How did you know?

[Soon2beslimSamantha 53]

Sylvia13 how was your healing process and have you started to loose weight already?

[coachk11233 12]

whats wrong with lap band

Was bypass awful? I don't know why by its so scary to me. I started with wanting the lap and then knew it wasn't for me. My dr seems to think bypass. I was thinking sleeve. I don't know why bypass terrifies me. I want wls. I really do. I guess I don't know tons about it. Idk.

[Soon2beslimSamantha 53]

@@coachk11233 I didn't want the lap band after talking to my dr.

1. It's never good to have a foreign body inside you.

2. It can perforate the stomach

3. You have to see the dr alot to have it agjusted and it uses a big needle into the port

4. I heard that you don't usually have significant weight loss or help with comorbities

5. It has the slowest weight loss rate

6. It usually has to be replaced

7. Port sites get infected

That being said even know my dr belives that bypass is the gold standard of wls he still does lap band ocassionaly because he belives it's better then nothing but he dosent recommend it.

[Hipigrl 24]

I have been "heavy" my entire life, but I started getting morbidly obese about 15 yeas ago after a back injury. I had two back surgeries, first one 8/2007, second one in 11/2009. I also broke my left ankle (for the 5th time) in 10/2010. After a major foot surgery in 3/2011, I decided to go for the sleeve. About a month out from surgery, I got pregnant and abandoned my WLS plans for the time being. I had the baby (best thing ever!!) and got back on track for surgery in October of 2013. I then caught the NORO virus from my kid and spend two days sitting on the toilet and vomiting into the waste basket. That freaked me out so much that I backed off from the surgery. My back and foot pain was getting worse (one of the five screws in my foot/ankle had broken and wow, the pain has been intense!) and all the doctors were telling me it would never get better until I lost about 100 lbs. at least. At the time, I was about 330. The doctor for my foot told me that he would have to take out all the pins, put in thicker ones, and reinforce the area with steal plates. This did not sound like it was going to help get me out of pain. So, back to the bariatric surgeon. I started with this again in February of 2015. My doc put me on a diet pill to help with appetite suppression, and I lost almost 50 lbs. from March 2015 - June 2015. It took a while to get all of the insurance requirements met, but it was finally approved, and my surgery was on July1. I am 23 days out of surgery, just started my 4th week post-op, and while it has not been easy, I would not go back. I had the sleeve because I did not want to have as many issues with malnutrition as I have heard can happen with bypass. I know that I will eventually get to eat real food again, just not nearly as much, and I am so happy with the weight loss. The biggest issue I am having is getting my Protein. I am a vegetarian and the idea of drinking milk repulses me. I am not a vegan, will eat cheese and yogurt, it is just milk that grosses me out. Soy milk was not something I wanted to try, but I find the light vanilla and light chocolate is palatable. I am still experimenting with different Protein supplements, but I feel confident I will eventually find one that I can get down. I have found a few suggestion on this forum that give me hope. :-) I hope this info has helped. Good luck!

Edited July 24, 2015 by Hipigrl

[RebeccaAR 4]

I swore against wls for so long and then my best friend had the sleeve done and it changed my entire view of it. I have always been overweight and now have two children. I'm 35. I too wanted the band until I went to a required seminar and left wanting bypass. Is it scary, of course but I had my surgery on July 15th and I have never looked back. It's better for me to be healthier and feel good then to continue eating and gaining. Good luck. ????

[hockeyfan7 249]

I saw people who had weight loss surgery and were really successful with it. So since my husband's insurance would pay for it I decided to go for it. I have high blood pressure and very bad osteoarthritis in my knees. Originally I had a lap band done in August 2012. It was good for the first two years but then towards the end of 2014 I started throwing up everything I tried to eat - even ice cream. And I would often throw up liquids too.

After that I could never get into the green zone with the fills. We tried from November to April when I finally decided forget this and asked for a revision to the sleeve. I had the lap band removed and the sleeve done on June 1st and I'm much happier with my new choice.

I originally chose the lap band because it was less invasive surgery. I didn't want my intestines rerouted or my stomach chopped off. But after the issues I had I decided that losing most of my stomach was a much better option. I didn't want bypass because I have Celiac disease and already have malabsorption problems.

[Veronica Page 488]

Being so "young" but a mom to a lil boy at a my age was the start. My body hurt, I had no energy and just felt terrible. So first trigger for me was the cruddy feeling I had every day; then I went to my brothers wedding and someone took a pic of me and I saw what I looked like that was REALLY it for me. You look in the mirror and kinda just don't see it but when you look at a pic you are like holy cow its really bad, I was going to go for bypass but heard that sleeve was safer and just all around medically better for me. I don't regret anything. I'm off my diabetic meds. have tons more energy and would of never seen these results without my sleeve.

[Soon2beslimSamantha 53]

@@Hip girl that's so awsome I'm happy you had the surgery. Thank you for sharing has recovery been hard?

[Soon2beslimSamantha 53]

@@Veronica Page how much weight have you lost?

[Sajijoma 1,324]

You know you are ready for surgery when you just can't take another diet that not only doesn't give you a weight loss but ends in a gain. Then you sit in the floor and cry, because you know your weight is going to kill you and there's no way out of it(except weight loss surgery) and the idea of surgery and never being able to eat your favorite foods, or eat birthday cake frosting, or drink Mountain Dew doesn't bother you! The first time I looked into wls I was in my 20's and when they mentioned no mt dew for life I was like "F that!" And walked out. This time around I'm

More like "GOOD! I think I've already had my lifetime quota!" LOL that's how you ultimately know.

[Soon2beslimSamantha 53]

Then I guess I'm ready

[Veronica Page 488]

@@Soon2beslimSamantha 85lbs and counting. I only weigh once a month now so who knows

[Soon2beslimSamantha 53]

That's so awsome @@Veronica Page you must feel like night and day

[Alex Brecher 10,496]

I felt like I didn’t have any other choices if I wanted to be happy. Diets did work for me, but they weren’t living. They were temporary, as was the weight loss. I couldn’t get past food as a hurdle. So what else was I going to do? Weight loss surgery seemed like a good idea, and I’ve never regretted the decision to get the lap-band.

Where am I in my lap-band journey? I got it 12 years ago, and am staying within a few pounds of goal weight. I still need to pay attention to what I eat, but food is not ruling my life. My life is fuller now – I can enjoy myself, my family, and my work.

[p1Sz 52]

I'd researched a while. I saw an older mentor of mine that I hadn't seen in a couple years. With true fear and concern in his eyes, he commented on how much weight I'd gained in two years. It made a big impact. Also, my dad was retiring, and I realized if I didn't change, that I was on a path of ended up as big and unhealthy as he is.