FDA lowers weight restrictions on lap band

Korrie

Korrie

Moderator
Cosmetic drug and device maker Allergan Inc. says it has received approval to market its stomach-shrinking Lap-Band to millions more patients who are less obese than those currently using the device.

The Food and Drug Administration expanded approval to patients with a body mass index between 30 and 40 and one weight-related medical condition, such as diabetes. Patients must also have previously attempted other weight loss strategies, like diet and exercise.

Allergan said roughly 37 million American patients meet the new criterion for the device. The adjustable band has been available in the U.S. since 2001.

A ring is placed over the top of the stomach and inflated with saline to tighten it and restrict how much food can enter and pass through the stomach.



What do you guys think???

I personally think the ONLY reason for doing this is to make more money. Don't tell me theres one doctor out there who thinks someone with a BMI of 30 and one health condition REALLY needs this surgery. It all comes down to the benjamins
 
While I agree that there are people out there that will really benefit from the surgery, I feel in some cases it will be used as a get out of jail free card, in that, there will be individuals who will not even try to get their weight under control with diet and exercise, why bother, if insurance or my purse can cover it, I will do the surgery, lose the weight, and hopefully have some moolaa left over for plastic surgery for the excess skin if any.
While there may be many in the range who will need it, this will be heavily abused, because I could see that person who has about 40-50 pounds to lose just saying, I can eat what I want, do what I want, at the end of the day, I'll just get the LAP BAND.
 
Korrie, I guess you know what I think about it.....:cuss:

I think it's wrong, and I agree, it's to make more money. They don't give a damn about the health issues it causes. To even suggest the lap band to somebody who's got diabetes (just to stick with that example), comes pretty close to malpractice as far as I am concerned. You prescribe somebody with diabetes something that will make them throw up (happens 99% of the time) and be unable to regulate and keep their hydration at an acceptable level. Yeah....right.

I feel sorry for the people who get the band, only to realise that it's not the answer to anything. It can be cheated around (I know people who gained weight while they had a band), and it's dangerous. It can kill you, it's as simple as that.
 
Korrie said:
The Food and Drug Administration expanded approval to patients with a body mass index between 30 and 40....................
Click to expand...

A BMI of 30+ really isn't that bad. That's a 6 foot man weighing 222lbs or more. Not ideal, but not requiring of surgery.

I am somewhat uncomfortable with this
 
Iain1974 said:
A BMI of 30+ really isn't that bad. That's a 6 foot man weighing 222lbs or more. Not ideal, but not requiring of surgery.

I am somewhat uncomfortable with this
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking. My BMI is higher than that, but I wouldn't consider myself in need of lap-band surgery (or weight loss surgery of any kind). I think this decision was influenced by money - not health. And, that's sad.
 
The world of health and medicine is mostly about money now. I saw it 1st hand when I was a nursing student :(
 
I only ever considered surgery when I was at my lowest mentally.

I mostly don't want to because I am afraid of the scars.

Probably a silly reason, but I'm 19. I don't need scars like that for the rest of my life when I know I can it the right way.
 
That's almost too bad that they would lower the requirements and make it more accessible to people. Whatever happened to eating right, exercising, and really enjoying life? The media -- which we give so much weight to -- is really what's complicating everything. They dictate what's healthy, what's not, what's in, what's out. Common sense no longer applies and that's unfortunate and scary. Take this pill and look like such and such or drink this shake and lose 10 pounds in 2 days. And we believe it. Get the lap band and your problems will all go away.
 
Does anyone else just think it would be creepy to have these foreign devices inside them? I've never had major surgery. I know it's necessary in some cases, but I would just feel weird.

Plus, to me, as other people have said, it's just morally incorrect. I'm just talking about non-emergenct situations.
 
Personally, I don't think anyone should get one unless it's a last resort kind of thing.
Some people are lazy and not willing to learn about eating healthy & exercising and get a lapband to do all the hard work for them, then they get to a healthy weight at some point, but it won't take long before their start gaining weight again cause they learned nothing.
I think losing weight can only successful when you're willing to make a lifestyle change, cause it's IS a lifestyle, a healthy one.
 
