Questions on Lap Banding

[Alway_Sme 0]

My doctor has recommended that I go in for lap-banding. I was always on the heavy side as a child and in the last 6 years of diets and weight loss programs I still stay within a 10lb range. I currently meet the pre-admission requirements but would like a little more information from people who have gone threw it before I decide whether or not to book my consult with the surgeon for his opinions.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME:

I am a 21 year old female. I am 6’ tall and currently weigh 302LBS (BMI of 41). Outside of a hormonal imbalance, I am relatively healthy (low cholesterol, normal blood pressure, etc). I would like to lose 110 – 120 LBS to be at an ideal weight for me.

QUESTIONS:

1. Is there anyone in my age group that has had the procedure done? What was your experience like? Would you recommend it to someone your age or would you have rather waited until you were older? (Thanks to those 28+ that shared their experiences, it has given me some insight.)

2. This might sound a little stupid but, what happens to the excess skin? Does it “shrink” with the weight loss or do you have to have a cosmetic procedure to remove it? Is it a hit or miss situation and just have to wait till the end to find out?

3. Other then worrying about the diet restrictions / modifications, did anyone have any other psychological effects? (ie - Why did I do this to myself?, depression, etc)

4. I am a sucker for spicy food, anything from chili peppers to hot sauce. I do not get gassy from it either (a huge bonus). As soon as I stop eating spicy food then I get a craving for sweets. Are you able to return to eating this food after the healings complete?

Anything else that you feel would be useful knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

[Alexandra 55]

Hi Always,

Welcome to LBT! You're in the right place for information and experiences about lap banding.

I'm too old to address your first question, but there certainly are younger bandsters here who can help.

--Excess skin is an issue that varies a lot from person to person, but IN GENERAL age is your biggest ally here. Genetics, how long you've been obese, skin elasticity, these are all things that no one can change about you and that have a big effect on how your skin will react to weight loss. Lots of people don't want or need cosmetic work done after weight loss, and lots do. Of course, much of that is in one's own perception of what is acceptable and what is not. In my experience, my skin is continuing to shrink as time passes, but someone else who looks exactly like me might have gone back under the knife once or twice. I just don't feel it's necessary.

--Psychological reactions are unavoidable, of course, and they depend on your mindset and emotional/psychological state going in. Are you prepared to have food become a MUCH SMALLER part of your life? If not, don't have surgery. If so, you'll be able to deal with the fact that role food plays changes dramatically after banding. It's not an overnight thing, and it's not necessarily easy, but it's what makes banding work so we have to allow it, embrace it, and accept it.

--We can eat anything we want; individual reactions may vary. You may find that your tastes change, but there's no prohibition against any type of food post-banding.

Good luck, and keep asking questions!

[Alway_Sme 0]

Thank you for your response Alex.

At this moment I am not too worried about the food part. If food is sitting in front of me when I am not hungry, typically I don't have a tendency to eat it. Over all I am not a big eater and eat pretty good. (I have seen dieticains on a regualr basis before, Ive given up on them now because its the same thing over and over again.)

Secondly, Two of my aunts and my mom are going in for lap banding on the 18th of May. If I decide to go threw with this I will have support close by, experiencing the same things. That is making me a little more confident in my descion.

[JanetC 2]

Hey Sme! I'm too old for your age-related questions & Alex did a great job answering the others, heh, but I wanted to say hi!! Welcome to LBT! We're glad you're here!

And if I could have had it younger, I would have! Just hadn't heard of it. :bananadoggywow:

[Alway_Sme 0]

Thanks for the response Janet,

The earlier the better is the drift that I am starting to get from others as well.

I'm going to book the consult and see what he says. It would be atlease 6 months before the procedure can take place. They like to start putting lifestyle changes into place before the procedure so that it is a gradual transisition instead of a complete shocker.

Karla

[HeatherGurl 0]

QUESTIONS:

1. Is there anyone in my age group that has had the procedure done? What was your experience like? Would you recommend it to someone your age or would you have rather waited until you were older?

I would like to think that I am in your age group :grouphug: I am 24. This is the best decision in my life. I am about 6 months out and could not be happier. The experience has been great for me. My life is on track and I am loving it!!! If I could have, I would have had this done as soon as I could put food in my mouth. I have always been overweight.

