am i right in thinking the only difference betwen the allergen band and the realize is the way its sutured in there? is there any other difference?

...because I trusted and continue to trust my surgeon, Dr. Santiago Horgan, of the University of California at San Diego. He's one of the first surgeons to do this surgery in the US, has done over 1700, instructs on lap surgeries all over the world, and has a great support program at the college for his bandsters.

I respect his outstanding credentials, skill, knowledge, WISDOM. And having my first fill by him the other day lets me say I absolutely adore Dr. H's charming bedside manner. Yup, he's a keeper.

Dr. Horgan suggested the Realize band but said I could have either--that they are both good and comparable. He told me the Realize is easier to see on the xray. When I learned that it was manufactured by "Johnson & Johnson" , I felt comfortable that should anything happen, they do have deep pockets. He's done a lot of surgeries with them and I was not part of a clinical trial.

If I didn't trust him then, I certainly should not have allowed him to operate on me! It felt right in my gut to do what my doc suggested.

And it still feels right today.

Isuza's style of persuasion, particularly when I read all her postings together, did not convince me to second-guess my surgeon.

A month after surgery, I'm prancing around 25 pounds lighter, with a big smile on my slimmer, prettier face, wearing smaller clothes I'd outgrown, and I just do not believe I'm wearing a "hunk of junk" in my tum tum.

Whichever band is "better"--we know that a band is just a tool, not a solution. If we study stats regarding weight loss rates, a lot of folks don't reach goals because they expect a Magic Band that does everything.

But the band just helps us a bit to correct our lifestyles. We still have to eat and exercise healthily. As another bandster says, "it's not a MIND band."

When I asked a pre-op doc what the downsides were to doing this, he quickly answered, "Not losing weight."

guess that says it all, my friends. YOu and I are still the bosses of what goes into our mouths and whether we live as more physically active people...or sit here typing on a computer too much. :thumbup:

Best to ALL!

I was under the impression that the doctors' decide which band size in implanted based on your anatomy. I thought they wouldn't know until they get in there whether they give you the smaller 4cc band or the larger ones. I would deduce that if your anatomy dictated a larger band, you should feel the restriction as quickly as a smaller stomach/smaller band scenario. Do I have this all wrong?

I was under the impression that the doctors' decide which band size in implanted based on your anatomy. I thought they wouldn't know until they get in there whether they give you the smaller 4cc band or the larger ones. I would deduce that if your anatomy dictated a larger band, you should feel the restriction as quickly as a smaller stomach/smaller band scenario. Do I have this all wrong?

No, you don't have it wrong. It's just that some bands hold more saline. My inamed holds 4cc but for people with a different anatomy there is an Inamed 10cc band, the J&J band holds 9cc I believe. I think that is why there are usually more fills with the bands that hold more saline.

Some doctors put the Inamed 10cc band in everyone across the board. Those people don't lose weight well. It has to fit to your body.

Thank you...I will be banded in April and I am hoping to get the 4cc band. I'd rather start small and have less fills. I doubt I'll have much say in all this, but I'm sure gonna try at my next appointment!

I've got the Inamed 10cc AP with low profile port. I think it has done fantastic for me. I am addicted to exercise, primarily cycling and body building, so my weight loss in pounds is not very indicative of my actual loss. I feel that having the 10cc band allows me more flexibility with fills. But we are all different, and are smart to continue listening to our docs, as always. :rolleyes2:

TexasFire,

That's awesome that you are doing so great with the exercise. No doubt the inches are falling off like crazy!

Toss me some of that motivation and discipline!

That's very good point too about weight loss not necessarily being what it seems. Also people will lose differently based on age, sex, and a host of other reasons that have nothing to do with our bands' brands. It's so much an individual thing.

I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing me say that DH and I have different brands. He's lost 140+ over 2 years. The main thing we can say is that we've both done better with the band than with anything else we've ever done. We both love our bands, but I wouldn't care if I had his, and he wouldn't care if he had mine. And we wouldn't care if we had yours. LOL

I think we have hit on an important point. If your doc chooses the size band for YOUR anatomy that he feels will work for you then in my opinion the patient will then be successful . I do not think a 10cc band across the board or a 4 cc band across the board will work for everyone there for not everyone will have the same success, which is why i dont believe the patients should be choosing the band size .

I am not sure if this has been addressed i didnt read through the entire thread.

But Like i said I dont think the patients should be left to make that choice i think its irresponsible. NOW If there is say a 4cc band made by one company and a 4 cc band made by another company and you want to chose which company ? then maybe.

Mindy

I've only lost 30 lbs in a little over 2 months, with my "crappy" band. Just think with a LapBand I could've been at goal by now! Sure wish I had gotten the other one. LOL

Elissa.... I'm with you! Too bad I got this crappy Realize band. Had I gotten the other I would be down 100 pounds instead of 32. How stupid was I ?!?!?!

