Hi everyone, i just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Joyce and I live in Newark, New Jersey.

I have had my consult and to the seminar. Plan on going to seminar again. The Dr. feels that the bypass would be better then the band. I am not afraid to have surgery. Surgery date is Sept 20.

But, what do you think.

Dr. is Karl Strom from Mountainside Hospital in Montclair.

Thank You for the help.

it's really such a personal thing. You should get a really good understanding as to why he prefers one over the other for you.

Personally, I wanted to know that it wasn't permanent, it was adjustable and most importantly, LapBand ensures that you utilize your entire stomach, where G-bypass doesn't. My doctor used to do G-bypass but said that there were too many complications and now he only does Lapband.

This is your life, make sure you have ALL the information you need. Maybe see a different doctor as well.

Best of luck with your decision.

The reason for the bypass is that I will lose weight faster.

I know someone who had g-bypass. She said this to me. In her opinion, she had terrrible eating habits and so lapband would be too difficult for her, that's why she chose the bypass. But, she also said that if she and I had our respective surgeries on the same day and had the same amount of weight to lose, in a year we would have lost the same amount of weight but she would have lost hers in the first 6 months.

Just remember, there may not be more complications with bypass than with lapband, but with bypass the complications can definitely be more serious.

Do a search of all the boards on this site and look for threads with this issue as the subject...... quickly this was my reason.

I have two RL close friends that both had the RNY one is 4 years out and one is 2. Friend that is 4 years PO has gained back almost all of the 120 lbs she lost because she never suffered from the Dumping and could eat anything. She is horrible about taking her vitimins and subsequently suffered a lot of depression mostly due to regaining her weight after all the money and crap she went through......... she is considering getting banded now. Friend 2, has lost over 120lbs and just had a tummy tuck and boob lift and looks awesome. She stays away from the dumping foods and has done extremely well.................. I knew RNY wasn't for me because...

1. I want all my innards to stay intact and there if I need them later in life.

2. Taking 4-6 weeks off work is not an option, with my band I had surgery on Thursday and was back to my desk job on Monday. My boss has no clue as I just took 2 days of PTO and that was it.

3. My issue is portion control, and I want to be able to get a fill 1, 2, 10 years down the line if I see myself being able to eat to much, where as with the RNY you CAN restretch your pouch

4. Insurance paid for it.

5. It can be unfilled in times of medical need or pregnacy

6. Any general surgeon can remove it in an emergency.. vs the bypass which is forever.

To answer the weight question... Just do a search for BOO, JulieinNYC, Neal )OUsooner, and many many many others they have lost well over 100 lbs and in some cases over 200 lbs...

My doc says average weight loss is 1-3 pounds per week........ so that is 52-150+ in a year........ and in my book that is fast enough

Good luck in whatever decision you make. Afterall it is YOUR journey and no one elses.

Thank you all so much. I would much rather have the band.

I always told myself that I would never do the bypass... too risky and too many complications. I know a couple of people who have succeeded with it, but then again, I know those who don't.

The band is so much less invasive. I had surgery on 4/24/07 (Tuesday) and was back on 4/26/07 (Thursday). I had hoped to have surgery on a Thursday to allow a full weekend to recover. The worst part of going back to work (I have primarily a desk job) was overcoming the anesthesia. It takes a good couple of days for it to clear your body. By Friday, I was 100% back to myself again.

If you had asked me a couple of years ago (before knowing about Lapband), I would have told you I would never do it. After finding out about Lapband, I jumped on it. It is so much healthier to lose the weight over a course of time (1-2 pounds per week) that to lose it in 6 months. Gastric is definitely malabsorptive where the band allows you to still obtain all your nutrients

Lapband is a tool... it is a total lifestyle change.