i met with the surgeon today and he is all for the bypass. he said that only 1 out of 6 people succeed with the band and that i will probably only lose about 50 pounds and i need to lose 140. he said that the bypass would be better and that hes not a huge fan of the band. now what? this whole time ive been totally committed to having the band and now he is trying to convince me to do the bypass. also my bmi is 49 and he wont do the band on people who is over 50 talk about being close. i went to work today and talked to my boss who also is a doctor and she told me today that she feels that the band wont work and that the bypass is the way to go and that i am taking the shortcut by doing the band. im so confused. i feel so disappointed with my visit to the doctor today. any comments?

andrea

I personaly would ask another doctor.

If you WANT the lap band then I would get a second opinion.

Go with your gut. Do you want the Band or do you want Bypass? If you want the band, remember the doctor works FOR YOU. Write down your reasons for each, and then look at them. There are simply LOADS of threads here where folks have written why they chose Band over bypass, do a search and peruse some of them again. Look through Alex's News thread and find the data about band vs. bypass five years out. Then print it and take it to the doctor if you have to.

The only way I'd ever have the bypass is if something were medically wrong with me that I HAD to lose weight FAST. Other than that there is no way you could have convinced me to have bypass. There are LOADS of folks here who have BMI's greater than 50 and are VERY successful with the band. I'd find a new surgeon.

For a few of the band vs bypass threads, scrool down to the bottom of this page, there's a few listed there with links. Hope this helps!

If it helps you out my BMI is 63 my doctor and surgion both think the band is healthier for me because they dont want me dropping too fast. I would prefer the 1-2 pounds / week vs the quick loss and possible regain of it all.

You can see as many surgions as you want till you find one you like and trust. If you dont trust your surgion or your surgion is pushing you for something you dont want. I would find someone who is willing to help you get what you want and need

thanks faithmd ill look at those sites. there is only one other doctor who does the band here and i heard she has the same approach as the surgeon i had today. i heard that she prefers the bypass also. i just dont know if i should stay with my surgeon if hes is so negative about the lapband

andrea

thanks cerrin, i dont really have alot of choices as far as doctors but i will do some research maybe i can find someone further away

andrea

If you have the option to go somewhere else for the surgery I would look into it. This is your life. Dont let others decide for you.If you want the band then I would see if you had family and/or friends somewhere else where you could stay for a few days.

I could not even consider the by-pass just because it is non-reversable. it just scared me too much.

:mad:Reading your post makes me angry! Not at you, but at your surgeon. How dare they try to discourage you from the lapband. Maybe its me, but the bypass is the more expensive procedure so it makes me wonder why the doctor seems to be promoting it over the lapband. I haven't had the surgery yet because I have to go through a 3 month process of meeting with the surgeon, psychiatrist, nutritionist, etc.., but after much research on the internet, talking to my doctor, and going to both the lapband and bypass seminars, I made the decision to go with the lapband and have stuck to that decision. This website was so helpful in me making my final decision. It took me two years to make a decision. If I had known about this website then, I guarantee you I would have had the lapband by now. I hope to have my surgery by the end of October or early November, and I am so excited and looking forward to it.

I encourage you to read everything you can on this website and ask as many questions as you want. So many people are willing to share their stories and experiences and provide support and encouragement. If you can't get that from your doctor or family, you can definitely get it here. Just think of everyone here as your "extended family". It doesn't matter if we don't know each other personally, we care about each other as bandsters and future bandsters. So please take advantage of everything on this site. Its worth it and so are you!

:eek:

When I went to the required seminar with my surgeon, he said that just as many people are having the band now that are having the gastric bypass. He supported both methods of wls, and he is a national proctor for the lap band. Ultimately it is your decision. If I were you, I would look for a surgeon outside of your area. One that is affiliated with a group surgeons, perhaps.

I personally know someone whose BMI was WAY over 50, he had the lap band and since January 2006 has lost almost 200 pounds. I've read that with the lap band, you must be more disciplined and patient with a slower weight loss. From all the threads I've read here, I'd say that the vast majority of bandsters are very happy with their decision.

Good luck.

Like I said my BMI is 63 my dr's told me they would prefer I get the band because they want me to lose the weight slower and learn the good behavors. And this tool will be my reminder to do that.

I was also going to say it may be over the $$$ issues. The bypass is by far a more costly procedure. My doc also favors bypass, but she agreed with me as far as my wanting the band in my own situation. I gave her my reason for wanting the band, and she completely understands and knows that you have to do what is good for you, and you only.

I went looking around the net for the statistics and reference to weight loss surgeries in Australia for you to present to your doc and husband. Here's a snippet from Wikipedia that includes the article it came from:

The LAP-BAND in Australia

According to an August 2006 article in The Medical Journal of Australia [1], over 90% of weight loss surgeries in Australia are installations of the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. Some of the more interesting findings in the study are these:

Our group has treated more than 2700 severely obese patients with the LAGB procedure since 1994 without a single perioperative death. In contrast, mortality from RYGB is reported at between 0 and 5%, with the ASERNIP-S systematic review showing a mean short-term mortality rate of 0.5% — ten times the risk of LAGB. [...]

All bariatric procedures have been able to achieve loss of more than 50% of excess weight. The ASERNIP-S systematic review showed greater weight loss after RYGB than LAGB during the first 2 years after the procedure, but the difference in weight loss was not significant at 3 and 4 years. In a recent review, we extended the data of the ASERNIP-S review by including all studies that included at least 50 patients, reported up to March 2004. This showed a substantial weight loss after both procedures, with an initial greater weight loss after RYGB but similar effectiveness for both procedures at 4, 5 and 6 years.

I include this to point out that in Oz

90% of weight loss surgery is the

BAND

NOT

Bypass!

They have been using the band for over 10 years. Very forward thinking. We are (as usual) behind the 8-ball here in the US.

Here's something for you to think about...my doctor and his parnter will NOT preform Gastric By-pass. You can check out their website to see why.

Lap Band Surgery Texarkana- Serving Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana

My BMI was 52 when I had my surgery in June. I have already lost 50lbs and even if it's all I lose (which I seriously doubt) I'm okay with it. I feel wonderful and it's getting better each day.

Go with you gut. You're the only one who will have to live and cope with you decision in the end.

Good Luck!

i met with the surgeon today and he is all for the bypass. he said that only 1 out of 6 people succeed with the band and that i will probably only lose about 50 pounds and i need to lose 140. he said that the bypass would be better and that hes not a huge fan of the band. now what? this whole time ive been totally committed to having the band and now he is trying to convince me to do the bypass. also my bmi is 49 and he wont do the band on people who is over 50 talk about being close. i went to work today and talked to my boss who also is a doctor and she told me today that she feels that the band wont work and that the bypass is the way to go and that i am taking the shortcut by doing the band. im so confused. i feel so disappointed with my visit to the doctor today. any comments?

andrea

My comment is sort of harsh:

Doctors earn more money for doing bypass operations, and that may sway their opinions.

My starting BMI was 73.2, and I am living proof that your doctor and your boss are wrong.

My doctor had the RNY himself, and was really a huge fan of it.

In my group meeting, I was the only one there interested in lap-band.. and he kept going on and on about how he thinks RNY is better.

But I chose lap-band, and he supported me on it.. He said he would rather give his daughter RNY than lap-band.

I asked him point blank, why?

And his theory was that lap-band is adding a foreign object to your body, which is risky, yadda yadda.

But my brain says.. yeah but at least my insides aren't mutilated and deformed.. Said lap-band can be removed, you can't undo all that butchering

If you WANT the lap-band, find a doctor who will support that decision.