What's the every day difference? Band to bypass

[onmyway11 43]

I was banded almost 5 years ago and have managed to gain just about all the weight I lost (which quite honestly I don't think the band helped me lose all that much).

I still have port discomfort after 5 years and I hate that sometimes I can get stuck on one bite and sometimes hardly feel restriction. I've found a way around the band by eating slow or waiting till the food goes down and continuing to eat.

I hate the feeling of the discomfort in my chest and I hate that healthy things like chicken and raw veggies are close to impossible to eat with a band.

I feel like I would be better off without the band and no further surgery. I could eat healthier but I want to lose a lot of weight (probably 120lbs to lose) and I'm turning 50 this year. I currently have no health problems except feeling like crap because of the weight but I'm sure they are coming.

My question to those of you that have had both is what is the daily difference? Can you eat in a restaurant? What does it feel like when you reach restriction? Can you eat almost anything just very small portions?How common is it to fail at weight loss after a bypass? I know I will need to work at it forever but will bypass make my struggle easier?

Thanks in advance for your advise!

[phazer08 15]

Great question...I, too, want to know the answer

[Notinks 91]

I was banded for nearly 11 years before converting to bypass in Sept 2014. My experience with the band was very much like yours. I can tell you that for me, the bypass is night and day compared to the band. Here are my answers to your questions?

Can you eat in a restaurant? Absolutely! I remember one of the first times eating out with my hubby post bypass, I got up in the middle of the meal to use the restroom and had to tell him it wasn't so I could puke! I do have a lot of leftovers, though! What does it feel like when you reach restriction? I just get full and satisfied. If I push it, I feel sick. Can you eat almost anything just very small portions? Yes! And nearly two years out the portions aren't miniscule. Just smaller than before. How common is it to fail at weight loss after a bypass? I know people who have and that does frighten me a bit. I am struggling a little myself because I vowed to not let myself gain more than 3 lbs without hitting it hard again and I am up 7 after vacation. I feel like that is what "normal" people experience, though, and I have a tool to help me lose it again. I think it is vital to remain physically active. I know I will need to work at it forever but will bypass make my struggle easier? For me, absolutely, so far.

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

For me there is no comparison. No problems like with the band. Gastric bypass offers great restriction and no hunger. I have surpassed my goal something I could not accomplish with the band. I have not puked once and can eat salads and chicken. Remember the bypass is just a tool you technically can gain weight back with any weight loss surgery however I believe gastric bypass offers great restriction and dulls any hunger you used to have.

[SiSSi829 36]

I was banded almost 5 years ago and have managed to gain just about all the weight I lost (which quite honestly I don't think the band helped me lose all that much).

I still have port discomfort after 5 years and I hate that sometimes I can get stuck on one bite and sometimes hardly feel restriction. I've found a way around the band by eating slow or waiting till the food goes down and continuing to eat.

I hate the feeling of the discomfort in my chest and I hate that healthy things like chicken and raw veggies are close to impossible to eat with a band.

I feel like I would be better off without the band and no further surgery. I could eat healthier but I want to lose a lot of weight (probably 120lbs to lose) and I'm turning 50 this year. I currently have no health problems except feeling like crap because of the weight but I'm sure they are coming.

My question to those of you that have had both is what is the daily difference? Can you eat in a restaurant? What does it feel like when you reach restriction? Can you eat almost anything just very small portions?How common is it to fail at weight loss after a bypass? I know I will need to work at it forever but will bypass make my struggle easier?

Thanks in advance for your advise!

I really can't compare yet since I'm almost a month post op from my sleeve.

BUT I can talk about the lapband. I had it done in early 2012. I lost 50lbs in about 2-2 1/2 months which caused it to slip and I had to get it repositioned. I totally agree with that annoying "stuck" feeling. We'd go to eat and I had my hubby n kids watching me the whole time to make sure I didn't put my "in stuck" face .

It was really hard to be the center of attention at the dinner table. When I did get stuck the only way to feel better was to wait it out ( pretty painful moments) or go and make myself puke. I'd txt my dr and I would tell him that something was wrong because the 1st thing they tell u is that with a band it's NOT RECOMMENDED TO VOMIT but it's the only thing to alleviate all that's going on ( shortness of breath, chest pain/compression, the "yo-yo-ing of the food, the sharp feeling while the food goes down) all at the same time.

