Realize or Lap-Band??

[mom2smc 0]

Good Morning!

I hope everyone who has had the surgery is feeling well! Congratulations!!

Those of us almost there, WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!! Yay! I'm starving, but can't wait until Monday. I have been on the Medifast diet since the 28th. I have lost 14 lbs:thumbup: but my stomach is still growling and hurting so bad! :thumbup:. But I am in the home stretch and am dedicating to ignoring that!! The 14 lbs are a good incentive too!!

I was just wondering for those wonderful ladies who have had the life changing surgery did you chose Realize or Lap-band? I still have no idea which one to choose, and at the doctor's office everyone keeps saying "they are both great choices". I was going to let the doctor just chose when he was in there, but I was wondering what your thoughts were?

Also, for those who haven't had the surgery yet, do you know which one you are going with?

I hope everyone is having a great day!!

[Juniper 0]

Hey Mom,

My doc uses the Allergan Lap Band. I researched them both, and I liked it better than the Realize band, anyway, so it worked out well. It's a 10cc size.

The only real benefit to the Realize band seemed to me to be the "low profile" port. But I just liked the way the Lap Band was put together more, and how it has size options.

I'd probably go with letting the doc decided. Once he's looking in there where it's actually gonna go, he'll probably have an opinion as to which one would suit your body better.

Best of luck!

Edited July 9, 2009 by Juniper
update

[Lilpeach_059 0]

My doc told me he uses realize now...not really what i was expecting but hopefully it all goes well!

[healthy-me-in-Az 0]

I had to make this choice also. I chose the Realize band. Why? I don't know! LOL Actually, I asked both my surgeon and her assistant that does the fills. The assistant suggested the Allergan. She said she feels it 'sends a firmer message of fullness'.

Frankly, I am not worried about overeating. I am worried more about being stuck. I chose the Realize band because it was softer and I felt like perhaps things wouldn't get stuck as often. ???? What did I base this on? Nothing at all.

When I saw my surgeon she asked which band I chose. I asked her which one she would recommend for me. She said the Realize band. Then she flipped her chart and saw that is the one I chose. She wouldn't say why but said that is the one she recommended for me.

All in all.... who knows? I hope I made the right decision for me.

Good luck in your decision!!

[Somedayslim:) 1]

congrats on your weight loss Mom! It is wonderful to be going down instead of up! I chose the allergan band out of the two choices that I had which was allergan or johnson and johnson. I have heard that you can not get the realize band in Mexico - don't know if that is true or not but that is where I was banded.

I also have the 4cc band not the 10cc band. The 4cc band is smaller which you can see in the picture I am going to attach (I am going to try to attach LOL). It was my Doctors decision to use that band. It seems like you need fewer fills with this band which makes sense because the inner circle is smaller to begin with. Hope this helps.

Allergan AP Lapband.bmp

[greytz 4]

I chose the allergan band. Mostly for me because there is a standard size and a larger size. I was at BMI 34 and my surgeon once she got in there got to make the choice of which size. She chose the standard for me. I liked the idea that she had that choice. Also when I was in the seminar, I got to look at and handle both bands. I liked the look of the port better on my band. I spoke to some medical professionals that I know and they seemed to like it better also. It is really a personal choice and either one should do what you want it to do. Good Luck.

[Jenai 0]

I chose the Realize band. It is more flexible and is less likely to have food stuck. The lap band is more prone to having food stuck issues. I liked that the Realize will allow a tight food to pass through without giving as much trouble. I still chew really well but like the assurance that I won't have to suffer with a stuck episode. Good luck on making your choice. I'm very happy with my choice.

[Kristine73 1]

I chose the lap-band. I like the construction better. The lap-band has little 'pillow's that the saline fills. The realize band doesn't have the pillows. I read that the pillows provide strength, stability and protects against the band twisting. Also, I liked the higher profile port. I've read where people go in for fills and their port can't be found! Oh no, I did not want to go through that. I went for my first fill, today. The NP had no problem finding my port. Only took her one shot and in less than a minute, I was done. Only con about the higher profile port is that I wonder if it will be visible when I lose 100 lbs. I guess if it does show, I'll deal w/it then. But, I'd rather not have to go get x-rays before fills of deal "Can't find your port today, come back in a month, we'll try then." Of course, many people who've had the realize band love it. So, I guess it's one of those "In the eye of the beholder" things.

Also, the port of the lap-band in sewn into place, whereas the realize port clamps into place.

Look each of them up, look at pics and specs. Some sites show animations. Absorb as much info as possible before you make your decision. Remember, it will be your band, in the end, only your opinion and the opinion of your surgeon counts.

Good luck w/the studying/research

[mom2smc 0]

Thank you for all the info so far!!!! I really appreciate it. My Dr had the bands at seminar as well. I kind of liked the newer Lap-Band because of the "pillows" and the port was more flexible and smaller than the Realize one. But I still am not sure. I would hate to choose the wrong one and say in a year, "Why did I chose that one!!" I don't like the idea of "stuck" food......

Anyway, thanks a bunch for answering! I hope you are all doing well today:smile2:

Melissa

I can't believe I didn't sign my actual name last time!:thumbup:

[Juniper 0]

congrats on your weight loss Mom! It is wonderful to be going down instead of up! I chose the allergan band out of the two choices that I had which was allergan or johnson and johnson. I have heard that you can not get the realize band in Mexico - don't know if that is true or not but that is where I was banded.

I also have the 4cc band not the 10cc band. The 4cc band is smaller which you can see in the picture I am going to attach (I am going to try to attach LOL). It was my Doctors decision to use that band. It seems like you need fewer fills with this band which makes sense because the inner circle is smaller to begin with. Hope this helps.

Okay, it took me awhile to make sense of that picture, but I think I finally did. There are 2 sizes: standard, or APS, which will take 10cc to fill (actually a little more), and large, or APL, which will take 14cc to fill.

The pictures at the bottom are of the old lap-bands, and there were problems with them that supposedly the new band has corrected.

So slim, you probably have the 10cc band, since that is the smaller one.

[leshers2x2 1]

I went with the realize band. The surgeon told me that their really wasn't any difference in outcomes with either one however the realize band has a lot of online tools for tracking weightloss. I liked that part so I went with the realize. I go Tuesday for my checkup so I guess that is when I will find out about all the tools he was talking about.

[Juniper 0]

Leshers,

Yeah, the Lap Band has similar online tools now. I really like the little I.D. card you get with the packet that has the message to restaurants about how you can't eat that much anymore. I figure that will come in handy now and then! heh

Although, I've noticed restaurants aren't near as strict about who orders off their kids menus as they used to be.

[gitrdone 0]

I decided on the Lap-Band. I like to travel and was told there are significantly more Lap-Band qualified Drs out there than Realize. Felt that if there were a problem on a trip finding a Dr. or fill center that could help me would be important.

[RaceGirl88 0]

I chose LapBand...my surgeon does both, but based on the fat distribution around my abdomen, the higher profile port will allow them to better find it...and i am ALL about fewer attempts to poke me with a needle! :thumbdown: He's been doing the LB longer, so I also felt more comfortable having a band that he is very familiar with from a technical aspect. Nothing more scientific about it for me.

[mom2smc 0]

I had my surgery yesterday (yay!) and I also chose Lap-Band AP. I liked the look of it better than the Realize.

Have a great day!