Any of wish you had gotten RNY?

[PhotoNut 7]

I thoroughly agree. It's always invaluable to be able to talk to someone and get the benefit of their first hand experiences.

I've been thinking about this thread a lot. And I think my biggest concern is for those who are having a hard time sticking with the bandster "rules" and are getting discouraged. I'm not sure how to put this well, and please don't take offense if it comes out wrong - I'm concerned that people will abandon their efforts with the band and jump on the "what else can I try" train. To me, it almost seems like the same old thing that we've all seen over the years, people flock to the newest thing coming down the pike. Now, I know that the RnY is NOT the Newest thing but it's becoming the Next thing to try. For years I've seen people running from this fad to the next, each one promising to have the answers to success. Each one claiming to have broken the secret code for weight loss. And really, each one is just a new way of making someone else rich and leaving us disappointed, yet again.

Let's get real folks. Whether we have the RnY, the Band, the Sleeve, whatever.. it still comes down to this. If we eat crap, we will look and feel like crap. If we eat healthily, we will be healthy. If we eat too much, we will weigh too much. It's really just plain ole common sense.

Someone else said it on this thread already, but it bears repeating. If you can't get control of yourself enough to succeed with the band, then chances are you won't have long term success with any other weight loss surgery. Eventually, we all have to come to terms with the fact that it boils down to responsibility for our own actions and choices. It's just a fact of life folks - you reap what you sow.

If you have a "healthy band"... be grateful for it and USE it to your benefit. Don't flounder around, sabotaging your own goals and then toss the band aside in your excitement about the next thing coming down the road. Short of cutting your stomach out all together, we all have to take responsibility for what we put in our mouths.

I pray for each of us as we struggle to find our way through this nightmare that's led us to this point in life. I pray that we wake up to the realization that we are only imprisoned by ourselves and we do have the power to get free.

[maryb 1]

Hi Mary. Thank you!

If you would like to see a chart with the differences between RNY and DS, let me know and I'll search down the link. Anatomy is different and there is no dumping with the DS. (which could be considered good or bad depending on the individual) I don't have a "pouch" but a long banana shaped tummy.

Thanks Rachele, I would love to see the chart with the differences.

Thank God for WLS! Just can't help but think of how many lives are forever changed for the better. I had given up hope myself and was facing a future of Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and debilitating Arthritis. HOPE is a wonderful blessing!

Mary

[maryb 1]

I pray for each of us as we struggle to find our way through this nightmare that's led us to this point in life. I pray that we wake up to the realization that we are only imprisoned by ourselves and we do have the power to get free.

AMEN! We have the power, all we have to do is plug it in!

[tracey anderson 0]

Hi,

I had the band and it eroded and I so wish that I would have just done RNY in the first place. A few months before I had the band placed I had talked with a RNY surgen and he was willing to lower his cost to help me out but the Hospital was still out of reach for me but I so wish that now I would have some how some way tried to get the money. For all I have spent on the band for fills travel and then having to pay for it to be taken out well not the whole bill but 2300.00 plus I would have had the GB paid for by now. Just my thoughts now I fight and try to find away to get the GB. 3 years later.. Tracey

[rachele 0]

VQueen, I have been following your medical situation, and am interested to see how it turns out. It totally sucks. You are a real inspiration here. You are honest, intelligent and open minded. Plus you seem like a pretty cool chick.

Yes, there are times when I get frustrated. (and I have been contemplating walking away because I do feel like I'm beating my head against the wall sometimes) I'm not sure what my role here is. I try not to be an antagonizer (is that spelled right?) but I think its important to contribute what MY experience was. And to educate where needed. Sometimes you have to take one on the chin, I guess, for the sake of the team.

Photonut, you do have a way with words. Although I do agree with much of what you have said, I think you should take some of your own advice.

You said "Get Real, folks."

I think the folks here are real. They are real human beings with weaknesses, insecurities and real life issues. If we were all perfect we wouldn't be here.

Photonut said "To me, it almost seems like the same old thing that we've all seen over the years, people flock to the newest thing coming down the pike. Now, I know that the RnY is NOT the Newest thing but it's becoming the Next thing to try. For years I've seen people running from this fad to the next, each one promising to have the answers to success. Each one claiming to have broken the secret code for weight loss. And really, each one is just a new way of making someone else rich and leaving us disappointed, yet again."

Ok, bypass would be the next thing to try logically, at least for some. Thats why people touted the band as the "next best thing". It can be removed, it's the least invasive. That if "the next best thing" comes along you haven't permenantly altered yourself. Right? Go this route first because if it works, fan-f'in-tastic. If it doesn't then regroup. I don't believe for one minute that the band is a fad, or that any wls is. But when I got the band, I thought I had found the thing that broke the "secret code for weight loss". Whoops. Didn't work that way for me.