Artemisia said:
Personally, I don't think anyone should get one unless it's a last resort kind of thing.
Some people are lazy and not willing to learn about eating healthy & exercising and get a lapband to do all the hard work for them, then they get to a healthy weight at some point, but it won't take long before their start gaining weight again cause they learned nothing.
I think losing weight can only successful when you're willing to make a lifestyle change, cause it's IS a lifestyle, a healthy one.
Click to expand...

Exactly. That's exactly why you can't take an alcoholic and force them into sobriety. They have to want the change in order for the change to stick. The same goes with weight loss, especially when people opt for lap band surgery.

I can't tell you how many people I know who have had a lap band surgery of some type, lost a bunch of weight within the first 4 to 5 months, but then immediately gained all of their weight back (and, in some cases, and then some). The only reason that happens is because those people don't really want to get healthy - they just want a "quick fix" to help them lose weight - not so they can get healthy, but so they continue on with their unhealthy lifestyle but not feel AS bad about it. "Hey, I'm still smaller than what I used to be" - I can't tell you how many times I've heard that from people who have had lap band surgery and gained their weight back.
 
i agree with the general consensus. I admit,... i don't know too much about this stuff, and don't know of anyone that i personally know that has had a surgery like this. i think that there may be some cases where a surgery such as this would be necessary to save a person's life, but a BMI of 30 is not what i would generally consider to be in this category. i am talking about people who are SO overweight that they can barely move... or the individuals that have mobility issues that make exercising difficult. these criteria, coupled with an urgent need for weight loss would make a surgery like this a viable option, but a BMI of 30 is a bit extreme. maybe this is evidence that we are surely getting lazier as a society.... we are too lazy to fix a problem that has been caused by our laziness.... hmm
 
My BMI at the moment is still rather close to 50. I can move reasonably freely, I can walk up and down stairs without a heart attack, I can even run after a bus . Not for very long, mind you, but it doesn't kill me either. I can walk on the treadmill for an hour at a very brisk pace, and just started lifting weights.

According to some people, with a BMI like mine, I should be confined to a bed, and would probably qualify for 'emergency gastric bypass surgery'.

I digress though. I am not healthy by any stretch of the imagination, and I need to lose weight desperately. BUT....I don't think I am in bad enough shape to be considered any kind of emergency, or require somebody to cut into my body and stick some foreign object into it.

How anybody with a BMI of 30 could even be considered for this surgery is entirely beyond me.

And as a little sidenote....at my height, a BMI of 30 would put me at 209 lbs. According to a specialist who checked me out about 5 times, made bone density tests and a whole load of other things, my healthy weight range is between 200 and 215 lbs. He strongly suggested for me NOT to try and get under 200, since that would be unhealthy.

According to the FDA, at my healthy weight I would still be considered for weight loss surgery. Go figure. :banghead:
 
I'm not sure how I feel about the BMI guidelines for bariatric surgery being lowered as far as 30. When I got my band mine was 40, though it had been both significantly higher and lower at various times in the preceding decade thanks to the diet/rebound cycle you may be familiar with.

As a someone who is successful with the lap band, I hope to dispel some of the generalizations I just read in this thread by describing what I know from personal experience. First, I am not lazy, nor are most of the fellow bandsters I know (any more or less than you). The band is a tool, not a magic implant that just melts fat off.

I am still very careful to eat a healthy diet within my calorie limit and protein minimum, and I food journal every day. Someone with a lap band can still choose to fill up on high calorie junk food if they wish, manage to down a too high calorie count, and gain weight. As for me I was a pretty healthy eater before the band, but I ate way too much. Now I am satisfied with just one helping.

I also exercise every day, which we all know is necessary in any weight loss journey. This is true for bariatric patients as well as anyone else.

Assuming that anyone who chooses to get surgery is taking the "lazy way out" is wrong. I'm sure many of you have come up against assumptions from naturally thin people about you; it's ironic that you would turn around and behave similarly in this forum. I am doing all the "right" things to lose weight. I'm just not as hungry as before. If that bothers you, well I guess that's sad.

Just for the record:

-I stay very well hydrated, drinking a minimum of 64 oz of water a day. The band is not so tight as to restrict liquid from flowing through.

-I have met other bandsters who have been able to chuck their type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol meds after working successfully with their band; this is a benefit of weight loss by any method.

-No LB doesn't work for everyone because the success is dependent on the patient's behavior. You still have to modify your habits for success. If it really were some kind of easy and magic way out for the lazy, then it would have a 100% success rate, no? You can't have it both ways.
 
