Question:
How much weight will I lose having lap band wls.
I would like to know for those who have had lap band wls about how weight should I expect to lose and in how long a period of time, and are you happy with this procedure? — penelope R. (posted on December 30, 2003)
December 30, 2003
Hey .. I had the LapBand back in July, and I am very pleased .. my weight
loss has been conservative but steady (which I expected and wanted .. to
me, slower weight loss is a benefit, not a negative). Right now, I am
"on hold" .. another benefit of the Band .. I wanted to break
from worrying about my weight through the craziness of the holidays .. I
have just held my weight steady .. imagine that, through Thanksgiving and
Christmas! Amd sometime in January I will have another fill and start
losing again. How cool is that? It's adjustable AND you can pause it if
you need to. Here's a link for you .. this is the SpotlightHealth message
board for Band patients. There are a lot of inspiring stories there.
http://www.spotlighthealth.com/common/SG/topics.asp?m=1&sb2=1&sb=25
— Jeanie
December 30, 2003
I had Lap Band surgery in March 2003 and I have lost 55 lbs and I am still
loosing. I like loosing slowly. I would recommend the surgery. I was
back to work in one week with no complications.
— tfennel
December 30, 2003
You can expect to lose about 10 pounds a month with the lap-band. Some
months you'll lose more, and some months you'll lose less, but that's about
average. Most lap-band patients continue to lose their weight over a period
of 2-3 years post-op.
I had the lap-band done in May and I'm very happy with it. :) I've lost
about 70 pounds so far (slowed down during the holidays, but now it's
picking up again!).
Good luck to you. :)
— K M.
December 30, 2003
FOR ME! I nearly got the band. But pre op I LOVED chocolate milk and high
calorie liquids like milkshakes:( I would of been a band failure and went
on to get the RNY and am very happy! my surgeon does the band and says the
loss number is around 60% of what your overweight by
— bob-haller
December 30, 2003
Can we please lay the milkshake thing to rest? I am so sick of hearing it!
Good Heavens, if a patient doesn't trust themselves to lay off freaking
milkshakes (or any high calorie liquid) then they have problems that *NO*
WLS will cure. Sheesh. If I hear the bloody overdone milkshake thing
again ...
— Jeanie
December 31, 2003
hey there... i had lap band surgery on september 24, 2003. So far I have
lost 30 pounds (i started at 254). there are pros and cons to every surgery
and the decision on which one is right for you is very personal. i can,
however, provide some facts about lap band and why i choose it over rny. 1
- banding is a restriction only surgery. there is no malnutrician so you
don't have to worry about taking a lot of suppliments every day for the
rest of your life. i found this to be wonderful since i'm only 26 and i
didn't want to end up with severe deficiencies when i was older. 2 - there
is no "window of opportunity" as there is with rny. the weight
loss with banding comes from the "fills" you get every few months
or whenever you plateau. that makes banding patients able to lose weight
until they get to their goal... even if it takes a few years. 3 -
weightloss, on average, occurs at about 10 pounds a month. sometimes it's
more, sometimes it's less. i view this as a pro because that way my skin
has time to catch up with my body and most likely, i will not have to have
extensive plastic surgery unlike i would if i lost 125 pounds in 6-8
months. 4 - there is no dumping with banding. i can pretty much eat
whatever i want without any adverse side effects. potentially i could
sabatoge the surgery and eat nothing but milkshakes 24-7. this surgery does
take some discipline. it's a reward to me though, to lose 30 pounds in 3
months and still be able to eat a piece of chocolate, or get ice cream with
my friends once in awhile and not feel deprived at all. any of these
surgeries are only as successful as you want them to be. i didn't fully
understand the saying "this is a tool, not a fix." they operate
on your stomach, not your head. the results between banding and bypass are
the same, one is less invasive and takes a little longer and requires a bit
more discipline. i can live with this though and for me it's better. good
luck with your decisions.
— Jeanie O.
December 31, 2003
You will lose as much as you set out to lose and are willing to work for.
It's that case with any surgery. It's a mind set more so than anything. I
know of SMO who have had the LB and they are doing wonderful. Their loss
is about 1/2 as slow as mine (RNY) but for them they are okay with that.
I've always heard it takes about 3 years to totally lose your weight with
the LB. The advantage is that you can continue to get fills to help you
along the way.
<p>To the poster who is sick and tired of the high calorie scenario,
the bottom line is, it is reality. It is much easier to sabotage a LB with
high calorie liquids than any of the other surgeries. But I do agree, if a
person is not willing to change their way of thinking and their eating
habits it won't matter which surgery they choose - they won't be totally
successful.
<p>The bottom line is if you are most comfortable with the PO life of
a LB then that is the right surgery for you and that's all that matters.
— zoedogcbr
December 31, 2003
Hi...I looked into the lapband. Found my insurance did not cover due to it
being new, did not give same result of wls, and could be removed at will by
doctor. The doctor I spoke to had had the lapband and was doing very well,
however I have heard from other surgeons, it is only a first step they use
for extremly over weight and then once the person has lost, they then do
the wls. As for amount of loss, the doctor I know that has the band, he has
lost 100# and is stable. Another problem, the band has to be ajusted by
adding or removing the liquid. That is $250. a pop, by the local doctor in
my area. Not covered by my insurance. I have researched for past 3 years
and decided to go with the rny.
