Lap Band/Realize Band Questions Please help!

Please help!  Please read and answer the questions below if you can. 

I'm new to OH and I am considering getting lap band surgery.  I am a female (stay at home mom of two), 36 years old, over 80lbs over weight... BMI 40 and have a few health issues due to my weight... which I'd like to improve or totally eliminate by getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.  High blood pressure being the main thing I'd like to resolve and fatty liver disease, and a few others. 

I know there are other surgery options, but for this topic/thread I would like to focus on those of you who have had successful lap band (realize or lap band) surgery.  I would love to know all you can tell me about it. 

My mindset going into this is that I just need a 'boost' to help me.  I have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight many times over the past 8 years and only seemed to gain.  I feel that WLS would give me the boost I need and could be the right tool I need to stick to it better and just give me a little boost.  

I have never had a problem with working out.... fell off the wagon a few times with it but always get back on and enjoy exercise.  I do seem to have a harder time sticking to the eating part though, especially when I am not seeing results on the scale or inches coming off or anything over a long period of months and months and months.  I've done several different diets, WW, Nutrisystem, South Beach, Counting Calories just to name a few.... I can stick to them for a while and lose a little and then it seems like nothing happens after I lose about 20lbs.... and then no matter what I do I can't lose anymore.  Despite working out 7days a week and changing my eating habits.  Plus I don't eat more than I used to or anything so you would think the increased exercise alone would help.... but no I have still gained.  It makes no sense to me. 

I know that this is not by any means the easy way out as I have had two friends that have had it done... I will have to work for it and exercise discipline and self control... but hopefully the band will help me to do that a little better than I have in the past by helping me achieve results for my hard work.  If I do my part and the band does it's part, it should be a success!

I would love to know if lap band is the answer for me.  I am not quite sure if I just need to commit stronger and longer to an eating program and just work harder... or if I truly need the help of something a little more serious like WLS.  I have really worked at losing this weight for eight solid years.... very hard!  And had weight issues before that, but two times before achieved my weight loss goals only to gain it all back though.  But the last eight years I have fought and worked hard to lose the weight only to gain more weight and a growing list of health problems... and I really want to be done with this issue and be healthy again and be free of these health problems.  I want to live and enjoy life with my family.  But I need to know if this is the way to go for me or not. 

I have quite a few questions but if you could answer them that would be wonderful... Questions such as:

What the surgery itself was like? 
What process you had to go through to get the surgery before hand? 
How did you feel after surgery?  Etc...
How you live after the surgery and keep the weight off? 
How do you eat day after day on a regular basis? 
Does it conform to your lifestyle?  (meaning social settings and get togethers... do you feel as if you are constantly dieting or can you truly live with this??) 
Is it hard to stick to(the diet)? 
Do you feel full most of the time? 
Does it truly help you and how? 
Do you feel as though you are starving most of the time since you eat such small amounts of food? 
Do you experience many side effects and if so what are they and are they worth putting up with to be rid of the other health issues you had before surgery? 
If you had it to do over again, would you still have surgery or would you just commit stronger to eating healthy and exercising without it? 

I know that's alot of questions, but I'd really like to know the answers to them if you have the time to answer.  Please... and Thank you ahead of time! 

God Bless each of you with great success and thank you for taking the time to read and answer my post!

What the surgery itself was like?  Not bad at all.  I was in at 11 and out at 6p.  Sore at the biggest incision (port site).
What process you had to go through to get the surgery before hand?  I had to have a psych evaluation, an UGI, EGD and 3 months of weigh ins by dr. (depends on insurance).
How did you feel after surgery?  I was tired, kept up coughing up goop (later found out I developed bronchitis).
How you live after the surgery and keep the weight off?  The band has been a miracle tool for me.  I was a slow looser, so if I can do it anyone can!! I lost 50 the first year, 20 the second and now almost 20 almost at 3 years. I recently gained 10 after being totally unfilled.  My nurse pract. is being cautious and wants to make sure I don't have a slip after being overfilled. (I've never had problems before).
How do you eat day after day on a regular basis?  My first year out I drank a lot of protein shakes and ate a lot of protein bars to make sure to get it all in.  I should still do that, but usually just eat what I want in very small amounts (due to the band).
Does it conform to your lifestyle?  (meaning social settings and get togethers... do you feel as if you are constantly dieting or can you truly live with this??)  I never feel like I am dieting. I never looked at it that way.  I knew the only way I could get the weight off was to change my life and I accepted that.  With the band you can only eat certain foods physically.  It never has bothered me. My taste buds have changed and I don't crave the carbs like I used to...
Is it hard to stick to(the diet)? It wasn't hard for me at all after I got restriction.  The first few months were difficult to follow the diet.  Once I got restriction though I was good to go.  
Do you feel full most of the time?  Yes.
Does it truly help you and how?  You get the lightbulb signal that you are full and it lasts most of the day...You don't even think about food at all...at least that's how it works for me. 
Do you feel as though you are starving most of the time since you eat such small amounts of food?  You don't feel like you are starving at all..it's all in your head.  You have to remind yourself to eat with the band..lol. It really is a strange tool!!
Do you experience many side effects and if so what are they and are they worth putting up with to be rid of the other health issues you had before surgery?  It's totally worth it...sometimes you might slime or pb (productive burp) when you don't chew enough or if something gets stuck.
If you had it to do over again, would you still have surgery or would you just commit stronger to eating healthy and exercising without it? I would totally do it over and over again!! 

