Why did you choose lapband and how much have you lost?

I am only 7.5 months out. I chose the lap band because I was uncomfortable with the other choices. I always thought I too could lose it on my own and after hurting both ankles, I was way over weight and not able to exercise due to the pain. Enough was enough. I now kick myself for not doing this several years ago. I was 330 pounds at my heaviest and a size 24/26. I am now 51 years old, down 114 pounds and a size 16. I enjoy food, eat what I like, just a little instead of a lot. I am never hungry and exercise an hour every day.

Good luck with your decision. Pick what will work fir you and what you are willing to do to make it work.

Way to go Sue!  You have done an awesome job!

I chose the band mainly because of the adjustability and because (given the work I did then and the geography involved to get to my surgeon's office) I didn't mind frequent adjustments (fills and unfills). I lost 90 lbs to get to my weight goal in 12 months.

As time went on, I had a band slip and a port flip, but I loved my band. I loved that it provided early and prolonged satiety. I loved that it greatly reduced my physical hunger (need for food) as well as my appetite (desire for food).

Unfortunately, years of "silent" reflux (the only symptom was a dry, tickly cough) had done damage to my esophagus, which eventually stopped moving food, so that the more food I ate, the more it stored, and the more dilated it became. Although a complete unfill resolved the dilation, my surgeon felt strongly that my band should come out because it would be too small and too tight even without fill in it. I had it removed in April 2012.

In August 2012  I revised to the sleeve because I know myself well enough to know that I can't manage my weight for the rest of my life without some major help. I'm having trouble adjusting to my sleeve and emotionally I'm still missing my band, but it's way too soon for me to judge the sleeve as good, bad, or indifferent. I do know for sure that there's no such thing as a perfect weight loss surgery procedure. We have to make the best choice we can given the information available to us.

I wonder if you're wishy washy about WLS because it's hard for you to believe that it could work for you since your past weight loss efforts have failed? I think most of us here have dealt with a sense of failure at some point in the past, so you're in good company. It may be that you're just not ready to make a decision about WLS. Some of us need a wake up call, often unpleasant (like a diabetes diagnosis), to get us moving. Take all the time you need to research the different WLS procedures, and don't forget to give some thought to what your life could be like if you lost those 200 extra pounds.

Jean

Nice to see you on the board Jean!

Thanks!

Hi Jean good to see you again!  I really appreciated all your post
and all the help you gave to me and others.

You always know what to say and how to say it.

Thanks!

I, too, went back and forth about having wls for a long time. Finally, three years ago, I realized that I was dying. I had several serious comorbidities and was approaching my 60th birthday. I had always been able to lose weight (though now always all of it) but could never keep it off for any length of time. Since I didn't want to die I decided to move forward on wls. At the time my insurance said that my bmi wasn't high enough (35.8 with comorbidities) to have them pay for a sleeve. I have osteoporosis so I cannot have RNY or DS. That left the band.

I got my band in May of 2010 and loved it. I lost 64 pounds in 5 months (not the norm) and the comorbidities disappeared. I have kept the majority of the weight off except for a winter gain of 20 pounds this year. Unfortunately my band got really tight in April and I had to have a complete unfill to let things heal. That didn't correct the problem and my surgeon, like Jean's, said it had to come out. I fought against that but finally surrendered since we thought it was causing scar tissue. On 8/21/12 my band came out and I was converted to a sleeve. As it turned out there was no scar tissue but my own anatomy that kept swelling around the band. I have truly mourned losing my friend but when I get used to this sleeve I know I will love it, too.

See, the point is that I could never do it and keep the weight off for life without a tool. I know myself too well. Even having had wls the potential for returning to my old ways is always there. Obesity is an incurable disease. We can send it into remision but it isn't gone forever. That is why, should you choose wls you should plan to work on the reasons you overeat. Without that lifelong dedication you can and will fail. There is no perfect surgery and none is more than just a tool to use while you work your butt off.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
Sue

 
All wls is invasive, all can cause permanent change. But in my eyes, the lapband procedure changed my body the least. I did not want to malabsorb anything. I did not want to be prevented from eating any food group.

The band has done just what I wanted it to do - just give my willpower a boost and make hunger less. I am still in control and that is how I like it.

I lost 109lbs in just over 15 months but that made me too thin and I deliberately regained a bit. I tried to stay around 145 but it wasn't right for my body at my age and it was a struggle. So I relaxed and have stayed happily around the 150-155 mark.

Kate