lap-bands...advise???

[n2dzny]

My mom is considering having the surgery, please, please share your stories (good and bad). I am TOTALLY against it. I want to hear stories that will either convince me that she is doing the right thing or support my belief that it can't be all it is cracked up to be. She went to a seminar (sales pitch) and is not convinced that she HAS to do it. She is severly overweight and needs to do something, but I don't think that inserting something in your abdomen is the answer. Please help me.

 

[salmoneous]

I had a co-worker who had similar surgery. She died from complications related to the surgery 3 year later. But here's the kicker - even knowing she was about to die, she never regretted the surgery for a minute. She felt she probably would have been dead anyway if she didn't have the surgery - she was that unhealthy. And even if she hadn't died, she felt the quality of her life post-surgery was vastly better than what she had before. If she gave up 5 or even 10 miserable years of unhealthiness for 3 good years, it was worth it to her.

 

[barkley]

i think you would both do well to watch some of the shows on discovery health channel that follow patients through the process and for months to a couple of years after. they show what the surgery entails and the risks involved. it's not a quick fix, and unless someone is prepared to change their entire eating/health lifestyle it can be very dangerous.

my former employer's health plan began covering it for those who had a medical need and a whooooooooole lot of my co-workers had it or gastric bypass done. some did realy well and it was a godsend-gave them a new lease on life, but they had to monitor their eating habits and nutrition very carefully. others just saw it as a quick fix and went back to bad habits (albiet smaller portions) and were constantly ill, hospitalized-one lost all her hair because she was eating-but not getting the right nutrients. even people who follow 'the rules' to a t can have problems (one friend followed them religiously but developed constant inflamation such she could'nt keep anything down-kept having to go to e/r to get rehydrated).

one friend who has had incredible success with it (in fact it saved his life-he needs an organ transplant at some point and they would'nt consider putting him on a doner list unless he dropped weight, he has and in now considered a low risk candidate for transplant surgery) went through an established program at a hospital that required theraputic componants for both him and his wife (they require of any spouse or person who will be the primary caretaker during recovery at home). they said they felt so much better prepared having talked with staff and people in all stages of recovery and knowing what to expect, look for. the wife was realy surprised at how much it changed her lifestyle-totaly different way of shopping, planning meals, cooking. she said she never realised how much she'd have to learn about nutrition.

 

[momof1princess]

please make sure that whatever type of surgery your mother chooses, her surgeon is certified by the american society of bariatric surgeons. i had lap rny (gastric bypass surgery) 2 years ago, and it has given me my life back-before surgery, i was 374.5 lbs and was just existing-i could barely walk, couldn't shower or go to the bathroom without help and was basically housebound. now i do anything i want if your mother is serious, she can check out obesityhelp.com-there are forums for every type of surgery. lap band surgery wouldn't have worked for me, personally, b/c i'm a food addict and i need the nutritional restrictions of RNY (low sugar, low fat, no fried foods, etc.) to keep me honest. i have a friend from hs who recently went to a lap band seminar, and was all fired up about it until she found out at the very end that it cost 15,000.00 and insurance won't cover it. i'm also told the band erodes and has to be replaced periodically and can also slip off-but these are things i've read, not personal experience, so please take that into account. i wish your mom luck, whatever she decides, b/c i've been where she is and still have to work hard at it every day.