I finally went for my 1st consultation today, firm in my resove to have the lapband surgery done in the near future (hopefully), but the surgeon was so elequent in his opinions in favor of gastric bypass, that I am completely reeling.... I am afraid of gastric and not sure why.

Just wondering what made most of you chose lapband over gastric... I am making a pros/cons list for both... Thank you!

bypass is permanent

1 in 350 die from bypass

bypass requires Vitamins supplements for the rest of your life

bypass isn't a registered trademark

to name a few

From what my surgeon has told me with the gastric if you gain your weight back you are on your on. With the band if you gain some weight back you make an appointment and get a fill before its out of control. I have 2 friends that had gastric and the went back and got banded because they couldnt keep the weight off.Plus with the band you lose slower and that makes it alot easier to be tone and fit with exercise.

Since you asked...Here's my top three reasons

1. The lap-band is adjustable. That means I can go back and get more restriction if I need it.

2. The lap-band does not require removing any part of my internal organs. If I have a medical problem, I can have it removed or simply remove all the fill.

3. No malabsorption issues. I get all the nutrients I need. I've had my band over 2 years and I just had some lab work done. My values are better than ever and the only supplement I take is a daily multi-Vitamin.

Good luck on your decision. I've always been afraid of bypass although I know a number of people who have had great success with it. For me, I thought it was important to pick the least invasive procedure. I know the band is still surgery, but it's nothing like removing part of your stomach and intestines.

Cindy

The bypass is a radical surgery, and unfortunately most of the people I know who have had the surgery have gained most of their weight back.

Any surgery where they remove portions of my anatomy was a no-go for me.

I only recently met a couple of other banded people, but I know a LOT of folks who have had bypass over the years. All took off a lot of weight. I would say that probably 3/4 of them gained most of it back within 8 years after surgery, because they never changed HOW they ate after the initial post-surgery period.

Sometimes, the aftercare involved with the band is seen as a negative... For me, it was a positive. The ability to adjust the band to suit me is a selling point, IMO. The ability to unfill it or remove it if need be is an even bigger one. I like that the band will help me to create better eating habits, and that I can go in for a fill or adjustment if I find myself floundering.

The banded me is all still ME, just with a little help. I like that. The loss is slower, sure, but that's OK... I'm in this for the long haul.

Any other option just wasn't an option. At least for me.

I am so fortunate; my doctor does both surgeries, but told me he would NOT recommend bypass for me, given my history and my goals.

I was pretty adamant in my desire to avoid bypass. If it had been my only option, then perhaps I would have felt differently. But I wanted to avoid the malabsorption issues associated with RNY. I wanted to re-learn a relationship with food, place it in its proper perspective, and then ....well, live my life.

While banding requires many of the same behaviors as bypass (taking Vitamins, making the right food choices, and so on), it is a less drastic surgery. It is more compatible with the way I want to live.

Doctors are humans; like all other humans, they have preferences. Some prefer do to bypass because they see their patients, by and large, doing well with it. Some prefer it because it's more fun for them to perform. There's no way of knowing why your doctor prefers it.

All you can do is learn as much as you can about your various options, and let him know what YOUR decision is. If he pushes for something that does not make you comfortable, then it might be a good idea to talk with another doctor.

It's a big decision--and not one you should feel pressured to make.

My favoring of the LAP-BAND has a lot to do with my brother-in-law. He had gastric bypass a little over 90 days ago. He has had no complications (happily), but he has lost 100 pounds already! :confused:

I cannot imagine losing that much weight so quickly! I plan to tell only one person about my WLS (if I can actually get it, that is). If I lost 100 pounds soooo quickly, I'd almost HAVE to tell people. (I mean, I know not really...but there would be A LOT of questions about my sudden, extreme weight loss. I know I'd be cornered about it and I am NOT pleasant when cornered.)

With LAP-BAND, though, since the weight loss will be more gradual, I can just use the ol' "diet and exercise" reason when asked about my weight loss. It is no one's business, and I think that hiding my LAP-BAND surgery would be far easier than hiding gastric bypass.

The decision to get a lapband over a gastric bypass is a personal one.

My main reasons for getting lapband were:

Did not want my insides cut and rerouted

Knew people who had GB that gained their weight back

Also didn't wanna have to take a handful of supplements everyday because my body doesn't absorb it. Only supplement I take is a Multivitamin.

Also at the time I was 1st considering surgery GB was the only option available and it wasn't done lapropscopically and the risk of dying was high (obviously not they can do it laproscopically and the risk of death is much lower).

Only thing about GB is you do lose the weight much faster. It's taken me 17 months to get off 100 lbs with 75 lbs left to lose. With a GB I would probably be at my goal weight right now.

The band isn't always food friendly. There are days I have a hard time keeping anything down. Especially the real humid days I know that I won't be able to eat much food and have to be very careful of what I do eat or else it will come back up. At least with a GB you don't have to worry about that kind of restriction. You know how much your stomach can hold and that's it. You don't have to worry about whether or not it's too humid out or even how you sit at a chair at the dinner table. Because yes even the angle of the chair determines whether or not food gets stuck in your band.

There's nothing worse than looking forward to eating something specific (such as a steak) and not being able to enjoy your dinner because you get stuck and are running to the bathroom every 2 minutes trying to get it up.

As much as I love my band and do not regret my decision for 1 second there is an ugly side to it too. Just as there is an ugly side to the GB and i'm sure even the sleeve.

Good luck with your decision!!!! You have a lot of pros and cons to think about.

Band is way less risky, reversible and leaves your bowels intact. Google "dumping syndrome."

Band is adjustable or even reversible. Plus, you can drink alcohol with the band but not with the bypass.

Truth be told, I would be interested in the sleeve but insurance won't pay for it and I'm not sure if the stomach would eventually grow back.

For me, there is just no way I would do the full bypass - it's just too radical.

It was my family doctor who suggested gastric bypass for me - he'd had a patient have it done in the States (I live in Ontario, Canada) and was very happy with it. He set it up for us to talk, and I also researched the lap-band myself. When I talked with my husband about the WLS options he was totally scared of it for me. I got him to read up on lap bands and we talked to someone who had had it done. He started to come on board about the lap-band because it was less drastic, reversible and didn't cause the malabsorption issue. I then talked to my family doctor who needed to do his own research about lap-band, he then called me back to say that was the way to go, quoting the slower weight loss as another benefit of it. So my support supported lap-band more than gastric bypass and it scared me much less too. Living in Ontario gastric bypass is covered by the government, but lap-band is not. So I chose it despite the extra cost because it is adjustable, reversable, less drastic and doesn't have the malabsorption issue. It might be nice to lose weight faster, but to me this is about finding a lifestyle I can accept and that lets me be a healthier weight.