Photonut said "If we eat crap, we will look and feel like crap. If we eat healthily, we will be healthy. If we eat too much, we will weigh too much. It's really just plain ole common sense."

I think this statement is a bit patronizing. You are talking to, for the most part, intelligent adults. They know if they eat crap, we will look and feel like crap. This kind of statement is kind of along the lines of "why don't you put the donut down and push away from the table". If it were that easy, none of us would have needed surgery. Not even you.

Photonut said "If you can't get control of yourself enough to succeed with the band, then chances are you won't have long term success with any other weight loss surgery. Eventually, we all have to come to terms with the fact that it boils down to responsibility for our own actions and choices."

Ok, this just isn't right. The band is NOT one size fits all. To imply that if they fail with the band, it is their fault, and they will never succeed with any surgery is too generalizing of a statement. Each person is individual and their needs are individual. Each surgery works the body a little bit differently. People should know that it's not the end of the world if the band doesn't work out, and yes, there are other options. The first year for me with the band was like a honeymoon. I couldn't believe anyone could have trouble losing or maintaining with it. It was year 2, then year 3 when troubles started rising. The longer you have it the more experiences you will have with it, and eventually you'll see it's not that easy. Throw some medical issues in with it like Vinesqueen, me or Sue and Ta Da! For my part I was one unhappy bandster. My band was rendered utterly useless and that was from no fault of it or my own. Things happen. Life gets in the way. Then yes, it was time to go on to the "next best thing."

You are a smart woman, but you tend to lecture. You are not an expert at weight loss, even though you play one on LBT. If you were, you wouldn't have a band. You seem to be a fan of tough love, so I hope you can accept it, too.

[rachele 0]

Good luck, Tracey. It sucks that your band eroded. I hope things work out well for you.

[GeezerSue 7]

A few comments from ANOTHER previously banded, now DS'd member:

On eating crap...my DS "fixed" things so that my body thinks it had 20-30% of the fat I've eaten. It doesn't know about the other 70-80%. So if I eat three ounces (three servings) of Planters Mixed Nuts, I put in 45g of fat, but my body "ignores" 23+ grams and lets them move on through...and only 11+ grams are "accepted" by my system. In other words, I can eat crap and my body doesn't even know it happened. (This is not recommended, but it happens...and there are no plugs, no slimes, no barfing, no dumping.)

On the safety of the band...it's a safer SURGERY. The eroded people had safer SURGERIES. But if the band slices through the stomach wall (that's what erosion does) it is no longer "the least invasive surgery around." After the safer surgery ends, life still goes on.

On mortality rates...many surgeons are convinced that the DS is only for the SUPER MO. The Super MO can die from having dental novocaine. They are at death's door going into surgery. OF COURSE they have a higher mortality rate. My DS surgeon has had one fatality, that was from a mostly unrelated thing, but it was within the 30-day post-op window. He's done well over a thousand DS procedures, so his mortality rate is <0.1%...one tenth of one percent.

Body parts...the unused portion of the RnY stomach stays in the body. The unused portion fo the DS stomach is removed.

The "if you can't do it with the band" line of crap is well...big boy cow poo-poo. And insulting. And way wrong. (And at least potentially more convincing coming from someone who HAS done it with the band.) If the other surgeries hadn't proven themselves to work, insurance companies wouldn't be paying for them. (And because of the band's relatively poor showing in some studies, my insurance company no longer pays for banding on BMI's over 50.)

If someone has the band and things are NOT working out, then they really shouldn't be afraid to consider something else. Remember, the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and to expect different results.

For those who know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no matter what results and or problems they have down the line, they would NEVER consider one of the bypass surgeries, then I suggest looking into long term care insurance. Because if (I said "if," I'm not predicting anyone's future) the band DOES fail you and you end up morbidly obese again, your ability to care for yourself as you age (I'm pushing 60, so I know about this) decreases and MO just makes it worse.

Night before last, we went to an Italian restaurant. I had some minnestrone Soup, salmon with spinach, penne with Tomato cheese sauce, bread with cheese and butter dripping all over the place and cannoli. Last night, it was a Mexican restaurant and I had chips, salsa, half a tamale, half an enchilada, some rice and some Beans. I'm eating THOSE leftovers as I type. I'm half-Mexican and half-Italian. I've lost an average of a half-pound a day since surgery in November. I no longer barf up Water and I have my heritage back. Bravo and Ole!

Editing to add...the DS is primarily malabsorptive. The malabsorption continues, which is why we continue to need our supplements.

[the best me 6]

. I no longer barf up Water and I have my heritage back. Bravo and Ole!

LMBO.

I love that you and Rachele are still here. Thanks, as always, for the balancing perspectives, ladies.