Wow!  Thanks a bunch!  And I'm short too.... 5'2" around 218.  Congrats on reaching 135 and keeping on going!  You look wonderful!  Thank you so much for answering all those questions!  Both of my friends say they'd do it again too.  Do you feel the port or have any problems with it?  Does it seem to cause digestive problems (not the port, but the procdure itself)?  (sorry more qestions again..)    But I'm seeing that apparently the minor, and somewhat annoying and uncomfortable side effects, are worth losing the pounds and the health issues you had prior to surgery.  Thanks!!!  Great job by the way!!!  Keep up the good work!!! 

You actually sound a lot like me.  I can diet with the best of them, exercise like a freak, but the weight loves me.  My disclaimer though is I definitely ate too much.  Even if I didn't feel like I was eating too much, I was.  Even if I could go HOURS between meals, when I picked up again (kinda like a heroin addict) it was 2000 calories down the gullet in no time.  So yeah, eat less, exercise and lose weight works.  It's just about being VERY honest with ourselves.

That being said, yeah you sound a lot like me.  I felt the same way, like I needed a little boost.  The band has done that for me, but even more so I have had to do it for me as well.  It's easy to eat around the band.  Slider foods go down really nicely, don't even really fill you up, go figure.  If you have the discipline this might be what works for you.  I will answer your questions now since you took so much care into putting them out there!

What the surgery itself was like? 
Laproscopic 5 little cuts, the biggest one being about 2 inches, where they put the port.  Gassy right after, recovered quickly.  Surgery on a Tuesday, back to work the following Monday with no issues.   
What process you had to go through to get the surgery before hand? 
Surgeon visit, psych eval, nutrition eval, cardio clearance and PCP clearance.  I didn't need to lose any weight, thank god.
How did you feel after surgery? 
Again, gassy but all in all okay.  The gas had to be the worst.  Pain, at least for me, basically non existent.
How you live after the surgery and keep the weight off? 
Well, I am relatively new to this.  Heading into my 10th month now.  I guess I live normally? Whatever that means.
How do you eat day after day on a regular basis? 
Breakfast for me is a protein shake, has been since the beginning.  Works for me, goes down nice and packs 30 gms of protein in one sitting. Lunch is usually some protein, chicken usually, turkey maybe, some chili perhaps.  I can't eat more than the 3 ounces of protein so I just do that.  Dinner I try to do at least the protein and a vegetable.  Snacks for me are almonds in the morning and some kind of cheese/fruit snack in the afternoon, like fruit with laughing cow cheese for some protein.
Does it conform to your lifestyle?  (meaning social settings and get togethers... do you feel as if you are constantly dieting or can you truly live with this??) 
I feel like I can live with it very easily.  For me it's mostly about realizing that social gatherings aren't food gatherings.
Is it hard to stick to(the diet)? 
About as hard as any other diet.  You can eat past any weight loss surgery pretty much. People get really creative.  It's all about what you want out of it I'd say.
Do you feel full most of the time? 
Yes, I am always full.  I rarely get hungry.  That doesn't mean there aren't times I eat when I don't want to, because heck, I'm a foodie.
Does it truly help you and how? 
It reminds me constantly that it's there, not in a bad way but in a conscious way.  I always think before eating something stupid "you didn't get cut up for nothing." Does that stop me? Not always but it does work!
Do you feel as though you are starving most of the time since you eat such small amounts of food? 
Nope, see above.
Do you experience many side effects and if so what are they and are they worth putting up with to be rid of the other health issues you had before surgery?
No side effects.  There have been like 2 times in the past 9 months where after my breakfast shake I get such sharp pains in the pit of my stomach/abdomen, god knows where, that I wonder if I'm dying.  It comes and goes so fast that after the initial death thought, I don't pay attention to it.  It has only happened twice but those two times were memorable! I have never thrown up with my band or PB'ed at all.  Stuck for me means something just kinda halts for a minute in my chest before going down.  Papaya Enzyme helps with that. 
If you had it to do over again, would you still have surgery or would you just commit stronger to eating healthy and exercising without it? 
VERY good question.  I am 46, don't know about you, but I had enough programs to last me a lifetime.  In either case, yes I would do it again.  I would say that if someone could REALLY commit to diet and exercise and keep it up, then they should do that.  For most of us it's the old "been there done that, have the t-shirt in MANY sizes."

