My surgeon thinks I would do better with Gastric Bypass, but I really don't want to go that route. He is supportive about the band too, but his recommendation for me was GB.

Extermely happy with my band. Absolutely no regrets.

I don't wish I had rny. Sometimes I wonder about the sleeve and I may consider revising to sleeve once I'm at goal. But I won't revise until I have succeeded with my band. And its not so much because I dislike my band, but it just makes me nervous to have a foreign object in me for the rest of my life.

No, not for a moment. I've lost really well with the band, and unlike my friends who've had RNY, my nutritional status is really good.

What are his motives for preferring bypass? Is it because he genuinely feels that it is better for you or because he makes more money? That is something you need to find out.

I'm really happy with my band. I have lost all my excess weight plus more and am living a normal life eating a well balanced, healthy (most of the time) diet.

I guess he thinks it would be better for me because I like sweets and need to lose a lot (BMI is 44.) But I'm sure the money is a factor too.

I dont mean to sound preachy or anything but GB is a radical surgery. Rerouting your intestines is serious business, my rationale behind choosing the band is that if Im struck with an unforeseen illness or if something isnt working I can have it reversed and still have my organs intact...like the above poster said, please investigate his motivations, and then do what you feel is in your best interest

I was banded on sept 13, 2010 regretted it at first but now I am ok, I worry sometimes because i can eat sweets and can eat pretty much what i want...I do try and watch it and don't eat as much as i used and have lost 20 lbs..but I would NEVER have the bypass...that is just too much for me...I want to absorb my nutrients from food...and be able to eat sweet food with out getting sick..that's just my opinion. I think drs like r&y because you lose weight quicker and you probably learn lessons if you have the dumping syndrome happen to you...I was also told that gb would be better but stuck to my guns and got the band.

My stepdad had RNY GB two years ago. He is diabetic so that was the best option for him. I was banded in September. Even after seeing the spectacular results my stepdad had, my family encouraged me to not have bypass because I don't have a medical reason to justify the more invasive surgery. It will take me longer to lose the weight with the band than if I had bypass and I'm fine with that. Hopefully the slower weight loss will mean fewer skin issues.

I wish you the best of luck with your decision. It is a very personal decision. Just make sure you are as informed as possible and that the doctor is expressing what is best for you, not what is best for him/her. You may even want to ask bluntly, "what is best for ME given my current health and health history and WHY?"

I guess he thinks it would be better for me because I like sweets and need to lose a lot (BMI is 44.) But I'm sure the money is a factor too.

The sweets thing is a big deal. The band will allow you to eat all the sweets you want. Surgeons, in general, hate to see any of their work fail and you could fail with a lap band. With the bypass, it would be much harder to eat sweets.

That being said, I love sweets and my lap-band. I have to fight my love for junk everyday, but it's much easier with a band. Even though chocolate feels great going down, when you are not starving all the time, it's much easier to make better choices.

I never really considered the bypass. I had no real health issues (besides obesity) and I wasn't willing to reroute my internal organs. Also, I still do want to eat sweets some times. I enjoy the fact that I can make the choice and live with it. Life is too short to never have a treat. I just needed to find a way to eat in a normal manner. Nothing about the bypass sounds normal to me.

You need to figure out what is best for you and go for it. Your surgeon sounds supportive either way which is a very good thing. I'm sure if you asked this same question on a bypass site, you would get a very different response.

Cindy

Thanks for your input! I am going to stick with the band.

I had type 2 diabetes when I was banded and I don't know if that was a factor in my failure or not but it may have been. After banding I found that my eating went from "normal" food choices to softer foods and I still really craved sweets, be it yogurt with fruit which I could eat endless amounts of or ice cream which I could eat endless amounts of or even Cereal. Mainly I chose the softer foods because I could eat them without throwing up and could eat any amount I wanted. So after losing weight preop I gained it all back afterward and then some. Plus my diabetes worsened and I also had high blood pressure and high cholesteral.

I can still eat some sweets now that I've had my bypass over a year but only certains ones. Everyone is different and I have dumping syndrome still which for me makes ice cream intollerable, I get nauseous, which I see as a good thing as it was my main weakness prior.

It can be very difficult to see these issues prior to surgery, at least for me it was as I wasn't even aware that I could eat large amounts of certain slider foods after being banded. People are more aware of the pitfalls now so that's a plus.

I made the lapband choice first but had to revise eventually to RNY in order to lose, it wasn't easy and I can't take back what I orignially did but was a bit too scared to have RNY in the first place but I feel pretty normal and take my supplements and have bloodwork done and have survived. I also have a daughter who had RNY and two nieces and so far we've all done fairly well. So I'm just giving you some insight into a different point of view but it's your decision in the end and I just hope you pick the right one the first time, good luck to you, Nancy.

If my only alternative was GB, I would not have had the surgery. Like other posters, I would research, get another opinion from another surgeon. My surgeon will not even do the GB now, sleeve or bands only.

I honestly think he wants what's best for me. He's a very good surgeon. He said it was my decision of course. =)

My surgeon thinks I would do better with Gastric Bypass, but I really don't want to go that route. He is supportive about the band too, but his recommendation for me was GB.

Try posting this on lapband complications, life after band removal or other WLS forums for a complete look at this issue and to have more information with which to make up your mind. Your surgeon has some experience that makes him think that, due to your love of sweets, the gastric bypass would be better for you.

Make sure you hear from both sides of the band vs gastic bypass issue and do your own research before you decide.

Good luck.

My surgeon was supportive of either surgery I wanted. I wanted the LapBand and for me it was the best choice. I was scared of the GB and just did not want to take on the issues other GB patients had to deal with, like dumping. Even thought getting stuck is not a real pleasure either.

I had a BMI around 44 before the surgery.

In the 6-months since my surgery 05/03/10.....

Type 2 Diabeties - Gone

High Blood Pressure -Gone

Reflux Disease - Gone

sleep Apnea - Gone

Joint Paint - Gone

70 lbs to date - Gone

Living a healthier longer life because of my LapBand - No Regrets!