The Lap-Band procedure

[charleston-mom]

I almost died from the lapband procedure and recently had it removed and had a revision done to a gastric bypass. I had two slippages, and erosion through my stomach wall to the point where the band was shredded and pieces were imbedded in my stomach wall itself. It was VERY dangerous surgery for me. It took me 5 years to get brave enough to get checked and when I did, after losing most of my front teeth to vomiting, my surgeon told me I was very lucky to be alive. I had emergency surgery and revision within two weeks and am very grateful to have been given another chance. The lapband system gets a lot of advertising as being so safe, non-invasive and all that and I bought into all the hype. Unfortunately, for me, it was more dangerous. I also didn't lose the weight. I spent the first four years having fills, unfills, trying to fix the first slip. It was awful. The quality of my life was really bad. I was unable to eat anything dense, meat, fiber, etc. and my health suffered terribly. Conversely, soft, high-calorie foods went down fine. I only lost about 40 pounds in 9 years. I had my revision on August 23, 2007 (3 months ago). I have lost 52 pounds in that 3 months. I would sell my soul to have picked gastric bypass the first time and have those 9 years back, healthier, and without the huge expense for capping all my front teeth (which came to almost 18,000 total for all the teeth). So much lost time. I personally could not recommend lapband to anyone. Please do your research. The long-term stats on long-term complications requiring surgical revision or removal are staggering. They are MUCH higher than reoperation rates for gastric bypass. Also, please be aware that it is not as simple as they say to remove these bands once they have been in place for some time. Scar tissue forms, makes adhesions and can make it very difficult to remove them. My revision operation was almost 7 hours long. The first 3 HOURS were spent removing pieces of the lap band. I had some death of tissue of my stomach, which the doctor said could have caused gangrene, due to the band as well. I was extremely ill. Please be careful of this heavily hyped operation. They make a lot of money on it because it's relatively easy to do and the doctors don't need a lot of experience. Most of them go to a one-day seminar. If your insurance changes also in the interim, after surgery, the fills are very expensive. Often, while insurance will cover the initial surgery, it doesn't cover the fills. They can range hundreds of dollars for each one, and you will need many over the years, plus a lot of long-term care. I feel 1,000 times better since my gastric bypass. My color is back in my cheeks, I'm swimming, feel so good.

If I can make even one person research this surgery really heavily before going through with it, I will be so happy to have helped someone not go through what I went though.

Kit

[Irishgal]

All I can say is make sure he goes to a COE (center of excellence) to have this done. This type of surgery has not been around that long so there are not that many docs who are super good at this.

[ArmCandyLuvr]

He might want to opt for gastric bypass instead of the lap band, because there are more competent surgeons performing gastric bypass than the lap band. Either way, surgery is never something to be taken lightly. It should be an absolute last resort.

[QueenOfDa702]

ArmCandy: Thanks. Gastric Bypass is not an option. Its too invasive and he absolutely refuses to do it.
Irish: We are in the process of researching, and when we are ready to take the plunge, we will find the absolute best doctor, no matter where he/she is in the country!
Charleston: Thank you for sharing your experience. We are in the process of researching, and have been doing so for a while now. He wont be having the procedure done until we both know every single thing there is to know, good AND bad. Our insurance, unfortunately, doesnt cover the cost of the procedure, so we will have to pay out of pocket. We have already added up the full cost and the approx. cost of the follow up visits, fills, etc.
Charleston: May I ask you why it took you 5 years to check? Since you waited, is that the reason the damage was so extreme?

Thank you all for you input and experiences!

[allierichie]

I know someone who just recently had it done and it was a great success. Insurance covered a lot of it because they were a great candidate for getting it done. I think it's a great idea instead of gastric bypass. You can easily loosen it or tighten it, etc. My husband sells the product as part of his occupation. There is not much that can go wrong during the surgery, so don't be worried about that part.

[gillianna]

I just saw the lady I know who had gastric bypass last week. I saw her last year and she lost alot of weight. I would say going from a size 22+++ to a size 2-4. Well when I saw her last week I though she was way too skinny, to the point of not looking healthy. She looked like a skeleton......it was not attractive. I also noticed she really did not eat but picked at her dinner. It made me think of Nichole Richie.... Then I though what happens if a person this skinny gets sick---there is no way they can afford to lose another 10 lbs. I really feel that there are long term health problems with this surgery. I mean if a person keeps loosing weight every year and can't stop. What size are you after a zero is too big????

[cascratchfever]

My sister had it done about 3 years ago. She's lost probably close to 100 lbs but she's been steadily losing for 3 years so it definitely wasn't a fast weight loss. She doesn't have any sagging skin from it, maybe because it was a relatively slow loss? She can't eat certain things like rice or super sugary anything but she's happy with it and I'm happy for her.

