Why did you chose the band?

[blondielou 2]

Hi everyone! This is a long post, but I am really, really searching for advice and opinions so if you make it through the post, I would greatly, greatly appreciate your time.

This is the 2nd biggest decision I've ever made in my entire life. I'm not a risk taker (because I have BAD luck. I'm a walking Murphy's Law. NO joke!). So I just want to put out as much info on what I'm going through as I can.....which means this is a book.

I'm in the beginning stages of researching the band. Right now I'm leaning toward Lap-Band and went to a seminar last night. The surgeon who lead the seminar wasn't completely anti-band but he was definitely pro-bypass.

Some background, I'm 25 and have been overweight since 3rd grade. I don't eat a lot of junk, I actually don't even eat a whole lot at all. I don't make the best food options, one reason is veggies make me want to throw up. Just the smell makes me sick. I've read that I might have very sensitive taste buds but someone told me I just spoiled my taste buds because the veggies I do eat are starchy. Over the past year I've also went through some life changing events. The first was my divorce-on one hand I did lose about 30 lbs due to the depression and it made me want to get a grip & start living a better life so I joined the gym about 4 months after our split. Then 3 days later I had a bad ankle injury. A very rare one at that. I've been dealing with that since April of 2010 and just had surgery May 24, 2011 and I'm still not able to walk. So for over a year I've been in and out of casts & leg braces and only able to walk very short distances which has sent my weight through the roof.

Well, a few months before my ankle surgery (I had a bone transplant-I had over half of my talas bone replaced with the bone & cartilage of a cadaver. I had a cartilage lesion which caused a 2 inch hole in my bone) I was totally done with trying to milk my way through the ankle stuff because it hurt when I walked, every single step so I said screw it and started going to the gym. I was ready to change my life, I was done with feeling so ugly and fat and wishing I could be different but I was also done with the crash diets, starving and diet pills. So I started eating better (although it wasn't a diet, I would indulge every now and then) but only drank Water (no more sodas, not even diet due to the preservatives in them & fake junk) and started going to the gym about 4 times a week, 1 1/2 a day. Well, I did that for almost 3 months and no results. I was doing over 10 miles on the cycle (random hill so it had peak, valleys and PEAKS) and over a mile on the treadmill (very brisk walking, about 3.5 mph with a small incline) plus lifting weights for my arms.

So while I've been out of work I have been researching the Lap-Band. I researched it some a while back (pre-divorce) but my husband said he loved me no matter what but didn't want me to do because his mother had bypass and it was just awful. I feel more comfortable with the idea of the band because it doesn't involve removing and/or rerouting your internal organs. I also am very impressed with the healing time, which is important because I don't want to tell people at work what I'm doing and I'm using 10 weeks of my 12 weeks of Family Medical Leave. The reason I don't want to tell people is because I don't want that stigma, and I can admit I have it too sometimes. You look at someone or comment, "Wow, she/he looks great! They've lost sooo much weight!", "Oh, you didn't know, they had that weight loss surgery."..."Ohhhhh". People think it's the easy way out and it isn't.

I am 100% against gastric bypass because I've seen several people in my own family that have had it and it was so awful. Several of my mom's coworkers have had it and now they have to have Iron infusions and it is just awful. Now, the weight loss was amazing but the after effects were almost too much to see someone go through. Not downing it for someone who does it, but it is NOT a choice for me.

So here is where I'm on the fence. The surgeon said that if you have a lot of weight to lose, 100 or more lbs, than the band may not get you there. He also said that in a majority of patients they don't even get into the 20's for BMI, they end up still in the 30's. He kept saying that if you want significant weight loss then he opted for bypass or the sleeve. He said the sleeve is in between (results, risks & recovery) bypass & band. He said you lose more weight than with the band & your eating habits aren't significantly altered (such as with the band with bread, rice, Pasta, eating & drinking during your meal, how fast you drink Water and how you have to eat your food slowly & chew, chew, chew). BUT I have seen so many people just on this site that have lost 100 lbs, or are right at it or have even surpassed it. I may not ever want to lose that much weight because 60 & 70 lbs is a lot of weight. My mom asked the surgeon if I chose the lap-band & he felt I would lose more with another surgery would he still do it, he said he would. My mom also told me 2 important things that are sticking in m mind: 1.) maybe all I want to lose is 60 or 70 lbs because that's a lot, some people may not want to lose 100 or more lbs & 2.) they're all about the numbers. They want to be able to say that their patients have lost X amount of weight. That's important to a clinics reputation.

