I'm thinking about getting LapBand. Is it really worth it?

[frost1 0]

Hi gang,

**Update**

I've jumped through some of the hoops to get LapBand. Completed my pysche evaluation and passed. Finished and completed my nutrition meeting at the hospital. Went to the LB seminar. And have only 2 months til I complete my 6-month diet plan as required.

However...

After reading the posts concerning fills... and hearing other folks problems, is it really worth to continue to get this thing?

I want to get it because of my health... but some of the posts on here really have me thinking if I should do it.

*starving

*vomiting

and so on.... I'm really concerned and want to make the right choice.

[babygrl1234 6]

If you are doing it right you are not going to starve or vomit. Those are the two extremes of either being too loose or too tight. It is common for people to think they are starving when they first get banded because you do not get filled for 4-6 weeks. Even then it is a process before you are at proper restriction. Once you are there if you are eating too fast, not chewing well, your food can get stuck and you will vomit. Many people have not thrown up from eating and some people do it all the time. Those who do it all the time generally are not doing something right (not chewing well, eating too fast, keep the band tighter than it should be) though rarely there is an actual physical problem.

Having this band is the best thing I have ever done but it is also the hardest thing i have ever done. Good luck in your research.

[new_me_2008 1]

I am also a person who has never thrown up, nor have I felt 'starving' - this is a tool and it has helped me stick to a healthy eating plan and lose weight.

There are definately ways to 'eat around it" like ice cream and starbucks, etc, however, if you have the dedication this is the best. The first month is not a picnic but overall the experience has been wonderful.

The fills are easy - I expected alot worse, but again, follow the suggestions and most likely it will be fine.

I love this band.

[BobbieDoll 3]

I too am going through the same process and have one month left to complete the doctor supervised weight loss program. After reading all the woes about the band, I wonder if it is just a forced diet. I don't diet well so I don't want to just be on a lifelong diet and feel hungry everyday. And vomiting all the time doesn't sound good either. The talk here scares me sometimes.

[KarenG. 0]

Woorth it? Yes - no question. Hard also a yes. You need to be very involved in the process in terms of fills/unfills. Good luck.

[BRANDYK 0]

Frost,

YES, YES, YES, and YES it's worth it. I can't even begin to tell you how much it's worth it.

[Skinny_Jill 36]

It is definitely worth it. I have been banded for 2 months and I've had 2 fills. I have pretty good restriction right now and I've never thrown up or PB'd. I chew my food very well and take small bites and everything is fine. If I don't chew I get a pain in my back that reminds me to chew and after that I am fine.

I love my band.

[JosieK 120]

Yes, Yes, Yes.....did i say YES???

the best thing i ever did for myself

[mcondjel 0]

OKAY!!!!! LET ME TELL YA.... YES IT IS WORTH IT! It is not a forced diet, you are not hungry, it is a tool.

Here are a few bottom lines:

1. If you overeat, you will likely get sick.

2. If you do not chew your food, you may get sick.

3. If you eat around the lap band, you will not see the benefit.

4. If you do not plan on exercising, you will not loose (at least not very fast)

5. If you do not want to make the effort to change, the band, or any surgery for that matter, is not for you.

This should be a major life changing decision. You should make this decision because you want to be healthy, eat healthy, and live a healthy life. All this does is prevent over eating. You can still choose to eat the wrong things, or eat around the band. So, when you decide whether this surgery is for you, you should consider whether or not making a life change is also for you.

One of you mentioned that you do not do well on diets, this is not a diet where you are left feeling hungry. The whole point of the band is to cause restriction where you are left feeling satisfied after eating far less then you normally do. If you are feeling left unsatisfied, you need a fill. But, more importantly, the habit of overeating has to be overcome.

[Longhorn 1]

I too am going through the same process and have one month left to complete the doctor supervised weight loss program. After reading all the woes about the band, I wonder if it is just a forced diet. I don't diet well so I don't want to just be on a lifelong diet and feel hungry everyday. And vomiting all the time doesn't sound good either. The talk here scares me sometimes.

I had that same concern when I first started learning about the band. But it hasn't been that way at all for me. My first piece of advice is to not PLAN on losing until you get to restriction, which can take several fills. I'm not saying you won't lose -- you probably will. But the ones who are hungry are the ones who are depriving themselves of food before restriction. My doctor told me that I did not have to be hungry, that I could eat when I needed to as long as I followed the rules: Protein first, small bites, chew a lot, and wait between bites. Following those rules, I never had to eat that much before I felt satisfied.

