Lap-Band Results

Hi, all! I am new to this site and I am checking out the different options with weight loss surgery. I am 5'1 and weigh 260 lbs. with a BMI of 49.1 :shrug: I am looking to see if there is anyone who has had the Lap-Band surgery and how their weight loss is going. I know someone who works at Barix and told me a lot of patients were unsatisfied with their results from the Lap-Band. Thanks, Kwaneeh

http://obesityhelp.com/forums/LapBand/ Check out the LapBander's forum and get it directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Concerning BARIX, keep in mind that they might be selling you and RNY, so info regarding the lapband might be carefully nuances to move you toward the RNY. I say might, because their actual experience and observations are actually pro-RNY, Just keep digging. I can tell you that I've seen few on the Grad Board who are lapbanders, so don't be surprised if you get few responses. Good Hunting Nowhere Man/PH/Jay

Well, I was banded June 17, 2005. That makes it 13 months for me. I've lost somewhere over 75 pounds. I was 266 and now I'm around 190. Weight loss has slowed down a lot for me now, but part if it is because I'm exercising much more, and am losing inches, not pounds. I LOVE my band! But different things work for different folks. Band pluses: 1. Low risk -- you are not cutting and stapling your insides 2. Lower severity of side complications - no leaking inside, no severe anemia, no loss of bone density, etc. Some bypass patients have lots of bad-smelling gas, and/or diarrhea all the time. 3. Continual adjustment possible - you can keep adjusting your band to get the fill you need. 4. Slower weight loss can help avoid flabby skin problems. Band minuses: 1. You don't dump sugars, so if you're a sugar addict you can still go crazy 2. If you graze all day you can defeat the band 3. You lose weight slower HOWEVER: a lot of bypass patients start to gain the weight back after the first 12-18 months because their pouches stretch. They are then hungry all the time. I am not "dumping" (lol) on gastric bypass, because I see too many success stories where it has given people their lives back. I think it's great for many people. But I preferred the lower risk of the band. You need to prioritize your needs and then compare lap band results to bypass results. Different things work for different people. Only you know what will work for you.

"HOWEVER: a lot of bypass patients start to gain the weight back after the first 12-18 months because their pouches stretch. They are then hungry all the time." This is a mis-statement. Yes, our pouches do stretch over time but not much. It's supposed to stretch some. We are not then hungry all time. Maybe with head hunger but not actual hunger. But anyone can have head hunger. Anyone will start to regain the wt whether you have had gastric bypass, lap band or non surgical if you don't stay on the program and eat correctly. If you go back to the old way of eating, you will gain no matter what you've had done. I'm guessing even the pouch area of a lap bander will stretch over time. The one benefit is that you can control the stoma size where we can't. The part of the stomach used for the pouch is the strongest muscle area of the stomach, used because it WON'T stretch much over time. I chose RNY because of the limitations on what I can eat. If I eat junk, I will be sick. Since I don't like to be sick, most of the time I eat correctly. I am 2.5 yrs out and have a regain of 3 pounds. And that only happened this spring on vacation when I grazed the whole vacation. I think you would be better served to only comment on the lap band rather than include info on RNY since you don't have first hand knowledge of the procedure and life after it.