I posted this on another board and got so many conflicting stories, it's not even funny. If they had lap-band then it was the greatest thing. If they had bypass, it was the greatest thing. There are quite a few of us still trying to make up our minds and it's hard.....really hard.

Docs Fisher & Anderson in Vegas do a seminar (hundreds attended when I went) and they point out the benefits and risks of both the bypass and the band. I "thought" it was very informative till I started reading everything here, and rather than informative, it was more "infomercially" to make money on either/or surgery. They don't care which you chose, as long as you come to them with the big bucks. They fluffed around band erosion, and they fluffed around bypass malabsorption and made both surgeries look VERY attractive. People couldn't wait to line up for appointments, regardless of which procedure they chose.

unfortuneatly healthcare is a business too, but if they really were like an infomercial its time for a new doc.

to reply to an earlier post, no tissue is "removed" during a rny bypass. everything remains in your body. if your surgeon feels it is "barbaric" he is obviously ill informed. sure it has its risks, but it is a procedure that has saved many thousands of lives, increasing not just quantity of life but quality of life as well. if rny is barbaric than we might as well not do open heart procedures and the such anymore either, they are just as "barbaric".

According to the literature that I've read about the various bypass operations, there is tussue and stomach tissue removed. "Bypass" covers a wide variety of operations, not just the RNY. Several of the procedures do in fact remove a large portion of the stomach, some remove lesser amounts, while the newer procedures for the RNY do not remove the stomach, they do bypass it and part of the intestines, providing it with a blood-source so that the tissue does not die.

Scuuder, I'm terribly sorry if you are feeling attacked for your choice. You are not being attacked.

I do not know how I feel, or what I think about your statement that compairs the RNY to open heart surgery. I shall have to ponder that for a while. I do know that being banded saved the lives of both my husband and me.

No, I dont wish I had gotten RNY done. Of course every now and again when things are rough I do wish I could lose LIKE a RNY patient but truth be told, I would not be happy with that. For me the biggest issue was taking the supplements for the rest of my life. I plan to live a good long time and I sure dont want to have to take something every one of those days. I also think for me losing slowly is really helping my brain adjust. I lost weight very quickly once before and when I was able to start eating normally, gained it all right back... quicker. I cant say which is "better" because it depends on you and what you feel is right for you.

DS Bypass removes part of the stomach. I don't mind because it was stretched out like a deflated balloon.

And the DS is much more malabsorbive (is that a word?) than the RNY. These were part of want I ~liked~ about the proceedure. The extra malabsorption makes regain a bit harder, and less likely.

I've got 2 out of 3 covered, band and DS! I am down 63 pounds since the end of November.

Trading obesity for malabsorption was a fair trade for me.

I take:

1 Iron

2 Multi Vitamin

2 ADEKS (dry water soluble form of vitamins A, D, E, K. These vitamins are usually absorbed in FAT. Since I DO NOT ABSORB 80% of any fat I eat, its important to take a water soluble form)

5 calcium (which is twice the normal dose that EVERY woman should be taking.

So I take 6 pills and 4 chewables. And sometimes bypasser levels end up being much better that others because they assume they are getting what they need from their food, and thats not the case.

Bottom line, I've had both. If I had it to do over, I would have gotten the DS first. I still recommend the band, but just not to EVERYONE. It's just not for everyone.

Alot of the things said here about bypass is antecdotal, like I stated in another post recently, but I guess that is to be expected from a lapband board. I know when I had the band, I always heard storys from the bypassers about bandsters being able to fill and unfill themselves if they wanted to eat more and things like that. Which we all know is bunk. Just like alot of the stuff said about bypassers is.

Wow, beautifully put Rachele!

Happy Band (and non-Band) Journeys to All...

I would not even consider RNY! I went to the lapband seminar with my friend and daughter. I was sold on the fact that it is reversible. My daughter is only 22...I want her to have babies someday. This is definitely the healthiest solution in my opinion.

having rny gastric bypass does not preclude anyone from having a baby. it makes it more likely. they just recommend you wait a year from the surgery date.

my comment comparing th rny to open heart was to make the point that if rny was "barbaric" then many other life saving surgical procedures would be considered barbaric also.

having rny gastric bypass does not preclude anyone from having a baby. it makes it more likely. they just recommend you wait a year from the surgery date.

my comment comparing th rny to open heart was to make the point that if rny was "barbaric" then many other life saving surgical procedures would be considered barbaric also.

True on both parts, I think. We are planning on having a DS baby whenever I get the go ahead from the doc (1.5 years for him), I already have my bandster baby (see avatar).

