I am supposed to meet with the surgeon to talk about my surgery. That office assumes that I should have already made my decision and that I should be calling them to schedule "which" surgery I want; lapband or gastric bypass. I thought that I should be discussing my options WITH the surgeon. Does anyone else think this is weird? But the bigger question is, if you can do lap band surgery, why would you ever want to do gastric bypass? I hear that after 3 years the weight loss is similar and with lap band I don't have to worry about putting 'seams' in places that were not meant to have seams.

First, I agree that you should be educated before making your decision. I went to seminars and did research prior to scheduling a consultation with my surgeon.

There are definitely people who would do better with bypass. While the Lap Band is less invasive and it is a great weight loss tool, it still requires a good deal of discipline in order to have sucessful weight loss.

First, I agree that you should be educated before making your decision. I went to seminars and did research prior to scheduling a consultation with my surgeon.

There are definitely people who would do better with bypass. While the Lap Band is less invasive and it is a great weight loss tool, it still requires a good deal of discipline in order to have sucessful weight loss.

Amen on the discipline part!! I'm really starting to realize how much work this band does require!! Great job btw Jodi on almost being to goal!!!!!!

the band does require a lot more discipline...but the bypass loss isn't as easy as some people think (i was of those people)....my best friend had bypass surgery about 5 weeks ago now...she has the wrong mindset...which is a huge problem for any wls...but she has lost 26 pounds in 4 weeks...which is excellent...but i myself and plenty of other lap banders have lost just as much if not more in 4 weeks...any loss is great!!!!!!!!! she has also made 3 trips to the hospital...2day is her 3rd trip....she has not pooped for 9 days...i wouldn't have let it go that long...it seems to me that there r a lot of complications for SOME bypass patients after the surgery ....wls will work 4 u as long as u work with it

I agree also. I did research and kinda had my mind made up to do the lap band but my dr would discuss both and felt that the band was a great option for me. If he had thought the bypass was better he would've suggested that instead. I would totally think you should be able to discuss both options with the dr to get a better outlook on both. good luck!!! BANDSTERS RULE...LOL

My surgeon told me that I was not a candidate for bypass on the basis that I am young and simply not big enough to warrant it; but that I am an ideal cadidate for banding.

The very reason I was attracted to banding is also the very reason why I am going through with it; because it is non-invasive and, should something go wrong, reversible!

You know overall the bypass is the same as the band, it gives you basically the same size stomach, just that ours is safer. If when they take part of your stomach and stitch it up they took it out and didn't take any bowel or anything I would have chosen it but they don't so I didn't lol.

I'll tell you why I chose the bypass instead of the lapband:

I'm young and have less risk of complication

I will not have any more kids

I would like to lose most of my excess body weight, if not all of it within a few months

The risks were very similar for both (clotting, pneumonia etc)

I am almost a week and a half out of bypass and am down 14lbs. I'm a light weight to begin with 234 day of surgery. My goal is 150. I hope to be there by the end of the year :blushing:

Be educated in your decision. There are MAJOR differences.

I chose lapband because I am honest in saying that I love chocolate, I just can't imagine life without it! So I wanted to give myself a shot at still being able to eat the foods I love just smaller portions, It takes a lot of disipline on my part to make healthy choices and when it's all said and done if done sucessfully my newly learned control will just make me stronger.

So for me it was all about the dumping syndrome. And there hasen't been a day yet that I have regretted my decision.

do your own research, it is a very personal choice. both procedures require dedication in order for the weight to stay off. they are both tools that make losing the weight easier but you still have to be dedicated to the diet. with the band there are a lot of slider foods that pass right through it, and unfortunately they are the foods that are bad for the diet that slide right down. i have a band but there is no way i would knock the bypass. whatever works, i'm for.

I had no choice 6 years ago as my surgeon then only did the band which is what I wanted at the time and loved. However, in hindsight with my love of chocolate it has been my downfall as you do have to diet/exercise and work hard with the band (don't get me wrong I lost a lot of weight when I ate the right foods but when I didn't the weight soon piled back on). I am due to have my band removed due to it now being on the inside of my stomach (erosion) and am hopefully having a revision to RNY which will stop me eating chocolate for the fear of dumping and the malabsorption aspect will aid my weight loss....I need this after 6 years of struggling but the band works for those that work with it.

Well, bypass isnt really done in Australia anymore.

BUT - I knew I was a good candidate for the lapband. I was the type of overeater who ate basically healthy meals (I had a family to feed afterall) but ate too much and ate way too many in betweel Snacks of less healthy foods becuase I was hungry.

I didnt have to change the way I ate too much with a band, becuase I knew how to shop healthy and how to cook healthy and I already did those things. I wasnt having to break habits like living on fast food, drinking huge milkshakes, or getting my Breakfast from a drive through.

I was also still relatively fit and able to exercise when i set my mind to it.

I didnt realise the significance of these things at the time, banding is really the only easily available option here at present. You can get other surgeries but finding surgeons is harder. However, in hindsight, I realise I had a pretty good profile for a successful bandster. I also had only gotten to a BMI of 36 which meant I stood a fighting chance of losing ALL my excess weight (which i did and then some).

