Any 50+ BMI lap-banders out there?

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post.  I am seriously considering the lap-band.  I have all of my paperwork together to submit for approval to BCBS and have met with the surgeon.  He kept saying the RNY was "tried and true" and "the golden rule surgery for weight loss" but I am very afraid of it.  I have a close friend who had an anastomotic leak and has had to use a feeding tube ever since.  He has tried to find a surgeon who will do a revision/takedown but no one in the Atlanta area will touch him.  I work in medicine, and have spoken to a few radiologists who have mentioned the complications that come from a leak.  I realize there are many, many people who have great success with no complications, but I don't feel comfortable taking the chance.  Plus, I don't have enough vacation accrued to have the surgery before 12/31 which is when my insurance expires.  My company is changing insurance and WLS will not be covered after 12/31.  So that is why I am hesitant with the RNY. 

The lap band has such a fast recovery rate, plus it's usually outpatient, so it seems like the best choice for me.  I emailed my surgeon to let him know of my decision and he wants to talk to me again, off the record.  Doesn't sound too good for the band, does it?

All of that to say, I would love to hear your stories, good and bad if you have had the lap-band and started out with a BMI of 50+.  My BMI is 50.2.

Thanks so much and God bless!

Hi,

I had my lap band when my BMI was 61.9.  I did ok with the band, I lost about 75 lbs between July and Christmas 2008, then I maintained that weight till Sept 2009 when I had my revision to the Sleeve.  Wish I had done the sleeve right off the bat.  I mean the band was fine but I found that having so much to lose the band was not the right way to go for me.  I origianlly chose the band because I was afraid of invasive, forever surgery, but after maintaining for 9 months I got tired of the fills, the expense and trying to find the sweet spot.  I've lost an additional 25 lbs since Sept.  It's slow, but I'm ok with that.  The sizes are dropping so it all evens out.

Good luck with your decission but unless you have a really big bank account, or fantastic insurance coverage, make sure you choose the right surgery for you and  for the amount you need to lose.  I ended up having to pay out of pocket twice...oh well, live and learn :)

Best of luck to you on your decission and the wonderful new chapter of your life :)

I'm not much help since I'm a RnYer, but your surgery should be covered under FMLA.  So even if you don't have the vacation time they have to hold your job for as long as the doctor says you'll be out.  You just won't get paid (unless you have a short term disability plan).

The band doesn't seem as successful as the RnY from what I've seen.  It requires a lot more effort and vigilance on your part to be successful from the beginning.

I had RNY...my Dr told me the same thing (gold standard of all wls) but i do understand your worries. i thought about lapband also but my dr told me that because i needed to loose 180lbs the band wouldn't really work for me without having revisions. he said the band is good for about 75-100lbs. have you thought about any other wls? its a very hard decision, but when you find the right one for you everything will fall into place the way you want it!

please keep us posted!!

Thank you all so much for your posts!  I am supposed to let my surgeon know which surgery I want TOMORROW.  I know in my heart that I should have the RNY, but I am SUCH a chicken.    My first choice would be the sleeve because of the absorption issues with RNY, but my version of BCBS still considers the sleeve "investigational".  I could ask for it, then appeal, but that takes time and I really need to have this done before 12/31 or I will have to do 7 months of supervised diet with our new insurance plan effective 1/1/10. 

Doesn't it it seem like everyone knows someone who has died from some type of WLS?  I get so much negative input from my family and friends.   I don't want to be a statistic!  But then again, if my BMI remains at 50+, I could die at any second.  Sometimes I wonder if I should just really try harder with diet and exercise... but 166 lbs to lose is A LOT of diet and exercise...

What about complications?  Have any of you RNY'ers had any? Leaks? Hernias? Blockages?

Have you read the failure board on this site? It helped me. I had 171 lbs to lose, but I'm chosing lap band, I'm not afraid of complications as they are pretty rare with all the surgeries, but it's a matter of do you want your gut cut into and rehooked up or do you want a foreign body in your abdomen squeezing your stomach? 

With any surgery, your going to have to up the exercise, drastically decrease the carbs and be VERY VERY careful with calories your whole life.

I've seen lots of RNY folks lose the weight over 18 months, then start going back up again until you can't see they had surgery at all. On the other hand, the lap band folks lose weight more slowly and then THEY might start gaining again too or they might not get to their goal in the first place. Nothing is magic, but either one is HELPFUL.

I don't like malabsorption. If I take medicine or eat food, I want my gut to be able to absorb all the stuff. However, the lap band can lead to a dilated esophagus if you misuse it, or you can get clogged up and slime the food back up. YUCK.

Just try to visualize which feels right to you.

I have a BMI similar to yours at 51.6  and am getting banded this Friday.  I am also in the ATL area and see Dr. Hart at Altanta Bariatrics.  He never has pressured me to have RNY over the band.  He gave me information on all the surgeries and accepted/respected my choice.

I was told that I can leave the same day after surgery and most people go back to work after a week. 

You have to do what is right for you.  If you go the the band board, there are many people who have lost 100+ pounds in a year with the band.  You have to control what you eat more than with other procedures but it can be done.

I started with a BMI of 56.1.  I had surgery in April 2009.  I've lost 50 lbs in 6.5 months, and my BMI is now 48.3.  There hasn't been a single day since I got my band that I wished I had gone with RNY. 

There are a number of reasons I went with band over RNY, but one is because I really wanted to be accountable for what I eat and learning new eating habits.  One of my issues with RNY (besides the fact that its a more extensive surgery) is that the calorie malabsorption allows you to "get away with" more poor eating, so (in my opinion) you have a bigger risk of not really learning everything you need to learn to eat well and 5+ years down the line gaining the weight back.  

Another thought is that I don't know what medications I will need to take or other ailments I may need to deal with as I get older, so having a band is more appealing to me because I can adjust it and will not need to worry about malaborpsion of meds, etc. 

Whatever you do, do not let your surgeon push you into doing RNY if that is not what you want.  It is up to YOU, because you are the one who will have to make the life changes and live with the "consequences" of which ever surgery you decide to have. 

If you want to chat more about it, send me a message, I'd be glad to help in any way I can.  Good luck.

I'm starting my process and met with the surgeron last week.  I requested the band and he agreed since I  understood the band was a tool and not the holy grail.  I've had my tonsils and my thyroid removed and I did not do well after either surgery, so having a surgery that re-arranged my insides did not interest me.  If I hadn't had issues with my other surgeries I  may have considered RNY but I'm happy with my decision.