Lapband for me??

[sushee]

• Ask about the rates of complications at the surgery. How often do their patients suffer from slips/erosions (should be around 1%)
• Ask about cost of fills, and how much you can claim back from Medicare
• Ask how often you can do fills, and when your first fill will be post-surgery (ideally this will not be more than 4 weeks)
• Ask about what they think your ideal weight should be. This is important because some surgeons put it at around a BMI of 27, and won't fill you anymore once you get there. But my BMI is around 22 now, and I think it's perfect. I have to fight with my Dr now to get the fills I need because he thinks I'm too thin. You don't want to go through all that only to lose 15kgs, you want to make sure you get to your ideal weight if you're prepared to work towards it, not what they think you should be.
• Ask about post-surgery foods, so you can prepare prior to surgery.
• Get them to tell you what scars will be left after surgery
• Ask them about what sort of weight loss their other patients are getting

That's all I can think of for the moment. If I think of anymore, I'll post again.

I have been told by my surgeon that even though I've had great success with my band (size 20 to a size 6/8), I'm actually not a good 'representative' of lapband surgery. The reason is that my sort of weight loss is simply not typical. Most lose only 50 - 60% of their excess weight (i.e. if you have 30kgs to lose, you'll likely only lose 15-20kgs max). This needs to be taken into consideration, esp with low BMI patients. If you only have 20kgs to lose, and surgery will likely only help you lose 10-13kgs, is it worth doing, in that case?

Having said that, I do believe that your weight loss will depend on how you work with your band. My band is fairly tight (not as tight as when I was losing, but definitely not so loose I can eat without being careful). I exercised regularly, and I generally watch what I eat even now. I worked hard to lose, and I lost, and I intend to keep it off. The band helps me keep it off, as far as my appetitie is concerned, but the rest is up to me.

TD, if you feel like it, read my blog. It's quite comprehensive, but remember, the band worked amazingly well for me. It doesn't for everyone.