I was wondering if anyone has any insight as to which is better...lap band or roux en Y. I was all set and thought I really wanted the lapband. Researched it, read 2 books about it and etc for 2 months. I went to the seminar last night and some of the things they told us about people who have had lap band and it did not work so they had to go back in for the other surgery and such. I am really confused. I am trying to make an INFORMED decision but I am telling you I am getting more confused as this goes along. Please give me some advise and share some of your experiences. I have read and read and read and read some more on different forums and I just don't know what to do. :phanvan

Hello, this is a frequent question and certainly a valid concern. I'm going to list a number of threads that discuss banding versus bypass and hopefully reading what lots of other folks have struggled with will help you in some way. Also, you have to remember the band is not a magic cure-all. The band will not cause you to lose weight like the bypass does. The bypass works because you are starving, actually malnourishing your body. But the body can really only be fooled for so long, it's a smart machine. You ever know anyone who had bypass and then a few years later they are gaining again? The body knows, and it adjusts after a while. The band MUST be worked. You still have to make good food choices. The bypass sort of keeps you honest, for a while, about things like sweets (dumping syndrome). But again, that can fade. The band requires work, it does help with portion control. You still need to exercise and do all the things you would normally need to do to lose weight. The band is a tool. But it is REVERSIBLE, it does not require removal of any part of an organ, and if it fails, it can always be converted to bypass or another procedure later.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=32584

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=32616

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=32079

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30997

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=28724

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=28690

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=27483

Thanks so much for the thread links. My thinking is the same as yours. I REALLY like the band. Just a BIG life changing decision and I am afraid of making the 'wrong' choice. I think I just need to listen to my instinct. My thinking is that I didn;t want by-pass because I do not want to loss that fast. That just freaks me out. (not that it is not something good for others-I just don't feel it is right for me) I guess I am still one of those people that think 'if you loss it to fast it is to good to be true and it will come back plus some extra. The whole thing with the cutting and rerouting scares me. I have always tried to be an active person and if I could just get about 50 pounds off I would be motivated to MOVE again. I have lost weight the old fashioned way SEVERAL times but once I slack off on the exercising I always gain it back. I want to do it the 'right' way and I think the band would be just what I would need to be able to do that. Thanks again for the information. It helps alot knowing others are out there that struggle or have struggled with the same things.

Keep in mind one issue. When people have bypass many (most?) lose a LOT of weight quickly. The thing that doesn't come out is that within about 5 years the body starts to compensate for the loss of intestinal tissue and it makes MORE! Not all malabsorption is forever. The body replaces SOME of the "removed" tissue.

So within a few years you'll be back to diet and exercise.

With the band if you start to gain later, you get another fill. No big deal.

If I could lose weight and KEEP it off via diet and exercise, I wouldn't NEED any type of WLS. But maybe you are different.

The first few inches of intestine absorb Calcium and Vitamin B12. Does it make sense to you to have to take a great deal of suppliments since your body no longer absorbs it naturally? If that makes sense to you, have bypass done.

Look at the stats. When people have revision surgery they aren't typically going from band to bypass. But they ARE typically going from bypass to band.

Perhaps the 2nd question you need to ask yourself is how many weight loss procedures you want in your life?