I just finished my fifth of seven required weigh-ins for my surgery. It's looking like I will most likely be having my surgery in October or November. I have been dead set on getting banded but recently I found out that one of my friend's sisters had bypass and now she is trying to talk me into having that instead. I like the band because it is slow and gives you a chance to tone up as you lose weight rather than have a rapid weight loss and a bunch of saggy skin. My only dilemma is that I want to lose a lot of weight fast because I am getting married next Summer and I want to look as best as possible, but I also want to go with the safest route because that is more important. Also, has anyone ever had complications with slipping or getting sick with eating certain things? Can you ever eat "real" food again or do you have to always be on a healthy "Food Pyramid" type diet? I also teach 3rd grade so I was wondering the type of difficulty I would have with going back to work? How long did it take you to feel comfortable moving around?

I know this should probably be somewhere else but I wanted to hear from people who have actually had it done.

I just finished my fifth of seven required weigh-ins for my surgery. It's looking like I will most likely be having my surgery in October or November. I have been dead set on getting banded but recently I found out that one of my friend's sisters had bypass and now she is trying to talk me into having that instead. I like the band because it is slow and gives you a chance to tone up as you lose weight rather than have a rapid weight loss and a bunch of saggy skin. My only dilemma is that I want to lose a lot of weight fast because I am getting married next Summer and I want to look as best as possible, but I also want to go with the safest route because that is more important. Also, has anyone ever had complications with slipping or getting sick with eating certain things? Can you ever eat "real" food again or do you have to always be on a healthy "Food Pyramid" type diet? I also teach 3rd grade so I was wondering the type of difficulty I would have with going back to work? How long did it take you to feel comfortable moving around?

I know this should probably be somewhere else but I wanted to hear from people who have actually had it done.

Hi Amber, welcome to LBT!

First off, don't let anyone talk you into either procedure. Chose the one that is right for you. Because band was right for me, doesn't mean it is right for you. But it might be.

With either procedure, you are going to have foods that you cannot eat. I am not sure what you mean by "real" foods, but I can eat just about anything. The foods I have problems with are chicken breast (dark meat is fine) and doughy breads, like soft french breads and bagels.

If by real food you are asking if you can eat junk food. Yes, you can. In fact, highly processed foods go down very easily with a band. Will you successfully lose weight eating them? Eh, they are calorie dense, nutritionally weak foods, you need to make that decision.

Many bypass patients experience "dumping syndrome" after eating sugary foods. From what I understand, it is no fun.

After band surgery most people return to work in 1-2 weeks. Some less. I've known 2 people who had bypass. One returned to work a week after surgery, the other took 6 weeks off. I am not sure if she needed the full 6 weeks, or if she took it because she had the sick leave available. I don't know her very well.

Why I chose the band over bypass?

These are my reasons only, they may or may not work for you. :thumbup: They are also my opinion. Please research to find your answers, too.

1. Restrictive procedure only. Bypass is also malabsorptive requiring a committment to high quality prescription strength Vitamins for the rest of your life. With the band, I take over the counter Multivitamins.

2. Reversible. Bypass can be reversed also, but not nearly as easily.

3. Fluid can be removed if more nutrition is needed. i.e. due to illness or pregnancy (the latter is not a factor for me).

4. I am not diabetic. If I were diabetic, I'd have given bypass stronger consideration due to its impact on blood glucose levels and almost immediate remission of diabetes.

5. Gastric bypass has a "honeymoon phase" after which the pouch has stretched and if eating habits have not been fully changed, weight regain occurs. I believe the time period is 18-24 months. This scared me to think about such a radical procedure and the malabsorption. To risk gaining it back. Could happen with the band as well, I know. But I was more comfortable with the band idea.

6. After about 3 years weight-loss between both procedures is about the same. I went with the one that is less invasive in my book. I don't mean that the surgery itself is less invasive, because both procdures are major surgery. I mean that the band surgery does not cut the stomach nor reroute the intestines. I like having my digestive system still intact.

7. I had a "lower" BMI. I started at 36.6. I did not feel I needed the more radical bypass procedure to get healthy.

Best wishes in your decision!

Edited September 6, 201015 yr by Cocoabean
Add that my reasons are my opinion, not always fact.

Okay... a few things to consider...

