Mental Anguish over Decision

[Worrier No. 1 1]

This is my first post so I hope I've posted correctly. I was banded at Oregon Weight Loss Surgery way back in 2005. Started at 255; lowest 207. Almost immediately after I got my band, my doctor left the practice and every doctor I saw after that moved on to somewhere else. I have had a love-hate relationship with this band from Day 1. It's a little funny. I used to be afraid to throw up. I have never thrown up so much in my life and it has just become a way of life. I had the band loosened for awhile and held my own, but of course, didn't lose any further weight. Decided to get another opinion and headed over to OHSU's program for one last hurrah with my band. Got it tightened multiple times, but still didn't feel much restriction, however, ended up with a really bad case of GERD. The band is still in a good place, however, it had to be loosened so I am back to square one. The GERD was evidently bad enough that they will not tighten the band again. I have met with the surgeon,have been offered a band to bypass revision and my insurance will cover it due to complications. I figured I'd try Weight Watchers again and see if I could do this on my own, but of course, not working. I'm 59 years old and very nervous about having surgery and how I am going to handle this - especially mentally. I passed all of the prerequisites, but I know (still after all of these years) that I turn to food to deal with stress and loneliness. On top of it all, I need a hip replacement. Bottomline, I don't want to be one of those people who goes through this huge life altering process and fails. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[MissVicky 3]

Wow. I feel like this could've been MY post, but i was banded in 2008. At the least we have experienced all of the same problems down to hip pain, only mine hasn't advanced yet to replacement. I don't have any advice for you, I'm sorry, but I am in the same place as you. I am 58 yrs old. I have made the decision to take this one last step because life is too short and I don't want to spend my golden years housebound and in constant pain due to obesity. I wish you well coming to your own personal decision. For me...I feel this is the right decision.

[Crosby 303]

I have never been banded but I am in my 50's and walking with a cane due to hip issues. Three years ago I lost 130 pounds with WW and was mountain biking, running and weight lifting...living like crazy. Then my hip was injured and I ate to deal with the injury and limited mobility. Hip surgery followed but so did 80 pounds. Recently reinjured the hip ( likely due to the weight) and I am sure I will need surgery again. That was my last straw. I can't wait to have bypass surgery and have very little hesitation. I know I will either physically die from obesity or emotionally die from my inability to have the life I want.

I am diving into this opportunity full force. I know I can be successful and that is half the battle. Whatever you decide I wish you the very very best.

[Mayaresearchmom 104]

I'm 52, and I've never had a band, but I did make the decision to have bypass after breaking my leg through the knee joint. I had considered bypass for several years, but it took the ortho doctor telling me that I needed a total knee because my weight caused the fracture repair to fail to get the ball rolling. One thing that he said that really stuck in my head was that for every pound you lose, that is FOUR pounds of pressure off the knee. I'm sure its about the same for the hip. Surgery was 6/10, and I'm down 18 pounds since surgery date, and a total of 29 pounds since 4/26 when I first visited my surgeon. (I was fast tracked because I was self pay) My surgeon does not even do the band anymore because of the number of revisions that she was requested to do in the past few years. I already had bad GERD, so I opted for bypass. I can honestly say this is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I had probably lost and regained the same 29 pounds on WW five or six times over the past 4 years. I'm looking forward to a healthier more active life. At times I think my weight loss should be more, but I am really limited as to walking because of the knee. I know that once I get my knee replacement in October that I will (hopefully) lose quicker.

Hope my reply helped. Just consider where you are now, and how much better it could be. I don't think age should be a factor, its quality of life. I work in a doctors office, and I see our older patients who are active and able to do for themselves, even after hip or knee replacemnets, then I see our not so older patients who are barely able to get around after hip or knee replacements because of their weight issues. And I DO NOT want to be a part of the later group.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Mayaresearchmom

[melclark2 1]

I too felt like it was almost like reading my own post, I was banded in 2008, went from HW of 318, down to lowest of 199, then up to 217ish before having band removed last summer cause of the complications of it slipping. I am so excited to being close to gastric bypass surgery in the next couple months. My hip and back pain got really really bad over the winter. Starting to move again in last few months but looking forward to moving even more.

[lisad97411 5]

I'm 53 and was 300lbs. When my knees began to deteriorate and every step was painful I did bypass. I am know going to work with Ortho doc to manage situation to get the wait off and see what my next step is. I am 4 weeks post op today and doing well except for my knees.

