If I could do it over, would I get a lap band??

[Spartan 4]

The Band vs Bypass debate rears it’s ugly (and misunderstood) head once again.

Loads of baloney from all sides. So, here are a few comments on things that have been said on this thread.

And, if someone suggests that I have a Bypass Bias of some sort…that would be incorrect. Both Surgeries are quite viable, but they are meant for different classes of people. People just love to “defend” their own surgery, which is detrimental to other people who are still trying to make the decision as to what is right for them.

“The Lap-band® is less invasive than gastric bypass surgery.”

This quote is right out of a Lap band brochure. This seems to be one of a couple of phrases that are continually regurgitated whenever the subject of Band vs. Bypass comes up. The Procedure is DIFFERENT. But this whole concept of “invasion” is pretty absurd. It is NO different than many other surgeries and procedures that are performed to correct a deficiency or malfunction in some area. We have appendixes removed, gall Bladders removed, Heart bypass surgeries, and on and on and on….we have TONS of plastic surgeries. I find it amusing that so many of the people who chose Lap band over Bypass because it’s “less invasive” are planning to have tummy tucks, facelifts….whole big pieces of skin (an organ) removed. Plastic surgery probably carries as much if not MORE risk than a GB. Not to mention all of the piercings and tattoos we have and don’t even think twice about. But a gastric Bypass? An effective surgery that has been successfully performed for nearly half a century and has benefitted hundreds of thousands of patients? Hell no! it’s too…”invasive”….funny stuff.

“Gastric bypass is physically altering your stomach forever.”

The old “irreversible” argument…..wrong again. It is, in fact, reversible. It is not something that is done very often, because it does not NEED to be performed very often. The vast majority of Gastric Bypass patients have their surgery, lose the weight they need, and continue on to live happy, productive, and HEALTHY lives. You hear of some adverse outcomes, but in virtually EVERY case, the problems occur as a result of patient non-compliance or Surgeon inexperience or incompetence. But the notion that the bypass is irreversible is NOT true. Doctors do not “advertise” the fact that it is reversible, because they do not want patients to consider it to be a temporary procedure. But it can be reversed. It’s not all that easy, but it is performed quite regularly on those who need it….which is not a lot of people.

“Gastric bypass surgery does cause you to lose more rapidly, increasing the chance of hanging loose skin... yeah I'd love to have all my weight melt off in a few months, but the idea of looking like the saggy-baggy elephant afterwards... not so appealing.”

Again…not the case in most circumstances. In many instances it depends on how much weight you have to lose. If you have 150 pounds to lose, you are going to have saggy skin regardless of what procedure you have. And, even THAT is dependant upon some very individual circumstances, such are your age, skin elasticity, etc. Also….if this element is of great concern, you do not HAVE to lose weight quickly post-bypass. You do have a LOT control over your weight loss.

“You CAN eat sugar with gastric bypass, I work with 2 people that have had it done in the past 6 months.”

This is one area where you are partially correct. I have watched this argument come and go for years on this (and other) forums. The facts are that a percentage of GB patients do experience a reaction to certain types of high-fat and sugary foods. It is what is called the “dumping syndrome”. As is the case with virtually all WLS procedures, there are no solid stats, but experienced surgeons will tell you that Dumping occurs in roughly 15 to 30 percent of GB patients. If they consume enough concentrated sugar (and in some cases that would be an astronomical amount), ALL GB patients will experience it because of the inherent mechanism by which the GB functions. And, the severity of the Dumping varies dramatically. For some patients, it is a mildly uncomfortable sensation. For others, it is more severe. MOST people who experience dumping are grateful for it.

“Even for those that get dumping syndrome, though, it goes away within two years. So, eventually, all sugar addicts have to deal w/moderating sugar (without the help of dumping).”

Not necessarily. For SOME patients, it diminishes somewhat over time, but in virtually ALL cases where dumping was present to begin with, it does continue, but, again, it CAN diminish somewhat.

