Should people barely over 200 lbs or below 200 get Lapband or any WLS...?

[Froggi 4]

I wasn't given the choice for my gallbladder they said there was too many stones to use a lazer and take stuff whatevet you said mac LOL

I think it would be neat if they could find a way to ajust the g word i cant spell it in the upper part of the stomach that controls hunger, that would be nifty.

[Nanook 2]

IndigoGirl55,

Just for the record that second quote was from Ilse72 not Nanook, no biggy, thanks Nanook

[Nanook 2]

It's all relevant to the person. For example, when I was much younger, around 170-180 lbs I had some really skinny friends who would constantly pat their stomach and say I feel fat blah blah blah. I used to get peeved at them but now I realise that no matter what size you are, if you don't feel good about yourself then you will always want to be slimmer, fatter (hard to believe), taller, shorter, prettier, etc. Now I just say to them, yes you'll probably feel better if you lose a few lbs or get some exercise in.

Also, I have tried every diet from the grapefruit diet in the 60-70s to the detox diet in the 2000s, Gloria ?? (can't remember the name), WW, Lite n Easy, various gyms, urine injections, and the list goes on. I have managed to lose 30-50 lbs and of course back it comes. And some of this I'd tried over and over during the last 40 years. I'd say that I've worked harder at losing weight than people I know who weigh heaps more than me, so really it's not the size but the need that matters here and I need this just as much as someone 200 lbs bigger than me.

I hope quoting you works out there was a problem with it before.

If dieting actually worked no one would be making the amount of money off of it as they are! How many times have you gone to a WW meeting and then started over again? They may mean well, (that's questionable) but they still rope you in again and they're making a boatload of money and they're just one of many!:smile2:

[ilse72 0]

Ok this whole selfpay vs insurance issue - just sorta bugs me - no offense to you Nanook - I have read this many times over on other threads

"Well I am self pay so I am going to work harder" IMHO that's BS - we are all self pay when it came to WW - Jenny Craig or whatever program we went on etc - did we succeed NOPE. Ya selfpayers are going into debit for this but I don't think that's really going to make a diff - it's all about what you want the person- if like Jachut said about - if you are ready to just say Enough - just cuz I had insurance that covered it (but you also have to take into consideration even though you have insurance depending on your plan you can have considerable copays) do I take it for granted NOPE -

I just don't think the statement Self Payer are going to work harder does mean to say that if you did have insurance to cover it you wouldn't work it the same way.

You attributed the comment on self-pay to Nanook but I was the person who mentioned it; however I NEVER once said, "Well I am self pay so I am going to work harder". While your statement says that you read it on other threads, you never read it on anything I posted so I want that set straight.

ANYONE who is determined, regardless of whether payment was insurance or self-pay, will work hard in conjunction with their lapband to lose weight! It won't be easy for any of us but nothing worthwhile ever is. We will all struggle to lose the weight.

Edited July 1, 2008 by ilse72
Quote box didn't show so edited to change color of actual quote.

[Nanook 2]

Ilse72,

Sorry, you're right I kept reading that over and was a bit confused myself! Nanook:smile:

[kiz 1]

Having classically yo-yo'ed with my weight for almost 20 years, I think once a person realizes their body is not going to cooperate with normal diets, WLS is a wonderful tool, if not a lifesaver. I just have to look at my family to know I'm never going to do this on my own. I was a size 7 when I got married, I have a niece who was a size 2, another who was a NFL cheerleader, etc and all of us, once we had children, could not keep the weight off. I just named a few, but every single woman in my family would qualify as obese, although all but one of us was very much in the normal range of weight as children and young adults. My mom, even in her 70s, was still constantly fighting to stay below 200lbs.

Don't get me wrong, I love my life now. I have a wonderful husband and children, but at 200lbs, I'm losing the ability to fully embrace "living" with my active family. Skiing, horseback riding, backpacking, bike riding, jogging, long hikes in the mountains, etc - I'm on the sidelines *watching*. Right now, thankfully, I don't have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, but I know I'm taking years off my life with this weight. So, yeah, while I don't want to be the fat mom in the graduation/wedding pictures, I'm doing this to be healthy. At anywhere near the vicinity of 200lbs, I'm not healthy.

[IndioGirl55 32]

Ok this whole selfpay vs insurance issue - just sorta bugs me - no offense to you Nanook/Ilse - I have read this many times over on other threads

"Well I am self pay so I am going to work harder" IMHO that's BS - we are all self pay when it came to WW - Jenny Craig or whatever program we went on etc - did we succeed NOPE. Ya selfpayers are going into debit for this but I don't think that's really going to make a diff - it's all about what you want the person- if like Jachut said about - if you are ready to just say Enough - just cuz I had insurance that covered it (but you also have to take into consideration even though you have insurance depending on your plan you can have considerable copays) do I take it for granted NOPE -

I just don't think the statement Self Payer are going to work harder does mean to say that if you did have insurance to cover it you wouldn't work it the same way.

You attributed the comment on self-pay to Nanook but I was the person who mentioned it; however I NEVER once said, "Well I am self pay so I am going to work harder". While your statement says that you read it on other threads, you never read it on anything I posted so I want that set straight.

