On the fence about weight loss surgery

Looking for advise. Have struggled with wt loss up and down for years. Now considering a more permanente solution via wt loss surgery. Would like to hear from anyone who has chosen lap banding over lap gastric plication (not sleeve), factors influencing your choice. Also - I know it risky, but considering having this performed in MX as I must pay out of pocket and it's about 1/4 the cost.

Thanks for your help

People have strong feelings about wls choices. You must listen to your own medical team, making sure that the doctor does not just offer one type of surgery and so is going to encourage you to go that route.  I have personally be banded for seven and a half years, have been below goal weight for six years. Even now with recent seasonal gain, I am still just at my original goal weight.

i can only speak for the band. Be aware it is hard work. A well adjusted band does not stop you eating, it just makes it a bit easier to eat less because if it works as it should it dims hunger. Not everyone finds it does this; some people simply never get the right level of restriction, others expect too much. 

It requires on-going maintenance.  So you need to be aware of future costs. You are going to require regular fills, re-operations to repair leaks etc are not uncommon (latest figures say 12%).  No-one actually knows hw long bands can last. Th used to say "for life". No-one says that any longer. I personally know quite a number of people as long banded as I am or longer. But many who post on her have had to have bands removed,

I am not saying don't do it. My band has changed my life and if I had to make a choice, knowing everything I know now, I would still be banded.  But I am in the UK and so don't have to pay for aftercare!

I would NEVER EVER consider either one of them. Remember you get what you pay for and it sounds like they are using you as a guinia pig or using the plication to make the band work. I'm friends with Kate so we argee to disagree but the band never did much for me, I lost all of 20 lbs. with my band the rest was with an empty band and I did that myself. As for the plication PLEASE do not even consider that one, the tissue in the folds tends to die off from lack of circulation and causes all kinds of problems down the road. These issues are just now coming out and who knows what else will appear down the road. I'm now stuck with a useless band that I can't have removed for several reasons unless it is an emergency situation, one of those is insurance won't cover it. What happens when you have a problem with either the band or plication once you are home, no one will touch you 1. because they didn't do the surgery and 2. it was done out of country. Save a little more money and get a decent surgery like the sleeve, DS or RNY. Don't settle for sale prices where your life is at stake!

I wouldn't consider either of these, either. Too much maintenance with the lapband let alone success statistics, and plication is still experimental. I would suggest consulting with a Bariatric surgeon here even if you are going to Mexico for the surgery- this is such major surgery, and you really need to research your options. We can only give you our personal experiences and opinions here, and what would work for you is entirely individual. But I know for me, I would want professional consultation.

I couldn't be paid enough to have either of those. Since you have a BMI os 31.5, I strongly urge you to seriously consider the Sleeve. The Sleeve is the kinder, gentler surgery---all it does is make your stomach smaller, which means you get full and satisfied with much less food. But it still functions exactly like your original stomach does now. No dumping, rarely any food intolerances, no malabsorption and hence rarely are their issues with vitamin deficiency. You can still take NSAIDs, which may not matter to you right now, but we tend to need them more as we age.

There are a couple of excellent Sleeve surgeons in Mexico, but please---research carefully. There are also some cut-rate persons operating in strip malls.

Neither of these solutions are proving to be a permanent solution.  The band is only designed to stay in the body 8-10 years, and the plication is not yielding good results, so far.

Iam a former band patient I had it done Aug 2008, this past Dec 18th 2013 I did a revision from lapband to bypass due to complications with the band. There are alot of complications that can come with the band, some do well some dont, and some do well to start and then years later start developing issues. I am on a fb group that is for people with lapband issues. your more than welcome to check it out so u can also get the information of complications people have had. My lapband never worked for me, it instead made me puke 9 out of 10 times when i would eat (NO matter what the restriction was at, and yes i followed all the rules) My band ended up causing my esophogus to start narrowing and closing. Anyways msg me if u would like the fb group info.