Hi everyone. I was just wondering if anyone can tell me the difference about the normal Lap Band surgery versus this new Realize band that I just recently started hearing about?

Thanks.

:welldoneclap:

My surgeon and his staff could not offer any medical reason of whether to go Realize or for the Lapband. It was basically a toss-up and they were willing to place both. I looked everywhere to try and make a final decision but did not find anything that really pushed me strongly one way or the other.

I chose the Realize band and I have lost almost 100% of my excess weight in less than a year. However, I may have done just as well with Lapband and will never know any real difference.

However, I can say that until I got to my sweet spot, I didn't have any restriction. It was like being unbanded until restriction hit me like a ton of bricks. Once I finally did get restriction with the Realize band - I stayed at the same fill level almost six months before I got an unfill due to pregnancy.

I can't speak for the Lapband, but for my Realize band . . . it takes a while to get to where you can feel it, but once you are there you stay there and adjustments are just very narrow changes in fractions of a cc. It worked for me.

Let me say at first thank you for sharing this post. I had my LAP BAND surgery 10-06-08 and I feel completely unrestricted. I have had two fills thus far..I feel the same right now as I did before the lap band...I hope I find my sweet spot soon I haven't lost weight yet..I feel like a complete failure...My next fill is January 21st..Wish me luck

I am really surprised. We had our surgery 2 days apart. I've lost alot (60 lbs.)but I also pay close attention to what and when I eat. I never was a sweet or carb eater but I could eat alot of what I liked. Since the surgery I do eat until I am comfortable, NOT FULL and it stays with me longer. I may (?) get my first first fill in 2 weeks. My concern is that I am still dropping weight and still have a reflux problem and I don't know if I want any volume at all put in until my reflux resolves itself. My Dr. is a nice enough guy but I take a pro active interest and I am in no rush for a fill just yet. When you hit your sweet spot you will drop lbs like crazy. With everything you went thru don't let it get you down. BEST of luck to all of us.

Edited January 2, 200917 yr by JesseH

Thanks so much for sharing...I think you need to talk to your doctor or even your reg. MD. My Doctor placed me on Pantoprazole (Protonix) 40 MG once a day for 6 months to control my stomach acid. Maybe your doctor can put you on this or Nexium. I had Acid Reflux years ago so bad I thought I was having a heart attack, so I can see how bothersome it can be to deal with daily...I haven't focused on myself much so I need to get focused ....But again I feel pretty much the same as I did before surgery. I wonder how many other people are like myself..Thanks again...

Edited January 2, 200917 yr by wendleab

I just got my Realize band on Dec 12th and really don't feel any restriction. I can eat anything I want, just not quite as much as I used to. I did have one incident where I think I either ate way too much or didn't chew enough and felt incredible pain for several hours. But other than that, I don't really feel any different than before surgery. My first fill is the 19th and hopefully that will change things.

RedMom..Thanks for sharing it helps make me feel not so alone. I know everyone is different but is so discouraging when you hear one had surgery and has lost 60 lbs and haven't had a fill yet..My Aunt went many months to no sucsess and know she's down 70lbs... We all have are own stories it's just nice to be able to share here...THANKS To ALL!! Best wishes with your first fill, my first went real well. My second one was hard due to the fact they said I had a lot of scar tissue built up..I've been massaging the area hopefully it helps...Keep me posted...

Which Lap Band did you get? The APS or APL and was it prefilled with fluid before it was placed?

I got the Realize band- and I just found that out at my follow-up appointment today! My doctor says there are extra little "grabbers" on the Realize band that keeps it from slipping. I have no fill- and have lost 19 lbs in under 2 weeks. I feel restriction already- thank goodness! Good luck to all!

Getting back to eating regular food also happens faster with the realize band.

How does this work? It doesn't seem like this would make sense, but if this is true, that's very cool! :confused:

My surgeon's partner wrote this article about getting an Adjustable Gastric Band and it talks about Realize vs. Lap-band. I thought people might be interested in a surgeon's perspective:

LAPSF

To address the above comments.... Realize band is high volume, low pressure and Lap-Band is low volume, high pressure. (This is mentioned in the article I linked to.) The theory is that the wide reservoir (high volume) with it's low pressure keeps food from getting stuck as easily making it easier to eat real food.

My surgeon mentioned this in a seminar, but he also cautioned that there is no data so it could be marketing hype. It certain sounds plausable, but who knows?

That's a very good article, MacMadame. Thanks for linking it.

This is not telling the complete story. The Lapband AP data is 62% excess weight loss at 12 months.

The data he is referring to (40% ewl with the lapband) is not with the current generation lapband and the bands were not implanted the same way they are now. In addition, they LapBand AP is a low pressure, low volume balloon which what is used today.

The old Lapbands 9.75 and 10 is what he is citing in this article. He is comparing the old lapbands with the Swedish(Realize) band which is irrelavent because no one uses the old generation lapbands anymore. Although this is a good article, the doctor is either not up to date on the information which he is presenting or purposly ommiting the current data. Either way, that's a little scary.

Man, you are a broken record.

Well since you're once again posting misinformation I figured I tell everyone the truth. Forgive me wanting people to make their decision based on facts, not your doctor who has all his facts mixed up. You should tell him to go back and take another certification course because he has no idea what he is talking about. The article cites 7 year old data and bands that aren't used anymore.

I just had my surgery yesterday. When I went to my seminar back in June 08, Fairfield County Bariatrics was only doing LapBands and Bypasses. I was about 20 minutes from surgery when my surgeon said, so we're all set for the realize band. I said to him I thought you didn't do the realize. My surgeon explained to me that he as done 7 prior realize band surgeries and likes it better than the LapBand. He also said that the port doesn't puncture like the LapBand. That was what sealed the deal for me. I decided to go for the Realize.

Thanks for everyone's info on the differences. I didn't research the Realize band before hand.

The lapband ports do not puncture...that's a ridiculous statement and theres no way any surgeon in the world can make a statement on a product after using it 7 times as compared to hundreds of lapbands.

A note for all future banders considering surgery....DO NOT LET YOUR SURGEON SWITCH BANDS ON YOU AT THE LAST MINUTE!! ITS GOING IN YOUR BODY, NOT HIS OR HERS. YOU MAKE THAT DECISION.

Please keep in mind J&J requires doctors to use a certain number of bands on their website, I hate to say this but there are many surgeons across the country who are switching patients who planned on the lapband to the Realize band and making up some bullshit excuse as to why he or she wants to switch when the real reason is so they get on the website. Remeber its health for you, business for the surgeon.

Again DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION - DO NOT LET SOMEONE ELSE DECIDE WHAT GOES IN YOUR BODY