What Lapband looks like
Lap-Band obtained FDA approval in the United States in 2001, soon gaining in popularity for people wanting to lose 100 pounds or more. It seems easy enough. Get a band surgically installed around the upper part of the stomach, and it makes it so you can’t eat very much. Ingest fewer calories, and the excess weight just falls off — right?
There’s no willpower involved, or self control, or any of those other things that other diets require, and what may have failed in the past. Many Lap-Band recipients complain that they “tried every diet in the world, and nothing worked.” Recipients simply cannot eat very much, because they will get sick or throw up if they do.
After a lifetime of dieting, and losing 50 pounds in 2001, I know how hard it can be to maintain a weight loss. That’s what “Living Thin” is all about. However, if you are considering getting Lap-Band, there are a few things you should know:
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1) The surgery and follow-up costs between $15,000 – $25,000, and many insurance plans don’t cover Lap-Band. If insurance thinks this is a last-chance weight loss, and will eliminate your diabetes, high-blood pressure, knee problems, heart disease, etc. — then they may cover it. Lap-Band surgery is making Lap-Band doctors very rich. The cost includes monthly follow-up appointments for at least one year, to tighten up the band to maintain its effectiveness.
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2) Here are some of the complications: a) nausea, b) vomiting, c) gastroesophageal reflux,
d) constipation, e) diarrhea, f) abnormal stools, g) abdominal pain, h) infection, i) hernia, j) pain,
k) fever, l) chest pain, m) incision pain, n) blood clots, o) hair loss and p) death.
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Death?
Sonja in Maui, Hawaii
The Lap-Band stays in for a lifetime. Studies show that most patients regain their weight if the band is taken out. In the long term, patients can expect 50% to 70% of their excess weight to stay off (is that good?).
My questions are: How to do you learn to eat when you are truly hungry? How do you learn how to stop when you are full? And what happens when the weight is gone?
There are kinder, gentler, less expensive ways to lose weight and keep it off for a lifetime (and not have to walk around with a band inside of you forever). I have kept off 50 pounds since 2001. It’s hard sometimes, and it oftentimes seems like I have one or two pounds to lose to get back to my “happy weight” (see: First, Find Your Happy Weight). But I know when I have to lose it, so it never gets out of hand, because I weigh myself every day (read: The Bathroom Scale: Friend or Foe).
My Living Thin friends, before you get Lap-Band, know your FAQs!
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