Confused

[MacMadame 81]

It was installed. It didn’t work. Restriction did nothing for me. Then the mechanical problems began AFTER it had been inside me for a considerable time. I had the bypass and it DID work. There's no "re-writing" .....

You left out the part where you came here telling people we didn't need WLS at al, that you'd found "the answer" and had lost 90 pounds listening to Tony Robbins/Tony Roberts/some motivational guy....

You are definitely re-writing history here. You told us your band was never installed properly. That's a mechanical issue even if the erosion happpened later.

Am I understanding that everyone here is suggesting that you simply IGNORE what the Medical people are saying?

:ohmy: You know that's not what everyone is saying....

Not entirely. If your NEED is malabsorbtion, then restriction won’t do jack for you.

Not necessarily. For example, the sleeve and bypass have simliar weight loss stats. One is restrictive-only and one also has malabsorption. It's not as simple as malabsorption vs. restriction.

I have said here before that “they all work to varying degrees” but to be successful you need to pick the RIGHT one. You do NOT want to do this over again.

That was what I was trying to say. They all work to some extent, much better than any diet program, but you want the one that is going to work the best for you and that involves personal preferences/values/choices that a surgeon can't really decide for you.

The surgeon can't decide if you are one who will be lax about coming in for fills/unfills or if you are one who will come to hate having a hunk of plastic inside you or will go nuts eating sweets when it turns out that you are one of the many people who gets a bypass but doesn't dump. They can't know how you evaluate the risks of malnutrition with bypass vs. the risks of not succeeding with the band.

There are people who think they must have a DS because it has the best EWL stats and that's the most important thing to them. There are people who think it's crazy to get a bypass because after 12-18 months, you start to absorb most of your calories, but still malabsorb Vitamins and minerals and you have a stomach that can't be scoped floating around inside you. Others think the long-range complication rates for the band are unacceptable. Some people think the sleeve is the greatest thing since sliced bread and others can't get over having part of their stomach permanent removed.

Everyone evaluates these benefits and risks differently. That's why it's a personal choice.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

HH does that 17K dental bill mean our secret getaway to Cabo is on hold?

[BethFromVA 5]

Holy frijoles, for seventeen grand, I'd better have Brad Pitt's mouth permanently attached to mine in a perpetual and neverending kiss. :ohmy:

[Headhunter 6]

I think I was partially guilty of that, and I apologize. Though we have exchanged ideas and are very much on the same page in certain things, I have to admit that I don't know your story. Is it listed here somewhere so I can catch up?

I have seen others here really shove their thoughts down the throats of others who are confused, and not saying that I thought you were doing that, but after reading EVERYthing from EVERYbody, I got a fuller understanding of why a certain procedure might be recommended, how each one has its differences that may work for or against the patient, and that sometimes I read more into what's being said than I should. I took it that the doctor and the psych and nutritionist were all just blankly saying bypass. I'm sure there's more to it (or at least I HOPE there is).

All I hope is that the OP isn't even more confused and that maybe this thread armed her with some good questions to ask her doctor so that she can make the most informed decision she can for herself.

Oh, Beth!

Don't apologize! The funny part about all of this is that we all pretty much agree. In fact, I had a quite a long response written out to your post agreeing with most everything you said, and pointing out those areas.

In another thread recently, WasaBubbleButt pointed out that sometimes what I say gets a bit lost in the way I say it, and I quite agree with that. In this case, I was merely incensed at the idea that what MIGHT be good advice should be ignored. That's pretty much it. People think I have a "Bypass Bias", because I HAVE a Bypass. That is so untrue. My ONLY bias is that people get it right the FIRST time,....because I didn't, and i really suffered for it.

As far as my story, i'll PM you on that. It's quite interesting what happened, but people like to try and pick it apart...I saw that happening in THIS thread, which is why i decided to post a response other than the one I had written to you.

"I got a fuller understanding of why a certain procedure might be recommended, how each one has its differences that may work for or against the patient"

Yes, the procedures are very different, and my hope is always that people will choose the right one for them the first time out. A revision can be an ugly thing. People often think that the Lap Band is the "easier, less invasive" way , but it's not always the RIGHT way. Restriction and Malabsorbtion are two entirely different things, meant for different eating dysfunctions.