1) Lap Band is TOTALLY different than Gastric Bypass. Neither are considered reversable procedures. Gastric bypass is uses malabsorbtion as it's basis for helping you lose weight, whereas LapBand provides portion control. What this means is that gastric bypass actually makes it so the food isn't in your stomach long enough for your body to extract the fat, calories (or nutrients) out of it for you to gain weight. This is bad. Not only is Gastric Bypass very dangerous and very invasive, but it's sort of considered to be an "old" way of doing things. LapBand helps you control your portion size by forcing you to eat less food.

2) You should NOT consider this procedure if you're looking for short term success or if you're not willing to make a lifestyle change for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. The band is not meant to be removed.

3) Regarding what foods you will/ will not be able to eat. This is different for each person. It isn't recommended that you eat chocolate and ice cream and pizza and hamburgers and potatoe chips every day. Like any lifestyle change, this requires a personal committment to change your eating habits and way you eat your food. For instance, once you recover from your surgery (which is essentially a 1.5 month process including pre and post op diets) you can expect to be able to eat approximately 1 cup of food per meal. It is recommended that you eat three meals per day. You're not supposed to drink for 15 minutes before and 45 minutes after each meal because this can make food (that would otherwise hang up on the band and diminish your hunger) pass through the band.

The bottom line is that the lapband procedure is a permanent thing. It's not a fad and it's NOT an easy way out. If you're simply interested in losing weight quickly for your wedding and are not willing to maintain the necessary changes after your wedding, I would strongly suggest that you reconsider having this done. It is an emotional battle, a physical battle and will require a LOT of discipline on your behalf.

I suggest you do some research online to get the full story on this procedure before you make a decision. It's a big deal and something that you shouldn't take lightly. The only way you can make the right decision for yourself is if you're fully informed.

Hope it works out for you!

Wimic

I agree with what was written already. My doctor hardly does GBP anymore. The Band seems to be preferred today. I think it has to do with the idea of eating and getting the nutrition. While I am aware the weight gain is possible with both procedures, I have seen 2 people with the GBP stop losing and regain all, plus more within 2 years of the procedure.

My surgeon said I wasn't big enough to warrant the GBP. He said 10 years ago, he would have done it, but now he rarely does not do the band. I was (and still am) morbidly obese. I started at 289 and am 11 months out at 236. He is happy with my progress. So am I.

The dumping syndrome w/ GBP is awful, as I have witnessed it w/ a friend who never saw the relation between what she ate and the dumping. Tells everyone she has never had it. This lie along with the others she tells herself is why she has been unsuccessful. She was out of school from June first and returned in September. She had full open surgery and was still not 100% by September.

I love my band. I am a HS teacher and was out a week. Third Grade may prove more active:wink2:, so play it by ear.

Good Luck and do what you feel most comfortable doing.

I chose Lap Band over Bypass b/c

1. It's less invasive and has a lower death rate

2. It's completely reversible

3. It has a lower risk of side effects

4. Less downtime/quicker recovery time

This is a great website that compares all surgeries Compare LAP-BAND® to Other Weight Loss Options | LAP-BAND®

Each surgery has benefits and drawbacks.

I chose the band because it was the least invasive, surgically-speaking. And also, it does not interfere with the absorption of nutrients. (Bypass results are faster partly because nutrients are not absorbed; after about 12-18 months, the body does become more efficient at again absorbing some nutrients---which can affect loss or result in gain. But lifelong deficiencies of other nutrients remains a possibility---one that I was not willing to risk.)

Another consideration for me was the fact that the long-term weight loss results for bypass are about the same as those for the band. Because the odds of success were roughly the same (albeit somewhat slower with the band, for many), I again opted for the least invasive.

I should also mention that my surgeon--who performs both surgeries, as well as the sleeve---recommended against bypass for me. I had identified before seeing him that my issue with loss was caloric intake; my body requires around 800 calories/day to lose, and that was not sustainable long-term without intervention. When I produced a long-term record of my dietary intake, exercise, and weight history, he agreed that banding was the best option.

I've been very, very happy with my decision. I've lost at a great rate, and have felt terrific.

I do have to say that my surgeon recommends the same diet for banded patients as he does for bypass patients---and that has been tremendously important in terms of promoting my good loss.

There are so many considerations--I wish you good luck with your decision. If you want any more information or feedback, feel free to PM.

Edited September 7, 201015 yr by BetsyB

I'm not banded yet. But, the reason I am choosing to go that route is because:

1. I like that you can lose slowly, and have the chance to tone.

2. It's reversible.

3. I feel it's the safer option to have AND be pregnant. One day I want a family. And, the other options worry me.

4. I rather not have my insides all rearranged and edited

I chose the band because of the riskd associated with the bypass. I am a single mom and want to be around for my daughter. I also want to have more kids some day and like that I can eat healthy and will not be limited when pregnant. I was also worried about malnutrition, I work in the medical field and have seen that first hand.

