Just asking...

Can you folks tell me why you chose the Roen y, or Banding over the DS? I know for me it is because I can not be left with the choice of eating "a little amount of carbs". Please share. Thanks...also, are there doctors in AZ that do this operation? I did not find any on the search engine. I am sure everyone made an informed decision, would just like to know the reasoning.

RNY was my best choice...since I can not eat sugar. Even at 23 months out sugar makes me ill. If I could eat sugar...I would and could cheat. I would not of lost weight as well as I have. I was addicted to sugar before surgery. Sandy 200 lbs down

That makes sense to me. I know I can not have the choice of "eating what I want", thats what got me here, along with damn steroids. Last night I broke down and cried to my daughter, I told her I wished I never had to eat again.

Hi Linda - I had the RNY surgery- and I can STILL eat sugar! Im 15 months post op, and can eat anything and everything without getting sick - just cant have the same quantities that I did before. I wish I had the same reaction that alot of post ops do - the 'dumping syndrome'...never had it, probably never will tho. Sometimes I wonder if I had the surgery at all - the way I can tolerate foods - but my weight loss proves otherwise. I just have to ALWaYS be aware of whats going in my mouth (as it should be, right?) Whatever type you choose, Im sure it will work the best for you! Dr Fang is one of the best! Good luck to you! deb

Thanks Deb. Obviously, you are doing something right. I would like to be one of the people who doesn't dump too...smile.

HI LInda, I was going to skip answering this post but after spending some time researching my own upcoming choice for a "2nd surgery" thought I'd chip in my .02. I had Rny in Feb of 03. It was very successful and I was a near perfect pre-op and post-op with following the rules established by my doc's program. It was seriously a lifesaving decision for me and I am so very grateful for the renewed health that I now have. ......However, the honeymoon ended around 18 months post-op and new challenges came up. I regained some weight....struggled emotionally, mentally, physicallty to fight the good fight and lost a bit of that again. I later found out that my surgery had become compromised and my tool wasn't working for me any more! In fact, unlike a normal person who could just join weigh****chers and get some help....I was not even able to have food stay in my system! Hungry all of the time! ......Sooooo....my new research leads me to choosing to have a revision to a Lap Band! ....Some have told me to just get my old surgery revised or to switch to a Distal or Deudenol switch surgery BUT....after reading many studies, visiting with 3 specialists, .....I've decided to be Banded!...... The band vs the Rny in my opinion is like the distance runner vs the sprinter. The Lapband = the distance runner and though they may take a while longer to get to the finish line....they will not only be able to finish but will stll have stamina (adjustable fills) to keep going and going and going....while the sprinter made it there first and may win the prize; they are out of energy and may not be able to keep at it forever! I will admit to being very biased because I now work in a Lap Band environment for a Lap Band surgeon and see many many successful people who come in often for a fill and continue their journey to goal or get tweaked to stay at goal. I've often wixhed that my Rny could get a fill!!!! The bottom line is that all the surgeries are miraculous and there are many many roads to China so to speak. .... I'm not sure that I would have changed my path at all but now that I have another choice in front of me; I'm taking a different journey. As for dumping......it's all perspective. For me...it keeps me honest! .....There are many pure souls who have never tested the waters and don't even know if they dum*****t! I applaud them (SAndy in Tucson and Sandy in Higley). I know that when I go days and days with healthy options that it resets my "dump-o-meter" and I'm back to where I should be! Good luck with your choice! I"ll bet that whatever it is will be just PERFECT for YOU!!!! As for docs who do DS .....I know that Dr. Juarez has done them; as has Dr. Blackstone and Dr. Simpson. Huggggzzz to you, Joyce

Thanks for all of your responses. I know my insurance won't pay for banding, I pray this will work for me, the RNY. I am almost at the starting gate...

Actually, not everyone on this board did choose RNY over Banding. There are some of us bandsters here too! I'm one of Dr. Fang's patients too. I think his office said that he is on vacation this comming week too. Geesh!

Linda, I chose RNY over the band for several reasons. The first was that my insurance didn't cover the band. That wasn't the only reason because if I thought the band was really the right way for me, I would have found a way to pay for it out of pocket. The second reason is that I'm just a "Go big or go home" kind of girl. I wanted whatever had the greatest chance of making me toe the line. I've cheated my way through years and years of Weigh****chers, Jenny Craig, Richard Simmons and every other weight loss option out there. I needed something that was going to kick my butt into submission. I also felt that I needed the malabsorption properties of RNY. No matter how carefully I've watched my calories, I've never been able to keep losing weight unless I was eating less than 1000 calories a day on a conventional diet. That's a pretty low number for prolonged weight loss and hard to maintain. I felt like if I didn't absorb everything I ate, I'd have a better chance of losing the weight. RNY has done a pretty good job of keeping me in line. I've tested the waters with sugar. Boy have I ever. I know that I can eat about 12 or 13 grams of sugar before I'm hugging the bowl, praying for hurl and watching the room swim in a cold sweat. I can have about 2 bites of birthday cake, but I can't eat a 1/4 cup of raisins (learned the last one last night). I can eat enough food to make me feel like I'm not missing anything, but if I step over the line, I'm not a happy girl. Frankly, I didn't know enough about DS to make an informed decision on that one. The doctor I wanted to use didn't do DS and the one thing I knew for sure was which doctor I wanted. Best of luck on your new journey. Connie

Thanks Connie. I appreciate your sharing and I just read your journal, what a trip. I luckily switched insurances because I knew Cigna wouold be a pain in the neck. Congratulations on your weight loss too. It sounds like I am in for the ride of my life, and I am ready. I thought about this surgery for years, 4 or 5 of them. Had I not divorced, I still would not be having it, as ex was totally opposed. I too have struggled all my life, in 2003 I lost almost 100 pounds on Atkins, and thats when my life turned worse instead of better. People are scared of change, they want the old tried and true person they are used to even if it is bad for that person, they would never say this, but it is true, not everyone in your life, but some people. I sometimes feel that every fat cell I have tells a story. I am having a hard time physically and mentally these days but this too shall pass. I too took the sleep apnea test, and the doctor stated I do not have it BUT I do have a sleep disorder....go figure. Take care and keep on keeping on.