I also know the band is a tool and I was already willing to change my life for good. Not just a crash diet, I want to be able to be "fit" (or "fit" for me, I know I'll never be a Track and Field star or maybe never be able to be in a marathon or triathlon) but I want to be in shape enough to run. I don't know why, but maybe it's because it's something I've never been able to do. After just reading one blog on the sleeve & the length of recovery, I'm almost back 100% at the band. My major problem is the hunger factor.

When I got serious about eating better & working out my main problem was the hunger. I went to GNC to talk to one of their nutritionist and told him that since I started to eat better it was a different kind of hunger. It was PAIN!!! I asked for an appetite suppressant, not a diet pill because I told him if the hunger would just stop I'd be fine. He told me nothing would stop hunger craving but caffeine, that's all 99% of diet pills were, so he suggest Oxy Elite Pro as well as CLA (which "supposedly" helps shrink belly fat over a longer period of time (very slowly) and it's safflower oil (I found a lot of medical sites & Wikipedia had a lot of info on the studies that did show in a lot of animal trials that it did decrease the fatty deposits and overall mass).

Y'all just don't know!!!!!! I was hungry ALLLLLL the time & I was eating! But I was able to tell there is a different in getting full on healthier food & on junk food. When I say I was eating better I would eat a Breakfast of fruit, oatmeal and low fat yogurt. For lunch I would usually have grilled chicken and fruit (maybe a grilled chicken sandwich on wheat bread or a grilled low-fat wrap at this cafe I fell in love with, Tropical smoothie Cafe, they served nothing fried-and maybe a smoothie-always checked the fat & calories). Snacks were usually fruit, low fat-low cal yogurt, or string cheese. dinner was whatever my mom cooked, with moderation (after my divorce I'm back at home, which is a little depressing but my ex-husband was physically & mentally abusive & I wasn't allowed to see them -and I'm an only child- so I love being here with them). But I was so hurt that with eating better & excercising so much I didn't get hardly any results. Now i didn't weigh myself, I went by how my clothes felt & how I looked because a number isn't really important to me, it's how I see myself in the mirror. When I go to the dr., I close my eyes on the scale & tell them not to tell me because I can't do anything about it (at that time) and it's only going to depress me. I dread getting on the scale so bad that I almost get sick to the point of vomiting. I don't even have a primary dr. and I know it's because of that one reason. So I know it's time to change my life & I'm willing to put in the effort with added diet and exercise.

I blame a lot of my problems on my weight, and of course going through divorce did not help, especially since he left me for another woman. She's thinner than I am but she's not thin or skinny. I was expecting Barbie so at least I didn't blame him leaving me ALL because of my weight. But I joined a few dating sites and I didn't get almost any e-mails. Guys don't flirt with me, except the occasional look & flirt at a red light when I'm driving, I was driving my mom's convertible one day & this guy (on a two lane road w/ a turning lane) drove in the turning lane yelling at me to give him my phone number because he "liked what he saw". And it was at the next red light when my brain gave way to the butterflies & giddy-ness. Ummmm, really? It's so bad that you got all excited and giddy over some stranger putting both our lives at danger? Has it really come to this?!!! I'm so not use to it that I was giddy about that?!!! And my mom tells me I don't get very many "bites" online because I'm not someone that sleeps around & I basically say that on my profile LOL but I just hate my weight. All I've ever wanted was a husband, home & family and now that I'm thrown back out into this lonely world, I'm panicked because even though I'm told that I'll meet someone my weight is a huge downfall. If I was thinner, more guys would talk to me & I would probably be asked to do more things. That isn't the only reason I'm doing this, I'm ready to change my life but it would be nice for a change to feel pretty & to get to shop at more stores in the mall other than plus size stores or stores that have a women's department.

I'm scared out of my mind. Now I don't know which surgery is right for me, my insurance covers the sleeve & the band. After reading my semi-life story, what is your opinion? Would the band be something that sounds like would work for me? Why did you chose the band over bypass? If you could go back, would you make the same decision?

