worth a try.

My Fitness Pal sounds like a great tool. I know that a lot of people who have had surgery use it to track their food, calorie and Fluid intake and track their exercise.

Here's the scoop on my fitness pal - it's a free app (I have an iphone) and you set a goal like I want to lose one pound a week or in my case I set a goal of 2 lbs a week. It gave me 1200 cal to eat a day. I put in the food I eat at each meal and it has a data base of foods you can search or even scan the bar code and it adds the food for you. You say how many servings you ate and it calculates the calories. You can also log in your activity and Water. If you have the iphone 5s (I have a 5c) then it will even count your steps like a pedometer. I know people with the fit bit and they are not getting any thinner. I went out to panera for lunch and made sure to check the calories before I ordered a half salad and sandwich. It's holding me accountable and it's free. I am at a point where I refuse to count weight watchers points or eat Jenny Craig food. I think it's well worth a try.

Thank you for explaining fitness pal! And for commenting on fit bit! I don't have an iphone, but I can still look for something that will help in a similar way. I've heard of Panera, but have never eaten there. Is it a southern california thing? I live up north of san francisco.

I think you're going to do just fine.

~hiddn

Hiddn, I can also do my fitness pal from the computer so I wonder if you can sign up with it without having a smart phone. Check it out. I know they have Panera in NJ, where I'm originally from, but they are not on every corner here in southern CA. They are sort of scattered around.

I too did not want anything drastic and went with the band. I only lost 40 lbs in the year I had it, and then it slipped. I can tell you it is not a fun experience. Many people are successful with the band. I was until I was not. It slipped for no reason after a slight fill. I could eat food but for some reason my Water would always come back up. It was heart breaking to have to face another surgery and I was lucky. Many people receive so much damage. I knew that fact going into it and hoped I would not be one that would have complications. The restriction was awesome. The fills and unfills and constant need for after care was not. I am so thankful I had the sleeve procedure done and I wish now that I had done it first. Please read the revision pages just to hear some of the stories. Some people are so damaged by the band that they have to have them removed and they don't have any other options. The band can cause permanent damage that is not reversible. I am not trying to talk you out of it. Just please know that from someone who has had both surgeries, the sleeve has been a godsend for me. It's still a struggle to get in all of my Protein some days and the weight doesn't just magically come off, you still have to be accountable, but just like with the band, you are restricted in what you can eat. I needed that permanently and thought and hoped I would have that with the band. I can still only eat 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food and if I push it, I pay the consequences, I'm bloated and too much will still come back up, it is till a learning curve and you still can't drink when you eat. However, two years post revision, I suffer no nutritional deficiencies, same as with the band. Yes, it is permanent and I am thankful. I had to have the help. Another reason I am thankful is that my husband's new insurance would not have covered any maintenance of a band, any bariatric procedures at all, so had I not already had the revision, it would not have paid to have the band removed or for a revision surgery. That is something to think about. I have also had more success with losing weight with the sleeve. With the band I only lost 40 lbs despite working my butt off. I've lost a total of 118 now with the sleeve. Just please check out some of the revision forums and know what could happen.