Considering the Lap Band!

[Bell0614 1]

Hi Everyone,

I've been looking into weight loss surgery for some time now and just had my first consultation with a surgeon. I'm leaning towards having the lap band and wanted to get some opinions/advice from people that have had the surgery. I'd love to hear the good, bad and the ugly so I know what I'm getting into. Here are some questions I have. Don't feel like you have to answer all these questions! Just looking to hear some opinions on the surgery.

Thanks in advance!!! ????

-What is a typical meal like? Either Breakfast, lunch or dinner. Everything I hear makes it seem like so much of what you eat comes back up and a lot of the healthy foods, like Proteins and vegetables won't stay down

- How are your incision scars?

-can you feel the band around your stomach or is it just the port you're able to feel?

-do you experience any heartburn or acid reflux because of the lap band?

- any real negatives or anything that's been really great?

-what are some of the toughest aspects of being banded?

- any advice you have for someone looking to get the band in the near future?

[Dancing Fool 29]

Hi there. I am recently banded and so far, I'm loving it. No troubles with food coming back up or reflux. Typical breakfast for me is fat-free Greek yogurt sprinkled with Kashi Go Lean. Typical lunch is sliced deli turkey and some veggie on the side. Typical dinner is broiled fish or lean meat, with a veg on the side. I like turkey chili too, and it works well in my meal plan. I found a chicken salad made with yogurt in place of mayo at costco -- it is delish and it too works well in my meal plan.

My surgery was quick and recovery was quick and uneventful. I went into the operating room at 8:30 AM and left for home by 11 AM. I had surgery on a Wednesday and went back to work (a desk job) on Monday.

My advice to someone looking into a Lap Band would be to consider follow-up care after the surgery when you are choosing your surgeon. Good follow-up care requires a surgical practice with experience and commitment to its Lap Band patients. You should expect to be visiting your surgeon's office regularly throughout the first year so be sure you are willing and able (financially and travel-wise) to do this.

[allielee 263]

Hi Everyone,

I've been looking into weight loss surgery for some time now and just had my first consultation with a surgeon. I'm leaning towards having the lap band and wanted to get some opinions/advice from people that have had the surgery. I'd love to hear the good, bad and the ugly so I know what I'm getting into. Here are some questions I have. Don't feel like you have to answer all these questions! Just looking to hear some opinions on the surgery.

Thanks in advance!!! ????

-What is a typical meal like? Either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Everything I hear makes it seem like so much of what you eat comes back up and a lot of the healthy foods, like Proteins and vegetables won't stay down

- How are your incision scars?

-can you feel the band around your stomach or is it just the port you're able to feel?

-do you experience any heartburn or acid reflux because of the lap band?

- any real negatives or anything that's been really great?

-what are some of the toughest aspects of being banded?

- any advice you have for someone looking to get the band in the near future?

hi I was banded in June 2008 lost all my weight and kept it off. Started having problems in 2014 and found out my band had eroded. I was devastated. The band was hard work! I was successful but I had lots of fills and still threw up a lot with weird things like meat but could eat a sleeve of Oreos. I was revised to bypass on May 21, 2014 so I just hit a year. I'm doing awesome wish I had had the bypass first. It's so much easier and I'm so much healthier!!! Crazy but true!!! I was anemic with the band but not with the bypass. Please message me for my info if you want. I who used to be a huge advocate for the band now am anti band and pro bypass. Best thing ever was getting my bypass I'm thinner, healthier and happier than I have ever been!!!!

[dkenis 3]

Hey Dancing Fool, your reply sounds like something I would have written. Had surgery on a Wednesday morning, back to work on Monday. I have the same kinds of meals as you as well.

I have 8, count them 8 incision scars. Kind of misleading though because I have previous orthoscopic kidney surgery. I show them off to my grandkids and say I was in a knife fight.

Seriously, scars are not a big deal.

- I can only feel the port but I notice the band if I concentrate on it when swallowing. It's not unpleasant though.

- I experienced mild acid reflux right after the surgery but it only lasted a few days.

- The band has been a positive reminder for me. I know it's there so I eat better. I used to scarf down food when I was in a hurry. The band prevents me from doing that now.

- Toughest aspect? For me, it's following the rules. Eat slow, chew longer, drink a lot of Water. I have to think about these things and make them a habit. Many times, I forget I have the band and eat too fast.

- Advice? Do your research. It's only effective if you make an effort. You can cheat with the band if you want to so make sure you are committed to the game.

