Is Lap banding the answer to obesity?

You’re very overweight, probably tried every diet and system there is available and had some success on some – nothing on others. Its come to a hard decision. Your health will be compromised if you stay the way you are.

Would a Lap Band – the purported miracle for obesity - really help in the long run?

In case you have lived under a rock for a few years - a lap band or stomach ring is designed to teach you to eat smaller portions, to eat more slowly and to thoroughly chew your food. Over time, you lose weight as your stomach shrinks and you take in less nutrients. You learn how to feel full on a cup of tea or half a biscuit. One of my concerns surrounds the digestive system. I have a friend who cannot eat any fresh fruit or vegetables as she cannot digest them – they won’t fit through the tight ring she has. What on earth is someones digestive system going to look like after a few weeks of no fibre? How would your overall health be with no fresh antioxidants or nutrients entering your system?

She needs to go back every few weeks to get more saline injected in order to keep the ring tight. No doubt – she has lost over 40 kg is the last year and looks amazing. I hate to admit I think I like my food too much to do this. She cannot eat a normal meal and has a lot of pureed foods on hand – like baby food. I wonder – truly – is this where I want to go or be in order to achieve a shape I am happy with? Perhaps hers is an extreme case – however this surgery is one that is for life.

I have spoken to another lass who lost a similar amount but over a longer period. She eats ‘normal’ food – but it seems from forum posts and speaking to people – that meat eating is out of the window if you get this done. This in itself is not such a huge hassle as I don’t eat a great deal to start with – but its all about choices isn’t it? The other lass I chatted to at length was very proud to say she was still able to eat all the sweet things she could – but fatty foods will make you ill the next day. She said that there are many days you just throw up ( and this is 2 years down the track) I wonder again – is this really retraining your eating habits or just instilling new bad ones?

Both of these ladies – as I listen to them are delighted with their surgery and the results – but there is the underlying hatred of their bodies – that they are being controlled by their bodies and are punished with diarrhea or vomiting if they do the wrong thing. One would argue that if this happens you learn and don’t do it again – but it seems – at least with these two – that you do not.

Having a look at some of the other delightful side effects from lapbanding:
• Hair loss
• Nails flake and break easily ( probably lack of nutrition)
• Unable to swallow even an aspirin – all pills must be crushed
• Constipation ( due to lack of water and fibre)
• Every text I have seen states that the lap band is there for life – its not meant to come out again
• Adjustments every 2 months at least – local anesthetic and needles
• Malabsorption of food ,
• Vomiting and nausea
• vitamin deficiencies,
• chronic abdominal pain
• Osteoporosis
• Ulsers
• gallstones

Having clicked on the links beside some of these I see that they suggest certain medications to counteract these side effects. It all looks so dodgy and dangerous… and they are for life... So by doing this – does this really ‘train you’. Is this really what you need to be doing for the rest of your life?