HEY ALL.....


IM cONSIDERING WLS AND I DO NOT HAVE A cLUE WHAT TO DO... I NEED SUPPORT AND WAS HOPING TO GET IT FROM YOU GUYS. PLEASE HELP WITH ANY INFORMATION,, ADVIcE, OR ANYTHING. IM DESPERATE. I HAVE KAISER AND WILL BE STARTING THE OPTIONS PROGRAM PRETTY SOON. I WANT TO GET THE LAP BAND BUT IM NOT SURE OF HAVING A FOREIGN OBJEcT IN MY BODY. I AM ScARED OF THE cOMPLIcATIONS THAT cAN GO ALONG WITH IT. I SEE MANY OF YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOUR RESELUTS AND I WANT A PIEcE OF THAT PIE (HAPPINESS)!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SEND HELP MY WAY! 

Gastric Bypass Best for Weight Loss, Study Finds

Also better than lap-banding, sleeve surgery at improving, eliminating type 2 diabetes

By Amanda Gardner

 

MONDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to shedding pounds and improving or eliminating type 2 diabetes, gastric bypass surgery may be better than other surgical weight-loss procedures, two new studies find.

But obese patients should be careful to choose surgeons who have performed a high volume of these procedures before committing, said Dr. Guilherme M. Campos, lead author of one of two papers appearing in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery.

Gastric bypass and lap-banding are the two most common surgical weight-loss procedures performed in the United States. The former involves stapling the stomach so food has to bypass a section of the small intestine, meaning you get full faster and less food gets absorbed into the gut.

Lap-banding, introduced in 2001, involves separating the stomach into two sections with a band so, simply speaking, eating too much becomes more difficult. "It's a diet with a seatbelt," said Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of bariatric surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, N.Y.

In a third type of weight-loss procedure, known as sleeve gastrectomy, surgeons remove part of the stomach.

The study led by Campos compared weight loss and diabetes outcomes in 100 patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery with 100 patients who underwent lap-banding. Gastric bypass is considered riskier and more technically demanding than the band.

All patients were morbidly obese (with a body-mass index higher than 40), and 34 in each group had type 2 diabetes.

Although Campos is now an associate professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, he conducted the study while at the University of California, San Francisco.

In the bypass group, patients lost an average of 64 percent of their excess weight, vs. 36 percent for those in the lap-banding group. Three-quarters of those undergoing gastric bypass surgery saw their diabetes improve or resolve, vs. only half in the other group.

The average cost of a bariatric surgery is nearly $30,000, according to a recent study from Johns Hopkins University.

Like all surgeries, weight-loss surgery carries its own set of possible risks, including bleeding, blood clots, infection and leaks from sites where body tissues are sewn or stapled together, according to the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Later complications may include malnutrition, hernias and a tendency in about one in 10 people to regain much of the weight they lost as a result of the procedure.

In Campos' study, roughly equal numbers of patients in each group experienced complications after one year (12 percent in the gastric bypass group compared to 15 percent in the lap-banding group); these included infection, internal bleeding and blood clots, but no deaths. More people in the bypass group had complications right after the surgery. More of those undergoing lap-banding, however, needed repeat surgeries (13 percent vs. 2 percent).

The second study, conducted in Taiwan and led by Dr. Wei-Jei Lee of the Min-Sheng General Hospital, involved randomly assigning 60 obese (but not morbidly obese) patients with type 2 diabetes to receive gastric bypass surgery or sleeve gastrectomy.

Almost all of those undergoing gastric bypass surgery (93 percent) had their diabetes resolved, vs. only half in the other group (these numbers declined to 57 percent and 0 percent after a year).

Those in the gastric bypass group also lost more weight, and there were no serious complications in either group.

There are various theories to explain why gastric bypass may be superior, including one that attributes the success to changes in hormones that control the metabolism of blood sugar.

And certain procedures may still be preferable for certain patient populations, added Roslin, such as bands for patients with lower BMI who don't have so many metabolic challenges.

"Everyone thinks that all weight-loss operations are the same, even the doctors and the surgeons. [But] they're different, and they have different resolutions of comorbidities and probably should be used for different indications," he said.

