Originally Posted by kossde

I think I would have to disagree with the two statements above. I had lap band surgery 14 months ago and have thus lost almost 170 lbs. I have been overweight since I was a very small child and had absolutely no will power. Until the surgery, I had never successfully lost more than about 10 lbs. I was 321.6 lbs when I had the surgery.

As far as the total weight loss / speed of weight loss goes, that depends on the person and the surgeon. Lap band is a bit more precarious than gastric bypass because it's not a one-stop fix. It's a progressive, adjustable long-term fix and I think the 'adjustable' part is what makes it a little more complicated.

Most people seem to be of the impression that one fill is all you need to lose weight but what no one tells you is that the lap band is actually wrapped not around the stomach but around the stomach and surrounding fat. This means that as your body burns it's excess fat, the band becomes looser and thus needs another fill. The greatest aspect of the lap band procedure - it's adjustability- is also it's greatest draw back.

I think the biggest issue is not with the procedure but with the education provided with the procedure. If more people were better prepared and understood what would have to happen, a lot more people would have successful long-term weight loss. You cannot have just one or two fills and expect to lose 100% of your excess weight.

Originally Posted by kossde

I think I would have to disagree with the two statements above. I had lap band surgery 14 months ago and have thus lost almost 170 lbs. I have been overweight since I was a very small child and had absolutely no will power. Until the surgery, I had never successfully lost more than about 10 lbs. I was 321.6 lbs when I had the surgery.

As far as the total weight loss / speed of weight loss goes, that depends on the person and the surgeon. Lap band is a bit more precarious than gastric bypass because it's not a one-stop fix. It's a progressive, adjustable long-term fix and I think the 'adjustable' part is what makes it a little more complicated.

Most people seem to be of the impression that one fill is all you need to lose weight but what no one tells you is that the lap band is actually wrapped not around the stomach but around the stomach and surrounding fat. This means that as your body burns it's excess fat, the band becomes looser and thus needs another fill. The greatest aspect of the lap band procedure - it's adjustability- is also it's greatest draw back.

I think the biggest issue is not with the procedure but with the education provided with the procedure. If more people were better prepared and understood what would have to happen, a lot more people would have successful long-term weight loss. You cannot have just one or two fills and expect to lose 100% of your excess weight.

Originally Posted by suebry05

I agree with the last poster... I too had lapband and have lost over 88 pounds in 6 months... everybody who is looking at getting banded needs to really educate themsselves and be prepared to keep up with it and go back to the doctors regularly.

good luck with your decisions!

Originally Posted by kossde

I think I would have to disagree with the two statements above. I had lap band surgery 14 months ago and have thus lost almost 170 lbs. I have been overweight since I was a very small child and had absolutely no will power. Until the surgery, I had never successfully lost more than about 10 lbs. I was 321.6 lbs when I had the surgery...