NoWorry

My 2 cents: I would never, never consider surgery until I had exhausted every reasonable attempt to lose the weight without surgery. The average weight loss for all Lap-Band patients is 60% of excess weight. In your case, this would be 30 lbs. Would I take the risk of major surgery, permanent life style change, pain and discomfort for 30 lbs? Not a chance. With your BMI, most US surgeons would not even accept you as a patient! Try to lose the weight through diet before you even consider drastic surgery.

A friend who had her Lap-Band surgery 3 years ago recently encountered something similar. In her case, the tubing of the Lap-Band had separated from the Port and it was not a small matter. In your place, I would definitely NOT ignore this.

The documentation provided by Dr. Rutledge, who performs the Mini-Gastric Bypass in Nevada, states: "Recently a sample of 358 patients from the series of 2,725 (13%) gastric bypass patients completed their follow up forms for analysis.... 17% percent of patients had diabetes at the time of surgery and 83% of diabetics resolved their diabetes following surgery." This seems to directly contradict the information quoted from Anne Harding and Reuters Health.

IMO, this definitely counts as a massive success story. Good for you! This is the part that concerns me the most. Everytime I start to think that this is medical science, numbers like these seem to indicate that it's hit and miss, trial and error, and that US Airways is about to get another frequent flyer! I really appreciate this. I think more like you are needed. I found LapBandTalk contains many positive, inspirational, motivating posts. If it wasn't for that forum, and I read only this one, I'm pretty sure I would have changed my mind and opted out of the surgery.

Good for you, Cyndi! I'm glad that you're making great progress, seeing results even beyond the weight loss, and continuing to strive for more weight loss. I'm 6'0" and my weight last week, prior to pre-op dieting was 271.5. Today I am 263, shooting for 250 by surgery date on May 16th (3 protein shakes a day only) and 175 by the end of the year. And I CARE VERY MUCH about reaching my goals - weight loss in ADDITION to better health, more energy and compliments.

Does everyone get the same post-op diet, or are there huge variances? I notice some posts where patients are having soup within a few days of surgery. According to my information, days 1-7 are clear liquids only.

I am impressed that you're still so positive, Teri. In your place, I would be looking for some satisfactory explanation for the dramatic variances you are experiencing. And it's not like fills, unfills and adjustments are easily accessible that you can just make changes at the drop of a hat. I don't know if this question is appropriate, but why aren't you demanding a more satisfactory explanation?

Did you know that you were a candidate for VG in advance of your surgery, or is this decision made by the surgeon after he has started the surgery? I am definitely beginning to see the truth of this. I guess it's the nature of the beast that only those who are having problems or suffering setbacks are the ones posting here. The ones who have succeeded or are happily continuing to lose weight 'normally' have no need for this forum. I notice that LoriBecky has started a new thread asking for testimonials and it has received absolutely no response. I've subscribed to LapBandTalk.com and there are far more positive posts there. If not for them, I think I would have changed my mind about this surgery. Thanks for your feedback.

I must confess that this confuses me, Pammie. You're not at goal, but could care less about losing more weight. The two comments seem to be totally contradictory. If you don't care about losing more weight, perhaps you ARE at your goal (and just need to redefine it)? Or if your goal is definitely a lower weight, then perhaps you need to care more about acheiving it? It seems to me that this is a big step, a great opportunity.... ah, I'm just rambling now. Perhaps we're just defining success in different terms.

Thanks very much, Steve. I'm with Dana, though. It sounds like you've done very well. 50+ lbs in three months is a definite success story. Could you post a little more information? How many fills have you had? What was your monthly weight loss? Which pre-op diet did you use? Any setbacks? If so, what were the solutions? What's your goal? Your results are very motivating and inspirational! Sanjay

I have to confess that I simply don't get it. The one constant theme throughout this forum is that restriction varies significantly from day to day and even from morning to night. What causes the variance? Why can a patient not even sip water in the morning, but can feel no restriction in the evening? Does the band's restriction change? Does the stomach change? I had originally thought of the band as a valve that simply reduces the passage of food from the pouch to the stoma. I visualized an hour glass. But an hour glass is constant; time doesn't speed up in the evenings and slow down in the mornings! How come the band does? If anyone understands this, I would really appreciate an explanation. Sanjay

This sounds so scary and unfulfilling. I'm scheduled for surgery next week, and I had the impression that banding was a solid, medical science. But this sounds highly imperfect, and subject to a huge amount of luck and guesswork. I think I'm getting convinced that this is not a good solution for weight loss. Sanjay

Hi all, I've been through most of the posts on the forum and I feel safe in making the following observations: 1) Everyone is unanimous about Dr. Ortiz and his staff's professionalism. 2) Almost everyone has an extremely positive attitude and are remarkably upbeat. 3) Given the chance, almost everyone would do the surgery again. However, when I look at the results that even the most happy and positive-sounding patients report, they seem fairly disappointing especially when compared to individual goals and the time that has passed since their surgeries. Am I missing something here? Has anyone actually reached their goal weight? Failing that, is anyone even actually closer to their goal weight than their starting weight (I.e. have lost more than 1/2 their target weight loss)? Has anyone had just 1 (or 2) fills and reached their sweet spot? Or is it essential to get many more fills to reach that target? I'm scheduled for surgery next week and as delighted as I am about everyone's positive messages here, I'd like to think that I have a very good shot at getting to my target weight without numerous fills, many setbacks or a lot of hunger, pain and discomfort. Perhaps it's just the nature of things that only people who have problems post messages and the real successes are silent and simply enjoying their success. But I'd really love to hear a few out-and-out success stories please. Sanjay

I thought that first week was clear liquids only? Sanjay

Good for you. I guess that makes a lot of difference! I still haven't seen the post-op diet details, but I know that I'm pretty much going to be on clear liquids for 3-4 weeks after the surgery. I've just ordered Dr. Ortiz's book and also "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies" which seems to be the most highly recommended. I guess I'll have a pretty good idea of the best diet following surgery. 57 pounds in 4 months is pretty amazing. Congratulations! With results like that, what's not to love? Best, Sanjay

Hi Cyndi, What better testimonial than returning to have your husband banded! Cool! I have my surgery the day before his. Just curious: what happened between Feb and Mar that reduced your weight loss to just 2 lbs? Was there some specific reason, or is it just the nature of weight loss that it's not always consistent? Sanjay

Hi Cheryl, I have the same surgery date as you. I'll be arriving April 15th, operation on 16th and leaving on the 18th. I like your idea of getting there a few days earlier to hang out by the pool. I'm going to do the same, but at home. I'm a little nervous, but very excited. See you there, Sanjay