In the Valley of Decision

Altoonasoup · May 26, 2006

This is my first time finding this forum. I have not yet made my decision about surgery. I have several friends who have had gastric bypass but none who have had banding. After seeing what my friends went through with bypass, I rejected the idea entirely. However, the lap banding procedure seems much less invasive, and hopefully less complications. I admit the idea that it is reversible appeals to me. I believe that through this forum I will gather enough information to help me make a decision, based on fact, and not fear. Looking forward to hearing from you!

NJChick · May 26, 2006

Welcome !! good luck with your decision :cake:

DonnaB · May 27, 2006

Hi Altoonasoup,

Welcome to Lapbandtalk. The best advise I can offer is to do a lot of research so you'll understand what the band will and won't do. The biggest thing people considering the band need to know is that the band won't do it for you all by itself. You have to do a fairly substantial amount of the work yourself.

As you are probably aware through having friends who've had the bypass, that surgery limits the amount of food you eat AND causes a percentage of that food to pass through the body without being absorbed. The result is rapid weight loss with only a small amount of effort by the patient.

The band limits the amount of food you can eat, but because everything you eat is absorbed, the weight loss is slower. One of the hardest parts about weight loss with a band is that YOU have to control the calories, fat, carbs, etc. of the food you ingest. In other words, you have to take responsibility for the quality of the food you choose to eat. It sounds very simple, but it's critical to having weight loss success with a lap band. If you're someone who likes to graze all day, the band probably won't help you. If you eat a lot of sweets, chocolate, ice cream, etc. the band probably won't help you. If the problem you have with food is quantity, the lap band is the right WLS for you.

Sorry if you already knew all that, but this is something that comes up again and again here on LBT. I think the best way to look at it is that the lap band is like any common manual tool you might find in your garage, if it's the right tool for the job, it'll work. If it's not the right tool, it's worse than useless because it will only frustrate the user!

Does the lapband work?

Is it easier to pound in a nail with a hammer or with a rock?

With a hammer of course--but you STILL have to POUND!

So it is with a band.

Altoonasoup · May 27, 2006

Thanks Donna! That answers a lot of my misgivings. I am not afraid of the surgery itself so much, but whether or not I can deal with the lifestyle changes. One question I'm wanting to ask: Is this for the rest of my life? Do you keep the band from now on, or have it removed after your weight loss? I know that some foods are not well tolerated with the band, but is that forever? Will I never drink soft drinks again, never have pork chops, no coffee? I know I can never allow myself to go back to the portions that I eat now, and I know that my eating speed must decrease. But will I be able to bring back my favorites later on, or do I kiss my favorite foods goodbye forever?

Elisabethsew · May 27, 2006

No coffee? I would die. LOL. I was given a list of foods that were poorly tolerated in a lot of people but the only forbidden choice was carbonated drinks. The only time the band would be removed would be for medical/surgical complications so I'm planning on keeping mine for as long as I can.

What I have discovered is that you have to be patient with gastric banding. You have several weeks of healing and then the process begins of going for adjustments to tighten the band until you reach optimal restriction. Go to the Inamed website and do some reading there also.

Welcome! Feel free to ask lots of questions as the people here are quite knowledgable and willing to help.

Altoonasoup · May 27, 2006

Thanks for the encouragement. The way I see it the Band is just to force me to make changes, which if I could make them on my own I would not need banding. However if I don't make changes, I am starting to see my health deteriorate, which will force other changes.

Tell me that it's worth it. Tell me that the pros outweigh the cons. As I said at first I had friends who had gastric bypass. One died, another came close to dying, the other three have regained all their weight and more. I would not even consider going through what they have. If I didn't feel that the Lap banding is different I would not be here.

I know that no one can promise me a rose garden. But I don't want to risk what health I do have, for a temporary improvement. That is what I am here to learn. Is it worth it? Would you do it again? What would you do differently? Is it better than gastric bypass? I know that you are trying to be careful to not tell me what to do, but tell me how it has affected your life.

