Lap Band Surgery

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shortgirl
shortgirl Member Posts: 24
edited June 2014 in Working on Your Fitness

Has anyone had the Lap Band Surgery after having BC?  I am just curious if anyone has and what their experience was like.  I asked my Oncologist about it and he did not have a problem with me doing it.  I guess I was surprised by that.  I am seriously considering it.  Any one have any words of wisdom for me?

Thanks

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  • SunnyCoconut
    SunnyCoconut Member Posts: 350
    edited August 2010

    Hi Shortgirl -   I had my LapBand surgery Feb 2009 and was diagnosed Dec 2009.  They emptied the band and told me to deal with the cancer and chemo.  Now I am finished and I am supposed to get my band filled again probably at the end of this month.  I had lost 50 lbs and gained every bit of it back with chemo and no restriction.  Since then I have lost about 10-15 lbs on my own but I can't wait to get it filled again!  Personally, I really like the LapBand.

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  • shortgirl
    shortgirl Member Posts: 24
    edited August 2010

    SunnyCoconut,

     What kind of recovery time did you have?  How long did you miss work?  How bad was it?  I am very nevrous about doing it but I am also sick of being the way I am.  Thanks for any help you can give me.

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  • MrsNice
    MrsNice Member Posts: 258
    edited August 2010

    Glad someone asked this question!!  When I first met my BS, she brought up Lap Band as a possible solution for me - significantly obese and therefore most of the "flap" type reconstruction options are not an option for me - actually too much tummy fat.  Shortly after that I met with a friend-of-a-friend who is a Ph.D. psychologist and counsels Kaiser patients considering lap band surgery.  Her advice to me was to take care of cancer first and not to put my body through another drastic process of restriction and rapid weight loss.  While I took her advice, I also researched it a  bit and decided lap band is not for me, but I am considering a weight loss program from Health Management Resources which has a "liquid diet" option under medical supervision, and also a meal replacement plan using their products plus fresh produce.  I did the liquid diet in 1995/96 and loved it - it is nutritionally complete with their products so the body is not deprived of important nutrients, but it supports rapid weight loss which is highly motivating for me to stay with it.  I don't have my treatment plan yet but meet with my onco this Wednesday to discuss, and I will be asking him about the weight loss issue.  I sure don't need to gain another ounce from chemo or anything else!

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  • MrsNice
    MrsNice Member Posts: 258
    edited August 2010
    of course I should also add - neither approach is the "magic bullet".  Lots of behavioral/lifestyle changes need to be adopted to maintain the weight loss.  Mine came back after my 2nd pregnancy, and life took a downhill slide with marriage issues, my mother's declining health and death, yadda yadda yadda.  Now here I am again, with even more to lose.  Sealed
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  • SunnyCoconut
    SunnyCoconut Member Posts: 350
    edited August 2010

    I took one week off from work.  It wasn't too bad.  I'm not a big fan of pain meds so I stopped them after a day or two.  I remember drinking a lot of broth,  well, actually not a lot but only for a while.  I have become a connoisseur of broth and I will tell you the best is the little blocks of Knorr Chicken Broth.  There is an excellent forum like this one but for LapBand patients, it is lapbandtalk.com    

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  • shortgirl
    shortgirl Member Posts: 24
    edited August 2010

    I am going to be having a lat dorsi flap done in October and while I am off with that was wondering if I would be able to have the lapband done after about 4 weeks of healing time.  That is what I am thinking about now but now sure if that is a possibility.  I have too much tummy for the tummy flaps.

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