OH, and by the way. My EMPTY band provided me with enough support to not feel any hunger for over a month. My first fill was 3.8 cc's. Pretty good restriction already.

I couldn't be happier with my "realize" band!

Renee

Wow...I am kind of speechless here. I, too, have been lurking and watching this post. I was banded with the Realize band on 1/4/08 after numerous discussions with my surgeon (a center of excellence doc).

Insert tongue firmly in cheek, and read on ...

I am just shy of two months post-surgery and have only lost a measly 39 of the total 107 lbs I want to lose. It has just been awful to never be hungry or have that uncomfortable over-indulged feeling. I am doing so "poorly", that we (my surgeon and I) decided to hold off on my first fill.

Tongue out of cheek ... in all seriousness, I am clicking along with an empty Realize band feeling fantastic about the possibilities my surgery enabled.

Now ... am I contributing this to my choice of the Realize band? Nope. I contribute my success to approaching this surgery for exactly what it is. The band is a tool...nothing more. You all know that or you wouldn't be here! I feel truly blessed to be one of the lucky ones who has been able to switch the way I think and truly change my lifestyle to accommodate weight loss. When I am ready for more 'restriction', I have the tool at the ready!

This choice we are making for ourselves is WAY too big to allow other's negativity to make it feel anything less than a huge step in the right direction! Follow your heart with a healthy dose of research and fact based decision making!

Good luck to all ... I am thrilled by my choice and can't wait for the future!!

Go Pack Go!

ELLISA - I would LOVE to toss you some of my motivation! I LOVE to get people going on exercise...which is why I am considering getting certified as a personal trainer. I'm so hooked!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As far as the thread topic, I love that it seems to be getting back on track in a positive manner! Positive thinking never guaranteed anyone sucess, but negative thinking will sure guarantee failure! Good luck everyone, and keep on losin'! I look forward to the future updates here.

I just love hearing all the success everyone's had...regardless of the brand of their Band, size of their Band and fill or no fill. I know this thread got off to a really rough start, but I think we all really want to learn all that we can and discuss the differences and similarities of our situations.

I am starting my countdown to getting banded (April), and I come to LBT everyday to find encouragement, support, answers to questions, etc. Ultimately, if I have a medical question, my final search would be my doctor. I try to approach each situation armed with information so that I may ask an intelligent question and hopefully understand the answer better. I appreciate all of the information that everyone here on LBT shares. Thanks to you all!

I really question if there is any significant difference in J&J vs. Inamed bands.

Of course, there are sucky brands on the market but not in the US. Nobody uses the sucky bands much anymore and again, they are not available in the US. Heliogast has to have the worst rep on the market.

As for the J&J and Inamed, they all do the same thing, they all restrict the amount of food available, I don't trust many studies coming from anywhere because everyone has a bias.

Get a band, any band. Get a sleeve, get bypass, get WLS. Lose weight, get your life back. The little stuff like port placement or a scar that is a half inch bigger or smaller is not the main focus in life. Getting our lives back is the main focus.

There is an emotional honeymoon phase right after surgery. Most everyone is in love with their doc and their surgery type because for the first time they see a true light at the end of the tunnel. About six months later that phase ends. Then sometime later you hit goal and a whole new emotional honeymoon phase starts and instead of wanting everyone to go to YOUR doc and get YOUR weight loss surgery you just want every fat person out there to go to ANY good doc and get WHATEVER WLS is right for that person and get their darn lives back. You experience this joy like no other and you want every other fat person to experience the same thing.

Well, I'm in the second honeymoon phase and I want every fat person to go to ANY good doc and get WHATEVER WLS type is best for them.

But for goodness sakes, just do it! Find the right doc for you and the right WLS type for you and get it done. Don't dilly dally around, quit wasting time. Time on this planet is not eternity, it's limited. Don't waste it. Research, yes! By all means know everything about every WLS type and bloody well know everything you can about your doc. But don't waste time, get it done and move on with your life.

There, my $1.89 worth. ;o)

My surgeon decides on what size band to use based on 2 factors; (1) how much weight the patient needs to lose and (2) the anatomy of the patient which he sees on the OR table.

lsuza how are you educating anyone when you are name calling? Have you no other tools to get your point across without stooping to insults?

lsuza how are you educating anyone when you are name calling? Have you no other tools to get your point across without stooping to insults?

Really is it really needed to start this again ? Its pretty much gone away , leave it alone !

Mindy

Compare The Realize Band System to Lap-Band - REALIZEBand.com

So what your saying is that the information supplied by J & J on this site is inaccurate and I should sue them for false advertising?