[blackonynx 27]

This is my first post so I hope I've posted correctly. I was banded at Oregon Weight Loss Surgery way back in 2005. Started at 255; lowest 207. Almost immediately after I got my band, my doctor left the practice and every doctor I saw after that moved on to somewhere else. I have had a love-hate relationship with this band from Day 1. It's a little funny. I used to be afraid to throw up. I have never thrown up so much in my life and it has just become a way of life. I had the band loosened for awhile and held my own, but of course, didn't lose any further weight. Decided to get another opinion and headed over to OHSU's program for one last hurrah with my band. Got it tightened multiple times, but still didn't feel much restriction, however, ended up with a really bad case of GERD. The band is still in a good place, however, it had to be loosened so I am back to square one. The GERD was evidently bad enough that they will not tighten the band again. I have met with the surgeon,have been offered a band to bypass revision and my insurance will cover it due to complications. I figured I'd try Weight Watchers again and see if I could do this on my own, but of course, not working. I'm 59 years old and very nervous about having surgery and how I am going to handle this - especially mentally. I passed all of the prerequisites, but I know (still after all of these years) that I turn to food to deal with stress and loneliness. On top of it all, I need a hip replacement. Bottomline, I don't want to be one of those people who goes through this huge life altering process and fails. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This is my post. I think you just changed my name to yours LOL....But seriously, I believe over half of lap banders could say the exact same thing. I am now 60yrs old and thought to give the band one last chance. I figured that it was just me. After getting one more fill, I still had no restriction and was still gaining weight. I knew that if I got another fill, then I will once again have reflux and night coughs. So nearly 2 weeks ago I had the band removed. I've done weight watchers and soooo many other diets before being banded and just can't do it on my own. I just don't want to waste more of my golden years trying diets again that I already know that I won't be successful with. Therefore, once I;m healed from the removal, I plan to go through with the revision to RNY ASAP. Good luck to you, I can't tell you what you should do, but I just wanted you to know how I plan to deal with our simular situations. Keep me posted.

[lisad97411 5]

May i suggest going to see Dr Tresegni at Bay Bariatric in Coos Bay. It is a center if excellence. He was been there for 15 years and it combined with the new facilities at the hospital specializing in bariatrics it is worth the drive to the coast.i talked to many many people and i never heard a complaint, my experience was uneventful with wonderful care.

[Desdemona 48]

I'm 62 and have quite a GERD story that is now resolved. I'll cut to the chase and give you my recommendation. Do a strong search in your area for a practice that has high grades for treating BOTH GERD and the band. Try to see someone who really does do RNY, The sleeve and the band. That way --- you won't get someone who is trying to push pts to using the method that is easiest and more lucrative for THEM.

I had HORRIBLE GERD and did everything in the book and gained 20lbs to boot! Changed MDs (from someone who is supposedly an expert – but had pretty much stopped putting in bands) to someone who routinely does all 3 and also is a specialist in GERD. They did a full assessment and found nothing wrong with the band. Said the GERD was because it was too tight. Took 2ccs out. GERD cleared up IMMEDIATELY! I also gained a couple of lbs. after that. I also went to an allergist and found that I had 3 allergies that caused post-nasal drip which was really impacting sleep quality and contributes to GERD – so I went on prescription nasal sprays and started getting allergy shots. I had no idea that I was having so much problem with breathing until after I started breathing well. My air passages are completely clear now. No more GERD. No more waking up at night because I can’t breathe. The band does put pressure on the diaphragm so having allergies can really make it harder to have the air we need. Now feeling a lot calmer because I have tons of air and a good night sleep. Got back on good diet and started losing again but I was really hungry because I only had 4 cc in my band. She just put 1.5 in and I’m back to losing and feeling great.

Bottom line is --- it may be best for you to go with RNY but you may want to try a good strong GERD and band surgeon first to see if they can resolve it.

You said you eat because you are lonely. Research has found that they are 2 types of obese people: those who eat a regular meal when they are hungry and then eat their sweets between meals vs those who will just reach for sweets (instead of meals) when they are hungry. That 2^nd type is a primary sweets eater and they don’t do well with the band because the band requires eating solid Proteins that will sit in the stomach for a while. If people are primarily sweets eaters --- their food goes right through the band and they will always be hungry.

My very best wishes

Edited July 21, 2014 by Desdemona