Hi everyone,

I used to read the forums a lot back in May/June, when I first started my wls journey. I kinda slipped away, and here I am again, with quite a dilemna. Since I made the decision to have the lapband, I have not wavered about it. Recently I have been thinking about the band vs. bypass, mostly because almost all of my online friends have had the bypass, and are very happy with their decision. I have started to doubt myself and am worried that I might not succeed with the band. I don't like the idea of having my insides rewired, but I see that so many are having such great results. I don't know any people who have the band, in person and online. I would like to hear from bandsters who are having success with it, especially those are recently banded up to 1 year out. I need some support, help!

i don't know much about gastric bypass so i can't help on comparing the two surgeries and their outcomes but i have been banded for almost 3 years.

i'm 5'4" and weighed 213 at the time of my surgery. i chose the lapband because i didn't want my intestines rerouted and it seemed less invasive.

i can't lie... it's been a struggle. i can't eat a lot of my favorite foods anymore BUT they were foods i probably shouldn't be eating anyway... like pizza and ground meat and sausage.

i have lost a good amount of my weight and i feel healthier than i ever have before. i'm wearing clothes i never thought i'd ever wear.

in the end, it has to be your decision. i'm sure your friends had their reasons for going with the bypass but i've also heard that with the bypass it's easy to gain the weight back and a lot of those patients end up getting the lapband on top of their bypass.

there is no hurry to make your decision... there is a lot of info here and i wish you the best of luck!

Susi, I think it's great that you're exploring options. Whatever decision you make, you need to be comfortable that it's the right decision for you. I hope you can find the answers you're after.

First off, choosing a surgery just because your online friends have had it is not a good reason to have it done. If you look further, you'll be able to find different online friends. You need to choose what's right for you, not what is the popular answer.

I looked into RNY last summer, and attended a live support session sponsored by a WLS surgeon I know. At that meeting I asked the six or eight women present (there were no other guys) why they had chosen RNY over other types of surgery. To a person, they all said they were so morbidly obese, they knew they needed to drop a huge amount of weight as quickly as possible. For one, the surgery was a huge success - she looked amazing, and if nobody had said she'd had RNY, I'd have never known. The rest looked somewhat less good - their color was off (they all were various shades of gray), and the horror stories they were sharing about the negative side effects of life after RNY really gave me pause. I didn't have *that* much weight to lose, and decided the litany of problems associated with RNY just was more than I wanted to take on.

Sleeve gastrectomy, and the more recent sleeve plication surgeries were also viable options for me. I felt maybe they'd be able to result in as dramatic a weight loss, but then I found my insurance wouldn't cover either of them. So it came down to the lap band.

At first I was reluctant to embrace the band. It seemed somehow less "committed" than the other types of surgery. I was slanted against the band, because I didn't want to have to work at it. I wanted that magic bullet that will do all the work for me, while I sat back and admired myself for being so clever. To work the band requires effort, planning, and being proactive in my own weight loss. I'll admit I wanted to take the lazy way out, and I felt the band was going to be too much work.

The more I researched, the more my mind changed. I read story after story about people who had been banded, and who have had great success with the band, with relatively few side effects.

The turning point came for me the day I was given some very direct advice by someone who had already been down that road: They said, "The ultimate goal is to lose the weight. With a band you can still lose, just more slowly, and maintaining is a lot easier after the fact. Your insides are still intact, and if there are problems, it can be removed." Then they leveled me with this comment:

"Yes, it takes work, and it takes longer to lose with the band. But in a couple of years, after the weight is gone, and all everyone will see is the new you, does it really matter which method you used to get there?"

I was gobsmacked. I realized it was truly about losing the weight, and getting my life back. I have never looked back. I was banded on December 6. I'm just getting started, and I know I have a long ways to go. But as of this morning, I'm down 41 pounds, and I weigh less than I have in over five years. I'm very, very pleased.

Good luck!

Dave

I also think it's great that you're exploring your options. I did a LOT of research before being confident with my decision.

I will tell you why I shied away from gastric bypass. Both of my parents had the bypass done years ago. First my mom, then my dad. My mom nearly died. The surgeon nicked her intestine during surgery, and didn't notice. She ended up with a horrible infection in her entire abdominal cavity. They had to open her back up, clean it all out, then let her heal naturally with no sutures. She was supposed to be in the hospital for a week, max. She was there for over 3 months. One complication turned into a handful. She OD'ed on morphine, and developed a blood clot in her shoulder.

My dad also nearly died. He lost too much weight too fast. The had to tube feed him for a while. He couldn't keep anything down. He was so sick, nothing but skin and bones.

Since their surgeries, they have both had to have surgery again to repair hernias. And they have both gained a considerable amount of weight back. My mom says she'd have the lap band done if her insurance would pay for it.

They're the only real life people I know who've had the bypass. I'm not trying to give the worst horror story here, this is just from my personal experience.

To me, the risks were to great to lose weight fast.

I had the LB surgery in July. I'm losing slowly, but I'm fine with that. I'm completely happy with my decision.

My husband has a bypass. He has osteopenia from not enough calcium and vitamin D in spite of taking massive doses of both. He has broken three bones since his surgery. He is also slowly gaining his weight back and is still an "apple" shape. After surgery he had a complication too. His intestines shut down and wouldn't start up again for a few days. This could have killed him and it really freaked me out. He also has a large hernia that still needs to be fixed.

