Rny or Lap Band

Ok, it's been a while since i've posted.  Congrats to all the recent post ops and everyone else.  My question is this.  I"ve been having second doubts about having lap band and am leaning towards rny.  I'm confused about which of the two i want.  When i spoke w/ the doctor he told me with the lap band i wouldn't get to my weight goal, but with the rny i would.  Any suggestions, advice, tips?

Hello darling!  Well...let me start off telling you it is what you want for you...that it is your choice and I can only tell you my experience.  Now that I have that said... I LOVE MY BAND!  I had surgery in April and I am down 78 pounds!!! I teetered back and forth for a day or so...I just felt the band was for me and I started out with a lot to lose...more BMI than you babe.  Do not ever let anyone tell you what you are able to accomplish.  You know you best.  You have to make the choice.  I know LOTS of bandsters that are at goal.  I cannot over eat with my band...I have learned control...slow eating and portion control.  I exercise and I love it.  You will have to do these with both surgeries.  I wsh you lots of love and support!

Chelle as usual, you are always on point!  I would hug you if i could lol.  I have about 5 months to think about this.  I have to do the six month program for united health :(. Sooo you are completly right.  I know my doctor will probably talk me into the rny which i did not want before, but now  i'm kinda going back and forth.  You are my inspiration!  If you can do it, then i can too.  I have to have my psych eval which i haven't done yet then i can have my second appt w/ the doc. I'll see what he says.

Thanks sweet one!  I just want to help others not to be scared into changing your mind.  Making choices out of fear will not be a good thing.  Fear of not getting to goal...if you go with a different surgery.  You are right...you have some time...research things...ask more questions of all of us here.  I am rooting for you and think you are stronger than you give yourself credit for.  (((HUGS))) 

Hi there. My personal opinion is that if one is an ice cream, chocolate bar, cookie fanatic, like I was (am), the band might not be the best choice. You cannot eat around the band with SOLID food, but you can eat around it with...(see above.) Before I developed unrealated probems (see profile) and had to have my band deflated & utlimately revised, I was a perfectly compliant bandster and lost 78 lbs. After it was deflated, I felt like I had lost my best friend and lost all my motivation.

The first doctor I consulted with said that if I were an ice-cream addict, the band might not be my best choice. I refused to listen to him, because I was so anti-RNY. In retrospect his advice was correct for me, but I was meant to take the journey I did...my insurance covered no WLS, and I chose to go out of the country for my band; I wouldn't have gone out of the country for RNY.

Sorry for the long answer, but I hope this helps.
hugs,

I love my band!!!!  -56 in 3 months, 35 to go!  Doc's have to STOP selling this tool short!  RNY'ers gain just as banders do if they don't use their tool properly.  Read my blog/story!  I will go toe to toe with your doc any day!  It's all DISCIPLINE, regardless of which procedure you have.  People can succeed or fail at all of the procedures.  You are the only one who can make the decision!  Best of luck in whichever you decide to have!

RNY'ers gain just as banders do if they don't use their tool properly It's all DISCIPLINE, regardless of which procedure you have.  People can succeed or fail at all of the procedures.  Well said Cheri.  I totally believe that.  I have come to the point where I know I COULD do the eat around the band?  Why would you do that and cheat yourself?  I am making a life style change...that includes dealing with the emotional eating or the eating around the band or RNY.  It is a change of heart, body, mind and soul.  Ultimatley you have to make the choice yourself, knowing with either surgery you have to commit and be true to yourself.  Never let fear motivate you to make a choice. 

BINGO!  Since lap band has only been done since 2001 in the US...WTH are they getting their stats?

