Hi!

I have been reading in this forum and thinkng for about 4 months and had decided lap band was the way to go for me. Then I saw my doctor and he recommended the bypass. So I read about that and thought "maybe?" I am in month 4 of the pre op and cannot seem to make up my mind. It seems like lap band is so hard with fills, getting food stuck and only 2 pounds a week average loss, but the rerouting of my insides doesn't sound appealing either, nor the dumping syndrome. How did everyone decide what was right?? Is the sliming, food getting stuck, slow weigth loss that hard? Has anyone had friends or others who had the bypass, and are they having a hard time? I really need to figure this out and need your help. How did you decide ??

I know my best friend has looked into both bypass and banding. The best thing with banding is that you keep your insides the same. And once you do bypass, you are done. It can not be reversed. She and her doctor decided to try lap banding first, and if it is not successful, then she can look into bypass. Also, he stressed...that with banding you have to exercise. It is a TOOL...bypass, the weight will come off no matter if you sit on your duff or if you exercise....just some food for thought!

Thanks for your input. I am usually decisive, but there seems to be so much conflicting information. I wonder if bypass people have to watch what they eat as much and if they have as many problems. I know that banding is the best for my body, but would hate to have it fail and then have to do the bypass route. Can you evwentually eat almost whatever you want to eat after banding--not amounts, but types of foods?

Everyone ends up with a different experience no matter which surgery you choose.

I have a friend that is about four years post op, is struggling with anemia and has gained some ( maybe twenty to twenty five pounds) of the weight back. Has trouble with some Desserts with the dumping syndrome, but cheesecake( and some other desserts) are no problem.

Some gastric bypass people gain their weight back and some Lap Band gain their weight back.

For me, GBP was not an option. I could not get over the rerouting and bypassing of my stomach issue.

As far as what you can eat after. That varies, too. Some banders choose a stronger level of restriction or band fill than others and with a strong fill level, it's possible to have difficulty with a larger variety of food. But having the flexibility with the band is something that bypass don't have. Their pouch is formed and that's it. No adjustment is possible.

did your surgeon say why he thought GBP was better for you? Many surgeons prefer one procedure over another simply because they do more of them and a few might prefer it as ins. pays more. Or are they doing more Bypass because they keep recommending it?

So far, I do not slime, I have had food stuck a couple times in the beginning stage of being banded.

Why is it hard getting fills? It takes about a 10 min. appt for my fills and most of that time is talking to the PA about how I'm doing.

Yes, losing weight is slower with bands but many GBP patients look wasted and gray in the first six months from the rapid weight loss and the malabsorbtion of nutrients.

Both procedures have pros and cons. Keep reading and learning about both procedures and you'll be able to make your decision. There are forums that have more GBP people then banders, this site has mostly banders on it.

I wonder if bypass people have to watch what they eat as much and if they have as many problems.

I think they have more problems, personally. The complications after RnY are many because of the malabsorption. If you are interested, there are boards for RnY where you can lurk and see what kind of complications they have. ObesityHelp.com has boards for all the different types of surgery so you can look in on them all.