I would do this journey all over again... At a younger age. I would consider VSG as I have seen and heard great things. Please post your opinion. I believe Lots of people are interested Thanks

Ok. Finally. Posted pics. 8 years ago and last January Harder for me to do than I thought. Quite a difference in my life????

Simply beautiful!!!!

Definitely yes! Only I wouldn't of waited until I was 46, I would of had the same surgery much sooner!

It took 2 years to make my decision. I have no regrets. Lost weight faster than I expected. Had just one fill. No complications. Best decision ever.

I weighed a 150lbs in 5th grade. I remember it well because I was teased pretty good about it in gym class when they lined us up and weighed us all. I am 15lbs shy of that weight right now. Not bad for a 47 year old guy who's spent his entire life being the fat kid to the fat guy. I would do this again in a heartbeat 10 times over.

I heard about the band by commercial. Googled it and requested a consultation. Booked during first phone call for two weeks later. Sometimes we just KNOW the right time for ME to start this journey. I had NO financial support with insurance and still working hard for success. Perhaps we aren't all ready at certain ages.

Anyone having WLS should realize that no surgeries are guaranteed, and that you can die as a result of elective surgery complication. I was scared to undergo surgery, but after a point you have to weight the risks vs. the rewards. My doctor laid out the risks, and the chances for success and what I could realistically expect based on averages.

I'm glad I did NOT have the band 15 years ago--there have been too many advances in that time and problems with the band have diminished over time. I am glad I carefully researched where, and who, would do my surgery. They need to be there when I need them in the future. I'm glad I had the band when I did. If it fails, i would consider another surgery, perhaps a sleeve, if the doctor is comfortable doing the procedure. Regressing back to my old self is not an option.

I honestly believe than any WLS is an attempt to mask over underlying problems that will be unraveled as medical research continues and when there is a better understanding of the underlying problems that lead to obesity. Simple advice based on stereotypes (eat less, be more active, etc) do little to help. Maybe someday a cure will be as simple as taking a pill twice a day. But, at a certain age you realize that future cures will be decades in the future before they are developed, tested and FDA approved. And then the real learning curve begins.

Lab

You are very smart about how far surgeries have come... And where we might be headed... Could be a simple amount of over absorption??Or a turn off switch for those with much hunger. ????

All I do know is I'm thankful for the band dimming my appetite so I could get a grip on health and exercise. I felt like I failed every other diet and this afforded me success for almost 8 years. That. I am thankful for????

I too would probably go with sleeve, but at the time I had surgery my insurance did not cover sleeve. Less maintenance with the sleeve is about the only reason though.

I had the lap band at 27, I'm 28 now. I'm happy with my decision and thankful everyday for my band and the journey I am on. If something were to go wrong, I would try my best to work through it with the band but I know in the future there may be more medical advances which I may consider and if I fail to hit my goal weight in consideration with my surgeon I would go on to the sleeve if necessary but hopefully not until wayyyy in the future.

HELL YES, Lap Band again. Slow weight loss is hard but I am here for life and I have the time

Heck yeah!!! I had my banding May 2010. Wish I had done it 10 yrs earlier !!!! Lol. I have lost a total 157 lbs. it has been slow and steady and I still lose about 3-4 lbs a month. I love it.

Without a doubt!!! I would do it again in a heartbeat!!!!

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Edited February 2, 201511 yr by MomOf3InOC

WLS again? Absolutely yes!

Lap-band surgery? Absolutely NOT!

I'm currently on my second band (first one was replaced after I'd unknowingly lived with a profound slip for several years, and insurance wouldn't cover a revision to a different surgery), and I'm having problems with it now. My band decided out of the blue that it wouldn't tolerate me eating a raw carrot and I had a severe PB/sliming episode, and I'm pretty sure my band slipped as a result. I do not have it in me to go through a third band surgery, knowing what I now know about the success rates of the band. I want to not worry about getting sick and needing to vomit. I want to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and not worry. I want to not have to locate the bathroom in every restaurant I go to, in case my meal doesn't agree with me and I have to rush and go slime it up.

I've got an appointment tomorrow to meet with a new surgeon and hopefully get a revision to either bypass or sleeve. I just can't do this anymore. I'm not saying that people can't be successful with the band (heck, I reached a normal BMI with my first one, then started gaining when I started having trouble), but I think people are more likely to be successful with another type of surgery. I will say that I'm definitely determined to succeed this time, so at least suffering with the band gave me that!

Edited February 3, 201511 yr by losing_the_band

In my case I would not do it again. Having a lapband take support from the peoplearound you and I have none. My children do not live in the same town as me and my husband......well let's just say it is hard to have a band and all he does is ask me what he can have to eat. The man wants me to think he cannot even make his own microwave popcorn. His idea of helping me if I have a "stuck" moment is to offer me bread with Peanut Butter. My brother also had the band one month before me. I quit going to support meeting because theyalways seemed to be comparing my weight loss to his. I do not want to be compared to anyone, lest of all my brother. If I could change today,I would have the sleeve, but I don't see my insurance paying for anything again. Matbe when I turn 65 Medicare will spring for the sleeve, but I doubt it. The only good thing I can say Is thatI quit smoking to get the band and have not started back. After 4 and 1/2 years I eat what I want when I want most of the time. pills still have to be chopped up. Some things make the band raise it's ugly head one time and go right down another. I guess you could say I quit!