Im a newbie here and hope you all have some advice for me. I am approved for RNY and have a surgery date, but just found out my insurance will now approve Lap banding. Now Im not sure which surgery to have. I am leaning toward Banding because Im not sure I would like having my guts rearranged but am afraid I wont have the will power to maximize the potential of the band. I mean if I had the will power I probably wouldnt have gotten fat in the first place. Any thoughts?

MaMa Motz

Wow you read my mind, I was thinking the same exact thought... looking forward to responses on here

GBP does not guarantee long term weight loss success nor does lap band without being very vigilant about following post op rules and exercising.

Many GBP struggle to maintain their weight loss as do many lap banders.

so what's the difference? Lap band: No re-routing of internal organs, no malabsorption of nutrients, less risky surgery and a slightly faster recovery, but slower initial weight loss.

Check out forums for GBP patients and check the ones that have been banded over a year and you'll find many that struggle with re-gaining weight, just like you'll find some on this forum among the lap banders.

For me, the less risky procedure was the one for me, becasue both require us to work WITH which ever procedure we choose, not work against it.

I was very nervous about the long term complications associated with malabsorption.

Just offering my two cents. There are other older threads on the forum about this subject. Try typing the subject in an "advanced search" at upper right of forum page.

Best of luck in which ever procedure you decide is right for you.

you can do it with the band. i could have gotten either surgery and chose the band, for the reason that i didnt want my insides rearranged. with rny the weight loss will be quicker but over a 5 year period the stats are pretty much the same in weight loss for both. i'm thrilled with the band. if i can eat too much i get a fill and its tighter. if i cant eat enough (imagine that) i can get an unfill and my band lets me take in more food.

I was given the option of picking which surgery I wanted also, my insurance approved either one. But I'm choosing LapBand (My surgery date is March 4th.)

The thought of my guts being rearranged and rerouted and the possibility of the staples leaking just scared me for RNY. I've asked everyone I know that's had WLS, why they chose the surgery they did and the ones that picked RNY mostly said they wanted to see fast results. Well that's all and good but I look at it this way - I didn't put all this weight on in 6 months so therefore I don't expect for it all (or most) to come off in 6 months. If I can lose 10 lbs a month, maybe a little more, and do it healthy, then that's the way I want to go. Also - and this is just my opinion, if you lose the weight that fast (like with RNY), the chance of loose skin is more possible. Losing at a little slower rate and exercising will hopefully help with that. Now that's not to say I or anyone else having LapBand won't have to get skin removed in 2 years or more, but it just seems less of a problem with LapBand. - Again, this is just my 2 cents worth.