any men get banded?

what were your experinces?

My experience has been GREAT so far I have not regretted one second of the process. What specifically,, do you wan to know??? 

I will tell you that it is something that you have to get used to living with.. But, thats both types of surgery and lets just face it thats LIFE CHANGES in general.

 

Yep, the band pretty much forces behavior modification.  Simply put, if I eat too much, then I throw it back up.  Immediately.  It can't get much stronger than that.  I hate vomiting, so its worked pretty well for me, only thrown up twice, so I learned my lesson quick.

I had the same impression of lap band surgery initially, too, that it was a 'woman' operation.  However, my doctor is in practice with another surgeon who was overweight.  Dr. Britt assured me it worked as well for men, and as proof, he offered his partner as a case study.  He performed surgery on his partner who has lost over 115 lbs, link posted below FYI.  They augmented their practice to do more lap band surgeries because it is their medical opinion that lap band is, in the long run, a safer and more stable approach to weight loss than RNY.  (Not looking to start a my surgery vs. yours debate, just repeating what my doctor said!)  In my personal research, I chose the lap band because:
1.  I had less weight to lose.  It seems like RNY is a good solution for those who weighed a lot more than I did initially.  This is just my opinion, though.  Ask your doctor.
2.  If it didn't work, it was reversible.  Can't do that with anything else, at least not easily.
3.  If it didn't work, I could revise to something else like RNY.
4.  Nothing inside got re-routed or cut out - very important to me personally.

As you can see, I was skeptical about WLS surgery before I had it, no matter what kind.  I was worried it wouldn't work no matter what surgery I picked because I had been so big so long.  I couldn't see myself any differently.  Boy, am I glad I did something about it!

In the end, you will make an informed choice based on your research and, most importantly, your doctor's advice.  Different surgery types are there because different people need different approaches.  Here's to your success once you decide!

Here is the link to the website I mentioned above:
http://www.samc.stirsite.com/samcnewsletter1.html

Great experience so far, down 100 lbs almost 1 year out.  I have had no complications from surgery, the lap band has worked well for me.  Some general rules I have found to be useful:

* Chew everything very well to prevent getting stuck.
* Don't drink while eating, you fill up quick w/o getting nutrition and liquid pressure can force food through your pouch, causing you to eat more in the long run.
* Regular follow up w/surgeon is crucial so the band can be tightened to maximize your weight loss.
* Exercise is key, just like with other WLS.
* Try to drink plenty of fluids between meals - this has been hard for me since I have absolutely no desire most of the time to eat or drink since the band is good at creating a sense of fullness or satisfaction.

Is there anything in particular you are looking to find out, like specific post-surgery issues, what its like to get a fill (band adjustment), if the band limits strenuous activities (once recovered from surgery, in a nutshell, no), etc.?

Just wondering if you felt the band provided enough forced behavior modification.  Why is the lap band forum all women and the men forum is all RNY?  The weight loss seems so much faster with RNY .

Yes, there is a change after the Lap Band.

 

Right after surgery I noticed a difference. From the first day home as I started the Full Liquid diet the challenge was figuring out exactly WHEN tooooo eat. Because of the swelling right after surgery it really took some time before I felt hunger at all. That first week I measured my meals (my liquids) in tablespoons.. After about 3 tablespoons of a Boost or Ensure I was done with my meal. But, once the swelling went down and I progressing from blended to soft to real food my food intake did increase. By the time of my first fill I was up to about a cup of food per meal. After the fill I kind of started all over again.. I just got filled at the beginning of this month and right now I am eating maybe a ½ cup of food per meal. But, how much I am able to eat really depends on how bulky the food item is. Like I can eat more Chicken or Fish then I can red meat or pork. Breads have been kind of a challenge.. I can only eat really thin bread and it has to be toasted. I tired beagles last week for the first time and again as long as it was toasted I was able to eat maybe half of one half of a beagle. But, you’ll notice right after a fill that even the easiest food.. Even WATER is difficult.

 

I would say for me other then the decreased apatite the band has worked on my mind and I kind of knew it would. I went into this knowing that I just didn’t want to experience any of the negative,, and I haven’t. I have not had the FOAMIES that people describe. I have never thrown up from eating too much or eating the wrong thing. But, I haven’t tested this thing out to much either. I’m too chicken. I don’t want this thing to slip I don’t want to puke my brains out.

 

The band has taught me to listen to my body for hunger cues. After surgery that seams to be different too. My stomach growls like it always did… But, there is getting hungry growl. Meaning that the bottom portion of my stomach starts to growl a little. Usually after about 30 min of that then I get this reverberating growl that starts at the top and moves to the bottom portion of my stomach. When that hits,, I NEED TO EAT..

I have also learned the difference between FILL and SATISFIED there really is a fine line.   

So my experience is that YES the band offers me enough restriction. But, like any DIET WLS its not fool proof. Success TOTALLY lays in our hands. But, thats with both surgeries as well. In my support group there are three people in the LAP BAND support group who had RNY 3-5 years ago who are now going for the band because they regained their weight after RNY.. The reason being that they did not fallow the rules after surgery they went back to eating what that wanted and ignored their diet and they stopped exorcising. The same thing can happen with either surgery. If you ever have a chance to talk to someone who is NOT satisfied with their result after surgery try going out to dinner with them before you change you mind watch them eat you'll figure out why they arent happy and it has NOTHING to do with the type of surgery they had.

I can't talk for anyone else.  I looked at a Lap Band and RNY.  I felt like I needed the RNY for me to have long term success with WLS.  I was not sure that I would get the results with a Lap Band that I wanted.  I also did not like the idea of a something that wasn't me inside my body (yet I went had had my insides re-routed and stomach cut into two parts, go figure).  I also took into consideration that studies use RNY as the comparision for "curing" diabetes.  I also felt that I had so much weight to lose that RNY was a good choice for me.

I really think that all forms of WLS are good options for many people (I really think that WLS is not for everyone).  The "best" form of WLS is different for every person, for some people it is a band, others RNY and still others VSG or DS.  Consider all the different forms and find the best fit for you.

The more informed you are, the better choice you will make.  There are guys here in the Locker Room who have been very successful with every form of WLS.

Good Luck

Jim