Concidering Lap-Band Surgery

ptstacey-

Before I had the duodenal switch, I considered the LapBand.

My doctor was dead-set against it, saying the LapBand was only an option for people whose BMI (body mass index) was 40 or below.  Mine, at 405 pounds and 5'5", was well above 50.

My doctor was only schooled in the RNY gastric bypass.  I had done the research on the various weight loss surgeries, and found my way to the duodenal switch.  I provided her with the information I'd found.  Though she didn't know much about it, she was totally supportive of my decision, had no problems with the referrals, and on 2/25/09, I had the surgery that saved my life.  I was 397 on surgery day, and today, I maintain my weight between 180 and 190.  My high blood pressure is gone, I no longer take medicine for restless leg syndrome, no longer use a CPAP for sleep apnea, and though I have lupus and fibromyalgia, the symptoms are much more manageable, since the medicines that would not work before, are now beautifully effective.  Prior to my surgery, prednisone was the only thing that worked, and that usually meant I was having a flare, in pain and in bed.

Though I still have bad knees, my rhematologist says that due to the weight loss, knee replacements can be delayed another 10-15 years.  I get Synvisc-One injections to alleviate the bone-on-bone contact, and strenghtening of my quadriceps through exercise has alleviated the "wobbly" feeling of my knees.

Personally, I would say the duodenal switch is the ONLY surgery for anyone with a BMI over 50. You are able to eat more normally, and enjoy a wide variety of foods. Though absolute adherance to vitamin,and mineral supplements are required, and high protein consumption is a must, for me, it has been a small price to pay for finally being able to live a normal lifestyle, and walk and move about without assistance.
Please take a look at these link - www.dshess.com and www.duodenalswitch.com for medical information, and to get more information about people living the DS lifestyle, go to www.dsfacts.com .

My own personal thought on the lapband.....IT'S THE WORST MISTAKE I MADE IN MY LIFE!

Stay away from that horrid choking contraption.  My lapband was put in 2002.  Easy surgery, yes. Horrible experience throughout the years.  I was almost 50 BMI when I had it put in.  I never got to goal, no matter how much I chewed the meat to paste, it always got stuck and pain and/or vomiting foam/food/drool followed. 

I was filled, unfilled, and filled.  It finally erroded INTO my stomach and port infected.  Infection traveled down the line.  That THING doesn't last forever inside you.  You will have to have another surgery somewhere down the road to have it taken out or replaced, if you're lucky and don't have other health issues/emergencies due to the crap band.

PLEASE take a look at other weight loss surgeries.  Go to the revisions message boards on here.  Do your research more.  Take a look at the DS surgery or the VSG and go to their message boards.  Take a look at surgeons in Canada.  I thank god for Dr. Gagner in Montreal Canada (and i'm from New Jersey in the states, I traveled to him),  here is his email address, [email protected] .  He answers his emails.  He's one of the top Lap bariatric surgeons and is world reknown.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a private message. 

Best wishes.

Sincerely,
Donna

Based on your numbers, your excess weight is somewhere around 270 pounds and your BMI is pushing 70.  A wls "success" means losing 50% of your excess weight.  In your case that would be losing 135 pounds and would leave you weighing about 292 with a BMI of 47...so still Morbidly Obese.

Based on what the people who make the band say in their "Surgical Aid Booklet," (page 6), about 15% of people with a BMI of 50 or higher lose that much weight. 

So, if a hundred people with your BMI got the LapBand, 85 of them will be Morbily Obese or Super Morbidly Obese three years later.  (And only 4%...four of those hundred would likely lose 75% of their excess weight and end up at at a BMI of 32 or below.)