Houston surgeon on the news

[bluegudren 156]

I watched the news this morning. They interviewed a Houston surgeon. He said he stopped practicing surgeries involving the lap band. He said the other weight loss surgeries are different and better. He said that the lap band is "forced bulimia ". And that everyone vomits with lap band. What are your thoughts on this?

[April206 128]

My surgeon said the lap band was falling out of favor with most doctors due to the required fills, unimpressive results and possibility of infection. That's just his opinion.

I know lots of people on here just love theirs and that's ok too.

[AggieGal08 9]

My surgeon refused to do them as well. Wasn't impressed by the results and too many complications. He did state that e does revisions all the time too. I considered the lap band but the more research I did the more I liked the sleeve. I am two months out from the sleeve and down almost 50lbs. No complications either, but I know there was always the chance!

[lisacaron 5,075]

My take on this is, that doctors don't like the extra work that is involved in the Lapband procedure. It's not about weight loss expectation because they are wrong in that regard. Take a poll here and see who has lost weight and who has lost over 100 pounds with the band.

Complications..well I will take an infection over my death and malnutrition any day. Also think this is a bit of reaching on the Dr's part to find something "wrong". If surgery is done well by a trained surgeon in a hospital setting the risk for infection is negligible to any surgical procedure.

Addressing the issue of Bulimia this Dr. should go and see a psychiatrist (for more then one reason) to get his facts right. Bulimia is a psychiatric and mental disorder with the way a person views their intake of food it is not forced on anyone by anything. The band does not force you to vomit. If in fact you are vomiting after eating you should see your doctor because this is not normal. You should not be vomiting food any more then you should with the sleeve, or bypass.

There is WORK involved in patient care for the Lapand by the doctors, their offices, and the facilities they operate out of. You can't just nip, tuck, staple, sew, pat the patient on the ass and send them on their way out into the world with no follow up care or guidance. You have to maintain your apparatus, you have to monitor the patients fill levels and compliance. There is WORK involved in the band and in my humble opinion there should be more work involved for all weight loss surgeries.

I have read comments and hear from patients all the time about their lack of follow up care. I see patients who have had their surgery lost X amount of weight and found themselves 2-3 years later well on their way back to where they were before surgery, and worse. Not only in weight but other health issues as well.

Why is that? Is it the patients fault? the doctors? the insurance company? When you have cancer, diabetes or heart disease you follow up and your doctors follow up with you right? They check to see if you are still in remission, if your heart is functioning in the right way, what your sugar levels are...

Obesity is a disease too, and it needs the same kind of monitoring and follow up care as the "big name" diseases that it leads to.

If we keep obesity in check maybe we won't have to work so hard to keep cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc. in check, but those are the money makers for the Dr.'s, hospitals, and drug companies right? Can't mess with that.... A little plastic band, that requires follow up and the dreaded accountability...that's the devil.

[labwalker 1,177]

Well said.

[bluegudren 156]

I vomit about 4 times a week with the band. It's not really full on vomiting. Maybe just the amount in my stoma. Sometimes it's only Water when I drink too much or too fast. I don't feel as though I have bulimia ! I think his statement was reckless and irresponsible.

[bluegudren 156]

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/clip/10416330/weight-loss-surgery-options-and-when-to-consider-them

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

I wander if this Doctor needs help his self as I am a band patient and have lost about 144 lbs in 2 years, if I was to meet him I would tell him this is the best thing I did for my health and life I can do spook much more than I used to be able to do and yes sometimes if I don't feel my stop signals then that is my fault and I will slime, NOT be bulimic or VOMIT but , I don't get to those points often and I know not to drink with my meals , so yes I have to work with my tool to do what is best for me.

[lisacaron 5,075]

I would not think that you have bulimia, if you did have it you would have been diagnosed as having an eating disorder by your psychiatrist and be in treatment for it. From your post it sounds like poor eating mechanics that causes you to regurgitate food. I would work on those, pacing your bites, making sure they are small enough and chewed well enough, take 20 minutes to finish a meal. Sip don't gulp and then see if you are still having an issue. If you are, I would suggest a visit to the doc to check your band and your fill level which may need an adjustment.

I vomit about 4 times a week with the band. It's not really full on vomiting. Maybe just the amount in my stoma. Sometimes it's only Water when I drink too much or too fast. I don't feel as though I have bulimia ! I think his statement was reckless and irresponsible.