Good luck with whatever you choose!!

First, thanks for taking the time to answer my huge list of questions.  I appreciate it!!  And Yep... we sound quite a bit alike.  Everybody else keeps telling me aw... you don't eat that much... and I'm like... well whatever... apparently I do!!!  LOL!  And I have done the whole journaling thing... and have seen it... It may not seem like a lot to most... but nowadays... look at the portions!!  No wonder ppl think I'm not overeating!  Most of us in this country are eating portions that are wayyyyy too big.  So yeah I agree with ya on that one!  ;)

So I guess you would say it was the boost you needed then?  And from your ticker, if I am reading it right... then you have lost 97 lbs in your first 10 months girl!  That is awesome!!!! 

Liking what i'm hearing!  I mean I see it's work... I see it can have it's good points and bad points like all things in this world... but if you do your job and it does it's job..... which it seems to be doing for you, then you are good to go!  I guess now I only wonder.... does it do it's job more often than not?  My first post received a lot of negative feed back about the band.  But my friends who have it love it..... even though they say it's hard... they say the energy and the results are worth it!  So by what you have heard, would you say that more ppl have had it work and do it's job more than those who have had it fail? 

Yes, we as Americans do eat far too much.  An average restaurant meal clocks in at well over 1,000 calories.  I don't eat that in an entire day anymore, so yeah, we all eat too much.

Yes, 97 pounds in 9 months pretty much.  My 10 month anniversary isn't until January 29 and I am hoping for an even hundred.  I have been close, but no cigar.  The holidays set me back, while I didn't gain I still ate too much of all the wrong things.  I am 5'6" and I started a lot higher than you.  Geeze, I'd love to get to 218, LOL.  I started at 338, my highest weight ever was somewhere around 400.  Lost and gained 137 back in 2006 and regained 110 of it back in 5 years.  So yeah, got tired of the yo-yoing.

For me it does it's job more often than not.  But read here for a while and you'll see a lot of issues with the band.  Some people actually hate it and it has done a lot of damage to them physically as well as emotionally.  I have a friend who had it and she can barely eat anything.  It's very sad.  I don't know the rhyme or reason for who does well with it or who doesn't.  It's like a damned crap shoot, sadly.  There is one poor girl on here who had it maybe for 2 weeks and it caused such havoc that she had it taken out.  That broke my heart and I haven't seen her back here.

For me it's been great.  I've loved it, but as others on here say sometimes it's a matter of when the band will go bad, not if it will.  Sounds like a defeatest kind of thought process, but I try to consider it more as a realistic one.  If something happens I will recognize it a lot sooner then if this board wasn't here and all those people that hate the band weren't sharing their stories. 

Make sure it's right for you.  I would hate for you to look at another's success and then be horribly disappointed if something happens. Gosh, that sounds so negative, but I just don't want to paint this all roses, you know?

Still, good luck! It's a tough choice, definitely.

Yes, I've heard plenty of bad about it on this forum.  But also heard good too.  That's why I am really researching... and praying over it... I'm praying for a good surgeon and a good outcome.... all the way around.   Right now I am not even sure I will do it... I am prayerfully considering it... definitely... very prayerfully... no rushing into this for me.  No way.  I read your profile... sounds so familiar with me.  And how funny... because I was going to do what you did... and do the diet without the surgery... Haha!  And yes... I'm 218 but... I'm only 5'2"  and have health issues popping up left and right...and a couple of really good scares with my health in the last few month... .. and that is what led me to think of even doing this.  It is pretty drastic and risky... but... worth it, so long as it works and if I do it... I pray it works!!!  And pray the same for you... no complications.... no problems!   And I don't mind the honesty.... we have to be realistic... I'd rather have it honest.... and at least you are nice about it... a few others I've seen on here... oh they are honest... but mean about it.  Ugh... LOL!  Thanks for all of your input!  I truly appreciate it!  God Bless you with continued success on your journey!!! 

