I met with the surgeon on 1/11/08 to jump through my last hoop, before getting approval with insurance. She felt that the bypass surgery would benefit me more than the band. And since I didnt have any other health conditions, other than the weight that there was no reason to not do the bypass. She said she would do what ever surgery I wanted, but felt that I would have a better outcome with the bypass. I plan to attened an information mtg about the bypass and than make my decision. Has this ever happened to any of you and what choice did you make??

CONFUSED:eek:

You have to make whatever decision that is right for you. Get knowledge on both and pray ask God. He will guide you to the right decision.

My surgeon recc. the bypass for me, as it's easier to loose weight with the bypass. I was against having it done, not due to other health issues but due to the riskiness of the surgery in general as well as its side effects.

Stick to what you think will work best for you. Afterall it's your body that has to live with the operation, not your doctor's.

I was swayed by the time it takes to recover. Lapband was a faster recovery. Also, I have no problem playing my part with the band. I dont have an issue staying away from junk food I just have an issue with appetite. I felt i could be successful with the band.

yes its best you go to an informational meeting but if your lookin what we think about it. ill tell you what made me choose the band over bypass. the bypass has more surgergical and more of a death risk than the band. the band is reversible the bypass isnt so if there is a problem with the band it can be taken out. the band is less invasive. the bypass requires more hosp stay and days off work and more pain with recovery. the band one night in hospital recovery time maybe a week and maybe a week off work. with the bypass you have more excess skin even with excercise because the bypass is meant for oyu to lose weight. the band you will lose slower but its better for you cause youll have less excess skin. The bypass is good for people with high amounts of weight to lose it works better for them like over 400+ or more weight to lose but the band is more for people that have weight to lose but not over that amt.

there are so many things to research. hope this helps a little bit. id be writing you a book but its something for you to think about. hope this helps.

Really, do your homework. There are pluses and minuses to both procedures. Obviously, since I have the band that was what I decided was the right choice for me; in fact, I never would even consider bypass. If my BMI had been higher and I had more severe co-morbidities, I might have felt differently.

Just be careful that your doctor isn't recommending the gb surgery because that is what she is more comfortable and familiar with. I would ask her specifically why she feels gb is better than lap band for you, and if there were any patients that she has recommended lap band for. If she is just dead set against lap band for anyone, I would look for a second opinion and evaluate with two opinions to consider. If she has good reasons why she feels you should have gb and they agree with accepted medical opinion, that would put a different light on the situation. As with most things, there is no "one size fits all" answer.

My doctor tried to convince me that bypass would be better but I didn't want my insides rearranged so I stuck with the Lap Band. I love my doc and he is great but this is a business for them and bypass is more invasive and costs more. My cousin had bypass and she lost a ton of weight and has kept it off but she has serious health issues due to the bypass. Your body only absurbs 1/2 the calories and nutrition of the tiny amount of food you eat and causes malnurishment (sp?). I'm not saying that bypass is bad but you need to be aware of these issues and plan accordingly. I also work with someone that had bypass and gained 80% of her weight back. Some bypass patients actually end up getting a Lap Band to help lose the weight they gained back.

I am not being negative about GB but do your research before you make a decision.

Good Luck!

did you ask her why she felt bypass was better for you and what it could offer you over the band?

Bypass is more expensive, will she get paid more? Don;t want to imply that was the only motive for that comment, but sometimes you just never know what their thinking.

Dr's are regular people too, with issues etc.

I went to a plastic surgeon about something and asked if a small second procedure would help inhance the first requested surgery to get the results I wanted and he said " well yes we could do that second procedure". Well, I know he can do it, but the question was would it help me get better results... he didn;t answer that. I of course would have paid more for the added on procedure.

Just a thought.

I too was told I would be more successful with RNY by a surgeon I consulted. Needless to say I didn't go back to that surgeon, she was not listening to me, and what I wanted.

I have a HUGE sweet tooth and RNY has dumping syndrome. So yeah, of course that would be an easier fix for that issue. But I was not willing to cut up my innards. Period. Not an option for me. And I don't care that the lap band takes longer to lose. I don't want to be malnourished and drop 100 lbs in a few months. That is NOT healthy.

