If You Had to Do it Again, Would You?

Hi all,

My name is Linda and I am trying to decide which WLS will be best for me.  My insurance will  only pay for the RNY and the Lap Band, so I'm asking people about their experiences to help me decide.

If you had to do it again, would you chose Lap Band surgery as yoru WLS?   If not, why not?  If you would, why would you? 

What has been your biggest struggle after the lap band?

What surprised you about the Lap Band?

How long has it taken you to get to your goal weight?

Did you have co-morbidities before the Lap Band and if you did, are they resolved now?

Thanks so much!
Linda

I lost 150 lbs!!!  So yes I would have surgery again.

I guess the biggest struggle for me was realizing that I had to do my part.  I still have to eat eat healthy and exercise. 

I'm still not at the weight I want to be at but I had a lot of weight to lose.  I had 200+ lbs to lose. 

I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and female issues....all of them have been resolved. 

I wasn't able to climb a flight a stairs without breaking a sweat or walk around a grocery store and not get sweaty....now I'm going to be running a 5K....so yes I would do it all again.

 OMG u areso right Crstal the weight wont just come off it has taken me 3 yrs to realize that but now I am getting back on the horse and loading up on watar exercising a lot and being more careful with my choices.  It took me to regain some weight and feel unhappy with myself rto realize I wasn't really putting in the effort  No way will I let that happen again my days of sweets are over because although you may not get stuck your band can work around sweets It is a bitter sweet realization for me  i realized I have gained a lot but also realized the only person who can change my current situation is me This is a tool not a magic pill!

Oh hell no! I would NEVER get another band! Some of the band cheerleaders now don't even want another band, lol. I wouldn't recommend the band to my worst enemy.

What surprised me most about the band? That sooooooo many bandsters never reach restriction! I was completely unprepared for that! Most Drs. do NOT tell pateints BEFORE they put the band in that that is quite common! I doubt anyone with any sense would get a band if they knew in advance just how possible it is to get a band and never reach restriction!

Run from the band! Run far, and run fast!

Goal weight? Lol. Never made it to goal weight in over 2 years.

is that true some ppl dont reach restriction I have been banded for 3 yrs and only got 5 fills but never really felt restriction except when I had the stomach bug but that was probly because my stomach was so sore from getting sickMy doc always told me it was my fault I had no restriction because I used to  drink with meals but I have since stopped and still I can eat a lot but the dieter in me stops myself

Short answer: yes. I would.

Biggest struggle: not putting food in my face every time stress rears its ugly head, but that's always been my problem. Learning to eat slower and chew properly.

Surprise? Losing 100 pounds in 6 months.
Goal weight in 18 months.

Former comorbidities: apnea, diabetes, edema, high BP, high cholesterol. The usual suspects. All gone except for osteoarthritis which will never go away.

No way would I get the band again.  I had rny to revise from the failed and destructive band.  It  is removeable but not reversible and it fails for a lot of people.  and despite what band wavers say that it is the recipients fault it isnt.  I foloowed all the rules. I never got to the sweet spot. It gave me a hiatal hernia and i couldnt eat solid foods so I ended up with a 12 lb net weight gain.. DO NOT GET A BAND  .  I LOVE THE RNY  what a difference!

Absolutely not. No question about it... not if you paid me a million dollars. The pain was so excruciating with the band that I'd rather be dead than go through it again.

The biggest struggle after the lapband... chronic, neverending, horrific pain; being unable to eat solid foods; being constipated for a week at a time; breathing, walking...

What surprised me about the lapband was how awful it was. No one ever told me that it would make me feel like death and that I'd cry upon waking, I'd be in pain all day and I'd go to bed in pain.

I got to my goal weight in less than a year because I couldn't eat solid foods at all.

Not only did my co-morbidities not get resolved, I have a hiatal hernia, ulcers, gastritis and esophageal problems due to the lapband.  I spend a lot of time in pain and I had the band removed over 6 years ago.

It's a torturous device and most of the people who "love" their bands are less than a few years out from surgery. It works for very, very few people long term and in fact, causes more problems than it resolves for most of us.  Many good doctors are not doing the lapbands anymore because they realize the risks associated with it.  Read the Revisions forum here on Obesity Help to see how many revisions there are FROM lapband to another type of WLS.

Good luck to you, Linda. I hope your research goes well. I'm being completely honest because I hate for anyone to have to go through the same thing I did.

Would I choose the band for myself again ..... Yes
Would I suggest it to someone else, probably not.

I was self pay ... I have a lot invested, I knew how hard I was willing to work to get to my goal and to stay there.
I can afford to do follow up care and I make/take the time to do it.
I go to support group meetings, I go to weigh****chers, I belong to an on line OA group.

I work really hard ... But it has been worth it.
I am having my second plastic surgery next week ...further incentive to keep up the good fight.

I had no co morbidities (yet) before my surgery.

Really none of it has been what I would call hard ... I was very well prepared ...... I chose to eliminate sugary carbs from my diet before my surgery and don't miss them enough to jeopardize my success.

I lost 131 pounds in about 18 months and have been maintaining for 14 months.

OA has been a big help to me.  I think it addresses the addiction issues well.  However as to the hormonal issues I had no luck with the band and could never get to the sweet spot so I was forced not to eat any dense foods thus with mushies only I gained weight. I had to have the band removed due to it causing a hiatal hernia and esophageal damage from a bad cough I had with a bout with flu.  As a result my only option was a rny since I had to have most of my stomach removed due to the hernia etc.  as a result I am in heaven now with the rny. Ihave had no complications and a decent weight loss.