Linda Rohrbough was on her way to becoming diabetic, she recalls.  But instead she made an incredible physical transformation.  She now feels like Benjamin Button, younger, and people tell her she is now so attractive.

How did this transformation come about? Nearly seven years ago, Rohrbough, at risk for diabetes and its complications, got a Laparoscopic Gastric Band. The 51 year-old from Cary, North Carolina weighed 335 pounds and had a BMI of 53. Today she’s 185, her BMI is 29, and she’s off all but one medication for hypothyroid.

She is not alone in her success. Increasingly, the Lap-Band procedure is being used to control type 2 diabetes. The band is surgically placed around the upper part of the stomach and slowly inflated to create a sense of fullness that comes on faster and lasts longer than without the band. By eating less, a patient loses weight. Dropping pounds often will eliminate the disease or lessen its symptoms.

“It categorically works,” says Nicholas Bertha, director of bariatric surgery at Saint Clare’s Health System in Dover, New Jersey.

Numerous studies have demonstrated resolution of type 2 diabetes in a majority of individuals who undergo the gastric banding procedure, says Kent Sasse, author “Outpatient Weight Loss Surgery: Safe and Successful Weight Loss with Modern Bariatric Surgery.” The out-patient procedure requires no internal cutting, stapling or reconstruction, says Bertha, and takes 30-60 minutes. Normal activities can be resumed in a few days to a week.

“It’s effective because it gets to the root cause of the metabolic disease by helping a person markedly reduce their weight and resolve the metabolic dysfunction that leads to out-of-control blood sugars,” says Sasse. “It’s appealing to those who struggle with diabetes and its serious implications,” he adds.

But, “If you think you can get a band and be able to eat anything you want, it just doesn’t work that way,” says Rohrbough.

You don’t wake up skinny, cautions Lanah Brennan, a certified diabetes educator.

“The band is the central element of an overall weight-loss and diabetes treatment program, so it does involve hard work and effort on the part of the individual to lose the weight and see the benefits,” says Sasse.  Translation:  you still need to exercise and eat healthy to reap the rewards.

Like any surgery, there are risks — band slippage, (movement out of its appropriate place), which may require additional surgery to reposition, erosion and port problems. Set-backs are rare though, says Jaime Ponce, director of Bariatric Surgery for Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, Georgia.

Seek a qualified, experienced bariatric surgeon. And, because surgery is just part of the equation, find nutrition and exercise pros to help take you to the next level.

Says Rohrbough, “If I want something that I know will put weight on me, I buy just enough for one serving. I don’t keep foods that tempt me in my home. I’m a cheap date now if we go out to a restaurant.”

By: Sheryl Nance-Nash

Photo Credit: http://www.weightlosssurgery-uk.com/gastric-band/