LAP BAND NOT SUCCESSFUL????according to gastric bypassers. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jOANNE 1]

Why is it that people who have had the RNY feel that lap band is not successful. They say you gain all the weight back. It doesnt work and that is why insurance companies dont want to pay for it. I dont care if weight loss is slower just as long as it comes off.

Do we have some success stories out there. PLease help?? I really dont want to go with RNY

Thank you all so much.

[MeganA 35]

My thoughts on this are:

I see the differences between the two surguries like cars. There are some people who go nuts and buy a super duper sporty car with awesome initial performance but once and awhile the exhaust gets into the interior and makes you sick. That's the RNY

The band is more like a trusty, slower, less dangerous, better gas mileage car that is good for the long haul.

I must admit, when I think about the two surgeries, the idea that I could loose 90% of my excess weight in a year is pretty attractive. Initially, the RNY doesn't seem to be much work...but after a few years all that has changed is your stomach and not your brain.

The band forces you to change everything.

Folks with RNY (at least those who didn't have any medical issues) are very loud when it comes to singing it's praises. I just think they have different ideas of what weightloss success means.

Megan

[BandAid 3]

Unfortunately, many bypassers have been fed untruths by their surgeons. They then feel the need to pass along the inaccuracies as if the words of their docs is the Gospel.

There are thousands of success stories out there. However, you'll find that many people who are at goal and are maintaining their weight loss don't frequent the support boards as often.

[FDATrialGuineaPig 7]

I always find it interesting when they tout how unsuccessful the Lapband is yet they ignore the statistic that at 5 years the average weight loss with the RNY is 50% of excess weight loss. Yep, 50%.

There are plenty of RNYers who are thrilled with the band as a choice but for their own reasons decided against is. Not a biggie. But there are others out there who are poorly educated and refuse to acnknowledge that they have no real information about banding, only hearsay and conjecture.

It's a very american attitude to sway towards the solution offering instant gratification. Myself, I prefer to look 5, 10, 15 years down the road at where I could end up with either surgery. I personally chose the less invasive route that was not going to compromise my absorption over the long term and that is ADJUSTABLE. The majority of RNYers screaming that loudly are either preop, newly postop or under 2 years postop (really--take a good look at who is spewing this stuff).

The FACTS are you can gain ALL YOUR WEIGHT back with ANY bariatric surgery if you're motivated enough. There are groups on yahoogroups with several thousand people who are struggling with this post-RNY issue. Groups like OSSG-hungry come to mind. With all of the surgeries permanent behavioral changes are neccessary to sustain success. There is no magical solution.

And honestly? I think for some people it makes them angry to have struggled so hard to come to terms with the RNY--the risks, the extremeness of it, and then to learn about banding. It's a much safer mental place to be in to convince yourself it "doesn't work". Therefore you don't have to acknowledge that you could have made a different decision.

Insurances are coming around to covering banding, but for goodness sakes it was only just approved by the FDA two years ago! It's a relatively new procedure and it takes time to convince insurance companies to cover it. How quickly people forget that roughly five years ago it was almost impossible to ge them to cover bypasses.

Use your common sense and do your own research. And most importantly--when you read an OPINION take into the consideration where the poster is in their journey and that they may have personal biases.

Oh--and by the way I was very successful with the band .

[Alexandra 55]

And honestly? I think for some people it makes them angry to have struggled so hard to come to terms with the RNY--the risks, the extremeness of it, and then to learn about banding. It's a much safer mental place to be in to convince yourself it "doesn't work". Therefore you don't have to acknowledge that you could have made a different decision.

In answer to the opening post, I agree with everything Robin said, particularly the above. I sense a lot of defensiveness when I read comments from RNYers bashing the band, and I try to understand where it's coming from.

Sure, those comments can be disconcerting. I read hundreds of them. But when all is said and done, I knew what I need to help me lose weight. For me, some mechanism to help restrict portion size and speed of consumption is EXACTLY what I've been wishing for all my life. And here it is! No slicing and dicing, no malabsorption, no major risks, no sudden shocking loss that makes my skin not fit.

There are so many success stories from smart people who are working it right -- and I know I will be one of them someday.

[marsha 0]

Well, I have a sister who had RNY. When I told her I was going have the lap band, she made a comment that the sooner I get the band and gain the weight back, the sooner I'll get RNY and be thin for the rest of my life!!!! Can you believe that....this came out of my sister's mouth!

