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I am still trying to decide which wls to have. Band or bypass. It's driving me nuts! I've asked this question an my bypass forum site too so please don't think I'm picking on banders. How much weight have you lost in how long? I will not be happy with losing 1 pound a week. I need to lose 155 lbs. If I have to deprive myself and watch every morsel I put into my mouth, I'd like to think I saw some rewards from it at good pace. I've been weighing the pros and cons of both surgeries. Both can be undone so that's good and both have scary complications that's bad. I'd like some insight from this site. Bypass forum site answered and with the exception of one, everybody loves their decision.:thumbup:

Suzie, My enbocrinologist sent in a request to medicare to pay for wls in 2006. It was not approved until 2007. I had my initial consult with Dr. B on November 20, 08. I had the 8 hr info session on Dec 2, 08. I went for consent signing on January 12, 09. I have to go for pre admission on Jan 27,09. I will need to go back again once more before surgery on February 12, 09. Hope this helps give you some hope.

Dr. Beausoliel is doing my RNY on February 12 2009. as long as I don't gain weight between now and then. I am so excited. I will start my 2 week optifast next thursday. I've been waiting 4 years too.

Doddie, you are such a sweetheart. You answer every question and you give great encouragement. The banders should be so glad that you are on their site. I will leave this site now because I wil be having bypass soon. Take great care if yourselves banders and especially you Doddie. God's speed.:biggrin:

I am a nurse (since 1987) and no the stomach is not removed in RNY bypass. It is removed in duodenal switch and is it stapled in half and part of it is removed in vertical sleeve banding. The RNY bypass can be reversed but unless there is a serious surgical need, it mostly never is. I suppose if one were to get cancer and need more nutrition long term, RNY bypass can be reversed. Nothing is removed but it would be a difficult procedure. Like tubal ligation can be reversed, not easy but can be done. I have decided on which surgery to have. I am having RNY bypass on February 12. I start my 2 week slimfast diet on Jan 29. :biggrin:

Thank you Doddie63. That is a very good idea. The list. The bypass is reversible. Nothing is removed. If medically needs it can be reconnected. A few years ago the bypass was not reversible. The band can become embedded into the stomach and become nearly impossible to remove. I was a nurse and did rotations in the O.R. and saw embedded foreign objects inside the body. They can become encapsulated. I like the idea of losing at your own pace and being able to not get a fill if you are going on vacation or something. Waiting untill you return to get your fill. That is nice. Also if you become ill, you can get it unfilled to allow you more nutrition. Thank you all for your answers. :grouphug:

Wow, thank you all ever so much! I see there are many happy bandsters out there. I am glad that you took the time to answer me. I appreciate it. :thumbup: It makes my decision a bit easier.:cool:

Thank you guys for your informative input. I appreciate hearing from you.More food for thought. Pardon the pun.

I live in New Brunswick and in order to get medicare to pay for my wls, I had to prove that I had tried unsuccessfully to lose weight over the last 5 years with documentation. I had reciepts from weightwatchers, curves, gym membership reciept along with every diet book written in the last 5 years and documentation from my family doctor dated 5 years ago where I had requested a referral to a dietition for diet consult.I needed all that to get my endocrinologist to refer me to a wls surgeon. I have spent the last 2 years with regular appointments with his weight loss team. I also have type 2 diabetes, had a heart attack in May, have arthritis and failed back syndrome. I walk with a cane and can only stand for 10 to 15 minutes. The province will pay for either the bypass or the lapband (including the band itself).

I would like to hear from anyone no matter the loss. thank you for being the first and so far only one to respond. Wow, 10 pounds is a great start. Plus what you lost pre-op. You are on your way.Feels good to see the scale numbers go down. I've been dieting on my own since June and so far at my lowest I had lost 38 lbs but now as I always do, I am starting to climb again.

I was hoping to get some feedback from this site. I got about 25 replies from the bypassers.

Congratulations on getting your surgery and back home for Christmas. Why did you choose lapband over bypass? I'm trying to make that decision now.I'm tyring to get points of view.l

Pearl, if you want to calculate your BMI, go to weightlosssurgery.com and you will be on Dr. N. Cristeau's site. That is who trained Dr.B. and he follows Dr. Cristeau's methods fairly close. The booklet you get from Dr. B suggests you go to this site. On this site you will see a section that says "calculate your BMI' all you do is click on that and enter your height and weight and it will tell you your BMI. Your type of surgery will be based on you age and your bmi. Over 55 BMI 60 BMI means your body mass index. This is what your percentage of fat is based on. Unfortunately, this really is not real accurate because if you were a body builder with less than 10% body fat full of muscles and weighted 250 pounds, your bmi would say that you was overweight when we know that you aren't. BMI makes no allowence for bone structure or muscle mass so it is inaccurate. It is based soley on height, weight,gender and age.

Clempier, do not worry about your english. Wr know what you mean. Next to Chinese, english is the hardest language to learn because english is not a language. English is made up of many different languages with no rules. For english children with english parents, it is hard.:tongue_smilie:

After the age 55 Dr. B will only do gastric banding. He will only do RNY if your bmi is 60 or higher and you are 55 or younger.

I wanted bypass wls originally. After meeting with Dr. B he said lap band has less complications, shorter surgery time, no hosp stay. I thought I wanted that. Then I had the all day info session and the lady who spoke to us had bypass surgery and with all of the complications she had had, she would not have changed anything and was happy with bypass. I've given it more thought and I think I do want bypass too. Having to return for fill so often then with overfills and under fills and having to return to the clinic so often, it seem like something I would not be hapy with. Anybody else have these feelings? Besides if I move it will mean flying back and forth to Moncton and expensive.

Oh Doddie63, that's the problem. I am a member of this lap band site and am a member of a bypass site. Everybody loves their choices. No exceptions. I've heard horror stories about both and heard wonderful stories about both. The deciding factor may be as simple as I am planning to move to nothern Canada within the next 4 years or so . Most regular md's won't touch a lap band pt in trouble or overfilled and it's a long flight(and expensive) to return to moncton. That may end up being the deciding factor.

Thank you all for your input. The one thing that you list as a downside, dumping syndrome, might be a good thing because I can't seem to stay away from sweets and high fatty foods. In the case of dumping, it would have to happen only once or twice and you wouldn't want to do that again. With banding you must rely on willpower to avoid sweets and fats. One other thing is if you go to Dr. N. Cristeau's? website "weightlosssurgery" and read the comparison list between lapband and bypass, the incidents of further surgery is 14% in lapband and 3% in bypass. I just don't know.

:ohmy:I think I have last supper syndrome. I had never heard of this until Annie55 mentiioned it on another thread. I think I have it bad. Dr.B's office will call me in the forseeable future to go to Moncton and sign consent forms. At the info session we were told that if we had gained weight, the surgery would be postponed. We will be weighed at every office visit. Now I am terrified that I will gain weight and what do I do? I eat and eat and can't seem to stop myself. I am not sure if this is true last supper syndrome or not but I can't figure this out. Any suggestions as to how stoop this feasting? Help!

Hi all, Peaches, I have not been banded yet. I have been waiting since 2005 to get in to see the bariatric surgeon. Now I've had my first appointment with him and have gone for the 8 hour information session. Next step will be to sign consent forms, then I will go back for testing and x-rays and buy optifast at that time. I will go back 1 week pre-op again. I am weighed at every visit. If at any step in this process I gain weight, my surgery will be postponed and I go back to step 3. Since my info session, I have gained 5 pounds. Now I am dreading the phone call to come and sign consents. YIIKES

Does Dr.Savoie make you lose weight even before the 2 week optifast thing? Dr. B in moncton wants you to lose weight on your own long before you even know the date of your surgery. If you gain any weight, your surgery will be postponed until you start to lose weight on your own.

I would really not want anyone trekking sand, gravel or anything else over my new hardwood floors. Sand and other stuff will scratch and marr floors. I think it's rude not to remove your shoes or at least offer to. If the host says no then no. I was at a friend's house back in the eighties when some relatives came to visit for a few days from Boston. The funniest thing was one day we were having tea when this lady started to tell my friend about this wonderful invention that she had. She said all you had to do was drop your soiled clothes into it and 1/2 hour later they were all washed then she said she had an indoor clothes dryer that all you had to do was put wet clothes in it and a while later they were all dry. My friend pointed to her washer and dryer sitting in the back of the kitchen and said "you mean like mine" I had to leave the table because I was bursting to laugh.

You are lucky you were not banded in Moncton. N.B. If you had gained any weight here you would have not gotten your surgery until you had consistantly lost weight.

I worry that if I am having this hard time now, how will I ever lose with the band? I am afraid I will just eat right through it.

Thank you Jack. I am trying but it almost becomes an obsession. I started a diet (again) in June and by Oct I had lost 30 pounds. Now though, that I am waiting for "the phone call" I can't stop eating. I know that to gain weight will mean a postponement of my surgery,I still eat. I have gained back 8 pounds since mid Oct. UUGGG