Hi, I am considering lap band I weigh 230 lbs at 5" 4" I'm in general good health so don't expect my insurance will pay. I have been taking diet pills to control my weight for over 10 yrs, which kept me at 175 (always over weight) I stopped taking them in Sept and have gained 55 lbs and counting. Not taking the pills has made me very lazy and depressed. I have questions and concerns about lap band and hope some of you can help me.

Is Mexico a good safe option? Is Mexico a faster option? I smoke and am willing to quit for weight loss but do I have to give up coffee and diet pepsi also? What are fills and are they always needed? If fills are needed can you get fills in america if you got banded in Mexico? If fills are needed are you left with a tube coming out of your stomach for life? I hope these questions can be answered here as my doctor just blew me off when I asked about lap band saying I didn't weigh enough (popping pills is his answer) paying over $100 a month not covered by insurance either. Please give me any info that you think might help. Thanks Liz

Liz,

Your doctor needs his head examined. You are about 100 lbs overweight, and so the band would work. i cannot answer teh mexico questions, but look in the diffent topics because thee are threads dedicated to those mexican doctor questions. Depending upon your insurance, they may pay. Also, do you know for sure that you don't have things like sleep apnea? They will test you for that prior to surgery, etc. At 230, and 45 yrs of age, you aren't "that" healthy, and you know what i mean, i am not trying to be facitious. However, with the band, you do have to give up some things. You get the band to be healthy, so quit the smoking. You will NEVER really be able to excersie and feel good if you are smoking (I have tried, believe me). Forget soda it is the most unhealthy thing. Each and every ingredient is not just NOT GOOD for you, each and every one is BAD for you. They make you GAIN weight, yes, EVEN the DIET ones. I will be honest with you here, you need to do more research. This is surgery. It is a total lifestyle change. If you are not prepared to make a lifestyle change, then the band is not for you, seriously. Why go through surgery if it is all for nought? However, if you do your homework, and you really want to do this, then the band is a wonderful tool for losing wieght. However, it is a TOOL, you must still watch what you eat, count your calories (don't care if you use points, portion control, etc. it is all still counting calories, just someone else did it for you) and excersise. But if you do, you will love the results. i went down 3 full sizes in 4 months. Yup, that is 56 lbs, but....this last month i have not lost my normal 15 per month because I was overfuilled and so i was able to eat ice cream and fritos but not good food other then yogurt (I don't like alot of soups, etc) so, I have only lost 8 lbs since my last fill. BUt I am going back to morrow and have some taken out . See, at first i was thinking , well, that is allright if it is too tight, it'll loosen soon, and i will lose more wirght, but it isn't the correct way of doing it. Now i feel tired, no stamina, not eating correctly not really eating at all, so not losing weight either, well, not like I was. When i get back to the right feel, I will have energy and can excersize and eat the right things again and look forward to my normal wieght loss. Hope I didn't confuse you. Good luck with your quest!!

I'm with reqgoddess on this...go to lapband.com and get some information about the band and the surgery. You are only 5 pounds away from moving from "severly obese" to "morbidly obese". I don't know what doc is telling you that the band isn't for you, but honestly, I'd find a seminar in your area (can be found on lapband.com) and attend it.

One more thing...there is no outside "tubing" with the band. Everything is on the inside, under the skin. If you need a fill, they use a needle, find your port (under the skin), and inject saline to adjust the band's tightness.