My sister's surgery was in March 2003. She has lost 76 lbs along with all her hair! She has the very embarrassing "dumping syndrome" when she eats any sugar and she vomits at least 3 times a week. She feels that the weight loss is worth it! I think "why have RNY when there is a safer way to loose"!!! I'm sticking with my decision to have the lap band because it is the right choice for me.

You have to do what's best for you after you weigh all the options and the pro's and con's.

Marsha

[quakergirl 2]

My honest opinion is that the RNY is a poor choice all around: You have more food restrictions than with the lap-band (due to "dumping"), but yet you can't be sure the weight is really gone for good. Yes, that's right - people CAN regain all the weight a few years after an RNY...if they even reached goal weight in the first place.

The lap-band is clearly the safest choice, and many people have been successful with it. The band has an excellent track record in Europe and Australia, where it has been used for years. A lot of people don't look at the long term results...they see the way that bandsters start off slow and assume (wrongly) that it must be a failure if the weight doesn't melt off right away.

But even if you're just in a hurry to lose the weight, at any cost, I STILL don't think the RNY is the best choice.

If you're just in a hurry to be thin, I suggest researching the Duodenal Switch, NOT the RNY. The DS is a pretty major, risky surgery - like the RNY - but at least it has better long-term weight loss statistics than the RNY. The DS people can eat more foods than the RNY patients (no dumping syndrome) so they also tend to be happier with their post-op diet than the RNY people. See http://www.duodenalswitch.com for details.

For those reasons, I feel that the RNY and VBG are both out-dated choices. The RNY has been replaced by the DS and the VBG has been replaced by the lap-band. Of course, if the RNY and VBG are the only options available to someone, I wish them the best, because those surgeries obviously CAN work...but they really aren't the best choices, in my opinion.

I feel the only reason that the RNY is so popular is just because it's faster and more profitable for the doctors to do RNYs than to spend the time and effort necessary to perform duodenal switches or lap-band adjustments.

[Bright 9]

first of all, I heartily agree with all the above and wanted to add another perspective I have:

I spent months researching & reading about the RNY and was completely gutted (s'cuse the pun!) when I came to the (sensible, i believe) conclusion that it was a really unhealthy option - in addition to the reasons in all the posts above re malabsorbtion etc I realised these things too:

1. As I read one personal story after another I found it almost impossible to find a person three years out of the surgery (or more!) ('cept for Carnie of course!) You could read tonnes of accounts from people who had the surgery 6 months/a year ago proudly fitting into their leather minis but after that NOTHING! That got me nervous.... We regularly have people who are maintaining their goal weight popping up on message boards such as Robin here, or Wednesday and others - I emailed a few "vintage" bandsters AND they all mailed me back saying *I love my band, go for it* I emailed three times as many RNY veteran's - and NOTHING!!! Nobody got back to me!

2. I read a couple of doctor's opinions of the RNY and the underlying message was: the RNY is not ideal, Obesity is not ideal - the surgery is somewhere in the middle to help people who may die in the next few years from obesity related disease - IT IS A COMPROMISE - much like someone losing their breast after cancer, it's cutting out the "bad" part to give life to the rest of the body - but it's not ideal - they may have other problems and may suffer for the rest of their lives. The Lap band is just a tool - I can use it or it can sit contentedly in my body for years and I can eat around it and stay the same weight. It leaves me in control.

3. Just because people rave about a brilliant new weight loss product doesn't mean it's healthy!!! Hello!!! We know this! Ever since victorian women swore by puppy urine to keep their waists trim, we have tried every lotion, potion under this sun, cabbage Soup, grapefruit, Atkins, blood group diets, the face reading diet, Hey just cos we'll try it and there is ALWAYS someone who has lost a million pounds on it, doesn't mean it's healthy!!! I sat patiently with my friend this morning who is a very intelligent woman, tell me excitedly about a brilliant new way to "boost your metabolism" - You have to drink three cups of coffee with every meal and hey presto, the fat won't enter your blood stream!??? She said it was all very medical and such and such lost 4lbs in a week with it!!!! Madness! Having said that, I guarantee you, someone will read this post somewhere, and be thinking, hmmmm i DO like coffee....sounds plausible.....!!!!!!!!!!!

I know when I get my lap band I will have to conscientiously think about what I eat - i may lapse but I'm in charge! And being obese, I need the validation with each pound I lose, that I helped! I was proactive! It's not just happening to me, I'm doing it - I don't know about you but these days my confidence it at an all time low and I am really looking forward too, to the mental boost the lap may give me! I don't want to exchange one miserable life (being fat) for another miserable life (RNY)!

