Lapbanders are not taking the easy way out...

syd1980

I work on a surgery floor. We have 11 rooms just for the weight loss surgery's. They stay full 6 out of seven days. So with that said, i have mixed feelings. I see the patients that come back with complications because they stopped at a buffett on the way home from discharge. I see the medical complications where the body just cant handle it. Even coded patients when they come back from surgery. I run into the attitude where it is the easy fix, and in a few weeks they are going to be to their weight loss goal. Even not following the guidelines.

But, i do see the good. I see people that are serious about saving their lives. I have seen young people find themselves. I love when the patients come to visit. Their progress and weight loss makes me proud of them. Also hearing that all or most of their health problems are gone shows me this does works.

But i still have mixed feelings. I believe that person has to be willing to change no matter the road they choose.

Congrats on the weight loss.

14bound

I'm a bander, and have not told many people because of this.. (ex above...Phoenix). Before I joined MFP, my friend told me to watch what groups I joined because of the band bashing. No, it's not easy with the band...I wish I would have lost more weight by now, but I'm still an emotional eater and family issues have not helped. BUT, I'm am plugging away and trying to get on track.. Any of you banders (or not), that want another friend, please "friend me". Merry Christmas!

EricMurano

Oh come on now ... honestly no one here hates lap banders!

We're just talking here. It's a forum hey ... it's where we express opinions. We might be wrong. There might not even be a right and wrong!

All of my opinions on the matter come from wanting the best for people.

Health_Gal

I don't hate lap banders either. What I DO hate is the way some weight loss surgeons try to "sell" people that could lose weight just as effectively without surgery on doing it to get rich.

While there are legitimate reasons for weight loss surgery -- like it someone weights 400 pounds, if you can develop the self control to eat only certain things after WLS, if someone is really committed to losing weight, I think they can develop that same self discipline without going through weight loss surgery.

kmbrooks15

I don't condemn anyone who has the surgery, but I guess I don't understand it. If you have to change your lifestyle for it to be successful anyway, why put yourself through the difficulty and risk of surgery? I know that some people have health issues that make it hard to lose weight, but the surgery isn't going to work unless you change your eating and exercise habits, so I guess I just don't get why people feel the need for surgery. I've known a couple of people who had it, and they had major health complications from it that don't seem worth it to me.

I agree with a previous poster, too, that some doctors prey on people's desire to lose weight quickly and don't fully educate their patients on it before doing the surgery. Some patients go in expecting a miracle cure for obesity and later find out that they have to work hard to achieve results. I think patients should have to go on an eating plan that reflects what they'll have to do after surgery for at least 6 months and stick to it so they see what they're going to have to do after the procedure is done. I think many would find the weight coming off without having to have surgery; this is probably why some of the predator doctors don't do this (lost revenue for them!).

As I said, I don't begrudge anyone that has it, but I just don't get why people put themselves through all of that expense and risk when they could most likely achieve the same results without the surgery. Of course, I also don't get why people subject themselves to plastic surgery to have bigger boobs, either...

LorinaLynn

Is it extreme? Yes.

Is it easy? Hell no!

If it's a cop out, then so was getting braces instead of simply willing my teeth straight, or wearing contacts/glasses instead of squinting.

I've known people with all kinds of results from WLS. The ones with great progress busted their butts. They'd tried losing weight in every other way possible and were having major health problems from the excess weight they carried.

Sadly, I had a friend who died from complications following surgery. Yeah, that's an easy way out. :brokenheart:

And I knew a few people who've had mediocre results. They're the ones who didn't put the work into their health and nutrition, and it shows. I'm sure they're healthier than they were with the excess weight on them, but it just goes to prove that it's not magic wand. It's still work. Possibly harder work than losing weight through traditional means.

livinginwoods

My mom had it done. I saw the pain and suffering she has gone through with it and that is enough for me to say no way. Especially since she was able to lose 150 lbs years before on her own then gained it back to poor choices.

If you want to have it ..... great! Good luck! But if you have already lost 50 lbs before you have the surgery, why have it? Not trolling, just asking. Looks like you can do it without the drastic surgery.

Waynes_World

I myself was over 400 pounds before I had the lap band. And I can say it is a great tool.I have lost 180 pounds since... It has helped me alot during my journey. I could care less if you think it is the easy way out because in the end all that matters is that we all become healthy. You should be less negative and show more support for all , surgery or no surgery...

