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What is your opinion on having a LapBand Surgery?
Yitta Halberstam would approve.
Last resort for someone who has tried everything else and is in danger from other health issues related to the obesity. It should not be taken lightly, it is still major surgery with all the risks attendant. It can only work for someone highly motivated to stick to the food plan necessary (and such a motivated person should really try a real diet first, because with or w/o the lap band, they will have to alter their eating habits for life, and it is easier to not have to recover from surgery). That said, it is a godsend for many people.
I read that bariatric surgery (not sure where lap band ranks with the other procedures on this issue) is so effective in helping many diabetics to the point that within days of the surgery they are able to stop all medications and stay off the medications with maintained weight loss that doctors are starting to think of this as not just a “last resort” for treating these weight-related medical problems.
I also think it’s last resort . It can get complicated with the band slipping out of place and then it’s more pone for slipping. I feel one shod should try every diet and excersize program before doing the lap band.. ?????
The band is safer than bariatric surgery. It should be done first.
“Yitta Halberstam would approve.”
As nauseating as that implication is…..lolololol!!!
This question has come up on several threads, but its worth addressing each time.
Forget what you hear from “people who have had it done”. Ask the friends of those people what they can tell you. And take a good look at how haggard the post-op people look.
Bottom line? Nothing will work without behavior modification (meaning: a real commitment to reduce what you take in).
If you still have the same eating habits, expect to do lots of vomiting. And say goodbye to your esophogus, because the constant thowing up will wreak havoc.
Take it from someone who has walked the walk. Diet and exercise is THE only soloution to weight control
oomis1105 and bpt
+2
I’ver seen relatives go for it, I can say some reeeeally needed to do SOMETHING, and today they look fantastic, I’m so happy for them!
The other 75%? Terrible. At first it canme off nicely and we all cheered. Now it has been 3 years: they gained it all back, and, I hate to say it…but the truth is they are fat and lazy. period. the rest ain’t comin’ off so fast. As was mentioned, the only solution is changing one’s mindset, and serious dedication to a healthy diet plan.
I’ve got several friends who banded, some of them for a couple of years now. BPT is right. They walk around like ghostly zombies. They are pale, withdrawn, and look absolutely miserable. However, it is a lifesaver when medically necessary.
A friend of mine had a virtual band fitted thru hypnosis and he’s lost so much weight. But it plays havoc with trying to eat the shiur of matzo on seder night within toch zman achilas pras. He cant do it.
I know someone who nearly died after having lap band surgery.
Ask your QMD.
I agree that its worth addressing each time it comes up…I will say that only someone with a band is qualified to comment as nobody else knows what is truly going on in someones body.
I think most post op bandsters look wonderful once the weight starts coming off, but look is not the main concern. Health is. Being morbidly obese can be a life threatening illness. Of course portion control is the only way but what some people fail to realize is that many people cannot control their portions without help.
People who have been banded know that vomiting is not a good thing and if someone is vomiting they should be seeing their Dr. for a slight unfil. If someone chooses to abuse their band….then there may be consequences.
Every tool out there can be used for good or abused…Take 2 motrin for a headache and thank gd theres Motrin, take 20 at a time and “say goodbye to your kidneys and liver”
I personally thank Hashem daily for this refuah he created for me and people like me. Of course every individual should speak with their own Dr so decide whats right for them.
I should add that I am one of those that had to have surgery a second time after 6 years and I still say it was the best thing I ever did for myself.
Please dont take ANY advice from anyone who is not banded, its ridiculous.
and by the way, I know many people who died from diseases linked to their morbid obesity…
People who are not banded might nonetheless have close friends or family whom they have watched go through this, and are eminently qualified to comment.
It works for many, but just as many have serious side effects (nutrient malabsoprtion, excessive vomiting, band slippage, perforation, embolus, etc.). I knwo a husband and wife who had the surgery done together, and though they initially lsot a great deal of weight, their excess flab had to be surgically removed months after the initial surgery, and then they gained virtually all the weight back.
As to the diabetes “cure” well I would not believe that in a “few days” a condition which requires a lot of medication is completely reversed overnight. Yes, weight loss will absolutely help a diabetic, but it takes weeks, not days to see that change. Any change is probably because the person is eating far fewer carbohydrates and calories. Without a lap band, the same thing will happen if a healthy low-carb and good carb diet is followed.
i have watched lapband surgeries being performed so i do know a little about them… and know that the truth is that the person getting the surgery has to realize that this isnt one of those surgeries that when its done you dont need to really worry about it anymore. its a partnership between you and the surgery. a person should first try to diet and exercise before getting the and should first ask his/her doctor if they should get it as this surgery isnt for everyone. if the surgery is recommended to you, you should approach it very carefully realizing that it has to be a commitment for the future to regularly exercise and watch what you eat. you should also realize that post surgery their are limited things you are allowed to eat for a while you should look into that. but hatzlacha rabbah in whatever you do!!!!
