I had the mini gastric bypass 7 1/2 years ago and I had good result up until year 3. I have regained about 55 pounds of what I lost back.:cry I can't make up my mind if I should have another bypass or have a lap band placed over my stomach. I have read so many mixed reviews about the lapband. My question is are you happy happy with your lapband? Is it really helping with suppressing your appetite or do you feel hungry alot? I would appreciate any help anyone can provide.

Darnell, I've been banded 16 months and I'm down 65 lbs so far. The hunger is gone completely. I can go hours before eating. I have heard good results of lapband over bypass. Good luck.

I didn't know that a second bi-pass was possible.

I love my band but was just reading about a new procedure my Doctor is doing for bypass patients... Here is the article:

01 Sep 2007

For the first time ever, surgeons in the U.S. have performed weight loss surgery without making a single incision. It's a ground-breaking method used to revisit gastric bypass operations. It could not only help patients maintain their weight loss, it could also reduce risks in the operating room.

Like a lot of patients who undergo weight loss surgery, initial results for Millie Coleman were astounding. She lost more than half her body weight - dropping from more than 380 pounds to less than 160. But over the years, the pounds and the anxiety began creeping back into her life.

"I was terrified that I was going to end up weighing what I did before," says Coleman.

With the stress of going back to college, Millie had put back on more than 40 pounds that she'd lost after her first surgery. Doctors say that's fairly common. Gastric bypass works by creating a pouch in the stomach to hold smaller amounts of food. Over time, it can loosen.

"The pouches can stretch out probably 10 to 20% over the course of 3 to 5 years," says Dean Mikami, MD, at Ohio State University Medical Center.

Doctors often have to do follow up surgery to tighten up the pouches. But cutting the patient open again can carry a lot of risk. That's why Dr. Mikami tried a new approach. He's the first surgeon in the country to follow a gastric bypass with a revision operation that goes entirely through the patient's mouth.

"The major difference is now our patients don't receive any incisions. Instead they have a procedure that can be done as an out-patient with a much lower rate of complication," says Dr. Mikami.

By feeding tiny instruments through the mouth, doctors create pleats inside the patient's stomach to reduce its size. That helps patients limit food intake and once again lose the weight.

"I love feeling this alive. It's something I never, ever anticipated, I just dreamt about it," says Coleman.

Millie was the first patient ever in the U.S. to get the surgery. She says she was home and recovering in less than two hours. Right now, the procedure is only being done on patients who need follow-up surgery to their initial bypass operations. Surgeons at Ohio State University Medical Center say someday they would like to see it used as a first option for patients who desperately need to lose weight.

Not sure where you live or if you would be interested, but wanted to share ! Good Luck !

Where are you reading the mixed reviews about the Lap-Band? What are your main concerns with banding? If it is hunger, just know that with a proper fill, your hunger is GREATLY decreased. I get hungry, but no where near the ravenous beast that used to live in my belly. I love the Lap-Band commercial because that described me(the lion) so well. A little bit fills me up now. I still have to learn to stop eating as a result of head hunger or because something just tastes good, but the band has helped me a lot. Even though I have experienced a slip, I am VERY happy with my band. Best of luck to you in your decision.

My concerns are about the complications I keep hearing about. Also, I hear the band is easy to cheat so that worries me. I've been on plenty of diets and eventually I would cheat or quit the diet because it becomes hard and I feel like I am always denying myself.

Darnell,

good your doing your research. There are complications, but they are rare. Here is a good study. It, shows as I have read and seen in other places, that the complication rate is low. LAP-BAND: Statistics subframe

Here is another that has side-by-side risk comparison with RNY (scroll down about half way)

Compare Gastric Bypass and Lap Band Weight Loss Surgeries

Hope these help

I believe some folks can cheat more than others. It depends on your band, your fill level, and with what you're trying to cheat. As previous said, the band can definitely lessen the 'hungry beast' within you. I've had my since 4 May 07, and I'm down 50 pounds. Had a few issues with food I couldn't eat or tolerate, but all in all I would change a thing!

Good luck with what you decide to do!!!

janet :-)

In my support group we had a woman who had gastric bypass surgery 7 years ago and gained back most of the weight. We were told buy the surgeon that no matter what surgery you choose there is the possibilty that the weight can be put back on. This is only a tool (a very good one though) any stomach can be stretched. This woman will not know which surgery she will be waking up with until the doctor gets in there and determines what his options are with scar tissue and what the previous surgeon did. I asked her why she was going through it again and what will be different. She said seven years ago she had no education about the surgery and was sent home with no information and only one follow up appointment to check her incision. Now by the time you have the surgery you have been going through about a year of classes and group meetings and nutrition appointments. I think these things better prepare you for what's ahead. The bottom line is that no matter what you decide it is still up to you to make it work.

