Dh and and myself have seriously been looking into lapband. MIL has even offered to help pay for it. She wants us to be healthy and around for our kids (as do we). We have tried TF, loosing weight naturally, i joined a gym....but nothing seemed to help, so its not from a lack of trying.
So i was wondering a few things from those who have had it done:
1. On most sites ive read its generally a 2 night hospital stay...how long where you in there for?
2. Sites say you normally are given a few doses of morphine for pain....are you really in that much pain afterwards?
3. Sites say the band is filled.....how do they fill it?
4. We dont have PHI cos we simply couldnt afford it, sites never give a price.....how much does it cost?
5. Have you had any complications?
6. What was the hardest thing about getting it done?
Kim, there are a few ppl on BB who have had this done. Hopefully they will see this and respond... but just wanted you to know that some surgeons/hospitals hold information sessions on this. Perhaps contact a couple and ask their receptionist to send you any literature they have.
Also, keep in mind that pain is subjective so your pain threshold will be different to someone elses. You may require little or no pain relief or you may require a lot. I've recovered people who have needed nothing and it was like they hadn't had surgery... then there have been those that needed everything we had...
Anyway, hope one of the girls who have had this sees it and responds...
Kim - both my parents have had this done at different times - i don't want to be negative, so i'll give you the one piece of advice they didn't take - change your lifestyle FIRST.
the lapband is only a foot up for you - it won't do it for you - so you need to start getting ready well in advance. Sushee is a success story because she made the lifestyle changes first. if you want it to work, it has to be the last resort to cut down food intake when you've done the rest first (it has to be habit to exercise, or the recovery will be a hell of a lot harder cos not only are you eating less, you have to try to overcome the hurdle of not exercising already - if you're already exercising, it's habit that you get back into kwim)
my dad had his lap band a few years ago now - he was in hospital a couple of nights only, and used some heavy duty pain meds at the time (but he has severe arthritis too) - he didn't make the required lifestyle changes, so for him, there have been complications - his weight yoyo's so badly, he swaps from eating small serves of normal food (which you should be able to do after a while - very small admittedly, but it's real food) to a complete liquid diet cos he sees the scales going up. he gets nasty hiccups and throws up a lot - but i think that's more about his eating than the band. i know others have gotten something caught and needed to be sick sometimes but dad is really regular with this one
his band is "filled" with saline solution - basically if he's eating too much, they add more to close the hole that food goes through - or open it up if he's sick too much.
cost - dad was a while back, and mostly covered by PHI so i can't comment - i think in some cases (like dads) it is covered more by medicare and PHI cos of the problems with arthritis etc - it was seen as a medical neccessity, not optional surgery
ok - the last thing on your question "is it worth it" - the ONLY way i can see it as being worth it is if, like sushee, you have the motivation and drive to make the changes, but just need that little bit of help to get over the hurdle. don't do it as an easy way out (it's not by any means! - read sushees blog about the next bout of surgery she needs!) - the only way it will work is if you change your lifestyle and then use the lapband as a last resort if all else fails to work (as an ADDITIONAL measure, not an instead of measure)
My 20yr old cousin got it done last year.....i cant remember how much it was....but i remember thinking 'sheesh thats a lot of money'....but yer i cant for the life of me remember how much.
12-14 months later.....i cannot see much of a change. She goes to the gym....when she feels like it, but generally isnt a motivated girl, and i honestly think she just thought the surgery would have her in a sz 10 within weeks....ummm no.
Like the other girls have said....its a lifestyle change - exercise, healthy eating must become part of this journey....not just the surgery itself.
For my cousin.....i think she took the easy way out, i know she had to do a workshop before going thru with the surgery, but i honestly dont believe she had it done for the right reasons....(i.e i want to loose weight, and i want to loose it NOW).......when my nan visits her, nan tells us there is empty mars bar wrappers in the bin, and empty coke bottles EVERYWHERE (sneaky nan ...
DOnt get me wrong...she has lost weight, but she still has a long way to go.....
I hope you get the answers your looking for hun.....
My mum is due to have her surgery at the end of this month. She is getting hers done at the knox hospital Melb, a condition of having it done there id to go to an info session. I also attended for moral support.1. On most sites ive read its generally a 2 night hospital stay...how long where you in there for?
2. Sites say you normally are given a few doses of morphine for pain....are you really in that much pain afterwards?
I think you are in a bit of pain. Even though it is keyhole surgery they actually 'blow' your stomach up to do the surgery properly.
3. Sites say the band is filled.....how do they fill it?
There is a port just under the skin which gives them access to fill the band with saline. They adjust this a few times to get it right.
4. We dont have PHI cos we simply couldnt afford it, sites never give a price.....how much does it cost?
It cost around $15 000.00
5. Have you had any complications?
The surgeons say there can be complications but they are quite rare. Some complicartions can be - the band is too tight making you throw up. - the band is too loose resulting in poor weight loss. - the band can move resulting in futher surgery to correct it - the band can grow into the stomach also resulting in more surgery to correct the problem.
6. What was the hardest thing about getting it done?
-
7. Is it really worth getting it done?
Weighing up the sucess stories to the unsuccess stories I would def get it done.
8. Any other info or advice you can share?
You may have to go on Optifast for 2 weeks before the surgery. This shrinks the liver making surgery safer.
You may have to have a sleep study done to check for sleep apnoea.
You generally dont see results until 12 months later, provided you follow all the rules.
After surgery you can only eat puree for 2 weeks moving onto mashed, soft, then normal.
You cant eat and drink at the same time - you will throw up
Excess skin can be a prob after you loose weight.
At Knox, you get ongoing support from dieticians, counsellers.
I would second what BG said, you should read Sushee's blog on her lapband. She changed EVERYTHING about her lifestyle BEFORE the sugery so that afterwards she could get back to that normal (where she ate well and exercised). If you read what Sushee did it's clear that all the lapband does in serious success stories like hers is take the edge off hunger and make it slightly easier to eat less (and more difficult to eat a lot in one go). She still exercised like crazy, made good food choices, accepted her new limitations (including giving up some foods that she previously adored, and i don't mean "bad" food like chocolate, i mean rice!), and kept at it through weeks when all that made no difference, just like ANYone on a weightloss journey. Having read her journey, her attitude was incredible and it was THAT that got the weight off; though the bend helped it was far less central to the process than i imagined it would be before reading.
Also if you have had abdominal surgery before, lapband surgery can not always be done via keyhole surgery. Don't know if this is something you have to worry about, but just thought i would let you know.
Questions on lapband
Reply With Quote
.
Bookmarks