As I mentioned in my previous post, ask your Qualified Medical Doctor. Don’t go around asking people in an anonymous chat room online.
OOmis1105: Im not being “snobby” when I say only those who have one should comment. You have proved my point with the misinformation in your response.
One who doesnt have a band doesnt know enough and will give misinformation. Malabsorbtion does not occur with a band. A band is merely “restrictive” meaning it just restricts the amount you can eat. Malabsorbtion is something that occurs with other types of weight loss surgery, and since I didnt have the other types I will not comment on malabsorbtion.
Of course diabetics need to lose weight but what if they just cant without help?
Lets all agree that the only way to lose weight is to eat less.
The question is how to do that.
Someone who is 20 pounds overweight and otherwise healthy, can and should watch what they eat and work at losing the weight the old fashioned way…
There are those, however, that have to lose 80, 100 or 150 pounds and for us, starving for a week, depriving ourselves of any of the foods we love, to lose 2 pounds, only to gain back 3 pounds at a simcha where we slip up is torture.
I assume the OP is severly overweight or is asking on behalf of a loved one. I am sure that she has tried other methods before considering this and can use support.
I go back to my Motrin analogy.. If someone has a severe headache, why would you dissuade them from taking 2 Motrin? There are many horror stories about people who overdosed on Motrin, there was Motrin that was tainted and had to be pulled from shelves, so now should everyone avoid motrin and call it the “easy way out”?
A band is not Easy, it restricts you from eating too much, even when you REALLY want to. even at a simcha, or on Yom Tov. It requires multiple trips to the Dr. to have it tweaked.
Those who have gained back the weight have done so because they got tired of their band and stopped going to the Dr. just the same way that someone who diets and excersises to lose the weight and then stops dieting and excersising, it will come back.
So lets be clear, we are not discussing a band for someone 20 pounds overweight, we are discussing 100 pounds overweight with probably a few co morbidities thrown in as well…
I really wouldnt even bother reponding to these threads anymore, but I remember when I was looking into it and EVERY person I mentioned it to had negative things to say. I shudder to think where I would be now if I had listened. My mother freaked, and threw all sorts of (wrong) information my way and guess what…6 months later she did it too. and she was successful as well.
If anyone out there actually has a band, and regrets doing it, by all means post and give the OP the info she needs, but if you yourself dont have one I really feel you should keep unsupportive comments to yourself.
Hatzlacha to the OP and anyone out there who decides to take this route.
If your Doctor thinks it is medically appropriate then do it. I had it done in 2001 and have enjoyed great success.
Momofsix
So, does the band work like an appetite suppressant or, does the discomfort of vomiting when eating too much deter people from eating too much?
Also, do people who’ve had the band done then combine that with a specific food plan, like weight watchers (but have an easier time following it, due to “internal portion control”) or, is the option of following a traditional food plan out of the question?
I really appreciate the information you are sharing (I, too, am considering it).
MMC has a clinic just for this. They pay s/o (I think a NP) just to work all day tightening these things.
First the delis and take-outs pull in the dough -then the medical field pull in the dough (actually pull out or squeeze the dough).
Its not an appetite supressant…You’re hungry. But when you eat just a little bit you get really really full. Like so full you cant take another bite.
Now, if you wolf down the food so fast you may miss the feeling full and then the infamous vomiting can begin, or if you decide to take another bite anyway even though youre so so full, again, you may vomit.
But if you follow directions, eat at a normal pace and stop when you just cant swallow another bite, you’ll be fine.
Where I used to eat 3 slices of pizza and still be hungry, I now enjoy half a slice and I can go hours without thinking about food again.
The surgeon has a nutritionist on staff who gives you an outline and is avail for questions but really, if im doing well and then I eat a cookie, its ok because its one cookie not a whole box.
I can eat anything but very small amounts. There are those who say they cant tolerate veggies or fruit and thats when all the naysayers jump up and scream “OMG!!! cant eat fruits and veggies!!!!bad bad bad”
Trust me, none of us got this big from eating veggies, so everyone calm down. In either case, I do eat fruits and veggies, I just share them with my kids cause I cant down a whole banana on my own..
Just want to throw in there that Davening is really important, after all Hashem is really the one running the show.
Mske sure the Dr you use has adequate post op help, I left my original surgeon because it would take 6-8 weeks to get an appt. Unacceptable! ask the receptionist when the next fill appt is (even before you have the procedure) if she says its more than 2 weeks away leave and find someone else. Im serious.
