Kaiser Richmond Pre-op

[reggie71 0]

Thanks for your response. I'm sure you might be able to go to a Kaiser Bariatric facility out of state. I kow in the past Kaiser has made provisions for patients to see other docs, who maynot be directly affiliated with them. Check with member services.

I am also battling with which procedure to have. I like the lap because it is reversible, my fear with bypass is the dumping syndrome that I have heard a lot of people express who have had gb. Ultimately, I think I will go with LB. The good news is that when all is said and done and we are post-op we will be healthier and or moving towards healthy living :-).

[mollymai 0]

Ther are alot of pros and cons with both. When I first thaught of getting WLS I thought of the lap band because it was reversable, in and out of the hospital and slower weightloss, those were my three reasons but then when I thought of GB I thought of how they re-route my stomach the dumping syndrone and all the bad stuff that comes along with it and when I started to research more and know that I do not have any willpower and how much I love sweets as well as knowing once I have the GB there will not be any fills, a port or a band around my stomach is when I figured the GB will be best for me.

Once I have the surgery I don not want them to have any reason to go back and do any surgery because of slippage, leaking and any other association due to the band.

One of my co-workers had RNY last October I believe and he has difficulties because of his eating habits. It will be a long haul for any surgey.

We all have our reasons why we choose to go with one or the other and that is why I love the boards because I can vent and get informed by others and what they think or how they feel.

[AudsMom 2]

The decision for me is VERY hard! I even went thru a phase after orientation where I was going to back out, but Ive had 6 weeks to think about it lol, and I want to loose it forever, I am tired of weight loss then turn around Blink and its back...

I too can't make up my mind on the surgeries.. here are my thoughts:

LB:

Pros:

*I like that it can be deflated and refilled with my lifestyle changes , IE pregnancy.

*I like that it is not rerouting my intestines, and i can still absorb nutrients.

*Less Complication rate

*Short Hospital stay

*I have a tendency of infection, so nto cutting my intestines is a good thing.

*no dumping

*my husband prefers lb

*can be removed if i end up deathly ill.

*I do like that i can eat almost anything, because i dont have an issue with sweets..

Cons:

*Foreign object

*Can slip, leak, etc.

*Fills

*Needles needed for said fills:eek::tongue2:

*If i move what happens............

RNY:

Pros

*fast weight loss

*lower chance of regain

*dont need needles to get fills;)

*no foreign object in my body

*no slips

*hmmm

Cons

*can leak and if so it is an emergency.....

*Faster weight loss isnt the best for our bodies

*they say babies often end up malnurished.. not good since i want another baby

*Longer hospital stay

*"If you're not good at "remembering" to take Vitamins, you better get good at it real quick, or think twice about this malabsorptive type of bariatric surgery. "

*"Many of those who thought that getting sick from eating sugar would make them stop......haven't stopped."

*"Also, over time, you may be able to tolerate small amounts of sugar without consequence and that can eventually lead to gaining weight back."

Considering Weight Loss Surgery? Consider This! - where i got the quotes

So i am really pretty lost at which to go with, I do not like the idea of fills, but i also don't like the idea of being malnurished..

GOOD LUCK TO EVERY ONE OF US:):huh2:

[riley4183 0]

Good afternoon everyone!

Whatever you all decide - Lapband or RNY - let's do keep our little online Kaiser Richmond support group going! I'm finding it very helpful

Riley:smile:

[reggie71 0]

Mollie, thanks for your response!

Nicole, you have pretty much summed it up for me that the LB is for me. It scares me to death to think about my intestines being re-routed and not having the ability to reverse. My husband also agrees with the LB idea. I know its a foreign object in my body then again I already have foreign objects in my body already lol, what's one more:thumbup:. I really like this board and appreciate all of your input.

I was able to get my orientation date to 1/6 and very happy about that.

[reggie71 0]

I agree Riley!

