Decisions!

[KensingtonWalk 10]

Hi all! Did anyone else struggle with which procedure to go with? I keep going back and forth. Any advice would be appreciated.

Naomi

[Elode 8,093]

I thought I was going for Gastric bypass but my surgeon said sleeve on first visit. Perfect choice! My suggestion is get a surgeon you trust that will tell you what's best for your situation.

[KensingtonWalk 10]

Thank you.

[Sajijoma 1,324]

Have you been to a seminar yet? At our seminar, the surgeon went through each one and which one was best suited for which situation. The lap band or realize bands he said were good for about 60-70lbs but more than that it wasn't going to cut a significant amount of weight and did have issues with long term loss. Like people learned how to eat around it I guess. then he showed us the sleeve and said it's good for 100+lbs weightloss, but a lot of times again, people find ways around it's usefulness and end up with a weight gain and eventually if they have a significant weight to lose will have it switched over to a bypass. It also tends to come with GERD/acid reflux and it can be very painful to deal with that. The bypass he referred to as his "gold standard" in weightloss because it has shown to work long term, the weight loss experienced is quite dramatic and fast and for the most part, a person with bypass can expect to lose 70% for their excess weight in the first year and maintain that loss or improve over the next 5 yrs without slipping backwards. He also cover plication and some new battery operated thing that shocks the vagus nerves causing them to not send the message of being hungry. I forget what it was called, but it was neat. It's not really good for someone in my situation though, I think it was comparable to the lap band in weightloss.

I went into the seminar thinking sleeve seemed the way to go because I didn't want anyone fiddling with my intestines and dumping sounds REALLY painful, but by the time we left, I had really committed in my heart to the roux en y because I really don't want to do this again. I want to do 1 surgery and be good for life. I find out for certain what the surgeon thinks is our best plan of attack Fri. I'm pretty sure he's going to suggest the bypass though. At my weight and with my history, I'd be shocked if he didn't.

[KensingtonWalk 10]

Thank you. Yes I did go to a seminar but they didn't get that detailed. I am thinking the bypass will be a long term solution given my history. Good luck with your decision and please keep me posted. I have researched both and it seems as if the sleeve may affect my GERD and make it worse.

[Lapbandster 496]

My new surgeon personally advocates for bypass because he said it's been shown to be safe for 40 years. The newer ones are ok but not really any long term data on them.

As per the recommendation of my old surgeon, I did the lapband and can say for sure that had I known about all the possible complications years into it, I wouldn't have done it. That surgeon ONLY does lapbands, so either he REALLY believes in it or he's getting kickbacks from allergen (the lapband company) for every surgery he performs.

Might need to get mine removed, and I will not be getting a revision. Too scared