No, I would have gotten gastric bypass. The reason is because I am a sugar addict and with the bypass, you absolutely cannot eat sugar without vomiting. We were talking about this at our support meeting last week, and many of us agreed that bypass is better for sugar addicts because you can just about eat anything you want with a band, including sugar.

Another reason is because I cannot stand the way I feel after having fills in my band. The feeling of everything stuck in my throat, the nausea, yuck. Plus there is always a chance of the band eroding and having to have another surgery to get a new one. More insurance hassles. With bypass, the weight comes off faster too.

So knowing what I know now, I wish I would have had a bypass. I realize not everyone agrees with me though. I'm losing weight with the band,

Right now, I am thinking I'm at the sweet spot and won't need another fill unless something drastic changes. If I'm still this tight by Monday, I will ask them to take out 1/10 cc to try to fine tune it. It has taken me 6 hours to eat 1 small piece of toast with peanut butter and a small amount of protein shake. There's no way I will be able to eat anything else for a couple of hours and by then it will be 4:00 and I have barely eaten anything. I worked out with my trainer this morning and am trying to lose the weight. I've gotten used to not having sugar anymore and i actually like that Truvia that is made from the best part of stevia. It doesn't taste bitter. My natural doctor told me to stay away from Splenda because it is a neurotoxin. I can't wait to have my blood tested to see how low my sugar and cholesterol are now!!

Splenda/Equal are POISON.....Period.

I have to LOUDLY applaud Adagray for her comments on sugar. I'll probaby write some add-ons to her comments later. But what she said was spot-on, and people should listen.

S.

The Band vs Bypass debate rears it’s ugly (and misunderstood) head once again.

Loads of baloney from all sides. So, here are a few comments on things that have been said on this thread.

And, if someone suggests that I have a Bypass Bias of some sort…that would be incorrect. Both Surgeries are quite viable, but they are meant for different classes of people. People just love to “defend” their own surgery, which is detrimental to other people who are still trying to make the decision as to what is right for them.

S.

Hello Spartan,

On what are you basing your statements?

Educational expertise, web research, or opinion?

I agree every person needs to make their own decision, and compliance is a very big factor in success of any procedure.

But if I were researching, I'd want to know where your information came from in order to take it into consideration.

Thanks.

“The Lap-band®® is less invasive than gastric bypass surgery.”

This quote is right out of a LAP-BAND® brochure. This seems to be one of a couple of phrases that are continually regurgitated whenever the subject of Band vs. Bypass comes up. The Procedure is DIFFERENT. But this whole concept of “invasion” is pretty absurd. It is NO different than many other surgeries and procedures that are performed to correct a deficiency or malfunction in some area. We have appendixes removed, gall Bladders removed, Heart bypass surgeries, and on and on and on….we have TONS of plastic surgeries. I find it amusing that so many of the people who chose LAP-BAND® over Bypass because it’s “less invasive” are planning to have tummy tucks, facelifts….whole big pieces of skin (an organ) removed. Plastic surgery probably carries as much if not MORE risk than a GB. Not to mention all of the piercings and tattoos we have and don’t even think twice about. But a gastric Bypass? An effective surgery that has been successfully performed for nearly half a century and has benefitted hundreds of thousands of patients? Hell no! it’s too…”invasive”….funny stuff.

S.

Hahaha, I love it! If I had a dollar for every idiot online that told me I have "no right" to have had WLS when I only had a BMI of 36, I'd be rich. Every person who loves to moralise on how the band is waaaaaaay too serious to be undertaken for cosmetic reasons, yet in the same breath likes to claim its less invasive than bypass, also whilst proudly wearing their zipperlike tummy tuck scar and plastic bosoms! This is an absolutely idiotic argument.

Every surgery is invasive, and every surgery is undertaken for highly personal reasons each and every one of which is entirely valid. They all change your life permanently.

On the sugar issue, the only sure fire method is to learn to tame your sweet tooth. Seriously, when I read on here that some MILK is sweetened with Splenda in the States, my jaw hit the floor. If people seriously think its good to take the natural sugars out of milk and replace them with Splenda then we are out of control! Eat natural foods, in their whole form and forget all of that stupid artificially sweetened rubbish. Just cut it out and let your taste buds adjust to what real food tastes like. If it comes in a can, packet or box, just dont eat it, its crap, end of story. Buy fresh foods and cook them from scratch and it wont matter what surgery you had, you will not have the problems with sugar that you encounter when you think that Diet Coke and Crystal Light are OK to drink on a daily basis.

Everyone on this planet is different and we are all entitled to our opinions. Even if Spartan were not quoting facts, she is entitled to her opinion and can come here and express it.

Each one of us has had a different experience. We are all worthy to judge what we would do if we had to do it all over again,,IMO.

I was on the operating table undergoing proposed gastric bypass last week, when they found some diabetic cirrhosis of my liver and had to stop...doing nothing but some liver biopsies....hoping to see the liver specialist next week and getting cleared for a Band instead.

I was very upset and disappointed as I had been working for almost a year to get this done....I'm ever so grateful now that there are options out there and hopefully, I will be able to get banded and use this tool as effectively (though not as rapidly) as I anticipated the bypass.

My best to all,

Lilhoot

Quote from Spartan --But this whole concept of “invasion” is pretty absurd.

