I will be having my banding done at Kaiser SSF. I don't have a date yet but will be meeting with psych and the surgeon on 08/25.

I work at a hospital facility (not Kaiser SSF) and spoke with a surgeon who just finished a fellowship in bariatric surgery. She really poo-pooed lap banding and said she did not meet one single person who was banded and was glad they had done it.

She said that people with lap bands are hungry all the time and she felt it was silly to go through the surgery and then carry around this device inside all the time.

I can't get past having my entire innerds replumbed. To me that seems beyond my ability to comprehend.

Any words of advice here? Opinions?

I love my band! Weight loss has been slow, but I have not been hungry. I admit I had a pang of jealousy when my friend had a bypass last week, knowing she will lose so much faster than me, and she won't have to go for fills. But I also didn't want my innards rearranged. I didn't like the mortality rate with GB. And I love that five years from now, if I mess up (I don't intend to but IF) I could get a fill. A bypass patient that stretches out their stomach 5 years later is just out of luck.

You will find people who've had either surgery who aren't happy with the choice and others who are thrilled. Bypass wouldn't have really helped me with the GERD. Overkill. I don't want to lose weight really really fast as I don't want all that hangy skin. I also don't want my innerds messed about. With the band, I can have a fill, unfill, or have it removed with no real damage. I am suspicious of anybody who flat out poo poo's anything. That usually means they've met that one guy who also doesn't believe in seatbelts.

I personally chose the band because I absolutely did not want my stomach cut in any way! Again, a personal choice but I had not been able to lose weight for a long, long time and others on here have heard me tell it but I will try to give the short version. I was on oral steroids for two years for a skin condition and I have thyroid disease, an irreparable heart condition, etc. The weight came on like gangbusters. My odds of success for losing weight were very minimal. I was finally able to get off of the steroids and once I did, I went for the band. I feel that I have personally had enormus success so far. I don't regret a single minute of it. I think all surgeons who perform one or the other type of surgery are going to be negative about the one they don't perform and won't make money on. Ultimately, you have to decide. They are going to try to sway you. You will want to do the research. Good Luck and keep us posted.

I think that it is really a personal choice and also something you should discuss with the surgeon. You will always find people that love or hate the proceedure that they had. There will also be those that fail or succeed.

So it comes down to what you would like to have done. There are many options and I would research all of them thoroughly before coming to a decision. Many times your surgeon will make a suggestion based on your profile and needs, many times they will let you decide what is best for you.

I will be having my banding done at Kaiser SSF. I don't have a date yet but will be meeting with psych and the surgeon on 08/25.

I work at a hospital facility (not Kaiser SSF) and spoke with a surgeon who just finished a fellowship in bariatric surgery. She really poo-pooed lap banding and said she did not meet one single person who was banded and was glad they had done it.

She said that people with lap bands are hungry all the time and she felt it was silly to go through the surgery and then carry around this device inside all the time.

I can't get past having my entire innerds replumbed. To me that seems beyond my ability to comprehend.

Any words of advice here? Opinions?

I think she is dumb (don't I sound intelligent?) We have 2 docs at our Bariatric Clinic (one of the first 5 in the nation to be a Bariatric Center of Excellence). The older doc will push and push patients towards bypass. he doesnt think banding works for really obese patients, tries to talk about the hassles of fills, et. My doc, younger and wonderful, tells us the pros and cons of both and then lets us decide. He did tell me straight up, his biggest fear with the band is that it does not work for some people. It is possible to lose no weight. It depends on the person, what you invest, and how you use it as a tool.

I am not hungry all the time. I have a coworker that had bypass a week before me and she has only lost 15 more pounds then me. Not bad considering I still have my stomach in tact, still absorb all my nutrients, and can eat in moderation almost any type of food I want. i dont dump when I eat sugar, etc.

My doc let me set my fill schedule, so I saw him pretty frequently in the beginning until I had restriction.

I am only 29, so I didnt want my insided altered forever.

Stay positive! There are good and bad with both, complications with any kind of surgery. But I think there are great gains (not on the scale) with either as well.

Hope some of that helps!

Amy