What made you choose the band over any other type of surgery?

[Lyn2481 0]

Hi all. The doctor I had a consultation with recommended the bypass rather than the band due to my eating biscuits and cake which would just slip through the band. I was all prepared with qs about the band cause I wasn't aware he provided gastric bypass so it kinda threw me a little. He said I could have a band if I insisted upon it.

The idea of the bypass freaks me a little, plus a big scar. I'm not afraid of the op it's more the after affects. What was it about the band that clinched it for you?

Thanks in advance for any replies. :rolleyes2:

[*susan* 1,709]

Hi and welcome. To answer your primary question, originally I researched other types of weight loss surgery before learning about the band. I decided to go with the band due to its being reversible, fewer complications and the ability to adjust it as needed. It just seemed like the best fit for me.

As far as your doctor recommending bypass over the band because you eat biscuits and cake and that would slip through the band, WHAT??? I think you will be surprised to learn that those types of food do not slip through the band. Bandsters have a tough time with bread and doughy foods. Biscuits and cake tend to be doughy and ball up and get stuck in your stoma. In my opinion, if anything, the band would be great for you because it would be a definite deterrent to eating those foods.

[coolcrystal 1]

I researched both the bypass and the band for two years before coming to this decision. I have friends who have had both and my friends who got the bypass ALL gained their weight back and guess what, suffer with "dumping" meaning anytime they even eat a piece of cake they have to run to the bathroom and have diarreah! one of my friends walked up to me three weeks ago and said that she's glad I wasn't getting the bypass like her because she has gained back 40 of her pounds and has this dumping symdrome for the rest of her life. My friends who got the lap band have all done really well. One of these friends is even happily pregnant right now! you don't get the Vitamins and nutrients you need when you have the bypass... and the recovery is also grueling... I'm 4 days out from surgery and me and my husband just took a rather long walk outside.. you definitely couldn't do that 4 days out from the bypass.

Also, I was a breaditarian too.. I loved french bread, pita, cakes, biscuits and so forth as well... and I was scared I couldn't do the lapband because I would have to cut these things out, but let me tell you, cutting that stuff out of my life has been the best thing I've ever done.. and wasn't even that hard honestly.. it was the first few days, but it got better. My doc put me on the south beach diet phase one, and it winged me off the bad carbs and I feel like a whole new person.

whichever path you choose.. good luck.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi:

I chose the band because it has less risk for surgical and post-surgical complications. Glad I did it, only wish I'd done it sooner.

I also like that it is completely reversible. In my sick mind I am thinking that some day a scientist is going to develop the magic pill that will allow everyone to eat without gaining. Hope so, anyways. In the meantime this works for me because I had such a huge appetite, and the band is my tummy police - won't allow me to overeat, ever again!

Good luck.

Sue

[glorybee123 0]

Hey,

I did alot of research over the years concering gastric bypass and seriously considered it. It was just too scary for me to go for the bypass. I did'nt like the idea of having my guts rearranged. I like the idea of the band being reversible. I hate not having an "out" just in case. I also work in the medical field and have just seen too many complications with bypass. I personally knew of 2 people who died of complications. I think the band is the way to go!

[MacMadame 81]

Here are my reasons for starting the process to get a band and not bypass.

1) There are so many stories of people getting bypass and then having health complications. If you have healthy complications with the band, you can have it taken out. You can't get the rest of your stomach and intestines that they cut out from a bypass back. If you have complications, tough luck.

2) The mortality rate for the bypass is 1 in 200. That is too high for me given that I have kids and want to see them grow up, get married, etc. Lap band surgery is MUCH safer.

[steph_co 9]

I wasn't heavy enough for gastric bypass. But in all seriousness, I had heard enough about gastric bypass that it was just something that I wouldn't have considered even if I HAD been heavy enough. I like the band because I didn't have a permanent re-routing of my gastrointestinal tract. The fact that it seemed a simpler procedure and carried less risk of complications is what made the idea of bariatric surgery even possible at all in my mind.

[Angie4b1g 1]

At the original seminar I went to, they REALLY pushed bypass over the band, and strongly suggested it for the sweet eaters so that you'd have the dumping syndrome as a deterrent.

Why would I want to have the surgery that makes me SICK if I eat something I love, instead of the surgery that allows me to indulge on a little of what I love? Telling me I'd never be able to eat sweets again talked me right out of what they were selling!!

Having said all that, bypass can be done laproscopically just like the band, do they only do it open?

[shortgal 5]

Positives: Less risky surgery, no rerouting of my insides, no malabsorption of nutrients. No dumping syndome. Adjustable.

Negatives: Slower weight loss.

Both groups can struggle with weight gain once weight loss is acheived. Our brains are very smart in finding ways to eat around our surgeries. It takes dedication no matter which you choose, but both are "aids" to help us, so I chose the less risky, less invasive one.

