By: Gloria Samuels

When I hear a story of a patient who "failed" lap band surgery I get very disheartened.  I work hard to learn, to see if I can understand why.  Failure can mean many things:  failure to achieve average weight loss; failure to achieve your goals; failure to achieve someone else's goals for you.  I talk with hundreds of patients; in my experience, the most successful lap band patients are those who go in to surgery with "their eyes wide open, " with realistic expectations and a plan.  All too often when someone "fails" or is not happy with their results, I hear something to the effect of "I had a weight loss surgery; it was supposed to work.  I didn't know I would have to...or, if I could have done that, I wouldn't have needed this surgery..."

I think back to the days when I was researching and preparing for lap band surgery.  I was very confused.  I didn't know which surgery was best for me.  I didn't really understand what everyone meant when they said the surgery was a tool.  I'm a planner and I NEED data, so I spent nearly a year seriously researching weight loss surgery, even longer lurking on message boards.  I was very confused about whether I wanted a lap band or gastric bypass.  Reliable, unbiased information was hard to find, and long-term successful lap band patients were even harder to come by.  Eventually I met other lap band patients, my peers, who helped me make sense of it all.  I learned what they did to be successful.  I went out to dinner with other lap band patients from the support group.  I learned by listening, and I learned by seeing.  I learned that different people ate differently, yet they were still successful.  Each successful lap band patient I met had a plan; they were skilled at using their tool.  My peers helped me go into lap band surgery with my "eyes wide open, " with realistic expectations, with a plan and a support structure to help me achieve success and reach my goals.  (If you are interested in reading more about my goals for lap band surgery or to post your own goals, click here). 

I was so very lucky to find other patients, including my lap band mentor, and my surgeon and his staff who were all intensely focused on helping me understand what I needed to do to be a successful lap band patient.  Let's face it, after all the diets I had been on, the hundreds of pounds lost and re-gained, regardless of what I said I was still hoping for that magic wand.  I could have easily fallen into the school of expecting the lap band to do all the work.  I could have been the one saying "it (the lap band) was supposed to..."

I have the opportunity to talk with a lot of people who want to learn what it takes to be a lap band success before they have surgery.  As part of our commitment to pay it forward, here at Banded Living, we are trying to share what we've learned, and what we continue to learn on this journey.

In my experience planning to be a lap band success boils down to a few key points: 

• Do your homework so that you can go forward "with your eyes wide open."
• Surround yourself with people who can help you on your journey.
• Understand what YOU need to do to work your tool and achieve YOUR goals.
• Have a plan to work your tool every day.

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