Hello all,

Today I went to my doctor to talk about getting the lap band and she advised against it. She says that the patients she has that did the lap band haven't lost more than 40 lbs over two years on average, and the patients that did gastric bypass have lost over 100 lbs easily. She said it's my choice but she suggests I get the bypass.

I've done my research on the lap band, I've been reading this site for a few weeks and I've seen your before and after pics after I registered. You guys are amazing! I know it won't be a walk in the park, I know I'll have to diet and exercise. I also know that the bypass is a lot more dangerous and not reversible. I'd rather stay overweight than die by doing the bypass.

She also said that once you do the band and it don't work, you can't change your mind later and get the bypass, but I read people online said you can. She is a really nice doctor and it's hard to find a female doctor around here, but it's alarming that she has been misinformed.

I told her that I would do research about the bypass but from what I've read already I'm sure I want the band instead. Also, my mom said that she'd worry too much if I were to go for the bypass.

Well, my doctor said to go ahead and start Weight Watchers for the six months for insurance and I guess when I go back to see her in a month I'll tell her that I respect her advice but I'm just too scared to do the bypass. I'm determined to work hard to make the band work.

I'm about to sign up for Weight Watchers online and I hope they give me some sort of shopping list. The journey begins!:rolleyes2:

Nice to meet you all!:crying:

Edited June 29, 200917 yr by Mrs. Plumpy

Hi Mrs. Plumpy!

Check out another surgeon in your area that does the LapBand surgery! I didn't go with the first one where I went because I left their seminar feeling like they were just there counting the number of people who attending and calculating the amount of money they were going to make off of us. But, I did learn alot about the procedure. I thought about having the gastric surgery for about 1/2 minute. I've known 3 people who've had it and all have had problems. I personally know 3 people who also have the LapBand and ALL have lost more than 100 pounds. They love it and they are all doing great. If you aren't comfortable with the first surgeon - like I said - check out another. I love my 2nd choice. I'm glad I looked around.

Thank you campingqueen, this was my regular doctor that said all this, not the surgeon. I haven't contacted the surgeon yet, I read to wait until my six months of dieting were almost done first. Good to know that your lap band friends are doing great.:rolleyes2:

Just keep reminding yourself that this is your body and your decision. I also wanted to go with the lap band because it is reversible and not as major as the gastric bypass. I'm not ready to have that type of procedure done. Do not let people make your decisions for you. Research every avenue read everything, keep a folder with all the information you can find in it and find seminars on all the different types of weight loss options. In 6 months you will know what you want to do.

Remember too that most general practitioners, OB/GYNs and internists haven't seen many (if any) WLS patients. There are a LOT of doctors out there and, really, those of us who have had any kind of WLS are still a small, small percentage of the overall population. That means that those doctors can only rely on statistics in medical journals. And, sadly, many of them are also misinformed. My internist is ranked one of the top 100 in Atlanta (a city of more than 5 million people) and he has no patients other than men who have had WLS of any kind. When I asked him about it, he said that he felt I was an ideal candidate "from what [he'd] read" and told me that I'd be his first patient to have WLS.

My surgeon does gastric banding with the Realize band AND the Lap Band AP bands as well as gastric bypass. He told me that banding was the best choice for me. I was told in advance that it would take work on my part but that the band would work with me. I, too, was scared of bypass surgery. I don't know anybody who has had it but what I read about malnutrition being a common side effect, dumping syndrome and other things, I knew in my heart that I couldn't do that.

I have no regrets about my choice of banding. I had surgery on February 10, 2009 and I've lost 70 pounds. I'm looking forward to losing a good bit more -- hopefully another 64 pounds but I may adjust that some when I get closer. I'm thinking about how I'll look. The last time I was that thin, I was much younger, LOL. But I know that the band is working with me and I can lose the weight I need to lose AND it will still be with me to help me keep it off.

Banding CAN be revised to vertical sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass. From what I've read, in patients who have had their bands removed, within a couple of months their stomachs return to their normal shape.

Your doctor meant well. But I'm a firm believer in second opinions -- and even third opinions sometimes. No doctor is infallible or 100% "up" on the latest information. Research your surgeon choices well and then go for a consultation.

Thank you guys, that makes me feel a lot better.:tongue2:

That is amazing Cathy, grats on your weight loss! Were you able to eat bread or did it always have to be toasted? The bread and soda things are the only things I don't like about the band but I'll get used to it.:cursing:

I am just in the deciding phase now and anyway the soda thing has me a little worried, but I know that giving up soda instead of continuing to give up my life will be worth it. I am actually most worried about the effectiveness. I am worried because I eat for many emotional reasons and not always when I am hungry. I actually never feel full...like a bottomless pit. What are the differences (and I am sure this sounds naive) between dieting with weight watchers, la weightloss, jenny craig, etc. and utilizing the band as a tool? It seems like everyone on here just finds the motivation to work hard, what is the difference in motivation before? Why does the band just bring it all together? Thanks for all the information everyone, this site and all the people on here are making me realize that I DO have the power to make my life more healthy and happy!:thumbup:

From what I have read Kamie, the major thing that the band helps with is feeling full after eating a small amount of food. This will help me out a lot because after I feel full it's easy to stop eating. The only time I overeat is when it's something I really like, like chocolate. I've read that if you eat right with the band, without drinking while eating, then you will feel full and stay full for hours.

Whereas, right now, I just ate a bowl of oatmeal, which should be enough, but I still feel like I want to eat because I don't feel full. But I am dealing with it because I want to do good these six months before surgery. If something were to happen to make me feel sad, it would be harder to keep from eating more, if that makes sense.