Good luck!

[gowalking 10,790]

Here's what the lapband did for me. Good luck with whichever WLS you decide to go with.

[Sharpie 3,306]

had my band surgery 1/15/13. only issue I had was some nausea while in hospital which I attribute to pain meds. they have always made me sick. stayed one night, went home next day. scars are minimal can't hardly see them now. cannot feel port or band at all. eating slowly and chewing well has been challenging but old habits die hard. I have reached my goal and feel wonderful. I can and will get stuck and slime or pb if I eat dry or reheated foods. Otherwise I can eat what I want but I get the signal to quit. I am hoping my band last forever but if it doesn't I will probably either have another band or go without. I am afraid of bypass or sleeve. too drastic and too permanent . My husband had esophageal cancer and after chemo and radiation lost a tremendous amount of weight. if he had 80% less of a stomach or re-routed intestines we would not have been able to keep him from having malnutrition. so, since I had that experience I don't want to take that chance. Everyone has to take their own journey and for some the bypass or the sleeve works great. Regardless of how you do it , improving your health is always a good thing. Since being banded I am so much healthier , no more diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure and a lot more mobility. Do what is best for you and your situation.

[Bell0614 1]

Thanks everyone for your responses! Seems like the band is definitely worth giving a shot and I just have to know that there are some negatives just like with everything else. Sharpie, I initially wanted the sleeve but then worried about losing half my stomach and one day I may need that back!

What does everyone drink? I've been drinking seltzer Water for years and they say you can't have anything that is carbonated. So that's kind of gone. Do you just drink plain Water? Or anything else (juice) to change it up a little?

[terrydumont46 1,954]

If you are very band compliant and do exactly what your doctor says the band will help you lose wt. the band is a bit more tempermental than the other surgeries and complications can occur. but if you do as you are supposed to do you will be successful in band life. I drink crystal light and Water. ever so often I will have a diet ginger ale. but never close to a meal. and I drink it slowly.

[parisshel 1,892]

Whichever WLS you choose, my advice is to inform yourself of risks and complications, and ask yourself "if X occurred, can I live with that?" For a lapband, "X" could be a slip, erosion, permanent damage to your esophegous, reflux..: For the sleeve, "X" could be leakage, infection, ulcers, reflux.... I'm not sure what the risks are for the other WLS since I never considered those.

Let me use Lasik surgery as an analogy. I was really eager to get Lasik surgery so I could free myself of my annoying glasses. But when I saw there was a very tiny percentage of risk that one could go blind with the surgery, I decided that that was a risk I could not take. Because you cannot ever predict what side of the statistics you will fall on, and losing my sight would completely render my life and my children's lives horrific, I made peace with my glasses, because I was not willing to assume all the risks listed on the information sheet for Lasik.

I was willing to assume all the risks associated with the lapband so I went ahead with that surgery. Everything was rainbows and unicorns the first year. But then I developed complications (atrial fibrillation brought on by the band's involvement with the vagus nerve), so I became of the people that falls on the bad side of the statistics. That said, heart problems were not (yet) listed as one of the risks from this surgery, but I'm sure as more longterm data gets collected, it will show up one day on the patient information sheet.

From where I am today, I would not advise in good faith for anyone to get a lapband. ( But this would not have been my attitude two years ago.) What I would advise is that you keep on researching, and whenever you read a story about a complication due to WLS, ask yourself if you are willing to live with that complication. You may be someone who never experiences any complication from any of the WLS, but you may not be. No one can predict outcome, so if you are seriously considering WLS, imagine yourself in the situation of someone with a complication, and ask yourself if you are willing to live that way.

[Bandista 7,466]

Typically I do not eat breakfast because I'm not hungry in the mornings so I have an early lunch. Often this is a Greek yogurt with some mix-ins (otherwise, for me, the yogurt is a slider food -- it's the chewing and swallowing that gets the brain signal for satiety). I mix in chia seeds, sometimes a few chopped up nuts, a little gluten-free Cereal, sometimes a tablespoon of Protein powder if I'm feeling I need more protein....you get the idea. dinner is all over the place for me depending on whether we are home, entertaining or going out. We love taco night -- I make grass-fed ground beef with stock so it's all broken down and yummy with Mexican spices. I can eat one loaded taco and that is it (old days I'd do three or four plus other stuff!). I like fish a lot, salmon. Steak. I can't seem to do regular hamburger now but that's okay, I cook chicken thighs -- sauces are my friend now, not a no-no.

