Realize band vs. Lap band

[JayTee562 1]

Rockbandster? Is that you?

Sounds like him doesn't it.........

[lisaluvsgreys 48]

Hi everyone. I was just wondering if anyone can tell me the difference about the normal LAP-BAND® surgery versus this new Realize band that I just recently started hearing about?

Thanks.

:biggrin:

I did a lot of research on both bands. I was gung-ho about the Realize band, but in the end I went with the Lap Band. The Lap band has a lesser chance of erosion. Both are at risk for it, but the Lap Band design is less. I am in the hospital recovering at this moment! I am so excited about my new life!

[pennreporter 12]

Congratulations on your decision to at least have one of the bands. I have the Realize band and my daughter has the Lap-Band. In the end, they all do the same thing and you still have to learn to live with it. We're both cheap dinner dates these days...give us an appetizer and we're good to go...lol

Wishing you a speedy recovery and a new life!!

Trisha

[lisaluvsgreys 48]

Congratulations on your decision to at least have one of the bands. I have the Realize band and my daughter has the Lap-Band®. In the end, they all do the same thing and you still have to learn to live with it. We're both cheap dinner dates these days...give us an appetizer and we're good to go...lol

Wishing you a speedy recovery and a new life!!

Trisha

Thank you Trisha!

[LarraineM 6]

I was banded on 10/15/09 with the realize band. I did some reasearch before hand ,materials used, placement,support so here is my report. My dr says its the most advanced designed,more body friendly and hopefully better results as far as slippage goes.Although all the numbers are not in yet.I ve read emough about slippage and bands of the past and it was enough to sell me. The online support I d rate at poor.Sure a pretty website,nice music etc but the support lacks.The site itself is not user friendly in my opinon.If I had not just happened on LAPBANDTALK and experienced the support and openness here I would have been a mess. Once I had a question on a friday afternoon after my surgery hopeing for assistance I called the Realize support team that is available 24 hrs and recieved a call back 5 days later????? anyway maybe they are still tweeking........

My band is working and I am happy with my choice.My restriction has been spot on since surgery,no fill yet.My Dr says that I maybe in the15% of banders that will never need fills. That would be fine with me. So we are just taking it month to month at this point.I have to chew everythig REALLY well and SLOWLY eat my 4 0z meal. I ve experienced twice the stuck pains and now know that sipping hot tea will break the cycle of pain and move the food on thru. I learned that from lapband talk. Thanks again All

[HeatherO 7]

I have had both a Realize band and Lapband. My Realize band slipped after 1 1/2 years. This happened when it was empty. I am prone to feeling band tightness hormonally - and even though it was empty, it was too tight. The slip occurred the last day I was in the hospital after giving birth to my daughter.

I now have a large size Allergan lapband which is working very well for me.

Both bands work great. The Realize band got me to goal. The Allergan lapband will keep me there. I would have to say that if you are sensitive to having a band, the flexibility with the larger size Allergan band is better. The only problem is, you don't know if you are extremely sensitive or not until after you are banded.

[pennreporter 12]

I agree on the Realize web site...so not user friendly. I think Allergan has one now but I haven't been to it. My daughter has the smaller Allergan band. My surgeon (HMO) had supposedly made the switch to Realize and was told that was all they were doing. Well, I found out later that wasn't true. They had another facility that had just started doing banding but they weren't a Center of Excellence which is another thing my insurance required. So I didn't have any choice except to go with Realize. But I'm sure their decision to switch to Realize was also a financial incentive. I have no doubt they got a better deal from Realize than Allergan.

I've often wondered ...since my insurance company paid for the surgery, if the band slips at some point, do they still cover it again? Well, I won't even put that out there...don't wanna jink anything...lol

trisha

[fire&spice 0]

Hi all,

I posted a couple weeks ago under a different Thread re: being banded at the end of Sept. and about how I had only lost a bit of weight during my first 3 wks of post surgical recovery with no restriction or loss since mid October...

Well, I just had another fill this past Thurs....(this was my 5th or 6th fill to date, never missed my biweekly fills!)...I am now @ 9cc's in my 11cc Realize Band...

Guess what?...