Overall I lost about 80lbs with the band. I kinda got used to the discomfort and figured out a way to word around it I guess. What's weird is that I thank god that I did have this band, because of this band and the going through the discomforts I noticed that my "stuck" feeling wasn't at the pit of my stomach (or more anatomically correct, right under my breast bone) but it was now dead smack in my mid chest area. So I started telling my dr, he kept telling to eat smaller bites and to eat slower this started 12/31/2013 I was literally at the ER every month; twice a month with this "heartburn" that was killing me making me nauseous and making my "stuck" feelings 10x's worse

Looong story short, I went to the ER and I told the nurse that I had this band and I wanted to have an X-ray done since I'd been throwing up for 4days straight couldn't even keep Water down. So they did this X-ray, discharged me 12 hrs later with the all famous OMEPRAZOLE RX like they've done every other time that I went. I get a call at 3am (after being discharged ) and the ask me how long would it take my to be back at the ER and I'm just like why?! What's the problem.... so they tell me that I have to came back because the dr was just going over my X-ray and found a mass the size of a grapefruit in the middle of my chest and they neede to admit me for more tests and a biopsy.

Conclusion, the band worked for me, I guess. I had all the messed up "stuck"feelings u have BUT in a indirect way it also save my life.

I chose to get the conversion because I didn't like the overall feeling that the band brought and i gained 70lbs due to all the chemotherapies and meds and whatnots my dr had to open my band so u could go through my cancer treatments without having all the other junk too (also I had a slip too)

So here I am on another of my many journeys

WLS 6/15/16 Miami,Fl

33yrs /5'6"

highest weight 300s in 2002-03

lowest weight 193 in 2014

[Cindy Currie Anderson 22]

There is no comparison. I was banded in 1996 and struggled every day for 20 years. I threw up daily and struggled mostly with healthy foods like fruit, veggies, and meat. I had RNY on 4/6/16. The doctor found that the band had eroded my stomach and adhered to my spleen and liver. 3 months later, I am eating veggies, fish, and fruit. No throwing up and no pain. I've lost over 40 lbs and have 60 more to go.

I weigh all of my food but I can tell I'm full because it feels the same way as when you eat a huge plate. So...stuffed.

If I'm eating in a restaurant, I don't weigh my food but I know what 4 Oz looks like and I know when I've had enough. I only eat at places I know I can order something that works for me. I suffered for 20 years and I regret every day of that band. The past 3 months have been awesome.

[RJC5197 282]

Ditto Cindy

I was banded 23 yrs ago and dealt with issues for a looooong time.

The revision to RNY is the best I have felt, and I like starting to get my life back.

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Edited July 10, 2016 by RJC5197

[JM80TT 7]

Thank you so much for your responses, they've really encouraged me... I'm just waiting on my RNY surgery date. I can't believe I've put up with 10 years of stuck food... wishing I could eat fresh fruit, a carrot stick, an apple! So sick of 'stuck face' and excusing myself from the table.

I had my band emptied (after discovering a massively dilated oesophagus) and I've managed to lose a little weight and loved enjoying apples, strawberries (OMG they taste so good) and chicken again... can't wait for my surgery date to get going with this weight loss!

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[victorande 20]

After years of suffering I finally had the band removed and am scheduled for the sleeve surgery November 15th. I am so happy to read these responses. Thank you so much!

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[LisaMergs 2,854]

Reading these stories, and hearing of so many others like the band really cements my happiness over being too scared to get it years ago! My RNY has been a godsend! I eat pretty much anything- except, sadly, steak- and feel so much better! Good luck to you!

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[Steven1954 89]

Thank you for your responses. I had the band removed in February 2016 due to massive complications lost 120 pds but gained back 50 and considering the rny. This answered a lot of questions

[KllrCrly97 7]

I had my band placed in 2008 and out in 2015. I just had my bypass last week. I hated the band mostly because I never really knew when I was going to get stuck sometimes I could salad sometimes not. And I hated constantly being asked if I was stuck by my husband and I only lost 37 lbs and was able to gain it back with the band in place as well.

I'm glad I had the bypass and am looking forward to actually reaching my health goals!

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[Zoco 13]

Reading everyone's experience about the lap band and the "stuck" face - it's like we were all twins. I just met with a new surgeon to get my band out. I have the option to go with the sleeve or bypass. I'm glad I'm not the only one experience all the problems this piece of junk has caused me. All I can say now is don't ever go to True Results. I'm going with a top notch surgeon, and the difference is night and day.

[MrsJroChicago 32]

I originally had surgery in August 2012 to have a lapband put in. I had complications beginning almost on the one-year anniversary once I had the “right” amount of Fluid in the band to make it actually do something. I had my lapband removed on May 27, 2016 and had a revision to gastric bypass at the same time. It was, quite frankly, miserable but now that I’m three months out, it’s the best thing I could have done. I couldn’t live with the pain, reflux and inability to eat anything with band in and because of the slipping, I had the Fluid out more than I had it in. After MANY long talks with my doctor and his PA, we decided that a revision to bypass was the best bet.

