Never Heard this one!

To make a long story short, I currently have the lapband and am having alot of relux  fills and unfills with 30lb weight loss, only to gain it all back due to being unfilled because I'm too tight. So I am in the process of doing a band to sleeve revision. I have only told a few people about my revision. I had a friend tell me, that her friend told her, that the lap band and Sleeve don't work for black people.
She is black and had the RNY. But never have I heard such a thing.....

Has any one else ever heard this?????

I know there are a couple of people here that have sleeves that have done well. Also while i haven't been very sucessful with my band there are at least 3 people here I can think of that are kicking butt. Try visitng the individual surgery boards here and you will see how wrong your friend is.

Hello...

I don't think there is nothing in your DNA which indicates a particular wls such as the band does not work for you, that is the most silliest ignorant comment someone can make.

I''ve had my band for 5 years, and lost 100 pounds within the first year and 30 more pounds by the second year, just by doing daily walking and keeping adequate restriction, not too tight and not too loose, it was costly but paid off and prevented me from unnecessary complications.

That said, the Lap band REQUIRES the MOST disciplined and MORE WORK than any other procedures in the beginning, THIS IS WELL DOCUMENTED, so many peopled get the band and do not know or understand what they are fully getting in to.

So many get into trouble with the band because they want IT to DO MOST OF THE WORK, you cannot use the band safely and get it filled so tight that you can barely swallow your spit, this WILL cause it to slip and cause permanent band damage.

The band diet is about 1 cup of solid food, many people get it tighten way beyond this point to where they cannot eat solid food at all resulting in daily throwing up heartburn, reflux and eventually a band slip without exercising and eating properly.

That is NOT how the band is suppose to work, you cannot take the band and use it improperly and without consequences.

So to answer your question the band DOES work for anybody that knows how to work it, meaning, daily exercising, no sweets, and protein first and water, it 's not complicated, I know it is tough to follow those rules day in and day out but if someone is not discipline enough to follow those simple rules they will fail the band REGARDLESS if they are black, white yellow or blue....

Some people NEED MORE reinforcement such as RNY, DS  which makes some people sick if they don't stay on track or additional help like malabsoption.

Never get a surgery until you fully research it and know the consequences of how it works.

Again, the lap band does not discriminate...it can be a equal opportunity offender.

Good luck....
 

            Cultural differences, genetic differences, anatomical differences?  Why is it that comments like this are not generally accompanied by rational explanations?     

Yeah I have been through 3 years of trying to get adjusted right and now the band is sitting very high so that everything I eat usually sits on for a while and i have horrible reflux. I did follow all the band rules and it just did not work for me, as with alot of others. It's just one of those things....

But comments like that is the reason I chose not to tell many people about the lap band. The sad part is this person works in a bariatric clinic and I sure hope she doesn't say thing like that to the new patients coming in for surgery.

This is a crazy world we live in!

Hi Sheila!
I had Lap-Band surgery 3 years ago and have lost about 50 pounds give or take a few pounds. 
I applaud you for making the decision to get a revision .  I'm a firm believer in doing what works for YOU.  Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

~Telaya~

I was sleeved over two years ago and it worked for me.

When you mention WLS to people there is no telling what story or stories you will hear.  I have learned to ignore them all.  I am almost four years out with the Lap-Band and I have lost 85 pounds.  I am not at goal but I am not even close to where I was.  I am happy with my results. 

Thanks guys for the words of encouragement!

It really confirms my decision to not tell people. I just couldn't figure out if it was about jealously or if she really believes that in her heart of hearts!

Howdy,
I am a band to sleeve revision. (About to get the second stage of the DS with my hernia repair.), but thus far it has been great. Ask your friend to tell you where she got her information and to provide sources?

I can tell you from experience that there is a night and day difference between the band and sleeve, the ONLY commonality is that they are both restrictive surgeries.

Best wishes on your decision, I've yet to read about ANY disappointments with the band to sleeve revision.