I would characterize it this way. Say I was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. But I say that instead of obtaining the best treatment for Pancreatic Cancer, I’m going to have the Treatment for Skin Cancer instead….because it’s less invasive, and more “comfortable” and “convenient”. Now, I’ll still get SOME benefit from the radiation and other protocols for the Skin cancer…..but it’s not the best treatment, and won’t ultimately give me the best results, because Skin Cancer is NOT what I have.

It's the same with Band/Sleeve vs Bypass/DS. People who NEED the Malabsorbtion MAY benefit somewhat from the restriction of the band/Sleeve, BUT it's not the best solution, not at ALL. And it ultimately ends in Revision, or no weight loss.

Elisabeth, by the way, put it very well, as did Restless, Unforgettable, Nanook, and others.

I am NOT saying that one procedure is better than another, not at all. My "message" is simply that people need to choose what is CORRECT for their situation. That Might be the Band. That MIGHT be the Bypass. Or, it MIGHT just be less Ice Cream.:ohmy:

HH

[BethFromVA 5]

NEVER less ice cream. :ohmy:

[Nanook 2]

You people are tooooo funny!!:ohmy:

[BethFromVA 5]

I don't joke about ice cream. :ohmy:

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I'm still waiting to hear about Cabo. :ohmy:

[MistyD65 1]

I had my 1 year post-op appointment today, and my surgeon had some copies of the Obesity Action Coalition's magazine in his waiting room. The first article Choosing the "Right" Weight-loss Surgery Procedure was, in my opinion, one of the most clear-headed, well-stated discussions about the different surgeries and what you should keep in mind when considering one over another. It doesn't promote any one surgery. You can read the article here Choosing the "Right" Weight-loss Surgery Procedure

I think this should be required reading for anyone considering weight-loss surgery.

[Headhunter 6]

HH does that 17K dental bill mean our secret getaway to Cabo is on hold?

Unfortunately, that weekend in Cabo will have to be reduced to a thursday night at a Motel 6 outside of Tucson....

But it will be a DAMN FINE THURSDAY NIGHT!!!!!:ohmy:

HH

[RestlessMonkey 7]

SIGH. Ok. For you, HH, I'll manage. And it is a DRY heat. :ohmy:

[Headhunter 6]

Holy frijoles, for seventeen grand, I'd better have Brad Pitt's mouth permanently attached to mine in a perpetual and neverending kiss. :ohmy:

I was in las Vegas a few weeks ago, and I had dinner at the Encore, which is Steve Wynn's new "extension" to the Wynn (clever name, I'd say:huh2:). I bit down hard on SOMETHING (think it was a piece of nut, encrusted Sea Bass or something like that). I broke off part of my tooth, and when I got back, i discovered i would have to have a root canal. Well, that led to other stuff. Years ago, I broke off three of my back teeth (I fell off of a stage during a gig in San Francisco), and they had to extract what was left of the three teeth. So, NOW my Dentist is telling me that I'm going to need something put up there to keep my jaw from going all wacky when I get older. And on the OTHER side, in the back there is a tooth missing that was extracted many years ago, but there are still some "shards" or something left over from it, and they need to be "cut" out, AND something put up there as well. The "Something" that needs to be put up on both side is Implants.....about $17,000 worth (Which will include a cleaning and a lollipop, by the way). Oh, and those old shards will be removed as well. I'm told that it's possible that the shards may be responsible for some infections I have experienced over the years.

So, Restless, that's where the cash for our getaway is going. But you can have the lollipop.....

HH

[RestlessMonkey 7]

What a sweet talker you are. I'd hate, though, for your jaw to go "all wacky" so I'll, er, bite the bullet and wait for the "secret" weekend. :ohmy:

[Headhunter 6]

What a sweet talker you are. I'd hate, though, for your jaw to go "all wacky" so I'll, er, bite the bullet and wait for the "secret" weekend.

"all wacky".....that's a Dental "technical term", ya know.....:ohmy:

HH

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Yes, I immediately grasped the "medical-ness" of it. :ohmy: