Has anyone decided to get lapband and after the orientation decided not to get it because of all the risk factors?

The decision to have a lap-band is very personal, you need to be comfortable with the risks vs benefits. For me the risks of continuing a life of obesity are far riskier than the risks of surgery. When I came to that conclution is when I knew I was ready.

For me--- the risk of NOT having the surgery far outweighed the risk of having the surgery.. I knew that being obese held alot of health problems for me in the future but I had no idea just how many and how each additional pound I put on exponentially increased those health problems. But as smartiegirl said--- It is a very personal decision. And you'll know when it is the right decision....

romm3 I felt the same way you did I went to the seminar in Oct and put the package away. then this month I filled out the package and faxed it in. KimmyV is right , but I have health problems (diabetic and hgh bld press). The surgery will help me with both.

Hi!

I didn't choose the band at first. I was a little over 300 lbs. and had a terrible pinched sciatic nerve from a disk herniation in the lower back. I was miserable and it was seriously hindering my ability to work, enjoy my life, even get from the bed to the bathroom... at times I was crawling around on the floor. One day I could not even drive all the way home -- I was in such a spasm that I had to pull off the road and call 911 to take me to the ER.

My orthopedic surgeon told me he would not operate on me because I was too heavy and would just herniate the disk again. He recommended the surgeon I went to see about the band.

I felt like such a failure. Inside of me, my heart still believed I could lose the weight myself without surgical help... but my brain knew that once I dropped some pounds I would just overeat again and put it all back on.

So I was reluctant. I started the process. It took a year to jump through the hoops and ask insurance for approval, but the hard work I did during that year made me realize I could benefit from some help, and I was not a failure, and I definitely did not want to be in that kind of pain again. So 20 pounds lighter and getting ready to write my letter to the insurance asking for this surgery and why I needed it is when I finally made peace with my choice.

So after all that babbling, what I meant to say is that taking your time to listen to both your heart and brain about whether this is right for you is nothing to feel rushed about. This is a MAJOR LIFE DECISION, and it's good for you to have some doubts -- that way you can investigate it fully before making the final decision. My surgeon reassured me in the beginning, when I told him I had my reservations, that it was okay even up to the morning of surgery to change my mind. With that, I felt less pressure and guilt to make a true decision for myself.

Take your time, and I hope you find your answers! I wish you the best!

Has anyone decided to get lapband and after the orientation decided not to get it because of all the risk factors?

IT TOOK ME 2 YEARS TO ACTUALLY DO THE LAPBAND I WENT TO A SEMINARE ALSO THEN I SAID OMG WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS OMG WHAT IF THAT HAPPENS JUST REALLY SCARED THEN I DID FORGET ABOUT IT FOR A WHILE BUT THIS YEAR IN JULY I DECIDED ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH I DID ALL THE DIETS AND PROGRAMS NOTHING WORKED U GOTAA BE TRUE TO YOURSELF AND REALLY THINK ABOUT IT EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAS RISKS IF U DRIVE A CAR THERES A RISK IF U WALK OUT SIDE THERE IS A RISK A DRUNK DRIVER WILL COME AND HIT U .. IT JUST SOMETHIN U GOTTA TRULY THINK AND SEE IF IT WHAT U WANT :blushing:

I went to a few seminars a few years ago and decided not to have WLS because of the possible risks. I figured that even if I got the band -- I'd still have to change the way I ate so --why not just change the way I ate? Well---a year and a half later I was 15 lbs heavier. I finally got the band last March---best decision I ever made. I'm in far less pain. Most of my medical problems have cleared up. I'm far more active. I can work better--mentally and physically. Food is no longer at the center of my life. I feel less stressed out---can flow with things better. Yes-there are some risks ---but not nearly the level of risk of being fat. Other ways of reducing the level of risks to the band is to: a) get a very qualified surgeon and :blushing: really learn and follow the lapband rules. That all being said -- there are always going to be risks to no matter what choices we make. We just have to weigh out which ones we want to take.

