thoughts?

Any thoughts on RNY vs lapband? All I have discovered is lap band is slower wt loss. Any other thoughts?

I would suggest you try the lap band and roux en y forums here on OH you will find a wealth of information on both on these boards.  Good for you on doing your research. 

Jeannie

From what I could tell on here, those with the band have to be VERY disciplined in order to be very successful with it. While it restricts how quickly you eat...it doesn't restrict how much you eat or what you eat as much as the RNY does. There are an exception or two to that, but in general. I had made my personal decision to get the RNY because I was more than 200 lb overweight. Had I been right at 100 lb, I may have chosen the band. Not too long after I had my RNY was when they came out with DS. If they had it before I had my RNY, I probably would had checked into it, although it is really the recommended way to go I believe if you are super morbidly obese.

I would really suggest your discussing the surgeries with Dr. Gupta. While the RNY may be a quicker weight loss, it also is more extensive than the band. I would allow Dr. Gupta to advise me on which would be my own best choice.

Sherri 

The dumping syndrome was described to me as 'behavior modification'. Since I am a sweets eater, that  consequence does help me to stay on track with RNY.

Good point. That is also why I may have chosen DS if I had known about it pre-op. Where RNY post-ops can dump on sweets, DS post-ops are suppose to be more prone to dump on carbs. I was a much bigger bread & potato eater than I was cake & cookies. As it turned out, I'm hypoglycemic now and have to watch both.

I'm with you Sherri.  I was always one to pass up dessert in favor of a second helping of bread or potatoes.  That was my comfort food.

Choosing between bread and potatoes and sweets???  NOOOOOO.  Don't make me.  I want it all!!!!

Banding is a disciplined wls... because if you don't go and get proper restriction aka fills, you won't loose weight. As for restricting types of food... it can be a personal thing. I for one experience what has been basically been a RNY function, DUMPING. I experience it when I consume to much fruit drinks mostly. I can not eat lettuce or breads because they cause blockage of my opening and it really really causes a lot of pain. I lost weight just as fast an RNY'er for the most part. By 16 months out I was minus 165+ lbs. The plus side of having the band is for medical reasons when perhaps you have to gain weight and you can lessen your restrictions. That happened to me when I became pregnant and then again when I had cancer and needed to increase my food intake. Now that that is all over, I'm back to proper restrictions and loosing my weight I gained from being sick. I found it comforting that my weight loss and how much I loose and maintain is within my control so that I don't always feel like I'm dieting. 

 

Good Luck To You on your choice.

Blessings
Jodi

I don't think there is a particular surgery that is right for everyone.  I love my lapband, but like I said I know it's not the solution for everyone.  I debated between RNY and lapband and here's why I chose the band.

1.  Although I was 334 lbs, I had no comorbidites at all.  I needed to lose the weight for my health's sake, but it wasn't imperative that I lose it fast. 

2.  I am not a pill taker.  I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would not be compliant with the supplement regimen needed with the malabsorptive procedures.  Although, I might have gotten thin.  I would not have been healthy.

3.  I was a volume eater.  I ate large volumes at every sitting, but I was not a grazer.    The restrictive properties of the band work great for me.  I am a sweets eater too.  I still have to control that, but the band definitely reminds me it's there if I eat too much.

4.  I self paid.  THe band was a little cheaper and was done on an outpatient basis.  I was home within 4 hours of my surgery and that's with a 2 hr drive.  THere was also less risk of complications which might have required additional hospital stay time.  And, I was able to return to work the next day.

I think that banding does require more "dieting" work on behalf of the patient in the beginning until you have proper restriction.  However, I think that all WLS requires a lifestyle change eventually.  With the malabsorptive procedures, you have some time to make those changes while your body continues to shed pounds.  With the restrictive procedures, you have to make the changes first.

These are some things that affected my decision.  Only you and your physician can truly evaluate your situation.  You have to educate yourself.  Know the pros/cons/after effects of each surgery.  Determine which ones you can live with in your lifestyle.

Any other thoughts? I hope this will benefit pre-op's & post-op's that aren't too far out yet.  When I had my VBGB 8+ yrs ago, the only procedures they did then were the RNY and the VBGB and those were both done open.  No lap back then.Regardless of what procedure you choose, it is only as successful as the person that is making the decisions, changes, and choices in their new lifestyle. 

I also had over 200# to lose so I wouldn't have considered the lap if it had been available.  In support groups the lap patients say that they can eat sugar (sweets)  and not dump.  That would not have worked for me.  I love ice cream.  Thank God after my VBGB I became lactose intolerant which gives me a double whammywhen I screw up and fall prey to temptation.

