Band vs Gastric Bypass

Hello-

I am new to this site and am looking for some opinions on the Lap band versus the Gastric Bypass.  I have already gone for my consult appointment and was told that I was a candidate for either surgery.  I have no other health issues other than  being over weight.  Any opinions as to which is the best way to go?  Please help thanks! 

Hi and welcome.  Everyone has their reasons for picking what they do.  I could have gone either way but felt the band was a better fit for me.  The main reasons I went with the band was 1. I liked that it did not cut/redirect anything inside, this was the first surgery I ever had in my life.  2. I didn't have as much weight to lose so the slower weight loss rate was fine with me. I have lost weight before but could never keep it off for any duration so this was more of a tool for me. 3. there are no malabsorption issues. 4. I felt I had to be more accountable long term.  There is a lot more follow-up with fill visits and working with your dr..  The negatives I would say is that you do have a foriegn object in your body.  Lucky me my first month I had a major gallbladder attack and thought for sure that something was wrong with the band, it took me a good 3 months to feel comfortable with it and knowing the band was stable and my port was stable.  The other draw back is the continued cost.  I switched insurances to get coverage for the surgery and continued it again this year to cover fills since I am not quite to my goal yet.  Next year I will be challenged with whether I want to continue my own policy or take a chance and go back under my husbands plan and if I need maintenance just plan for it through my health care spending.  I think they both have their pro's/con's.  I would suggest  you do as  you are and ask around. 

I chose the band over bypass, for many of the same reasons as the previous responder mentioned.  I was just afraid of all the potential complications, and thought that the band would be the best option long-term for losing and keeping the weight off.  (Studies show that the 5 year results of bandsters vs. bypass are much the same.)  I have several friends who have had the bypass and 3 out of 5 of them have gained back at least 1/2, if not more, of the weight they initially lost.  That was mainly what I considered with my choice...surgery issues, recovery time, and long-term benefits.  Plus, like you I didn't have any health issues that needed immediate fixing with weight loss like diabetes, etc.  Plus, it's reversible if anything would ever happen that would warrant that. 

One thing they don't tell you up front is that it takes a while for the band to kick in.  I'm 8 months out and just finally got some good restriction with my fill this week.  (I'm glad they didnt' tell me though, or it might have changed my mind and I don't know if that would have been the right thing for me.)  You absolutely DO have to make sure you keep up on your fills and eat right, and it's not nearly as fast of weight loss as bypass.  And you're NOT pretty much guaranteed to lose weight like you are with bypass because of the malabsorption of calories that provides.  The band is a tool that will help you, but it does take some effort.  Bypass does too, but there's more instant gratification there with weight loss.  I can't say I don't sometimes wish I would have had the bypass, because I have 150 lbs to lose and have only lost 50 so far.  However, now that I'm at good restriction I'm doing great and LOVE my band!  And, I know that even though it will take longer I'll get there, and I feel very confident that the band will help me keep it off.  I am 100% sure I made the right choice (even considering the several months of frustration I felt when I didn't have good restriction!). 

With either surgery, what a lot of us fight is the 'head' hunger.  Neither surgery will get rid of that, but you can learn to control it.  Mine has also gotten much better now that I've had time to listen to my body and eat when I'm 'really' hungry.  (Not that I always can stick to that and never 'cheat', but nobody's perfect!)    Good luck with your decision, whatever it may be!  This is a personal choice, and it's different for everyone.

First off, I strongly suggest you do some research if only to get confused enough to ask your surgeon good questions. 

In my humble opinion--part of the choice should be determined by your age, your weight (how much you need to lose), how long you've been obese, and your level of comfort with the degree of surgery involved.  I was middle aged, super morbidly obese, had been overweight/obese since childhood, and never been in the hospital before--not even for a broken bone.

I had been philosophically agains wls for a long time.  It seemed like "surgical willpower" to me.  I kept thinking, "I should be able to do this," and did the whole moral failure thing.  So when I reached the point of knowing I had to do something, I did my research.  My first attraction to RNY over band was the success rate--typically one loses more and faster than with the band.  I knew I needed that.   Also, in researching the RNY, I read about how the digestive hormones change allowing people to feel satisfied (very different from feeling full).  I was one of those who had to literally stuff herself to the point of being sick as a substitution for being satisfied.  The more I read about the hormone/digestive changes, the more I understood the RNY was a medical treatment for a medical condition and not just "surgical willpower."  That may not be an issue for you, but it was for me.

Some people like the idea of not having the radical surgical change that the RNY does, while for others it "ups the stakes" and is a motivator.  A lady at my support groups talks about how she did the RNY because she was going to go all the way--and just once.  She was a self-pay and had to morgage her house for the funds.  She was very serious about it (and has lost 130 lbs. and kept if off for five years). 

The best surgery is the surgery that meets your needs.  You can find all sorts of information online to get you started.  But part of it also comes down to your thinking and relationship with food.  After all, it is your brain that drives so much of the overeating.  What are you prepared to do for the rest of your life? 

Keep asking questions.  And good luck.