I went to my Lapband seminar Friday afternoon and totally had my bubble busted!! I have been on this site for a few weeks now reading posts and taking in everyones experiences. I am 5'8" and a little over the 300 mark. The surgeon said with all of the excess weight I have to lose I would be a better gastric bypass candidate. Did anyone else have this happen? He has almost made me decide to go that way. Needing to lose 150+ pounds is a big deal in my life right now. I'm 36 and beginning to have the lower back, knee, feet aching almost daily. Is there anyone else who had that large of an amount to lose? Please someone send my your success story so my mind and heart can go back to the lapband as the best option for me. THANKS!!

By all means, get a second, third, even a fourth opinion! This is something that is not only life changing it is also expensive (sad to admit that money has to factor into what will make us healthy and help get rid of weight).

As for me, I am not banded. I started the process and after visiting with more than one surgeon it has been concluded that a band was not the right choice for me BUT it was not because of the amount of weight I need to get rid of (I'm 5'4", 295). The doctors I visited with all advised the gastric sleeve. I have a cancer history and am prone to urinary tract infections (5 to 6 times a year) and normally run a high fever with the infections. The surgeons advised that it would not be wise to place a foriegn object in my body with my health history. I made it a point to ask if their recommendation of the gastric sleeve was based at all on the amount of weight I had to lose OR on the dollar amount for the surgery and subsequent hospital stay. The answer was a stern NO, neither factored into their recommendation. One doctor even went so far as to talk candidly with me about his disdain for doctors who would stoop to such considerations.

Good luck on your journey and be informed!!

Kat

Good luck to you Katandcharlie with your weight loss journey...band or not...we all stick together!

Good luck to you Katandcharlie with your weight loss journey...band or not...we all stick together!

Thank you amsderb! Your response is exactly why I have stayed with this sight. I know that the band is not for me because of my health history but just like everyone here, I am battling a weight problem that has plagued me for more years than I can count. There is a true sense of caring I have found with this sight and I continue to look to the postings for encouragement and support. And good luck with your journey as well! You are getting closer and closer to the new you!

Kat

Thanks Kat...I have to admit...I am a bit scared....but that is normal for any surgery....

Hi Hopeforjoy,

I am at 281 right now (I had lost 30 pounds and then gained back 15 recently due to ankle surgery last month) and also suffer from hypothryoidism (diagnosed after giving birth to 2nd child 5 1/2 yrs ago) and many other ailments. My first Endo never bothered to check my sugar levels so the weight came on somewhat fast as I have a sweet tooth. But over the 3 years that I was seeing that endo, he never cared about my rapid weight gain. Anyway, I changed endos and at each follow up visit she continued to "highly recommend" gastric bypass because I was detected as insulin resistant, cholestrol all wacky and everything else. I have been against gastric bypass since I became obese and decided to change endos again because I was tired of hearing about it at each visit. But I did learn from her that I was insulin resistant, which was causing all of my problems, and followed the insulin resistant diet where I finally lost the 30 pounds. Anyway, I made it clear to the 3rd endo that I did not want gastric bypass. He told me not worry right now and see what the lab results say. He did all kinds of labwork and when we scheduled the follow-up he highly recommended some sort of weightloss surgery because I was headed for a heart attack. I still refuse gastric bypass and I already knew about the Lap-band as a former boss of mine had it done over 4 years ago. I was told by my endo that the gastric bypass really should only be considered if your deathly/morbidly obese and need to lose the weight fast due to health reasons, otherwise, banding would be just as good. Don't get me wrong... When I made the appt with the doctor at the weightloss surgical center he tried to tell me that gastric bypass would be better for me. Again I refuse to have that procedure, and from what I read, most people get good results just with the lap band. Think about it hard though. Gastric bypass is very drastic. I have a cousin who had that done and yes she lost the weight but she had ALOT of loose skin! It looked horrible on her. And then she eventually gained all the weight back and now she is pretty stuck with it unless she changes her eating habits. So just think about it! <warm smile>