Does anyone with a BMI of 50 or over had/want Lapband?

I just found this forum and so far all I have seen are RNY 's.


Anyone have the Lapband?


Thanks,
Steph

Hi Steph,

I originally wanted the lap band but..... then I realized that many people my size who pushed for the lap band wound up having the RNY anyway and the percentage of weight loss is so much less with the lap band and I have/had so much to loose..... I realized that I needed to choose the RNY for the best long term result so..... after 4 years of thinking I was going to have lap band I had the RNY.  I am happy too because I know it was the best choice for me after all.

I hope this helps.

Marcia

I thought about the band for a while but the product info put out by the manufacturer convinced me that would not be for me.  I went with the DS instead and I'm glad I did.  Best of luck to you.

Hi Steph,

I too looked into the lapband, but after researching it and its potential complications, and having to deal with fills, and the slow wt loss... I decided that the RNY was the best choice for me.  I started at 344#, and have lost just over 150# in 13 months.  I know I could not have done that with the band.

Best of luck to you

Caroline

My surgeon said that lap band is ineffective with BMI's over 50.....the loss is not sufficient or as easily maintained and there are more complications.

I researched for three years and found that the vertical sleeve gastrectomy was giving the same results as the RYN witout the long term risks or the micro nutrient malnutrition issues associated.......anemia etc

The VSG was origianally designed to be a safer pre surgery for those with high BMI's to help them lose enoughh weight so they could have RYN more safely but they found the results to be just as efficient and ended up rarely having to bypass te patience wo on average acive results of 80% of excessive weight lost in the first 12 months to 2 years.

For those who have a BMI over 60 they will generally still move onto RYN eventually but there is no risk of dumping, or food intollerance with VSG and you are not restricted with food like you are with the band.

I don't think I will ever go for bypass....I have decided if I can't make this work for me, then I will have to live with my obesity disease for life......

so many success stories for both VSG and RYN that you can't really go wrong which ever way you go...but after all my research, I would touch a lap band ...ever!

Good luck in making your decision....get onto insurance while your thinking about it though...it sounds like you guys have a bit of a wait over there for approval and the waiting is the hardest part!

Good luck!

I got the lap band. My doctor never informed me that I wouldn't lose as much weight as RNY. He said statistics show that in the long run both weight losses are very close to the same with both surgeries and since I am 30 and still fairly young. I got the less invasive surgery. So far so good. I've went from 380 to 317. 17 of that pre-op. I think it was the right choice for me. Sometimes I do wonder because I don't have the best restriction yet, but I think it will work. It just takes longer initially.

Hi there,
I am waiting for the lap band, I am currently between 312 - 318 lbs and have a lot of weight to lose.
Has it been hard to lose the weight you have lost?  How long did it take to lose what you have?
Any information would be great, I considered this for quite some time before deciding to go with the lap band, I feel it is safer and from what I can gather this is about trying to change a lifestyle with some assistance. 
I see the surgery as one of the tools that will help me to make the changes I need to make to be healthy.  I am hoping that I made the right decision, as it is pretty costly.

I had my first doctor weigh in at my initial visit in December of 2008, I was 380. At my surgery on Feb 9, 2009, I was 364 when I had the surgery. I'm 317 now so in less than 4 months I've lost 47 lbs. I think that's pretty good and I'm happy with that. I'm not at my "perfect" restriction spot yet, but I get full much sooner than I did before. It's not always easy but it's not something I feel I can't do either. I felt I couldn't do it before surgery. I understand what you mean about making the right decision cause it's costly. I had to pay out of pocket so I was really scared too about making sure I was making the right choice, but I really think I did. It's teaching me to eat much more healthy and to chew up my food rather than scarf it down.

Started at 56 bmi 14 months later down 120# LOVE my band!!

@ Tami: I think your doctor could be right, lapbanders loose slower and less then RNY`s, but many RNY`s gain a significant amount of weight back when they`re further out. For people with a BMI over 50, results often aren`t good with neither lapband nor RNY - if you start at a BMI of 50 or more, the RNY has a failure rate of 35-50 %, and that`s not much better then the lapband. Just too bad that most docs don`t tell their patients that they could archieve much better longterm results with the DS.