I am very excited for my upcoming surgery and have already kicked my sweet tooth out of my life. No sugar or sweets in a month! The lap band will give me the control I need when it comes to portions.

You have to do what you are comfortable with. Don't let anyone talk you out of or in to something else.

Do your research! Figure out what you think will work for you. The only right answer is what is RIGHT for YOU.

Since you asked I'll share my experience too, but like many others said, you have to do what's right for you because only YOU know what's best based on your individual circumstances.

Several years ago I looked into weight loss surgery and I had about 125 pounds to lose. the doctor advised me that he would only do the gastric bypass on me because he only did lapband on people with less than 100 to lose. He said this was the gold standard in weight loss. Well, it didn't get approved by insurance and we were changing to spouses insurance anyway so I didn't appeal.

Several years later I looked into it again & was able to get approval with insurance. This doctor told me in his opinion the time for gastric bypass had passed and the gold standard in weight loss surgery was the lapband- because of it's strong advantages- less recovery time, less complications & side effects, no malabsorbtion, and it's reversible if there was a problem. By this time I had 150 to lose. He said the lapband works for heavier patients than me. When I then shared with him what the previous doctor had said, he said "you know the doctors make more money off of the gastric bypass". It was interesting to hear from a doctor. Even today I still read plenty about people who have lost more weight than me with the lapband. I've also read about a few who have went on to have gb if the lapband wasn't successful for them. So at least, there was another option; as opposed to gb where there's not a lot of places to go afterwards.

Again, not aagainst the bypass- I think anything that helps people lose weight & lead a healthier life should be validly examined. Like others said, look at your options, get all your information & then decide what will work best for you! Good luck!

I hope that your decision will be one that you will feel at peace with. It's a hard enough decision when one is considering having WLS in general, so I could imagine that deciding between LB and GB is a thousand times more difficult.

A while ago I came across a post by a very successful bandster, Wasabubblebutt. She had shared a link for a website that gives a side by side comparison of four WLS. I hope this information helps making an educated decision easier for you:

Weight-Loss Surgeries Compared

Thanks for all you guys input... My surgeon specializes in Lap-Band and teaches doctors from all over how to do it, with a robot even.. She also does GB and the sleeve. She felt that I would have better success with the GB. She usally recommends the Band for patients who dont quailify for GB. She felt that with my age and young children that driving 2 hours for fills and most likely having to have repeat bands in the next 50 years, more of a disadvantage. My mom agreed with her, just like pacemakers, artificial joints, ect. they eventually need to be replaced. She felt that if I was going to make the comitment to weight loss and go through with a surgery, why not do the surgery that uses both restriction and malabsorpbtion(sp?). She said the decision is mine... so here I am weighing out my options. I didnt even look into the GB, I thought the band would be enough, and less invasive. So now Im going to do more research and weigh out both options. Its so hard to have wrapped my mind around the band, and now to look at other options. Its probably a good thing, now when I make my final decision, it will be a very educated one.

Thanks

thanks for the web site, what a great tool to see the info side by side

Thanks again

On my last pre-surgery visit, my surgeon also recommended the gastric bypass for me--mostly because of my acid reflux, which he said can become worse with the Band. (Then he said his only option would be the sleeve)

But with my age, I opted to go for the less invasive procedure. But you are young--go to your seminar and read everything you can on both--there are bound to be some bypass websites too--

I know you will make the best decision for you. My very best to you, m'dear...:smile:

thanks for the web site, what a great tool to see the info side by side

Thanks again

No problem! When you make your decision, please share!

I had terrible heartburn for years and had an upper GI series that showed a hiatal hernia.

The surgeon repaired the hernia when he placed the band and so far no more heartburn!

Plus, I have found even with only a small weight loss, my bladder can go longer between stops.... now if my knee would feel better, ( i had a torn menicus, repaired but have never gotten back to 100%) I'd really be amazed!