[Kimbo 0]

I went to the seminar on Tuesday night for folks interested in WLS. The young guy who was there as an RNY patient had had surgery 5 weeks after me ( I'm 5 months out & he is 4). I have lost 71.5 lbs & he has lost 120 lbs. He looked great, but had just gotten out of the hospital 1 week ago because scar tissue from his surgery had restricted his colon & they had to do emergency surgery to save his life.

At that seminar that night, most everyone there was interested in the RNY, mostly because its quick. I will be honest that is a major apply. Your body will not let you eat sugar or fat, & the things you do eat will be leaving you body almost as fast as you put it in. BUT, the biggest thing that concerned everyone there was the mortality rate, everyone seemed to know someone who had died or had had major complications. I admit that is what made me chose the band, I am just flat out scared of the unknown. Not just what could happen now but 10 20 years down the road. I losing weight to lenthen my life, not add to the complications I already have.

I work hard everyday to lose this weight, & I will have to work hard everyday for the rest of my life to keep it off. Because all of us are addicits, we will always struggle. Everyone has their own reason for the choose they have made, but neither path is easy, but success is possible in both.

Kim

[nanahanna 1]

I know about 10 people who have have RNY and none of them have had any kind of complication. At the seminar Tuesday night that I went to I don't remember one single person asking about mortality with the RNY. Most of us have done our homework for several months and now we are at the "choosing" stage. All of the questions (and there were about 20 people there) were about length of hospital stay, drain tubes or not, followup care, and me asking about how to choose. The doctor refuses to choose for you. He has no favorite. He also said that RNY was the gold standard but said they were both great tools. He has never had an erosion, slip or any complication from the band. He has never had a patient die after RNY. He did RNY for several years before doing lapband. His insurance coordinator has the band. One of his RNY patient's was in the audience. She was a hoot, about to turn 71 I think she said and is absolutely thrilled she had the surgery.

[mrlddst 0]

I have not had any surgery..so I don't know if I can even give my opinion, but I will anyway . I went to the seminars, read several books, and after much thought, I think the band is right for me. I do have a BMI of 44 and have over 100 lbs to lose to be at goal weight, but I hate taking pills everyday (reason why I get depo instead of the pill) so I know that I would bring about my own demise. My insurance does not cover DS, but either way DS or RNY, I feel like I'm only 26, I haven't had any kids yet and want to be around for as long as possible. No one could tell me what would happen to me after 50 or 60 and I didn't want to do anything that could potentially shortened my life (yes I know being fat that I already shorten my own life, but I don't want a surgery to reroute that). Now I know there are plenty of people who know plenty of people that have had the RNY surgery. Personally (people who were friends of mine), I knew or know 5 people who had it done, 2 are dead from complications, 1 is in/out of the hospital consistently and had gained most of her weight back, 1 lost her weight and has gained it back (but I always told her that she never had a full understanding of what she needed to do to maintain it, she was obsessed with knowing what if felt like to be skinny and couldn't handle it), and the last one is doing just fine. Even though these are only a few people, its MY world, as limited in scope as it may be, I think it would give anybody in my position a scare. So I will take my chances with this, work with it and hope for the best. If it doesn't hopefully by that time there will be another option for treatment, but only time will tell.

[scuuder3 0]

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.

[mrlddst 0]

Hey Scudder,

I don't know if they all had the same surgeon. One of my friends who had complications found out after surgery (she had it in 1995) that her doctor was renamed the butcher after several of his patience lost their lives for unnecessary reasons. He has since had his license revoked and she is looking into a revision. One had a clot in recovery and died, the other got a staple in his intestinal tract, recieved an infection and died days later after putting up a great fight. And like I said the other one problems are caused by her own ignorance, and my other friend had surgery recently and is doing just fine (85 lbs lost).

[PhotoNut 7]

Heyas Rachel,

I haven't seen this thread since I last posted on it, so I've just seen what you directed to me. I wasn't ignoring you.

I think you took my tone to be quite different than it was intended. And you quoted some of my statements out of context. If you'll take a moment to notice, I usually direct my thoughts to everyone including ME, which is why I say "let's" and "we". And I have clarified many times before in my posts that I am not referring to folks who have medical problems which prevent them from losing weight with the band. I think by now that should be a given when we are talking about band success. I see no reason to have to continue placing that disclaimer in my posts.

Also, I do not lecture anyone nor have I ever claimed to be an expert about weight loss or anything else. Everyone comes here to share their thoughts the same as I do. I do not direct my comments to any one person thereby singling anyone out and telling them they are wrong (as you have done). We are all free to have our own opinions and to share them here on LBT.

I'm sorry that you took offense to my post. Apparently I struck a nerve with you, it wasn't my intent.

Sincerely, Susan

[juliek 0]

I would not even consider RYN - Lap Band is the right thing for me. Good luck with your decision.