Looking for info about have Lap-Band surgery? What recovery time? Cost?

I looking at having a gastric bypass done, but would rather have the lap-band. My insurance will only cover the cost of the gastric bypass, but if the lap-band isn't overly priced I would like it done.
Answer:
My cousin had it done and said it cost $20,000 to have it done. She said she felt fine in a week's time. She is losing weight so fast that she is having to buy a new size nearly every week.

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The risks of both are very very serious so consider discussing this with your regular doc to be sure this is the safest thing for you to do.

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www.obesityhelp.com is a good place to research and learn more info about weightloss surgery. There are user forums that are surgery specific, lots of daily posts about life after surgery, etc. Many people also have profiles that better explain how their experience with whatever choice they made.I have had my Lap Band for almost 2 years, now. I did not like the higher complication risks and permanence of gastric bypass...purely a personal choice. Right now I am 7.5 months pregnant, comfortably maintaining the weightloss I acheived the first year post surgery. My pregnancy is normal, my weight gain from it, minor (7 pounds), and I don't have to rely on a bunch of supplements or worry about being malnourished because my body can't absorb certain nutrients...a problem I may have had if I chose gastric bypass instead. Once the baby is born, I can start back on my way to getting to my weight loss goal. Going from a 26 to an 11, is sweet! I ultimately want to see a comfortable 9. I am less concerned about my weight number...more excited over sizes.Lots of things factor into whatever weightloss surgery choice a person makes. If you have existing health problems that are related to your obesity, along with your willingness to adhere to a new lifestyle that has to include exercise, good food choices, and continued efforts towards maintaining whatever weightloss that occurs as a result of surgery. Nothing is a magic pill. It all takes work. My choice to get surgery meant that I had ONE chance to get thinner and more healthy. I will not be seeking another surgery option if I fail with the Lap Band.Depending on where you live, there are places that do Lap-Band at a much more reasonable price than what mine cost. Thankfully, my insurance covered it...though, I still believe that in the end, the final bill (which includes monthly saline adjustments the first year) was still much less than a typical gastric bypass surgery bill. My recovery time was about 1 week. I did plenty of research so I could understand the worst that could have happened. I've not had any significant medical complications due directly the Lap Band. ANY troubles that I have had are due directly to MY screw-ups, bad food choices, and though they are frustrating, nothing to date has endangered my health or life.I will never understand why some insurance companies will not recognize that there is other weightloss surgery options. Gastric Bypass has been around for awhile...but a well implimented Lap-Band program can be just as successful with less medical risks overall. Do lots of research, talk to people who have been there. Find out what the reality will be like after surgery. Be open to learning about both sides, the good, the bad, and the ugly. NOT everyone has had a wonderful experience with their weightloss surgery choice, no matter which type.

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Lap band is reversible. If it does not work, get the gastric bypass. You can get the lapband done in Mexico for under $10K.Go to www.lapbandtalk.com which is a great forum on it.Recovery time in hospital in 2-3 days. You can be back to work in 2 weeks or less.

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Weight loss surgery-like gastric bypass /lap band surgery have become very common and very safe now. My cousin got her Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery in India. She has lost more than 65 lbs in 5 months and is very happy with the results. The price for obesity surgery is very less in India. My cousin just paid 25% of the cost she was quoted in America. She got her surgery from a company called Forerunners Healthcare.Forerunners Healthcare is very famous in India. I read a lot about them in the Newspapers and magazines. I have read a lot of their patient stories also. They arrange financing for USA, Canadian, UK and other international patients who plan to have surgery abroad for low cost, as bariatric surgery and weight loss surgery is not covered by insurance. They also have photos pasted of their International patients. You can checkout their website. There are huge cost savings. As a doctor I personally believe that your Obesity surgery can be easily handled in India, as the quality of healthcare available In India is simply best in the world. The surgeons are USA/UK trained and facilities are 5 star.http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com...
Hope this helps.

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Do not get gastric bypass, you will be sick since you don't absorb nutrients when they reroute your stomach. My lapband surgery was $17k. I paid out of pocket. Lapband is 100% completly reversible if you decide to become fat again or if you don't like it. It is also 10x's safer then gastric bypass. With my lapband i've lost 80LBS in a year. I was 214LBS at surgery date and now i'm 135LBS, still got 10LBS to go. With lapband, you can't drink carbonated drinks (no beer, no pop etc. and it isn't good for you anyway, so thats a good thing) because it will expand your stomach too far and can cause massive slippage, you can't eat pasta or breads because they once again expand and its often hard for some people to eat certain kinds of meats. Recovery on lapband depends on the person. I had my surgery and went camping the next day. I felt pain in my shoulder from the anestheisa like they said I would. The port was tiny bit sore. Bypass since they cut your stomach to bits you also don't have a way of adjusting it when you loose the weight. With lapband, when you loose the weight, your stomach stays the same size, then they fill it up with saline soultion until you feel full again. So you can go on loosing weight until you reach your goal, then you can keep it at that fill or loosen it. Sometimes food gets "stuck" where it sits and feels like somebody hit you in the chest. You have to wait it out till it passes. You also can't drink with your meals because food will get stuck and it will all come back up again. I suppose with bypass you still get to eat all the fattening foods and sugary drinks but isn't the reason why you gained weight in the first place because of those poor choices? Surgery is NOT the easy way out by all means. Its been very difficult for me having to give up what i'm used to eating and drinking. Its a total life change. But I wouldn't ever go back and change it. It has made my life alot better and i'm much healthier. Don't get bypass, you will be sick, its not worth it..

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