Lapbanders are not taking the easy way out...

Tropical_Turtle

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!!

Could not have said it better ^5 to a fellow sleever!

emmaleigh47

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.

^^ THIS!
I know all about the procedure, both the positives and the negatives. Do I recommend it, well it depends on where you are in your journey. If you are super morbidly obese and unable to exercise etc because of your weight then yes, I whole heartedly recommend it because it is lifesaving. But there are doctors running around saying if you are 100 pounds overweight then you should automatically have the surgery .. and that I disagree with. I think its a lifesaving procedure and should be used as such ( and yes I think the same about the VBL, gastic sleeve, Roux En Y etc) ... but I also think if you are going to do a lifesaving procedure you should do one with better success as well.

sagetracey

I was banded in April this year and have lost 53kg.That is more than one third of my body weight. I am very careful about what I eat and I have developed a love for exercising. The band's role is that it helps me to limit what I eat. And if I can't have both the banana AND the chocolate fudge sundae then I am going to choose the banana because I have learnt that it will give me better fuel for my life.

Easy? No. Worthwhile? Without a doubt! Could I have lost the weight without the band? Yes, I've done it before. Could I keep it off without the band? No, I've always regained plus more.

Health_Gal

Yep, there too much money on the line for the doctors and weight loss clinics that do weight loss surgery for them to be totally honest with their patients about all the potential complications.

A local hospital is actually advertising their WLS program on the radio. That really makes me mad. Not just that they are promoting a surgery that many people who are being encouraged to sign up for it might not even need, but the fact that the hospital gave them an advertising budget, which came from funds obtained by overcharging their patients, to produce and run a radio ad campaign!

ngory07

Yep, there too much money on the line for the doctors and weight loss clinics that do weight loss surgery for them to be totally honest with their patients about all the potential complications.

A local hospital is actually advertising their WLS program on the radio. That really makes me mad. Not just that they are promoting a surgery that many people who are being encouraged to sign up for it might not even need, but the fact that the hospital gave them an advertising budget, which came from funds obtained by overcharging their patients, to produce and run a radio ad campaign!

Hmmm my surgeon told me every risk and complication. Blood clots, aspiration, staple line leakage all which could led to a bunch of complications including death. But I "weighed" my options and decided this was an acceptable risk as I was already slowly killing myself with food. I wish the would advertise more. So many of my acquantices have asked about my wls and most did not know about insurance coverage or payment options as well as all the different procedure. WLS changed my life and I am damn happy I had it!

Jeff92se

Can you elect to get them removed?

cassuccino

Hmmm my surgeon told me every risk and complication. Blood clots, aspiration, staple line leakage all which could led to a bunch of complications including death. But I "weighed" my options and decided this was an acceptable risk as I was already slowly killing myself with food. I wish the would advertise more. So many of my acquantices have asked about my wls and most did not know about insurance coverage or payment options as well as all the different procedure. WLS changed my life and I am damn happy I had it!

I get what you mean! I'm doing a diet that has some controversy around it but I did tons of research on it and decided to do it (my other options were: gastric bypass, lapband or dying of a heart attack because of my obesity) and I chose to try this before the others. I'm completely happy with my choice and I don't understand why some people can't just let others be and do things the way they want to. *Some* people are just too judgmental of others.

Congrats on the weight loss, all of you!!

istalkzombies

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?

didnt say theyre accomplishment is more legit they simply made the point that no matter how how any us lost our weight we made the dicision to completely change our eating habits and lifestyle so that all the hell we went through wasn't for nothing...


on that note, Im not gonna say that lap band or gastric bypass and all that is an "easy way out" but I will see I elected not to do any of that for the simple fact either way I have to make a lifestyle change why should I go through the cost and risk of surgery to do something I can do without? through my lifestyle change and sheer willpower I have lost over 120lbs with more to go, I have had stumbles but got right back up and kept going, will power was all I used and needed

lloydrt

desparate times require desparate measures.............I think, IMHO, that each case is unique and different

If I weighed 600 lbs, as there are people that weigh that much, and if I have EVERY known obesity related disease, ie, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, etc, then I would do what I had to.........to save my life. I d take care of myself and not worry about what people thought........think about it, if you weigh 600 lbs, its obvious what you are doing ISNT working, Sleep apnea can kill you, asthma can kill you, congestive heart disease can kill you.........If Im plagued with all these chronic illnesses, then I need to make a life saving decision because its obvious all my other choices arent working...............So I think its a right decision to use the surgery as a tool.........

