Hi Everyone, I'm New Here with lots of Questions

Hi, I have been lurking for a while and everyone here seems so great, I decided to finally join and ask all the questions I have. My sister and I have been researching WLS and have finally decided to do something, but we are still not sure what. We both have our first appointment with Dr. Lavin's office on Monday, March 27th. I have been to a seminar given by Dr. Lavin's office, but still have lots of questions. Here goes: 1. Are there any Lap-Banders out there, it seems like everyone has had RNY? 2. How did you decide which WLS was right for you? 3. Did you have any complications from your surgery? 4. Can you still eat anything (I know it will be limited quantity), i.e. spicy crawfish, steak, etc.? 5. How long were you out of work after surgery? 6. Did you tell co-workers, church friends, others that you were having surgery? 7. How much pain did you have, and for how long? 8. Has anyone from here gotten pregnant after WLS? 9. How has the surgery changed your life? 10. Has anyone gotten Humana-State of Louisiana HMO to pay for the surgery? I sure I'll come up with lots more questions, but any input for these would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Shanna

Welcome Shanna! I am still preop, for a few hours, so I will just answer what I can and leave the rest to the pros! 1. There are lots of lap banders here, at the top of the page where it says forums, click on that and it will take you to the message boards for all types of surgery. 2. I decided that RNY was right for me because I am a junk food junkie and I would frosty and milkshake my weight right back with the lap band. There are many other reasons, I want something more permanent, but I won't bore you with all of them. 3. Time will tell 4. I have been told that in time I will be able to eat small amounts of everything. My doc is rather strict (which I like) and won't let me have beef for 9 months. 5. I will be off a week and a half. I am having laproscopic surgery, and I work a clinic job, no heavy lifting. 6. I have told most of my friends, coworkers, and all of my family. The rest of the questions, I will leave to the postops. Good luck with your research. You have found a wonderful resource here and you just might end up with some friends!

I had surgery with Dr Thomas a partner of Dr Levin. I had RNY but have has two friend who hod lapband with the pratice. I'll try to answer. 1.There is a lapband board--go there for info 2. I researched for two year and read eveything I could get my hands on. It is right for me. My life is passig by too quick and I am out of control. I have lost and regain more that 150 lbs 5 times in my adult life. 3.My surgery was 3/13 and I had no complications. I came home Wed and never need any pain meds. My recovery has been easy. I had foot surgery that was harder than this. I am 58 yr old and 350 lbs. loss 14 pre surgery. 4. Steak not for 6 months crawfish about 2 months out. Yes you can use spice. The first 3 months your diet is extremely limited with bypass not as bad with Band. 5 I am retired but could have returned in one week 6.yes I am completely open. in my opinion honesty is always the best policy 7 Day of surgery. By noon the next day the only pain for me was gas pain 8 There is a board about that also.. Our doctors say not for 1 year post 9 Only been 10 days--feel good about my decision 10 I was self pay State employeees group

Welcome, Shanna!! I too am pre surgical, but will help you out if I can. There are alot of Lap Banders on this site, but I think you see more RNY because most of us are binge eaters. I personally cannot stay away from fried and sweet foods, I can't help it, they are my comfort food. That is why I have chosen the RNY. I have been told that after a year or so you can eat pretty much whatever you want. I have a friend that is 2 years out, and she eats what she wants, just very slowly and in small amounts. Most of what I hear is that your out of work about 2 to 3 weeks. Good luck with your choice, its not an easy one, it took me 9 months of research to decide to do this. Cindee

Hi Shanna I will answer what I can. 1. Are there any Lap-Banders out there, it seems like everyone has had RNY? Try the Lap-band board. 2. How did you decide which WLS was right for you? I figured if I was going to have surgery I was going all out. With the band you have to have fills, and it could slip then that means more surgery that the insurance company probably won't cover. So I decided to go with RNY it's more restrictive also you can cheat with the band. And if I could do it with out cheating I wouldn't need the surgery anyway. 3. Did you have any complications from your surgery? No I have been lucky and had none at all. 4. Can you still eat anything (I know it will be limited quantity), i.e. spicy craw fish, steak, etc.? Yes I can eat anything I want. Somethings I can only have a taste of and other I can eat a lot of. You just have to find your limits as you go along. Sugary foods I can only eat very small amount same with fatty foods. But everything else is good with me. 5. How long were you out of work after surgery? I don't work but I wouldn't have been out more than a week or two if I did. I healed fast. 6. Did you tell co-workers, church friends, others that you were having surgery? Yes I told everyone I'm not ashamed of it. I needed help and got it. Obesity is a disease that can now be treated. 7. How much pain did you have, and for how long? I hurt for a couple of days but the pain medicine took care of it. 8. Has anyone from here gotten pregnant after WLS? No but I do plan on it and was told by my doctors, surgeon and obgyn that it wouldn't be a problem at all. That I would have probably have a healthier baby for losing the weight. He said being over weight is a strain on you and the baby. Plus you have many more complication when your extremely over weight. 9. How has the surgery changed your life? It had made it better much better. I'm happier and healthier. I can do lots of things now I couldn't do before. Like ride bikes with my son, play sports with him and race him when he wants to race me. But the biggest change is my health. I'm the healthiest I've ever been. My doctor says he wishes he was a healthy as I am. 10. Has anyone gotten Humana-State of Louisiana HMO to pay. Don't know I had United healthcare. Hope this information has been helpful. Tina 336/225/145

Howdy Shanna! Yes, we are few in number on the Lousiana Board, but there are lap banders here. I'm in Baton Rouge and also the chapter leader for ObesityHelp Louisiana (OHLA) -- meeting tonight at BREC's Independence Park, Room 111. Lap band board: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/LapBand/posts.html I've been banded about 19 months and I've lost 85 pounds. It's much slower than the bypass route, but many people like the slower approach to weight loss. I started at 350 and it does work for higher BMIs. The process takes about 2-3 years instead of 1-2 years. This method works on portion control and a balanced normal diet. I hear the complaints about serious dieting and most lap banders *****strict their intake and diet so harshly, won't do well. My intake is about 1500 calories a day and I eat from every food group. I eat spicy crawfish, steak, chicken and I cook a lot. I also have recipes on my blog; with pictures! Here's the catch -- I don't have emotional eating issues. People who binge or have uncontrolled emotional eating problems will typically not do well. I can eat a normal portion of any type of food, but I do tend to limit bread quite a bit because it gets stuck going down and I'm diabetic. The main concern with banding, slippage is a very rare side effect, but I can't quote you the current numbers. Single digit percentages. The band is also based on fills and adjustments. Fills can get very expensive, so it you do go band self-pay, you want to choose a doctor who has fills and aftercare included in the cost of the surgery. My fills have been minimum -- two 1/2 cc fills. I've lost on two occassionals with a completely empty band. Your surgeon listed as a very good rate for lap band surgery and a year of fills are include, if I remember correctly. I've had several unrelated health issues in the past year since banding. I have problem hernias and I had a staph infection at a hernia repair site. These problems were carry-overs from my C-section, not lap band. I do believe having no food type restrictions has made those up and down recoveries easier. No dumping and no malabsorption has been a plus for me while I was battling other issues. I don't want to sound like a used-car salesman. I wanted no change in anatomy, flexibility and the goal of one-day leading a normal meal lifestyle with my husband and small child. From the start, we can eat the same types of foods and that was important for me. I won't continue with the "hard sell." If you want, I have a diary/journal at the "www" button below. You can also email me if you have any more personal questions. I wish you well in your decision. Take your time and talk to peers on both sides as well as medical professionals. All my best, Frances -- 350/265ish/goal-near 200

Hi Shanna, here are my answers, and i went through Dr. Lavin 11/16/06, started at 293/ now 211-------------- 1. i think gastric/bypass---is more successful, 2. I thought about wls for 4 years, and had many unsucessful diets, and my health was suffering. 3.no complications after surgery. 4.No , i can't eat everything, don't want to... 5.I was out of work for 4weeks., Im a nurse. 6.Yes I told folks. 7.no real pain, my gallbladder surgery was more painful than gastric bypass. 8.don't want to get pregnant. but it does happen. 9. surgery has taken away high blood pressure, diabetic, elevated cholestrol,bladder control issues, happier, more energy, more confident, the list goes on and on. 10.self pay for surgery.....

1. Are there any Lap-Banders out there, it seems like everyone has had RNY? I had RNY because lap band is a slower weight loss method and from what I understand most end up having RNY eventually, but not all. 2. How did you decide which WLS was right for you? At first I was completely against RNY. I especially didn't want to be opened up. However, mine was done laparoscopically. 3. Did you have any complications from your surgery? I have a numbness from my waist down. Didn't think it was a complication, but the neurologist said it definitely is. It may be peripheral nerve damage. Which they can fix. 4. Can you still eat anything (I know it will be limited quantity), i.e. spicy crawfish, steak, etc.? I can't really eat a lot of bread. Very thin bread yes. I eat crawfish, steak, hamburger, spaghetti, etc. I had a few bites of chinese and on occasion have issues with meatballs. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I eat salsa (which most can't believe, but I love it and it tastes good). 5. How long were you out of work after surgery? I would have had to be out about 4 weeks. 6. Did you tell co-workers, church friends, others that you were having surgery? Close family and friends I told. My mom has told everyone else. 7. How much pain did you have, and for how long? WHile in the hospital I had some serious pain the first day. After that it was very limited. I was more nauseated than anything. That could have been from the leak test (the nasty barium) or a reaction to anesthesia. 8. Has anyone from here gotten pregnant after WLS? I do know some people who have gotten pregnant, but they are not on this board. 9. How has the surgery changed your life? I never wanted to go anywhere before. I couldn't walk 10 feet without being out of breath. Now I walk around home depot, the mall. I even went into the mall last week to buy tickets for my son to see a movie. Before I would have been in a panic that I would have been made fun of. I've lost 105 lbs in 3 1/2 months and I feel wonderful. I have clothes that are falling off of me now and fit me like never before. I'm going through closets and grabbing stuff I haven't worn in at least 6 years. I can't wait to get the stuff out I haven't worn in 16 years. 10. Has anyone gotten Humana-State of Louisiana HMO to pay for the surgery? I have Humana, but it isn't state of La. They did pay for mine and they gave approval within one day. Good luck Diane

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful information. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to answer all my questions. I'm sure I will post more in the coming weeks. My sister and I have our 1st appts. with Dr. Lavin's office on Monday, March 27th, we'll see where we go from there. Shanna