“Bypass is a great surgery for some people. But it causes significant lifelong malabsorption of nutrients--which is something we are thankfully spared.”

Some nutrients are not absorbed properly post bypass. That IS one of the mechanisms of the procedure. But…..much of the BAD stuff is not absorbed as well. That is why it works. The solution to this problem is quite simple: Take your Vitamins. Period. If you take your supplements, there will almost NEVER be nutritional deficiencies. And please note: You need to take supplements post-Lap band as well. The NEED to take Supplements post Band Surgery is not quite as critical as it Post GB, but you still need to. For most GB Patients, the Supplements are a non-issue. They take them and they are just fine. No Problem. Again: Patient Compliance is key. A few Vitamins a day is a small price to pay for the benefits offered by a GB.

“And once the initial honeymoon period, the rate of weight loss success generally equalizes with ours---at a far greater lifestyle and health cost, IMO.”

Wrong again. The Lap Band faction of the WLS industry loves to toss this one out with great regularity, but as presented here, it is quite incorrect. Of course, as I have stated before, there are NO solid, quantifiable research statistics on this, but most experienced, long-term Bariatric Surgeons (and not the batch of surgical clowns that have jumped on board the Lap band Gravy Train in the last few years) will tell you that the vast majority (around 85-90% by some estimations) of GB patients take the weight off, and KEEP it off, given some minor, normal weight fluctuation as age increases and time passes.

“From what I've observed, dumping makes stuck look like a walk in the park.”

Most GB patients would disagree with that, particularly those who have experienced both. Dumping is usually a mild to medium discomfort, and NOT the gut-blasting makes-you-wanna-shove-your-fist-down-your-throat-and-rip-out-your-esophagus experience that characterizes the Lap band “stuck” experience. SOME Dumping episodes can be difficult, but to suggest that Dumping “makes stuck look like a walk in the park” is ludicrous, at best.

“Don't bypass folk get food stuck from time to time? My PCP had bypass and we were talking about getting food stuck. He spoke of some incidents he'd had with chicken.”

CocoaBean, that is partly correct. What a lot of people are unaware of about the GB is that restriction is ALSO a component of this procedure. Malabsorption is the primary and fundamental mechanism that makes the GB work, but on very, very rare occasions, you can get “stuck”. MOST commonly, this occurs in the presence of a “stricture”, where the channel leading into the stoma is not wide enough, and eating without chewing properly can lead to a Lap Band-like “stuck” feeling. It does not happen very often, and the stricture can be very easily corrected. However….many patients do not WANT it to be corrected….it provides another level of “forced compliance”, kind of along the lines of the Lap band. It does not happen often, but it is one of the things that CAN occur….but again, it is quite easily corrected, in a few minutes, actually. And yes, Chicken…..evil stuff…. J. Also the nature of the “sticking” is different. With the lap band, almost anything can get stuck, it seems. And things get stuck on one day and not another. With the Bypass, the experience is very consistent, in the rare event that it does happen. And it is ALWAYS because you haven’t chewed properly or it is something you just should not have eaten.

“I registered to the site just so I could post on this thread. I just wanted to point out that my best friend had a gastric bypass 6 years ago. One of the first things she ate post-op was a slurpee. (full of sugar) To this day, she has no issues eating sugar or candy. She only got dumping at the VERY beginning. Also, she is always getting food "stuck" and trying to either get it to come back up or go down. One of the very reasons I am not a big proponent of gastric bypass is having watched her and others who have gone through one. She doesn't eat right, and im worried for her in the long term as far as nutrients and vitamins are concerned. She lost a lot of weight, yes, and she's very happy and consideres it the best decision she's ever made. Im happy for her, but I just wanted to point out that she can eat sugar and gets things stuck..................

