Anyone wish they would have had gastric bypass?

[Monica S 1]

I have to admit, I do. I have only lost 35 lbs in 8 months. I wish I had had the gastric bypass instead. I don't care if it's not as healthy. Weighing 245 isn't healthy either. I hope that one day I become happy with my decision.

Am I alone here? It seems from these forums that nobody but me would have done it differently.

[Tricia K. 0]

I do not wish I would have had gastric bypass. Had lap band surgery not been available, I would have remained at my pre-surgery weight. Gastric bypass was NEVER an option for me.

[leatha_g 4]

I prefer the band - IF it were all as uncomplicated as it was first touted to be. However, knowing what I know now and having been through subsequent surgeries, etc, I often wonder if the bypass would have turned out more effective and less complicated for me.

[Chickie 15]

No, I don't. But if something were to happen with my band, and I regained, I would be more than open to it.

[Bettina 0]

I have to admit, I do. I have only lost 35 lbs in 8 months. I wish I had had the gastric bypass instead. I don't care if it's not as healthy. Weighing 245 isn't healthy either. I hope that one day I become happy with my decision.

Am I alone here? It seems from these forums that nobody but me would have done it differently.

Monica, You are doing good on the weightloss issue...you have lost 4.375 lbs per month and the expected weightloss for banding is 1-2 lbs per week...so your right on target! Keep up the good work!!:huggie:

[Monica S 1]

Monica, You are doing good on the weightloss issue...you have lost 4.375 lbs per month and the expected weightloss for banding is 1-2 lbs per week...so your right on target! Keep up the good work!!:huggie:

Thanks for the encouragement, Bettina. I guess I just wish it were faster and not so darn difficult!

[sunshinenh 0]

I am so grateful for my band. It is proving to be so difficult to adjust to all the eating changes. With bypass, the changes would be more drastic. For me, this has been a wonderful choice. I feel for you with wanting things to go faster. Your loss is fantastic and I am sure you are making important adjustments along the way. We are making changes for life. Hang in there.

[Lana Ruth 1]

HI;)

I was asked if I prefer the gastric bypass. I did not like the health implications.

Most people after a year of a bypass, often have diet related deficienies and you are dependant on medication for the rest of your life. Some being Vitamins and medication to prevent acid effecting the joined on intestines. :sick

This alone put me of the procedure. I would say even if it takes more effort to achieve the same results you have made the right decison.

Keep going, look at some of the amazing pictures on the site.

LANA hugs:girl_hug:

[birdee 1]

I have to admit, I do. I have only lost 35 lbs in 8 months. I wish I had had the gastric bypass instead. I don't care if it's not as healthy. Weighing 245 isn't healthy either. I hope that one day I become happy with my decision.

Am I alone here? It seems from these forums that nobody but me would have done it differently.

Monica you are not alone. I have always been a slow loser. I know a lot of the reason is because of my behavior and my poor choices. I hate to admit this, but I HAVE to be as restricted as possible, I HAVE to PB in order to not over indulge, it HAS to hurt. I really don't have any self control....Ok enough of that.

You are doing great. On average you are right where you should be.

I wish I could loose as fast as the individuals that have the gastric bypass, but I like the fact that I was able to get an unfill during my pregnancy and not have to worry about malabsorption. I like the fact that if I get some sorta sickness, I can Undo my WLS.

Just my thoughts.

I hope everything works out.

[Monica S 1]

Thanks Birdee! I really needed the pep talk, and you make a lot of sense to me.

[NewSho 20]

I have to admit, I do. I have only lost 35 lbs in 8 months. I wish I had had the gastric bypass instead. I don't care if it's not as healthy. Weighing 245 isn't healthy either....

Well, I'm having one of those days where I feel underfilled so it always makes me reflect.

So the best thing about the LapBand to me is the adjustability, but then the most difficult aspect of the LapBand (for me) can be finding the right 'fill' level. Getting to the "sweet spot" can be quite tiring sometimes. That's one thing that LapBanders deal with at the beginning and it can slow down our loss. While RnY patients are starting right out of the box with fast loss, we are usually dealing with an unfilled band and it often takes quite a few 'fills' for us to get to a good restriction level.

Yes I've lost slowly (in my first 9 months, I lost 35-40# or so pounds, much like you...) but it was based on not being well restricted at first. I loved my surgeon and he's absolutely a great surgeon technically and personally - but even with my strong protests I walked around almost a year without good restriction.

Getting to that point took me months and months, and I am well aware that if I had gotten the RnY, I would have already been losing then.

That's frustrating.

As soon as I started getting very good restriction (which for me, was well over 2.0), I started losing more. That took me faster, and then I was chugging right along.

After my Tummy Tuck I had some great post-op restriction (it was actually swelling but I was happy to have it and not be hungry) but it dissippated over time and then I lost nearly 1.0 cc of my restriction. Then the loss slowed again.

So for me it's simple, the LapBand will only work when the tool is operating properly. Yes I can do my part, but I need the band to be doing it's part.

