brianb

Great post. As a newbie myself, this was so helpful. I know it's posted many times on the forums, but it's easy to miss. I believe this should be part of our education pre-op as I can tell by reading posts on this forum that many people are as in the dark as I was about how the band really works. That concerns me and I think it's probably dangerous.

This study basically states that lap bands fail over 50% of the time within 7 years. My thoughts are that surgical techniques have likely improved and if someone follows the rules of the lap band, they are likely to succeed. But, this does worry me. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=16839478&ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Thanks a lot everyone for responding. I think you guys are spot on.

Love Dr. O'Brien. Thank you for that. You actually made me aware of him on a post from a while back. For anyone that doesn't know. The 8 golden rules youtube videos is excellent.

Not my intent at all! And thank you both for responding. I'm scheduled for this Fri. I had blown off the study for the exact reasons you mentioned, but then I thought, why not ask the folks on lapbandtalk.com. Lot of people on this forum. Just really interested in what others think about the study. Again, not trying to stir anything up. It's a big decision and just trying my best to make the right one for me.

I'm wondering the same thing. Some people seem to be restricted and others not. If you aren't restricted, is it okay to eat until you get your first fill? I need to remember to ask my surgeon. I'll bet after your first fill you will feel differently about things. Wonder if they can do it sooner with you? Seems like torture to have no restriction and be on a liquid diet at the same time. Bad enough doing that for two weeks pre-op.

WOW, 4 1/2 weeks with little to no hunger. WOW That is awesome for you. I won't hold my breath for that to happen to me, but boy it's nice to hear someone is having those kinds of results. I'll just be happy with a couple of weeks. On the sixth day of a two week liquid diet leading to surgery and this is not fun. Will be relieved to have the hunger gone.

Thanks for sharing. I'm scheduled for surgery March 15th. Your post makes me less anxious about it. Couple of my big worries are appetite and pain. Glad to hear both aren't a problem for you.

janleefran, I'm sorry you cancelled. I just have to comment. Lot of advice thrown out here and some of it doesn't seem thought out to me. Surgery is serious, but 25 to 30 pounds is serious also (especially at your height). Certainly the success of the lap band is obvious. Read just a few posts and look at the tickers to see that time and time again people who couldn't lose weight on their own are having incredible success and keeping it off. It's not uncommon to see folks losing over a 100 pounds time and time again. Seeing a support group was the final straw for me. It was shocking. I couldn't believe how skinny these people were. Some of them had been 300 and 400 pounds and now look emaciated. It was insane. Between the support group and researching online, there is no doubt in my mind that this tool works and it works for most. So, you are 41 and have struggled with this problem for a long time. You exercise and try to eat right. It seems to me you are a good candidate if not one of the best candidates. You have already shown that weight is a serious issue for you and you are willing to work at it after the surgery. Do you really want to be overweight the rest of your life? Remember, the statistics show that there is a 95% chance you will be. Do you want to fight those odds? For me it came down to this... Roll the dice on surgery or be over weight the rest of my life. I'm also low BMI (30, but 29 now with optifast). I have surgery scheduled for March 15th. Can't wait. I'm 43 years old and am sick of gaining weight slowly year after year. I've tried to beat that 95% statistic time and time again. Why would should we keep beating our heads against a wall like that?