How do you decide?
Hi Jody,
I'm a lapbander. Have been for 22 months and I've lost 95 pounds with 20 to go to reach my goal.
My advice to you is to reasearch both surgeries and then decide which one is best for you depending on which one you feel most comfortable with.
Personally I woundn't trust coming to OH and asking the question RNY or LapBand?, because as a member for over 2 years now...we have the unfortunate problem of there being a ridiculous competition regarding these surgeries.
Too many people feel it is their duty to give out misinformation or bash one surgery over another. Frankly, I think some shrinks need to be fired for not doing their job during their eval./approval sessions.
Both surgeries have good points and bad points. It's all a matter of what fits YOUR personal needs and goals and exactly how much risk your willing to take on.
And for those giving out false information.....educate yourself before you end up causing someone to make a decision they may end up regretting. This is serious business people. Lives are being altered here and ego's over a surgery have no place in it.
You know who you are.
All the best with YOUR decision.
Kay
I just thought I'd echo something someone posted about making an informed decision. You don't want to make your decision solely on what a surgeon says or solely on what you read in one or two places. Surgeons are highly knowledgable and skilled, but they are likely to have less knowledge than you might think about the procedures they do not perform. They are also, in a sense, salespeople, because if you decide to have a procedure they do not perform, well, they aren't making any money. Make sure you do YOUR research and definately still take the reccommendations of a surgeon very seriously. At the time I was looking in to surgery, I was fortunate to have a surgeon who performs RNY, LapBand, and Duodenal Switch as well as has experience in the other variations of Gastric Bypass. I was able to attend a seminar in which all procedures were discussed and compared with no bias. I am very happy that I chose the Duodenal Switch and had the opportunity to have it. I think it is absolutely WONDERFUL. I also think losing weight, no matter how you do it, is a blessing and all bariactric surgery options are to be given credit and respect. Best to you!
See what you started Jody
for the four years I have been on this site this is probably the most often asked question and the one that will get the most responses. I can only speak from my experience. My preop weight was 649 lbs the day of my surgery and the Lap Band surgery for me was out of the question. At my BMI the only surgeon in my area couldn't perform it for me so that wasn't an option. I was on the verge of a wheelchair and had to many co-morbidities to list here. I found another doctor that would do the lapband on me farther from home, but I needed the surgery that I could loose the fastest on. I needed something to help me get my arms around this problem that had controled my life for to long. I chose the RNY for that reason only. The RNY is a riskier surgery of that there can be no arguments from either side, but for myself it was the right choice. You hear alot about the mortality rate with RNY, but don't look at the national averages, look at your individual surgeon. My surgeon has been performing this surgery for over 10 years and has never lost a patient. He has had a few that have had complications, but not one fatality. With 400 lbs to loose the fast initial weight loss was very appealing to me. Over the long run the 2 surgeries will generally even out.
I hear a lot about the 18 month window on RNY but it is an illusion at least in my case. I lost consistantly for the first 2 years. I hit a bad stretch about a year ago where I leveled off and started to gain some weight by eating around my surgery. But like with any surgery, you only get out of it what you put into it. I have gotten back on the right path by exercising and measuring my portions again. My appetite has shrunk again and I've started loosing weight over the last 3 months. It is possible to still loose weight even nearly 4 years out with the RNY as long as you use your tool effectively and you don't eat around your surgery.
My wife has had the Lapband so I have seen the effects of both surgeries. She has done very well. She has had her problems thru the years with it as well. For a long time she couldn't find her sweet spot and when she has she has gotten so tight she has had to get an emergency unfill 3 times because she couldn't even get liquids down. That being said, when she has restriction she looses very consitantly and does extremely well with her tool. She is very proud of all the weight she has lost as she should be. Even with the ups and downs if you ask her she will tell you that the Lapband was the best choice for her.
For me, the RNY was the best choice. So there is no magic answer here. You must look at all the data out there and talk to different surgeons. Talk to a surgeon that does the Lapband. Then go talk to an RNY surgeon and see which one make the most sense for your personal situation.
Good luck on whatever you decide.
Calvin
for the four years I have been on this site this is probably the most often asked question and the one that will get the most responses. I can only speak from my experience. My preop weight was 649 lbs the day of my surgery and the Lap Band surgery for me was out of the question. At my BMI the only surgeon in my area couldn't perform it for me so that wasn't an option. I was on the verge of a wheelchair and had to many co-morbidities to list here. I found another doctor that would do the lapband on me farther from home, but I needed the surgery that I could loose the fastest on. I needed something to help me get my arms around this problem that had controled my life for to long. I chose the RNY for that reason only. The RNY is a riskier surgery of that there can be no arguments from either side, but for myself it was the right choice. You hear alot about the mortality rate with RNY, but don't look at the national averages, look at your individual surgeon. My surgeon has been performing this surgery for over 10 years and has never lost a patient. He has had a few that have had complications, but not one fatality. With 400 lbs to loose the fast initial weight loss was very appealing to me. Over the long run the 2 surgeries will generally even out.
I hear a lot about the 18 month window on RNY but it is an illusion at least in my case. I lost consistantly for the first 2 years. I hit a bad stretch about a year ago where I leveled off and started to gain some weight by eating around my surgery. But like with any surgery, you only get out of it what you put into it. I have gotten back on the right path by exercising and measuring my portions again. My appetite has shrunk again and I've started loosing weight over the last 3 months. It is possible to still loose weight even nearly 4 years out with the RNY as long as you use your tool effectively and you don't eat around your surgery.
My wife has had the Lapband so I have seen the effects of both surgeries. She has done very well. She has had her problems thru the years with it as well. For a long time she couldn't find her sweet spot and when she has she has gotten so tight she has had to get an emergency unfill 3 times because she couldn't even get liquids down. That being said, when she has restriction she looses very consitantly and does extremely well with her tool. She is very proud of all the weight she has lost as she should be. Even with the ups and downs if you ask her she will tell you that the Lapband was the best choice for her.
For me, the RNY was the best choice. So there is no magic answer here. You must look at all the data out there and talk to different surgeons. Talk to a surgeon that does the Lapband. Then go talk to an RNY surgeon and see which one make the most sense for your personal situation.
Good luck on whatever you decide.
Calvin 
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