I had surgery 4 weeks ago and have lost 44 pounds. I expect that to slow down and am hoping it does. I want to lose slower so I don't get to flabby, lol..

I think everyone else is right, it's your choice and you shouldn't let anyone push you in one direction.

Best of Luck!!!

On the flip side.... who says lap-banders dont lose fast ? I'm currently losing at a rate of average 2kg/week 4.4lbs/week - Granted my surgeon says this isnt usual and I have the perfect personality for the band.... but it shows we can lose just as fast as GBP people :thumbup:

Rach.

To trll you the truth i'm one of the few on here that was 50/50 on the two surgeries. I actually changed my mind to the bypass , but the coordinatator said it was too late. The one area my Drs. office failed me was allowing me to ask questions and decide with the Dr as opposed to having to know before even seeing him.

I like the band because it is slow and gives you a chance to tone up as you lose weight rather than have a rapid weight loss and a bunch of saggy skin.

Also, has anyone ever had complications with slipping or getting sick with eating certain things? Can you ever eat "real" food again or do you have to always be on a healthy "Food Pyramid" type diet?

How long did it take you to feel comfortable moving around?

I chose the lapband for all the reasons everyone else mentioned.

As for the saggy skin, IMHO I would have the same amount of saggy skin no matter what type of WLS I had. I am a 162 lb woman wearing the skin of a 264 lb woman. There is no getting away from it with such a large weight difference. You can not tone up your skin. You can tone the muscle under the skin, but the skin it's self will still be hanging there.

I eat "normal food", but do avoid some things because I know I will get sick if I eat them. eggs just don't work for me, so I no longer even try to eat them. Some bandsters eat eggs all the time with no problems. You don't know if you will be sensitive to some foods until you get banded.

I took off a full week from work. If there is any way you can plan to take off 2 weeks it would be great. The reason I say 2 weeks is because of the fatigue you will feel post op not the actual recovery or pain issues.

I wish you the best no matter which WLS you choose.

i chose the lap band and never would have considered the bypass. its just too intense for me. a couple of things that were said earlier i think need to be corrected, although one has already been contradicted numerous times. the lap band is reversible. its not meant to be reversed but it can be if there are complications or it needs to be for some reason. also, the bypass is restrictive as well as malabsorptive. i would not want to subject myself to dumping syndrome. i also did very well in my pre-surgery weight-loss and feel very confident that i will reach my goal comfortably in a reasonable time frame with the lapband. in the end to me it was simply a choice between the lapband and no surgery. my pcp only recommended the lapband for me as well.

Please don't let others opinon shape yours. You have to have a REAL talk with yourself. If you need help in the area of making good food judgements/exercise/have co-morbidites than bypass may be right for you.

Why did I choose the band--first and foremost, the word "gastric bypass" scared me. I thought it was very drastic, I didn't want to risk death or the side effects of mal absorbtion. I didn't want to physically alter my body. If I had a whole set of issues and my doctor said that it was a matter of life or death, that would have been a whole different story.

I don't have any issues outside of being overweight, I can make great food choices, I want to move my body and live a healthier life.

Knowing the risk/benefits & pros/cons of both procedures and most importantly your eating/exercise habits only YOU knows what's best for you.

Good luck with your decision!

My reasons for going with the band were simple, but the biggest one is that I'm not rerouting my plumbing in my body. It's just a band around my stomach that is helping me to control my eating. It's been a miracle for me and I love it. Plus, it can always be taken out if I need to have it removed whereas you can't undo a gastric bypass.

I also feel like if I am "falling off the wagon" then the band can be adjusted. I've seen people who have had bypass and in 5 years they start gaining weight back because they've stretched out their pouch. I feel like with the band, you go get adjusted and you're back on track.

It's all an individual decision but truthfully - if your gut is telling you the band, stick with your gut.

To me, bypass is the most invasive WLS and I don't think that it was suitablr for me. I didn't like the malabsorption part of it and it scared me to know that 1. people have died from the surgery 2. the whole "dumping syndrome" and 3. that i'd have my insides cut out/re-routed.

I also really like that with the band the weight loss is slower which gives your body the chance to adjust.

I'd never steer someone away from Lapband or bypass simply because some surgeries are better for some people than others.