What happens to GBP people as they age and they have low Iron levels etc.?

both procedures can be done laproscopically, if your Dr. doesn't do them that way, I'd find another Dr.

Every person that gets either procedure do it because they have been unable to stop eating something, if these procedures didn't help no one would be successful and many are, so the procedures do help, it's a matter of to what eventual level of success each person achieves.

Does your Dr. think you're the only overweight person that likes biscuits and cake?

[Lyn2481 0]

Hey thanks for your replies folks. :confused: You've just confirmed my reasons for preferring the band. I asked the dr something similar about isn't there people who've been banded who ate cake and biscuits too? He said something about the band being for 'volume eaters' and I thought 'yeah I'm that too' lol.

Unfortunately there is only one dr in N. Ireland and I didn't even know about him til a week before my consultation. I could get a ferry to England but it's not that convenient really with needing fills etc.

I in a roundabout way asked him if he was pushing the RnY because he was more confident about doing that op and he said he'd actually prefer the band cos it's only 1 hour compared to 1.5 for bypass.

So, I'm decided. I need to find out about fills and aftercare now. Thanks everyone. :hurray:

[nine01 0]

Hello Lyn. I just had my surgery on 1-14-08 and so far have lost about 29 lbs. I too researched the surgeries for about 2 years before I made a final decision. To me, there were just more positives with the band than with the bypass. Yes, you do lose weight more slowly which is a plus, I think maybe it can give your skin time to catch up. It's reversible, it's a whole lot less risky and the recovery time is minimal. I don't understand about the biscuits and cake. I ate those things too and my dr. never said anything about it. Anyway, good luck on whatever you decide to do.

[shortgal 5]

Ask your Dr about his fill schedule. how soon after surgery will he fill you? What are his guidelines for determining if you need a fill?

Im my opinion from what I've read on the forum, some Dr's are way too conservative with fills and can make the patients wait a long time between fills. The band only partially restricts you at placement and after initial swelling after surgery goes down you might be able to eat much more than you should until you get the right fill level. During that time you need to use some willpower but it unrealistic for a Dr think our willpower will last very long. I mean that's why we need the band, right?

I wasn't informed enough before surgery to know this or ask, but I have been lucky that my Dr's office started filling me about three weeks after surgery and is willing to fill me about every two weeks until I get some restriction. I've had six fills. Imagine if I had to wait a month between fills? Of course the amount the Dr will put in at each fill is a consideration as well. I had 2 cc's at the first and then 1 cc each time after. My last fill was Weds am and I usually get some swelling after a fill which can make me feel tighter for a few days and then previously it would diminish and I would have more hunger between meals. That might be the case this time, too but I have felt more satisfied between meals, so I'm guessing I'm close to my sweet spot.

When I have an office visit, the nurse or PA and I talk about my level of hunger, satisfaction between meals and the quantity I am able to eat and we decide if a fill is needed. I am really comfortable with this.

so I would think you'd want that as well. Ask as many questions as you can. Let us know when you have a surgery date.

[gkeyt 0]

I personally chose the band over RnY because I didn't want to deal with long term nutritional deficiencies and other long term complications. They've been doing RnY for a long time but they still don't know what happens to a 30 year post op, and since I was 33 when I had surgery, I intend to live at least another 60 years! Plus, I was an ICU RN (before starting grad school full time) and I've taken care of too many RnY patients. Some immediately post op, but most were more than a year or two post op, with nutritional and other weird complications.

That said, I think RnY can be right for some people, and the band isn't for everyone. If you are committed to changing your eating habits (you MIGHT be able to get those biscuits and cakes past your band, I certainly could if I wanted to, but some bandsters can't) and avoiding those things that sabotage your healthy lifestyle, and committed to doing the work that the band requires, I think it's a great choice. But there are a few people who expect the band to do all the work for them, and they are usually disappointed. We all hear all the talk about "the band is just a tool" but I don't know that everyone takes it to heart before they actually have surgery and find out just what it will and will not do for you. The band is basically a mechanical appetite suppressant--for some people, it also restricts how much they can eat, but a lot of people find they can eat quite a bit of food if they don't learn when to stop. So if you can think about it that way--it's just there to help you feel satisfied sooner, and keep you from being hungry for 3-4 hours before your next meal--and do all the other things to keep up your weight loss, then you are all set.

I'm sure you will make the decision that is right for you! Good luck.

[Lyn2481 0]

Thanks again for the replies. Most of the time I am eating when I am not even hungry, I am bored or upset or whatever. I'd really love to not be able to do that. I really need to practice listening to my full signals, or at least learn to recognise them again. :w00t:

[MacMadame 81]

Btw, a biscuit is a cookie in the UK, right? Cookies are pretty band-friendly.