Another thing which I feel was important was my "gut feel" for the procedure, pardon the pun. I have a cast Iron stomach. When everyone else is dying of food poisoning, I am unscathed. When everyone else is half dead with gastro, I have a bit of diarrhoea and that's all. I didnt get reflux, suffer nausea and I could keep down a very impressive amount of alcohol too. I never vomit!

I just knew that I wouldnt have the problems I read about. I could easily have been wrong, I know, but I wasnt, I was right. I just dont get all the little annoyances with the band - my stomach isnt fickle, my restriction doesnt vary, its unusual for me to be able to eat a food one day and then not the next, I dont swell after fills etc.

given all that and the lesser severity of the weight problem I had, no way on earth would I have done something as drastic as bypass. I knew I could work with a band.

However, I think there's many people who are better suited to a bypass and i really think if they're honest with themselves, they probably already know that about themselves.

I know bypass patients who have had lap bands fittted as well because their RNY pouch has stretched over time, I also know several people who have been revised from band to RNY as they cheated with the band and didn't lose weight or they had reflux issues or slippage.

I was offered the choice of either operation but as I had no health problems apart from obesity I didn't feel that I wanted the more invasive surgery that a bypass entailed, plus as a self funder, it was a lot more expensive.

If for any reason my band fails in the future then a sleeve is probably what I would choose to be revised to.

These surgeries are two VERY different surgeries. The bottom line is, if you are not able to make the TRUE dietary and mental changes the go along with the surgery you have performed, you will not be successful.

Before I had my band, I thought people who had RNY were dumb, desperate people who chopped their stomachs in half risking long term complications. I thought band people had it much easier... they could eat anything in smaller portions and be successful.

20 months post band, my perspective has changed. I know people with the band, and with the bypass. I see people who have had GREAT success with the band, like myself. But here is the truth... I am successful, but I do NOT eat like a totally 'normal' person. I eat A LOT less. There are a lot of foods I cannot tolerate well. And there are days I get super tight for no reason and eating most foods causes pain in my back that makes me want to rip the band out from inside of me. For the most part, I like my band, but at almost 2 years post op, my eyes are open, and I know it is not the end all, die all.

I have a good friend who had the bypass. She lost a significant amount of weight with it, but never got past a size 12, even with a highly malabsorptive procedure... She was still considered obese, I believe, according to BMI charts. She has had weight regain 5 years out. She's now on diet. It is a vicious cycle.

More people are successful long term with the RNY. There is also worry of weight regain with the RNY. There are a TON of people who have their bands removed within 2 years of surgery. There are a LOT of people who don't lose a lot of weight with a band. Pick your poison.

I am NOT a naysayer here. I'd still get my band, even in hindsight. Well, actually I'd get the sleeve now, but 2 years ago, the sleeve wasn't very well known, so I didn't consider that option. So, with that option off the table, I've made the band work for me. I am healthier, leaner, meaner, and cheerier post band. But, I do recognize that there are both rosy and not so rosy perspectives on both surgeries.

THE wt loss is quicker with the bypass, but u generally have 2 work your butt off with the band.i workout 2x harder than before the band everyday i regret the decsion to have the band and wish i had had the bypass

These surgeries are two VERY different surgeries. The bottom line is, if you are not able to make the TRUE dietary and mental changes the go along with the surgery you have performed, you will not be successful.

Before I had my band, I thought people who had RNY were dumb, desperate people who chopped their stomachs in half risking long term complications. I thought band people had it much easier... they could eat anything in smaller portions and be successful.

20 months post band, my perspective has changed. I know people with the band, and with the bypass. I see people who have had GREAT success with the band, like myself. But here is the truth... I am successful, but I do NOT eat like a totally 'normal' person. I eat A LOT less. There are a lot of foods I cannot tolerate well. And there are days I get super tight for no reason and eating most foods causes pain in my back that makes me want to rip the band out from inside of me. For the most part, I like my band, but at almost 2 years post op, my eyes are open, and I know it is not the end all, die all.

I have a good friend who had the bypass. She lost a significant amount of weight with it, but never got past a size 12, even with a highly malabsorptive procedure... She was still considered obese, I believe, according to BMI charts. She has had weight regain 5 years out. She's now on diet. It is a vicious cycle.

More people are successful long term with the RNY. There is also worry of weight regain with the RNY. There are a TON of people who have their bands removed within 2 years of surgery. There are a LOT of people who don't lose a lot of weight with a band. Pick your poison.

I am NOT a naysayer here. I'd still get my band, even in hindsight. Well, actually I'd get the sleeve now, but 2 years ago, the sleeve wasn't very well known, so I didn't consider that option. So, with that option off the table, I've made the band work for me. I am healthier, leaner, meaner, and cheerier post band. But, I do recognize that there are both rosy and not so rosy perspectives on both surgeries.

I like everything you have said.It all makes alot of sense! The band is definitely more work than I anticipated but as I've seen on here with you & many others the rewards of weightloss can still be very great!! It's all about personel choice's!!:thumbup: