scuuder3

unfortuneately, once you have bcome MO, there is only so much you can do with weight loss alone. even once you hit your goal you may need PS to finish up. i lost a little over 160 lbs and still have a belly and spare tire even though I am at a "normal" weight.

No need to continue the debate. The reason I stated were I was at, as far as my weight loss, is you mentioned that I had not posted much about myself. I do not need a pat on the back from you or anyone else thanks! As for being judgmental, or arrogant as you put it, I may be, my wife says I am :confused:. The fact is, eating foods like mashed potatoes = slow weight loss; there is nothing to debate about that. If it is just during the "mushies" phase then so be it. If you choose to do it forever than good for you. On these message boards, I read post after post about "not loosing enough weight", etc. And I think most times if you examine people’s food choices you will see why. Even on the rny boards you will hear, "I’ve been on a plateau, can't get to goal." Then you ask what are you eating? The replies come in well I only had 2 ounces of macaroni and cheese, and some potatoes and gravy the day before, etc. Some people say, "I can eat potatoes, bread, etc. just not as much as before and I'll do fine", and you may or may not. For me, I have eliminated foods that are just not good to eat. I don't do well with moderation, which is why I got so heavy. I have to not think just about now, but 10, 15, 20 years from now when I will be able to eat more, and so will everyone else, band or rny. If I choose foods like mashed potatoes corn, bread, and so on, 10 years from now I may not do well with moderation. So therefore, those foods do not exist to me anymore. I make better choices. I only eat what is good for you, and considered highly nutritious. Some people may choose not to do this, and that is their right. I may be judgmental or arrogant and that is because honestly I do feel that I am right. I have learned there is a right way and a wrong way to eat, and I really do feel that surgeons and nutritionist that allow patients simple carbs and too many starches are doing them a disservice. I am not a surgeon, but I am an intelligent, critical thinking person and have come to this conclusion. If you or others have the will power too always eat foods like mashed potatoes, etc in moderation than good for you, as for myself, I'll stick with shrimp and broccoli. I hope no one takes offense to my posts. Tom

donnab, i myself, had the rny gbp, my wife has has the lapband. we had the same surgeon. both he and our nutritionist prohibit mashed potatoes from our diet. they do not adhere to a "low or no carb" diet, but are strict as too what types of carbs to eat. potatoes are not in the allowed group. the bariatric center that we used is a highly renowned bariatric center of excellence, that has the benefit of performing thousands of procedures and they have learned what has and has not worked for previous patients. i myself have lost 160 lbs in 7 months without a single complaint or complication.

I think that any surgeon/nutritionist who puts mashed potatoes on a patient's diet during any stage is doing that patient a disservice.

hmmmmm..... is mashed potatoes really a good choice??? no wonder there are so many slow losers....

the problem with corn, is not really the "tolerating" it. it is soft and mushy when chewed. it is the fact that it is high in sugar. eat it if you like, just accept the fact if ou choose corn regularly over broccoli or spinach don't be suprised by your slower weight loss.

it is not true that most RNY patients, gain their weight back. MOST keep off at least 60% of their excess weight off. The old style RNY had much less long term success, when they didn't completely seperate the pouch from the entire stomach, food would eventually start to pass through, sorta like the band. the misinformation on this site, to justify one's own choice is staggering at times.

that is exactly right, about the study with 4.6% mortality rate being on Medicare patients also. more importantly if anyone is considering RNY, find out YOUR surgeons mortality-morbidity rate. my surgeon has had one death in 1000 procedures, and that was from anesthesia. That computes to .1%, not too much risk there.

lason, were these five people the unfortunate vitims of one particular surgeon. To know 5 people who have had rny and and 4 of the 5 did so poorly is incredible. if this were commonplace no self respecting surgeon or hospital, or reasonable patient would ever have it performed. i hope the band does work well for you.

brat2often, i had rny not lapband, but from what i have read bread, rice, etc is not tolerated for many WLS patients, have you tried just the hamburger and no bun. refined carbs are the #1 thing you can eat to slow weightloss. also, make sure you chew very well. think of your mouth as a food processor, nothing to leave your mouth before it is pureed. you don't want to be sick, of course, but be grateful for the restriction

we are told to eat slowly and take 15 minutes with our meal. eating 3 ounces over 15 minutes is difficult, but if we eat too fast, to much, or don't chew well you either feel unfortable for a half hour or so, or you vomit.

if a gbp patient can stretch there pouch, surely a lapband pt can also. the fact that the band is adjustable means it can constrict the stoma, not change its place on the stomach. so if over time, a bandster stretches there pouch, the only thing a fill will do is slow the rate of pouch emptying. i had rny gbp and have a silastic ring on the bottom of my pouch to always keep my stoma the correct size.