If something sounds too good to be true, it will be!!!

sorry this is so long....rambling again......sorry xx:)

[shellyj 5]

this was a biggie for me...

if you get pregnant they take out the fill in your adjustable band so that during your pregnancy your baby will get all the nutrients it needs... and after you have the baby they fill you again and start you back on the road to weightloss or maintaining...

i dont know how much truth there is to this... i read somewhere or was told by someone that folks who have RNY and get pregnant have a higher risk of having a child with mental retardation because the fetus is malnurished. AGAIN i dont know how much truth there is to this...

and i wholeheartidly agree with all the other reasons listed!

[leo 4]

As long as people feel comfortable with the procedure, i would say it doesn't matter if its the RNY or Band. Maybe in the future there will be another procedure even safer and better then lapbanding.

Will we lapbanders look at it with the same suspicion as RNY people look at us???

As long as we loose weight and regain our life back I would say, Go Go Go!

( I don't think i am making any sense here )

[Mahoney 1]

Originally posted by leo

Maybe in the future there will be another procedure even safer and better then lapbanding.

Will we lapbanders look at it with the same suspicion as RNY people look at us???

Hey Leo - First of all, you have a great website. Thanks for all of the info!

I'm convinced there will be a better bariatric procedure in the future, which is a big reason why I prefer the band over the RNY. Some may view new procedures that will invariably come along with suspicion, but I will look with an open mind because I decided not to permanently alter my body. If in 25 years a much better solution comes along, it will always be an option for me.

I agree with you 100% that it shouldn't be a divisive issue for baratric patients, but I'm glad there are people out there (here) reasonably discussing the pros and cons of each procedure.

Good luck in CT,

Bob

[Guest dJinn]

What a timely post for me .. I am prefill, and although I have read all the pre-fill posts and I Know that I am doing all the work right now (since the Band isn't!) I was still very down about my slow loss and jealous of quick-shrinking RNYers.

This, from a rabid, Band-dedicated, doctor-dissing patient who stands up to any and all to defend the Band!

Thanks for all the reassurance and reminders of why I chose my lovely band. Seamus (my band) and I appreciate it!

Jeanie

[springirl 0]

It is definitely the tortise and the hare story with the band and the RNY. Like was said above...we all crave instant gratification or we wouldn't be here in the first place. That quick dramatic weight loss is so appealing, but I am grateful to have the band because I know 2 to 3 years down the line I can have it adjusted and I will continue to lose weight if I want to. RNYers do not have that option.

One of my good friends had the RNY in April 2002 and stopped losing weight at 75lbs. She needs to lose about another 40lbs. She is frustated and depressed. She really wanted the band, but her insurance would not cover it. She can eat much much more than I can and feels like her pouch is very stretched out. She is now considering Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig to get the rest of the weight off. The RNY is not a "slam dunk" for everyone.

My doctor who is very experienced with both surgeries told me on Friday when I was getting another fill, that 3 years out the results of both surgeries almost equal. He said that the RNY patients gain back 10 to 20% of their weight after about 3 to 5 years.

Also remember that the band does not alter your anatomy, everything stays intact. It is reversible if necessary and can be loosed for pregnancy or illness.

As someone else said the band was only approved 2 years ago. There are not many people 3 years out. The ones on this board who are are very successful. It does take more work and patience, but the end result will be a healthier body and with fewer side effects.

Another note about the DS. I think that is a dangerous surgery. I researched it extensively. I met with about 40 people who had it and there were many there who had stopped losing weight at a certain point. I think those people were in the extremely morbidly obese category with over 200 lbs to lose. Most had not even come close to their desired weight loss.

I know a woman who had the DS about 3 years ago and she is a nurse and she is having severe problems with her teeth and she had great teeth before the surgery. She believes it is related to non absorbtion of nutrients. She also has a terrible time with some of the more known side effects like extremly foul gas and elilmination. She can't eat everything she wants although she tries. She eats a very unhealthy diet and now is lactose intolerant. If she eats any dairy products she has to run to the bathroom.

As Leo said, this is a personal decision for everyone. Just be sure you are getting all sides of the story.

If you want health and safety and continued weight loss past 2 years, then the band would be a good choice for you. Of course there are no guarantees with any of these surgeries. What works for some might not work for others. You have to participate in your own recovery and not depend on the surgery to do all the work.

Good luck with your decision.

Spring