Newbie, 2 days till LAP-BAND surgery

Alejandro  I hate to burst your bubble this close to your surgery, but  would more so hate to not speak up and then have you experience what I, or many other bandsters have!

The long term outcome for the band is NOT good. I see ppl posting on this forum every day with new sllips, port problems, erosion, leaks, esophageal problems. Then there are the ppl like me that NEVER got restriction/sweet spot/green zone! One of the bandsters on here was told by her last bariatric surgweon that this occurs to about 20% of bandsters. 20%! Had I known then what I know now I NEVER would have gotten the band! I would not wish the band on my worst enemy.

I suggest you post these same questions on the VSG, RNY and DS forums. You will get a good comparison of the band to these WLS's b/c there are so many former bandsters that have revised to those WLS's.

Now as far as being secretive about your WLS, I don't understand it. I realize many ppl are like that, but WLS is nothing to be ashamed of. You wouldn't be embarassed to tell someone you had and appendectomy or a knee replacement would you? WLS is a medical procedure to improve your health.

As far as support, that  is great that your wife supports u. You can also get some great support at the WLS support groups. They "get" you. You know..........been there, done that. Sometimes you have to try out a few different groups to get the right fit, but when you do, it is an awesome support system! OH can be a very supportive enviroment too at times.

Good luck!

He's a guy and they seem to do very well with their weight loss no matter which surgery they choose.

Men do seem to lose much better with the band also, in general! Still I don't think I know any long term men with bands. I think they meet the same fate too..........just at a skinnier weight, lol.

There's not that many men on the boards, I know Neal is around and he is doing very well with his band. I cannot comment on their long term outcomes because IDK them. Maybe Neal will see this and we can ask him if he knows of any men who have had lap band complications.

I don't see why they wouldn't because...well besides stating the obvious...for the most part our anatomy is the same.
Their stats would be completely different then women lap banders on OH because there are so fewer of them verses us.
Hmmmm if I wasn't afraid of the men in the Mens Locker Room here on OH, well that and I want to respect their man cave rules by not stinking it up with my DBL X chromosomes. I would ask some of them for help in answering our questions.

Pumpkin is NOT going into the man cave...uh uhhh

Tom on the Realize forum has done extremely well with his! I think he's about 3 years out though. Jeremy did awesome with his, but I think his was removed when it eroded in less than 2 years. The most recent male bandster I know of is not doing well with weight loss though.

But aside from later complications, it is amazing how much better men seem to lose with it in general!

Damn those men

Greg got a band years ago and just a week or so ago revised to VSG. I can't think of any other guys though but there have to be some out there. He is on the VSG and revision forums mostly.

Maria, thank you.
I understand your concern, but I seem to have seen a lot more positives than negatives. Now, I wouldn't expect it to be easy either way. I'm not expecting the worse, I feel I'm mentally prepared if something does happen but I'm an optimist I must admit.

Now I didn't say I'm ashamed of my surgery, that's not the reason for my secrecy. I just know the type of family I have and they can be so ignorant and imposing on what they think is best for me. So I've decided not to tell them. I have had an ACL repair and they sure did give me their 2 cents on alternatives that they feel I "should have tried".

My support group at LiveLighter in Westlake Hospital Melrose Park, IL. Them folks have been awesome!!! They've answered any and all questions. From the testimonies the follow up is great and they are on a mission for us to have a succesful WLS.

Thanks again,
AR.
P.S. I hope I can help OH be more supportive for anyone else that has WLS!

Oh we all felt the same way when we had our bands put in hun! Hopefully yours will go better than most of ours did!!!

Btw..........there are a lot of FB WLS support groups. You might want to check out some of those as well.

Good luck!

 First congrats on the new band. I only told my immediate family  the secratary at work to help with forms for days off. Almost two years out and 82 lbs lost There are many people who still do not know. Some more of my family know. I find most people because they are uneducated are very judgemental. If you cant support my decision i really dont want to hear your thoughts about it. ( Thats how i survive) As times goes on people will see your weight loss and you can choose at that point who you want to know.
Good luck
Welcome
Wendy