“

With all due respect, you have a very Stupid friend. Ultimately, it is likely that her Bypass will fail. PATIENT COMPLIANCE is KEY, with the band AND the Bypass….and the Sleeve, DS, FB, and all the other more obscure procedures. And from day one, she broke the rules. But guess what: The band wouldn’t work for her either. She would have the SAME problems, and would not have lost any weight, because of the ease with which one can eat “around” the band. For some people, NO Surgery will work long-term. Your friend needs the kind of help that no surgery offers.

This whole debate over which procedure is better is pretty useless. The simple fact is that one of the procedures is better for someone than another. They are different procedures that work in different ways. One is Malabsorptive in nature, with some restriction; the other is almost entirely restriction. They are meant for DIFFERENT people with DIFFERENT eating and/or metabolic disorders. There is a certain segment of the obese population for which either one WOULD work reasonably well….But….ONE of them would be better. It is not a matter of simply picking the one that appeals to you….at least not if you want REAL success. It takes an experienced and skilled bariatric specialist to be able to help you sort out which one would be the most successful for you.

There are a number of things that make the GB a preferable surgery for many people. It’s been around a LONG time, nearly 50 years. The procedure has been refined over and over. The advent of Laparoscopic technology in the last decade has made the procedure incredibly safe. As one very experienced Bariatric Surgeon said: “If the Patient is reasonably compliant, then we can predict pretty much exactly what is going to happen…the surgery is that reliable”.

Finally, to the Original poster I would have this to say. It is difficult to know from what you have said if the Bypass would have been a better procedure for you. A “sweet tooth” is not always a specific indicator of the need for a GB, but it is a “clue”. I think that at this point in time, it would be wise for you to work with what you HAVE, rather than spend any time thinking about what you “should” have done. “Buyers remorse” is very, very common among WLS patients in the first couple of months post-op. Regardless of the surgery, most Patients will end up saying to themselves “what have I done to my body?” at some point. But, that will pass. It almost always does.

Many people have a rocky start with the Lap band. One person on this board, Erin18, I believe, had a LOT of problems at the beginning. She was quite the topic of conversation here last year because she was posting every day, if not several times a day, complaining about the difficulty she was having. But, she has gone on to lose quite a bit weight. She is one example of people who had a lot of problems initially but went on to some success.

If you do not find success with the Lap Band, there are the other options. But you absolutely have to give the Lap Band every chance to work. It sometimes takes a LONG time to find that “zone” where it starts working. Some people never do, but you have to give it your best shot before you start thinking about alternative procedures. It IS “doable”. It just takes time, effort, commitment….and COMPLIANCE.

S.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Spartan

[Woodstock girl 0]

Right now, I am thinking I'm at the sweet spot and won't need another fill unless something drastic changes. If I'm still this tight by Monday, I will ask them to take out 1/10 cc to try to fine tune it. It has taken me 6 hours to eat 1 small piece of toast with Peanut Butter and a small amount of Protein Shake. There's no way I will be able to eat anything else for a couple of hours and by then it will be 4:00 and I have barely eaten anything. I worked out with my trainer this morning and am trying to lose the weight. I've gotten used to not having sugar anymore and i actually like that Truvia that is made from the best part of stevia. It doesn't taste bitter. My natural doctor told me to stay away from Splenda because it is a neurotoxin. I can't wait to have my blood tested to see how low my sugar and cholesterol are now!!

[Spartan 4]

Splenda/Equal are POISON.....Period.

I have to LOUDLY applaud Adagray for her comments on sugar. I'll probaby write some add-ons to her comments later. But what she said was spot-on, and people should listen.

S.

[Cocoabean 430]

The Band vs Bypass debate rears it’s ugly (and misunderstood) head once again.

Loads of baloney from all sides. So, here are a few comments on things that have been said on this thread.

And, if someone suggests that I have a Bypass Bias of some sort…that would be incorrect. Both Surgeries are quite viable, but they are meant for different classes of people. People just love to “defend” their own surgery, which is detrimental to other people who are still trying to make the decision as to what is right for them.

S.