ANYONE who is determined, regardless of whether payment was insurance or self-pay, will work hard in conjunction with their lapband to lose weight! It won't be easy for any of us but nothing worthwhile ever is. We will all struggle to lose the weight.

Ilse - take out the word Nanook and replace with Ilse - this wasn't direct and either one of you and I didn't say that you guys said it - I was just making a point - that on some threads that I had read (not directed at anyone here) that this seemed to be some pple's train of thought...

That's it - as stated didn't mean to offend anyone here - I was just making a statement.... On the issue of some self payers attitudes..

and you lef of this part of the quote on what I said -

Again no offense directed at you Nanook/Ilse - just talking on the point of self pay vs insurance in general..

[Nanook 2]

IndigoGirl55,

No offense taken here! Yes and I do agree with a lot of the points you've made here:thumbup:Nanook.

[Sades 4]

I hope quoting you works out there was a problem with it before.

If dieting actually worked no one would be making the amount of money off of it as they are! How many times have you gone to a WW meeting and then started over again? They may mean well, (that's questionable) but they still rope you in again and they're making a boatload of money and they're just one of many!

As you say it's a big money making industry, as is WLS, but at least with WLS we stand a chance of achieving our goal and staying there.

[ilse72 0]

No offense here either but I sure didn't want people thinking I made that comment! ("Well I am self pay so I am going to work harder".)

[IndioGirl55 32]

I am glad neither took offense - I just wanted to make sure that you both knew that it wasn't directed at anyone - it's just when I see self paid vs insurance it's like the insurance pple don't take the surgery seriously.

Heck for me that was the ah ha moment having surgery - it woke me up that no matter what you do it requires work and it's a total lifetime lifestyle change that all the other programs preach - but with our little tool it makes the job of losing weight just a little eaiser...

Hugs...

[anavrin 0]

I'm 48, 4'11", started at 200 lbs with a BMI of 40. I have high b/p, sleep apnea, joint pain, and have been battling , up and down, this weight since I was 25 yrs old, I must have lost 500 lbs in the last 23 yrs. My mom was 4'9", she weighed 240lbs, and died in her sleep in 2001. The cause was listed as heart disease, but I know in my heart if my Mom could have lost that wt, if the band had been available, she would be here today.

[Desy1701 0]

I can't agree that just because someone has the money they should be able to get banded. There have to be limits and criteria (although I think a BMI of 40 and co-morbidities is too late). There are too many people, especially teens, who think they are overweight if they weigh 105 pounds. If we say "You have the $$$, you get the surgery" there will be people with a BMI of 25 or less getting surgery and creating different health problems such as anorexia. Yes, it is their body but 90% of the population see things they don't like about themselves. I don't agree that plastic surgery should be done on anyone with the money either. More and more high school girls are having surgical procedures because they are unhappy with the way they look. This isn't just teens either. People become addicted to these surgeries and want more just because they can afford it. What is to stop a self-pay from deciding that they haven't lost the 15 pounds they wanted to after lap banding so now they will have gastric bypass? I think anyone with a BMI over what is considered 'healthy' for their height should be able to have WLS, whether at their expense or not, but there has to be a cut off point.

[Nanook 2]

Desy,

I'm a bit confused what do you mean by a BMI of 40 with co-morbibs is too late? Nanook:confused:

[Jachut 487]

Just musing here, throwing a few questions around. If you've got enough money you can pretty much find someone to do nearly anything on you.

It doesnt necessarily follow that if someone with a BMI of 25 is banded, they'll become anorexic. Anorexia is a mental illness, not just a function of how many calories you eat in a day. Chances are, they just wont lose a lot of weight. BUT! and that's a big but, who is to say that someone with a BMI isnt struggling mightily, using all sorts of unhealthy means to maintain their weight such as obsessive exercising and fad dieting, and actually displaying disordered eating. Would the control and peace of mind a lapband gives, the freedom it gives you to really be a "normal" eater for the first time in your life, not help someone in that situation too? What if they recognised that they dont need weight loss and thus dont need to be very tight, but they do need appetite control to gain the ability to eat normally and maintain weight?

You dont have to be wearing the fat on your body to be a fat person you know. I will ALWAYS consider myself a "fat person". I just happen to have it under control right now. That's why, in Australia, if something happens to my band, I get another one right away, no questions from my insurance company. My BMI is irrelevant in that situation.

There's really no black and white answers on this one I dont think other than those that are most obviously overweight are not necessarily more deserving or needy than those who arent. Plenty of thin people really have to struggle to be/stay that way to the point where it takes over their lives.

But that's where it has to be on a case by case basis. Medical professionals must be able to sort out those who are planning to use their bands to become underweight from those who may not actually be overweight but have all the disordered eating and thinking patterns that overweight people have. What if someone's just lost 100lb and has not put it all back on yet? Would you say they shouldnt have a band? Because if you ask me, maintaining a weight loss is harder than the weight loss itself.

Edited July 2, 2008 by Jachut