Lap Band??

While going through the 100+ Before & After pictures, I noticed that most people had the gastric bypass. Has anyone had the Lap Band procedure and if so what were your experiences? Based on your experience with the procedure would you reccomend it?

Hi Paula I didnt have the band but here is the link for the lap band forum they are a great group of people and I am sure they will be more than happy to answer your question.. not that we arnt here but there are only 2 maybe 3 lap banders on the IL board.. Good luck with your decision!! http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgtype-forums/LapBand/ Debby

Hi Paula! I am waiting on insurance approval right now for the LapBand. The LapBand message forum, is a great place to find out information on the LapBand. Go ahead and post any questions you want to ask on there, everyone is so helpfull!! Believe me I posted a lot of questions haha. Hope this helps, good luck in your journey. ~Kerri~

Hi Paula I had the Lap Band 4 months ago and yes I would recommend it, but the decision is up to you. I have lost 34lbs so far, This past month I only lost 3-4 which can be fustrating but you do lose slower with the band. I really need a fill but my surgeon likes you to wait 2 months...I put a call in to get one sooner...have not heard back yet. Once I get to a good restriction then I should start losing again. Feel free to ask me any questions and also check out the lap band board. There are a few people on the board that have lost over a 100lbs and a lot more on their way. Good Luck Tina

I did not have the band because I did not want something foreign in my body and also more importantly my insurance would not approve it. I could also not have it because it has to be done lap and I had had too many abdominal procedures and there was too much scar tissue in my tummy. You need to look at the success rate of the band and what the complication rate is with the band eroding inside your body which can happen. Some person's body rejects it because it is a foreign object that causes an irritation and there can be slippage of the band. From what I have read a person looses slower with the band and there is a higher rate of the person not changing their eating habits because there isn't any dumping syndrome with it. In clinical trials the average loss of excess weigh is 36-38% which is only a little over half of what is generally lost with RNY. You can still eat or drink sweet things and other high calorie foods with the band and eat a lot of it and then you defeat the purpose of your surgery, you have not changed your ways. Yes, you will not be able to eat larger quantities when your band is filled properly but if you are a sweet eater you could defeat your surgery and you will be able to eat around it. A lot of patients have their band revised to RNY. The success rate for RNY patients is defined as losing at least 50% of your excess weight. I am at 89% of my excess weight that I was carrying. I have a lot of excess skin that needs to come off and when that happens I will be much closer to my goal of 111# lost. There are many advantages to both surgeries and there are many sites on the internet that will give you the pros and cons of all the surgeries. There are a bunch of great books that you can purchase on this site in the OH store. Dr Terry Simpson's book has a chart that explains all the surgeries and their success rates. Also, Barbara Thompson's book is a good one. I got a lot of the stats that are above out of it so I could relay them to you. She has a web site http://www.wlscenter.com/ Rny is called the Gold Standard of weight loss surgeries and is approved by the National Insittutes of Health. I think the jury is still out on the lap band.