To LapBand or to RNY??

OK...I have a consultation on March 4th (Tuesday) in Ocala with Dr. Jawad. I'm a little nervous about it. I have already met with my Psyc. and my blood work is done (yesterday). I have researched the LapBand for 10 months now. I started talking with a friend that is going to get the RNY done, and she has really enlightened me. I want to ask everyone here...... Why did you choose LapBand OR why did you choose RNY? I know that I will cheat if given the chance, and I'm afraid that LapBand will give me that chance. I have also read enough on here that some people that have had the LapBand done, within a couple of years (or not) they go and have RNY.

Don't forget to check out the DS.  Although I do not think Dr. Jawad does this procedure.  You owe it to yourself to check out all the procedures that are currently being done.  Those would be the DS, VSG, Lap Band and RNY. I am more than happy to share information about my DS.

Thank you for your response & thanks for listing all of the surgeries. Believe me....my eyes, ears and mind is open. Tuesday is going to be a big day for me.....thinking wise.

I'm currently in basically the same situation. My surgeon said that he doesn't have a preference on which proceedure, and he went over alot of the posibilities of each with me and left the decision for me. Basically, what it seems to be coming down to is 1. my mother is a medical malpractice attorney, and was reviewing a case of a RNY patient that died when I called her about surgery, so she's absolutely against RYN. 2. I'm still very young (21) so it makes sense to me to have a procedure that can be reversed 3. the research doesnt show enough of a support that long term RNY will be that much better, so it's harder to justify a more intense surgery to me. here are some things I considered: Do you have any conditions that are weight related? Diabetes, sleep apnea, etc? RNY may be better for you to get off of medicine faster. Are you someone who's not very good at keeping up with doctors appointments/ do you have a very busy schedule? RNY may be better (even though follow up is very imp!) because Lap Band has to be filled and adjusted for optimal results. Are you someone who will be okay with possibly not being able to eat certain foods? Red meats, yeasty breads, sometimes even dairy? If not, LapBand may be a better option. Do you think it losing a lot of weight initially would allow you to modify your lifestyle enough that you would be eating better and excercising sufficiently? Or would it be better to see results as you started doing these things? RNY patients lose a lot of weight in the beginning, but their longterm sucess depends on their ability to change a lot of their habits, whereas band patients will know very soon after if what they're doing is not working.  I guess another thing to consider is whether your insurance will cover it if you do get the band and then it doesnt work and you want to switch to RNY. I'm thinking if mine does that, then the band is the best way to go, if not, I'm still very much on the fence. Anyway, hope that helped

To answer your questions..... 1~ Yes, I have high blood pressure. 2~ I'm very good with keeping doctors appts. My problem is this. I own my own business, I'm the only employee and to make rent, etc., I need to be here. I would also have to travel to Orlando everytime....and that's 1:20 hours from me. 3~ That doesn't bother me. I willing to make & take my chances. 4~ Yes, loosing weight upfront for me is a good thing. It will help me become way more active. I use to love to workout daily (7 days) but, I'm too heavy now. I'm currently 39 yrs old and I have already set a goal for myself after surgery (whichever one I choose). I plan to starting running again (its been 5 yrs) and I miss it. I want to run in my first and NOT last 5k or marathon. 5~ I'm not sure if mine does or not. I'd have to call and ask. I would like to have one surgery and get done, what needs to be done and way too many people that I have talked to (on and off this forum) go back after the LapBand and get RNY. Hope all of this makes sense.

As this is a touchy subject to some, the following are my opinions only. I prefer the RNY, and that is the procedure I went with. I like the dual effect of malabsorption, and quantity restriction. I also like the dumping that comes from RNY, since sugar has always been my downfall. I also like the fact that once my surgery was over, I don't have to go back for fills. This is why I went with RNY. Although I know there are people that succeed and fail from both types of surgery, I personally do not know any RNY patients that have gained significant amount of weight back, I do know of at least four lap banders that have gained back most or all of their weight back. Once again, I am not trying to start a war, these are my personal experiences. I do suggest that you fully investigate all procedures and find the one that is right for you.

Steve...thank you for your opinion. I too, feel like you. Sugar...sweets period have been my downfall all of my life and the reason I have failed diets & they failed me. I also think that I'd like the dumping that goes with the RNY, in my mind, it would teach me the "hard" way NOT to eat what just made me sick. I know that I need that in my life, cause I know me and if I can cheat, I WILL.

I will tell you that you can cheat with RNY, I know how much sugar I can eat, and how bad I will dump, and I play that game. But I am almost 4 years out, I lost 180 pounds, and I have only regained 10 pounds, and that same 10 pounds comes and goes, I lose it, it comes back, I lose it, it comes back, etc. So even though I still eat some sugar, I keep my weight off. RNY worked for me. Good luck.

I know that I can cheat with RNY, but the side effect will teach me what NOT to do...and quickly. If I eat a little bit of sugar, I'm not going to worry too much about it...I know that I'll try. But, the great thing for me, is that I'll be eating extremely smaller amounts of it, where before (like now) I can whatever and whenever....with NO side effects. Besides, I need to get more into eating healthy (as well as be healthy) for my family and teach my son....that is starting to show signs of being over weight (he is built & looks just like me).

I chose rny because I felt the lapband was a waste of my time. I met quite a few lapbanders at the support group that were going to have rny.  Also, when I went to my consult with my Dr, he felt that I would do better with rny. I also did not want my surgery reversed. What would be the point of losing weight then go through another surgery to have it reversed and then get fat again? I have plenty of "When I was thin...." stories. I want to live them, not retell them.  I had RNY and have lost almost 50 lbs in 2 months. I know some people that had lapband and lost that in 6 months.  I think you should talk with your surgeon and see what he says. My Dr does both lap and rny and told me what he sees in his patients. I also did not want to go back for fills and such. I only told my husband about my surgery so if I had gotten the lapband, I doubt I would be able to keep it a secret.