Lap band surgery

[Chairboy]

Hi guys,

My wife and I have scheduled surgery to have adjustable gastic bands (known as lapbands because they use lacrascopicy)  installed in two weeks.

Anyone here do this and have any feedback?  It's one thing to read a bunch of stories from strangers on the internet, another to hear from someone who we know isn't a shill.

We're doing the surgery in, and I'm not making this up, Tijuana because the doctors have 10-15 years more experience then any US doctors (2 years max) because the procedure was just FDA approved recently.

Thanks!

[GtoRA2]

Chairboy
 Is this were they schrink your stomach?


 What is the procedure for?

[Horn]

Gack! Never heard of it so I went and looked...

http://www.obesitylapbandsurgery.com/tecmain.html

Is there nothing else for it? Diet? Excersie? Anything? Seems awfully extreme.....

h

[AKS\/\/ulfe]

Heroin works much better, just look at Anna Nicole Smith!
-SW

[Charon]

We're doing the surgery in, and I'm not making this up, Tijuana because the doctors have 10-15 years more experience then any US doctors (2 years max) because the procedure was just FDA approved recently.

Holy ****! Remember, if they want more than 3 chickens and a donkey you're getting ripped off. Good Luck.

Charon

[Chairboy]

Heh heh, thanks guys.

Yeah, nervous about the Tijuana part too, considering that when I think back to all my visits, it's essentially a long street with cantinas, people selling chiclets and blankets, and bunches of cheap stores.  

I did research on the doctor, and he's done something like 1500 of these surgeries and has authored or co-authored a number of papers on the subject.

The surgery is $9,000 cash, not covered by insurance.

My wife and I have both dieted and excercised, and we keep plateauing at certain points that we can't break through.  My wife originally wanted to get the RGB (Roux-en Y) gastric bypass, but I was against it because they literally cut your esophagus and re-plumb everything so your stomach is bypasses so you can't absorb as many calories.

It's dangerous, has a 2% mortality rate, and you are essentially an invalid for the rest of your life in the sense that you need to take vitamin supplements, can never eat many normal foods, etc.

The lapband is fully reversible, it leaves your stomach intact and just constricts it near the top so you have a smaller effective space, and everything else is normal.  The reduced calories + excercise should allow us to lose weight at a safe rate (my goal is to lose 100lbs by 7/4/05) and sustain a healthy lifestyle afterwards.

Here's what it looks like:


Compared to the other options, it's not extreme at all.  

The surgery takes 20-25 minutes on average, and the recovery time is really fast.  Literally, the surgery is on Friday and we go home Sunday night.

The operation is on the 18th, so wish us luck!

[storch]

Originally posted by Chairboy
Hi guys,

My wife and I have scheduled surgery to have adjustable gastic bands (known as lapbands because they use lacrascopicy)  installed in two weeks.

Anyone here do this and have any feedback?  It's one thing to read a bunch of stories from strangers on the internet, another to hear from someone who we know isn't a shill.

We're doing the surgery in, and I'm not making this up, Tijuana because the doctors have 10-15 years more experience then any US doctors (2 years max) because the procedure was just FDA approved recently.

Thanks!

why not eat less?

[rpm]

Mortality: Unspecified misadventure during surgical and medical care (Top 100 Countries)
     
1. Germany 11 (2001)  
2. Korea, South 10 (2001)  
3. Brazil 6 (2000)  
4. Dominican Republic 5 (1997)  
5. Spain 5 (2000)  
6. Poland 4 (2001)  
7. Mexico 4 (2000)  
8. Peru 3 (2000)  
9. Hungary 3 (2002)  
10. Israel 3 (1999)  
11. Australia 2 (1999)  
12. Netherlands 2 (2000)  
13. Iceland 2 (1996)  
14. Colombia 2 (1999)  
15. United States 2 (2000)

Also in 2000: 3,175 people died in Mexico from Septicaemia.

[Chairboy]

Originally posted by storch
why not eat less?

We've tried that over the past couple years, our weight dropped at first, then plateaud and held steady.  It's difficult because when we eat small, normal meals (which we do now), we don't lose weight.  When we eat micro meals, we get really hungry.  We tried that and lost little bits of weight, but the moment we ate normal portions again, the weight came back because our bodies had switched to 'starvation mode' where it holds onto every last calorie it can.

This is one of the reasons it's difficult for fat people to lose a lot of weight, if the stress hormones related to hunger get triggered, it puts their body into energy conservation mode.

The lapband prevents that hormone from being released because the stomach says 'no worries, I'm full.'

[Chairboy]

Originally posted by rpm371
Mortality: Unspecified misadventure during surgical and medical care (Top 100 Countries)

Thanks!   I assume that's a per capita type measurement?  If this was a complicated surgery, I'd be more worried.  I'll share your figures with my wife so we go into this informed, and thanks for the data!

[Habu]

I hope that it all goes well and you are successful in your weight loss goals

Never give up.

[capt. apathy]

Originally posted by storch
why not eat less?

never been there huh?

you diet and loose about 15% of your weight, then your body thinks there is a famine or something and goes into "low-fuel" mode.

you become starving hungry and you barely have the energy to move, it's like your body is trying to hibernate or something.

for example here's a situation from a few years ago.   I was working out of town with my brother at the time.

we do the same type of work and are equally active in the day.
we eat in the same restaurants, break for food at the same time.

he orders huge portions of several items on the menu, I order a small reasonably sized portion.  I'll have left-overs from mine, his plate is clean.  then later in the day he eats the left-overs from my dinner.

in the 6 weeks we worked that job. I gained 4 pounds, he lost 6.

just staying as active as you where before the weight is damn near impossible.  go through your day with an extra 50-100 pounds in a backpack and see how much energy you can muster for exercise.


the diet I'm on now seems to be working fairly well though.  for this inner-ear condition I have to go on a very low salt diet.  everything tastes so bland that you never feel like eating, and you can't cheat on it because if I go over my daily salt I get incredible pain.  pain is a wonderful teacher, I'm sticking to this diet fairly well so far.

[storch]

Originally posted by Chairboy
We've tried that over the past couple years, our weight dropped at first, then plateaud and held steady.  It's difficult because when we eat small, normal meals (which we do now), we don't lose weight.  When we eat micro meals, we get really hungry.  We tried that and lost little bits of weight, but the moment we ate normal portions again, the weight came back because our bodies had switched to 'starvation mode' where it holds onto every last calorie it can.

This is one of the reasons it's difficult for fat people to lose a lot of weight, if the stress hormones related to hunger get triggered, it puts their body into energy conservation mode.

The lapband prevents that hormone from being released because the stomach says 'no worries, I'm full.'

I see,  thanks for the explanation.  I would be reticent to under the knife unless I were morbidly obese.  But that's just me.

[Gunthr]

Chairboy, just one thing before you go for that Lapband surgury.

Did you check out "Cortaslim", I think its called. A capsule that is supposed to be effective in repressing the hormone associated to the stress syndrome related to hunger?

[Horn]

Originally posted by Chairboy


The operation is on the 18th, so wish us luck!

I would bring somebody with you that can be watchful and responsible while you are under general and through recovery--like a family member or lawyer, someone like that. You will not be able to help each other should something go awry while you are both under.

h