I am starting to schedule my lapband and after following along here for months, I am getting nervous about doing this surgery to lose weight when I don't have any REAL health issues. My BMI is 39 but all my bloodwork & everything else is good. I am worried that I might be creating problems by getting this surgery when, right now, none exist. My weight has controlled my life since I was 12yrs old, I'm a major yo-yo dieter & have never kept weight off like everyone else who has tried. I hate being fat. BUT I just read a book called "weight-loss surgery, Everything you need to know about Bariatric Surgery" by the former president of the ABS and it has freaked me out. The book keeps saying over & over that it's a last resort & you should be willing to accept death as a possible consequence. I know all surgeries have that risk....blah blah blah but if we really thought we were going to die I'm sure we wouldn't do it. I'm worried I will be running to the doctor now for life because of slips, erosions, overfills, underfills etc. Who else had the lapband that didn't have serious health issues? Has it complicated your life?

I am worried I might be better off fat then slimmer & having all sorts of eating problems with the band in place.

By The Way I Found Your Post Because I Typed "havasu" In The Search. Is Anyone Here From Lake Havasu Az? Im Trying To Locate Some Local Support. Please Contact Me If You Are Interested Or Know Of Anyone In Havasu. I Feel Like The Lone Lapband Ranger Here.

I may not eat "normal" ever again, whatever normal is....

But when I eat now, I enjoy it, I don't inhale it. I chew and savor and eat with all my senses. Eating is a pleasure and when I am finished I enjoy whatever comes next. I no longer gulp, grab a swig of whatever is handy to wash down this bite so I can gulp down the next. I don't spend all my time thinking about food. I don't eat so much every time I burp something was bound to come up with it. And before when I was finished, I was miserable and like a lump of gravy! So if that is "normal" I'm all over being odd for the rest of my life.

There are people very passionate about their problems with the band. But would you expect all those happy and content with their life to be on here singing hallelujahs? I wouldn't. They are out LIVING! They are out where I plan on being in 6 months...enjoying every second of their new life. Now there are some veterans on here and Thank God for them because they are a wealth of information....but the majority of happy people are out being happy....the unhappy ones are broadcasting their problems.

Now personally I was glad to know all the possible pitfalls. I was happy to read some of those complications....but more happy to read that it was not going to KILL ME! I self paid and if anything goes wrong I will be paying for it, but it won't KILL ME! If I kept going how I was going, it was going to KILL ME!! I went in eyes wide open. I knew what could go wrong and I was ready for those possibilities. Better to be a boyscout than an ostrich.

Nerves are normal....the idea that you are making a life changing decision is a little scary. But letting fear lead you down the path is not healthy...and neither is living as an obese adult. If it is really nerves, you will know, because you'll continue to dream those dreams of what it will be like when you are thin.

Good luck

Hi Marnie,

I too was morbidly Obese with no other health problems. I am in fact really healthy. My fear is my good ginetics and good luck would run out. i also resented the fact I was too fat to do things I wanted to do.

In your research you need to seperate the different types of bariatric surgery. I think you will find very different stats for bypass and banding. Although bypass has a really high mortality rate I think you will find it is really small for banding. I too was scared by the risks of complicaitons but put into perspective they are minor compared to the risks of being obese.

recent advances in types of bands used and experience with placement and fills has reduced some of these complications. My only advice is go for the best surgeon you can find even if it costs a little more. Make sure the surgeon has performed at least a few hundred laproscopic surgeries and has vast experience with the band.

I know it is a big decision and good luck

You need to be careful on what you call normal eating. Normal eating is what got you reading these comments and what got me to write them.

The USA is the most Obese nation in the world so portion size and being normal could be a bad thing if you are looking at your peers for setting the right example. Everyone makes bad decisions when eating but the band helps keep your bad decision from killing you. Did you know that the cheese fries at the Outback steakhouse have 2900 calories. That is what I burn the entire day in calories or how about those mozzarella cheese sticks that have 3 times the saturated fat as a double Whopper. Macroni Grill salads have 1000+ calories and you would do better to eat four cheeseburgers at McDonald's than to eat one of their large fries.

These are just examples of the ticking time bomb that is normal eating. Here is my advice if you want to eat normal and as the lord had intended. Go to your grocery store and shop the produce aisle then the meat aisle then go home. There is a good chance that if your food is in a box, bag or can it will eventually kill you. (processed food)

I had no co-morbidities. My Blood Pressure was low, Cholestrol under 200, heart rate in the good range and everything else in the normal range. Weird. I always said that since I grew up fat, my body adjusted to being fat over time.

My starting BMI was 49. I knew that sooner or later, I would be getting sick. So wanted to take this step now when I knew I could have a somewhat quicker recovery than if I waited until I got sick.

The only problem that I had was high triglycerides, but I knew that bad things were coming. My mom died at 53 from a massive heart attack caused by EXTREMELY high cholesterol, diabetes and lack of care about her general health. She weighed 350 pounds when she died. My dad weighs close to 400 pounds, if not more. I KNEW where I was headed and there was no way I was going to go down without a fight. I was in a position where I could get financed for the surgery and I didn't want to have to worry about losing weight and have medical problems on top of that. And about eating normal...Thank god I don't eat "normal" any more. Eating "normal" is what was going to kill me.

Tweenwaters and Mbanja, I think I've crossed the 40 BMI line (been gaining to qualify!), but other than being fat, I too have always been in great health. Why did insurance turn you down? Did you try to appeal? I'm just curious because I really want them to cover me...