Some of the folks experiencing "Bandster Hell" are the ones who weigh themselves the day after surgery and are shocked that they don't see a loss (believe me, I've read it on this board.) My doctor told me not to expect to lose weight in the first several weeks and to focus on healing and that's what I did. And I didn't lose that much, though I have lost an AVERAGE of two pounds a week since I started.

Second, it's hard to believe that you can eat so little food (less than 1,000 calories per day) and not be hungry but when you reach restriction, you can feel like you've eaten three or four times that much! I've only had about 700 calories today and I have to remind myself that I followed all the rules because I feel like I overate. I had some freshly juiced spinach/cucumber/celery juice (my way of getting in my veggies because I don't like them) and oatmeal for Breakfast, 2 oz. of salmon mixed with Miracle Whip Lite and three crackers for lunch (believe me, I planned to have more than that but I couldn't!) and a Weight Watchers Smart Ones entree for dinner (turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy.) I drank a liter of Water mixed with 2 packets of Special K Protein Water and I had a sugar-free Jell-O pudding cup as an evening snack. Until my second fill, I typically ate more, including Snacks, but I didn't even think about food today and the pudding was more for my "head hunger" than true hunger.

I don't feel like I'm on a "diet." Yes, I have changed what, how, and how much I eat but the first two weren't that difficult for me and the last one -- how much -- is easy with restriction. Yet, that last one is what was always my downfall in past diets so I am very pleased not to be hungry.

By the way, I've been banded almost 12 weeks and I have never vomited or been stuck, though a couple of times the last few days, I felt a little uncomfortable and realized that I was either eating too fast or taking too big a bite, so I'm adjusting.

[anonemouse 1]

Worth it? HELL YES! Let me put it this way, I've NEVER been able to lost 40+ pounds before. EVER. I'm still losing, too, and I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I will reach goal and stay there. And the best thing? I don't feel deprived at all. This isn't a diet, it's a new way of life.

[BobbieDoll 3]

Thanks for all of the replies. It makes me feel a lot better. I am scared of the surgery but will do all that I am suppose to when the time comes. No way am I going through this and then fail. I am glad that my insurance company requires the six months program. It gives me time to be sure I am ready. My doctor wants me to attend a support group and I think that would be good for me.

[AspiringPhD 0]

Longhorn,

I read your post today and I appreciate your honesty regarding the surgery, what to expect and how important it is to listen to your doctor and follow the instructions you have regarding your new lifestyle. This is a life change and it encompasses how you look at food with regard to staying healthy. If someone isn't ready to make the commitment, then weight loss surgery is not the route they need to take.

Thanks.

[mbanja 1]

I think one thing that is not made clear is the whole vomitting issue. People with the band that do vomit it really isn't the same as regular vomitting. When something gets stuck in our pouch and we feel the need to regurgitate it, we do what is called a productive burp. Yes, essentially it is vomitting, but there is no stomach acid in it. That is unless you have a really bad episode and it cause you to "get sick" from it. It takes us a lot of effort to get that stomach acid from our lower stomach up thru the band and out. My normal vomit, or PB (productive burp) is the food that is stuck and some seriously thick saliva (we call it slime on here) that my stomach has produced to try and lubricate the offensive item. The only reason I have recently had so many is because I am too tight. I have had only 3 times where I truely vomited (with stomach acid included) once being because the stuck piece of food didn't want to come out and I kept heaving to get it up. The key word here is "kept" heaving, which made me sick to my stomach and allowed the stomach acid to move up thru the band and into the upper pouch. Once being stuck and not wanted to PB so I continued to slime and all the slime upset my stomach, and once being because I had food posioning. To me when I think of and hear of vomitting, I relate it to the whole stomach acid and burning and nasty taste in the mouth. Most do not get that here. You truely won't really understand it until you experience it. Now the key to the band it trying your best to prevent these things by taking small bites, chewing your food properly, eating slow, and not being tight. Not being to tight is the hardest since we can't really control this. If you are too tight then you need an unfill. You need to do what you feel is best for you, don't let the fear of vomitting stop you. It really isn't that bad. That being said, if you decided to do gastric bypass, those people vomit too! They term it as dumping. They dump when they eat the wrong foods, high fat, greasy, etc. Even though we (lapbanders) should avoid these foods, we can still eat them. Personally I feel that the lapband is the best way to go. For me it was. You might feel differently. The best thing for you is to do the research on all of the weightloss solutions, weigh the pros and cons of each and see which one you think you could live with. Weightloss surgery is not and easy out! With all, you have to work at it. I second that this was the best and HARDEST thing that I have ever done! In my opinion it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!

[frost1 0]

You guys are the best.

Best wishes to all, and I'll keep you updated:)