[QueenOfDa702]

Originally Posted by gillianna

I just saw the lady I know who had gastric bypass last week. I saw her last year and she lost alot of weight. I would say going from a size 22+++ to a size 2-4. Well when I saw her last week I though she was way too skinny, to the point of not looking healthy. She looked like a skeleton......it was not attractive. I also noticed she really did not eat but picked at her dinner. It made me think of Nichole Richie.... Then I though what happens if a person this skinny gets sick---there is no way they can afford to lose another 10 lbs. I really feel that there are long term health problems with this surgery. I mean if a person keeps loosing weight every year and can't stop. What size are you after a zero is too big????

I agree with this. IMO Gastric Bypass makes you lose weight entirely too quick, and it seems like theres no stopping it.
But, my SO is not getting that. He is looking into the Lap-Band which does not cut any of your stomach. You lose weight at a much, much slower pace, and it is reversible if necessary.

[QueenOfDa702]

Originally Posted by cascratchfever

My sister had it done about 3 years ago. She's lost probably close to 100 lbs but she's been steadily losing for 3 years so it definitely wasn't a fast weight loss. She doesn't have any sagging skin from it, maybe because it was a relatively slow loss? She can't eat certain things like rice or super sugary anything but she's happy with it and I'm happy for her.

Thanks so much! Thats another reason why we are looking into Lap Band rather than Gastric Bypass. You lose weight much slower(but steady), and hopefully there will be no skin to "tighten" after all of the weight loss. Congratulations to your sister, thats awesome!

[Kansashalo]

Originally Posted by bagaholic85

Has he tried to see an endocrinologist? maybe its a thyroid problem that can be fixed with medication. It seems hes doing everything else right. It would be unfortunate if he went through a surgery like that and still didnt see results

Great advice. If you are working out and eating healthy and are not seeing results, i definitely recommend this route. And if your thyroid isn't' the issue (although it can be even though your level may test in the lower end of the scale) also ask to have your pituitary gland tested. That little gland regulates a lot in our bodies and if its out of wack, your body will show it.

I can't tell you how much I went through (mentally and physically) until I finally found out what the underlying cause was. Anti depressants (for the depression) and recommendations of GPS or some weight loss drugs didn't fix it. God bless physicians, but sometimes they don't know it all.

Good luck to your SO.

[bubbleliciousis]

hey a family friend got one of these procedures, i don't remember if it was the lap band or gastric bypass. and unfortunately he passed away because something in the operation went wrong. I've heard it's not that safe and there's quite alot of risk. so research reserach research before you do it. unless it's causing major health risk like heart problems, i'd probably say to try all the diet and exercise before taking the risk associated with this type of surgery ... good luck!

[Speedy]

Queen,

I have no experiance with the lap-band, and I know no-one who's had it done (although I do know someone who's had the gastric bypass, she's doing very well) but I wanted to tell you I keep you and your DH in my thoughts and prayers that all goes well.

All my hopes,

Speedy

[SunnyFreckles]

A close family friend had the lap-band done 5 years ago. 2 years ago it slipped and the dr. went in to repair. He left town for a 10-day vacation and 18 hours after her surgery she slipped into a coma and they had no idea why.

Come to find out, when the dr. was repositioning the band, he didn't sauter (sp?) all of her blood vessels and she was bleeding internally.

She was in a coma for 10 days.

She said that had she known that would happen 5 years ago, she would have never had the surgery.

I also have 2 coworkers who had it done (both over 150 lbs overweight) and neither of them are loosing weight. They are both able to eat full meals despite the dr. increasing the amount of fluids in their bands.

I do hope that you and your SO are able to find a successful solution, surgery or not. I personally weigh 227 lbs right now and my dr. said he would recommend me for the surgery but I refuse. It seems like an easy way out. If I weighed over 300 lbs, then I may consider it, but it was my fault that I got this big (I am 28, have had 1 baby but weighed 145 lbs in high school. I do think I was probably anorexic in high school and think that is why I struggle with weight loss today.) But I won't give up on doing it myself. Just my own opinion.

Good luck! I will keep you both in my prayers!!!

[QueenOfDa702]

Thanks to everyone!! I appreciate all of your replies and you taking the time to tell your own stories.

Originally Posted by Speedy

Queen, I have no experiance with the lap-band, and I know no-one who's had it done (although I do know someone who's had the gastric bypass, she's doing very well) but I wanted to tell you I keep you and your DH in my thoughts and prayers that all goes well. All my hopes, Speedy

Thanks Speedy

[LVuittonLover]

Originally Posted by omgsweet

Be very careful with these kinds of surgeries. I have a really close friend who had this done a few years ago. She thought she was going to get the gastric bypass done, but the doctor did gastric bypass AND the lap band. This doctor is no where to be found now. Now my friend needs to get the lap band removed but must wait for her insurance to kick in. In the mean time, she can barely eat anything. She lost so much weight that she is wasting away. She is anemic and has so many problems. She is essentially starving to death. She just cant eat. I pray she gets this surgery to fix it before she dies. Also, my MIL has a friend who just recently passed away. I'm not sure which procedure she had. It was one of these. She died from malnutrition. I would suggest not getting the surgery unless it is his last resort.