And, considering they are both life saving operations, and surgically alter something to correct a problem, I think you are correct.

Im still pretty jazzed with my Band!

Rachele, RNY doesn't sound so scary after reading your posts. I have read that some people have had RNY after Band failure. It is good to know that there are options postband. It is my understanding to qualify for RNY you have to be at least 100 lbs over weight. Is this true? That was another reason why I went with the lap band. My Insurance wouldn't cover surgery for me because my bmi is under 40. (60-70 lbs to lose)

Rachele, RNY doesn't sound so scary after reading your posts. I have read that some people have had RNY after Band failure. It is good to know that there are options postband. It is my understanding to qualify for RNY you have to be at least 100 lbs over weight. Is this true? That was another reason why I went with the lap band. My Insurance wouldn't cover surgery for me because my bmi is under 40. (60-70 lbs to lose)

Hi Mary. Thank you!

I actually had the Duodenal Switch, which is a wee bit different than the RNY, but it is still a bypass. I believe it is different as far as the BMI goes. Most of the time it is 100 lbs, but if you are shorter, you can be obese and only have 60-70 lbs to lose. My insurance requirement was at least 30. My band didn't actually fail. I had scar tissue block the tubing which rendered it useless because we couldn't fill or unfill. We could have scraped it out but there was a high possibility it would happen again, so I opted for the DS.

If you would like to see a chart with the differences between RNY and DS, let me know and I'll search down the link. Anatomy is different and there is no dumping with the DS. (which could be considered good or bad depending on the individual) I don't have a "pouch" but a long banana shaped tummy.

Thank you for being open minded. I was terrified to do it, but I didn't want to ever go back "there" again. My doctor was very skilled (a professor at John Hopkins in Baltimore) and he did my band and my DS. I am happy.

Rachele, we are very lucky that you have decided to stick with us at LBT. I can only guess at you frustration with some of the opionions. I know that my situation is fairly unique as well. I do know that at this point in my life, no WLS is going to do anything for me. I'm just happy that I had the band, and not a bypass. But that is me, and the best choice for me. It is quite likely that once I have everything sorted out and have my "cure" that I won't have any need of WLS.

I'm sure that didn't make much sense, but anyway, I'm very glad we have folks who've had other procedures here willing to educate us on their procedures.

I'm thrilled with this thread and the fact we now have someone who once had a band and also had a bypass. I appreciate every ounce of human experience I can get my hands on. I'm also extremely thankful that my band was reversible, and that I'm still down 77 pounds.

As far as: "I always heard storys from the bypassers about bandsters being able to fill and unfill themselves if they wanted to eat more"

Well, there used to be a married couple who filled and unfilled each other and themselves, though this is a practice hugely frowned upon by the makers of the band and upstanding surgeons alike. Too many injections into the port can damage the port - the object is to get to a good fill level with as few poke as possible.

I thoroughly agree. It's always invaluable to be able to talk to someone and get the benefit of their first hand experiences.

I've been thinking about this thread a lot. And I think my biggest concern is for those who are having a hard time sticking with the bandster "rules" and are getting discouraged. I'm not sure how to put this well, and please don't take offense if it comes out wrong - I'm concerned that people will abandon their efforts with the band and jump on the "what else can I try" train. To me, it almost seems like the same old thing that we've all seen over the years, people flock to the newest thing coming down the pike. Now, I know that the RnY is NOT the Newest thing but it's becoming the Next thing to try. For years I've seen people running from this fad to the next, each one promising to have the answers to success. Each one claiming to have broken the secret code for weight loss. And really, each one is just a new way of making someone else rich and leaving us disappointed, yet again.

Let's get real folks. Whether we have the RnY, the Band, the Sleeve, whatever.. it still comes down to this. If we eat crap, we will look and feel like crap. If we eat healthily, we will be healthy. If we eat too much, we will weigh too much. It's really just plain ole common sense.

Someone else said it on this thread already, but it bears repeating. If you can't get control of yourself enough to succeed with the band, then chances are you won't have long term success with any other weight loss surgery. Eventually, we all have to come to terms with the fact that it boils down to responsibility for our own actions and choices. It's just a fact of life folks - you reap what you sow.

If you have a "healthy band"... be grateful for it and USE it to your benefit. Don't flounder around, sabotaging your own goals and then toss the band aside in your excitement about the next thing coming down the road. Short of cutting your stomach out all together, we all have to take responsibility for what we put in our mouths.

I pray for each of us as we struggle to find our way through this nightmare that's led us to this point in life. I pray that we wake up to the realization that we are only imprisoned by ourselves and we do have the power to get free.