Edited December 16, 200817 yr by Desdemona

I was waiting to go into surgury on 3rd Dec and whilst waiting to go into the OT I think I would have walked out, if only I was not so scared to pull out my drip!

So here i am with a band and can only say that the op and recovery time was not as bad as I thought.

I am still healing but I am sure that it was the right decision for me.

Good luck on whatever you decide you already know in your hearts of hearts what you are going to do.

currently I am in the process of getting my surgery and I have thought about the risks and the improvements that could come afterwards, and I think that this is going to be the best thing for me. with that said, you have to decide if this is going to be the right thing for you I thought about just taking the money for the srgery and hiring a nutritionist to help with my meal planning but I know that will not work for me just make sure that you do what is best for you. good luck on making up your mind it is a hard choice.

Thank you all so much for your words of advice. Right now I have decided to wait on the band and try to get back on track with my eating and exercise. The most common complaint with the band I have heard is nausea and vommitting, I really can't handle that, then I would really be miserable, thin but miserable. I can't stand to be sick and definitely throwing up, the thought of it kills me. I have lost weight in the past (LA weight loss) which I did really well on (lost 60 lbs) but I got pregnant and gained the weight back, I have three children and with every pregnancy I gained a lot of my weight. If I ate one m&m I gained 5lbs, terrible. recently I have lost 15lbs but then I started getting off track again now I am back on, so with all that said I can do all things through christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13. I have to stay focused continue to workout and trust God to give me the strength I need to do this. I wish you all the best and God bless you guys.

I was afraid initially. I new about the band and the procedure. I did the research and then forgot about it.

Then I went back to pursuing it and I have not regrets. I figured that if I did not have the procedure done that my health would get worse.

Nope no worries here... I was ready!

For those of you who have had the surgery, I have a couple of questions. Do you have a lot of nausea and vomitting? If so, is the nausea caused by the band itself around the stomach or is it because you eat something wrong, the same question for the vomitting, is it from the band or is it what, and how much you put in your stomach? Also, has anyone experienced severe heartburn, and how often? What is the "Dumping" mean?

I did all my research here on this site at first and although I set up appointments, I ended up not attending becuase the post op diet appeared to me to be extremely unhealthy and unappealing.

600-800 calories a day? Lots of deli meat, cheese and Protein shakes? Unable to eat healthy foods like lettuce, wholegrain bread? No thanks. I didnt see the point in having surgery to improve my health only to replace my basically healthy diet with a crappy one.

Of course you get the extremes here, because people tend to post about their problems and dissatisfactions.

Thankfully, eventually I discovered that the band is approached nothing like that in Australia and eventually I went ahead with it - but definitely after a couple of false starts.

I went through the seminars and the 6 month supervised diet process but just cannot convince myself to undergo surgery. I am giving traditional diet and exercise another shot. This choice is very personal and no one can decide what you want to do to your body except yourself. Do the research and make the decision that you are comfortable with for you. Now my wife is a different story... she was banded a couple weeks ago and seems to be doing great so far. I accepted her choice to do what she needed to do for herself. She seems to have accepted my decision also. Her being banded has helped my weightloss by changing both of our eating habits so even though I am not banded I feel that I am getting a benefit from it. Fighting obesity is one of the great challenges in our lives that unfortunately cannot be cured by any specific 'magic bullet'. We can only dream of such a thing... Good Luck.

For those of you who have had the surgery, I have a couple of questions. Do you have a lot of nausea and vomitting? If so, is the nausea caused by the band itself around the stomach or is it because you eat something wrong, the same question for the vomitting, is it from the band or is it what, and how much you put in your stomach? Also, has anyone experienced severe heartburn, and how often? What is the "Dumping" mean?

I've had my band for 3 1/2 months, and I've not experienced any of those problems. If someone is experiencing nausea, vomiting, severe heartburn, it could be that their band is too tight, they're eating too fast, not chewing thoroughly, or I suppose it could mean that, for some reason, their body is reacting negatively to the band. It's something that would warrant a trip back to the doctor though.

From what I've read, dumping generally refers to what happens to some people who have had gastric by-pass surgery, not lap band, when they eat sweets.