too much to lose with lap band?

 I agree with you 150%! I am so tired of people talking against the band saying it is much harder and more work involved.  There will be work with any type of wls that one chooses!

I'm not sure how many types of wls you've had and how you would know anything about a surgery other than the band, but I had the band for three years and I had a revision to the DS five years ago.  So I know how much "work" is involved with those two types of surgeries.  They are NOT the same.

People who are banded work harder to lose less weight and regain sooner.  That is my experience and that is the same result that keeps showing up in research project ofter research project.

I think it all depends on the person about the weight and how fast it comes off.  Yes I totally agree some people have to work alot harder then others do.

For example my gf has to exercise her tush off to lose what I do and the amount of exercise I do.

She exercises around a hr to 2 hrs a day sorry that isn't me but I exercise every other day for a hr and lose more then her every week.

Just this  week I dropped 3.5 pounds and because my hubby was home I was very lazy about exercise but still dropped she followed the rules to a T and only lost one pound and worked her ass off for it and I didn't do as much .  Everybody is soo different when it comes to all this.

I think some people just lose weight easier then others .  I think some WLS are easier on some people also.

I keep telling my doc I'm waiting the shoe to drop on me *knock on wood* because I have had such a very easy time with this whole process. I have lost almost 50 pounds without a single fill in me .  Is it determination, is it pure will power I dont know but its been very easy and I feel very bad for the ones that have to struggle to get where I am because this has been easy for me. Hell , half the time I cant even tell I got the band in me because my life hasn't changed one bit since I got the surgery .  The only thing that has changed is eating my foods in moderation and exercise.  I wish everybody could be like me and not struggle with hunger, or fills but that is unrealistic .

If something happens and say I got the sleeve or DS then I might be the ones that struggle with that surgery . Like you said you had to work with the band to lose weight  or couldn't lose the weight I dont know your personal story with the band , but the DS has been easy for you not as much work from what I understand sorry if I misunderstood you :o) .  Like I said it all depends on the surgery and the person. It might be easy for one person but a very hard struggle for somebody else.

I think everybody is so different on what will happen and you really dont know how you will do with any kind of WLS. What might be a piece of cake for one person might be a total struggle for somebody else.

There are many people who have lost large amounts of weight with th band, and ten times as many who have not lost much weight.

If you want to know what happens to the MAJORITY of banded people, visit the revision board, where they are asking how to get the damned thing pulled out, and the RnY and DS boards where they are getting ready to move to another surgery or already have.

But if you like having surgery...the LapBand is the shortest route to having a second surgery, to have it removed or relocated.

Between DD and I.....I would call the lap band ( at least in my home ) a 100% failure. I am struggling to not gain any weight. I have no restriction, yet I cannot tolerate even a teeny tiny fill or I will be unable to swallow my own saliva. My band is a useless tool which sucks.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I didn't frequent thisboard before I got my lapband, or I might still weigh 300 lbs and be biting my nails over which WLS to get, unable to make a decision because of the handful of people who post here who are disillusioned with their choice.

Nahh.  That's not true - I never listen to other people, only myself.  And myself said:  I do NOT want my intestines re-routed or half my stomach removed and I do NOT want to lose my hair and have grey skin and I do NOT want to have to take supplements for the rest of my life.  So for me, there was only one choice - lapband.

I had 140 lbs to lose (35 more to go!), was pre-diabetic, had high blood pressure and cholesterol off the charts, and arthritis in my right knee so I couldn't walk up or downstairs like a normal person (ohhhh, there were SO many things I couldn't do "like a normal person"!).  Oh, and on top of that, I'M OLD (57).  If I'd hung around here prior to surgery I'd have heard that somebody my age with such a high BMI (almost 51) would be a dismal failure.

HAH!!!!

Yup, it's a lotta work, but only at first.  A year after surgery I am EASILY living the life I will happily live until I die - I eat wholesome, wonderful, UNPROCESSED food and I move all day long - I walk and go to the gym and take great pleasure in living a NORMAL life EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I LOVE MY BAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And maybe you'll be just as happy 14 months from now, and maybe not.  People who have problems with the band don't all experience those problems the first year out...but they DO eventually experience them.  It took about a year for my esophageal damage to show up and then, over the next two years, it got increasingly worse.  I was fuly 2.5 years out before I figured out that it was ging to do severe damage and all the band cheerleaders in the world weren't going to make it get any  better.

I've lost 190 lbs in 2 years.

I don't find the banded life difficult at all.  And losing weight with the band hasn't been hard either.

I don't consider what I eat a diet in the restrictive sense... but a diet in the true meaning of the word, which is "what a person consumes daily".  It is a lifestyle change, but one I was ready to make.  Do I still eat chips and cheese, fried foods, etc?  Yes, but rarely as I prefer being smaller than eating those things.  If I really really really want something.. I have it.  But I either work off the calories beforehand or I reduce my consumption of something else.  This is how I work with my band.. others may do it differently.

If the band is what you want.. don't agree to anything else.  It is YOUR body, YOUR life, YOUR decision.. no one elses.  

Granted, the band does not work well for everyone.  It could be user problems, surgeon problems, band problems, any combination or just plain bad luck.

I had more than one doctor tell me I would only lose 50 lbs with the band.  I LOVE seeing them now and laughing to myself at their amazement at my success.

Wishing you all the best in whatever you chose.

And the three most important words, KEEP IT OFF.

I so appreciate all the input you've all given me!  I have an appointment next Thursday with my surgeon.  Thankfully, I'm getting in before he goes on vacation!  LOL

I am doing more research and have questions to ask him, that's for sure!  I spoke with another friend on another forum and got her input from bypass as well.  I'm just glad I'll have support whichever I choose. 

I have tried Weigh****chers more times than I can count.  I have lost as much as 30 lbs with it, but always end up putting it back on.  More slowly, but it still came back.  I do hate to exercise and I know I have to work on that.  I have some exercise videos that I can do from home and I do think that will be the best.  I do NOT do well at a gym.  I have tried it and ended up with such anxiety it was awful!

Again, thank you all for your help!