I don't want to start a debate, I 'm just confused and want to know what YOUR reason was for the choice you made.

I was all gung-ho on the band because basically, the whole idea of gastric bypass scares the crap out of me. But the more I read about people dealing with erosion, port problems, leaking tubes, disconnected tubes, infections, and having to fill and unfill, the more it seems like there's a lot more risk of things going bad after the surgery with LB than with GB. Then when the UCLA med center people told me they'd discontinued banding because of the poor success rates and problems with follow-up care, I started to get a little uneasy.

The idea of someone cutting me open and moving my organs around creeps me out, but once it's done, it's done. It's starting to seem like with the band, the surgery itself is less problematic and less dangerous, but then afterward you have to be constantly vigilant about things going wrong.

So now I'm starting to have second thoughts and am wondering if I should pursue GB.

any thoughts?

Copied and pasted from a prior post

rachele

Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003

Age: 32

Posts: 14

I always thought I'd have my band or nothing, until faced with the reality of a non working band (blocked by scar tissue). I lost from 350 to 235, got pregnant and lost my fill. After the pregnancy, my band was no longer functioning. 7 months after the baby I stepped on the scale to see 330. I had gained back up to 300 during the pregnancy and an additional 30 in the 7 months after.

My point is, being at 235 and having a touch of "normal-ness" in my life, then gaining it back was enough. 3 years of fighting for what I did acheive was lost in 16 months. And I was back 20 pounds from where I started.

I'm not going to get into head hunger/ food control issues. To the people that can overcome it, I wish I were more like them. But I'm not. So I choose to have the DS/BPD (11/17/05) I figured while the band was coming out, which was not an option, I was ready for something more permenant. I don't want to go through that again. And I refuse to "live" my life as a fat woman. Period. I will not do it, and if I had to get diced and sliced, so be it. It was worth the risk of dying to me to acheive the quality of life I wanted for myself and my family. Without that quality of life, I just sit and watch life pass me by. Yes, I was torn, and terrified. But I am a child of God and I know when it's my time, it's my time. I could get killed walking to the mail box if He wants me.

I NEED a tool. I CANNOT do this on my own. So I went for the smartest thing I could. I tried with the band and it did its job while it could. My body just doesn't want it in me.

Yes! That's a very real and emotional side to this type of decision...something not often found on this board. All of us can relate though, or we wouldn't be here. Thanks for re-posting that.

There are other threads if anyone wants to look up the different bypass options. It really is worth serious consideration if you are pre-band, or if your band is giving you problems. At the very least, our decisions are more informed, which is the point, right? LBT is great.

A year ago I wanted to the the GB surgery, but what I read about it scares me. SOmetimes when I look at my slow weight loss I think to myself "you could have been thin by now if you would have gotten GB" but then I read stories like Jessica O's and the band is the only way for me!!

Copied and pasted from a prior post

rachele

Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003

Age: 32

Posts: 14

I always thought I'd have my band or nothing, until faced with the reality of a non working band (blocked by scar tissue). I lost from 350 to 235, got pregnant and lost my fill. After the pregnancy, my band was no longer functioning. 7 months after the baby I stepped on the scale to see 330. I had gained back up to 300 during the pregnancy and an additional 30 in the 7 months after.

My point is, being at 235 and having a touch of "normal-ness" in my life, then gaining it back was enough. 3 years of fighting for what I did acheive was lost in 16 months. And I was back 20 pounds from where I started.

I'm not going to get into head hunger/ food control issues. To the people that can overcome it, I wish I were more like them. But I'm not. So I choose to have the DS/BPD (11/17/05) I figured while the band was coming out, which was not an option, I was ready for something more permenant. I don't want to go through that again. And I refuse to "live" my life as a fat woman. Period. I will not do it, and if I had to get diced and sliced, so be it. It was worth the risk of dying to me to acheive the quality of life I wanted for myself and my family. Without that quality of life, I just sit and watch life pass me by. Yes, I was torn, and terrified. But I am a child of God and I know when it's my time, it's my time. I could get killed walking to the mail box if He wants me.

I NEED a tool. I CANNOT do this on my own. So I went for the smartest thing I could. I tried with the band and it did its job while it could. My body just doesn't want it in me.