THANK YOU FOR READING!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

[Meekie 5]

You did not lie, it is a longggggggggg post! LOL! You poured out your heart and feelings.

First thing to answer your question; I chose the band because I wanted to start with the least drastic weight loss surgery. Seeing and reading that you can always go more drastic, I decided to start with the band. It fit what I needed. This was something to help me control the portions while I did my part, exercising and making better choices in the type of food I consumed. I was willing to do that; my part, that is. I chose the band because there are people who have been successful with it. They may not have lost every pound they needed to lose, but they lost weight. They proved that this tool does give you the assistance that it says it does in most people. I chose the band because the side effects, (slimming, pbing, getting stuck, losing restriction) can be somewhat controlled with my choices. However, side effects beyond my control, (erosion, slippage) were possible but minimal. I was willing to take the risk. And finally, if I failed with the band, I could have it removed. (But, thank God, I've not failed.)

One thing I will tell you, the band does not cure, solve, resolve, do away with, heal, diminish, delete, deplete, or erase all the reasons why you eat and got to the weight you are! It does nothing to deal with your emotions and feelings of low self esteem. It doesn't ward off rejection (as this still happens to skinny people as well). That is something you're going to have to own up to and not blame (even the divorce, ankle, etc, etc) others or life's situations. Once you look at them head on, you were overweight before these events. What made you fat then? What are you willing to change? What are you willing to do consistently for YEARS?

So, with that being said, I think the all weight loss surgeries work to some degree. The INDIVIDUAL must know themselves and what they are willing to do to make them work.

Hope this helps. Just my humble opinion.

[Kimmypoo38 5]

I am 7 weeks post op and I thought I knew everything about the band. Well, I am learning new stuff everyday. I think you have alot of stressors in your life that could sabatoge any weightloss surgery. I was 272lbs , 3 days before surgery. So far I have lost 23lbs. I have worked my butt off just to lose it! It doesn't just fall off. The band controls my hunger for 3-4 hours and some days I am hungry all the time but I think its all fueled by emotions. The band is NOT a quick fix and there are people that go weeks without losing a pound. If your okay with losing 1-3lbs or less a week with calorie restriction and lots of exercise then the band may be right for you. If you are going to fall apart after only losing 3-4 lbs a month even after working your but off, then the Band may NOT be right for you. If you cheat alot ,like lots of carbs and refuse to stop drinking while you eat, then the band is NOT for you. I love sweets so I was unsure if the band was the best surgery but I did it anway. Well I my urge for sweets are still there but I have limited my intake of them by 85%. I refuse to sabotage my weightloss. It took me 2 years to decide to get the band. I was all set to have it in 2009 but chickened out because I was not ready for the committment. I am so glad I waited. I think that if you do get the band, you have to be 100% ready for the challenge. Honestly you don't sound like your ready yet. You have constant issues with hunger( which sounds more emotional) and dealing with life after divorce. Hunger was not my issue before the band. I was just GREEDY and ate anything I wanted and lacked will power. Fast food, sweets and carbs was my diet. I ate through all my emotions. Heck I was never one of those people who said "I don't know why I am so big because I don't eat that much." I think that is the biggest lie that overweight people tell themselves. You would be surprised the amount of food that people eat without being aware. I thought about making good decisions about food but failed at it and went back to all my bad habits before having the surgery. Dig deep, seek pre-op diet counseling and come clean about food issues.

Lastly, some Doctors are pro gastric bypass for several reasons. They get more money if you do GB. They have probably seen countless people take the least restrictive route of Lapband , fail and comeback and get GB and the list goes on. Some people have no business getting lapband because they haven't dealth with issues that will sabotage the weightloss or they want instant success. Honestly I think everyone wants instant success! GB will get you that instant sucess but you have to weigh the pros' and cons of the invasiveness of the surgery. GB was not an option for me because I loved sweets and feared that I would have dumping symdrome everyday.Also I am 38 yrs old and want to have children and did not want to wait 18 months to persue fertility treatments. That was my rational for getting the lapband. I knew I had to work harder but felt that was best surgery for me because I knew I could control my sweet intake, without having to give them up completey. Its working for me because it took 2 years to change my mindset before I would do it. Sadly being in bad health and having boarderline high blood pressure and diabetes was not enough to make me consider WLS.It wasn't until I confronted my issues of infertility that made me want to lose weight. Me and my hubby just got approved to adopt a baby and through the process the light bulb came on that I needed to be healthy and live a long time to care for our future child/children. The erge was so strong that it totally changed my outlook on life. I am so motivated that I can hardly stand myself. I am on a mission that I have never ventured into before and it has caused a huge change inside of me. I have my moments where I get a little frustrated but I stay the course and the weight is coming off. I am execising 5-6 days a week and staying away from sweets and carbs. I actually learned that I can go weeks without eating icecream or a peice of cake and have not died! Make sure you have good support systems to help you through any weightloss surgery and seek out counseling if you need it. DON"T RUSH YOUR DECISION!