[AudsMom 2]

I agree i love the Kaiser Richmond Thread:D

:tongue2:

[swishbc 0]

Thanks for that list of pros and cons! I'm definitely getting the band. I know 5 people that have had gastric bypass and 3 of them have gained back about 1/2 of the weight that they lost due to stretching their pouch. The other 2 people are doing good but they've all had problems with dumping at one time or another.

The thing that clinched it for me was that ALL 5 of them told me that they wish there was a way they could just re-shrink their pouch (like with the band) and they are all so glad they had WLS and are healthier but if the band had been around back when they had surgery they would've chosen it over gastric bypass.

I also want to have more children and my surgeon said I can get pregnant in 6 months with the band but have to wait 24 months with gastric. I don't want to wait 2 years! He said it's because I would have to make sure that I can absorb enough food, Vitamins and minerals to make sure I could sustain a healty pregnancy, otherwise there could be problems with the baby.

I don't care about having a "foreign object" in me. I already have a bunch of metal in my arm from a serious break and surgery as a kid. I figure the lapband is a tool...just like a pacemaker, stint, artificial hip or knee...if it's something that can help me then bring it on! Plus, they've used this silicone type material in MANY other things that are used inside the body.

And luckily I'm not afraid of needles! Have you seen the fill videos on Youtube? A lot of people take their video camera in there and it's only like a one minute procedure! It looks very easy and pain free to me.

I love this thread! I also don't care who's getting Lapband or Gastric Bypass...it's just so cool that we're all going to the same place and will know some of the same people.

We should do a meet up BEFORE and AFTER our surgeries so we can see what we all look like pre and post weight loss. :tongue2:

[riley4183 0]

Fill videos on you tube! I'm gonna check that out!

I have a friend here @ work who had RNY and got pregant only 1 year out. They have a beautiful baby girl now, but she had SO many problems and complications because the pregnancy happened so soon after surgery. She was on disability for over a year. And all of the weight that she gained from the pregnancy, she did not lose back. She lost almost 200 lbs, so she is much healthier now, but gained 80 back. Weight is stable now and her health is back (still has dizzy spells but that's it) but she was really, really sick when her body needed all of the little nutrition it was absorbing for the baby.

Just a thought - Going to you tube to see a fill before my lunch is over :tongue2:

Riley

[AudsMom 2]

Swish: Thanks for the report on 5 people. You just molded my reasoning!

Six months? Really!?! That just made my decision final! I really want two more kids, but before i get prego id love to actually LOOK prego! lol

I would say lets meet up! But i bet we will all have to wait for the new year :huggie: :tongue2::huh2:

[riley4183 0]

Yucko! Yucko yucko! :tongue2: Those videos are GROSS I don't want a fill. But I will when I'm starving because of no restriction

Oh man . . . .

[swishbc 0]

Yeah, I have a friend that had a surprise pregnancy 8 months after surgery and she had a horrible pregnancy! She actually had a hard time GAINING weight and had pre-term labor. The baby was born by emergency c-section at 29 weeks (I think?) because she was tiny and failing to thrive. Doctors thought she would do better outside of the womb than inside. She had 2 previous pregnancies before RNY when she was heavy and they were both fine and healthy and big.

The new year is only a few days away! I can't believe it. :tongue2: Maybe we can figure out a January meet up though since we're all fairly close to eachother. That would be so fun!

[swishbc 0]

You thought they were gross? It's really just an injection, they suck out the saline, then push it back through with the new fill saline and it's done! They wipe it off, stick a bandaid on and it's done. Looks easy to me! :tongue2:

[riley4183 0]

Ugh! I think it's the big needle-with-the-hole-in-the-side-stuck-in-the-belly part for me. I am OK with little needles - my sons got diabetes at age 7 so I have given hundreds of injections - but this puppy was BIG!! The video that really got me is the one where they kept pulling it out and going back in again . . . ralph :frown: I get sick when they put in my IV too, I'm just a big woosy (sp?)

but hey, it's not gonna stop me! I would do it a hundred times to be healthy and trim!

[swishbc 0]

Once every few months for the first year and maybe once a year after or so isn't so bad. Just close your eyes! lol