New here and debating in GB or the lapband help!

Hi there!
I am 32 y/o and at my highest weight. I have yo-yo dieted for YEARS! I seem to get to my goal in what seems like forever then I breathe and I am fat again :( I hate it! Up to a week ago I was trying to conceive our last baby however after seeing myself in pictures at my little boys birthday party I decided no more. I have been taking care of others since I was 17 y/o (I was a teen Mom) and well now it's my turn. No way my back was going to be able to handle my RA and another pregnancy. I told my husband our last baby would have to wait a few years because Momma needs to get healthy 1st. I had been toying with the idea of surgery for the last 3 years but could never get myself to really do it. I know our insurance covers it and I am a candidate.

I have an appointment for a lapband saturday but I am not sure if that will be the right choice. Maybe the GB would be better for me? Advice please?

Wow with all the WLS out there, it's hard to say what's for whom.  I initially wanted the LapBand but after researching I discovered the Duedonal Switch and the Vertical Sleeve.  I ended up choosing the sleeve.  For me low/no maintenance and no malabsorption.

Good luck to you and good for you getting healthy not only for yourself but your family as well.

Ms Shell

Good luck with what ever you choose to do. It is a very personal decision. I was at first 6 years ago going to do the lapband but then after my research I decided it was not for me with having something forign in me and then with all the refills, then the possibility of it slipping or erroding. Then I was going to have the RNY and researched it thru and thru, and since I have diabetes and having arthritis and multi degenerative disk disease I need to take NSAIDS and with the RNY you can not. So I decided on the DS. I can take the meds I need and I can drink with meals. But you have to choose for yourself. Sue

I started out wanting a lap band but I only knew about Lap band and RnY and I didn't think my situation required malabsorption. But then I did some research and found out there are four surgeries you can pick from and now I'm going for a sleeve (hopefully next month).

Here's a handy-dandy chart that gives a brief overview of all four surgeries that you can use to get you started:

http://www.lapsf.com/weight-loss-surgeries.html

You need to think about what your food issues are and what your risk tolerance is. Different surgeries do better with different issues and none of them do anything for emotional eating.

In my case, I always did well on a diet but as soon as I got off, I'd get so hungry and the weight would creep back on no matter how hard I fought. Plus I'm older so I want a surgery with less OR time in order to lessen the risks of having the surgery. VSG and DS have the best hunger control but DS has the longest OR time and a bigger chance of leaks than VSG. Plus the fact that I am really good at dieting said to me that I didn't need malabsorption and could avoid the additional risks that it brings. I was also concerned about long-term complications requiring a second surgery with the lap band. I don't want to be having surgery when I'm 60 because my band slipped!

So that's how I got to my decision. But you may have other issues and come to a different answer.

Thank you all soo much for your replies I am glad I found this place and now I can really look at all my options.