Being converted to gastric bypass......

[ashleyb 0]

I'm almost a year out...march 3rd is my anniversary of the lap band. I've lost 18lbs. About 17% of my excess body weight. My surgeon thinks it's going to be a failure. Soo he wants to convert me to a gastric bypass. I've thought about it a lot and was gonna have the bypass last year but then chickened out at the last minute and got the lap band. So i go back in 2 weeks to give my for sure answer. Could have the surgery as soon as next month.

***THOUGHTS***

[mellabella78 0]

Hmmm, thats a hard one. I think you know what I'm going to say.... only you can really answer that. That being said, before I took the risk of another (and far more invasive) surgery I would ask myself this.. Did I do most of the work, or did I expect the band to do it for me? As has been said a million times, the band is just a tool. It's 20% band, and 80% you. I would make sure I did EVEYTHING I could before undergoing GBP. If you can honestly say you followed the rules most of the time, worked out almost daily, and followed the band rules and still did not loose, then yes, I would consider having GBP. If not, I would get my butt in gear and work the band, instead of wanting the band to work for me:) I know it's not easy, I am having a hard time myself too. I just think of how hard I have worked to get where I am. I wish you the best!!

[LeighaMason 19]

I'm almost a year out...march 3rd is my anniversary of the LAP-BAND®. I've lost 18lbs. About 17% of my excess body weight. My surgeon thinks it's going to be a failure. Soo he wants to convert me to a gastric bypass. I've thought about it a lot and was gonna have the bypass last year but then chickened out at the last minute and got the LAP-BAND®. So i go back in 2 weeks to give my for sure answer. Could have the surgery as soon as next month.

***THOUGHTS***

Ashley,

Please be patient with your lap band. Your 23 and you have a small child. You don't have the time to commit to full time dieting like those of us with almost grown children. The bypass is not reversable and you may regret it later. Besides you have lost 18 lbs! HOLY CRAP! Thats great. If you do that 3 years in a row you will be where you want to! Dont give up.

Now it is time for my cynical side. Remember to think of how much money your doctor makes on bypass. Maybe he wants a new car? Or his wife needs an new diamond ring? Your BMI is now 37.5 you would barely qualify for a lap band now! Get a second opinon from another doctor as a matter of fact, get a different doctor. Please dont think I am negative but I am a firm believer that your life has to be in jeopardy before you start to remove parts of your body. Who knows what might be avaliable in a few years.

Dont give up, be happy with 18 lbs you lost this year, take another 18 next year and enjoy your baby while you can.

[adagray 1]

This is a tough question, lots of things to consider, and only you know how hard you have already worked w/the band.

Personally, I would convert to gastric bypass if I did everything I was supposed to do w/the band and still failed w/it. My health issues are too numerous and severe to ignore (high bp, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, and sleep apnea). If I can't succeed w/getting these health conditions under control w/the lapband, then I would do a second surgery to convert to gastric bypass because doing nothing is more scary to me than gastric bypass.

But, I would definitely give the band more than a year to see if I could work with it. I mean going into this we all know it can take 6-9 months to even get to the point where the band is adjusted properly. And, I think you owe it to yourself and the band to give it at least one year after proper adjustment to see where you end up w/it.

And, there are so many lifestyle factors that you have to embrace regardless of whether you use the band or bypass to try to lose weight. You need to embrace exercise no matter what. You need to follow certain rules about the foods you will eat. You need to actively manage your weight and your health. Neither way is really easier I think. I go to a support group through my surgeon's office and sometimes we split out by surgery (so lapbands are in a separate room from gastric bypass), but sometimes we meet all together. And, trust me, that gastric bypass patients can struggle just as much as lapband patients. Anyone who says either surgery is easy is lying.

[mominkansas 2]

I would try tweaking your band by getting a fill and sticking it out a bit more before doing something so drastic. I don't think my body could handle such a huge surgery so soon after my first.

[MississippiGirl 0]

How many fills have you gotten since you were banded. What was the highest cc you got? Did you maintain it by going back to the doctor when you felt no restriction?

[ashleyb 0]

How many fills have you gotten since you were banded. What was the highest cc you got? Did you maintain it by going back to the doctor when you felt no restriction?

I've had 8 fills absolutely no restriction. I go to the gym everyday jog a mile plus work my arms to tighten them up, I've been eating carrots and celery for lunch while im at work, apples as well everyday. and eating oatmeal for Breakfast or eggs and then dinner of course I dont eat fast food often maybe once a month, i don't drink pop.... My husband is military and is getting out of the army in july of 2011 Our insurance covers the surgeries 100% and so i have a limited amount of time. If i want this surgery i gotta get it done soon, cause if i put it off for another year and only loose 10lbs or so and end up having the surgery we will be outta the army and wont be able to Pay 15000 for it, even if we have insurance it's gonna cost us outta pocket. it's a lot to think about!