[klariade 7]

I can't speak about the sleeve, but I can tell you the band is the best thing I have ever done for myself. My story is similar to yours. I've been overweight for as long as I can remember. After high school the weight continued to pack on, and after ending a very bad relationship (I was engaged to a man who was verbally abusive) and moving back in with my parents I was at rock bottom. I topped out the scales at 374 pounds!!! Anyway, I, like you, did a lot of research for over a year and kept trying to convince myself I didn't need surgery. I tried just about every diet in existence. I didn't want to be "one of those people" who needed surgery to lose weight. The fact of the matter is though, that I was out of control and needed to take drastic measures to get my life back. After much research and discussion and crying myself to sleep, I decided on the lap band. I chose lap band over bypass because it is less risky. I didn't want to re-arrange my insides, and didn't want to deal with the malabsorption. My best friend who is a nurse's aide has seen several patients die from bypass and says almost all of her bypass patients have to come back within a year for more surgery. I know a couple people who had very successful bypasses, but I didn't want that. Plus, like you I wanted to get married and have children one day and did a lot of research on the two surgeries and pregnancy. In short, it was easier to have a band and be pregnant.

So, I was banded on August 7, 2009 and I would do it all over again. It's been a long road, rocky at times, but it has been all worth it. I am lucky that I didn't have any complications during or after surgery, and I have a very short list of foods I can't tolerate. Everyone is different though. I am a food addict and compulsive over eater. Always have been, always will be. What the band did for me was control my hunger and, by not allowing me to eat as much, I was forced to deal with some things without the aid of food. I've become a new person because I've learned to deal with emotions and trials and other things without eating myself to death.

And your doctor is wrong about lap band success. I know that is harsh, but it is true. Just look at how many people on here have lost over 100 pounds!!! I've lost 162 pounds in a year and a half (put some back on around my wedding, but working on getting those back off now). Yes you will lose slower than if you had gastric bypass, but in my opinion that is healthier and you will most likely have less complications. It is NOT easy. You still have to make good choices, and you still have to exercise and all that jazz. The band restricts many foods, but not ALL of them. I gained 13 pounds by eating my way around my band (ice cream, chips, Cookies, and other foods that slide right down and don't stay in your pouch). The band simply is a tool to control your hunger, and if you follow the rules you WILL have success!

Ultimately, the decision is yours. I do have to say that from reading your post it sounds like you've already made your decision, you just need some reassurance that it is the right one. If that is the case, then I say GO FOR IT! You will not regret it, I promise.

And as for people that think you're taking the easy way out, I laugh at them. They don't know the half of it, and if they're not willing to listen and understand then forget em. You need to do what is best for YOU, and that is all that matters.

[mauraclegg 29]

I got my band because I was scared to do a bypass - that's the truth. I had been told and read how bypass weight loss is through malabsorption.. that's not my idea of fun. I also know one woman who went septic after her bypass and almost died, and another young friend of a friend died because of bypass complications.... are they unique, probably, but 2 people within the circle of people I know is way too many people for me.

I saw the commericals for the band, signed up for a seminar and promptly blew off the seminar not once but twice. Then one day it struck me that I NEEDED to do this more ME, not for anyone else. I finally went to a seminar and started my appointments. I was banded promptly 6 months later

I have lost a substantial amount of weight - 85lbs - has it been easy (relatively). But I think that is because I changed my mind set when I had my band placed. Am I still an emotional eater (you betcha), but I can eat a small amount of chocolate rather than a tub of frosting. THere are foods I miss - like french fries, squishy white bread and bread in general.. but don't get me wrong - I would not change a thing that my band helps me to do.

