Hi everyone! My name is Jennifer. I am just starting my weight loss journey, I have an appointment with a Gastric Bypass surgeon on April 8! I am really looking forward to this, I have been waiting for years, and I now FINALLY have an insurance that covers weight loss surgery! Yay!

I am currently torn between the gastric bypass surgery and the Lap Band. I am hoping to hear about your experiences with the Lap Band. I have read that weight loss is much slower with the lap band. Does this help with preventing excess skin? I look forward to hearing about your thoughts on this surgery and would love to hear about your successes!

Please bear in mind that I am a very happy and very successful bandit now 9 years post-op. I do not regret my band, would do it all over again and if I ever have to have it removed, I would hope to have a replacement.

When I was banded in 2006, it was a miracle surgery. And for some people, who accept that they will still have to work hard, it is just that. It was and still is for me. But over the years it has become clear that serious complications necessitating further surgery are much more common than originally thought, some of these are avoidable by careful eating and by not keeping the band tight; unfortunately others are beyond our control.

We used to be warned about band slips, leaks and about ( very rare) erosion into the stomach tissue but it turns out that a build up of scar tissue round the band (causing it to tighten) is quite common. It can be very difficult to get the right level of restriction and some people are tempted to keep it tight enough to physically limit food, in fact it was once thought this was how it should be. But this causes food to back up into the oesophagus and that risks problems such as oesophageal dysmotility which may be irreversible. It can also damage the vagus nerve. Band removal is increasingly common and I am pretty unusual in being 9 years out!

We still need lots of will power. The band makes it easier by dimming hunger, but it does nothing for head hunger and, contrary to popular opinion, it does not and should not physically stop us eating. If it does it is too tight!

Slow loss does not make any differences to loose skin. That is down to age, how obese you were, how long you were obese, your genes.

Having said all that, I love my band, I know many successful long term bandits in real life. But the long term statistics are not good when compared to sleeve. But my own experience has been good and so has that of almost all those I actually know and have met.

I came across your post in the timeline and realize it's posted in the lapband forum. I'm just curious why you're limiting yourself to researching these two surgeries? Why rule out the sleeve? For me that was the perfect compromise between the two!

I'm one year post op. I'm happy and have had no complications. I keep my band loose enough to take Tylenol caplets. I actually take two at each fill to make sure I'm not too tight.

Getting to green takes several months but it's better to creep up on it rather than go too tight and have to unfill.

I have lost 100 pounds and about 98 of those were in the first 7 months. I have 50 to go. It gets harder to lose, and this is where I need to eat lower calorie food and cut out the crap. I've also very recently started a walking regimen. Except for the first three months post op I wasn't exercising.

It's not a magical cure, but the band truly helps with hunger. The rest is up to me. Good luck deciding!!

Congratulations on choosing yourself and your healthy future -- weight loss surgery is all about that. Only you can decide what's best for you with the help of your medical professionals. The band has worked beautifully for me and I'm very happy with it but we are all different. I didn't want something too drastic surgically. I'm some one who ate a very healthy diet before, just way too much. It's been great to have my appetite dimmed so I can make good choices. It helped me to see a therapist to help sort out pre-surgery options and the process as well as to identify my triggers and address food issues. I was a restricter and a professional dieter. Very happy to not be on a diet now! I eat when I'm hungry and don't eat when I'm not hungry. The links below in my signature may be helpful.

Most people who chose the band do so because it is not permanent. This seems to be the overriding decision maker. As other posters have said, the band, and I suspect all WLS only does one thing...it tamps down the hunger. Then you have to make the right choices regarding what and how often you eat. It's not easy, but it works when you put in the work as well.

I am living proof of this as I have lost more than 150 lbs. and have gone from nearly debilitating joint pain to walking almost normally. For me, this is as close to a miracle as can be. I feel like a kid again and while you may not be in that same situation, I am sure that your reasons for getting healthy and in a normal weight range are just as important to you.

Try not to focus on the band bashers...they are out there and can scare people. I know that if I had a bad experience, I'd want to share it but some of these folks are only mimicking what they've heard and have not had the band surgery. If you haven't experienced something, you shouldn't discuss it in my opinion. I've never had any fills...so I never ever post or give my opinion on that subject.

Talk to your doctor...remember he/she may have a preference as well due to the need to have much more follow up with the band over other surgeries so bear that in mind. Ultimately, you will know when you've made the right decision even with being nervous. We've all been where you are and know that this is not an easy decision to make but one that gives a quality of life that for some of us, is something we never expected to have again.

For that alone, I am so very grateful and it is why I stay on this site and do my best to pay it forward.

Good luck my dear.

I'm chiming in with some other long term bandsters. It has allowed me to go through almost 9 years of my life feeling like I fit in normally. ( whatever that is to each of us)

No more worrying about when or what or where food will be be literally freed me from the mental merry go round that spun in my head daily. My life feels simplified and healthy and the gnawing hunger that drove everything is literally gone!

It is a very personal choice, but you are embarking down a road that can save your life and give you back health and FUN! I felt too young to just let life wash over me. I hope you are happy with whatever choice you and your dr decide on????