Pre-Surgery Introduction - Seeking Advice

KSCarnivore

Six months ago I started my Lapband surgery journey with 6 months of medically managed nutrition therapy. In the beginning, I squeaked through the insurance requirement of 35% BMI. I've done it all now, the sleep study, 3 psych evaluations, 8 weeks post-surgery education, all of the medical tests, etc.

I was assured by my program that if I lost weight during the journey I would not be penalized and lose my eligibility for surgery. Through it all, I've worked hard and dropped my weight down to a 30% BMI. I've lost 50 pounds at least four times in my life and it always comes back, so I was hopeful that LapBand would give me a new tool to keep it off, but I see so many posts where people indicate that this is still not the case. I'm perfectly confident that I can lose another 35 lbs and get my BMI down to a normal, healthy range. During the last six months, I've embraced new skills. I'm a happy calorie counter and exercise an hour a day.

So, for those of you who are post-surgery, could you share your opinion about whether or not I should follow through and have the surgery. I guess my biggest concern is having to chew food so thoroughly for the rest of my life since I am always kind of rushed taking care of my son, dog, husband, etc. What would you do

Scribetoo

I guess my biggest concern is having to chew food so thoroughly for the rest of my life since I am always kind of rushed taking care of my son, dog, husband, etc.

Let me preface this with the statement that I did not have lap band surgery. I wanted it initially but changed my mind based on how much I had to lose and my understanding of my own habits.

That being said, I'm not advocating one way or another. This decision is yours to make and yours alone.

I would point out, though, by your own admission your greatest fear is having to chew thoroughly.

That seems to me to be a small adjustment to make in light of all the OTHER adjustments you have already made that, in my mind, are FAR more challenging. Thorough chewing is something we should all be doing, regardless of whether we have had a type of weight loss surgery or not.

Is there another issue that you're not telling us?

Good luck, whatever you decide. It's not an easy road but I will say, being on this side of the fence, I would do it over again and SOONER. I have a tool that I can use for the rest of my life.

Stef

Arthemise1

Chewing food thoroughly is really easy once you get in the habit. You get in the habit because if you don't, you hurt and throw up.

I know some people lose weight and then gain it back on the LapBand. It is possible. Even though my weight loss got stalled, I didn't gain my weight back. For me this is a big deal. I've always regained, and to have a tool that prevents this is worth it.

That said, you have to consider whether you've changed your habits for good. Some people can do it without WLS. It's not something to be taken lightly, and all surgery has a risk of death. It's your decision alone.

beckybernardo

I am working on my 6 month preop diet for my insurance. In a way, I feel the way that you do. I can lose the weight, but I know that I can't keep it off. I have lost so much weight in the past, just to gain it back. That is why I have made the decision to go ahead with the surgery because I know I will gain the weight back if I don't. I am confident that I will lose before my surgery, I have already lost aroung 30 lbs since my biggest weight over the winter. I think that this time before surgery is going to help in the long run, but the surgery is going to help me keep it off. It will never be easy, but like we have all heard and said, its a tool that will help us. I think that you should do what you are comfortable with. You are the only one who knows what that is...Good luck on what you decide, there are many supportive people on here who will support whatever you decide

KSCarnivore

Thank you Stef. There are no other issues. I appreciate your insight.

slfam

I had the LapBand for 2 years. At first it was wonderful! I loved being able to slowly lose weight without any malabsorption issues and I knew that I was losing at a healthy rate. But in the end, my body sort of rejected the band... It seemed like every time my band got to a level of fill that was tight enough to help me lose weight, my stomach would swell up so tightly that I had to get a complete unfill and then wait a while before slowly filling it up again to a level where I had decent restriction. I spent two years going up and down with my weight because my band was constantly getting adjusted to different levels. After a several trips to the ER where I was vomiting up my own saliva because I was too tight for it to go down, my band slipped and the insurance would cover the band's removal and the RNY to be done. I have to say that I HATED the pain that I sometimes got with the band either because I did not chew enough (which didn't happen often at all) or because the food was too dry. Chicken? Pork chops? Forget it!!! If it was at all dry I had to lube it up with sauces just to get it to go down. Boiled eggs were too rubbery but 'slider foods' were easy to get down and so of course I gained weight.

