How do you decide?

[kvp 0]

Hello everyone, I am new to the board and want to ask, How have you come to the decision lapband is/was right for you? Is anyone disappointed in thier procedure? Does the reward outweigh the risk? How do you deal with the complications?

Sorry I know thats a lot of stuff, I am just having a difficult time making a decision. My husband is NOT supportive, he says I just need to get on a treadmill. Well I have only ever lost weight by throwing up and exercising like a mad woman. The 5 small meals exercising 1hr a day does NOTHING for me. I have talked to my dr and other dr's about this and they act like I am lying or crazy. Which I am doing neither. I am soooo tired of being overweight.

[green 6]

I am completely happy with the results of my band. I tried going the excercise route and ended up with firm fat. Within 10 months I went from wearing size 18W pants to wearing size 10 and from wearing a 3X top (I used to need a baggy top because I was ashamed of my body) to an XL. It has been a little over a year now and my size 10 pants are a little bit loose. This is pretty exciting for me.

I had the surgery when I was 57 and had a very short recovery time.

[Chris_NJ 9]

I asked myself ..... Do I want to die young ? Well I answered no to that question and said heck yeah the risks are worth it! :biggrin1:

[green 6]

I asked myself ..... Do I want to die young ? Well I answered no to that question and said heck yeah the risks are worth it! :biggrin1:

Congratulations on your weight loss, Chris. :clap2:

[lizzie_07 0]

I just had the lapband surgery on Nov 2 and I am very happy with my decision so far. My family was also completely against it so I had to take things into my own hands and accept the fact that I didn't have their support (they came around, I might add). I did LOTS of research, mostly on this board. I wanted to see the best and worst case scenarios and the complications and how they came about. Once I felt I had a great understanding of the lapband and how it affects peoples lives, I knew without a doubt that it was the right tool for me. I'm young and healthy, but it won't always be this way. My weight WILL take it's tole on my health if I don't change my ways for good. Yes, everyone says why don't you just exercise or join a weight loss program. But it seems that most people who choose to have this surgery do it because they HAVE tried all those things, and perhaps they have lost weight doing them, but it's maintaining that seems to be the big issue. Most of us have such deep issues with food that we fall off the wagon badly and manage to gain back some or even more of the weight we lost. I knew if I didn't do something drastic now, I was going to be a yo-yo dieter the rest of my life and my health and happiness would pay the price in the end.

Long msg lol, but my point is do your research. Look around on this board so that you read the amazing success stories and the complication stories. Know what you're getting into and then decide if it's the right tool for YOU. Good luck and I'm sure you'll make the right decision.

[kacee 3]

When you first heard about bypass, they would only touch you if you were a minimum of 100 lbs. overweight. I've never really gotten to that point, but by the same token, I've remained upwards of 80+ pounds overweight for YEARS. It had even crossed my mind about ten years ago just to go for it and GAIN the weight so I could be within the acceptable range. I had never heard of the lapband before March of this year when I read about it in a magazine at my ENT's office when I went in to talk about getting tested for sleep apnea. I had no idea that people with a lower BMI could be acceptable for the procedure and I had renewed hope. At that point in time, they were still trying to adjust my BP meds up to where they would work. My GP was threatening that I was going to get diabetes if I didn't lose NOW. My sleep apnea test came back positive and I though, "This is IT. I HAVE to do SOMETHING." I'm a person who once I make a decision, it's full speed ahead, ZERO regrets. I have never looked back and I am SOOOOOO thankful for this opportunity. My life has literally started over.

[kvp 0]

Thanks to those of you who took the time to reply. Chris NJ your response ,hough short and sweet, begs the question why did it take a surgery for you to care about living? And what if the surgery did not work for you. I have read several threads with people complaining that the band isn't working for them.

[ivyrose325 0]

I decided that the lapband was right for me because I was tired all of the time always achy and embarrassed by my size. I was fortunate enough to not have co morbidities yet almost certainly due to my younger age and sheer luck. At 342 pounds they were guaranteed to be in my future. Also I wanted to deal with all of my food issues before I passed them on to my son (he’s 18 mo). Previously I had lost 135 pounds on my own but was unable to keep it off. I didn’t want to do bypass, because I worried about the possible deficiencies that can occur and there are plenty of bypass patients who put their weight back on and then they are left with little recourse. My band will keep working as long as I continue to do my part (healthy diet, moderate exercise, and going for fills). Yes there are possible complications, but following the guidelines can help prevent some of these. I haven’t regretted my band yet !

[Jachut 487]

I tend to make these sorts of decisions easily (more easily than I should) because I'm vain, lol. I was just so sick of the way I looked. But with the lap band I could justify it on health grounds too, and I really was fearful of how my fast approaching middle age was going to be, in pain, fat, unhealthy. I didnt have health problems YET but I knew my weight was spiralling out of control.

I suspect I probably will have cosmetic surgery at some point too, I've convinced myself I'm against it for pure vanity (which it would be for me, I dont have a lot of loose skin) but the minute I have money again I bet I'll chance my mind pretty quickly, lol. But to me, the risk is pretty minimal - like if I were having open heart surgery or brain surgery I'd be SCARED, but these days a short anaesthetic is pretty low risk for a young healthy person.

[tonya66 13]

How have you come to the decision lapband is/was right for you?

