Help - Surgeon says I need Gastric

[Hope4Joy 0]

I went to my Lapband seminar Friday afternoon and totally had my bubble busted!! I have been on this site for a few weeks now reading posts and taking in everyones experiences. I am 5'8" and a little over the 300 mark. The surgeon said with all of the excess weight I have to lose I would be a better gastric bypass candidate. Did anyone else have this happen? He has almost made me decide to go that way. Needing to lose 150+ pounds is a big deal in my life right now. I'm 36 and beginning to have the lower back, knee, feet aching almost daily. Is there anyone else who had that large of an amount to lose? Please someone send my your success story so my mind and heart can go back to the lapband as the best option for me. THANKS!!

[Wheetsin 714]

I've lost over 150 lbs, have about 45 lbs left to lose - twenty-something to be in the 100s.

[BIGDSWIFE 0]

if you are in doubt now or really not sure if you want the bypass, look around for different surgeons and see what they say. i don't know where you live, but we are in a rural area and can drive 2 hours to one doctor, 2 hours a different direction to another, or 3 hours to a 3rd. it's really not that much difference so look around until you are comfortable. good luck

[mstrina27 0]

u know when i looked at the first surgon he asked me what did i want to do and i told him the gastric because i did not know that much about the lap band but when he said that the most i would loose with having the gastric was about 100-115lbs and when i heard about people loosing more than that with the lap band i was like ok well why not the band....it may be more money for the surgon if you do the gastric vs the lap band so go figure...

[Hope4Joy 0]

u know when i looked at the first surgon he asked me what did i want to do and i told him the gastric because i did not know that much about the lap band but when he said that the most i would loose with having the gastric was about 100-115lbs and when i heard about people loosing more than that with the lap band i was like ok well why not the band....it may be more money for the surgon if you do the gastric vs the lap band so go figure...

Funny! I had that same thought. Is it all about the $$$??

[mstrina27 0]

see if u look at it it is more involved in the gastric.. not sure if you watch big medicine but dr. garth and his son preforms the procedure.. well both.. now with the gastric your hospital stay is longer which means more money$$$ They have to use more tools lol = more $$$$$ besides the word is longer gastric bypass vs lap band= more letters more $$$$$$ lol.. but for the risk factor i feel it is safer for the band if anything should go wrong they can remove it.. If something goes wrong with the gastric then what.

[Susanbee 0]

Get another opinion. I need to loose 130 pounds and I'm going to be banded.

[Long2BFree 12]

Go get another opinion. My first thought was it is about the money. I've heard/read of several people getting banded that are over 300 lbs.

[SydneyLouWho 0]

I need to lose 175 pounds. There is no way I would have anything but the LapBand. At the seminar that I went to there were three women there that have had the LapBand for about one year. Two of them have lost 166-185 lbs. The other one just had the LapBand for 5 months and had lost 70 lbs. I am guessing that the doctor that you talked to did both the LapBand AND the Gastric ByPass. He will make a lot more money from the Gastric ByPass. Plus, insurance is much more likely to pay for the ByPass than LapBand. LapBand is much safer. I will be a self pay. Insurance would pay for the ByPass. I would think nothing of financing a new car for $15,000.00. So why not for my health and my future. Find another surgeon. Good Luck to you.

[MacMadame 81]

Saying you are a better candidate for bypass isn't the same thing as saying you need bypass, though.

Surgeons have their own ways of evaluating the risk and benefits of different WLS. Their values and beliefs about how to weigh the risks and benefits aren't yours. So you need to find out *why* they recommend one procedure over the other and then decide if that is a compelling argument to *you*.

In my case, there is no compelling argument that will convince me to have any WLS that involves cutting up my internal organs in a permanent way and especially not anything that involves malabsorption. So my choices at this time are between Lap band and not getting surgery at all.

If you feel the same, you need to say so to the doctor during your first consultation. If he continues to push bypass, then you need to find a different surgeon. But most likely, if you explain yourself well and show that you understand the issues, he will say "okay" and happily do the lap band.

[Hope4Joy 0]

Get another opinion. I need to loose 130 pounds and I'm going to be banded.

I think I am going to get another opinion. I have been online a couple of times today doing more research and reading. Bottom line at the end of one year there is only a difference of about 25 pounds (on the average). I think I'll stick with my initial thoughts and feelings about the lapband. I feel safer and more confident in it. Good luck on your banding. Do you have a date set yet?

[Hope4Joy 0]

see if u look at it it is more involved in the gastric.. not sure if you watch big medicine but dr. garth and his son preforms the procedure.. well both.. now with the gastric your hospital stay is longer which means more money$$$ They have to use more tools lol = more $$$$$ besides the word is longer gastric bypass vs lap band= more letters more $$$$$$ lol.. but for the risk factor i feel it is safer for the band if anything should go wrong they can remove it.. If something goes wrong with the gastric then what.

Exactly - if the gastric goes awry you're just SOL! The seminar I went to had nice large charges and I thought $$$ the other doctors offices just expect everyone to squeeze into the one size fits all! HAHAHA

[nicksmommy 139]

I am in the same boat you are. I had my mind made up that I was going to go for the lapband. But I went for my medical evaluation last week, and the Dr. told me that I too would be a better candidate for the gastric bypass. I am 5'6 and have about 120 lbs. to lose. He said that I would lose some with the band, but would be more successful in the long run with the bypass surgery. In the end, it is MY decision, and I do not feel comfortable at all with the idea of having the gastric bypass. I'm not looking for the lapband to be the "solution" to me getting thin, but as a tool to help me get there. I will hopefully lose a decent amount initially, making it easier for me to be physically active and can exercise more to lose more weight!

[jena 0]

I am in the same boat you are. I had my mind made up that I was going to go for the lapband. But I went for my medical evaluation last week, and the Dr. told me that I too would be a better candidate for the gastric bypass. I am 5'6 and have about 120 lbs. to lose. He said that I would lose some with the band, but would be more successful in the long run with the bypass surgery. In the end, it is MY decision, and I do not feel comfortable at all with the idea of having the gastric bypass. I'm not looking for the lapband to be the "solution" to me getting thin, but as a tool to help me get there. I will hopefully lose a decent amount initially, making it easier for me to be physically active and can exercise more to lose more weight!

Oh, that is soooooo wrong!! All of the studies that have come out have showed that at the 2 year point the weight loss is the same for the two different procedures! That is also the point that many bi-pass patients begin to regain their weight! Look at how many are having banding over bi-pass!

The one big thing that sold it for me is that bi-pass gives you malabsorption problems. You have to take supplements for the rest of your life.

With banding, there is no such problem since your digestive system functions normally.

[Sue40 0]

I am going through the program at Tufts/NEMC, the most experienced LB program in New England, so they have a lot of experience. They said that once your BMI is about 50 and up their experience shows you are more likely to be successful with gastric bypass. They also said that both surgeries have the same percentage of complications, but the complications you get wirh gastric bypass are the worse type (leakage, for example).

In terms of loss, they said people in both groups tend to lose the same amount of weight, but it takes LB patients about 3 years and gastric bypass about a year. And then both groups trend upwards, with a regain of about 20-30% (if I recall correctly). Continuous follow-up is vital to limit the regain.