After the RNY, I lost almost 80 pounds and I was down another 35 from the Band. Now I have to deal with taking vitamins and protein for the rest of my life and the malabsorption. But I do not regret it. Even though I have regained 50 pounds due to bad food choices and the lack of exercise I still feel so much better than before!

I guess my thoughts are as follows... If I had the discipline to lose weight without surgery I would have done it as my first choice. That is the only thing I regret - having to have surgery to accomplish the weight loss. But the thing is, in order to make the surgeries successful you still have to have the discipline to maintain the weight loss. You still have to watch what you eat, exercise and exert some willpower! If I could have made the band work, that would still be my second choice, although it was a major pain to have all of those adjustments. I ended up with my third choice and I can live with that. I am better off than I was and now I am just having to work at losing what I regained.

Just make sure that you think this through very carefully and as the others have said, remember that it is a tool and make the choice you can live with! Good luck!

loribenfield

Weather you have weight loss surgery or not, in order to lose weight and keep it off means changing your eating habits and exercise habits forever. Most people who gain back the weight after surgery are for the same reason you gain back after you stop dieting. If you don not make the change forever it will not stay off. For me having the lap band was to help me get to the weight I was having trouble getting to but I know if I go back to eating the way I did before (let me tell you I eat enough for 3 people in a day) it will all come back. Taking time to chew your food slowly is easier than a lot of the other changes that have to be made. You seem concerned about the commitment of this. Are you prepared for the commitment of for every eating right and exercising? I am not trying to discourage you in any way. If you are not willing to commit you may not want to have surgery. I do not want you going into this thinking that lap band will keep you from gaining back weight. Congrats on what you have lost. You are going a great job. And good luck on what you choose.

mfisher16508

HI, I was going to have the band as well, like Steff, but in the end changed my mind mainly because I knew I would get sooo discouraged with the slower loss of weight that banders experience (not hating, just a fact), had I not wanted to see faster results I would have had the band, but it is your choice, your body..I just knew I would get depressed and discouraged.
So on March 14th I had GBS, and I dont worry about vitamins or protein all the time, I take my vits daily, its a habit, if I miss a day, I dont stress, I have no mal absorption issues to speak of, as I am eating a pretty well balanced dietl. I am pretty lax about exercise though and have made a promise to log exercise for the next 10 days, I did it today and logged it, be proud;)
But I honestly dont know what to tell you, on one hand you have proven you can lose the weight, on the other you may regret NOT having the surgery.....A few years back I lost 80-90 lbs on my own, no surgery, just exercise and healthy eating, but over the course of the years I gained it all back, and last year I decided to have the surgery and started the process....and here I am. I feel and look great, I mean I really do, and despite the few issues with not being able to eat cause my opening narrowed, I have never been happier. I hope that whatever you decide, in the end you can say the same thing. Good luck and god bless.

tessanne10

I had thought about having the lap band a few years ago, but like the others changed my mind. For me I knew in my heart it wasn't the right fit for me. I had Gastric Bypass on March 13, 2012, and for me it was the best decision, considering the co-morbidities I had at the time I had it.
I had tried all kinds of diets all my life and I also lost the weight, but put it back on. In the end even for this procedure I had to be not only physically ready, but I also had to be also both emotionally and mentally ready.
In the end this is going to be your decision and no one else's, It wouldn't matter what anyone else thinks, because what it comes down to is do you feel that you can lose the weight and keep it off without the surgery.

gspea

I am working on visit 5 of six medically managed weight loss. If all goes well I could have surgery August-ish. Will keep checking in as the process goes along.

hhamilton1203

i had the lap band 6 months ago and i am down 120lbs. i use it as a tool just like the RNY surgery is a tool. I choose to not have the RNY due to it didn't fit well with my life. So that is what i chose for me. How ever everyone is different and every one loses differently no 2 people are the same. You have to take a close look at your life- surgery is a BIG deal and no one can make that choice but you, no one knows you better than you and no one knows your determination better than you. Yo-Yo diets are not good for your body as i am sure we were all told, i am only 26 and i would not of changed having this surgery for anything in this world. My whole family is over weight and it took me getting this surgery and lose all this weight to make my family see how being over weight isnt good for you and we need to do something about it. At first my husband wasnt even ok with me getting the surgery i was in my pre 6 month diet and he wasnt ok with it until about 4-5 months in, but this was something i had to do for me. And now my husband has even lost 50lbs and so has alot of my family. instead of going to eat together all the time... we go and work out or go do an activity together. I wanted to get the weight off and keep it off. Yes you can always gain it back, weather you have the lap band or the RNY. I have met many people who had the RNY and then stretched there pouch and ended up getting the lap band a few years later. There are TONS of horror stories out there- all people do is let everyone know how bad of an experience they had blah blah blah, no one ever talks about the good. Well I do i talk at the support groups all the time and the seminars my Dr has to show people it can be done and its a great feeling and you arent alone in this journey. So what ever you decide i hope you gather all the information before you do. i know its a hard long journey, BUT its totally worth it. Something i tell everyone i meet in my meetings and seminars is "You didnt gain the weight overnight, and you arent going to lose it over night either. Its a slow process with ups and downs but in the end you will have a better healthier life."