SJG, I am glad the band works for you, but from all my experience, you're an exception to a rather sad rule.

I have plenty of experience with the band (had one myself), and my own experiences, and those of the people I met during that time, weren't as good as yours. LB success rates and complication free surgery/aftercare are very low.

May I ask, how long did you have the band? You still have it in, right?

You see, as somebody who has been there and done that, I am wondering about one thing....

You say you keep a food journal, have to be careful what to eat, stay in a certain calorie range, and exercise, right?

Now....that's exactly what I do. I keep on eye on my calories, make healthier choices (well, I try to), and exercise.

If you can do all that, what do you need the band for? You are doing all the things that you would do without the band, and the hunger that you felt before the band wasn't anything that the band had any influence on.

Before I had the band, I thought I was always hungry. When I ate smaller portions, I was still hungry. Then I realised, no, I'm not 'hungry', I just want to eat. There is a world of difference between those two things.

The band doesn't change what's happening in your head, so really, you could be doing everything you are doing now without having somebody cut into your body, insert a foreign object, and take the risk of dying on the operating table. Twice.

Also...what is going to happen when the band comes out?

Don't get me wrong, I am glad the band works for you and that you've got no problems with. I wouldn't wish what happened to me on my worst enemy. But I've seen it go wrong too often, and after having it out, and realising what the real problem was, I just don't think that the band should be used on anybody who isn't in acute danger of dying because of their weight.
 
SJG said:
Assuming that anyone who chooses to get surgery is taking the "lazy way out" is wrong. I'm sure many of you have come up against assumptions from naturally thin people about you; it's ironic that you would turn around and behave similarly in this forum.
Click to expand...

No, not every single person who gets weight loss surgery is doing it out of laziness, but it's impossible to deny that those people probably haven't tried very hard to lose weight the 'right way.'

I'm 5' 7" (ish) and weigh around 260 lbs. Given my stats, I qualify for lapband surgery. Why? If you would see a picture of me, you would see that I'm in no way, shape or form in need of a cop out. Yes, I'm fat - but not THAT fat. I can get up and move. I can walk. I can run. I can exercise. And, most importantly, I have a choice as to what I shovel into my food hole. Nobody is forcing me to swallow pizza, cheeseburgers, cake and ice cream on a daily basis. I can very easily eat vegetables, fruits, lean meats, grains and other healthy foods. And, as long as I eat right - even if I don't exercise all that much - I can still lose weight at my size. Significant weight. So, what's keeping the majority of other people my size, and even bigger, from doing just that? The answer? Laziness.

It's harsh to call someone lazy, but the truth hurts. A woman who is 5' 6", 350 lbs didn't get to the weight that she is by accident or by some biological flaw (with a very, very few exceptions) - they got that big because they were lazy and ate like shit for a long, long time. And, the only way to lose weight and get healthy - other than copping out of doing actual work and getting surgery - is to stop shoveling calorie bombs into your mouth and to get off of your fat ass and move around every once in a while. And, in all honesty...is that that hard to accomplish? No. But, most people who opt for the easy way out (surgery) are just too God damned lazy to get off of their fat ass and put in some work.

Now, I know you can ask me and other people on this forum, "Well, if it's not that hard to eat right and exercise, then why are you still fat?" And, you would have every reason to ask such a thing. Fair is fair. But, honesty is also honesty. And, in all honesty, I'm still fat because I'm lazy. There's nothing that has stopped me from losing weight - nothing but my own laziness. But, you don't see me running to the doctor looking for an easy way out. I'm lazy, but I'm not that lazy. Unfortunately, I don't believe that most people who get lapband surgery can say the same thing.
 
My dad used to qualify for the lapband, and if it wasn't for the fact that he fell off of the roof and broke his back, he would have gone through with it. But that fall (among a few other things) made him realize that he needed to stop being lazy and get into shape. I don't even know how much weight he has lost, but it is a lot, and now he is running 5 miles a day and biking 13 all the time. If my dad could do it, so can a lot of people. They just need to get off of the couch and start moving around more. It's hard work, but then again, going through a lapband procedure is too.
 
wow.. that is terrible.

people with a bmi of 30-40 can get in shape in 6 months or less doing the right diet and yet our health organizations push for major surgery instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top