Merry Christmas everyone ! Wish you all the best of luck with your journey..

Steph_Marie29

my step mom in law ruined my opinion of gastric bypassers-she was completely capable to exercise and eat right but was too flipping lazy-she got the bypass so she could eat crap and lose weight. she stays sick constantly now because she isn't getting any vitamins or nutrients she needs and then whines because she doesn't feel good. It disgusts me.

Now, for those of you who tried everything else and did the band or bypass-at least you tried and i'm sure you are following your Drs nutrition requests, and THAT is something to be proud of!

I know some gastric bypassers that are the same way. I had gastric bypass done in May. Before my surgeon would even think about doing surgery on me, I had to change my lifestyle. I changed what I ate, and I exercised more. I lost a 100lbs pre op. I've lost a 149lbs. If a person isn't dedicated, it won't work like with your step mother in law. for me, having my surgery has changed my life for the better.


Weight loss surgery is never the easy way out. It's a long difficult process. So worth it though. My surgery gave me life back. I was knocking on death's door pretty much. Feel free to add me

sabrinalg

I have a friend you had the lap band surgery, one friend who had a total remake of the "Swan" and another friend you had the gastric. The one who had the lap band surgery gained ALL of her weight back plus some. The one who had the total "Swan make over gained ALL her weight back plus some. And the one who had the gastric just had it done this year in May and she's still losing; but she doesn't eat the right foods and she doesn't even TRY to exercise. Hopefully she'll get it together and try to watch the foods that she eats and try to exercise.

As their friend I have talked them into exercising with me, but that didn't last long. It seems as though they have no WILL POWER what-so-ever, and that's why they resort to the surgeries.

I have nothing against anybody who has surgery to help them lose the weight if that's they're last resort, but if you're going to go through all that pain and suffering then all I say is put in the effort to try to do the right thing for your bodies.

Congratulations to all of you who have had the surgeries and kept the weight off by eating right and exercising. I applaud each and every last one of you!

Aesop101

For the sake of argument let's assume that lapbanding is not an easy way out. We all can agree that dieting and exercising are needed no matter what method we use. We all know that a lifestyle change is needed for most of us. Let's face it poor eating and lack of exercise is what made most of us overweight. We also know that the real goal is better health.

So doesn't it follow that the cure to poor eating is making better choices and the cure to a sedentary lifestyle is more exercise. So even if you do lapbanding you still need those two disciplines. Then the question becomes why do lapbanding at all. It's intrusive so their are additional health risks. Then just like those of us who do it the old fashion way you can still gain the weight back which is confessed by the poster.

katya143

This is why in life I am in the "closet" about having lapband! So many negative, uneducated haterz out there!!!! It was by no means easy!!! I excersize 5 days a week, measure my food and try to fight emotional hunger every second of the day! My band is just a tool that helped me jumpstart my weightloss but I must say the rest of the choices I make is up to me! Would I have been able to lose 100 pounds without my tool? Prob not! Did the band talk to me and tell me to go to the gym, work my *kitten* off, sweat from head to toe... No! Did the lapband stop me from eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream or a whole jar of peanutbutter in one sitting? No... Its a tool that works when using it correctly, by following a set of rules, but by no means controls the brain...I worked my fat @ss of with blood, sweat and tears just like anyone else who didn't have surgery to lose weight, so why do you hate???

tlsegar

Anyone who says that there is even anything remotely easy about lapband has just proven themselves to be an utter fool.

There is absolutely nothing easy about having your body cut on for surgery. There is nothing easy about sticking to an all liquid protein diet 2 weeks pre-op. There is nothing easy about being so dehydrated the morning of your surgery that 2 nurses and 2 anesthesiologists can't find a single vein in either of your arms and have to run a central line through your neck. There is nothing easy about being in so much pain that you literally have to hold your stomach when you sit up or walk for a week. And there is nothing easy about having to completely change your eating habits and lifestyle so that all the hell you went through wasn't for nothing.

Fairly certain thats what each and every one of us who didn't go that route did...

What's your point? If I'm doing the same thing you are - eating right and exercising more - to lose weight, then what makes your accomplishment more legitimate than mine?

Ashley_Panda

I hate my band. The doctor wasn't exactly a great surgeon and I throw up alot. Even water some days. There is nothing easy about it. I haven't had mine filled, as in it's empty, for two years.

