Why did you choose Realize over Lap Band????

I have my banding surgery this Friday, April 24th, and I have to choose the band I want.  This seems like the hardest decision of my life, because I don't want in 3 years, for the reports to come out saying the other band is the better of the 2...........HELP! ! !  I have spent endless hours comparing and researching the two bands.........lap band websites say their's is better, Realize websites say theirs is better, and the nuetral sites say the have the same effectiveness.  Why did you choose one over the other?  Please help...I am running out of time.

Cara

I was just faced with the same decision and on 4/13 had the realize band placed. I talked at length with my doctor about it and he stated that it is really just a matter of preference. He said that the Realize band offered the interenet support site and that was the main difference in the 2. The procedures are identical and the data for effectiveness is pretty much identical. My main reason for choosing it was the web support that you get, it has alot of great features and for me it just gave me one more avenue to ensure my success.
Ask your surgeon if he feels comfortable with one over the other. In my case my surgeon was really neutral, I think your surgeon being as comfortable with the product as possible is the key!!! Good luck making your choice, I am sure you will make the choice that is right for you.
Jenn

You wonder why they make things so confusing for  us!!  My surgeon perferred the Realize Band.  He never mentioned anything else to me.  That is what he works with so I did not have to decide for myself.  For that reason, I would say realize band is better but that is only because of my doc.  Everyone is different.  I hope this helped a little.
Good luck to you!!

Doreen

Cara -
I have not been banded yet (still researching), but I attended a Band Support Group about 10 days ago, and the guest speaker was a local Nurse-Practitioner who operates a Fill clinic.

He stated 2 things that are making me look harder at the Realize band.
1.  local doctors have noticed port leaks with the Lap Band and reported them to the company, they believe there COULD be a manufacturing defect -- but that is only their opinion.
2.  people with the new Realize-C band seem to be able to tolerate more chicken and other proteins

Best of luck in making your decision,
kath

Hi Cara!  I had never heard of the Realize Band until I went to my initial consultation.  I was dead set on the Lap-band.  My surgeon said they were basically the same.   It was just the way they were placed surgically and something about the port.  The realize band had a website that you could utilize.   So on my forms that I had to fill out, you could check Lap-band, Realize Band or let physician choose.   I let him choose.   Also I in the last support group meeting the bariactric nurse mentioned something about people being able to tolerate some foods better than the Lap_Band.

Hi,

I just met with the surgeon today. He told me he ONLY uses the Realize band right now. He said the only differance is that it's two different brands. basically the same. There is only one size with the realize band and 2 sizes of bands with the lapband. I wondered the same thing! But deg don't have ot make that choice! Sorry if it's not much help

Hi, I will be banded the 18th of May, and my decision for the Realize band is the doctor recommended it, said the port site was easier to locate, plus the big plus for Realize band is the great support site...the doctors can actually follow your daily routine and success.  Not that they have time to do this with everyone, might have a nurse to follow the patients success.  But that is the reason I chose the Realize band...seems like a better product. FArmgirl58

Hi, Cara. When I went into my surgeon's office for my first pre-op appointment I was shocked to hear that there was even another band besides the LapBand. I was banded with my Realize Band 14 months ago. I had researched bands for over 4 years and just knew that I would be a Lap Band patient like I had always dreamed to be. You could have knocked me over with a feather when my surgeon told me that I would get not a LapBand but a Realize Band. I immediately asked him why. Without getting too technical since you've heard it al before, he gave me all his reasons. He also gave me a ton of literature provided by Ethicon Endosurgery. I won't lie and say that hearing that this band was made by Johnson & Johnson didn't have anything to do with my decision. For my entire life I have trusted my health and now the health of my children to Johnson & Johnson. I use their products almost exclusively. I also have to say that I trust my surgeon and his staff implicitly. I saw their faith in this product and took what they said vs what I had read during my research over the past 4 years and decided to go with Realize. I have a great relationship with the program director in my surgeon's office. When she told me about the wonderful service the staff at their office was getting from her Realize representatives as opposed to some of the things she told me about the other representatives, it kind of sealed the deal for me. Now, 14 months out of surgery, I have no doubt that I have the perfect band inside my body.

Were you to tell me that your surgeon's office only offered one kind of band and didn't tell me which brand, I would say go for it. Regardless of who/where the band is made it is a God-send. But, since you do have a choice consider the fact that this is going to be something you will have, for all intents and purposes, for the rest of your life. To me the peace of mind in knowing how much Ethicon Endosurgery cares about their patients is one of the reasons for my success. Realize will be an active part of your support system and your support system is a key to your overall heath and well being.

 I picked Realize because of it's lower profile port, the claws in the port itself made me feel more secure that it wasn't going anywhere.. also, I trust Johnson & Johnson as a company, I know who they are.. they aren't going away any time soon - so if anything does go bad.. really bad, at least I know that the company will back it's product. 

My surgeon had no preference to which band she placed, or at least she didn't seem to have one during my sessions with her.  

I was never told that there were choices when I started this adventure.  I thought there was only the lap and just asked the doc's office and was informed I have the realize.  They switched right before my op. on march 24th 2008.  They preferred the realize.  Said it was a better product.  I have more questions now and will follow up tomorrow when I visit the doc again. thanks seayc

Regardless, no one I have spoken too has regretted getting the proceedure and all have lost more or less weight and have hope for future success after years of up and down diet struggles.