Hello Spartan,

On what are you basing your statements?

Educational expertise, web research, or opinion?

I agree every person needs to make their own decision, and compliance is a very big factor in success of any procedure.

But if I were researching, I'd want to know where your information came from in order to take it into consideration.

Thanks.

[Jachut 487]

“The Lap-band®® is less invasive than gastric bypass surgery.”

This quote is right out of a LAP-BAND® brochure. This seems to be one of a couple of phrases that are continually regurgitated whenever the subject of Band vs. Bypass comes up. The Procedure is DIFFERENT. But this whole concept of “invasion” is pretty absurd. It is NO different than many other surgeries and procedures that are performed to correct a deficiency or malfunction in some area. We have appendixes removed, gall Bladders removed, Heart bypass surgeries, and on and on and on….we have TONS of plastic surgeries. I find it amusing that so many of the people who chose LAP-BAND® over Bypass because it’s “less invasive” are planning to have tummy tucks, facelifts….whole big pieces of skin (an organ) removed. Plastic surgery probably carries as much if not MORE risk than a GB. Not to mention all of the piercings and tattoos we have and don’t even think twice about. But a gastric Bypass? An effective surgery that has been successfully performed for nearly half a century and has benefitted hundreds of thousands of patients? Hell no! it’s too…”invasive”….funny stuff.

S.

Hahaha, I love it! If I had a dollar for every idiot online that told me I have "no right" to have had WLS when I only had a BMI of 36, I'd be rich. Every person who loves to moralise on how the band is waaaaaaay too serious to be undertaken for cosmetic reasons, yet in the same breath likes to claim its less invasive than bypass, also whilst proudly wearing their zipperlike Tummy Tuck scar and plastic bosoms! This is an absolutely idiotic argument.

Every surgery is invasive, and every surgery is undertaken for highly personal reasons each and every one of which is entirely valid. They all change your life permanently.

On the sugar issue, the only sure fire method is to learn to tame your sweet tooth. Seriously, when I read on here that some MILK is sweetened with Splenda in the States, my jaw hit the floor. If people seriously think its good to take the natural sugars out of milk and replace them with Splenda then we are out of control! Eat natural foods, in their whole form and forget all of that stupid artificially sweetened rubbish. Just cut it out and let your taste buds adjust to what real food tastes like. If it comes in a can, packet or box, just dont eat it, its crap, end of story. Buy fresh foods and cook them from scratch and it wont matter what surgery you had, you will not have the problems with sugar that you encounter when you think that Diet Coke and Crystal Light are OK to drink on a daily basis.

[dizlizd 0]

Everyone on this planet is different and we are all entitled to our opinions. Even if Spartan were not quoting facts, she is entitled to her opinion and can come here and express it.

Each one of us has had a different experience. We are all worthy to judge what we would do if we had to do it all over again,,IMO.

[lilhoot 0]

I was on the operating table undergoing proposed gastric bypass last week, when they found some diabetic cirrhosis of my liver and had to stop...doing nothing but some liver biopsies....hoping to see the liver specialist next week and getting cleared for a Band instead.

I was very upset and disappointed as I had been working for almost a year to get this done....I'm ever so grateful now that there are options out there and hopefully, I will be able to get banded and use this tool as effectively (though not as rapidly) as I anticipated the bypass.

My best to all,

Lilhoot

[LeighaMason 19]

Quote from Spartan --But this whole concept of “invasion” is pretty absurd.

There are three main categories which describe the invasiveness of surgical procedures. These are: non-invasive procedures, minimally invasive procedures, and invasive procedures (the latter of which may also be called open surgery).--Wikipedia

So basically if you are comparing laparoscopic lap band to open gastric bypass, then lap band is technically less invasive. If you are comparing both surgeries as being done laproscopically, they are equally invasive.