My recovery sucked. The surgery was longer and more complicated than they originally thought it would be because there was so much scar tissue from the band. But, they had already decided that they wanted to do the removal and revision in one surgery, so they did whatever they needed to get it done. I had two drains when I came out of it and the larger drain I had for 17 days. The smaller on, the “JP drain” came out before I went home. Generally speaking, that bigger drain isn’t part of a normal bypass but is more common when they do the removal/revision in one step. I was in pain, nauseous, and uncomfortable until it came out. I was in the hospital for about 5 days. Since it was a holiday weekend, I wasn’t in any big rush to get out in case I had any problems. I was nauseous on Sunday when they talked about letting me go home, so they had me stay. They then decided to order “home health care” to change my dressings for me since my insurance would cover a few visits, but no one was available until Wednesday, so they had me stay until Tuesday. I was pretty stir crazy by then but it was nice to have them there to take care of me but shaving my legs in the hospital was a pain! I had to fight with them on Monday to let me take a shower even though I wasn’t going home. I needed it. I came home and took the rest of the week off. My mom came by almost every day to help me make food—not that I was eating much—and to keep me company. I needed more help because of the drain. It was painful and hard to put on any clothing including a bra because of where it was. It’s called a “G tube” which basically was a drain from the part of my stomach that would no longer have food going to it and it needed to be “trained” that it wasn’t going to be used anymore. It was not pleasant but it was “capped” so not draining into anything before I left so at least I could tape it up to my stomach to keep it out of the way and from pulling or banging into things. Jonathan took me to my first follow up on the first Monday in June and then I was cleared to drive and go back to work. The following week, the drain finally came out. It was a long 17 days.

The drain removal was no fun either! They just kind of yanked it out and it hurt for a good 24-hours! It took about 3 weeks for the hole to completely close, but I got pretty good at the gauze changes. They didn’t stitch it or anything, they said the skin would grow back together and it did. It was about the size of a dime at first. Now it is a small scar to match the others from the surgeries. The tape was awful. I found that if I used the sensitive skin kind, which was about $8 a roll at Walgreens, it was better. I was so happy when the hole was finally closed so I could stop taping up my stomach and start wearing a regular bra! So, I’d had a lot of tape on me because of the tube and because of the drain hole. It took a few days to get the residue off!

I had to travel on June 24 for a big work event. It was exactly four weeks from my surgery. I was going to be gone a week and I was a little nervous about getting through it. I still wasn’t cleared to lift anything and I was still getting tired pretty easily. But, by then I was already 20+ pounds lighter since the surgery so I felt good and actually built up my stamina as I was there. I managed to get food poisoning on my last day in Philadelphia, so that was no fun. But, after a few days, felt better.

Three months out now and I’m down over 50 pounds from surgery day and almost 80 from when I started the lapband journey. I’m not sure if you’re considering another type of surgery, but I will tell you, even though I was miserable immediately afterwards and asked myself everyday what the heck I did to myself, three months out, I’m so glad I did it. I’m basically eating normal foods, albeit nothing too high in fat or sugar, and I’ve not really done too much salad yet but have added back most vegetables. I’m careful with fruit because a lot is high in sugar. The first few weeks after the surgery with the various stages of liquid diet was really hard and I probably started to add things like cottage cheese in too fast, but I needed to chew! I have a few friends who have done the surgery and we’ve created our own little support group so it’s nice. We come to the same events as well so it’s nice to know other people in the room understand how we eat!

My question to those of you that have had both is what is the daily difference? I feel SO MUCH better! Nothing gets stuck. Nothing hurts. You can have something to drink only 30 minutes after eating which is nice. Doesn't make it so weird when out to dinner with friends. There is still a diet, etc. but it seems much easier to comply.

Can you eat in a restaurant? Yes. I find it easier. My husband (or friends/co-workers) and I tend to share things a lot too so I don't worry about having a huge plate of food.

What does it feel like when you reach restriction? I imagine what a "normal" person feels like when they are full without being stuffed. If I do completely over do it, I might feel a little sick, but not like before when I thought everything was going to come back up when something got stuck.

Can you eat almost anything just very small portions? Limit the high fat, fried, and sugary stuff and you'll be fine. it doesn't mean you can't have ONE BITE of a dessert, but you don't want to do much more because there could be consequences. Sharing is the way to go. I find it much easier to not overdo when I share.

How common is it to fail at weight loss after a bypass? This a doctor might better be able to answer but like with anything, there are ways around it. You can stretch your pouch out to take more food and figure out which high calorie foods won't make you sick but will make you fat. It has to be a lifestyle change to really work forever.

I know I will need to work at it forever but will bypass make my struggle easier? So far, for me, yes. I'm not hungry all the time. I'm not looking for foods that I can get past my band or that won't make me sick. I didn't eat tomatoes for 4 years because of the acid. I just had a bunch of them on my salad (which was more veggies than lettuce per my note above). I don't get reflux in the middle of the night and nothing gets stuck. It's actually fun to go out to eat again.

[Steven1954 89]

@@Zoco you answered a lot of questions thank you