[Liftingchic 0]

It doesnt seem like you are eating enough to me.. about how many calories do you think you are getting?

Not eating enough can have the opposite effort, your body holds on to the fat cause it doesnt know when it will get enough calories next..

[HiMow 0]

I feel like thats a pretty drastic measure for 55 lbs...

[stoney0282 0]

I would not ever do the bypass. My mother had the bypass eight years ago. Yes she lost the weight, but the side effects from the surgery are horrible. She had peritonitis from a gastrostomy tube being removed....was in the hospital for two weeks on antibiotics. She had an enormous amount of skin that had to be removed. She had to have a hernia repaired twice due to a muscle herniation that developed in the bypass incision. The GI side effects such as constant diarrhea and horific flatus. She has developed osteoarthritis and anemia. The long term side effects need to be taken into consideration. Hope this helps.

[Humming Bird 275]

I feel like thats a pretty drastic measure for 55 lbs...

I agree with this. For me, it would be too drastic for just 55 lbs.

8 fills and no restriction? something sounds wrong with that to me. How much did they put in at each fill? I am almost too tight after just 2 fills. You can see my amounts below.

Maybe they put a large band in you when you needed a standard. I would explore all aspects of what could be going on with the band before you take more drastic measures.

I hope all goes well for you. Let us all know what comes of it.

Have they taken out the Fluid to see how much is really in there? Maybe you have a leak?

Edited January 25, 2010 by Humming Bird

[ashleyb 0]

my ideal weight is 107 and im 195 i haven't updated my ticker for a while. 55lbs i would be happy but that's not my ideal weight. I get usually 1cc every time i go in for a fill, i was restricted once so much that i couldn't drink anything and then had .5 cc taken out and ever since then Im not restricted at all! The last time i was there i had 7cc in and he took 5cc out and they want to leave 2 cc in there so he said that's what i should have so doesn't look like there's any leaks!!! idk what to do. I dont want to waste my time with this band if it's gonna restrict me. he said 30% of bandsters wont be restricted and the band fails, and they get converted to the bypass and he's trying to save me another year of work for no results. He's very down to earth surgeon and is also a soldier in the Army with my husband. I don't think he's doing it for a new car(in a previous post) thanks for your thoughts!!

Edited January 25, 2010 by ashleyb

[delfinajones 1]

Get a second opinion on your case from a non-army doctor.

[LollyMoe 1]

1) Get a second opinion from a civilian doctor. One that does this type of surgery all the time.

2) Be prepared to experience a huge organ change that causes chronic diarrhea.

3) Be prepared for dumping syndrone

4) Be prepared to take supplements for the rest of your life

5) You HAVE to drink 64oz of Water everyday

6) It is not reversible ever. Is weight loss that important to you???

7) You cannot have some cancer treatments

8) Be prepared to re-gain the weight (2 out of 5 people do)

9) My friend was told "no more pregnancies". Not sure if this is true.

10) Pray about it, think carefully, give your band another chance and do everything you can to make it work.

11) Civilian insurances pay for this surgery....what makes you think your new one wouldn't.

12) What does your hubby think about it?

Edited January 25, 2010 by LollyMoe

[ElfiePoo 109]

I've had 8 fills absolutely no restriction. I go to the gym everyday jog a mile plus work my arms to tighten them up, I've been eating carrots and celery for lunch while im at work, apples as well everyday. and eating oatmeal for Breakfast or eggs and then dinner of course I dont eat fast food often maybe once a month, i don't drink pop

The number of fills do not matter. It's the amount of fill. You can have 10 fills but if they're .5cc each time, you'll still only have 5cc in your band and most people don't have restriction with that little amount. I'm at 7.5cc and don't have it.

I won't go into the downside of bypass since the others did it so well, but losing or gaining weight is about calories in vs. calories expended. If you're going to the gym every day and jogging a mile and eating as little as you implied above, a loss of only 18 pounds over the last year does not compute. Even if your body had kicked into starvation mode and was more efficient at conserving those calories, you would still have lost far more than 18 pounds. It sounds as if you're still eating to excess which means you do not have restriction yet which means the band hasn't even been working. Your surgeon seems to be jumping the gone on it (or you) having failed with it.

If you have it in your head that the bypass would be the 'easy way', I would recommend checking out some of the bypass forums on the web...and pay careful attention to those who talk about the medical problems they've had since having the bypass. I know 11 people personally who had the bypass and only *one* has lost all of their excess weight and does not have any medical complications. Of the remaining 10, three are dead as a result of the surgery (one in the first year, two within 5 years). Except for the one, all are still fat and all are dealing with medical condictions directly related to their malabsorption.

You're young. I would give the band another try. You said you have until 2011 and this is something you should not hurry into...particularly with how little you have to lose and how young you are.

.