The Band VS Gastric Bypass...What made your decision??

[HarleyNana 10]

Never considered anything, but the band. The idea of having my innards rearranged scared the chit outta me.

[Sophie 0]

Lind2times -- PBing is productive burping (aka vomiting but doesn't quite feel completely like it since it is only from your pouch). It can happen when you overeat or have something stuck that was not chewed well.

The best way I have come across to describe this phenomenon to the non-banded is to make the analogy between a cat who ate too much food and just sort of urps it up. The cat food still looks exactly like it did when you poured it in the bowl and there are no intestinal fluids involved. It is just urping up of food, usually because food was not chewed into small enough pieces. PBing is very different from throwing up in that you can hold back PBing until it is (can convenient possibly be the right word) possible to find a private place to, um, eject. There is no urgency to it, you just know you need to go do it. Did that make any sense??

[FullofGRACE 0]

could someone tell me what these are???

[Carlene 12]

I researched different WLS procedures for a year before I made my choice. It wasn't a financial decision, as my insurance would pay for whatever surgery I chose. My doctor performs both LB and bypass and did not promote one over the other (although he is banded himself).

I, too, was turned off by the idea of taking supplements. I'm a lousy pill-taker.

Also, there was the matter of my oldest son's neighbor. She died from complications of her bypass.

And finally, there is a Yahoo group called OSSG Gone Wrong http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OSSG-gone_wrong/?yguid=196617044

It scared the daylights out of me.

Here is a story from a woman who had both the band and the DS, and complications from both.

I had a gastric band placed in January 2000. It was very straightforward and and

had a reasonably easy run for a few years until I vomited some blood and ended

up with a rash on my belly. It turned out to be a late allergy to silicone which

had caused an erosion.

I saw a WLS expert to remove the band and convert it. I was offered RNY or DS. I

chose DS as I would be able to eat more! (ha!) When I asked about complications

he said a small risk of leaks and that I would need to take Vitamins and 100g

Protein each day.

My operation was difficult as the band was welded to my stomach and there were

lots of adhesions. It was placed high and so my lower oesophageal sphincter has

been ruined and I have permanent reflux.

Now two years later I have borderline osteoporosis and take mega doses of

ergocalciferol. My liver function tests are barely passable. I have recurrent

bacterial overgrowth. Until I started taking lots of meds I was losing my hair

too.

I now take 12 Vita4Life each day, lansoprazole, Iron, folic acid and creon. My

recent endoscopy stretch my sleeve which is still very tight. Some days I can

eat a lot and other days hardly at all. To be honest the vita4life have made a

great difference but I am still in the bathroom twice a night so I am very tired

in the mornings.

I visit the bathroom 4-8 times daily- even with all the iron I am taking.

Yes, I know there are risks associated with any surgical procedure. I just thought it was a good idea to minimize my risks, and statistically the bad is safer than the other options. Although it is true that most people do fine with the RNY and DS, I wasn't willing to take a chance on being the one that didn't.

[Jachut 487]

Easy choice here for me. They dont do GBP or RNY due to the belief that the lapband is a far safer procedure. Yes there can be complications with a lap band but the risks are very low compared to those other surgeries, statistically speaking. Someone is always going to be the person who suffers those complications but the risk of it being me were extremely low.

There's no way I would have chosen either GBP or RNY had I had the option either, I just didnt have a weight problem of the size to justify something so major and I wasnt desperate enough about it yet to consider reconfiguring my insides. I would have preferred to suffer my obesity and live with it. Lapband simply didnt seem so "extreme" to me.

[edieparks 2]

For me the short recovery period made me feel more comfortable with the whole surgery. Go home the same day sounded good .

edie

[TamifromAL 1]

I went to a seminar near my home on weight loss surgery, expecting it to be about gastric bypass. However, although the surgeon touched on RNY, his primary topic was the lapband. His practice does both surgeries, but he presented a strong case for the lapband. I was sold on the fact that it's less risky, and doesn't require a lifetime of supplements. My insurance doesn't cover lapband, but I chose to self-pay rather than have the more radical surgery.

[tonya66 13]

I wanted the gastric bypass, I'll be honest. But, I've chosen the lap band because of the less mortality rate during surgery. I have children at home and I don't want to risk losing my life and leaving them motherless. I have 3 very close friends that have had the GB and are doing great, however, one of thier friends is in the ICU now for 30 days since her GB surgery. Her family was informed her kidneys are now shutting down, the chances of her survival now are very slim, and they are doing a 24 hour vigil around her bedside. It really hits home when you know someone that is dying because of WLS.

I am determined to lose the weight and I look at lap band as a tool, not a cure for my weight loss. I have about 80 lbs to lose. I weigh 225 lbs, 5'6", so not quite a 100, so I think the lap band will give me that extra help I need. I go to my seminar next month, and then will schedule the consultation with the doctor and file my insurance papers.

The only thing I'm scared of is the erosion of the band, I will make sure I make all my doc appointments.

I am not against anyone having the GB, like I said, I really wanted it, but decided it wasn't the right choice for me. I have friends that would recommend it in a heartbeat but they will tell you its not a piece of cake. I am going into the Lap Band with the idea that it is not a piece of cake either, and I know there might be some side effects, but to me I'm ready for anything in order to get these 80 lbs off.

I'm hoping to get lots of support here while I go thru my journey, I'm trying to read everything I can to be well prepared. I'm keeping my surgery a secret from my family, most probably won't agree with that, but I have my reasons and I know I can't tell them.

I agree with most everyone here regarding why they made thier choice. I was a little freaked out about having the "foreign" object as well, but the post here explained it well, so I'm over that.

[Carlene 12]

I was a little freaked out about having the "foreign" object as well, but the post here explained it well, so I'm over that.

It's amazing how many of those bypassed women, once they lose the extra weight, change their minds about the no-foreign-objects rule and get breast surgery with IMPLANTS to perk those puppies up again. And how many of them wear contacts? Hello....that's a foreign object you're sticking in your eye every morning.

[lisah25 3]

I was a little freaked out about having the "foreign" object as well, but the post here explained it well, so I'm over that.

I never minded the idea of the band being in me, nor the port. But for some reason the tubing kind of freaked me out. I still don't know why, but I got over it too.

[Carlene 12]

I never minded the idea of the band being in me, nor the port. But for some reason the tubing kind of freaked me out. I still don't know why, but I got over it too.

You know...I never thought about the tubing at all until I saw it on an x-ray when they checked my spinal fusions. It kind of weirded me out, too.

[Randi 0]

A few us discussed the foreign object thing in another thread. Here's the link for anyone interested: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19316&highlight=Foreign+Object