Need honest feedback on the lapband

I'm in the beginning stages of possibly having the lap band.  About 50% of who I've talked to say they wouldn't do the lap band, they've heard bad things. It's too easy to eat your way out of it so to speak.. I've also heard good things as well. I'd love to get some honest feedback from some of you who have alreay had the lap band. I have thought of the others, but one of the things I do like about the lap band is you lose a little slower than the others. I don't want to lose too fast. Thanks

It depends on your head!!!! No really...If you can be honest and not eat around the band it's a great tool. If you can't stop eating sweets like icecream, candy etc.. not so much..My issues were amount of food...I am eating waaaay less even without total restriction ( that means..I could eat more then I do, but I tell my head..STOP)  If you have a lot of weight to loose, maybe not... It amazes me with how little food the body can function....I will not tell you "Get the Band" I don't think anyone here will.. You will hear " It worked for me or it didn't work for me"

The magic bullet is a blender!! not a Lapband

Good Luck
stick around here and you will learn stuff..I did

Petra

 Its true you can cheat....that being said you can cheat your way out of most weight loss surgeries. if you follow the rules it works. it will keep you from being physically hungry but it wont stop your emotional eating. its a tool like any other...it can help you get the job done but it wont do the job for you! Most of us with the band have gotten off track at least once but as long as you recognize and acknowledge your behavior for what it is you can always get back on the band wagon. Best of luck to you!

Does your insurance cover it? Or self-pay?

 My insurance covered it.  I think you can have good or bad results with any wls.  The reason I chose the band was I wanted a gradual loss.  I wanted the ability to adjust the band.  It is reversible and when I really read up on all the boards prior to surgery the Lapband did not have near the longterm malabsorption/vitamin issues that several of the other surgeries did.  Those were my reasons.  I did alot of research before I chose.  I think I thought about surgery for 8 yrs before I actually decided to do something about it.  Do the research...make your own decision that works for you.

There is no perfect weight loss surgery. All have both good and bad points, all require some lifestyle change.

We bandsters probably have the hardest task. The key is to look upon the band as tool, rather like the will-power we lacked pre-surgery.  Let me give you two examples.

Last night I went to a 60th birthday party. I drank red wine and ate rather a lot! The food was gorgeous and I wanted to have a good time. I chose soft foods which slid down, and drank lots of wine to help wa**** down!

This evening, I am really hungry. Dinner is about 2 hours away and I really want to eat. So I have just taken a slice of cooked chicken breast out of the fridge and eaten it. This is dense protein and so I am no longer hungry and in fact would find it physically difficult to eat any more.

My band has changed my life and I have not had any problems at all in the 4+ years I have been banded. Other surgeries may well be better for others but for me the choice was clear - the fact that I have not lost bits of me outweighs all other concerns for me. And some people want and need the element of malabsorption, i specifically did not want that.

Kate

My answer come to you in the form of a picture of me that was taken yesterday!
I LOVE my band and am 100% POSITIVE that I made the right choice for ME!

all I can say is "DAMN" Steph!!!!! way to go. I love my band also but wish I could do that.

If the people you talked to who said they've heard bad things are also people who never had any kind of weight loss surgery themselves, I think you should ignore them.  Well-meaning but ignorant people come up with some pretty wild fractured fairy tales about medical procedures (bariatric or other) they have no personal experience of.

I love my band.  It has worked well for me because I was a volume eater, I was willing to commit to some major lifestyle changes, and I didn't mind losing weight more slowly than I would have with another procedure.  It's been hard enough for my brain to keep up with the changes in my body - I'd be a mess if I had lost any faster than I did!

It's possible to cheat the band.  In fact, it's possible to cheat every kind of weight loss surgery.  Recently I heard a bariatric dietician comment that every weight loss surgery patient has to work at weight loss and maintenance - and that band patients have to start that work immediately, while people who have other procedures (like gastric bypass) don't have to start right away...but eventually they do have to face the music.

Jean

Jean love the new avitar!!!!!~~ Amy