good luck to you...feel free to PM me if you have any questions...are you on the smartbanders group on yahoo, or the lapband group on sparkpeople.com?

Thank you so much! I am going to go to yahoo now to join those groups. They would probably be a great place to me considering I am having the lap band done.

Missy

My sister had it and lost over 100#. I will repeat what everyone else said. Your skin has nowhere to go buy down. She is only 50 and she sags like a 100 year old lady. She looks awful. I don't care how much you think you are going to exercise you will not ever get rid of excess skin. She had a face and neck lift and she still sags. I say before you even begin to schedule surgery, try exercising and eating right now. See how it goes.

Gosh, whatever you decide DO NOT go to Mexico to have it done.
I used to work for a group of GI specialists and occasionally they'd see a patient who went south of the border for surgery to save money. The word butchery comes to mind.

I'm not sure what your current medical condition is but keep in mind that there is a greater risk with ANY surgery when you have pre-exisiting health conditions. This isn't just a matter of following the doctor's orders afterward as someone said.

Anyway, had a friend who wanted lapband ( even though she was only 35-40 pounds overweight). For a month prior to the surgery she had to eat a strict diet to shrink the stomach. She lost a good deal of weight. We wondered WHY she even went through the lapband surgery.

I would never go to Mexico for this surgery. I do know because I am about 300 pounds overweight that this is my only option to living. I know that if I do not have this surgery that I will die from complications due to obesity.

Missy

If you're a fan of the TV show "Biggest Loser" you should already be aware that several of their contestants last series and the current one have had these procedures in the past. Obviously, if they're on the show, they regained all the weight they had lost. My friend, who had the surgery two years ago lost a lot of weight but has also gained back most of what she lost. Her biggest problem immediately after her surgery was when all her hair fell out. Its grown back in but is now extremely thin.

I know people who went to mexico and are just fine...

I know some people gain the weight back, but that is because they do not learn that their NEW life is just that , a new life.. you can never go back to eating/drinking/living like you did in the past...and it is easy to say I will never XXxx..but you will....

simple as that...if you are not ready to give up certain things and to recognize them as the "crack" in your life, then do not have any of the WLS procedures, as they will only fail in 2-5 years....

also be prepared to exercise the rest of your life...NO excuses,..and just because you have lost most of the weight does not mean you get to stop what you were doing to lose it..the band or sleeve or RNY are still only tools to live with....the band is the hardest..you have to work out twice as much, eat half as much, and do MORE life changes than with any of the other surgeries....for this I am most grateful that I chose the band! LIfe is hard with the band..no joking around on that one...but it is what it has to be for ME...

I had a Realize band a year ago. I thought it was the best of the alternatives. I wanted something that was reversible, the others are not. I have for the most part been happy with the procedure, however, I have not lost much weight and the Dr. is puzzled. My results are not typical. Regardless of if I lose more or not, I'm not gaining and am more comfortable than I was in the past. I will be glad to answer any of your questions, just PM me.

SORRY DUPLICATE POST: I had a Realize band a year ago. I thought it was the best of the alternatives. I wanted something that was reversible, the others are not. I have for the most part been happy with the procedure, however, I have not lost much weight and the Dr. is puzzled. My results are not typical. Regardless of if I lose more or not, I'm not gaining and am more comfortable than I was in the past. I will be glad to answer any of your questions, just PM me.

I have a friend who had it done, she looks great, however, at first she lost a lot of her thick red hair, due to protein loses. That is the only problem I know she has had. I am also a advid Biggest Loser watcher. One season they had a guy on who had the surgery and it never worked for him. Also have a neighbor who had the surgery and has gained most of the weight back.