MissBettyBoop2

I agree!

I don't have the lap band. I have been sleeved.

But I do get tired of posts from ill informed, ignorant people saying that if you've had any sort of weight loss surgery, you've done it the easy way!

This isn't a game!! This is our life. If someone needs help, they should get it! They should ask for it!

The facts are, weight loss surgery WORKS for 80% of the people out there. Yo yo dieting doesn't. Only 5% are able to keep their weight off.

MissBettyBoop2

Perhaps you can be sleeved.

There are a lot of side effects to the lap band I've heard. Even my insurance now says they take out just as many as they put in. And the lap band does have to usually come out after 5-7 years.

Perhaps look into the sleeve. Most people do very well after being sleeved...

healinghands123

I was banded in March 2011. The lapband is clearly a tool, and I am glad that I did not tell many people I had the surgery as the consensus is that it is the easy way out, which is a myth. What the lapband does do is it prevents you from eating foods that you shouldn't be eating anyway! I have not lost as much weight as I would like, but my health has improved dramatically. I am eating healthy and exercising 4-5 times a week. My cholesterol was high, and now under 200. I became diabetic prior to surgery and after surgery my glucose numbers are now back to normal. Prior to surgery I couldn't walk a flight of stairs without gasping for air. Now I can jog up 6 flights of stairs with no issues. I participated in a 5k in June and a 4 mile race in September. I continue to set goals for myself and work towards those goals. My current goal is to be able to run/jog the entire 5k by June 2012. I plan to participate in several 5ks between now and then. Life is a journey, and so is weight loss.

BarbWhite09

People have different opinions on the subject. Don't let people who don't support it, affect you. Just do you. My mom had gastric bypass done probably 6 or so years ago & it's just been a disaster. Wish she would have been banded instead.

MaraDiaz

If any of you reading this have not had the lap band surgery, I would encourage you avoid it if at all possible.

While lap band surgery is not quite as invasive as some weight loss surgeries, it has it's share of complications:

http://bmi.ucsd.edu/weight-loss-surgery/lap-band/Pages/risks.aspx

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/70-lap-band-complications

After browsing these links for awhile, I've decided lap-band surgery is the hard way out. Especially since one poster linked to a study that shows 1/3 of patients with lap bands do well, 1/3 have problems, and 1/3 flat out fail. The longer the band is in the more likely a person is to have problems and a lot of people end up getting the thing removed.

And some of those problems can kill you, such as pneumonia due to aspirating your stomach contents in your sleep. Oh, and the band can eat through your stomach. And then there's one guy whose doctor told him the band was pressing on his liver, causing scarring. And of course there's people who can't find a good adjustment and either can eat everything in site or can't even hold down water.

Plus there's just flat out failure of the thing to work, which sends people back to the doctor for diet pills or into depression because they've either lost no weight with the band, gained it back, or gained more. And self pay. Self pay is really risky. Because even if your condition becomes life threatening, some doctors won't go near you. And what if you could afford to put the thing in (a lot of people get theirs done in Mexico) but then you can't afford adjustments or to get it taken out when it starts causing problems? :noway:

The more I read, the less annoying and difficult daily exercise and counting calories looks. You have to be truly, truly desperate to get this procedure done. And no doctor should sell it to patients without understanding what is being sold and without making sure the patient truly understands.

withfaithigoforward

There is no rules in this weight lose game. I am at a 400 cal. deficete because I can't hold nothing down this week. Am I loosing NO. Why? a body doesn't work well on 800 cals. or less. I have felt that nothing I have ever done has made a dent in my weight loss as the constant reminder by the band that I need to live by not over eating, to slow down and exercise. I wouldn't trade it for anything but again it is a tool, use it as such.

Health_Gal

If you need a reminder not to over-eat, just put on a tight belt before you sit down at the table. If you eat too much, you;ll feel it getting tighter around your waist, and you'll have to make a decision to stop eating, continue eating and feel very uncomfortable, or take off the belt.