Can someone tell me the difference between gastric bypass and a DS? They sound like they are basically the same surgery. I am pre-banding and have really appreciated all the different views I have seen on this forum. I too am fearful of band complications, ie erosion,sliding, etc. But....... the issue of malabsorbtion, and the risks of BP surgery scares me more. To me it's all about choices, thank God we all have them. You know what they say,... different strokes for different folks

Here is a post from Sue, also debanded and Switched. She has posted some links in it, I guess the best thing to do is go to a site with all the surgerys listed and with a side by side comparison of the anatomy after.

To tell the truth when I was searching for this, I found a post that Sue had made on my surgery day that immediately was turned into a debate about the mortatily rates for DS patients. Can we say "hurt feelings?"

I'm sick to death that someone took a supportive post on my behalf and turned it into a freaking debate. Thanks. Oh, yeah, Hope you don't mind Sue.

10-20-2005, 04:45 AM

GeezerSue

Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003

Posts: 885

Wow! What wonderful support.

•The band, as you know, is restrictive only. It can limit the amount of solid food you can eat at one time.

•The RnY, (and I'm biased, so ignore me if you're wise) is both restrictive (the stomach is reduced to 20 cc's--4 teaspoons) and temporarily malabsorptive (after about two years the remaining intestine "learns" to absorb much of what the missing intestine used to absorb. That's when the weight regain begins. To me, it works like a kind of non-reversible band.

•The DS is also a little restrictive (the stomach is reduced to 4-6 ounces) but it remains malabsorptive forever. So, the DS has the highest percentage of long-term excess weight loss...and the highest number of risks, including long-term metabolic stuff we don't even know about. OTOH...my 60-year-old cardiologist and I were discussing that the promise of long-term ANYTHING, when you are 60-ish and morbidly obese, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Here's a link to a site started by a DS patient:

http://www.duodenalswitch.com/index.html

And here's a mention of some research at Cornell:

http://global.med.cornell.edu/news/.../10_14_05.shtml

If anything I read made an impact, it was a post by Melanie M (the woman who started the DS board.) Scroll down to read her take about the DS as a tool.

http://www.duodenalswitch.com/openbb/read.php?TID=3932

I know I will have to make some changes with the DS. But those will mostly--my friends tell me--be learning not to eat stuff that doesn't agree with my new plumbing.

I'm glad that this wasn't received as a the-band-is-bad post. You guys are cool.

Great info. Here's a link to another thread that lists all the WL surgeries and gives an explanation.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6935

Thanks, you guys are the best.

Roberta

I did not consider an RNY for the reasons already listed....didn't want insides rearranged, and I did not like the malabsorption factor. I have Iron problems and need to take supplements as it is at times. I can't imagine what it would be like after an RNY.

Also, I know of a few people who have developed nerve problems and have problems with walking. Basically, you may be trading one set of problems for another. No thanks. I'm a mom with 2 young boys. They need me and an ACTIVE me.

Kristine

Thank you for your post. I hope you dont get the idea that we are anti anything but the band, we are mostly pro band. I appreciate knowing that there is another option after banding and that none of us can take for granted that we are truly blessed to have the choice. I was very glad to hear that you do not have the dumping problem. I supliment even though Im banded, but I have always used supliments anyway. I appreciate your courage for pressing through for victory over weight. I just might need to do this in the future so Thanks again.

Being in the medical field I have seen numerous patients with long term health problems after GB. Yes, the weightloss is fast but that in itself can be a problem.

I chose banding because it is less evasive and weightloss is slow but consistant if you work your band correctly. This allows your body as a whole to adjust to the change and you remain healthy.

I chose the band because I wanted to lose weight not my life. I know sooo many gb folks personally, several in my own family with serious to life threatening problems related to having the gb. I'd rather be a fat mom than a dead one.

I could get killed walking to the mail box if He wants me.

Like I said...

I suggest going to the obesityhelp.com complications forum; you will find mostly RNY pt's there.

Erosion and slippage, while serious, are treatable; RNY complications such as strictures and bowel obstructions are life-threatening.

Being concerned with complications is all the more reason to make sure you have a top notch surgeon; mine told me he has never had an erosion. It is also the best reason to follow your post-op rules, which, I know from my support group mtgs, are virtually the same for RNY and the band.

Like said before, different strokes for different folks. Life is full of choices and no one should feel badly about their own personal informed decision. If it works for you, go for it. We are all in the same boat, we are just using different transportation to get to our destination. Although I am not Banded yet I wish you all well in your journey!

Roberta

Well wishes, Roberta.