Good luck
I just wanted to defend my comments about “curing” diabetes. There was a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine 3 weeks ago that compares three groups of patients. One had gastric bypass, a second group had a different procedure known as BPD and the third used diet and exercise. 75% of patients who underwent gastric bypass had full remission of their diabetes, 95% of the group that underwent BPD also did, but none of the people who did not have surgery had remission of their diabetes. I’m sorry if I brought this possibility in with lap band procedures, I mixed up BPD and lap band. After researching it further, BPD is an even more drastic procedure than gastric bypass.
I know several individuals who had the surgery….. One of my best friends got it about 1 year ago, and he looks amazing! I would have never believed….. He claims he got use to it in a couple of weeks. He claims that he got much support and info for the surgery at http://www.lapbandtalk.com
I just want to comment that the silence is deafening…Where are all the unhappy bandsters?
The truth is that even when someone complains about their banding to their friends and relatives they know that ultimately it was the best thing they did. There are some aspects about it that may be less than perfect but on a whole, I cant imagine anyone regretting their band altogether.
Im not being “snobby”
I never said that expression to anyone, much less you.
Mom of six, “malabsorption” might not have been the best word I wanted to use, so in that respect you are correct. However, a person who has bariatric surgery including lap-band, has a higher incidence of not getting sufficient nutrients, either through malabsorption, or not eating the proper diet after surgery. When one can only comfortably eat a little food at a time, one must be VERY judicious in the choices of the food that will be eaten.
Had the person been able to that well to begin with, they would not have needed to go through such a drastic means as surgery. This surgery is a godsend for many, but realistically only a temporary bandaid for many others. I have seen great results and I have also seen disastrous ones. I am not ignorant on the subject, as you seem to think. This requires a lifestyle change, and many patients are unable to follow through with that commitment.
OOmis -Did you ever go through a procedure like the band or bypass?
Momofsix -“I will say that only someone with a band is qualified to comment as nobody else knows what is truly going on in someones body.”
I’ll ammend your post because you’ll probably agree:
The only qualified opinions’ on this subject are people who have gone through the procedure or medical professionals (even if they haven’t had the procedure).
“OOmis -Did you ever go through a procedure like the band or bypass?”
No thankfully not, but a little more than a dozen of my friends, family, or good acquaintances have (Almost an epidemic, it seems). Only two of them have been successful in terms of keeping the weight off and recovering with few ill side effects. The VAST majority had bad – to terrible post-op experiences, because a)at times there are just less than desirable results in any surgery b)they were not willing to make the dietary and lifestyle changes needed for a successful outcome c)they were left looking twenty years older, and had digestive problems to boot, and d)they lost weight but had no energy. Three were diabetic, and while the weight loss did help to lower the sugar somewhat, they still needed to remain on medication and watch their sugar intake.
I would never put myself through such a procedure. The discipline needed to follow through AFTER the procedure, is so similar to what is needed to lose weight WITHOUT the procedure, that I can’t see someone willingly doing this without giving a REAL and honest attempt to diet. Only the patient himself or herself, can be honest enough to know if they REALLY tried a healthy diet. Most of us who need to diet, don’t stick to it. Once they have the surgery, they have no choice, and that’s the attraction. Also, the fact that the weight loss is very rapid, gives them chizuk, but it really is a false sense of chizuk, unless they make permanent life changes.
Having had stomach surgery to remove a tumor that in essense effectively “lap-banded” me (prior to being diagnosed, I could not eat more than a few spoonsful of food without feeling overly full, which is how we discovered the tumor), I would be unwilling to go through a procedure that put me in that state ALL the time. It was EXTREMELY unpleasant and uncomfortable, and I don’t think many people going through with this really understand what it will be like. Feeling nauseous all the time is very nasty, too.
Of the people I know who did this, only a very few really benefited from it (so far) for over a year. The rest have either gained back their weight, and then some, or look awful and haggard. Overly rapid weight loss, does not allow the body time to adjust, either. One of them has had to have three plastic surgeries/tummy tucks, to get rid of the excess skin (they didn’t tell him about that problem). Also, he is diabetic, so he healed poorly and very slowly (a very common problem in surgery with diabetics).
Bottom line, I GET why some people feel the need to do this, and if they are happy with the result, kol hakavod, and I am happy for them. But to take it lightly and advise it lightly, is irresponsible, in my humble opinion.
There is a surgery that’s nearly new thats called “The Sleeve” (some Doctors started it in 2004-a lot more Doctors just started doing it in 2009 because they studied it and it’s successful). It’s actually safer than the lapband, easier to adjust to, lose weight quicker, 20% more people reach their goal weight than lapband, no objects in your body.
You should research it!
I found a YW post about weight loss surgeries:
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