deciding need some help

i am just beginning the journey. i attend my first mtg. next fri at Elliott. i have been on this board just reading and taking it all in. my problem is that I when it come time for the surgery, i don't have alot of time off for the recovery. i understand that if you have lap band it less invasive and recovery and the other ways require more down time. any suggestions???????

Lesli, I had lap RNY. My surgery was 8-10 hours long, and I actually had the lap RNY with 11 incisions, and, additionally, a 6" incision was made below my belly button for hernia repair. The surgery was really easy. It was done on a Tuesday, and I could have easily gone back to work the next Monday. The weekend after surgery, I was shopping and went to the landromat (and I live on the 4th floor). The only problem was being a little tired. I received my full pay while I was out, so I took 7 weeks, but if things were different financially, it would've been very easy to go back much sooner. Good luck- Carrie

I would also suggest trying to find a surgeon who does the Roux-N-Y laparascopically and you would be able to get back to work sooner. The lap-band has pros and cons and I felt the cons far outweighed the pro's. The surgeon was the one *****ally discouraged me from having the lap-band also; did you know the statistics are that only 10-30 % of women who have it lose 70% of their excess weight within 1 year vs. 70-80% for the Roux? (I'm sure others will quote different statistics; depends on what study you look at). There is also risk of erosion of the band on your stomach wall. Also there is no aversion to sugary or fatty foods, you just cant eat as much. You also have to go back to the surgeon for refills and I believe the first fill isnt until 6 weeks later. Hopefully some lap-banders will post their experiences. Mine are all what I've heard, and I also would love to hear some of their actual experiences. But the Roux is the "gold standard" in WLS and worth considering if you can find a surgeon who does the lap. My husband spoke to a surgeon at Mercy Hospital in Springfield MA who does the lap. I know there are many closer to Boston area of NH that have posted about it as well. Good Luck! Valerie.

As far as recovery goes it doesn't make a difference what surgery you have whether it is RNY or Lap-Band. My Best friend and I had surgery together, we had two different Surgeons, she had Lap-Band and I had RNY. We both had it done laparascopically. We both recovered in the same amount of time. One night in the hospital and then about a week after getting home we where out grocery shopping together. We could of probably both gone back to work, but we were exhausted after our day out. So recover definately depends on how they do the surgery whether laparascopically (surgeon said about two weeks before you should go back to work) or open (he said about four weeks before you should go back to work). Also you would have to spend more time in the hospital if they do it open from what I have heard. If you can I would definately find a surgeon that specialized in laparascopic. Not every surgeon does, but for recovery time it is definately worth it. I was sent home with pain medication that I didn't even use, I was in no pain just tired for a week or so. Good Luck, Jennie