Of course, over time, LapBanders eventually get to their "sweet spot" and they can get to whatever goals they set with some effort.

But honestly even as I get to sniffing distance of my goal weight, I'll never bad-mouth the RnY Bypass (or similar methods) because I know those methods (albeit more complex, and more severe surgically) can and do work for most patients.

I don't know if I wish I had a RnY but I wish I'd had a faster, easier LapBand journey. So if I'd known the LapBand wasn't going to go smoothly, I would have had RnY probably. I'm still hoping this tool will work for me, but the fill setbacks are annoying.

After I get to goal (I'm 6# from my doc's goal for me but I know I need to lose at least 16# or more to get to a decent size), ask me how I feel about it, and maybe my answer will be different.

It's a journey, for sure.

[Jachut 487]

To me gastric bypass or RNY is something you do when you're so morbidly obese that the health risks presented by your obesity outweigh those presented by the surgery. When it is imperative that you lose weight fast becuase you're a heart attack waiting to happen.

Otherwise, comorbidities or not, more average levels of obesity do not present such a huge risk in the very immediate future that you're likely to drop where you stand if you dont get 50lb off in the next two or three months.

For someone like me, for whom banding was way more about vanity than health reasons, there's simply no way I'd do it and no way I'd trust a surgeon who would agree to it.

Slow and steady is healthier. Losing weight is quite a stressful event for the body, you want to avoid making it more taxing if you can.

[Maryland 0]

If you go over to www.obesityhelp.com you can read a lot of messages from RNY patients. It seems that with gastric bypass, after a year or so the pouch stretches and people get really hungry and it is a real effort to keep the weight off. Look at the 1+ year post op forum on the first page. Don't get me wrong -- I think that RNY/bypass is a good choice for many people, but it is FAR from a free pass. It's just different.

[NewSho 20]

To me gastric bypass or RNY is something you do when you're so morbidly obese that the health risks presented by your obesity outweigh those presented by the surgery. When it is imperative that you lose weight fast becuase you're a heart attack waiting to happen.

I guess that's your take. Don't you think lots of other people have LapBanding recommended by their doctors, for the same health reasons? Of course they do.

Otherwise, comorbidities or not, more average levels of obesity do not present such a huge risk in the very immediate future that you're likely to drop where you stand if you dont get 50lb off in the next two or three months.

That is not what is medically indicated for Obesity Surgery - nor by international bariatric standards and certainly not the standards utilised here in the 'States.

For someone like me, for whom banding was way more about vanity than health reasons, there's simply no way I'd do it and no way I'd trust a surgeon who would agree to it.

That's ironic. I'm reading your statistics in your signature. If you're aiming to lose 75kg ( 165#) and you call that vanity? Wow, people really do have different viewpoints on this. I would consider you being 165# more than a vanity issue, it would seem to be a health issue. Obviously you felt differently.

I've expressed clearly that I had this surgery to look (and secondarily to feel) better.

Now in my case I thought 90 extra pounds was affecting my looks. In your case, you came to that realization at the 165# mark. OK, again, difference in viewpoint.

No one suggested it or forced it on me. I very dedicatedly got myself approved (initially for RnY bypass) on my own with sheer will. My aim was to lose about 38kg - 40kg (85-90 lbs) or so. Yet I had been so overweight for so long, and was so weary of fighting obesity that I gladly welcome a tool that offered long term solutions. And I consulted with over a half dozen (more, actually) of the top bariatric professionals with both international (and national) outstanding reputations. They agreed to me seeking bypass due to my incredibly long and generally failed diet history. These surgeons were all quite trustworthy and did lengthy consults with me.

The consensus was this: surgeons estimated I'd lose approx. 90-100# with the RnY bypass in just over a year or so. Bingo - right where I wanted to be. In fact, with RnY I might lose a bit more than I needed, which could be a welcome change for once.

When I expressed interest in the LapBand (which was done in Europe where I used to study & live) my eventual surgeon said'd probably lose about 80# with the LapBand but it would take somewhat longer due to having no malabsorption. It was a brand new method but I was interested. We both agreed that it was a great choice for a single, childless woman.

I thought it was worth trading losing 10#-20# less with the LapBand in light of the benefits. What I didn't realize was that many of the things I thought I was avoiding with the bypass (complications) did pop up with the LapBand, and I still lost far more slowly than either me or my LapBand surgeon thought it would take.

So hopefully everyone makes the right choice for them, but it's important to realise we all have different aims, goals and beliefts that may affect our choice. It's good to have faith in having made the right choice, but it's still admirable to be objective about the other choices that are out there.

[princess_n_thep 2]

Okay, I will be brave enough to admit it.

I do love my band and I am working with it. But I wish i had just done the bypass for the lifelong option. I am not looking forward to the "longterm" band option resurgery. I feel a bit like a ticking timebomb. When will I lose it?

So yes, for ME... I would have paid the extra money to do bypass. And when I do need a revision surgery on my band I will convert to the bypass.