There are a couple of links below in my signature that really helped me understand how the band works. I love my band and have had an excellent experience with it. Still have some weight to lose, but carrying around an extra twenty is so great compared to what I had before. Night and day. I was not prepared to do anything more drastic than the band and so am very grateful that, for me, it was just the right tool to help me lose weight. It has not been difficult. I am not in a diet. I make good choices most of the time and now I can stop eating -- no more going back for more, more, more.

[steph1084 4]

I am in the same boat as you. Considering the lap band and trying to get all the pros and cons. It's a big decision!

[stanpry 66]

First let me say it took me 2 1/2 years to make a decision to have lap band surgery. The surgery was really not anything to complain about. A little discomfort for a day. They kept me for 3 days because of other factors. I had always had acid reflux. The surgeon repaired a hiatial hernia. This cured my acid reflux and was able to discontinue my ppi medication. I was just about the same height and weight as you are. I lost 90 lbs. in 6 months. This was more than my goal but I am comfortable at my present weight. I do not feel the band but you can feel and see the port. I was lucky to have needed only 1 fill. At the beginning I limited myself to 800-1000 calories a day. It wasn't too difficult but you have to keep very careful records of what you eat. Use My Fitness Pal app. if you can. I count calories and watch carbs. This is contrary to what the weight loss center teaches. Eat Protein first then veg. etc. NO CHEATING. The only problem I have now is with red meat. I can only get chopped meat down. I have very little trouble with other food. Everything has to be moist. I now eat 2300-2500 calories a day. No deserts till today.

Hope I answered all your questions. Don't forget this is what works for me. Everyone is different. Best wishes

Hi Everyone,

I've been looking into weight loss surgery for some time now and just had my first consultation with a surgeon. I'm leaning towards having the lap band and wanted to get some opinions/advice from people that have had the surgery. I'd love to hear the good, bad and the ugly so I know what I'm getting into. Here are some questions I have. Don't feel like you have to answer all these questions! Just looking to hear some opinions on the surgery.

Thanks in advance!!!

-What is a typical meal like? Either Breakfast, lunch or dinner. Everything I hear makes it seem like so much of what you eat comes back up and a lot of the healthy foods, like Proteins and vegetables won't stay down

- How are your incision scars?
-can you feel the band around your stomach or is it just the port you're able to feel?
-do you experience any heartburn or acid reflux because of the lap band?
- any real negatives or anything that's been really great?
-what are some of the toughest aspects of being banded?
- any advice you have for someone looking to get the band in the near future?

[goregalore 16]

My two cents are research, research, research. I was banded in 2010 and I would frequent all the lap band boards, I would see all the success and before and afters, and I wanted that. I wanted that so bad...

What I didn't research was the complications and fail rates of the band. I did everything I was supposed to... 6 week fills, no carbonated drinks, low sugar, low carb, and it still just didn't work. After over 2 full years of vomiting, damaged esophagus, and band slippage, and extra surgeries...not to mention only a 30lb loss, I gave up. I got a complete unfill and started researching revisions.

Please do the research! Most surgeons won't perform the lap band because of the fail rates and revision amounts. But best of luck to you and whatever you think is best!

[stanpry 66]

No carbonated drinks ever. No juices. juice is very high in sugar. Natural or otherwise. I drink iced tea.

Thanks everyone for your responses! Seems like the band is definitely worth giving a shot and I just have to know that there are some negatives just like with everything else. Sharpie, I initially wanted the sleeve but then worried about losing half my stomach and one day I may need that back!

What does everyone drink? I've been drinking seltzer Water for years and they say you can't have anything that is carbonated. So that's kind of gone. Do you just drink plain water? Or anything else (juice) to change it up a little?

[kathousefl 62]

I just thought I would chime in here.

Everyone goes into WLS for different reasons, and each person decides how they want to use the tool of having a band. When I committed to the surgery, I committed to a lifestyle change. I paid careful attention to everything my doctor told me about not eating carbs and sticking with vegetables and Protein. Before the surgery, I was a vegetarian, and I decided to change that because I was eating too many processed carbs, and my body was having a negative reaction to that.

I am happy with the band. When I first was banded, I kept my calories around 800. Now I eat about 1,000 a day - three meals and few Snacks. I do not eat processed carbs, and I do not feel deprived. I am not saying this is an easy journey. I have had to work hard, but it is so worth it.