I used the gym for 15 months as a tool, to get healthy and lose the weight.......I used the gym as my tool to get healthy, along with a healthy diet........... I made a life saving decision and Ive never felt better and plan to stay that way. I have stumbled for sure, Im human , but Im not going back to that black hole I was living in , prior my weight loss............

If a person uses the surgery as a tool, to help them save their life, so be it ........I support their decision.

Happy and Healthy New Years to all...................Lloyd

maxsdad9

I had LAP BAND Surgery in June of this year. I have had one fill to date but feel the need for another. I have lost over 70lbs since I began the process last April. 10 inches of my waist, I was 238 at my heaviest. My diabetes and sleep apnea are a thing of the past. I work out when I can and I log in everyday. MFP is a life saver. The hell with what people say about surgery. They are not us and what they say while it may hurt, is unimportant in the long run..

mleoni092708

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 agree with you. My Mom's friend recently had gastric bypass surgery. She was around the same start weight as me I would guess, around 260, maybe 20lbs more, not sure. Anyhow, she has now in just 2 months lost about 45 lbs, same as me. She doesn't exercise, and eats whatever she feels like it, healthy or not. I can't help but feel like I've earned my weight loss more than her. For 6 months, I scrutinized my diet, started eating much healthier, exercised almost every single day, kicked my own *kitten* when I felt I couldn't go on. She gets a surgery, does nothing, and loses the same weight. I wish her the best, I just think, with all my health issues, I could lose the weight on my own, why couldn't she?

rsmblue

Can you elect to get them removed?

Yes, if you should want to have it removed, you can. I'm not sure if once you do, if insurance (or even another Dr.) would elect to put it back in if you relapse?!

CoraGregoryCPA

This was a great way of stating it, but either one shouldn't get less recognition! Nice job! I had gastric bypass, but it made my weightloss so much easier than if I had never had it. I guarantee you that if I never had gastric bypass surgery, then I would have never lost weight, or met a wonderful fiance, or bought a house on my own, go back to school, get a masters degree, etc. I have so much more energy now and feel that nothing could stop me. Let people think I "cheated" or took the easy way out, but I'm way more successful than I ever could have imagined with that tool! Today, people cannot believe that I weighed 240 lbs.

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.

Health_Gal

I hate to hear people taking about WLS like it is some miracle, when there is so much risk involved.

I don't think that anyone is really saying that having a gastric bypass is taking the easy way out, as many people that go that route suffer through years of complications from the surgery.

Unless someone is EXTREMELY obese and there is absolutely no other way to lose weight, I would not suggest that anyone take the surgery route because of all the risks and complications. From all that I've heard, many doctors that make big money doing WLS do tend to downplay the complications and play up all the positive things about it.

I know people that had WLS, and wish they had never agreed to it. Every time they eat, they fear they will suffer on account of a post surgical problem.

No matter how many good things people say about it, having a gastric bypass is major surgery, and you are having to take general anesthesia (which has its own risk factors) and let someone cut you open and take out part of your digestive system, which I would not recommended anyone do without putting a great deal of thought into it and doing a lot of independent research through internet forums as to how others who have had this procedure have fared.

AussieSusan

I am one of the lapbamder that it worked well for in the first year then it was HORRID and now I am just wiating till I can afford to have it removed, I wish I had made a different choice, as now I am so used to throwing up I wonder if I have rotten insides, mynband has been in 7 years and I hope to get it out in July sometime. ANY questions just ask me thanks Susan