Lapband vs RNY

How does a     person determine which WLS to have?  OPEN FOR COMMENTS Thanks DollyC

For me it was the fact that I wanted to make the decision to what I should or should not eat.  I was also a bit nervous about the RNY.  I am very, very happy with the band.  I am loosing at a good rate....although not as fast as RNY.  Also, it was not how fast I lost, but how I lost.  If you graze or have a definate problem with sweets, then the band is really not for you.  Both offer the same benefits as far as diabetes control, and other health benefits, again, not as fast as RNY.  I also did not have the ability to take more than a week off from work.  The recovery time for the band is much shorter.  I felt fine going back to work in a week.   I am 3 1/2 months out from surgery, and I have lost a total of 51 pounds from before and after surgery.  I have lost 29 pounds since surgery.

Either way, you have made the hardest decision, and that is to have the surgery.  After that, everything is easier.  Good luck with everything.

It is really a 100% personal decision.  For me, I knew the only way for me to lose weight and get down to a healthy weight AND maintain that weight was to have RNY.  I was always able to lose the weight (by doing WW or Jenny Craig or whatever) but eventually I couldn't take it anymore and all the weight (plus some) would come back on.  I was never scared of the surgery.  It has changed my life forever.  It was def. NOT the easy way out.  I still work hard every single day to eat healthy and exercise.  So far so good for me.  Good luck with your decision.

Lisa

These were my reasons for choosing RNY.  I started out thinking I would get Lapband, btw, and changed my mind.  This is why:

I'm a sweet eater.  At the information night I went to, it was strongly stressed that sweet eaters should consider RNY.  Better control, and the dumping syndrome thing helps keep you honest at first until you find all the reasons for yourself later.

I wanted something nobody could take away from me.  I read of people have erosion and needing to have the band removed.  So then what?  It's not a gimme you'll get it back, or qualify for WLS again.  My bypass is forever.  I made the choice once and for all, so all the other choices in the future would be easier and they have been. 

These are my two biggest reasons for choosing RNY. 

Hi,
I was a real sweets slave.  Also I do not tolerate medical procedureswell and it seems to get worse with every surgery/intervention.  The need for possible future procedures or surgeries is much higher for the band (erosions, slips, equipment failure, etc) as time goes on.  I opted to take the higher surgical risks now hoping to reduce my future need for any additional procedures.  I had complication with my RNY and it remains to be seen if I choose well.  I'm only 11 weeks out so I think it only fair to say I should without judgenment for a few more months!  Best of luck deciding.  Treading

I've had the same question.  I'm still waiting for the surgeoon's consult (mid January '09).  I suspect the surgery will be in March.  I'm leaning toward the RNY because I'm an insulin-dependent diabetic.  I'm told the diabetes should essentially resolve itself immediately with the surgery (even without the weight loss).  Whereas with the lap band surgery, the diabetes slowly improves with the weight loss and may eventually resolve over time.  Also, I've been told that the statistics show that RNY patients are less likely to regain their weight after a few years.  However, I'm not crazy about the longer recovery time that I'm told RNY will take both in the hospital and at home (out of work). 

So I'm more diabetes driven in my decision.  It remains to be seen what the surgeon will suggest.

I've pasted my reasons for choosing RNY that I had put in my profile a while ago.  Hope it helps, but remember that this surgery is a personal decision.  These were my reasons --
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This question of "Why RNY?" comes up often on the boards.  This is a post I recently made that answers that question:

Where I had my surgery, my choices were lap-band or RNY.  I went to my first consult with the notion that I would have the band.  But after meeting with the doctors AND doing lots of research AND looking at what kind of eater I was, I changed my mind to RNY.  This is why:

-Lap-Band is reversible, but why would I want to reverse the surgery after going through it?  I know that if I reverse the surgery, I gain all the weight back.  If I'm that sick that I have to have it reversed, RNY can also be reversed. 

-Lap-Band has a quicker recovery, but weight loss is somewhat slower in the beginning, and total excess weight loss is somewhat less than RNY.  This was my one shot.  If I failed again or didn't lose all that I wanted to lose, this was it.  I knew I wasn't going to get another chance so I'd better get it right this time.  Plus, I had more than enough sick time accumulated to take the extra time off to recover.

-Liquids (like shakes, ice cream, etc.) go right through the band.  With RNY, you may dump on those foods.  I need to dump.  One may think this is a negative aspect of RNY, but I (as most RNYers) see it as a positive aspect.  I needed to be forced into the discipline of making proper food choices.

-RNY can be an almost immediate cure for diabetes.  I was pre-diabetic and deathly afraid of becoming a full-blown diabetic like most of my family.  I wanted to be sure that that ugly disease never came close to me.

-I didn't like the idea of needing to have fills or of being able to feel the port from the band.

What I've learned since:

I love love love my RNY.  I feel great.  And I find that I really don't crave all the foods that I thought I would miss.  I remember being afraid of the fact that I would never be able to eat those foods that I loved in the portions that I wanted.  That really scared me back then.  Now I look back on those thoughts and feel like it was my addiction to food doing the talking.  I still can eat those foods, but I only want them once in a while and in small portions (isn't that how thin people eat anyway?)  My relationship with food has completely changed.  Of course, I have slips every now and then - I had a big one last night, but generally, I want to eat the right stuff - yes, want to, not just have to eat the right foods.  I think that when Dr. Kim went in and rearranged my insides, she also rewired my brain.  Whether that would have happened to me with the band, I'll never know.  But they say that there are some hormonal changes that do occur with the RNY.  They're not fully understood by the medical community yet, but they do appear to exist. 

My life has changed:
no more backaches
no more prediabetes
no more GERD
no more hypertension
no more shortness of breath
no more plus sizes
no more fear of being out in public
I can proudly go to a party. . .
... and sit in that lawn chair without fear of it breaking
the seatbelt on the airplane fits with extra strap to spare
I can paint my toenails
I don't mind having my picture taken
I like to dance again!

So those are my reasons.  I would have RNY again in a New York minute.  My only regret is that I waited so long to do it.