Is Lap-Band a good option

In regards to this comment, "the more evasive [sic] surgeries are geared towards you losing weight regardless of what you consume"...

I just have to point out that the sleeve is a restriction procedure just as with the band.

The sleeve has taught me far better eating habits than the band ever did! In fact, when my band would randomly tighten up, I could only survive on liquids and slider foods whereas my sleeve has really tamed/eliminated my cravings (I was a sugar addict) and frees me to eat a very healthy diet.

If I was eating Taco Bell and chips and pizza, I would not be losing weight. I am able to choose not to eat those things thanks to my loss of ghrelin. Woo Hoo! I am working my sleeve and loving it.

Lindsey

Lindsey,

But the thing is there is nothing wrong what so ever eating pizza, Taco Bell or even chips.  It's when you dont eat them things in moderation and you eat them things every day  or get out of control is when the problems start.

But just to go to Taco Bell or even last night I had a slice of pizza and a salad there is nothing wrong with that at all.

I still eat them foods and lose weight but instead of eating out 7 times a week like I use to I eat out 2 times a month now and eat those foods in moderation.

I didn't get WLS to give up all the foods I Love, I got the surgery to help me with portion control and to learn how to eat , and yes to even learn how to eat them bad girl foods .

That is the key to success right there is to learn how to eat all them foods in moderation and to teach yourself the proper way to eat, because we all now none of these WLS are 100% complications free anything can happen to any one of us today, tomorrow , or a yr from now .

That was the first thing I told my doc when I got the band. I didn't want to give up my foods and I haven't . I eat anything I want but in the 7 months I have had my band I'm making such better decisions on what I eat , and how much I eat of it.  I couldn't have done that six months ago and that is exactly what I wanted from this surgery not to restrict me from foods ever again .   

I think you are right that moderation really works for some people. I personally don't have a great history with moderation though. My version of moderation got me over 300 lbs!

Not everyone has trouble with food, not everyone has trigger foods that make them want to eat more or make it hard to get back to a healthy way of eating...but I sure do. I think a lot (but not all!) of people *****sort to WLS have difficulty with moderation. Lots of us were able to lose weight on diets, but then end up gaining it all back because, for some of us, it is a slippery slope between moderation and out of control. I'm glad you don't have this problem!

I can't ever speak for anyone, only for myself. For me, I've got my eye on my goal of being a healthy weight and don't want anything to stand in my way. I am so thankful that I don't crave these foods anymore and that I really am able to eat healthy because I want to. I really enjoy eating a healthy diet. It makes me feel so good.

I'm glad you got what you wanted out of your surgery.

Best of luck,
Lindsey

ETA: I was also pointing this out in my post because the poster above me stated that with the sleeve you lose weight regardless of what you eat. I just wanted to let the OP know that that is a bit of misinformation. I would not have lost over 80 lbs in the past 6 months if I hadn't been eating healthy and exercising. You better believe I work this sleeve!! :) 

80 pounds that is great :o) You are doing a great job .   I think that is why I'm lucky in some ways I was never a snacker or a sweets eater. Gosh I could fix a cake for the family and would have to toss about 80% of it away because nobody would eat it, or we would open a bag of chips and we would have toss it because it got stale lol.

For me it was all about meal times I had no portion control at all .  I would hardly ever go back for seconds because I would put the seconds on my plate the first round lmao .

Another huge problem for me was eating out . Oh gosh I lived on fast food places.   Hubby works out of town so it was just me and our son . I would eat out at breakfast, lunch and sometimes even dinner .  Or if we didn't eat out I would eat four or five hot dogs or two double burgers homemade .

Pepsi I was a huge huge Pepsi drinker . Gosh I would go through 2  2 litters a day it was that bad.

I was just curious today of what I use to eat compared today and I'm totally ashamed of what I use to do gosh no wonder I weighed 348 pounds.

For one day of what i use to eat it was around 4200 calories per day and that was just three meals *sigh* Sodium over 5,000 .   Now I eat less then 1500 a day a huge huge difference .

 

Just to be clear, the term is "more or less invasive" not "evasive." You'll find that you'll need to know the correct terminology to be able to fully research your options. 

It's a good thing my band was not " evasive " during my revison or the surgeon may never have been able to find that little ******

OMG.....If that would have happened then the OR cost would have gone up tremendously and my INS would have had to pay for more OR time.

