Ok... now I am unsure

[juliegeraci 7]

I love being banded. I can only eat 1/4 cup of food at once and I'm fine with that. Enjoy food while you can. The beauty of being banded is that you can have everyone, just in smaller portions. Good luck.

[GayleTX 1]

Did they tell you at the info session that gastric bypass is only effective for about 18-24 months, that after that 'window of opportunity' the intestines usually (not always) adjust to the changes and you no longer dump with sugar/fat foods......... then you are on your own. You have to hope that by that time you have developed new habits nd lifestyle and can handle it on your own for the rest of your life.

I had so much to lose I knew I couldn't do it in 2 years and I had no faith in myself to discipline myself after the GB effectiveness was gone. (I have several decades of failure in that area). So.....I chose to have a band, a tool that will be with me forever.

As for binging....sometimes when there is really good food before me, it makes me angry I can't hold more than I can. But then I go home and smile when I step on the scale....it's a temporary temper tantrum!!

Whatever you choose........best wishes to you!!

[babeintoyland 0]

I had never heard of the 2 year window. I have actually known people who have had the bypass fail, one who had it done a second time, because they ate too much and streched out their stomach pouch. But I don't know anything about the dumping going away. Interesting.

[Kat817 19]

I have a friend who had bypass surgery about 6 years ago, and she says it is very uncertain whether sugars will cause her to dump anymore. Of all things they own an Ice Cream Parlour! She said some days she could eat it all, and have minimal if any effect from it, other days she said licking her finger would be enough to set her off. She lost about 80% of her weight, she has never had issue with regaining, but she is also pretty diligent with her diet.

I knew I would not do well emotionally with knowing or thinking I would NEVER be able to have those things again.

She does take lots of Vitamins and supplements, or she said her hair gets thin, and her energy levels are low. I notice it in her coloring, she looks kind of pale but waxy sometimes, but others, apparently when she is taking her supplements, she looks great. Nutritionally she seems to work harder at it. She did lose her weight quicker though....

Kat

[rcorn60035 0]

I think we all, at times, binge to verying degrees.

I'll just say the thing that absolutely convinced me to go with Lapband was that it is reversible. I've had some pretty major stomach problems (bowel obstruction) in the past and knew that I needed something that could be reversed if it needed to be.

I read here somewhere the following:

"Nothing tastes as good as the weight loss feels." Oh, so true.

Good luck with whatever you decide. You have to choose what's best for you and I'm not the one to tell you what that is. There are some that will tell you not to do gastric bypass. I've had friends that had great success with it but I've also had friends that died from complications. I don't mean to scare you but if you've done any research at all, you already knew that.

Best Wishes.

Renee

[JulieNYC 4]

In my experience binge eaters do particularly WELL with the band over the bypass. Binge eaters cannot binge with the band and can, in the long run, with the bypass, hence the regain.

I was a binge eater just like what you describe. I would (probably 5 times a week) go to the store and buy exactly the types of quantities you described. And Kat is right -- sometimes I still break down and buy the crap, but now, I'll eat one serving, come to my senses (because I'm physically full, at which point I have the power to turn it down, which I never had before), and throw it away (I waste a lot of food, but I'm thin and if that's what it takes, I don't care).

There are benefits to the bypass, but the fact that you're a binge eater isn't one of them, in my view. Far more important, is making sure you're healthy for the long term, so you can take care of your family and yourself for many years to come. I say get the band.

[wendy645 1]

<snip> I joke I am like a bulimic who never got the purging right. <snip>quote]

I call myself an amnesiac bulimic, so I totally feel ya! I looked into GB once, but I really like that this is reversible, does not require hacking up of intestines, quicker recovery, and slower loss. Yes, I said slower loss.

My biggest fear about losing weight is loose skin, and with slower loss, it's less likely. So yeah. Plus, I'm already sick a lot, I don't want to be sick all dayevery daylike GB patients. :sick

[babeintoyland 0]

That is a funny Garfield comic.

Wow, I feel like i have done so much reading on this subject. I am 80% sure I will go with the band. I have my first nurse appt next mon. Then on to the nutritionist appt. My insurance covers the surgury completely, but I have to follow their steps, which include a 6 month doctor supervised and documented diet. Which means visits with the nutritionist (which my insurance doesn't cover, go figure). Also they require a psych appt, they also don't cover. Sometimes I wonder.

