Things you should know before you choose Lapband

You know being a life long dieter I knew my issues pretty well and I could eat very little and not be very hungry. In fact the whole year before my surgery I journaled and kept under 1000 cal. a day so I was skeptical whether the band would work for me. I know my issue is lack of exercise because I have a lung disease so even walking more than 15-20 feet is difficult for me. My surgeon said even so the band would help me cut that amount of food in half so I'd have to lose. Well no not really because you have to have enough to live on. I don't blame my surgeon tho because I think he merely believed what the manufacturers told him and I do believe they greatly missrepresented the actual band function. I see that now the manufacturers are stating things abit differently than when I got mine like now they say it should be removed and when I got mine it was supposedly forever.
So long story shortened I'm still slowly losing but only because I control what and howmuch I eat. The band only keeps me from eating a giant plate full of food which I rarely did anyway. So weight loss is still a battle no matter what.

Im so with you. I got my band in 1005. I topped out at 271, then lost weight prior to the surgery per prescribed. I did well at first then got frustrated. I had it filled, unfilled, filled unfilled ad nauseam. I finally moved out of State and then it wasn't something I could manage as well. I gained about 20-something pounds. I went and got it filled again going back home to my surgeon.I got frustrated and went back again to unfill.I got on WW and did lose some on my own. Last yr I went and got a fill again to help me get more off. I don't think the band actually got filled. I recently was filled again, not too awfully tight but tight enough it seems to help. Someone recently posted something that so helped me view the band better. And I have had it more than 6 yrs. I am losing- slowly, and working hard at it. It is hard, but its helping me. I wish I had learned this early on. I would have not had the fill unfill scenario and believe I would be at goal. I have had to learn the hard way. Now I'm learning about protein the hard way. I had gained 4 lbs in a few days. Only to find out i was retaining water horribly. I took a water pill and lost every bit of that overnight! I had indentions in my leg from my small kitty standing her little paws on my leg and her foot imprints stayed! That's how swollen I was. Today I worked on eating the protein first. What a difference in how I feel today. Good luck in your journey. I joined this board years ago and am glad I have found it again.

I think we learn so much about our bands and ourselves when we honestly open up and share. Thanks everyone, that was an informitive thread.

Some of the issues we all run into with regard to weight loss are simply the result of our biology, depressing though it may be. We are deeply biologically affected by our highest weight - it results in some permanent changes. When we lose weight, even just 10% of our body weight, it actually triggers an INCREASE in hunger hormones as your body tries to get to you back to your highest weight - what your body feels is your new "baseline." The other thing that happens when you lose weight is that your body actually starts to become MORE efficient. In other words, excersize that is supposed to burn X amount of calories will actually burn FEWER calories in someone who has lost substantial weight. At the same time, your overall metabolism experiences a slowing as well. So, all in all, you feel hungrier, your metabolism slows, and exercise burns fewer calories. Some of these changes appear to be somewhat permanent. For example, a person who lost 100 pounds down to 150lbs will always have to consume fewer calories to maintain a weight of 150 lbs than someone who always weighed 150 and did not lose any weight.
Being aware of these changes can help all of us understand what we experience a bit better, and plan accordingly.

VERY TRUE

Well I'm very glad that the band helped you lose weight. That is what all of us hoped for when getting the band. Unfortunately for MANY of us...........that never happened.

I constantly see quoted on this forum: "the band is just a tool"...........and that is usually used to justify why it's not working well and to insinuate that if someone is complaining about their band, or their weight loss that they expect the band to do it all. That is not the case for most people. Most bandsters are intelligent enough to realize that the band only does a portion of the work (theoretically!) and that they must assist. For those of you that did get a "tool" when you got the band, I am thrilled for you. Unfortunately for many of us, we might as well be wearing a hair scrunchie around our stomach!