I am finally feeling restriction!!! It feels soooo good not being hungry all of the time...I hope this feeling lasts...I am definetely eating like 1/2 of what I did prior to my surgery and at least 1/3 less than after my 3wk post surgery recovery.

Wish me luck and if anyone has any input about what to expect with my new found restriction i.e.- ways to enhance loss, etc...please share...I am so excited again:thumbup:...yay!

[lisaluvsgreys 48]

Hi all,

I posted a couple weeks ago under a different Thread re: being banded at the end of Sept. and about how I had only lost a bit of weight during my first 3 wks of post surgical recovery with no restriction or loss since mid October...

Well, I just had another fill this past Thurs....(this was my 5th or 6th fill to date, never missed my biweekly fills!)...I am now @ 9cc's in my 11cc Realize Band...

Guess what?...

I am finally feeling restriction!!! It feels soooo good not being hungry all of the time...I hope this feeling lasts...I am definetely eating like 1/2 of what I did prior to my surgery and at least 1/3 less than after my 3wk post surgery recovery.

Wish me luck and if anyone has any input about what to expect with my new found restriction i.e.- ways to enhance loss, etc...please share...I am so excited again:thumbup:...yay!

That is wonderful! I am so happy for you!!!

[lisaluvsgreys 48]

I have had both a Realize band and LAP-BAND®. My Realize band slipped after 1 1/2 years. This happened when it was empty. I am prone to feeling band tightness hormonally - and even though it was empty, it was too tight. The slip occurred the last day I was in the hospital after giving birth to my daughter.

I now have a large size Allergan LAP-BAND® which is working very well for me.

Both bands work great. The Realize band got me to goal. The Allergan LAP-BAND® will keep me there. I would have to say that if you are sensitive to having a band, the flexibility with the larger size Allergan band is better. The only problem is, you don't know if you are extremely sensitive or not until after you are banded.

After hearing this, I am so glad my Dr. gave me the large size band! I have had my band a week, and things are finally looking up! People do not call that week "bandster hell" for nothing! I wondered what in the world have I gotten myself into a couple days after the surgery. My post op follow up is on Weds, and I cannot wait to eat mushies.... Did I just say that? Ha ha ha

Glad you got a band that works for you!!

[bandedbob 1]

The two differences explained to me were this: the lap band has been around for some time and there have not needed t obe any engineering enhancements to it / therealize band is newer and has had a fe changes.

Second - the 'shape' of the expansion part of the bands is somewhat different do to the number of pillows or sections. Causing a different shape of restriction.

I went w/ the lap band as that is what my physician was trained on and recomended.

I think the bigger issue is choosing Gastric bypass or banding - what a huge difference. With bypass there is no going back and a lifetime of medical follow up and more complications. A study I read showed equal weight loss for the bypass and band after 60 months - thats what made up my mind. I think the doctos should help you make the surgery choice and not make it 'self selection' or at least cover ALL the pro's and con's of both....

just my .02

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

We've received one common request over the last year+ from members on LapBandTalk who've undergone or are interested in the Realize® Band procedure: An online community they can call their own.

Following the success of LapBandTalk and VerticalSleeveTalk, we're happy to announce that we've just launched the beta release of the Realize Band Support Community, located at RealizeBandSupport.com . We're confident that you'll find what you're looking for at the new Realize Band Support (RBS) Community.

If you're currently a member of LapBandTalk or VerticalSleeveTalk, you can just log in with your current credentials, there's no need to sign up for a new account.

Log in now to join the REALIZE Band community and become one of our founding members!

Wondering if Realize® Band is the right choice for you? Looking for information and community after your Realize Band Surgery? Look no further. You'll find everything you need at RealizeBandSupport.com .

I started LapBandTalk the night I came home from surgery mid July 2003. Following my own Lap-Band® procedure, I was looking for information and community support. I came across a few helpful web sites, but they all lacked a sense of actually belonging to a group of people who share many similarities, struggles and habits.

After years of researching and reaching out to the community, we've been able to build the most comprehensive online resources for all types of Weight Loss Surgeries. Hundreds of thousands of registered members contribute amazing stories and useful information to our pages.