[Psyched2 0]

I was scheduled for the bypass a year ago, but decided to go with the less invasive proceedure. I think I am now at the point where I won't be self sabotaging and will eat the right foods. I haven't had my first fill yet. I was banded 7/14 and have lost 13 lbs on the liquid diet plus some cottage cheese.and fruit blended into the shakes. The band is safer and in the end, the statistics between the band and bypass are very similar at the five year mark.

[Lap-bandit 0]

I went to the information session last week. The woman talking had gastric bypass. She started giving us the info on both procedures (that is what I expected, it was an info session for the hospital's weight program, not just the lap band) While I saw A LOT of great point for the lap-band, I am concerned about some of the facts she talked about. I am a definate binge eater. I have for the most part figured my major trigger to be sugary treats (ie candy, cake, Cookies, ice cream, pie) and am working on eliminating them from my diet. (I have gone 2 weeks with out, Yea me!!!) Although that doesn't control all the binges.

Anyway, she told us that if we were binge eaters, the lap band was probably not for us. Because it is not a mal-absorbtion (is that the right word?) solution. I have heard dumping to be a problem with the bypass, but like i said, I plan to give up my major trigger no matter which surgury I choose.

I must admit the band's biggest appeal to me is the recovery time. I am a busy sahm and about to be a part time student to top it off. Also I was planning on trying to keep this to myself (dh will be in the loop). And I figure the sooner I can get back to my life, the more likely I will be able to accomplish that. I feel it would be easier. Let me give you an example of the last conversation I had with my mom. I was concerned about how many Cookies she was feeding my one year old. She said this is how I was raised and I turned out fine. I said yeah well look at me. Her reply was, well you didn't look like THAT when you loved here. So I am not counting on much support coming from her or my dad.

This has gotten long, and to anyone who is still reading let me ask... Do you have any advice or opinions on why you choose the band over bypass. Any bingers out there who can shed some light? Thank you so much for letting me talk through this.

Beckie

Beckie-

My friend went through gastric bypass, she is five years out and has a whole host of problems that have developed within the past two years. She almost died at one point due to an ulcer. Not only that, because she was so malnourished from not getting all the Vitamin and minerals and vital nutrients that she needed, she had a very rough recovery. She is now looking at having her period stopped due to extreme Iron deficiency anemia. She looks like a walking stick because she is having a difficult time gaining the weight back that she lost from being so sick. She is about 5'9" and weighs about 125 lbs and she does NOT look good and she knows this. Anyway, after seeing what she has gone through, I would never have gastric bypass. It is a very extreme surgery.

If you are still unsure, I would really dig in and read as much about it as possible. I think reading about other people's personal experiences is the best way to find out information. Not that everybody is going to be the same, but it will give you an idea of what you are getting into. Good luck with your decision.

[mendypoo 0]

Here are some more stories to think about:

Cousin #1 had by-pass 10 years ago (I was very jealous) got very thin very fast got a huge hernia from it and looked like crap because she couldn't follow the rules..after about 3 years she had her Tummy Tuck and started to take better care of herself because she got put into the hospital and had to have a bunch of stuff pumped into because her body gave up trying to aborb any Vitamins and Protein that she put into it. Her teeth a very bad because of all of the puking she did from dumping and eating too much. Now at this time she has controlled her Proteins and Vitamins and is feeling much better but has gained back around 80lbs.

Cousin #2 (sister to #1) had her by-pass not long after #1 and got thin real fast (again very jealous but mostly don't like this one much) but after about 2 years she started having throat problems from puking from her cheating and then she started on the other end having rectal problems from all the diahrea.(eww) she's had to have some sort of surgery to fix this as well as hospital stay to pump stuff into her as well. Today she's gain about 2/3 of her weight back and it's all in her but.

Boss at work...had her surgery about 7 years has done pretty well looks great and needs a tummy tuck that she's ok not getting her only problem is that she had a Dr that routed her intestines wrong so another Dr had to go back a year later and fix it.

I like the lap band because I get to control the food that will be going into my body and not have to worry about hidden sugars or cheating. Much safer...