Karen

Thank you so much for that article. I have been doing the back and forth for awhile now and the surgeon I went to was not fond of the lap band at all. He indicated it was up to me since I was a candidate for both surgeries but every thing that was indicated in this article( long term complications and the ease of cheating) was his main reasons for suggesting RNY to be a better surgery. I am not a sweets lover but I am a bread and rice person so he indicated it would be hard for me with the band. I am definitely going to do more research but it seems that I am leaning more towards RNY. I am 111 lbs overweight my only fear is losing TOO much weight. I liked the idea of controlling my weight loss with the band. Oh well still soooooo confused

Hiya,

Here's an article I keep bookmarked regarding Band vs. RNY. Keep in mind, there are always exceptions to the rules. For me it was a no-brainer. I needed the fear of dumping. I also wanted the malapsorption because I had so much to lose. I'm down 143 pounds in less than a year and do not regret my decision for a minute!

Best of luck and keep us posted!
Hugs,
Karen --------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 18, 2006

Gastric Bypass Might Be Better Than Lap-Band

Extremely obese patients undergoing weight-loss surgery may do better with a procedure that bypasses part of the intestine rather undergoing a banding procedure that creates a small pouch in the stomach, according to a new study released Monday.

Researchers at the State University of New York, Health Science Center of Brooklyn and Lutheran Medical Center, also in Brooklyn, N.Y., looked at two commonly performed types of bariatric surgery in 106 patients who underwent the procedures between February 2001 and June 2004. The study appears in the July edition of the Archives of Surgery.

Sixty patients received a so-called Lap-Band device through a laparoscopic procedure which allows surgeons - through a small incision near the stomach - to place a silicone band around the stomach dividing it into two smaller compartments. The device is designed to restrict food intake and make patients feel full sooner than those with a full-sized stomach.

Forty-three patients underwent another type of procedure known as the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, which involves sectioning off a small portion of the stomach into a pouch that bypasses the first part of the small intestine and connects directly to the lower portions, reducing the amount of calories absorbed by the body from food.

Overall, researchers found patients undergoing the laparoscopic bypass surgery had fewer long-term complications, lost more weight and had larger improvements in other co-morbidities, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, than patients who underwent the lap-band procedure.

The better outcomes of patients undergoing the bypass procedure is likely the result of better compliance among those patients rather than a particular problem with the lap-band. He said the lap-band can allow patients to cheat and consume more calories through liquids because they can still pass fairly easily through the small stomach.

For the band to be successful it requires significant will power, discipline and compliance.

Patients in the study were considered "super" morbidly obese and had body mass indexes of 50 or greater. On average patients in the study weighed roughly 340 pounds before surgery.

Patients undergoing the lap-band procedure were hospitalized for less time with an average of 1.8 days compared with 3.5 days for patients undergoing the bypass procedure. Short-term complications were statistically similar between the two groups.

However, long-term complications, or those that occurred after 30 days or longer, were more common in the lap-band group with 78% of patients experiencing complications compared to 28% in the bypass group. The most common long-term complication was vomiting and dehydration.

The study also showed that 15 patients with the lap-band needed follow up surgery compared to three in the bypass group. The lap-band can be adjusted after initial surgery to be made larger or smaller. Patients in the study were followed for an average of 16.2 months.

Patients who underwent the bypass had an average BMI decrease of 26.5 compared with 9.8 in the lap-band group, however researchers said both procedures produced "satisfactory" amounts of weight loss.

All patients reported fewer co-morbidities after surgery, but the decrease was more pronounced in gastric bypass patients. For example, rates of diabetes dropped to zero from 17.4% before surgery in the bypass group. Rates of diabetes in the lap-band group fell to 11% from 18.3% before surgery.

The typical gastric surgery patient has a pre-surgery BMI of 40. Some patients with BMIs of 35 or more are also considered good surgery candidates if they have another problem linked to being overweight like diabetes.

Although the study focused on patients with BMIs of 50 or greater, patients do better with a bypass rather than a lap-band. However, not every patient is a good candidate for a gastric bypass - for instance, those with certain liver problems, as well as those who've had stomach ulcers - and they might need a lap-band or similar device.