It's a lot less expensive, less painful, and safer than having lap band or any other weight loss surgery.

jnhu72

I will admit I used to think that people who had weight loss surgery were taking the easy way out. After meeting a few people who have had it, I agree it's not necessarily the easy way out. I know someone who had the surgery done, lost a whole bunch of weight and then gained it all back. The only thing I guess that confuses me is if you can still over eat and gain it back what does it really do for you? The other person I know who had the surgery ended up with all kinds of complications, she started becoming weak, lost her hair, had a lot of internal issues and eventually died. I am not saying anything bad about anyone who chooses to go this route, but be sure you have really tried to do everything you can to lose weight before you take this route. When you are done you will still have to count calories and eat healthy, the same as if you did not have the surgery.

rsmblue

Kuddos to you,Waynes_World!!!! Not only for taking a stand, but for your loss! May 2012 bring you nothing but much success in reaching your goals.

lunglady

congrats on the weight loss.

people are going to have different opinions.
running a marathon, and riding a bike 26.2 miles are two different things.
both are an accomplishment, both take dedication, but one was easier.

Nice metaphor.

Apryl546

I don't think any kind of WLS is easy.

What I don't understand is the people who have to lose a ton of weight pre-op and are able to do it, and still go ahead with the surgery. If you were able to lose x amount of pounds just so you could qualify for safe weight under the anesthetic for surgery, why not continue the loss you were doing than spending thousands on WLS?

rsmblue

This group is supposed to be for LB, etc support, so I don't understand why others who are SO against it to begin with are even viewing this site, let alone posting?! We are on MFP for the SAME reason, how we get there shouldn't matter. What matters is that we are all here to get to the same GOAL.

Why would anyone take the time to scrutinize and trash another person's direction to success? Really, do you have that much time on your hands? If you do, maybe you need to take another look at yourself because there is obviously something else wrong with you then needing/wanting to lose weight!

Tropical_Turtle

I concur with you on the whole WLS thing. I had VSG Aug of this year, and I am currently at a size I dont remember ever in my life. I bust my butt working out, and I love the fact I get full after just a little bit of food. I am strict with my vitamins, always on top of those, make sure I get my protein in, and do what I was taught. I have made it a way of life, not a "get out of fat jail free" card.

As for the negative people who think it is a cop out - yeah I want to place myself in the line of potential death, under a knife to take the "easy" way out. There will always be those who have their opinions and anyone who becomes negative - I eliminate from my life. I dont want or need the negativity.

Hang in there keep up the great work!

LosingMyselfin2011

Lapband in no way is easy. I had it done in 07 and it caused me tons of complications. I had to have mine removed. I lost an initial 40 pounds from it, but then I gained it all back.
I now have vertical sleeve.. anyone who thinks WLS is an easy way out is very ill informed .
feel free to add me.

ngory07

I had VSG on January 24th 2011. In less than a yr I've lost 149 lbs and I've never felt better. I do celebrate every victory and I don't think its less than someone losing it without surgery. I am 15 lbs from my goal and 5 lbs from my surgeons. I do think its been easier than if I hadn't had it but honestly who the hell cares? I wanted to lose it fast and keep it off. I'm healthy, all my labs are good, I eat great, I have treats and I workout. Sound familiar? Its what every person has to do to lose weight. So what difference does it make that I lost it in a yr rather than 2 or 3? Honestly I think a lot ( not ALL) are jealous. No matter if we like to admit it or not we all want this to be easier. I had a girl tell me she would never have surgery and we stopped talking b/c I was set on it. We were both obese. I saw her for the first time at a party. She didn't recognize me at first had to ask who I was. Then she admitted I looked great and she wished she had the balls to have surgery. Some people are scared. This has been my experience. I love being full on so little. Now that I don't have much to lose I have to work at it just as hard as everyone else. But its a lot easier to work out and strength train at 155 than it is at 304. I make healthy choices but if I want a piece of cake then **** I'm gonna have a piece. The best part is I will feel satisfied at half a piece rather than the whole damn thing!! Don't let ppl tell you your weight loss isn't as special!! You did it and will continue if you use your amazing tool! Screw the haters!!

ngory07

I don't think any kind of WLS is easy.

What I don't understand is the people who have to lose a ton of weight pre-op and are able to do it, and still go ahead with the surgery. If you were able to lose x amount of pounds just so you could qualify for safe weight under the anesthetic for surgery, why not continue the loss you were doing than spending thousands on WLS?

Its because they want to maintain. I lost 100 lbs and gained it all back.I then lost the same 70 lbs about 5 times. Wls doesn't just helo you lose weight. The point is to keep it off longterm. Yes a 400 lb person can easliy lose 60 to 100 lbs but the odds of them losing all their excess weight and keeping it off are very low. There are studies that support this.