This is what I mean by follow up care and maintenance. It requires it from both the patient and the doctor to ensure that the apparatus is working correctly and the patient is compliant and healthy most of all.

Some doctors want to have a one stop shop. Operate make the big bucks and push the patient out the door. Lapband is not a quick fix or cure all for the disease of Obesity. It is the first step on a life long journey.

Edited July 29, 2014 by lisacaron

[bluegudren 156]

Lisa, did you click on the link? I posted it.

[Jack 855]

I watched the video.

re: "vomit:

"

Vomiting (known medically as emesis and informally as throwing up and numerous other terms) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose.^[1] Vomiting can be caused by a wide variety of conditions; it may present as a specific response to ailments like gastritis or poisoning, or as a non-specific sequela of disorders ranging from brain tumors and elevated intracranial pressure to overexposure to ionizing radiation. The feeling that one is about to vomit is called nausea, which often precedes, but does not always lead to, vomiting. Antiemetics are sometimes necessary to suppress nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, where dehydration develops, intravenous Fluid may be required.

Vomiting is different from regurgitation, although the two terms are often used interchangeably. Regurgitation is the return of undigested food back up the esophagus to the mouth, without the force and displeasure associated with vomiting. The causes of vomiting and regurgitation are generally different."

what Bandsters do, IMHO, is 'not' vomit.

But not to get in the definition dance, I'm sure this Dr has good professional reasons for his opinion.

And if there were any other better option at the time I got mine done 10 years ago, perhaps I would have chosen that instead.

Given my own Bandster life, I'm glad there now are perhaps other choices. For now the Band is doing me quite well enough.

[TX mom27 15]

To date, I have lost 115 pounds with my lap band. I don't feel like I have bulimia. Anytime I have ever regurgitated my food, it was my own fault such as eating stuff that is too dry, eating to much, trying to eat stuff that I know shouldn't.

[Lady VS 1,147]

My take on this is, that doctors don't like the extra work that is involved in the Lapband procedure. It's not about weight loss expectation because they are wrong in that regard. Take a poll here and see who has lost weight and who has lost over 100 pounds with the band.

Complications..well I will take an infection over my death and malnutrition any day. Also think this is a bit of reaching on the Dr's part to find something "wrong". If surgery is done well by a trained surgeon in a hospital setting the risk for infection is negligible to any surgical procedure.

Addressing the issue of Bulimia this Dr. should go and see a psychiatrist (for more then one reason) to get his facts right. Bulimia is a psychiatric and mental disorder with the way a person views their intake of food it is not forced on anyone by anything. The band does not force you to vomit. If in fact you are vomiting after eating you should see your doctor because this is not normal. You should not be vomiting food any more then you should with the sleeve, or bypass.

There is WORK involved in patient care for the Lapand by the doctors, their offices, and the facilities they operate out of. You can't just nip, tuck, staple, sew, pat the patient on the ass and send them on their way out into the world with no follow up care or guidance. You have to maintain your apparatus, you have to monitor the patients fill levels and compliance. There is WORK involved in the band and in my humble opinion there should be more work involved for all weight loss surgeries.

I have read comments and hear from patients all the time about their lack of follow up care. I see patients who have had their surgery lost X amount of weight and found themselves 2-3 years later well on their way back to where they were before surgery, and worse. Not only in weight but other health issues as well.

Why is that? Is it the patients fault? the doctors? the insurance company? When you have cancer, diabetes or heart disease you follow up and your doctors follow up with you right? They check to see if you are still in remission, if your heart is functioning in the right way, what your sugar levels are...

Obesity is a disease too, and it needs the same kind of monitoring and follow up care as the "big name" diseases that it leads to.

If we keep obesity in check maybe we won't have to work so hard to keep cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc. in check, but those are the money makers for the Dr.'s, hospitals, and drug companies right? Can't mess with that.... A little plastic band, that requires follow up and the dreaded accountability...that's the devil.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Awesome response.

[LeeB1946 261]

It has to do with the surgeon knowing what he or she is doing. Banded 18 months ago and 95 pounds missing. Never vomited, did my fills and followed instructions. My doctor has said that bands are sometimes not chosen over the gastric sleeve as the sleeve is a surgery that requires less maintenance. As for being forced bulimia that guy is nuts. I know more people with RNY by pass that vomit after each meal than bandsters that voimit.