Why did you choose Lap Band?

Bob, The adventures I had last week were due to ignorance on my part and a public health care system that is deficient.  Don't base your choice on that misadventure alone. Many bandsters have never had the problems I experienced, and are happy with their choice. And FYI, I have started to eat fish and mash potatoes with Bearnaise sauce and they stayed down fine. Whatever system you select, remember that it's not a magic wand! YOU still need to make efforts. If you are hopping that the surgery will do it all for you and that you won't need to make any efforts, then you are in for a big deception. You will need to learn to eat properly in a healthy fashion. What the band does is it lets you diet without the hunger that is omnipresent for those without the band. Yes it's possible to cheat: sit at the table and take 2 hours to eat a meal: you will be able to eat as much as you are eating now pre-op quantity wise (you defeat the purpose of the band) The band id there to let you get a "full" feeling: it doesn't cut the calorie intake or reduce the absorption metabolism. Everything you eat will be absorbed as it is now.  What the band does is let you eat small portions and then feel full. There are drawbacks: you shouldn't drink one hour before and 2 hours after you eat You need to avoid lubricants, so soup is a no-no (my doc says you are allowed one on months that have 31 days) with the meal. You should avoid gravy and sauces, or anything that will "lubricate" the food. If the food is lubricated it goes down faster and it defeats the purpose of the band, you'll be hungry sooner than you would with drier foods (this doesn't apply to the liquid and mushy phase of the post-op diet). And dumping? Why would I want to dump? No thanks, not for me. The band lets me cheat (well, eventually it will) if I want. But I have suffered enough from my weight to know that I don't want to go that route again. You mention you have had your weight for 15 years. Me? 13 years ago I weighed at 176 pounds, 6 weeks ago I weighed 304.6. NEVER again! I chose the lapband to help me by curbing my appetite, not do the work for me. My problem is I like to eat and I like to eat a lot. It's part of my addictive personality. I'm a passionate person in everything I do, food included. RNY is drastic in my book, you alter the human physiology to partially bypass the digestive system. That is major plumbing work! Modifying a system that has been working for the majority for thousands of years is not to be taken slightly. The band is just a limiting tool: it limits the amount of food you can intake in a certain time period, to me that is a much less drastic measure, with fewer possible complications and drawbacks. You could say that I'm biased since the band is the choice I made, and I wouldn't argue. So take everything everyone tells you and make up your own mind, that is the only possibility you have. You need to weigh the pros and cons, and I think that the questions you ask here are showing good research on your part. Good luck with our decision.

Marcel, Thank you so much for being forthright!   As a pastor and spiritual being, I am God directed in a lot of what I do - however I also direct myself too.  In many ways I feel God's direction in my life in one form or the other, however, when I started researching WLS and most especially RNY - I felt suddenly alone as if God had withdrawn his spirit from me.  The thought came into my mind - God gives a perfectly good body system to you - why do you want to reroute it and make it less than what it is.  But researching the Lap Band - I did not feel that same 'abandonment' for the lack of a better word, from God.   My only real concern is that I live 3 hours from my wls doctor - that is a long ways to drive and many health care facilities are ignorant  when it comes to WLS recipitents. Thanks again for being 'Frank'!   Preacher Bob.

For the record I've talked to just as many christians (some of whom are pastors) who were lead into having the RNY or the DS.   The bottom line is that we've changed our "perfect" system, when we got SMO or SSMO, allowed diabetes to come into our lives by poor diet choices (granted some people get diabetes because it's hereditary, but most of the medical community believes type 2 can be avoided for the most part through weight maintence and diet), and other comorbiditiies.   You wouldn't tell a cancer patient not to get radiation or chemo because it might mutate some cells, at the same time, while the RNY or DS might not be for you, I dont' believe God has excluded them.   Lets face reality, if you have type 2 diabetes (esp if it's out of control), yes losing weight will help control it, but an equal argument that having the DS and seeing it go into remission is just as valid.  The latest statistics are that the DS, puts type 2 diabetes in remission in over 95 percent of the people who had it, and the RNY puts about 80 percent of the people into remission.  I'm not saying God isn't leading you to get the band, He may very well be leading you to that procedure, because it would work best for you.  All i'm saying is that we shouldn't make blanket statements, because there are fine christians on this forum who've choosen other surgeries because God lead them to that particular surgery.  There is a woman on the DS forum, who believed God for the DS.  She had to self pay, and didn't have the funds, long story short, God sent her the exact amount she was short (about 20k) so she could have the DS.  It's a few years later, and she's doing fantastic, I know of similar type miracles for people seeking the RNY or the band.  Scott  "a man who was lead by God to get the DS"

Bob, I asked my surgeon if I should get a Medic Alert bracelet to let anyone know I had a band. His reply was "What for?" He says there are no medical limitations to having a band, except for one he encountered due to ignorance: a patient of his got hit by a truck in a remote location here in Quebec, and the hospital Xray'd the patient and couldn't figure how a "foreign" object got wrapped around his stomach in the accident. The patient was finally able to tell them to contact him and he explained to them what the "object" was. This situation is bound to happen less and less as the band becomes more popular and is better known in the medical community. He told me there were no "in-tubing" or other medical restrictions. The only thing, he said, is that some patients requiring other surgeries (like plastic surgery) post-op, would request to have the band emptied first as they were more susceptible than other people ( pre-op too) to nausea caused by the anesthesia. It would get refilled post-op to the previous level. It is important to let people know that you are banded if you are requesting medical services, just as it is important to let them know of any other medical affections you may  have So 3 hours away, will be a pain in the keester the first few months for your follow-ups, then it should dwell down to one visit every six months for follow up. And cost wise, since you pay for services, I still think it's a good investment to pay a hundred bucks or so a couple of times a year. Your surgeon may even bring it down to once a year after you hit the "sweet spot"? Who knows. And if you look around I also think the Band is the fastest growing WLS procedure at this time, so a lot more information becomes available every months to the involved medical community, which is a good thing for all of us, bandsters and future bandsters, I guess. May He guide you to what you need.

Just for the record here gents, when I speak of God, I am talking ONLY  of my experience and will not engage in any religious chatter.  I speak only of my experience.  Thanks, Bob.

And when I refer to the Big Guy, or He or Anyone capitalized... It's a power superior to me as I see it, and take it as you want or not. (but don't complain because I don't practice religion )