Lap Band or Bypass?

[Leslee 0]

I am seeing my surgeon on 6/17 and still have not decided between bypass or lap band surgery. It seems everyone who chose the lap band is throwing up, sliming or feeling uncomforatble. I need to loose about 100 pounds. Any thoughts?

[lucy200283 0]

i know i am only newly banded.. BUT.. one of my BF and both my mother in law and father in law.. all had the bypass and i will tell you from first hand they get sick WAY more than any banded person i know...

i understand things don't get stuck with the bypass but if u eat anything that ur new stomach doesn't agree with it will come back up...

my FIL can't eat hardly any meat... and my BF can't touch any sugars...

i don't know about you but i enjoy being in control of my body.. at least with the band i am in control and if i want to eat a piece of cake at a wedding or birthday party i can.... i just know that i must be responsible for all my choices and make up for it through the rest of the day...

Good luck on your decision!

[BeckyinTexas 3]

Just my personal opinion but you did ask....I've had great success with my lap band. I've had it 3 years and have very few problems. You simply have to work with it and let it work for you. The only time I ever throw up or slim is...when I eat too fast and not chew enough or eat more than I should. My trigger is my nose runs and if I take one bite after than, it never fails I throw up. I choose the lapband over gastric because of the recovery time and other advantages that I learned about. I had two friends that had the gastric bypass close to the same time I had my lap band and granted they lost a lot of weight but they are now both gaining it back. One has already gained back 75 pounds of the 190 she lost. She is now checking into getting the lap band procedure. Lap band vs. gastric, you have to do your research on both but I definitely wouldn't change my decision to go with the lap band for anything! Good luck.

[salsa1877 10]

I have lost 100 pounds in less than 10 months and I have only slimmed/pb'd twice...and that is because I ate too fast and didn't chew enough.

I would rather do this than go through the dumping syndrome that some of the bypass patients have. Also, all of my nutritional levels are right where they should be because this is a restrictive procedure and not a malabsorptive procedure.

I chose this surgery because there were less risks involved.

[Long2BFree 12]

It only seems like a lot of people are having problems to you because this is one of the few places people with LB can come and share. It's a small percentage in comparison to the number who have been banded. Two of my cousins have been banded for a few years and don't have problems, but I have an Aunt who had GB 20 years ago and she's had nothing but problems since her surgery. My friend had GB a year ago and though she looks great had to have emergency surgery 2 days after being banded because she was throwing up. The surgeon had to go in and make some adjustments. She also has regular dizzy spells and heart palputations since GPS.

[ShalomToAll 0]

They are both great surgeries but one must weigh the pros and cons and figure out what is best for them. It's great that you are doing your homework.

I have the lapband. For me, it has been a slow process of losing weight (compared to others I know who are banded and have lost more than I have so far!). However, there is very little "suffering" involved with the band. I occasionally throw up, and only if I eat too much or too fast...but it is not a regular thing for me. The one con I have with the band (for ME) is that it is easy to cheat - ice cream, sweets - they slide right down at times. If my willpower is down, the lapband lets me cheat. Unfortunately, my brain is not banded, only my stomach is! But, it is still the best tool I have ever had. It is a built in tool that stays with you forever and I like the adjustability of it. After maintaining for six weeks with no further loss, and too much eating on my part, I had a fill yesterday and now the restriction will keep me from eating as much.

I have a couple friends that had bypass. One was VERY successful and has kept it all off, though she does have dumping syndrome a lot and runs to the bathroom sick when she eats too much sugar. The other one, my bro in law, has regained ALL of the weight he lost on the bypass. it took him a few years to regain it all, but he did. It's sooo sad.

I guess in the end, one must commit to the new lifestyle that comes with the surgery and must accept the strengths and limitations of the one they choose. They both have strong followings and many success stories!

[lotzasunshine 2]

Personally I felt that the LB would be the way to go. I like the idea of it being minimally invasive and has a shorter recovery time. you are right about people PB'ing and having problems with the band, but I have noticed that most of the time it is because of eating too fast, too much, or being too tight. I know that for some it doesn't seem to work at all, but I sure hope it works for me!!

