LapBand: Truth or Myth?
I can’t have a Lap Band Surgery if I am not Super-Obese: Every day we do more Lap Band Surgeries in overweight and mildly obese patients, especially if they have a family history of co-morbidities such as Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure or High Cholesterol. The tendency world wide is that patients qualify for the Lap Band Procedures with BMI of 30 and above. The Lap band works also very well in patients who don’t want to gain weight but maintain in the weight they are and this is possible due to the Lap Band versatility to be adjustable to the patient’s needs.
You have to lose more than 10 pounds the first month after a Lap band Surgery: Yes, you do… The liquid diet should help you to lose much more than 10 pounds in the first month after surgery. When patients don’t reach this minimum it is because they are drinking many liquid calories and/or are not moving at all to burn the excess fat. Your goal after the first month of your surgery would be to lose at least 2 pounds per week and exercise will help you to reach this goal.
I am eating too much therefore I should go for a fill: Getting a lap band fill should not be based on the amount of food you are eating. As long as you are losing weight or sizes, you won’t need a fill. If you are eating more, this could mean that you are moving or exercising more than you did before, or that you are making better choices about the foods that you are eating. If you are in a plateau or gaining weight, then you should go for a fill. The purpose of the fill is to increase the restriction to food when you quit losing weight.
Should I expect to lose weight without exercising? You can lose weight without exercise if you are eating a very low calorie diet, but normally you will need some kind of exercise in addition to the diet to lose or maintain a healthy weight. Remember that the Lap band is a tool and you have to learn how to use it – this includes the change in the bad old habits.
I was expecting not to be dieting with the Lap Band Surgery. The Lap Band procedure is a restrictive aid for treating excess weight and needs full cooperation from the patients in order to work as desired. Even in patients with a big fill, there are calories that will pass through easily, like ice cream or chocolates, and you can gain weight if you choose too many high-calorie foods. The key is: Follow a healthy, well-balanced, low-calorie food intake and also get active – do some kind of exercise to boost your health.
The Lap Band shows me when I am over eating and that is why I vomit all the time: History of vomiting is frequently found in patients that have to be de-banded because of Lap Band Erosion or Slippage. You have to learn to be satisfied before vomiting. If you are someone that vomits frequently, you may have developed a bad habit of over eating, not chewing well or eating too fast - and at some point you will end up hurting your stomach.
I don’t need fluoroscopy for a Lap Band fill: I recommend a fluoroscopic check-up done at least once a year. Fluoroscopy helps us to detect early complications such as anatomical changes in your stomach and esophagus, and also the functional status of the Lap Band.
My friend has a very good fill with 3 cc and I do not: Stomachs differ in size from person to person, and everyone reacts differently to the Lap Band. You can’t compare yourself with anyone. That was Inamed’s big mistake: the Lap Band was made too short to fit all the patients’ stomachs, assuming that they were equal in size. This caused some patients to have complications such as disphagia (difficulty swallowing) after having the Lap Band for several months.
Support Groups and Message Boards are a waste of time: It is critical for the patients to have a supportive group if they truly want to succeed. I encourage all my Lap Band patients to join our Lap Band Message Boards where they can feel comfortable exchanging and sharing experiences in a friendly environment.
Originally posted 2008-09-15 21:12:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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