Help and opinions

All, I'm having some problems and being that you have all been down this road, I'm hoping you can help me with my decision. You might need to know a little about me though to help. I'm 23, newly married, have been obese all my life (current bmi appx 64) I'm 5'4, and weight between 372 and 380. I've tried diets, It hurts to excersise (torn ACL 3 years ago, and my knee has never been the same) not to mention, 250 lbs I dont need. I have a two story house and have BIG problems getting up the stairs to go to bed every night. I know WLS is where I'm headed, but I don't know how to pick which one would be best for me. My husband and I are planning to have children w/in the next 5 years. At first I was "gung ho" towards Lap Band. I don't know if I was ignoring the risks or if I just didnt hear them. I felt it was safer, easier and would still work the same exact way. I thought the Gastric Bypass was dangerous (I know all surgeries are dangerous) and that it wouldn't be good for me. I went for my consult and the doctor said a lot of things. Most of which scared me to death. He pretty much told me that if I did lap band, I would fail or I would only lose 20 lbs or so. He is one of the top 100 surgeons in the country, and though I have decided not to go with him as my surgeon (just didn't like the way he talked to people) I know he knows what he is talking about. My concerns are these: I don't want to mess up my chances of having a baby or carrying a pregnancy to term because I can't get the vitamins my baby needs, I don't want to have leakage or scars (I know thats pretty much inevitable), and mainly, I don't want to fail. My will power is obviously not strong (or I could do this all by myself), right now my spirit is broken and I don't know what to do. Can someone help me? Amy

Hi Amy, I can tell you this...last July I was 432 pounds. The doctors told me that something drastic needed to happen in my life, or I'd be dead in 2 years. I first looked into the Lap-Band because of the fear of having major surgery and the fact that it is reversible, etc. But then I started going to support groups to meet post-op patients. That's when I decided I didn't want the Lap-Band. Don't get me wrong...I think it is a good thing...but for those people only needing to lose 75 to 100 pounds. Those that were larger were not seeing the drastic weight loss they needed or wanted and were very discouraged. A lot of people get the RNY which is an excellent surgery....but it is major surgery. The success seems to be much better. However, I chose the DS. I did so because of the amount of weight I needed to lose (over 250 pounds), my comorbidies, and the post-op lifestyle of a DS'er. RNY patients typically cannot eat and drink at the same time, "dump" if they eat sweets, and are very limited to the amount they can eat. The DS offers a little bit "normal" eating lifestyle in that you can eat and drink at the same time (since we still have a stomach, not a pouch) and I can have the occasional sweet without getting sick. Both surgeries are very good. The DS is done by fewer doctors and is a lot more risky than the RNY. Whatever you chose, the MOST important thing is to make sure you pick a doctor and a hospital that are competent and that you feel comfortable with. Check them out. Check out their track-record. Meet the staff. Meet the patients. Get informed. I had my surgery at Celebration Health in Celebration (just down the road from Orlando). We have info sessions every second Wednesday of the month at 6:00PM (the next one is on the 11th). You are very welcome to attend. I think you will find it helpful and informative. If you want driving instructions, etc, please feel free to contact me. Best of luck. Here's to your health and future :beers: Bobby (432 / 173 / -259 pounds)

PS - If you elect to go with the RNY or DS, they typically want you to at least wait a year before getting pregnant. But there are a lot of women that get pregnant before their one year is up and have no problems with either surgery.

Thank you for your suggestions! I've been reading up on the DS, but I need to do more. My insurance will pay for what I need done, I just have to find a surgeon covered by them... and that i can handle going to more than once! I did go to a lap band info session in November with Dr. Kim. I LOVED him. I would have done the band the next day after leaving his meeting. He seemed very in favor of the band, and gave me alot of information. The only problem was that my insurance provider would not cover any of the US bariatric surgeon team. . I did research and then went to Dr. Overcash in Ocala. I read all his reviews and wasn't expecting him to be really nice. I knew that he was a good surgeon though, and I thought I would be fine with that. When I went to see him, he told me that only 20 % of paitents that get the band actually succeed, and that with a BMI over 50, my chances were very slim. He said that if all I needed to stop eating was the equivalent of a breeze going by, then by all means, have the lap band. But if you need someone to physically grab you ( at which point he put put his hand firmly on my shoulder) get in your face and tell you to "STOP EATING" then you should get gastric bypass. He then proceeded to tell me that lap band was for trophy wives who gain weight in the winter, and need to lose it before bikini season. So you can see my issues. But thank you again!

It would be to your benefit to visit with Dr. Jawad and staff in Ocala. Super Surgeon. Carol

Amy - If you stopped researching the Lap-Band based on those statements from Dr. Overcash you should know that he is wrong. Flat out, completely, totally and utterly wrong. Period. His statements are in direct contradiction to the available research and the professional opinions of surgeons around the world who have performed thousands and thousands of laproscopic adjustable gastric banding. I'm not saying that adjustable gastric banding is right for you. But you should not halt your research based on the apparently extremely biased or woefully ingnorant statement of one surgeon. Who has, by the way done a whopping 50 Lap-Band procedures. If you think you are interested in properly researching the Lap-Band I again suggest that you visit the Lap-Band forum here and find a talk to at least one surgeon who has more extensive experience with both the Lap-Band surgical procedure and the post-op treatment of Lap-Band patients. The surgical group I have chosen is headed by a surgeon who is a band patient, has done over 1,000 procedures, does banding surgery exclusively and has years of experience in supervising banded patients post-op. Dr. Overcash was overly flippant. The Lap-Band is a major surgery that is not to be undertaken by someone who just needs to loose a few pounds. The band patients I know have all been anything but "trophy wives" looking to drop a few winter pounds for swimsuit season. And the band is far more than the equivalent of a "breeze passing by". It is a powerful tool with fewer surgical complications and fewer long-term complictions that can help you reach a healthy weight goal. If you decide to choose a bypass surgery because you think, after serious and careful research that it is right for you then by all means have the bypass surgery. But don't make the decision to avoid researching all of your options based on the inaccurate and possibly dishonest statements by one doctor.

There are a lot of mixed information about all the different surgeries...which one is best, etc. The biggest thing is to get all the information (as unbiased as you can) and then decide for yourself which would benefit you the most. This is a major decision and being well-informed will give you peace of mind in your decision. Since you live so close to Celebration, even if you decide on another surgeon you are still welcome to come to the support meetings. There are people from all over that attend. If you decide not to, I really would recommend you going to one somewhere. Personally I got the most out of meeting people that have "been there done that". Just like I got (and get) a lot out of ObesityHelp. I wish you the best on your journey. Keep us informed on what happens, ok? Bobby

I was all for Lap Band, til I realized I could get around it, I just needed more then the restrictive nature of it. I needed the dumping and malabsorption...I knew that would stop me from messing up. I am glad for myself that I did RNY, I have lost 175 pounds in 16 months and doctors goal for me was to lose 150. You need to research and decide what surgery is right for you..and only you...don't do this because so and so said this and so and so said that. I do believe there is a pregnancy board here, should go visit it. I have heard of people getting pregnant right away and are fine. As for leakage and scars....there is a chance of leakage, but that can be fixed, a few people on the florida boards have had those issues. Scars....I had open and my scar is only 3 inches now...I would rather have that scar then the huge amount of fat I did have there before. My will power was crap, that is why I didn't choose the lap band...I wanted to be punished if I messed up and boy I have been punished and learned my lesson fast of what I can do and what I can't do. Check out the lap band forums and the pregnancy forums...you need to be well informed and do it for yourself. Tracey

Hi Amy, as all have said, you have to make the decision on which type of surgery. I am 64 years old, 18 days post op and doing very well and I give it all to following every instruction given to me about recovery. There is an excellent dr in Ocala. Dr. Jawad. Visit his sight at jawadmd.com. I was told by one dr that he is one of the best in the country. Over 2200 RNYs and only 1 mortality (not to his fault). His staff is very helpful. God Bless you, keep researching and read, read, read. Carol

Amy - If your surgeon told you that you would fail or only loose 20 lbs after Lap-Band surgery I would be looking for a new surgeon. One who doesn't try to scare his patients into choosing one type of surgery over another. If you are interested in learning more about the Lap-Band surgery from patients who have had it done please visit the Lap-Band forum here at OH. The URL is http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/LapBand/posts.html Or check out http://thinforlife.med.nyu.edu/media/tv.html Scroll down and find the clip about Miriam who went from a BMI of 80 to a BMI of 26 with Lap-Band surgery. And go to http://jointhebandwagon.com/ and read the success stories. There are many people who have followed the "bandster rules" and have lost many times more than just 20 lbs. Including the lead surgeon in my practice who lost over 100 lbs after having Lap-Band surgery. There are many reasons why one chooses one type of WLS over another. But being scared into a surgery by an ill-informed doctor is never the right reason. Will-power is a joke. If all loosing weight took was will-power everyone who is overweight and desperate to be thin and not suffering from a metabolic disorder would be, if not thin, at least thinner than they are. And I'll be honest -every single WLS out there requires committment and effort on your part. All of them. None of them is a quick fix, a magic bullet or a simple solution. You will get out of WLS whatever effort you put into it. Research all of the options and make the decision that is right for YOU. Not the decision that was right for someone else. Or the decision that your doctor pushed you into. Before making a decision attend a Lap-Band seminar and talk to an experienced Lap-Band surgeon and hear the facts from a surgeon familiar with the procedure and the aftercare for band patients. These boards are great places to get support and information but please don't base your decision on what we say either. You have to be able to live with this decision. You have to be comfortable with and confident in your choice and nothing anyone says here (beyond pointing you to factual information) should weight heavily in your choice. People tend to very zealously defend their particular surgical choice. That often is accomapnied by the belief that it is always the best choice or the right choice ... or in some cases the only choice. That just isn't the case. Every surgery has its benefits and its drawbacks and every surgery isn't right for every person. Take your time and make the decision that fits you. Carole P.S. - I have read that the Lap-Band is very compatible with pregnancy as you can reduce the amount of saline in the band to allow for higher caloric consumption for proper nutrition. And since there are no mal-absorption issues with the Lap-Band it can be easier for some women to consume all the necessary additional nutrients needed for a healthy pregnancy.