[Nanook 2]

As one who has experience both surgeries I'm glad and lucky I had the opportunity to revise to RNY. As a "sugar eater" and having type 2 diabetes those cravings never went away with the lap band for me and mine actually got worse because sugar foods went down so easily and were always craved. I'm able to control it much easier now due to my dumping syndrome which basically just makes me feel ill if I eat too much sugar. I never lost any weight with the lap band and maybe that's rare but it happens to some people. So anyway I'm grateful for my revision to RNY, good luck to anyone else who has problems like mine! Nancy.

[Portola Suzanne 3]

Lilhoot thank you for your point of view, very interesting! I am just grateful to learn about all the different options regarding WLS. We make our best chioce or desision according to circumstance at the time. Sometimes it's a good fit, sometimes it's not. Then you move on from there.

[BusyMom1961 1]

Lilhoot good luck with your journey. Although disappointing not to get the surgery what a blessing that they found you had a problem early on. Now it can get fixed and you can move on.

On LAP-BAND® vs Gastric - aren't we fortunate that there is more than one option available to us. Both just try to get us healthier. Technology is a great thing and it is always debated and we are free to debate it. God Bless America.

Everyone have a great weekend. It is truly a beautiful spring day here in Central Illinois.

Deena

[BriBri90 0]

I personally chose the Lap Band over Gastric Bypass because I believe we were given our natural anatomy for a reason, and it is not to be messed with. The idea that bypass alters your natural anatomy forever was more than enough to convince me that the band is the right choice.

As far as not being able to eat sugar ever again, that is sooo unbelievably false, and I will give you a perfect REAL LIFE example.

Both my aunt and my cousin had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago around the same time. My aunt just went in to get all the excess skin removed... it was estimated to weigh around 40lbs. She now weighs around or just a little over 200.

My cousin on the other hand, lost about 200lbs, but in this last year and a half, he gained it ALL back and is now around 400lbs AGAIN. My father asked him not too long ago, "You went through a MAJOR surgery, you altered your insides, please explain to me how its possible that you allowed yourself to get to this point again???".... His reply: "I love food too much, I cant help it"

And by food he means sweets and soda as well. So Its not entirely true that you cant hold sugar down, that is only temporary when it does happen.

Both Gastric and Lap Band are a means to change your LIFESTYLE. Neither are miracle workers, nor will either curb your addiciton to sugar. Addiction to sugar is just like any other addiction, and to get rid of it, it has to come from within. Its more mental than anything else.

And with the band, you can always get adjusted and stay tight. With gastric, your stomach stretches out and there you go, you went through such an intense surgery for practically nothing.

Weigh your options, and before deciding to do a surgery such as gastric bypass, make sure that you really do your research on the pros and cons, but most importantly, try your BEST to work with the band, if that doesnt help, then you can look further.

Good Luck!:confused:

[soooconfused 0]

The reason is because I am a sugar addict and with the bypass, you absolutely cannot eat sugar without vomiting

above is quote from OP

I never tried to say one is better than the other, but that its NOT true that if you have a GB you can't eat sugar. I would think that if I were to have GB though, I would WANT to not be able to eat sugar. And many can't, but many can.

[Nanook 2]

I think there are many misconceptions about RNY surgery but the fact is it affects individuals differently. Some cannot tolerate any sugar, some to a degree, some never have an issue with it. But for me personally it has been a big saving grace to actually be affected by sugar intake and has helped me put my diabetes II in remission so to speak. I vomited all the time when I was banded, I've never vomited once since I've had RNY surgery. It's a totally different feeling to have the gastric bypass and not at all like having a band. I feel more in control because it's more of a consistent situation.

Anyway I am only one person who has had RNY surgery but because I also had the lap band for a year+ I feel like I can compare the two through my own experiences and possibly contribute to discussions regarding the pros and cons of each, Nancy.

[Laura steele 2]

Cocoaa Bean, you were about the same weight as me when you had the Band.I have only lost about 40 pounds. Some days I am disapointed.Iwas banded aug.2008.How are you eating with the band?? Thanks,Laura