I, on the other hand, have not had any malabsorption issues because the band doesn't cause those. I did have to have my band replaced though because I let my band stay too tight for too long and wasn't keeping anything down. My bad. Got a dilation and had it repaired. With my buddy the band I've gone from a size 20 to a size 6 the slow healthy way. I look and feel great. I'm four years out and I find it easy to maintain this weight.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Good luck in your journey,

Thanks for all of your advice and encouragement. I do appreciate it very much, but (I'm not trying to be rude, really!) the last thing I need now is to hear/read about horror stories. I have read/heard many; and it's not a help to me at all. Please don't take me wrong if you told me about something that happened to someone else. I know that you are just trying to help.

I am still wavering, one day going for the band, the next for the bypass. I am trying to be calm about this, and be reasonable about it, instead of stressing myself about it. I made an appointment with my surgeon to dicuss it with him, we'll see what he suggests. He himself has the band, so I know that he'll be more in support for it, than the bypass. But hopefully he'll also listen to my concerns, and respect my decision either way I go.

I am doing a lot of researching and reading about both proceduree, and I feel that I have a good handle on the pros and cons. Now it just comes down to me. I know that my online WLS friends will also support me in whatever decision I make.

I will post my decision when i am feeling confident about it. As for now, I thank you all for letting me vent here. It's good to have a place where I feel I can do it, without being judged.

Sincerely,

Susi

Research is always good. Have you considered the sleeve ! You loose weight a little faster, you can eventually eat what you like "BUT A LIMITED AMOUNT OF FOOD" , you are no longer hungry "That's my thing" I had my knees replaced do to weight gain, I lost 120lbs. by myself in order to get those knees replaced. Then Banded. Lost 28lbs., and the band blew on a fill. 4cc band blew on 2cc's "defective" I now have insurance again and will be going in this month to see what they want to do or change to. Just remember it is like a tire, it can go bad at any time. Then gl with getting it fixed especially if you have it done in Mexico. You have to go back to your original surgeon to fix there mistakes. "THAT'S THE WAY THE SURGEONS THREWOUT THIS STATE EXPLAINED IT TO ME ! So I'm letting you know that somewhere you will need follow up work. Check this with your surgeon..

Shirley.

I have only been banded 11 weeks. I have already lost 41 pounds and am thrilled with the results. I have had no negative side effects and do not feel any restriction yet. I have had to work very hard to get these results and basically am doing it on my own at this point but I have the psychological benefit of knowing that if I just stick with it, I will get restriction in the future and will have the assistance I need to maintain the weight loss. The decision on what type of surgery to get is a very personal one and I believe there are advantages and disadvantages to both. What it came down to for me was the risks. I had a surgeon tell me that the gastric bypass surgery was no more dangerous than an appendectomy. My response to him was that I did not know anyone who had died from an appendectomy, but I personally know or know of five different people who have died post gastric bypass. I thought about the gastric bypass for five years before I finally told my surgeon, I could not get past the fear. I wish I would have known about lapband five years ago and would not have wasted those five years. Good luck to you with your decision. Whichever you choose, give it your all.

Hi everyone,

I used to read the forums a lot back in May/June, when I first started my wls journey. I kinda slipped away, and here I am again, with quite a dilemna. Since I made the decision to have the lapband, I have not wavered about it. Recently I have been thinking about the band vs. bypass, mostly because almost all of my online friends have had the bypass, and are very happy with their decision. I have started to doubt myself and am worried that I might not succeed with the band. I don't like the idea of having my insides rewired, but I see that so many are having such great results. I don't know any people who have the band, in person and online. I would like to hear from bandsters who are having success with it, especially those are recently banded up to 1 year out. I need some support, help!

Hi Susi,form my understanding once you go to your 1st dr.appointment they require you to attend a group meeting with some of the friends that have the band already and those who are undesided ,I have my 1st dr's appt.in 5 days if I see you on here ill let you know forsure but once I make my 1st appt.I will be going to a support group on the 11th ,I don't have the Band either and I am so excited....if you get a chance go to lapband.com and read and listen to some of those peoples story,,AND also there is the SLEEVE surgery that they don't reroute the intest.you can find info on this website for that surgery,I have a girl friend that wants that surgery....it sounds good but please make sure that this is what you want or it wont be a success story.......keep posting and let us know what you desided to do.....camille01

Well, I made my decision after a lot of reading and soul searching. I decided to do the bypass. I didn't make this decision because of my online friends. I know it's more drastic than the band, but I really think that I'll be more successful with it. I did research on the sleeve, but my insurance doesn't cover it, so that's a closed door. Thanks for all of your oppinions and advice, I do appreciate it very much!

Sincerely,

Susi

Well, I made my decision after a lot of reading and soul searching. I decided to do the bypass. I didn't make this decision because of my online friends. I know it's more drastic than the band, but I really think that I'll be more successful with it. I did research on the sleeve, but my insurance doesn't cover it, so that's a closed door. Thanks for all of your oppinions and advice, I do appreciate it very much!

Sincerely,

Susi

Congratulations on making your decision, Susi! I know it was hard, but as I said, you need to choose what's right for you. I wish you nothing but success with things. Good luck!

Dave