What a blessing to know that the surgery still does what it was designed to do 8 years after the fact.  I am not saying that I do lots of experimenting.  I found out about the LI early on when I used milk in my protein shakes and dumped. That being said, even tho I am LI, if  I would have chosen to eat ice cream on a regular basis , knowing that I could enjoy it and dump it too thus NOT gain weight (the best of both worlds) I believe that I would have sabataoged myself and regained all my weight plus more. I did not have the knowledge that I am about to share with you but I thank God that I had the strength to stick to my program in those early days to help me get where I am today. I will explain this more below.  
    ~~~Whatever procedure you have, the "choices" you make the first year will be crucial to how well you will do during your maintenance years. ~~~ 

I didn't learn everything in 1 year.  I am still learning today and still making mistakes.  But in talking with hundreds of patients, a big trap they fall into is that in the first year they were dropping weight so rapidly but they thought, "just a little bite of _____ won't hurt me" and they found out they still lost lots of weight.  So they took a little bigger bite of ____ and they still lost lots of weight. And then they try a little of something else and they will still lose weight.The experimenting many times doesn't stop because they think they have the best of both worlds.  (A subconscious thought) They can cheat a little bit and still lose weight. But what they don't know yet is that THIS won't work in maintenance when they are still going off program here and there and NOT losing weight anymore.  They will gain weight instead.  You are going to get out of it what you put into it.  Not perfection, but consistency, short term goals, no quitting, positive self talk & attitude, educating myself, & believing in myself. 

When they come to the maintenance phase, they realize how very hard it is to maintain their weight.  Now they have some hindsight into their last year.  They wish they would have been more complient and followed their program better.  They wish they would have exercised more.  They wish they would have put more effort into making changes and better choices.  It's never too late if they never give up.  But they have to want it bad enough to work hard for it.

In that first crucial year, when they start giving in to cheating, their little baby tummy and intestines are in it's "infancy."  They are already introducing them to sugar  and other bad "fuel" to deter them from functioning like they are meant to do.  Some WLS'ers farther out have reported that although doing this will cause you to dump in the beginning, the farther out you get from surgery, they have said that they have put so much sugar and bad food into their system that they no longer dump at all.  Their system has now developed a tolerance to all the sugar and junk they have eaten and the plumbing doesn't work anymore.  

But when they are in their honeymoon phase they don't even realize what they are doing to their system because they are losing a tremendous amount of weight. Before long they are going to Starbucks and trying SF candy.  These are traps.  They are on the foods to avoid list for a reason, especially the first year! There are sooo many food temptations out in the world but as they get farther out from your surgery there are far sweeter rewards than food in the world. They don't have that vision to look into the future but there are some far out veterans hanging out here that are willing to take some rotten eggs thrown in our faces to give you some straight talk.

The longer sugar does not touch your tongue the more successful you will be long term (if you have RNY).  I am a food addict.  Some things I have learned to eat in moderation but I didn't learn it in 1 year, nor did I try those things in the first year.  I am a rule keeper.  I followed the program. No sugar, no flour, no pizza, candy, ice cream, doughnuts, fast food. (I started weening myself off before WLS).  I did exercise.  I did go to support groups.  I did see my MD and the NUT.  I did take my vits.  I did get support from a whole family of bariatric friends but only a handful were 1 or 2 yrs. post op that came to meetings. St. V's just started doing WLS 2 yrs. before my WLS.   

 I had to be on pureed food the first 6 weeks back then.  And I pureed all my food b4 I went to the hospital. Most people don't bother to puree at all.  I froze 6 weeks worth of food in those 1 ounce cups.  Change requires planning ahead, preparation, and a series of positive baby steps toward a short term goal.  

I hope none of you think I am standing up on a soapbox.  I am human like all the rest of you.  I don't want to be looked up to.  I want you to look over at me and give me a big hug.  I want to walk on your journey WITH you, right beside you, not in front of you, or behind you.  A team is only as successful as every member on the team and I want all of us to be the successful Hoosier Losers!  I have walked in your shoes and my shoes have just as many miles of blood, sweat, and tears as your's do.  Our journeys are unique but we understand each other. 

I should say that these are only my opinions, so you can start throwing rotten eggs at me now.  I don't mean to offend anyone.  I don't mean to say that if you mess up your first year that you are doomed.  You just have to work harder and put forth more effort.  I will quit defending myself now.  This has gotten very long but I spent so much time composing it that I'm not going to delete it.  I apologize.
hugs,
Kathy