<p>If there is anybody out there who has had the lapband or gastric sleeve, would you please talk about your experience? I am also requesting referrals for bariatric surgeons in the MD, VA, DC area. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Look for a Bariatric Center of Excellence . Here’s a link to locate facilities and surgeons: </p>
<p>[Surgical</a> Review Corporation](<a href=“http://www.surgicalreview.org/locate.aspx#srchResults]Surgical”>http://www.surgicalreview.org/locate.aspx#srchResults)</p>
<p>The best facilities and surgeons require patients to undergo a lot of pre-surgery counseling and support as well as on-going support after the surgery. I’ve known several people who have done it…including one of my siblings who had the lapband. It does work but it’s not a quick fix if a person is using eating to relieve stress or has developed a major food addiction. You need to treat the underlying cause of the obesity as well as the restricting the size of the stomach.</p>
<p>Thank you very much, MomLive. That is fantastic information. I’ll pass it along!</p>
<p>A very close family member of mine had lap band surgery. She lost a good deal of weight at first, but has regained a good deal of it back. She has physical problems which affect her ability to exercise very much. I believe she doesn’t regret her decision to have the surgery. But really, she hasn’t maintained a significant weight loss. That said, in her opinion, it was money/risk/life changes well spent.</p>
<p>A young man we know got lapband surgery. He also lost a lot of weight and then put it all and more back on.</p>
<p>I know two women who had bariatric surgery in their late 30’s. One had been heavy her entire life while the other, her sister, had put on alot of weight in a very short period of time. The first had tried diets, exercise, medications, and therapy to no avail and she has done well since her surgery…she’s still a bit on the heavy side because her mobility is limited due to injury, but still at least 100 pounds lighter. The other woman has also lost quite a bit of weight but seems to be addicted to food - she still gets sick every day because she eats anything and everything. I would be worried about the long-term effects of that process!</p>
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<p>Hence, the reason someone doing this needs a lot of counseling before and after. People don’t get that obese without having some underlying psychological issues that have to be addressed.</p>
<p>The hospital I work for has a Bariatric Center of Excellence that requires people to do six months of weekly group therapy prior to surgery. A lot of places ( and surgeons) don’t. My brother decided one week to get the surgery and had it done the next. He lost all his weight very quickly but is now starting to gain it back. A coworker had it done at our center and has lost it much more slowly but is keeping it off. It’s not a quick fix.</p>
<p>One of my co-workers had the big surgery where they remove a lot of your stomach (not just band it). She had to have 12 months of counseling before and and had to have a family/friend attend attend about 6 months of counseling too in order to be her support person. The support person was mandatory for her program.</p>
<p>She lost and kept off (for well over 5 years) over 100 pounds. But she has stuck with the food restrictions. She previously had a drinking problem, but hasn’t had any alcohol in decades. I think she views food the same way - for her, an addiction, and as with the alcohol, for her, there is no "little’ breaking the diet.</p>
<p>So, clearly it can work, but it is not a simple fix to a complex problem.</p>
<p>A bunch of people at my work have had it done. Most of them have lost considerable weight. The one woman was very very very very large, I think she’s probably lost at least 200 lbs. She rations her food every day, packs a lunch and brings it in to work in tiny cups to make sure she’s not tempted to buy lunch at work or eat out or anything. Another girl I believe hast lost at least 100 lbs, and she’s at the gym at least 4x a week working out. You just have to make sure they are serious about it… I would hate to see someone go through that and pay for it (would their insurance cover it? The people at my work had it covered by our ins) and have them gain the weight right back.</p>
<p>I think most insurance plans cover it for the morbidly obese.</p>
<p>I worked with someone who had the surgery – I didn’t know it at first, and was confused when he would buy a bag of Cheetos, eat a handful and give me the rest of the bag. He made these types of poor food choices all the time.</p>
<p>So, at first he lost weight, but eventually he gained it all back. Everyone in the office was really confused as to how he managed to eat that much when his stomach was banded. Eventually he was able to eat large portions again. </p>
<p>I know someone else who had it done who lost a lot of weight, started exercising, and still looks great more than a year later.</p>