Can't Decide Between Lap Band and Bypass...OPINIONS, PLEASE!!!!

You have no idea how important your imput is to this site. We have very few,if any, vets that were in the trials! I'm going to send you a private message because I have concerns about my band.

I've been struggling with the same question myself...which one to do.  I'm leaning towards a lap-band at the moment because I'm a more conservative person and would rather take the approach that doesn't rearrange my insides too badly or require me to take supplements the rest of my life.   My dilema is that I am always hungry.  Not only am I always hungry but when i eat, it's like my stomach is a bottomless pit.  I've heard bandsters say both that they're not hungry and that they are hungry.  The reason i could see me getting RNY is that it's almost like I need an "external" reinforcement (i.e. dumping syndrome) to MAKE me stop eating.  I think I'll pop over to the lap-band forum and see what people repsond with. 

I had a lapband fitted in January 2000. I found that although the small banded section of my stomach was full, the rest of my stomach was still producing gastric juices and was trying to digest food that wasn't there. I still felt hungry although I was full. It was an awful feeling. However, I lost 60kgs, unfortunately I had an accident and could no longer exercise and regained 30kgs. I chose to revise to DS in Aug 2004, my best friend had revised to RNY the year previously, I lost a total 86kgs from my highest weight and my friend 55kgs. I have regained 5kgs and my friend 15kgs. I know which surgery I prefer, all surgeries carry risk you can die from a dental procedure. Research, research, research only settle what is the best for you. I wanted DS originally in 2000, but was swayed by the surgeon and the ease of getting a lapband compared to the DS. I wasted 4 years with vomiting and blockages, (not even being able swallow my own saliva) thank goodness I didn't  have erosion and ulcers. Hugs Lesley

I am 37, 5'8" and was 306 before lap-band surgery on March 26, 2007. I have only lost 41 pounds and am now regretting NOT having RNY bypass. I've actually begun conversations with my surgeon about converting to RNY. Fact is...hindsight is always 20/20. You just don't the super-duper jaw-dropping results with the band as you do with RNY bypass....

Hello, I haven't been back to this forum since I had my surgery. I was vascillating back and forth between lap-band and RNY surgery as well and it was a hard decision. I decided to go with the lap-band and haven't had very good results. I've lost about 25 lbs total (I started at 310 and am now 285 - 6' tall 38 yo male). I exercise like a mad fiend 4-5 days a week of both aerobic and weight-lifting. My problem is that if my band is too lose, the food just goes right through and I can eat as much as I could before, albeit a little slower. When my band is tightened up, i get a panicky, uncomfortable feeling when the food sits in my upper stomach. When the feeling finally goes away, i'm hungry again. Also, i get a lot of mucus in my  throat and can't stop trying to swallow all the time. I guess I'm lucky since I haven't had any complications yet...but the lingering, nagging feeling of waiting for my band to slip (especially when I had a stomach flu over the winter...each time I vomitted scared me to death) or erode through my esophagus has kept me fairly nervous since my operation in June 2007. If I could afford it, i'd have it taken out. I guess I need the extra help of RNYs mal-absorbtion but I'm not sure I'd have that surgery done either. Overall I'd say that I'm fairly unsatisfied with the lap-band. Just my 2 cents!! Georgeb3

Thank you for the info. I'm considering both surgeries still!

I was just browsing and found your post. I just wanted to share my thoughts. I know myself VERY well. A lifetime of dieting (since about 10 or so) has taught me that I can't stick to a diet and I knew I wasn't going to change my eating habits long enough to be successful  with a band or a RNY. I was about to chose not having surgery at all instead of risk failure when I learned about the DS. I knew it was for me as soon as I heard about it! I researched it for over a year. I guess I brought out the big guns right away and it worked like a charm. Life is good, labs are just about perfect and I can eat what I want (protein first!)  and lose weight with no effort. The DS does all the work. Oh, one more thing. I know 4 people in real life with bands. All 4 lost about 25-30 lbs in the first year, then stopped. I know 2 people IRL with RNY that are still obese. Plus Randy Jackson, Al Roker and Carnie Wilson (the 3 celeb RNYers that I know about) are still pretty big in my opionion.  I wanted to be thin and healthy and I easily got there. Check out my profile (tons of pictures!) and feel free to PM me with any questions! Best of luck with your decision.

I had the DS instead of RNY or a lap band in part because I felt the long term maintenance was more manageable for me, and it looked like it had fewer complications the farther out you got (assuming you are compliant with your labs and taking vitamins, that is vital for DS or RNY), and had the best long term success.  I don't know of many RL people with WLS, but am casually acquainted with a few, and the only reason I even know they had WLS was because we were at potlucks when they had urgent difficulties, one having to go to the hospital (that time it was slippage, since then he has developed erosion problems). All surgery has risk, but the latest data show the mortality from surgery is about the same for rny and ds, although my own surgeon was actually much lower than the average, which I would suggest looking at the actual surgeons record regardless of type of surgery you choose and making sure you get the best surgeon in their field. I had been scared out of the band due to long term problems, and had scheduled a RNY, and only learned of the DS a few months before I was to go under the knife. I heard about it on this site, and did more research, and told my insurance the DS was clearly what I needed for long term success, and they didn't cover it (they do now, but too late for me). I chose to self pay for the DS, rather than to get a band or RNY paid for by my insurance, and my only regret is not doing much sooner. I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss! Deanne