lorihalsted

No is my answer for you. Do not have surgery.

I had lap-band surgery July 15, 2006. The day of surgery I was 335 lbs and 5'2". Over an 8 month period after surgery I lost 85 pounds. I felt great!!!! I kept eating correctly and upped the exercise because I wasn't losing anymore. I gave up somewhere around 2009. I gained 17 of those 85 pounds back due to eating & drinking whatever I wanted WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE BAND. I found MFP last Fall and have lost 27 of those pesky pounds which puts me at a lower weight than I ever been post surgery.

The bottom line is that lap-band is surgery. It's serious business and life altering. Statiscally people who have had lap-band lose 40 to 60% of their EXCESS weight. With 30 pounds to go for you it's way too big of a risk and too big of a lifestyle change.

Would I have the surgery again? Sure, my BMI was 50 something and I feel better now than I have in years. Do I scrutinize every bite I take? Yes. Fresh fruit such as apples are hard to eat but milkshakes will slide right through.

Just think about it....

lorihalsted

Something i tell everyone i meet in my meetings and seminars is "You didnt gain the weight overnight, and you arent going to lose it over night either. Its a slow process with ups and downs but in the end you will have a better healthier life."

YES TO THIS!!!!!!

heres2anewme

If you can lose it all without surgery I would not put myself though it, there is a lot of maintenance to a lapband, I have had both band and RNY and would choose RNY any day over the band. One thing you asked is about insurance covering it if you drop below your BMI. In KY I know of no insurance that will cover it if you are not above a 35 BMI. My doctors told their patients that had to do the six month diet thing not to lose much or they would not be approved. I don't know if this is true or if they were afraid that they would not get the money for the surgery if they lost too much. (People decide they can do it on their own is what I mean)

qofdisks

No.
Lap band was one of the worst mistakes of my life. I have gained back all the weight and more. I have chronic reflux and must sleep sitting up or gastric juice runs into my sinuses and chokes me at night.
I have permanent damage to my lower esophageal sphincter.
I have chronic pain in the teeth jaw and neck because the vagus nerve is disturbed even more so on an empty pouch.
The band will interfere with eating healthy foods more often than than eating unhealthy foods. For example, meat, fruit and veggies especially fiber and skins do not go down as easy as ice cream and chips and cookies.
The pouch will stretch out and you will be able to overeat again a little at a time. You will eat more slowly, but you will eat too much or make the wrong choices just as easily.
Fills are iterative and cost hundreds of dollars a pop. It is difficult to get that magic fill that is neither to loose or too tight.
Yearly diagnostics are expensive and radioactive and downright medieval.
There is chronic pain from the port.
The surgical adhesions and scars can complicate subsequent non-elective surgery.
It is a pre-exister in that it is a time bomb that can slip or erode at anytime.
The fear that something has gone wrong will keep you awake at night in misery.
Seeing the doctor is often inconvenient and involve expensive travel.

Ethan718

I am 36 years old and currently weight 348. I have all of my insurance requirements approved and I'm booked for sleeve surgery August 29th, starting the pre-op milk diet August 15th. 65 days out and counting down. My dad had the surgery in March 2011 and he's lost 85 pounds and leveled off. He looks good with no excess skin. My main concern is going on the liquid diet and feeling wiped out, exhausted, etc... Just started using whey protein shakes today and trying to exercise more because I hope to get a head start on losing and get my body conditioned so I can recover more quickly. I'd like to drop at least 20-25 pounds before surgery as my 1st goal and 210 as my end weight target. I want to run the Portland, OR "Hood to Coast" next year!