Marla
pre-op
255
Dr. Murr
TG Hospital
— Marla S.
December 31, 2003
Jeannie, anyone cotemplating lap band needs to be aware of the milkshake
danger. The mild dumoping I get keeps me in line. Its repetive info for you
but must have info for a newbie. Lap banders tell me those volume eaters
are more successful than the high calorie liquid addicts
— bob-haller
December 31, 2003
Bob, I decided to post my response to your email here .. to address the
"milkshake danger" as you so laughingly put it. My point?
Anybody contemplating ANY SURGERY needs to be aware of the risks of
consuming high calorie liquids .. this is NOT just a Band issue and to say
it is is just plain wrong.
**I feel that it is irresponsible of us post ops to speak on the surgery
that we did not have. Personally, (and I realize that I cannot speak for
you on this) but I stopped researching RNY when I had the Band, so I would
never quote research I found on RNY two years ago. For all I know, what I
know about RNY might be out of date.
The milkshake thing, while logical, is irrelevant to a serious student of
WLS. To bring it up as a drawback of the Band (and I have only EVER seen
it brought up in relation to the Band) makes it seem as though living on
milkshakes is perfectly OK for RNY/DS/VBG patients. This is certainly
ridiculous, but it's also misleading. How come nobody ever mentions
dumping when bringing out the old milkshake relic? Because RNY patients
know they can't drink milkshakes? Well, so do Band patients. So should
ANY WLS patient.
See why this gripes me?
I wish everybody did the kind of research that you and I did before we had
surgery. The lazy ones who rely on us to provide them with opinions
aren't helped by statements such as the milkshake thing. **
— Jeanie
December 31, 2003
...and before anyone jumps me about the "lazy" comment .. if you
did your own research and made/are making your own decision, and just want
opinions, then I'm not talking about you.
— Jeanie
December 31, 2003
I think that people need to realize that everyone has an opinion, none are
right or wrong.....JUST DIFFERENT!
I love this board but I get so tired of people getting hostile. HAPPY NEW
YEAR TO EVERYONE!
— Saxbyd
December 31, 2003
I was banded in July and so far have lost 80 lbs. I must say that I could
probably have lost more by now but I haven't been very strict either. I
basically eat whatever I want (at least what my band will let me get down
with this 2cc fill)I have eaten every thing from chips to cookies and have
still been able to maintain a substantial and continuous weight loss. Of
course tis is not true for everyone and definitly not the recommended way
to use the band but its my story and its working for me.
— Lisa F.
December 31, 2003
I'm an RNY post op, but I find the whole milkshake argument a little
ridiculous too. For one thing a lot of RNY patients do NOT dump - there
are no stats on this though I've heard 30% somewhere, so who knows. I'd
love for this site to do a survey (though a lot of people mistakenly refer
to vomiting or diarrhea as "dumping")! My point is, that I could
easily sabotage my RNY if I chose to drink milkshakes 24/7 - and I don't
dump, so I *could*. I could also sabotage my weight loss by eating lots of
chips and crackers, something most RNY patients find pretty easy to digest.
All operations require a commitment for optimal success.
I've got two friends who had the lap band. One's weight loss approximated
my RNY numbers (and exceeded some RNY patients), though I think she slowed
down a bit sooner than I did. I'm not sure how much she's lost now, but
it's well over 100 pounds. The other has been losing much slower but she's
really not making the best choices when she eats. I respect both of their
decisions not to alter their anatomy permanently and can see the wisdom in
that - but for me, I'm perfectly happy with my RNY. But then, I also had a
lot to lose. If I had started at a lighter weight I might have chosen the
band. And if the DS had been available to me, I might have chosen that,
LOL. There are good and bad points to all three operations and the
decision is an individual one depending on your circumstances. The only
one I wouldn't consider is the VBG because I've heard of too many people
not losing enough on that, and revising it later.
— sandsonik
January 12, 2004
Hello. I am a lap-band patient as well. I had surgery in May 2003, and have
lost 70 lbs. I am extremely happy with the band. I have friends and family
who also have the band, and some that chose RNY. The *milkshake* reference
to the band is completely ridiculous. 2 of the people I know with RNY do
not dump, and are able to eat anything, including milkshakes. The deal with
the band, and probably any other WLS surgery is that at some point you have
to make a lifestyle change with your eating. With lap-band patients, that
change has to be made almost immediately for the weight loss to happen,
RNY'ers can get away with a litle more because of the malabsorptive aspect
where you will lose weight with less effort to "dieting". I
researched RNY and Lap-band for nearly 2 years before I made my decision,
and I am really happy with my choice. The band does require some
maintenance with fills, but alot more insurance companies are paying for
those. I have never had to pay for a fill (I have UHC), but that is
obviosly something you would want to know ahead of time. Good luck with you
decision!
Jessica
Lap-Band 05/06/03
311/241/160
— Jessica P.
January 13, 2004
I'm very happy with my lap band journey at this point. As with any WLS,
results vary by individual. You might want to ask these questions on a
more band friendly message board. (One where you won't get bombarded with
the ridiculous milkshake scenario, which has been disproven in studies.)
You can find lap band boards here
http://www.spotlighthealth.com/common/SG/topics.asp?m=1&sb=25 and here
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgtype-forums/LapBand/posts/ and
here http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters/?yguid=6535337
— TMF
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