The Bypass procedure is VERY invasive. But for some people it works with no horrible side effects. I have seen both sides of it. My aunt had GB and started having troubles about a year after. She lost the weight, but now she is permanently on a feeding tube. My uncle (her husband) also had a GB about a year after she did, and is doing wonderfully.

Like I said, I think it depends on the person, but please think long and hard about your decision and remember that a lap-band is completely reversable, and the Gastric Bypass is not.

[juliegeraci 7]

The stats are 60% weight loss with lapband the first year and 85% weight loss with bypass. At year 3 they are the same at around 65-70%. Bypass patients typically gain weight back. Good luck with your decision.

[KelinTx 1]

My decision to have Lap Band surgery was based on it being a minimally invasive surgery with a short recovery time. I was up and about just hours after having the procedure preformed with no significant pain to speak of. Ive been problem free the entire journey thus far! (knock on wood) Without a doubt i feel ive had the same results with Lap Band surgery as i would have with a bypass.

[tommaney 0]

If you're considering a major surgery like Bypass, also check into the other WLS like Vertical Sleeve and Duodenal Switch. I'm not positive about the research but I believe DS people may be gaining less back in the long term. Of course, there's more risks to it. You can get info and see flash animations of many surgeries this website:John Husted, M.D. - Weight Loss Surgery procedures including: Gastric Bypass, Lapband, Veritcal Sleeve Gastectomy, Duodenal Switch, Vergito / Ileal Transposition and Bariatric Revision surgeries. Located in San Francisco, John Husted is the doctor fo.

I'm not advocating any one over the other for you since I don't know you. I just suggest knowing about allll your options in case you have a dr. that does not do the other surgeries.

[mickeymammoth 0]

I went to my nutrition class yesterday, and all 7 of us were lap-banders. Not a single gastric bypass patient there! I don't know if this is indicative of a trend, but I think the less invasive, adjustable quality of the Lap-band has attracted a lot of us who were put off by gastric bypass...

[kagoscuba 0]

Not even close to me. Decent possibility of death with GBP or fairly certain of walking away from the hospital on the same day with lap-band. Not that I needed GBP, having to only lose 85-90 pounds. My aunt and my babysitter have also both had the band this year, and they are both enjoying outstanding results. Personally, I liked the fact everything "stays in place," all nutrients get absorbed the same, and the main thing differently is I can't eat at the "hog trough" anymore, like I used to. It's a lot different eating out of normal sized dinnerware, rather than just sitting down on the couch with the serving bowl.

[miss woo 0]

Hi, a friend of mine had a bypass and lost about 25 stone. she went on to have plastic surgery and it went wrong and now has regained 5 stone through depression ! ! ! Having a band means that if things go wrong there is always a way forward, like another fill, unfill, removal of band or changing band for sleeve etc It's not so final and there is also a way back if you want it.

[kbinaz 0]

Nobody can answer that question but you.

I, obviously, chose the lap band so I think it is the best choice! Just be sure to really research both surgeries - believe me there are plenty of side effects to gastric bypass, too.

The bottom line for me is that I can eat pretty much everything I want to eat (as long as I eat small bites slowly) and that alone makes me glad I had the band rather than bypass.

The bottom line is - you can lose weight and be successful with either surgery. You need to make a choice then stick with it and do what you need to do to make it work.

Please, just be sure to do the research as I believe the side effects with g.b. are more numerous and more severe than l.b. (and, this is just an opinion, but I think lap banders look more healthy than gastric bypass patients - I think because of the malabsorption thing.) I feel absolutely wonderful and have never regretted my decision to go with the band.

[barbs76 0]

from having a gastric bypass, i can tell you that there are a few negatives. after the surgery, my hair got very thin and a lot fell out b/c the decreased amount of nutrition being absorbed by your intestines. I still very often get diarhea, upset stomaches and dumping with almost any combination of dairy and sweet. also, after a while the stomache stretches and you cant adjust it like the band. I hope this was helpful. good luck!!