I'm going to reply honestly and hope that you see that it's in the spirit of trying to help you avoid a huge mistake.

I had my band done about 9 years ago. I came out of surgery with a damaged diaphragm. I was in so much agony that I went into shock. I don't remember the first week after banding, the pain was so blindingly intense.

I went on for 6 full months being in excruciating pain from morning til night. My surgeon told me that there was nothing wrong with me, I needed to get a hobby. I found a new surgeon... one who teaches other surgeons how to do the lapband.

He immediately diagnosed me with a slipped band. Well, actually, he exlaimed, "What the f*ck did they DO to you?!" And then he told me that my stomach had twisted into a figure 8, my bowels were obstructed (I had told my original surgeon that I hadn't been able to poop for almost 2 weeks... nothing, the pain was ungodly!)

They rushed me into surgery and attempted to do repairwork.
It didn't work. I kept the band but still had indecent amounts of pain.
I visited chronic pain clinics, was put on fentanyl patches and morphine. Neither did a thing for the referred left shoulder pain. I had abdominal pain ALL the time, constipation, lightheadedness, dizziness, malnutrition due to the complete inability to eat solid foods, and worst of all, people made me feel as if it was something I was doing wrong. I lost weight... but I also became shockingly anemic, malnourished and developed a hiatal hernia, gastritis, ulcers among other problems. ((I also have tons of adhesions from the multiple "corrective" surgeries.) 

The band was finally removed when I was so weak I couldn't lift my head off the bed. My son (who was a teen at the time) sat and held my hand and cried, helpless. He kept saying, "Mom, don't die, please. I love you." And that was when I decided that it was stupid to NOT get the band removed... in spite of my belief that the damage had been done and removing it wouldn't help my situation. In hindsight, I can see how foolish that way of thinking was. But at the time, I was so scared of having gone through all that pain and just gaining the weight back. I wasn't living, though. I was thinner but in SO incredibly much pain that I would have been better off fat.

This is enough to have turned me off the lapband... BUT, I also have watched dozens and dozens of my friends... real life and online... go through similar situations. The band is NOT a good LONG TERM solution for obesity. And more important, it often leaves us with a LOT of permanent physical damage. If I had it to do over again, I'd choose a surgery that might SEEM more "drastic" but is more likely to work the first time around without the hindrance and health risks of subsequent surgeries.

Good luck to you. I hope you'll take my post as an attempt to honestly direct you away from something that could very well be very harmful to your health. I hate watching people going through the same things over and over.

Wow... what a horrific experience!  I am so sorry you went through that... and I will take what you have said into consideration.  And while it doesn't make the band look good at all... that surgeon should be sued for causing you all that pain (not to mention expense!!)!!!!!  WOW!  Unbelievable!  So, did you ever do any revision to another surgery... or I imagine you wanted no part of any weight loss surgery after that experience... wow!

After band removal,I did contact several attorneys. The thing was, I had to come up with tens of thousands of dollars for "expert witnesses." And, at that point, I had lost my job ( the amount of pain I had made it impossible to keep working) and I was so broke from medical expenses. Not to mention how horribly exhausted I was at that point. So, I dropped the ball... but I SHOULD have sued him, no matter what the expense. The thing that made me feel even worse was that I went on TV BEFORE my surgery, telling about my whole plan to have the band. It was free advertising for him (and it was at his request that I did this, of course.) 
After I had complications, the TV station didn't want to "get involved" in case there was a lawsuit. So it looked like I had nothing but great things to say about this butcher... and people would believe I had a great outcome. It makes me sad to this day. It's probably why I try to warn people now, actually.

I didn't revise to any other surgery. I have too much damage still and it's been over 6 years since removal. I just had horrible left shoulder pain the other night, as a matter of fact. Once the diaphragm is damaged, it takes a LONG LONG time to heal. It's in constant motion. And the band is in contact with the diaphragm in most cases... and it causes left shoulder pain in a lot of banded people... but that's not often divulged. And it's HORRIBLE when you're going through it. I had it severely. It ranges from annoying to ridiculously painful. But it's more common than the doctors want to say.

Thanks for the thoughfulness. I hope you can find the right thing for yourself. But it's important to know the bad as well as the good. (And I'm sorry, I'm not one to list any of the "good!" I didn't have any good with my experience.)

Take care.