Elisabethsew · May 27, 2006

I am an RN and I work in a hospital where many gastric bypasses (RNY) are performed. The reasons I chose lapband were:

1. It's a relatively quick and safe operation.

2. Weight loss is not through malabsorption so there's no need to take supplements.< /span>

3. The operation is reversible.

4. The recovery is not bad (went back to work in a week).

5. The band is adjustable so you can make it tighter/looser as needed.

6. It's a tool that has been proven to augment weight loss.

I am only 8 weeks post-op and just had my first band adjustment. The surgeon tightened the band by instilling 1 cc of saline. I have a male friend who was banded in July of 2005 and he's down 125 pounds. I do not regret my decision to have the surgery at all. Weight loss is the one thing in my life I have never been successful with. Prior to this operation, I lost a little over 200 pounds via diet and exercise but put back 100 pounds. I NEED the band to help me get to my goal weight but realize that diet and exercise complete the trilogy.

Does that help you a bit more?

Altoonasoup · May 27, 2006

Yes, it does help. I am just trying to be certain that I am making a good decision. I think of the many times I have tried to diet, gave it all my effort, only to fail, to be disappointed again. I'm sure everyone on this website understands that feeling. I just don't want to set my hopes too high, and set myself up for another disappointment. Boy, I sound like I'm having a real pity party tonight. (Somebody Kick Me!)

My husband is always supportive of my efforts. He goes on the diet with me - whatever diet I'm trying at the time. And no matter what diet it is He loses twice what I do, and I let it discourage me. However he is not overweight enough to have banding. So I guess I'm on my own with this (with his full support of course.)

I guess the reason for all my questions boils down to the fact that I don't see any other viable options. If this doesn't work I can't think of anything else that I haven't already tried (and failed.) I guess I could stay fat and die young, but that doesn't sound like a good option.

Thanks for your help. I guess my decision is made. I'm supposed to go to an informational seminar at a local hospital on Tuesday night. I'll let you know how it goes.

DonnaB · May 27, 2006

Don't make a decision to have surgery on the night you go to the infomercial. There are lots and lots of doctors out there performing this surgery and they're not all equal! Come back to LBT and discuss the specifics of the seminar. Who, where, what, when. Credentials. History. Proctored by whom? Etc., etc. Don't just jump in and hope for the best. Research, research, research. And come back and talk to us! :-)

For what it's worth, I'm very happy with my lapband journey so far. I've been banded for not quite 3 months and have lost 30 pounds. I've had no complications. I would not recommend this surgery to my mother - I know her eating habits too well and I wouldn't want to put her through some of the side effects of the banded life. I WOULD recommend this surgery to my sister who is more adaptable and would benefit from the surgery. Both of those recommendations are based on their personalities and what I know about their eating styles. No one here can know what to advise you to do because they don't know you well enough.

In the past when you've "failed" at a diet, you gave up? Because of my band, I CAN'T give up on my diet. If I ate a cheeseburger and fries it would HURT! Some people are willing to eat things because they want them, knowing full well it will hurt them. I can't do that. I think this is why the lapband WLS was the right choice for me. I'm going to keep up with my diet because I can't imagine putting myself through that kind of pain on purpose. If I was a sweets eater I'm sure I could defeat the band's effectiveness with candy or ice cream. I'm not addicted to those things so the lapband was the right choice for me.

The aspect of weight loss with the lapband where I falter is exercise. I'm not a fan of exercise and that's something I'm working very hard to get over. I'm walking a couple of miles a day on my treadmill and have begun another, weight bearing exercise regimen which I'm going to have to force myself to do. THIS is the part of the lapband where my success is most vulnerable. I'll need a lot of support and the occasional butt kick to keep doing it, and I'm hoping that when I need that help I will have made enough friends here on LBT that someone will be there for me when I need them. All I can do is try. If I don't TRY, I won't succeed. Period.

Now, the question is, are you going to TRY? What obstacles are you going to have to climb over? Are you up to the task? Even when it gets tough? Those are things only you can answer.

Good luck Altoona. Let us know how you're doing and how the seminar goes.

Elisabethsew · May 27, 2006

Donna makes a good point about eating types. My surgeon thought this would be a good surgery for me because I am not a junk food eater. I am a volume eater. Carbohydrates begins to digest in your mouth (If you leave a cookie in your mouth it will dissolve to a liquidy state and easily pass through the band). If I were a candy, cake, cookie, ice-cream, etc. kind of eater, he would have suggested RNY.

Also, comparing yourself to your husband's rate of weight loss will always result in disappointment. Men have a higher percentage of muscle to fat and most have faster metabolisms so they tend to always lose faster than women do. Since he's not obese and you are and have "tried everything and failed", you're metabolism is apt to be slow.

Fully investigate the surgery before you decide and call your insurance company to find out if they will pay.