So the lap band helps you stay on the wagon so to speak. You feel full after only eating a cup of food instead of a plate or two full.:thumbup:

What the band does that the other programs don't is portion control. It stops you from eating quantity. Your job becomes eating quality, high Protein, low fat/salt/sugar. The band is only a tool to restrict portion size. I knew how to eat healthy, I just ate too much of everything. I would also do stuff like work out at Curves, then stop and pick up a 12 inch pizza for dinner, and eat the entire thing. Not any more, honey!

I do have a problem with bread, so I eat almost none, and Pasta and rice I eat once in a while, carefully. Anything that can become chewy can get stuck in the opening from the band to the rest of your stomach. Getting stuck is not fun, but it is a reality check. Your body starts producing an impressive amount of saliva that can't go down because you are stuck, so it needs to come up. This is called sliming. Productive burps are when you are stuck, sliming and some food comes up as well. You are not nauseated, but you are uncomfortable. That is why you will hear chew, chew, chew, and be careful with certain foods. I use fat free croutons on my chicken Caesar salad. They crumble and don't get chewy. So if you do bread toast it well.

As for pizza (I am a reformed pizzaholic after all) I devised a crustless pizza to eliminate the bread/dough issue. Take a meal size microwavable dish, pour in some Ragu Homestyle sauce, cover with Hormel Turkey Pepperoni, cover with Birdseye Pepper stir-fry (3 color peppers and onion chunks--I keep them in the freezer), and top with Kraft Free fat free shredded cheese, either Mozarella or Cheddar. Nuke for 2 minutes on high to melt cheese (yes, Chef Dave, fat free cheese does melt) and warm the other stuff. Yum.

Once you are back on foods (after liquids and mushies stages) it is a bit trial and error. Just remember protein first and go from there.

Also really important is a comittment to exercise. You don't need a fancy, expensive gym membership, unless you have the money and want to do that. I mostly just walk in a park near home. There is a nature trail, and I carry peanuts for the squrrels and ducks. The trail is about a mile and a half or so, and I try to do twice as a minimum, sometimes more. As a backup I still belong to Curves (I do that more in the winter when I don't have daylight to go walking). I also recently joined the county rec center gym (costs a whole $2.00 a month or $24.00 for the year, prorated when you join--I joined May 1st so I paid $16.00 for the rest of the year). They have treadmills, an elliptical, stationary bikes, some free weights and a Universal weight machine. The most expensive thing I have is a multi-class ticket for Water aerobics (you buy like 20 classes for around $115.00). Best part is, they are all on my way home from work. Curves cost me $29 a month. So you don't need to spend a fortune. Just a good pair of sneakers and a committment. You can start that now. I started walking before surgery.

Also take advantage of group support, dietician support, and any or all of the resources available. They are all there to help you be successful. I started going to group support 6 months before surgery, and I learned a lot. I have a former coworker who had the band, but she didn't follow up with the dietician or even try to diet. When stressed out she ate sweets (lots of them will slide right through the band and you can actually gain weight), and she didn't exercise to my knowledge. She lost around 20 pounds and now says she is "disappointed" in the results she got. DUH! The band doesn't do it all.

Good luck to all you newbies. Hope I haven't scared you to death.:thumbup:

Edited June 30, 200917 yr by PATCHELTON

Hi Mrs. Plumpy!

I have been seeing a surgeon for the past 6 or seven months and I really didnt have any prior weigh ins... I went to him for information and found that it was best to see the surgeon first so they can start tracking your weight loss from that first consultation... I went every month and I weighed in and my 5 minute Q & A's.... After that they sent it out for approval with the insurance and to my surprise I was approved... they went based on those 6 months of weigh ins... I'm scheduled for surgery July 31st.... I'm nervous and excited at the same time... so my suggestion is that maybe you should see the surgeon so they have records of your weight loss attempts because if you do weight watchers and then the surgeon you MIGHT (and I could be wrong) have to do another 6 months of weigh ins...

Good Luck!

As long as the weigh-ins are documented, most insurances will accept things like Weight Watchers. It is not the surgeon that will or won't accept the 6 month diet; he or she would probably skip that if they could. Many insurances require the diet, a documented 6 month supervised weight loss attempt. I had the dietician from the bariatric group supervise mine, which consisted of meeting her once and discussing food choices, a weigh-in, and the rest of the time on the honor system. I emailed her my weight every two weeks(I didn't fudge the numbers either). At the end she wrote a letter with all my reported weights and gave that to the surgeon. Some places have you meet with a dietician every month, others have you weigh in with your PCP every month. They are all a little different. But cancelled checks from Weight Watchers also sufficed in many cases. They just want evidence of an attempt to lose. (BTW my dietician even told me they didn't care if I didn't lose any weight; I just shouldn't gain any--I did lose 10 lbs). The surgeon wants to do the surgery. They will do what they can to help you get approved.

Thank you for the helpful advice everyone. I remember my doctor said that we don't need to contact the surgeon until we get closer to the end of the six months. She's going to be keeping records of my monthly visits to her and I'm going to be printing out my progress each week so we should have plenty of documentation.:thumbup:

Six months seems so far off, I'm so tempted to start buying new clothes already but I should wait, not sure how small I can get down to. I dream of the day when I can walk into a regular store and buy whatever I want to wear.:cursing:

If you are in the starting process you need to find u a surgeon. I don't know what kind of insurance you have but they will make you do a six month dr. and nutionist visits. But if u use your surgeon it will only take 3 months but regular dr with nutionist. This is very very time consuming.