220 cals is a lot. there are plenty of low carb, 20-22 gram protein drinks that run 110-120 calories. the 220 cal bar maybe okay every once in a while but i would not do it regulerly.

i have had rny with a silastic ring, which is similar to a fobi pouch. the silastic ring is a plastic non-adjustable ring that goes around the stoma between the pouch and the intestine. it keeps foos in the pouch longer and also keeps the opening from increasing over time. it is supposed to work well, and it has so far. 150 lbs gone in 6.5 months.

having rny gastric bypass does not preclude anyone from having a baby. it makes it more likely. they just recommend you wait a year from the surgery date. my comment comparing th rny to open heart was to make the point that if rny was "barbaric" then many other life saving surgical procedures would be considered barbaric also.

unfortuneatly healthcare is a business too, but if they really were like an infomercial its time for a new doc. to reply to an earlier post, no tissue is "removed" during a rny bypass. everything remains in your body. if your surgeon feels it is "barbaric" he is obviously ill informed. sure it has its risks, but it is a procedure that has saved many thousands of lives, increasing not just quantity of life but quality of life as well. if rny is barbaric than we might as well not do open heart procedures and the such anymore either, they are just as "barbaric".

I am 6 months post-op RNY. again, i think there is minformation here. i can eat Cookies if I choose to, with no ill effects, and yes i wil abosrb most of the calories. i choose not to eat the cookies and have used ths experience to learn to eat right. about the malabsorbtion. most rny procedures done are proximal rny's not distal. with a proximal rny there is only a SMALL amount of malabsorbtion. if your BMI is over 50 the surgeon may choose to do a distal RNY which has a greater amount of malabsorbtion. The main reason supplements are needed with rny are multi-faceted: you are eating less food, therefore you may not get the proper nutrition from your food, and the food you eat is mainly Protein so you don't get enough vegetables, etc. there is very minimal digestive acid which reduces the absorbtion of some Vitamins, etc. and the portion of small intestine bypassed does account for a large percentage of certain Vitamin absorbtion. With that said, i can understand if some people choose lap band, my own wife is going the lap band route, but it doesn't change the fact that RNY is MAINLY a RESTRICTIVE procedure, just a more effective procedure than lap-band. put it this way, have you seen the statistics about being overweight or MO? if you do the band and only loose 40-50% of excess weight, over time how much more dangerous is the lap band than if you do the RNY and loose 80% of excess weight? I know people are now saying that over 3-4 years the weight loss is equal, but I have not seen this data in any published study so far. if you are going to gain the weight back with RNY than you surely will with a lap band as well. not trying to dog the band, it can be good (I think for lower BMI) patients, but that is just my own opinion. if anyone has questions about the rny talk to a competent rny surgeon who can explain the malabsorbtion with RNY. the truth is, in most cases only 10-15% of your small intestine is bypassed. One more thing, as for safety, you can have an RNY done with a high degree of safety if you choose the right surgeon. Most experienced well respected bariatric surgeons have a mortality rate of .001% if you don't like those odds, don't walk across the street the best resource for everyone are support groups with a mix of rny and lapband patients. my heart always breaks for some of the lapband people that stand up dissapointed, "i lost 25 pounds in 6 months" next to the rny," i lost 98 pounds in 6 months, am off all my meds and feel great" i also look at the picture wall at my surgeons office. he does lap band and rny. every picture up there is from an rny patient, I asked the other day if there were pictures from post band patients and the receptionist pointed to the manufacturer poster.

I think there is a lot of misinformation or at least anecdotal stories about the RNY procedure. if you read this thread you would think that if you have rny you die. the fact remains rny is considered the gold standard for weight loss surgery. as for complications they are definitely possible, as with any procedure. the reported 1% mortality rate is mainly due to some inexperienced surgeons. my surgeon has had 1 death in over 1000 procedures, and that was from anasthesia, which could happen in the band. one other thing, there is some malabsorbtion with rny, but it is mainly a restrictive procedure just like the band. the true amount of malabsorbtion is negligble in most procedures. the DS is truely a malabsorbtive procedure. you should be on Vitamins with either procedure due to limited intake. anyway, both procedures are good, but i think that some people overstate the negatives of either procedure to justify there decision at the expense of others trying to decide. if you want the truth go to support group meetings for both procedures. you will hear the good and bad of both. you will hear the slow losers with the band, and the ones who do fine. you will hear the complications with the rny and you will see the good results. that is the best way.