An editorial accompanying the studies noted the results should be interpreted with caution since longer-term data is not yet available

Hi Ayydreeahnee.......You've made the first step in getting control of your weight issues.  It's up to you now to do the work and educate yourself on which procedure is best for you.  This should be a long and open conversation with your physician.  Lee has provided you with some really valuable info in her reply.  Use it as well as just google wls and have at it looking into each procedure.  For me, I had the RNY and have had tremendous success with it, but I realize it isn't for everyone.  I would do it again!  No regrets!

Feel free to hit me up on the back line if you just want to talk privately.

J

WLS decision according to me:

Learn both the pros and the cons of ever single wls procedure in existance.  Eliminate the cons you abo****ely can't handle forever.   Rank the remaining procedures for cons, pros, availability, insurance coverage, cure rate for co morbidities, etc.   If you don'l like what you here from the surgeon'd office, go see and another surgeon. 

I went from a surgery date within six  weeks of my initial vist to delaying wls for another nine months.  Twice I changed wls procedures and/ or doctors. 

Anyone can loose some weight with any procedure.  It may not be as quick as you like or as many pounds as you want but you'll loose something with rare exceptions.  Understand factors that may hokd you back for each surgery type.  Things like loving a full stomach may make indicate you need a smaller vessel.  Ensure that for your own future happiness, you are thorough.  My surgery was long delayed  but it allowed bettet choices. 

Last, beware of the my sugery is the best surgery cheerleaders.  They tell the good, skip the downside, and riddicule folks who are satisfied and succesful with different surgery types.   The main board is full of those dis satisfied sorry @$$ souls.  With their predjudice ther cannot give you an obhective reason to consider their wls choices. 

Good luck to you.  Glad you're here. 

I think you should talk to a doctor. I am getting the sleeve vs other surgeries because of my age  and reason for being overweight. I think rny, the bands and gastric bypass are great but the sleeve is the best fit for me. I have a problem overeating and if I could simply limit the amount of calories I eat I would be fine. the sleeve takes out a portion of your stomach and most important the part that creates the hormone that tells you to eat. Every sugery has thier risks. I wanted the band originally but i was scared of the port and device in my body for the rest of my life. This is a great site to find personal expereinces, but I sugggest you look on youtube also. I an other journal thier progress and I think you understand the process alot more when you see people going through it.
I wish you the best of luck

As the other posters have noted, you really need to do as much research as you can, and by all means, speak to your doc. This is a very personal decision, and only you can decide which surgery is best for you. I initially decided that I wanted to go with the lapband, because if there was a problem, it could be removed. I have since decided to go with the sleeve, because I also didn't like the idea of having to go back every other month or so, and have it filled, or unfilled. I also didn't like the idea of having a foreign object inside of me for any length of time. I also spoke with my surgeon, and read just about everything I could get my hands on, and discovered that the sleeve was best for my age group. Like I said, research, research, research. And once you have decided, research some more. It's a lot to consider, so take your time. If you do that, I'm sure you will make the decision that's right for you, and you alone.
Please keep us posted!
A.

 HEY ALL!!!


THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE BEEN DOING RESEARcH. I HAVE A BINDER FULL OF NOTES! ONcE I START THE cLASSES WITH KAISER I WILL HAVE A BETTER HEAD ON MY SHOULDERS. RIGHT NOW I JUST WANT ALL THE SUPPORT I cAN GET. IM KIND OF EMBARRASSED BY TELLING PPL THAT I WANT TO HAVE SURGERY TO HELP ME. I FEEL THAT THIS WEBSITE WOULD BE cRUcIAL TO MY SURVIVAL WITH WHIcH EVER PROcEDURE I cHOOSE. I REALLY WANT AND NEED FRIENDS THAT cAN UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH. I REALLY WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT POST OP. I BELIEVE THAT I cAN READ ALL THE INFO ON WLS BUT WHAT WILL HELP ME THE MOST IS THAT I cAN TALK TO PPL THAT AcTUALLY EXPERIENcED IT.  FEEL FREE TO cONTAcT ME. THE BIGGER THE SUPPORT THE BETTER!

congradulations on taking step towards improving your health!!! i myself have the duodenal switch (DS), i have been doing well so far , to learn more about it you can go to DSFACTS.com, all wls have risk and complications, please do all research, ask questions and throughly check the surgeons who will do your surgery, this board has a broad range of information also. your bmi and co-morbitities are also a factor, remember the surgery will only be the first part of your journey and everyone may have very different experiences, if you can go to a support group in your area to get an idea on what other patients are going through good luck in your decision.