Just came home from my psych evaluation

I'm a 47 year old female, weighing in at approx 255 lbs, & 5 ft 4 inches tall. I have just returned from my psych evaluation with Dr. Medick and he informed me of this website. I am seriously considering the Gastric Bypass Surgery over the LapBand procedure. I am currently taking two different blood pressure medications (prinzide & norvasz) for high blood pressure and have also been prescribed "Nexium" for acid reflux disease. Does anyone know which intervention (gastric bypass or lapband) would be a better treatment for my acid reflux disease? I'm still in the "learning stages" of all this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Donna, welcome to the board! In my opinion i would do the RNY. They say we don't have acid in our stomachs after surgery. But i'm not an expert. I chose it because of my uncontrollable high blood pressure and because i had a lot to lose. To me lap band didn't lose fast enough and was a pain cause you always had to get fills.....also with lap band you can still eat everything and i wanted the restrictions of rny. You should research both and be at peace with your decision, start reading profiles and know all the risks involved. If you need any help or have questions let me know. Where in michigan are you? Hugs Linda

Thanks Linda !!! I appreciate your opinions, Right now I am leaning more towards getting the gastric bypass rather than the lapband procedure. I'm scheduled to meet with my surgeon on Feb.14th to make that final decision. This website is great for finding the answers to some of my concerns. I will be on here daily, I'm sure !! Oh, by the way, I'm in Riverview, Michigan (about 20 minutes south of Detroit). Thanks again, Donna

Hi and welcome to the board... I personally chose RNY for the same reasons as Linda... I didn't feel the lap band would give me enough restrictions of the types of food I could eat. Ultimately it is up to you and you need to research both and figure out which will give you the results you want while considering the side effects of both. Good Luck with your decision. Shawn M.

I just have to say that I am not a doctor so I cannot really tell you which would be better, but 6 years out of surgery (and I had the open gastric bypass, no lap band) and I am sitting at my computer with the worst case of acid reflux. Now, I don't know if it has something to do with my other current health issues or what, but I do feel that I get it when I eat certain foods. Tonight the mistake was eating tomato sauce. (totally my fault) So, I don't think that one surgery over the other surgery is going to correct your reflux issue. I think it will be corrected in they way you eat. But again, I'm no doctor so what do I know, lol. Good luck with whichever procedure you choose. Julie

Donna, I chose RNY for the same reason that the others did. I didn't think that LAPBAND would give me enough restriction. Since I had my RNY, I'm off 2 cholesterol meds, 2 blood pressure meds, and 2 diabetes meds. I'm still on glucophage for diabetes but only 1 500 mg/tablet a day. I don't know about the GERDs. That was the one co morbidity I didn't have. Jeanne

I was on medications for acid reflux and sometimes even had to take over the counter meds with it. My reflux was HORRIBLE. Anyway, I chose RNY and never really thought about any other type of surgery. Do your research and make your decision based on what you feel is best for you. I do have to say though, I stopped taking my reflux meds the day before surgery and haven't had reflux since. That was in August of 05. Now it's great to lose all this weight. But let me tell you, not having reflux is AWESOME. I used to get it every night, especailly when I would go to bed. Occasionally I would even get it during the day, standing up. It was awful. That nasty, burning feeling in my throat. I DO NOT MISS IT AT ALL! But again, do your research. This site is great for answering questions and getting many different "OPINIONS". Just remember, they are just that....opinions. Everyone's experience is different. You have to take it all with a grain of salt and do what's best for you! Good luck and happy research! Tina

Acid comes from the stomach so the less stomach you have the less acid. I went for the smallest pouch and the benefit was no acid. Some pouches stretch over time but mine is a resistant to that. I can however stretch the intestine after the pouch and essentially make a pseudo-stomach but it won't produce acid like a remnant stomach does. My by-pass will be three years this June and I still have capacity issues so I know that part is still viable. My by-pass works because I went over on tomato sauce three days ago with 12 grams of sugar in it. So my tool still works. RNY is the gold standard procedure at this point. Who know what will shift into 1st place of the next few years. VGS is popular too. I was told I would probably done just as well with a band but then I would have missed out on the secret hand shake that we who have Ruin Why surgery do when we meet. kp

Hi Kevin & Thanks for the info. All the information I can get, is great !!! I'm still in the learning stages of all this so I really appreciate your input. Donna from Riverview

If you do RNY Dr. Hendrick will probably make the pouch pretty small. That will virtually end any AR problems you are having. kp