There are three main categories which describe the invasiveness of surgical procedures. These are: non-invasive procedures, minimally invasive procedures, and invasive procedures (the latter of which may also be called open surgery).--Wikipedia

So basically if you are comparing laparoscopic lap band to open gastric bypass, then lap band is technically less invasive. If you are comparing both surgeries as being done laproscopically, they are equally invasive.

As one who has experience both surgeries I'm glad and lucky I had the opportunity to revise to RNY. As a "sugar eater" and having type 2 diabetes those cravings never went away with the lap band for me and mine actually got worse because sugar foods went down so easily and were always craved. I'm able to control it much easier now due to my dumping syndrome which basically just makes me feel ill if I eat too much sugar. I never lost any weight with the lap band and maybe that's rare but it happens to some people. So anyway I'm grateful for my revision to RNY, good luck to anyone else who has problems like mine! Nancy.

Lilhoot thank you for your point of view, very interesting! I am just grateful to learn about all the different options regarding WLS. We make our best chioce or desision according to circumstance at the time. Sometimes it's a good fit, sometimes it's not. Then you move on from there.

Lilhoot good luck with your journey. Although disappointing not to get the surgery what a blessing that they found you had a problem early on. Now it can get fixed and you can move on.

On LAP-BAND® vs Gastric - aren't we fortunate that there is more than one option available to us. Both just try to get us healthier. Technology is a great thing and it is always debated and we are free to debate it. God Bless America.

Everyone have a great weekend. It is truly a beautiful spring day here in Central Illinois.

Deena

I personally chose the Lap Band over Gastric Bypass because I believe we were given our natural anatomy for a reason, and it is not to be messed with. The idea that bypass alters your natural anatomy forever was more than enough to convince me that the band is the right choice.

As far as not being able to eat sugar ever again, that is sooo unbelievably false, and I will give you a perfect REAL LIFE example.

Both my aunt and my cousin had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago around the same time. My aunt just went in to get all the excess skin removed... it was estimated to weigh around 40lbs. She now weighs around or just a little over 200.

My cousin on the other hand, lost about 200lbs, but in this last year and a half, he gained it ALL back and is now around 400lbs AGAIN. My father asked him not too long ago, "You went through a MAJOR surgery, you altered your insides, please explain to me how its possible that you allowed yourself to get to this point again???".... His reply: "I love food too much, I cant help it"

And by food he means sweets and soda as well. So Its not entirely true that you cant hold sugar down, that is only temporary when it does happen.

Both Gastric and Lap Band are a means to change your LIFESTYLE. Neither are miracle workers, nor will either curb your addiciton to sugar. Addiction to sugar is just like any other addiction, and to get rid of it, it has to come from within. Its more mental than anything else.

And with the band, you can always get adjusted and stay tight. With gastric, your stomach stretches out and there you go, you went through such an intense surgery for practically nothing.

Weigh your options, and before deciding to do a surgery such as gastric bypass, make sure that you really do your research on the pros and cons, but most importantly, try your BEST to work with the band, if that doesnt help, then you can look further.

Good Luck!:confused:

The reason is because I am a sugar addict and with the bypass, you absolutely cannot eat sugar without vomiting

above is quote from OP

I never tried to say one is better than the other, but that its NOT true that if you have a GB you can't eat sugar. I would think that if I were to have GB though, I would WANT to not be able to eat sugar. And many can't, but many can.

I think there are many misconceptions about RNY surgery but the fact is it affects individuals differently. Some cannot tolerate any sugar, some to a degree, some never have an issue with it. But for me personally it has been a big saving grace to actually be affected by sugar intake and has helped me put my diabetes II in remission so to speak. I vomited all the time when I was banded, I've never vomited once since I've had RNY surgery. It's a totally different feeling to have the gastric bypass and not at all like having a band. I feel more in control because it's more of a consistent situation.

Anyway I am only one person who has had RNY surgery but because I also had the lap band for a year+ I feel like I can compare the two through my own experiences and possibly contribute to discussions regarding the pros and cons of each, Nancy.

Cocoaa Bean, you were about the same weight as me when you had the Band.I have only lost about 40 pounds. Some days I am disapointed.Iwas banded aug.2008.How are you eating with the band?? Thanks,Laura

Cocoaa Bean, you were about the same weight as me when you had the Band.I have only lost about 40 pounds. Some days I am disapointed.Iwas banded aug.2008.How are you eating with the band?? Thanks,Laura

Hi Laura,

I eat pretty well. I still struggle with choices sometimes. But I am now naturally taking small portions and small bites. I eat about 1200 calories per day and have just recently reached a normal BMI.

My band is fairly loose (5.5cc in a 10cc band)which allows me to eat a wide variety of foods, and I don't get stuck too often. When I do get stuck it is usually from pilot error.

My typical day:

Cup of coffee on the way to work.

Protein shake/bar/or graham crackers with Peanut Butter for Breakfast.

note: my surgeon prefers I not do Protein shakes, he wants me to eat my calories. I recently started them because I was getting bored with my normal breakfasts. I start work at 6:30am, and cannot eat before I leave my house.

lunch is a salad or sandwich (without most of the bread), or dinner leftovers. We have a cafeteria where I work. I'll sometimes get the special and break it into two meals.

Dinner is often a meat dish with veggie side and a starch. I follow the band rule of eating protien and veggie first with the starch as more of an afterthought.

I am allowed healthy in between meal foods. Just not brainless eating.

I also spend a bit of time here to remind me of my band and to keep up the hard work!

Best wishes to you!

Edited April 12, 201016 yr by Cocoabean
I hate typos!