2. This might sound a little stupid but, what happens to the excess skin? Does it “shrink” with the weight loss or do you have to have a cosmetic procedure to remove it? Is it a hit or miss situation and just have to wait till the end to find out? Ditto on what Alex said. Right now I have some flabbiness, not really saggy though. I am thinking with the proper exercises and time... it won't be too bad.

3. Other then worrying about the diet restrictions / modifications, did anyone have any other psychological effects? (ie - Why did I do this to myself?, depression, etc)

No bad effects on me here. Only great. It sucks not to pig out on stuff like the good old days... but it is well worth it. I have found other things to do with my time. (shopping, tanning, getting my nails done.)

4. I am a sucker for spicy food, anything from chili peppers to hot sauce. I do not get gassy from it either (a huge bonus). As soon as I stop eating spicy food then I get a craving for sweets. Are you able to return to eating this food after the healings complete?

I haven't had any problems with spicy foods. And with the sweets, I can still eat them but not the mass amounts that I used to. bread and Pasta will not go down, but in my case... that is GREAT. That is why I got so big in the first place.

Anything else that you feel would be useful knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Check out the Before and After pictures thread. It is very inspirational. Also, feel free to PM or email me.

[Alway_Sme 0]

Thanks for your insight Heather,

The surgery is looking better and better as a choice for me.

[Alway_Sme 0]

Did anyone have any socail stigma with the surgery??

IE) "If your want to loose weight put down the fork and exercise"

If it was that easy no one would become obese. I am fairly active (tremendous amount of walking for work / personal, stairs to the nines and so on, just don't expect me to run a mile, I'll just keel over and die!) and eat pretty nutricously (quantity and quality).

or

Being accussed of being annorexic or bulemic?

Kind of a stupid question, but I get that already. If I go to Rotten Ronnies, most days I have a hard time eating a regular sized meal. I've been confronted many times on having an eating disorder because I am obese I am "expected" to eat more. Did anyone suffer threw this afterwards? From the stigma I have already had in discussing it, I am going to try to keep it as quiet as possible. My family is aware of my descion, but I don't want to go out and "spread the news"

**I hope the above did not offend anyone**

I am just trying to find information for me. Everyone has there own triumps and reasons.

[Marimaru 7]

Karla,

You've said a number of times that you eat pretty healthily, and decent amounts. Have you addressed this with your doctor? The only thing that the band will do for you is help you eat less, so if you calories are in a good range but you are still not losing, or are gaining, it might be something else, and the band might not actually help you that much. Search for threads by VinesQueen for details on her story, and you'll understand what I mean.

I haven't ever been accussed of having an eating disorder since banding. I had one person tell me that she thought I was cheating when I told her about my surgery. I just told her I didn't care if I was cheating or not, lol.

RE: Skin; I have some flab. I got stuck on my weight loss for a long time, and I have noticed that the skin in some places has come back a little. I think it's really too soon to know whether I want to have major work done at the end of this journey, but I think I will definately need my breasts lifted! lol.

[Alway_Sme 0]

The doctor said it's because of my hormonal problems. The hormones makes it easy for me to gain weight and inorder for me to correct the situation I have to lose weight. The hormones also make it damn near impossible to lose that weight. It's a viscous circle.

[Nana~ 4]

I'm 28 years old I was 26 when I was banded.

I am happy I got it done at my age! Wish I had done it sooner!

I tell everyone who asks me about it I think its wonderful and recomend it if your willing to work with the tool.

Some people "need" surgery to help with the excess skin other may or may not want it. It has alot to do with genetics and age also how fast you lose the weight. I've heard more bypass patients need it because the rapid weightloss but I dont know that for a fact.

I did go thru a phase of why did I do this, but then as soon as I started seeing the results I knew why and I was happy.

foods are a hit and miss thing for each of us..I reccomend keeping a journal of your intake for the first month or so.That way if you get gassy PB or whatnot youll have a journal of exactly what you ate and maybe test that food at a later date.

I read alot of people cant eat things like salad raw veggies rice and noodle and bread. the only thing I cant eat out of that list is bread..Everyone is Differ.

Hope this helps some :grouphug: