Seeking your expertise!

Hello Missouri! I'm a STL girl contemplating WLS. I have attended a NewStart seminar and am now trying to decide between the bypass and the lap-band. I haven't found too many people on here who have done the lap-band, so am seeking those who have been through it or those who know others who have been through it. Of course, I appreciate any advice ya'll want to offer! I'm a newbie and I think this is great!

Stephanie... I was orginally going to be doing the Band but my insurance woudn't cover it. Alot of whether it is going to be "right" for you would lies in how you eat and WHAT you eat. Research it extensively... plus there is a lap band forum on this site that can give you a wealth of info.! Best wishes and welcome to the Missouri board! Elizabeth~

With lap band you lose slower and have to go in for frequent fill. The upside is no dumping and it is much less invasive. If you are a food adddict and have a lot of food triggers lap band may not work for you because you can eat anything you want to just slower and in smaller portions. It is lots easier to cheat with lap band. When you have roux en y and you know something makes you dump and feel so bad you just dont eat it. Myself I rarely dump so I have to watch myself lap probably would have worked for me but my surgeon did not do lap. You can be successful with either procedure but remember it all boils down to eating right and exercising. Wls makes it a little easier and more effective but if you dont eat right and exercise you dont lose much.

The only thing I can tell you is you will loose more and keep it off longer if you get the gastric bypass simply because isen't as restrictive. The bypass is very risky but the benfits out way the band. If I am wrong and there are banders out there you correct me. I am just going by what my surgeon said. So glad to have you on the board I hope you come back. Have a great day and God bless, Penni

The lap band is less restictive, doesen't have the dumping syndrome or the malabsorption benifits the the bypass does. This is why I choose the bypass. The bypass, though more evasive, gives you more tools to work with and has a higher success rate and my feeling was that if I am going to go through surgery I was going to choose the one that gave the greatest benifit. Everyone has to research the differant procedures and choose the one that will fit thier lifestyle and needs best. Good luck and welcome to the board. Wayne

Welcome Stephanie! I was banded in Columbia, MO 15 months ago and absolutely LOVE my band. Everyone that has posted is correct that there are many pros and cons to both surgeries and each person should research and decide which is better suited to their needs. The reasons I chose the band were 1) less invasive surgery, 2) adjustable when weight loss slows down, 3) no malnourishment. My insurance would have paid 100% of either surgery, so that wasn't an issue. I have several friends that have had both types and the bypass patients have lost a lot more over a shorter period of time. I figured that I had been overweight for 20+ years and losing the weight over a 2-2.5 year period of time wasn't going to hurt me any. I have SLOWLY lost 71 pounds over the past 15 months and have about 30-40 more to go before I'll be at goal. Please email me if you want to talk about more details. This is a great place and you will have so much support from a lot of new friends. Just remember that you and you alone (with your physician's input) have to decide which surgery will work best for you and you have to take a good look inside yourself to see what's there. Just making the decision to look into this is a step forward. Vicki

Be sure to also check out the Duodenal Switch, just so you know all of your options. I live in St. Louis and had the DS almost a year ago. No dumping, greatest weight loss of all surgeries, 98% cure rate for Type 2 Diabetes, least amount of regain of all surgeries. It is good to have choices. You will find the right surgery for you. Jeanie, R.N.

Do they still have the lapband board? I used to pop over there every once in awhile to check out how they were progressing with weightloss. When I was asking myself the same question, I made a list to compare my reasons for wanting one or the other. Here's what I created, but I don't necessarily agree with all my original comments anymore, see the parentheses: RNY 1. QUICKER WEIGHT LOSS. 2. HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF LOSING 70% OF MY EXCESS WEIGHT INSTEAD OF 50%. (I've lost 100%) 3. DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BAND SLIPPAGE. 4. DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BAND EROSION. 5. ALREADY BEEN APPROVED BY TRICARE. 6. PRIMARY DOCTOR ADVISES THE RNY AND NOT THE BAND. 7. DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FILLS. 8. IT WON'T LET ME EAT SWEETS. (I disagree with this now. I eat sweets all the time, just in moderation) 9. NO FOREIGN OBJECT THAT MY BODY WILL REJECT. 10. BEEN AROUND LONGER THAN THE LAPBAND. 11. IT'S PERMANENT AND YOU NEED WILLPOWER TO HAVE THE BAND. Lap Band: 1. LESS CHANCE OF DEATH. (I'm still here) 2. LESS COMPLICATIONS. (I had no complications with RNY) 3. LITTLE TO NO HAIRLOSS. (Didn't have much hairloss with RNY, like some people) 4. LESS CHANCE OF HAVING AS MUCH EXCESS SKIN AFTER WEIGHTLOSS. (I don't have much excess skin from RNY) 5. The band is reversible. Should I ever want/need to go back to"normal" it can be done--for health reasons or otherwise. (At this point, I wouldn't want anything "reversed" anyway) 6. LESS TIME OUT OF WORK. 7. LESS TIME IN THE HOSPITAL. 8. FAMILY SUPPORTS ME WITH DECIDING ON THE BAND AND NOT RNY. (They finally supported my decision with RNY) 9. INSIDES WON'T HAVE TO BE REARRANGED. 10. CAN HAVE FILLS UNTIL I FEEL RESTRICTION. 11. SAFER PREGNANCY IF I EVER DECIDE TO GET PREGNANT AGAIN. 12. WON'T HAVE DUMPING SIDE EFFECT. (I don't dump with RNY, like some people do) 13. WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE STOMACH LEAKING. (No problem so far) 14. WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT AS MANY VITAMIN DEFICIANCIES. (No problems with that either) 15. THERE IS NO POINT IN SWAPPING ONE SET OF PROBLEMS (OBESITY) FOR ANOTHER SET OF PROBLEMS (MALABSORPTION). 16. EAT LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE (I do eat normal, just in moderation) I would never even want to go back to trade my RNY for the band. I am so happy with the way RNY turned out for me and I don't think the band would have given me as much success. Check out my before and after photos in my profile. Bottom line is, you have to do what's right for you. Just because one way was best for one person, it doesn't mean it will be best for the other. Good luck in your decision. Nancy 217/125/-2 lbs below goal!