I have just started my new weight loss journey. Like many others, I have a history of failed diets and temporary weight loss. Several years ago, I managed to lose 70 lbs in one year using traditional methods such as exercising 6 days a week, eating one small meal a day and taking prescription diet pills. I ended up looking great except for the hair thinning, heart palpations and tachycardia and the loss of 3 teeth and gum disease. Starvation is not a good plan so I started eating 3 meals again. I only kept it off for a short while and within a year it was all back plus 30 lbs more. I now weigh more than I ever imagined I could ever weigh. I am pre-diabetic, borderline hypertension, borderline hyperlipidemia, have probable sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and severe GERD. I am way overdue for a lifestyle change but I need help.

I had a consultation with a weight management doctor last week. He recommended bariatric surgery right off the bat. He suggested I have the gastric sleeve procedure. My insurance will not pay for it so he then recommended gastric bypass surgery or gastric banding. My insurance will pay for either one. He told me that he felt that the Lap-Band is a waste of time and that most of his patients end up having it removed. He recommended that I have the gastric bypass surgery. He has a stellar reputation as a bariatric surgeon. BUT.....

Here is the problem: I do not want any part of my body cut off or re-routed. I do not want my intestines altered in any way as I have enough trouble with them as it is. I do not want my digestive system altered and suffer the effects of mal-absorption. Before I had the consultation with a bariatric surgeon, I had already decided I wanted the Lap-Band to use as a tool to help me lose the weight in a healthy way. So, why are some doctors now saying that it is a waste of time??? Is it really true? What to do now?

I am more confused and frustrated as ever.

I find the whole foreign body argument ridiculous. so, my husband with his artificial knees and heart valve is doomed? just do your research and do what you feel is best for you. I had my lapband 2 years ago and have not had one bit of problem. I did not want to lose most of my stomach in case I need it for a serious illness such as Cancer. I did not want my intestines re-routed either. If my lapband fails I will hopefully have another option that I feel comfortable with.

I have had a band for 2 years and lost weight as expected. Unfortunately for me.. I had a prolapse. I got the flu so bad and was throwing up so hard my band prolapsed. I am opting for the sleeve and will have it on 2-24-15. The only reason I'm not doing full bypass is that my husbands first wife died after her surgery. ( before anyone jumps on a band wagon, let me say her death could have been prevented. She was not going for her Vitamin B shots. This caused here to have a deficiency, which in turn lead to a massive heart attack) she had reached her goal and my guess is that she thought she was doing okay.. Just goes to show how important follow up visits are. Anyway, needless to say my husband is scared to death for me to have surgery.. However, I'm scared not to as obesity is a killer within itself. Good luck to you and I will share my revision experience when I can. ????

She was 41 years old and it was ruled by the coroner to be a vitamin B deficiency that caused her heart attack. So this was not an opinion, it was a fact.

I had a band put in 2/07. I lost 95 pounds over 18 months with the band, which wasn't too bad considering I had it done in Mexico and had zero aftercare. I learned how to take care of myself and eat via the bander sites. I never knew there was anything weird about my band during the first few years because I was losing weight and assumed I was throwing up a lot because I was eating the wrong things.

As time went on I kept losing and eventually dropped 15 pounds below my goal. That wasn't good because I worked in a very physical job and I had gotten too small to do my job effectively. I tried eating so many different foods, eating slowly, eating standing up, eating and walking, exercising then eating, drinking hot tea before eating and various relaxation techniques. I never had more than 1cc put into the band and when I reached my goal I had 1/2 cc taken out. Kaiser started providing care for banders, although they didn't have true bariatric care in my area at that time. I saw a GP, she sent me for an upper GI and they said my stomach was completely occluded at the band site. No Fluid passed through. They unfilled the band and said I had been banded with a band that was too tight.

It won't make sense if you haven't had a band but eating and drinking, for me, is so hit and miss. Even with the band unfilled I throw up A LOT. Sometimes I can't get Water to go through and I can never get Protein shakes to go through. Monday I can eat 1/2 a tuna sandwich but Tuesday if I try to eat the same thing it will sit in my pouch for hours without passing through. I learned that popcorn goes through always. It seems to be a texture thing. So do certain chips and crackers. So I started eating things I knew would go through. This seemed to relax the band and I would immediately chase these snack foods with water because I'm perpetually dehydrated because I can't drink. Sometimes I can eat a small salad or a little bit of chicken but not often. The result is I gained back over 40 pounds because I was eating Snacks. I retired and didn't replace all the work activity with exercise at home. I'm not getting proper nutrition so I don't feel like doing anything. After retiring I went to the Biggest Loser Resort a year and a half ago and lost the 40 pounds but after falling off the exercise wagon I'm up 20 pounds again. It's crazy I can't eat but I'm gaining weight. I bought a Vitamix and I'm constantly experimenting with healthy stuff, vegan stuff, you name it. It's all wasted money because it rarely passes through and I'm back to popcorn and cheetos. If you're wondering what I mean by "won't go through"...the food sits in the pouch for hours. You can feel a constant discomfort from it. If you go to sleep the food sometimes comes up and you wake up aspirating. After years of experience I can tell what is going through immediately, what might go through with time and what isn't going through and probably won't.

Kaiser now has a bariatric center in my area. I saw a surgeon, had another upper GI and some X-rays. The surgeon confirmed that the band is and always has been too tight, even when unfilled. They're going to do a band to sleeve conversion. I'm so relieved. My eating has been so abnormal for 8 years! I thought about just getting the band out but I'm worried about gaining all the weight back. I finished my Options Classes and now have to do the psyche evaluation and an MD appointment and I'm ready to go!

I did lose weight with the band but it wasn't through healthy eating...it was via near starvation. My new surgeon said my experience is quite common.

Edited February 19, 201511 yr by Want2surf