I was just curious if anyone has considered removing their band and having a bypass done. I know that the surgeries are two totally different things and the band is a tool, but for some it has proven more difficult than they had originally thought.

I would like to see how many people have actually thought about it.

I would appreciate any feedback.

Thankyou!

Well said Vines. You summed it up perfectly.

I Eroded so answering this poll didn't make sense to me. I am now faced with making a decision to either struggle like I have all my life and fly solo or fight with the insurance companies and HOPE I have other options be it bypass or whatever.

Since losing my band I have gained 40 lbs. I was debanded disbanded whatever back in Dec 2005. I am within 20 lbs of my pre-band weight. How disappointing is that? I paid $15,000 for my surgery out of pocket and now I feel like I have just pissed that all away. I only had the band for 18 months.

The band wasn't for me.

I would consider having the band removed and getting another weightloss procedure done if I felt that after a sufficient period of time and all the right efforts, the band wasn't working for me or the complications were too many.

One reason I am currently pre-band is because it is removable. Naturally, I don't anticipate needing to have it removed but I know that if for some reason it did need to be removed- like say I needed a fundoplasty for my GERD, I could have it removed. But in that scenario I couldn't have the band replaced. So then what?

I decided that a malabsorbtion method was not right for me. I think its a very personal choice- to have a weight loss procedure, and what one to have. My decision was based on several factors. I didn't want a malabsorbtion method because I take a lot of medications and will need to continue to take medications for chronic health-care problems. I have narcolepsy and there are just a couple of meds that really seem to help me out with the whole staying awake thing. I am currently at the highest dosage of provigil. I would hate to mess up the way it works for me by having a malabsorptive procedure but it does work well for me and its not even technically a stimulant. After posting about bariactric surgery on a narcoleptic forum I got some responses from people who had had the bariactric bypass or who knew someone who had and they had had medication related complications.

Also I decided that I didn't want to lose the weight as rapidly as most people with GP do. I would prefer to lose weight at a more "natural" rate to allow to better adjust to the changes as they occur, both physically (I do fear loose skin) and psychologically.

There are other factors as well, such as rate of complications, healing time, level of invasiveness and so forth. But my two main deciding factors are as described above. My husband's best friend had gastric bypass a few years ago. It worked well for her I think. I think he said that before she had the surgery she weight at least three hundred something (I know she got up to about 400 before). She now is down closer to 200, and thats the weight she was around when I first met her. She has had one surgery to remove some of the loose skin around her waist. She would probably weight about 20 pounds less than she does now, but she has been dealing with chemo therapy and other hormonal treatments for breast cancer and those things affect weight. And no, the cancer does not seem to be related to her GB, it seems to be Genetic in her case. The GP worked for her and gave her a lot more mobility and energy and so forth, but she does have some malabsorbtion issues when it comes to taking pills and subliments. For her it was worth it.

Kyethra,

Well said. I went with the lap band for all the above stated reasons and because as someone who does not have a lot of weight to lose, it was the only option. I have a family history of obesity and all the related complications. I also have a history of dieting and all the other non surgical techniques and the lapband was the answer to end that madness. Whether you have 50# to lose or 250#, there are health consequences with being overweight, both physically and mentally, and I wanted off that rollercoaster. If for some reason, the band did not work for me or it has to be removed, I would then look into the gastric sleeve. For my situation, the lapband was the obvious first choice.

Hi there, I lost 82 lbs. as of last year, but have since gained back 24. Please tell me what steps you took to get back on "the band wagon." I am excersicing, but could use some other support. What kind of food do you eat during the day. Thanks.

Thank you, your post really helped me. I was just "beaten" up in my Dr's Support Group because I am having the band. Someone actually posted "I'm surprised that Dr. K did not talk you out of the Lap Band as he did me! I went into his office convinced that I would be having the Lap Band, He convinced me that the RNY was the better way to go for me"

There were numerous replies even worse than this. I was feeling so alone. I know I have people here, but I let it get to me. Why do they push "their" view as the only view and everyone else is wrong.

I made this choice for many decisions, but honestly, my personal DR and I discussed this at length. He actually spent 30 minutes with a packed waiting room. We went over the everything, both types of surgeries and I KNOW I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR ME!

Thank you so much

Debbie

I have sent my paperwork in for the lapband. Ins received it 7/7 it is highmark BCBS they called wanting to know the name of doc for one of the wt loss centers I used. I had LA wt loss, curves, Total Med Supervised wt loss center, ageless wt loss center-doc supervised, and wt watchers. They require 6 mo supervised wt loss over a 2yr period. I had 10mo. Done the nutritist and psych evals and the seminar.

I have read alot on the lapband and the RNY. Seminar included the gastric sleeve.

The more I read I am drawn to the gastric sleeve the wt loss is fast however you do not have the malabsorption as ith the RNY.

Problem though is the gastric sleeve is still seen as experimental and ins will not pay for it.

I have been a nurse for a long time and out of the WLS I think the sleeve would provide the best results with the least amt of complications. No slippage, flipping, erosion, or malabsorption.

I wish like the gastric bypass patients I could loose 100lbs in like 3 months but to me that is completely unrealistic the only other way I would have thought people could loose that much is if they were starved or there was something severly wrong with them, the fact that I'll loose slow doesn't bother me whatsoever, I've never had any huge weight loss so something as simple as 5 kgs (10lbs) is definitely going to make me happy. Plus you talk to all the people that have had the gastric bypass and the main thing they say about not getting the band is the upkeep on the band, mainly the whole getting fills and maintaining that and seeing doctors, to me that just comes across as lazy but then again that's just my opinion