lap band as opposed to roux-en'y bypass

[suzle 0]

Hi...So am wondering what others have heard and how you decided upon which procedure. At first I thought the lap band but now my surgeon has explained more about the bypass and that sounds good to me. I will qualify either way so that is not an issue.

How did you choose the lap band over the bypass?:smile2:

[VegasGrace 1]

I wanted RnY but couldn't afford it.

so for me, cost was the factor. But as you can see by my ticker...it worked just fine.

[suzle 0]

thanks...glad it's working...

[mnn2501 0]

Suzle. For me Lapband or Gastric sleeve were my only 2 choices. I have seen a couple friends have nutrition problems with the 2 types of bypass operations (vitamin deficenies and hair falling out due to lack of protein). With the lap band you entire stomach is still there and getting all the food you eat passed through it, so everything is still doing its job and breaking down your food into what your body can use -- but thats just me (your mileage may vary). It is true that more people lose more with RNY but look at grace's results - shes below her goal with lapband. Remember this is just a tool, you still need to work at it, just not as hard as dieting and much easier to stick with.

One very nice aspect of the lap band to me is that if for some reason you need extra nutrition (pregnancy, chemotherapy, etc) the band can be loosened so you can eat more - theres a history of cancer in my family so I am kind of thinking ahead.

This matters to some people (like me) but not to others.

[suzle 0]

thanks for the thoughtful response...ummmm

[Cocoabean 430]

Hi Suzle,

I was wanting the r-n-y myself but my hubby was not supportive of that at all. He felt it is too drastic a step for me (my BMI was 38 when I started researching).

When I went to my first info seminar I heard that insurance companies would soon cover the lap-band (which mine does now).

My surgeon said either procedure would work for me. He doesn't do lap-bands on diabetics, but as I was pre-diabetic he felt I would do well with the band. He said a 40-60 lb loss over the course of a year would do wonders for my health as opposed to someone with a higher starting weight--40 or so lbs would mean very little. So for a higher BMI he recommends the r-n-y to lose the weight more quickly. This is what my surgeon said, I am sure other surgeons have differing ideas.

As my DH was supportive of the band and not the r-n-y that did influence my decision, but only from the stand-point that I looked into the band more.

I came to realize that I prefer the idea of the band for many of the reason listed earlier, my innards were not totally scrambled, weight-loss is more gradual, the pouch does grind with the band, it doesn't with the r-n-y. If food gets stuck, they can release the band instead of doing endoscopy to go retrieve it. If I become ill and need more nutrition the band can be released.

I am a very fast eater and learning to slow down and chew-chew-chew has been a huge challenge for me. It seems the band is more forgiving. I am one month post-op with no fill yet. Today I ate very quickly and felt like I had a knot in my stomach for a while. It passed, but if I had had r-n-y, maybe it wouldn't have...and maybe I'd have learned to eat slowly by now!

Don't get me wrong, the r-n-y is a very effective procedure and has alot of pro's. I did a lot of pro and con weighing in my decision. For me the pro's of the band were stronger than the cons and were stronger than the pro's of r-n-y.

Just my 2 cents worth...

Denise

[healthyagain 0]

I can only say this...I was confused at first as to which surgery I wanted...My decision was the right one for me...but probably for the wrong reasons...I still want to be able to go out to eat...I want to have a variety of foods...I want to be able to have a few beverages on the weekends...(just in moderation) I have seen a few of my friends go through the bypass and not be able to eat or drink anything without feeling sick or running to the bathroom...These same friends are now gaining back 3-5 years post-op...I am still without a fill and only 8 weeks post-op...But so far, so good...The weight loss is a bit slower than I expected...but I'm happy, feeling great, and still able to enjoy being out including food and drink.