Hi All. I had my seminar with the Doc and his nutritionist. I was dead set on getting the band, but after the seminar, and going through the pros and cons, I don't know. He didn't try to influence us in any way. He just went over the pros and cons.

He said with the band you can only expect to lose 45-55% of your excess weight, whereas 65-75% with gastric bypass. He said it takes sometimes 2-3 years to lose it with the band, and 1 year with gastric bypass.

I also have GERD, which he said could be a contraindication to the band. With the gastric bypass it is totally eliminated.

He also does not do a fill at all until approximately 6-8 weeks after surgery.

Thanks. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Susan

I have a sister who the bypass 20 years ago-she gradually ate her way through the procedure and gained back all the weight she had lost. The gastric bypass is a surgery with all the complications that surgeries can entail. I had the lapband as it is a procedure that is less invasive (I went in at 6:00am and was home by 3pm same day.) My sister had vitamin deficiency problems as are a known problem-and lost alot of hair. There aren't vitamin absorbtion problems with the lapband as nothing is removed. My MD told me that my reflux would likely improve due to weight loss and it wasn't a contraindication according to my MD in Chicago.