Unlike the bypass the weight loss can be slower with a band, but I will stand by the fact that it is 60% band and 40% mental. It is not about being on a "diet", but rather changing your way of thinking about food. I think using the smaller flatware and plating helps with that. The threat of puking, sliming or pb's never has deterred me - it happens and it will happen. Does it take time to get to restriction - probably - but I think if your mind is in the right place - meaning you are truly READY - then you will self impose a restriction. That is what I did from the beginning.

Believe it or not my main problem these days is getting in enough calories so that I can still lose weight. People say about 1200 calories a day is good, but when you eat about a cup of food at a time that can be hard to do.

I think the band is a FANTASTIC tool and I have recommended it to many people. I brag about my band.

My main problem since banding is that I have some self-esteem issues... but really if that's my only problem I'll take it

[DawnZ 0]

BlondieLou -

I am alot like you. I have been over weight most of my life and finally deceided in April to persue the Lap Band. I did not want to have the GB and have them take out and rearrange what I have inside me, they are there for a reason.

My neice is an OR nurse and has actually helped a surgeron with the Lap Band surgery. She asked him all sorts of questions before brining it up to me. I went to his serminar and after I was more interested in it so I started the process with getting refferals etc. Due to insurance, I couldnt see that surgeon but I saw one that is within my group and I am so happy. The first consultation was all about the different types of weight loss surgery. I have chosen the Lap Band (get banded on Aug. 25, 2011) because it is the healthy choice all around. Less evasive, you lose the weight at a slower pace, so you can work on not having the hanging skin etc. He even agreed with me that it would be the best, and we even had the same "ideal weight" that I should get down to. He also stated that it is a LIFSTYLE CHANGE. You have to be willing to change what we have been doing all these years for it to work. You need to excerise 6x times a week etc. It is a tool to help you lose. You can gain weight on the Lap Band just like the other weight loss surgeries. You have to work it for it to work.

I have lost 75 lbs before with weight watchers, but I also gained it back plus some. I know I could lose,, but keeping it off was a problem. Plus, I was losing the weight to look better for a wedding. I have lost weight before because of the boyfriends I was with etc.. and it always has come back on. I am now to the point where I am doing this for me, nobody else. I need to start caring for myself and loving myself instead of everyone else in my life like I always did.

I have a boyfriend right now, who is supportive but also makes verbal attacks. I keep telling him that I am doing this for me, not for him, not for my family, not to be skinny and meet someone new, but for me. The way I see my relationship with him is that it can go 2 ways. Way 1 will be he starts becoming more supportive and change the areas in his life that needs change, or Way 2 will be us breaking up. We have been together for 16yrs and I know what can happen, but I am still going to do it. What happens will happen and I can not let that worry me.

As I went on all my appointments with the pulmonologist, dietician, cardiologist,physciatrist and the surgeon, I was getting excited every day. I had all the doctors and specialists saying to me that this is going to be so good for me and that made me even want it more. In the begining I only told a few close friends what I was doing. Then, I told pretty much everyone at work, as my family already knew what I was persuing. I received great feed back from pretty much everyone. Those who care about you will be supportive. I only had 1 person that made me feel like I was taking the easy way out, but I explained to him, that it is not the easy way out. I still have to make the best food choices, cutting back on how much I eat, when I eat and most of all I have to excerise like crazy, so where does all this sound like the easy way out? After that he apoligized and he understood.

Sorry to keep going on and on, but most of all, you have to decide for you what it better. You have gone thru some rough times, and maybe talking to someone will help you. Most of all you need to remember that you are a great and wondeful person and you deserve the best things in life. Keep on telling yourslef that because I am sure you dont hear that enough. You need to sit back and take control of your life and do what you can to make you happy! START LOVING YOURSELF. It was really really hard for me, and took 40 years to get here, but I am finally here and I am so much happier for it!!

If you want to talk futher on specifics etc...just send me a message, I would be more than happy!

[sweetpea61956 6]

I researched all types of WLS and decided on the band for mainly 3 reasons: 1) short recovery time, 2) reversable 3) I could lose the weight, just couldn't keep it off, the band will be my constant reminder.

Good luck