New to this...

I'm so excited and nervous.. I just met with my doctor on the 21st to discuss my options and decide what i feel is best for me. He said i was definately a good candidate for the either surgery - RNY or LapBand.   I still dont know.  I've been researching and reading and talking to everyone i can. 
My mom had the RNY 11years ago and is extremely happy, although she had many complications.
My biggest fear is having the LB and not having the will power to not eat all the things i love.  With the band i feel like I can still eat and drink all the things i love just in moderation and well to be honest i'm scared thats not gonna help me.  I know with the RNY, I'm forced to not eat those things that will hurt me.
So, with all that said.. Hi everyone and I'm very excited to be on the road to making a life change!!!

welcome! i've just been approved by my insurance for VSG and am just waiting for a surgery date, so i'll be the first to say i'm scared too, but also excited and ready to get this journey started. i found these forums to be very helpful and honestly more informative than my doctor's office has been. you kind of have to be your own advocate and really gather all the data from all the surgeries and read up on them and then decide which is best for you. i know everyone here will be more than happy to give advice, info, etc... and as soon as i get my surgery, i'll be giving out advice too.

Hello and welcome, I'm a Danni too!

I hope that you do lots of research on both surgeries so you can make the right decision for yourself. I'll just put this out there though- I had RnY and I can eat almost everything that I want....in moderation.

Now that's not true for everyone, but it is for some of us...and I love my RnY it gave me my life back!

Good Luck,
:Danni

I wish you the best .. So have your mother lost alot of weight and able to keep her weight down.. How do she feel about the surgery.. ??? I very nervous about it .. Ive heard the good and the bad.. ew its scarry

At my mothers HW she was 411 - she is now 168.. She is healthier and much happier.  She has her life back where before she limited by her weight.  It was amazing to watch the tranformation but also sad to see "my mom" just melt away.  But I'm much happier now knowing she will be with us because she decided to have the surgery.

I originally considered the lap band but ended up doing the RNY. My main reason for the RNY was the long-term success rate as opposed to the lap band. I also heard a lot of negative comments about the continual adjustments to the band.

There have been a lot of advances with RNY since your Mom's surgery 11 years ago. So far I've had only a couple minor issues but they have all been related to my eating habits (eating too fast, eating too much, or not chewing enough).

I honestly didn't think I could adjust to the post-op RNY diet. But it really hasn't been that bad. Haven't had bread, flour, potatoes, rice, coffee, or soda since September. I'm finding that it's really no big deal. I'm finding that I really like a lot of the others foods that I can have such as a brocolli salad, 3-bean salad, etc.

It's definately a lifestyle change but very manageable.

Best of luck.

Hey New Danni... Welcome!  You do need to do your own research and make the best decision for yourself.  I personally chose RNY because when I was super morbidly obese I did not have much will power whatsoever.  I felt that I needed the more strict/restrictive tool that the RNY pouch offers.  The band requires the patient to have more "will power."  The band adjustment periods (time to find the right balance between fills to allow the proper amount of food to pass into the stomach while losing the desired weight) can be challenging (I've heard.)  I've also seen many lap band patients who are extremely successful with their band.

For me, I didn't want a foreign object in my body.  For others, they didn't want to surgically change their digestive system.  RNY is a significant change to the digestive system. 

They both work well provided that it's the right surgical option for you and most importantly, that you are 100% ready for this life-altering change.  Both surgical options require a no-**** commitment level on your part. It really is a personal choice based on what your surgeon suggests for you.  Remember, WLS is just a tool... it is YOU that will be changing your life.  It is YOU that will becoming healthy and vibrant.  It is YOUR life... not the surgery's life.

Congrats to you in moving forward on your journey to health and vibrancy!
~Maryn

welcome and congrats! really, i had a few reasons for choosing rny over lap-band. my have crappy willpower so i felt like it would be way too easy to cheat with the lap-band. also, i hate the idea of having to go in and get refills on the band every few months to keep my stomach small and i never really liked the idea of putting some foreign object into my body that has the capability of slipping out of place. i had my rny a week ago and so far i love it! plus, only 2 out of 5 rny patients actually dump so you may still be able to eat some of the things you love, you just might want to stay away from them until you've been able to change your eating habits

I totally agree with you on the willpower and had the same thoughts about the lap band cheating.  I could eat and drink whatever I wanted and nothing stopped me.  I know with the RNY it will force me to commit to a change instead of giving me so many options to "cheat". 
I am so excited!!

Hi Danni!

It is truly your decision as to which procedure you decide on.  For me, I have an auto-immune disorder, so LapBand was off the table immediately.  I knew RNY was right for me b/c of dumping, food getting stuck, aversions, etc.  For ME, I need the negative feedback to reinforce the good eating habits (I call it the Pavlov Effect).  I am 6 weeks out, back on "regular" foods for the most part.  Unfortunately, I can still eat bread, pasta, rice, potatoes without any problems.  I got rid of EVERY package of regular pasta I had in the house (donated all food I cannot eat and don't want my kids eating to a needy family).  I eat pretty much what I want, but in serious moderation and with caution.  I have had food get stuck a few times and it's the worst!!

I have learned over the past 6 weeks how to be full and how to be truly hungry (instead of head hunger) and through my weekly therapy sessions, I am learning how to survive in my new body and work with the issues that put me up to 315 pounds at one point in my life.  This surgery has been like a "reset" in my brain.  I no longer long to eat out and eat huge portions.  We *do* still eat out some, but I never finish what I eat (even off a kids' menu), I don't do anything oily, fried, battered or buttered and I avoid regular white carbs at all costs.  

Good luck and welcome!