I was 40, overweight, sleep apnea, and could see the first hand what being overweight was doing to my mother. I was tired all the time, miserable. I was depressed, felt like I had no self worth. I had always dieted in the past, and would do good. However, I could never keep it off. I would binge and then gain all my weight back. I needed a permenant solution. I was researching the Gastric Bypass, my DH was totally against it, so I was going to do it secretly and just tell him after the fact. However, a lady I work with who had Bypass told me I should consider the lap band. I had never heard of it, I researched it and took all the info to my husband, he was totally in agreement. He said he had seen how hard I work to lose weight and thought this would be a good tool for me. So bingo, I went to my first seminar on 11/13/06, met with the doctor on 11/22/06 where he submitted my paperwork for insurance approval (my bmi was 41), then I was approved on 12/9/06 from my insurance company. I scheduled my surgery for 1/18/07 - I could have done it sooner but I wanted to wait until January.

Is anyone disappointed in thier procedure?

I am 100% happy. Although it is not always easy - making the right food choices and dealing with head hunger, I have not weighed what I weigh now in over 17 years.

Does the reward outweigh the risk?

Risk? I guess there are risk, as with any surgery. I think I get a little scared of a slip. However, I don't get food stuck, it has only happened to me 1 time. So, I try and follow the rules. The rewards I have are just amazing. I can cross my leg, I can tuck my shirt in, I wear a size 10, I'm only 20 lbs from goal!, I am not longer obese. I will soon be off my cpap machine, no more high cholesteral, better marriage, better wife, better mother, better friend, and I'm just so much happier.

How do you deal with the complications?

I guess my complications are my fill level, I have a 4 cc band, and I've had to go back for fill after fill, so it takes patience,however, I am finally to my sweet spot. Besides that, no complications at all.

To sum it up, this has worked for me. I was scared it wouldn't so I kept it a secret, I didn't want people talking about another "diet failure". I now believe in the band 100%. I do get off track, but then I have to readjust my thinking and get back to the rules of lap band, and then I start losing again.

Best wishes.

[Lap_dancer 8]

Hey KVP glad to offer up answers to your questions:

How have you come to the decision lapband is/was right for you?

Because I had tried every diet on the planet and continued to lose but gain more after the end of that diet. This procedure did not involve cutting my intestines and sewing them together. (something I wasn't prepared to do)

Is anyone disappointed in thier procedure?

Not one day since I awoke from the surgery. I awoke with HOPE. I loved the methodical way my doctor answered my questions, how he was not in a rush, how I felt more informed after talking to him (and I hadn't paid him a dime).

Does the reward outweigh the risk?

In my case I had sleep apnea (you stop breathing in your sleep), diabetes, high blood pressure...I already had risks from being fat.

How do you deal with the complications?

I have had no complications from my Lap-Band. I did have a complication with certain foods running through me that my MD was not able to resolve. My Lap-Band surgeon suggested a plan of action that worked.

I have read several threads with people complaining that the band isn't working for them

I will tell you this. If you are looking for a CURE for obesity, the band is not a cure. The band is a tool to help people like me who have a heck of a time with Portion Control. It restricts food intact but you still must maintain a healthy diet.

Listen to yourself. Do what is best for YOU. No one else has to live with the journey of choice but you.

Best to you.

[Chrisann 0]

I have tried over 20 years to lose weight one way or the other, and spent a lot of money, on both the diet plans themselves, the food, and the clothes. I have a range of sizes in my closet, and I could probably open a thrift store myself with the variety.

My doctor mentioned the lap band to me over a year ago. In May, I pinched a nerve in my neck from pulling the start cord on the lawn mower too much. Then I hurt my leg, then I tore a ligament in my foot. That was the final straw. If all these injuries could happen to me in a two month period, I better do something about my weight once and for all.

So, I decided to get off my butt and commit to the lap band surgery route. My surgery is scheduled for January 21, 2008 and I know now that no matter what happens, I am very well prepared, mentally now, for this.

[tifferoni326 0]

I personally knew this was right for me because I was tired just sick and tired of being fat. I would lose weight and gain it back again and again. I got tired of having to not do things because I was fat, things skinny people dont appreciate, like going to a typical store and finding something to wear, or haveing someone hug you and they can wrap thier hands around you...

As far as complications I've dealt with things one at a time, as they come

As to being disappointed..No way. Absolutely its not exactly fun not being able to drown myself in food and eat whatever I want. Its a pain sometimes to plan out what I am going to eat...HOWEVER I am so much more comfortable with myself. I am happy and am doing things that I wouldve NEVER done before the surgery. I no longer look in the mirror and say to myself, "not bad with what you are working with", now its like "O yeah I look GOOOD!" :eek:

I would honestly do this surgery again if I could go back a year..even if I had more complications and vomitting. I have so much more self respect for myself, and I had no idea I was so hard on myself. Every time I walked in the room I would play this lil mind game with myself..Whose the fattest one here...I always won, and sometimes even todayI catch myself playig that game..but I stop myself because Im not fat any more. I am a lil on the heavy side, but not fat. This is the first time in my life.

I am 22 and now weigh the same amount as when I was in 6th grade and broke my leg. Thats amazing. I have two sisters, one of which is an Einstein and the other is the type that when she walks by, guys looks. I used to tell people one sister had the brains, the other the looks and I had the personality..well someone actually stopped me once and said Well Tiffaney, you know youre quite pretty too....Ive been saying that for at least 5-6 years, and No one has ever disagreed with me before.

Do what you believe is right. Only you know yourself.