Both my mother-in-law and father-in-law have had the surgery done. My MIL had it 18 months ago and my FIL had it just last month. She’s lost about 100 pounds since and he’s lost about 40 (although some of that was the pre-surgery diet they make you go on). They both went under lots of testing to get approved, although I’m not sure what was for the doctor and what was for the insurance company. But they had everything from psychological testing to basic heart and breathing tests before being approved.
My MIL has done very well with the surgery and has been able to stop all of her previous medications for her diabetes because of it. It hasn’t been easy though. She almost died on the table and had a hard time adjusting to the band at first. If she eats even a bite too much it gets stuck and she has to force herself to vomit it back up. Very unpleasant to say the least.
A friend of mine also had the surgery over a year ago and has barely lost weight at all. She figured out that she could eat all the ice cream she wanted because it’d fit through the band. She cheats constantly.
While the lap band can be great for those who really need it, you do have to be committed to losing weight. You can’t expect the band to do all the work. You still have to be careful with your choices, you still have to limit certain foods and you still have to exercise.