Tweenwaters and Mbanja, I think I've crossed the 40 BMI line (been gaining to qualify!), but other than being fat, I too have always been in great health. Why did insurance turn you down? Did you try to appeal? I'm just curious because I really want them to cover me...

United Health Care (at least our policy) has been horrible to deal with. I was not willing to wait a year to try to appeal and fight it. When I started this journey (pre-op) my weight was 229 ... I'm 5'6". My BMI was 37. I didn't want to stress my body (my back in particular) with gaining more to try to fight the insurance goons. This $9990 was a lot of money for us but my husband and I felt as though it was an investment in our future. We have two children and want to try to make sure that I am living long into our golden years when we can enjoy becoming grandparents together.... The only time in my life when my blood pressure was high was with each pregnancy. My chol has always been low-normal range. Even though I've been going to a chiropractor since August, and have had MRI's for knee pain and heal pain....insurance didn't care and still denied me. My PCP even wrote the insurance company a letter for me stating that if I didn't have this surgery weight problems would be what kills me at an early age. My parents are huge, a couple of my siblings are big....history or heart attacks, high BP, high chol....none of that mattered to the insurance company b/c "right now" I'm too healthy for surgery. They didn't care that I have been on every diet plan(Jenny craig, Nutrasystem, LAWeight Loss), taken phen-fen (before it was banned), etc.....over the past 15 years. I'm thrilled for those who can get this surgery covered through insurance...that's totally wonderful!! BUT...I decided to self-pay b/c it is that important to me. I want to be at a healthy weight and ride the amusement park rides with my kids, go horse back riding, wear a bathing suit this summer and not cover it up with shorts and a tshirt....my kids deserve to have a mom (I'm a stay at home mom) who can physically play with them and be a role model to them. Childhood obesity is rising faster then ever....and I will not let my kids fail like I have...so this is a win-win for everyone in my family. Again....worth ever penny. I'm 1 week, 2 days post-op and feel GREAT!!

I was a self-pay. No serious health co-morbidities. I claimed infertility, plantar fasciitis, spider veins, and depression. But quite honestly, they didn't impact my life all THAT much - I could have just dealt with them. But why should I? I'd rather feel normal and at 100%, not just "good enough." But I also knew that diabetes was on the way because I was dealing with hypoglycemia which can definitely be a pre-cursor to diabetes especially in those that have a family history of diabetes. I was scared nearly everyday when I was eating terribly that the next day I would wake up diabetic. I got pregnant in July last year and was so scared I would end up with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia. I ended up miscarrying which ended up being a blessing in disguise because it spurred me on to finally DO something about my weight instead of living with the feeling of impending doom.

I also want to say something about "normal" eating. I'd sure like to know who the heck defines "normal" eating such that I keep hearing that banded people don't eat "normal" anymore once they've had the surgery. I sure don't think it was normal to be able to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's or a whole bunch of oreos or other similar life-shortening food. Nor do I think it's normal to be able to pound down about 3 cups' worth of food to the point that I felt like I was going to burst. Once I'm down to my goal weight, I'll be able to eat more like a "normal" person rather than being on a restricted calorie diet that I am using to LOSE the weight. Once I hit maintenance, I can balance what I eat with how much I exercise. That is a whole heck of a lot more normal to me than being able to go to a buffet and get every imaginable form of carbs I could find and eating until I felt sick.

I'm still experimenting with foods since my most recent fill, so I'm not sure if there's anything I won't be able to tolerate. But just before that fill, I could eat anything. I think that level of restriction that I WAS at will be ideal for me in maintenance because while I was able to eat any variety, I was NOT able to overdo it on quantity. But isn't that how most normal weight people are? They CAN eat anything, but do it in moderation. Sounds normal to me.

I was always healthy as a horse, with no health issues aside from obesity. I knew it would just be a matter of time until my luck ran out. Yes, some people may die having weight loss surgery, but statistically the HEALTHIER you are, the less likely you are to die or have problems post op. Marnie723, if weight has controlled your life "since you were 12", you "hate being fat", and you have yo-yo dieted for years unsuccessfully (bad for your health), then you are not living your best life possible right now. True health involves being healthy in your body, mind AND spirit. All are equally important and work in conjunction with each other. Physical health isn't always the only reason to consider weight loss surgery.

I had a bmi of 35.6 and was basically healthy. Insurance paid and my primary doctor really played up my co-morbitities I had slightly high cholesterol and acid reflux. But he also noted that while my blood pressure and blood sugars were normal they had been creeping up over the years. Diabetes runs in my family and I don't have great knees So the fear of diabetes and knee replacement in my future really motivated me. I think a lot of literature does not seperate the risks of gastric bypass vs. lap-band. I recently read that lap-band is about as risky as having your gall bladder out. (very low) I had surgery once before (for my sinuses) so I wasn't afraid of going under anesthesia. I figured I would have the surgery before my weight really caught up with me. Because the surgery is reversable I figured that the worst thing that could happen is that my band would have to be removed some day. I was willing to take that risk.

The only issues I had was acid reflux which runs in my family - thin or fat. I have rheumatoid arthritis which isn't from being overweight but the weight aggrivated it.

I was as healthy as I could be - blood pressure, cholesteral etc were all perfect. But, given more time my luck would have run out.

I LOVE my band. I only wish I could have done this 10 years ago. I missed out on being able to do SOOOOO much. I feel fantastic now!! My RA is better in my feet, I still have acid reflux and take medicine for it.

good luck in your decision

wombat