health1st

If you've done your leg work, you'll know which one is right for you. I''d do the lap band again and not the bypass. Why? Pre-op I talked to at least 60 people over many months who had either been banded or had the gastric bypass. I got a lot of information that isn't in the literature. My reasons for getting the lap gand: 1. when there were serious problems, the bypass people had more serious complications. 2. the surgery is more difficult, recovery takes longer 3. In my opinion because of the malabsorbtion of the bypass the bypass people were more cavilier with what they ate because they lose weight anyway. Lap Banders in general can not be so wild with what they eat, they have to be careful. 4. The bypass can not be undone. I hope I don't have to lose my band, but if some medical condition unrelated to the band arrises, I may have to save my life and get it out. The bypass is permanent. That is just my thoughts. I met a lot of successful people who were banded AND had G bypass. The major difference in success was due to their attitude and their commitment to better health. Which ever you choose, I think if you are committed to follow the Doc's instructions and follow the food suggestions, you'll be fine.

Congratulations! I am new, banded 5.5 but I've been checking with a number of people banded at the same time. The concensus is that recovery varies with the individual, their age, how long the surgery actually took and your health pre-op. I heard people get right back to work, others took some time. The surgery itself set me back a bit, the anethisia made my head groggy for weeks. I didn't get my energy back for 5 weeks. I could function but was weak. A few days I pushed too hard and ended up back in bed. I got better each day but it was slow. I was very healthy pre-op so I was surprised. Do what the Doc says, exercise, eat well before surgery. Be as healthy as you can pre-op and the surgery will be easier. Post-op my suggestions are: Don't lift anything before you should. Eat only what they tell you. Trying to push it (physically and waht you eat) too soon only opens the door for possible problems. Suggest you talk to your Doc about the size of band. There are a number of sizes that no one told me about. I ended up with the newer/bigger band that seems to be easier on what you eat but may be harded to regulate with fills over time. It's a newer version. More info on band size: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8926 Best wishes to you and your husband...

Lapbandit, something must be working, your weight loss is very impressive. I have the VG. Only 5 weeks post-op, so I am very novice, still crawling. Weigth loss very good. My Doc wanted to give me a fill at 4 weeks and I declined. I get hungry but nothing like pre-banding and I get full pretty easily. I don't have all the PB, vomit, etc. that I hear about and I am so glad. I don't feel painful restriction just mild pressure knowing I am full with very little food. But as Jack said sometimes the band is fickle. Sometimes feeling full with a little pressure comes very fast. I have to eat slow or it may "get me", but the "get me" is very mild pressure, not vomit. I am still learning what food or procedure sets my mild uncomfortable pressure off faster than others. Or maybe it is just being fickle bitch.

No, the more information the better. I should know what I have but all I know is it is the "bigger" more flexible band. I'll get more info from my doc. I think I have the VB and am very happy for it.

Best wishes for a promsing outcome. Keep us posted.

More info on size of bands http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?p=231130#post231130

Other discussions. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?p=231130#post231130

Julie, what is the VG band?

Sorry to hear about your problem. I had slippage immediately after being banded, in recovery. I went 4 days in the hospital with extreme pain. They went back in for a 2nd surgery 4 days later to find the slippage, they didn't know about the slippage until they went in again. Usually they can see it on a floro but mine didnt show up. The problem in theory: I had adhesions on my diaphram that were attached to my stomach. In recovery when they tell you to cough, I did and it pulled my stomach up thru the band because of the adhesions. (I trust my surgeon & am confident in his ability.) I don't want to scare you, so you need to confirm the following with your Doc. But it was my understanding that the part of the stomach that slips up thru the band can actually die over time and then you could have a bigger problem. If you are getting some things down maybe it is OK. The slipped band can also cause an opening in the stomach & then you have stomach fluids going into your abdomen. I went ahead and got a second band. They used the larger more flexible band and other than recovering from 2 surgeries, I am doing OK. I hope it works out for you and maybe you need to get a 2nd opinion from a Lap Band doc.

Got banded 5.5 and life it totally different. So much extra time that I used to spend thinking about food and eating it. I had some panic attacks 3 weeks post-op, wanted to eat, eat, eat all night, & couldn't. Went to a therpist and she said "of course you are going to be feeling a lot of anxiety. You used to eat over these feelings, now you have to deal with them, feel them." We did some work on feeling out of control and some old, old stuff on being vulnerable, bla, bla, bla. But it helped and I accept that now I am in control and making huge changes in my life. I do have to deal with the emotional desire to eat and change my thinking. So now when I want to eat and it is emotional hunger, I go for a walk, or get a massage, picture myself on a bike, or some NEW, more healthy behaviour. It may be different for you, but emotional hunger was getting me!

Thanks for the additional info. Makes sense about the size of stomach. I just don't want to hurt again. I seem to be slow to recover, very tired. Guess the 2 surgeries and being in quite a bit of pain really set me back. Are you back to normal? And congrats on the weight loss!

Sarah bluebell, take your time. It is a big decision that will change many things in your life for a long time. Eating habits change dramatically. Good changes and maybe some challenges. I was banded 5.2.06 and had immediate complications (band slipped, very rare to happen so soon after surgery) and I had a new band just 4 days later after being in the hospital for 5 days. I am about 3 weeks out post-op from the 2<SUP>nd</SUP> surgery and I'm not sure I'd do it again because of the surgery complications I had. I am very tired and not recovering as fast as some people, mostly due to the 2 surgeries, not necessarily the lap-band. (I think I'll get to where I'd choose to do it again, but I’m not there yet.) I researched obesity surgery for years and really hard for 3 months before I committed to the lap-band surgery. I am 55, morbidly obese but very healthy and active. The only co-morbidity issue I have is joint pain. I saw all kinds of people who had so many health issues and with much more weight to lose than me breeze thru the surgery and were very happy with their lap-band. I figured I breeze thru surgery too. It didn't happen that way. What I'd have liked for someone to say to me is that there is a wide range of experiences. Most people have no problems and a few have a lot. A person can do everything right and still have complications, I did. I asked nearly 50 lapbanders at support meetings if they'd do it again and ALL said yes. (The people who wouldn't probably have a lap band again aren’t at the meetings or on these boards.) I believe the people who wouldn’t do it again are the minority. This is my experience: They say you are back to work in a week, but I didn't hear anything about feeling tired a lot right after surgery. I heard what I wanted to hear, all those people saying how much energy they had. Somehow in my narrow vision I thought it would be immediate. I think the energy comes much later, after having a good weight loss. I figured I’d be back to normal in 2 weeks, max. Now I’ve heard that it can take up to 12 weeks after surgery to feel back to normal again, 4 weeks is more of an average. I felt pretty good before surgery, I just want to feel that way again. I think it will come in time. The good news is I am not hungry and I have lost 20 pounds total but I didn’t eat for 5 days in the hospital, (IV only) and I’d lost 6 pounds before surgery. So, take your time. Be sure it is what you want. My suggestoin is to talk to as many people as you can about their experience. And find some people who had some problems so you can consider that too. You will probably be one of the lucky ones and breeze thru it all. If I had to do it again, I’d have talked to more people about the possible complications of the surgery and complications after with fills and slippage and consider that it could happen to me and consider "am I prepared and willing to accept those risks". Yes, you can have it removed, but that is another surgery.