New, looking for some help.

 Hiya,

I am waiting on insurance approval to have a Realize Band with Dr. Chua.

I notice a lot of people seem skeptical of the band...I'd like to know why. :/

Dr. Chua seems to really like it.

I am currently at 227lbs.

Has anyone had a Realize Band done?
Do you like it?
What is the biggest drawback?
Biggest advantage?

Was your recovery long?
Did you miss work, and if so, for how long?

I am excited and nervous.  Thanks in advance!

Hi,
You couldn't have picked a better doctor than Dr. Chua. He is awesome!

I myself had the VSG in Mar/2011 and can't tell you how much better my life is! I hope you have a great journey no matter which procedure you have.

This might be a stupid reason but, I picked the VSG over a band procedure due to my bodies reaction to foreign objects. I had a fractured leg years ago and the hardware installed to fix the breaks gave me nothing but problems. My body tended to treat my pregnancies the same way. I figured I wasn't going to take any chances with my body not reacting well to plastic inside of me.

Not sure if that is the kind of answer you were looking for, but that's why I didn't go with a band.

Best wishes.

 That is a very smart decision, I would have done the same thing.

I have had an IUD and my body was fine with it, so I suppose it will be alright with the band.

The VSG is appealing to me, but Dr. Chua seemed to be talking me out of it and into the band.

He seems very nice and compassionate.


Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, it seemed at first as if Dr. Chua was trying to talk me into a band also.  But....I had gone in to Dr. Chua's office with the attitude that I WAS going to have the sleeve.  I had researched all the different surgeries available for the past10 years by the time I was capable of getting my insurance to pay for my procedure.    I had done my homework and made my decision, after all, I know my body better than my doctors do.  I live with it 24 hours a day, I know what triggers my overeating, etc, etc.

With that said, I would assume many doctors including Dr. Chua recognize that the banding procedures are much less invasive, with fewer complications. 

My best advice is to really educate yourself on all the different surgeries available.  Really contemplate over the situation, find the reasons/causes of your obesity.  Do you binge eat?  Do you eat healthy but have a severe case of metabolic syndrome?  These are just a couple of "head" reasoning you need to get to the bottom of in order to make any WLS successful.

Best wishes with whatever surgery you pick.  Just remember to educate, educate, educate....not only about the procedure, but about the post-op food plan.  Learn about stalls, so you don't freak out 3 weeks post-op and seem as if you are never going to lose another #.  These are all things that will help you succeed in whichever plan you decide on. 

:-)

Dr. Chua is good. The band is not.
I'm just going to be blunt and hope that you'll know that I'm only trying to help you avoid pain.

I had my lapband done in 2002. It was horrible, worse than anything I could even describe.
I have watched friend after friend have awful experiences with the lapband and need to revise or remove. 

It's a very short term solution for a long term problem. Please, please, please, read through the past history of the Revisions forum, the lapband forum, the failed and complications forums and see the common thread. 

I know I'm probably coming off as bossy and a pain in the butt, but I really just want to help you avoid a big headache.

BEST OF LUCK to you. I hope all goes well, no matter what you ultimately decide.