Good luck to you.

Bekkie

Also, I hear the band is easy to cheat so that worries me. I've been on plenty of diets and eventually I would cheat or quit the diet because it becomes hard and I feel like I am always denying myself.

Darnell, do you still experience dumping with your bypass? If you still dump, do you dump easily, or can you eat a fair amount of sugar?

Your ability to cheat could be moderated by this. Adding a band won't do anything to change the lasting effects of your bypass. The band is all about portion control. When properly restricted, you won't be able to eat very much. But we don't have the "automatic" control that the bypass procedures can give, in that we can physically digest and absorb everything we eat.

You had your bypass a while ago. Do you remember early on, when just a few bites of food would fill you up? That's what the band is like, only the full sensation is longer term. EVERYONE I know who has had the bypass can eat more than me (quantity) and less than me (selection). If, over time, the full sensation takes longer to achieve, you go get more fill and there it is again.

Like you, we can stretch. You do have to pay attention to what your body is telling you, and how much you're eating. And even then, it may not tell you anything.

I'm t-i-g-h-t during the day, up until early evening. Come evening, I'm o-p-e-n. I can eat WAY more than a bandster 'should' be able to eat if I wait until evening. But come the next morning, I'm still going to slime over two bites of yogurt. What helps is that my stomach has become accustomed to small meals and in the evening, even though I physcally can eat more, I don't need to.

Thanks Weetsin... you've Enlightened me on many facts I wasn't aware of: on this and other threads; THINGS I ACTUALLY should have know BEFORE my banding.

BUT, maybe, if I had known, I would have talked myself out of it, probably becoming too scared of the restriction.

I've had a great post-op, from no pain to a not-so-bad liquid stage. I'm only on day 7 and I feel tons better. I feel like I've lost 15 pounds. (will know better when I see the doc tomorrow and find a scale that goes up to 350).

Good Luck, Darnell

Not to be confused, I hear it said but I don't think people realize.. YOU DO HAVE TO PARTICIPATE. You really do.

I am overfilled at the moment, waiting for my unfill. I don't know what proper restriction is suppose to feel like (hopefully MONDAY!!).. but.. at an overfilled stand point, I can't get the 'good foods' to go down. chicken, forget about it. Anything remotely healthy hurts.

But chips, Snacks, ice cream? Not a problem.

My solution for this, is I don't keep things in the house that would tempt me, because I can't resist temptation at home. Outside of my home, I'm pretty darn good.. but in my walls I get grazey feeling, especially right now when I can't eat right.

So if I had them around, I could be eating all kinds of junk food with no problems. So you do have to do something about your eating habits. My solution for now is not to tempt myself. Before I was over-filled, I wasn't craving junk food.. I think I only crave it now since it's all I can get down. But if you have a serious tooth for junk, and you can't tell yourself no, I don't think the band will work well. Have to confront the demons first.

That being said, I can't eat fast food anymore (over filled or not). I don't drink cokes (for fear of messing it up.. but again, something you could get around if you wanted to, and thus sabotaging your success). These are big changes for me, we ate fastfood at LEAST once a day pre-banding. And cokes, all day long.

No WLS is a sure thing. It takes work. Takes changing your eating lifestyle.

I do get hungry a lot, head hunger or what, I still am trying to decide. But when I eat, I can't eat a whole lot.

Yeh, in pre-surgery meetings, group, appointments with the Nutritionist... that's what they stressed most of all... that it's a lifestyle change.

You had to begin to document what you ate pre-surgery and then slowly or radically (like I did), eliminate and replace.

I was not allowed to gain any weight whatsoever or the surgery would be off, and proof that I could not do it. If I maintained, that was acceptable. I lost 5 pounds.

All junk and temptation left my house (my husband son had too loose too). I began REALLY reading the food labels. Choosing what my nutritionist suggested.

Now we ate out all the time, from fast food to restaurants. The more weight I gained, the harder it was to stand at the stove or run around the kitchen to cook was.

I think I gained my last 50 pounds from eating out way way way too much AND I think that's my son's problem too (who's working on losing 30 pounds).

So once I stabilize my legs, I'll be back in the kitchen cooking (I loved to cook). AND that won't be until I'm at the solid food stage.

I agree, a commitment has to be made. I had a lady at work ask me about my surgery and has in fact got an appointment for a consultation with my Dr. Last night she asked me if she would have to give up pizza, because if she did, she didn't know if she wnated to do it. I had to remind her that pizza isn't healthy even without the band (for the most part) and that she may or may not be able to eat pizza after the band, but more importantly, she needed to be ready to make big changes and be willing to give up some things for her health. As its been said many time, this is not a quick or easiy fix. Its a tool that takes committment.

What is this procedure called and where can I learn more about it?