I think I would have liked screwing them like that.

I was banded with my first band on June 19Th 2006. This band caused me to vomit multiple times per week, and suffer from severe esophageal reflux every night when I went to sleep.
I had to sleep in an up right position....Yet still I would awake with a mouthful of burning acid.

The acid was so hot that it actually burned the back of my throat and that lasted for a few days. My PCP had me on a PPI and even that did not stop the acid. There were many times I was unable to swallow my own saliva and/or swallow water. Even unfilled I suffered from the acid reflux and band tightening.

I experienced left shoulder pain from day one and it never went fully away. I listened to those on this very board with their well meaning advice telling me it, " was just gas " or that I was eating too fast, or not chewing my food well enough. I followed their advice and still I kept experiencing esophageal reflux every night.

Left shoulder pain can be considered normal under certain cir****tances. For example :
After abdominal surgery ( WLS ) you will experience trapped gas in your shoulders, but that gas usually dissipates within a week or two MAX.

The only reason someone with a band would experience left shoulder pain months/years after surgery is because they are experiencing diaphragmatic pain. The diaphragm cannot feel pain and refers the pain to the left, right, and sometimes both shoulders, as well as the chest and neck.

This pain can be confused with cardiac symptoms and anxiety attacks. Your left shoulder, arm, back,throat,neck and/or chest will hurt like you are experiencing a heart attack.

If the band is not removed in a timely manner the damage to your diaphragm may become permanent.

My daughter who was banded the same day as myself had to have her first band removed for the same exact reasons I had to have mine removed.

Our bands had slipped.

I was banded with my second band in December of 2008. This was an unplanned emergency surgery, so I was not prepared to revise to another surgery without being fully informed. I regretfully chose to have a second band placed, as well as my daughter.

At this point I had loss 70 lbs the hard way. From 2008 to the time of my second revision. I was still able to maintain my 70 lbs loss. This was not because of my band. It was because I was determined to not gain any of my pre-op weight back. I had been through enough and I wasn't going to allow myself to gain any of that weight back.

I experienced even more left shoulder, back pain, now was experiencing a whole new set of problems.  Esophageal Motility Disorder & Dysphagia.

"The esophagus functions solely to deliver food from the mouth to the stomach where the process of digestion can begin. Efficient transport by the esophagus requires a coordinated, sequential motility pattern that propels food from above and clears acid and bile reflux from below. Disruption of this highly integrated muscular motion limits delivery of food and fluid, as well as causes a bothersome sense of dysphagia and chest pain"

I woke up with my air passage fully obstructed one night. I tried very hard not to panic and ran across my room to the bathroom where I was able to bend over the toilet while using both fists to press in on my stomach. I was able to successfully dislodge the object from my air way. I could have died right then and there.

I knew my problems with the band were becoming worse, so I had to do something about it. I called my surgeon and was able to get in that very day. I was directly admitted to the hospital where I stayed for six days. They removed my lap band and performed a VSG on me.


My band had slipped again.

There are many who have been programmed into thinking by the makers of the Lap Band, Realize Band, and The O band that the band is " Minimally Invasive & Reversible " That is complete brain washing and anyone who chooses to go forward with having a band implanted for these reasons, need to research more because as you can see just by mine and my daughters experience alone.
That our surgeries combined totaled altogether SIX ' Minimally Invasive " surgeries.

My band was not reversible....it was removable, but not until it had already caused severe nerve and thoracic pain which just may end up being permanent damage.

Only time will tell........

Do yourself a favor and consider a different surgery type. Also do not let the moronic poster that goes by the name of NaNa or Naomi spoon feed you any of her bull**** propaganda. The woman is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

I am so sorry you and your daughter had such a nightmare of an experience with your bands.  I know there are many who have had experiences from he**.  I also know there are many who have had success.  I can only hope that I am in the success group because my choice was made over 4 months ago, and I'm self pay.  Wishing you and your daughter, and all others for whom the band has failed, the best in the future.

Wishing you the best for a successful band surgery.

For the record my post was a matter of opinion and not factual.  I am still learning as i embark on this journey. I am not trying to tell you, nrhunt1972, what to do! That is why i said "do what's best for you"  I have weighed the pros and cons of each surgey type and chose to go with the band.  I am not judging nor am I to be judged!