Thinking about surgery.....

My husband had gastric bypass about a year ago..Hes lost approx. 95 lbs. He feels great I on the other hand don't. that surgery is too scary for me, any pros or cons about lap band. All opinions welcome.. Any regrets??? Thanks

I have heard mixed reviews about the Band.. It seems to be either of 2 extremes.. people love it, or hate it. there is no in between. The deal breaker for me was all of the little complications that can arise from having the Band. One woman told me that her moods and monthly cycle would make her organs swell and therefore can tighten the band and cause more stricture than wanted. Therefore, she couldnt eat for days at a time.. or if she was upset by a waiter at a restuarant.. she found herself unable to eat.. I dont know how true those statements are, but it def is worth thinking about. Also, the band can slip.. or erode.. or your body might fight the port or band as a foreign object.. you could get infections... but there are pros as well. its reversible (but if you are going for WLS, i doubt you would be thinking of reversing it), there is a quicker healing time with the Band.. and the weight loss is more gradual.. so you can work out and hopefully combat the saggy skin that RNY patients usually get from the rapid weight loss.. Please do alot of research.. make yourself comfortable with the procedure and the surgeon.. and make sure you are 100% ready because from what i hear.. its a HUGE mental and emotional change, in addition to the physical changes. I hope i helped.. but as i said.. research.. gather as many opinions and FACTS as you can.. every body is different.. what works for one person, may not work for the other.. i wish you all the luck in the world. take care.. feel free to send me a msg or visit my page for my story.. my name is Ana, and i am waiting for my surgery date for the RNY.. take care..

I had the lap-band put in on 3-22, granted I havent had in for that long and I have yet to get a fill, but let me tell you, I feel its the best thing I have ever done for myself and I love my band, I have lost 23 lbs so far and feel great! The hospital stay was 1 night and I was back to work in 5 days and after about 3 weeks all surgical pain was gone, it was definately less invasive for me. I also have a close friend that lost over 90lbs with the lapband she had put in last March and she is doing great! even without a fill I feel restriction and get full eatting half of what I normally did. I gave up diet coke, bread, pasta and red meat by choice, but if I really wanted to have a bite or a taste of something I can including sweets, being a chocoholic I give in to an occasional hershey kiss and the fat free pudding snacks are great, and for me not having to worry about the dumping syndrome puts my mind at ease. Please feel free to visit my page and read my story from the beginning. This board and researching both surgeries will help you decide which one is right for you. I think both are great, its a matter of personal choice and what you feel you can handle. Good Luck on your journey!

Hey Tina, Like others have said both surgeries are for the better and healthier self...I chose the Lap band, because it was also less evasive and a quick recovery time...I had only stayed 1 night in the hospital also. What I like about the band is that you get restriction gradually as you get fills (which are totally painless)...Once you get the band, you do feel restriction, but as time goes on you might want more....so you will get full faster....I also enjoy a piece of reeces cup or a piece of birthday cake on my daughters birthday and with the lap band there is no dumping...But I undersatnd that a few people will also not dump with the by pass surgery too....I also did not want the responsibility to have to take 10 or more vitamins a day like the by pass patients do....I did not mind the foreign object inside my body, which I do not feel anyway...I dod not like the thought of taking out and rerouting my insides. I read the memorial page on Obesity Help line and saw that alot were RNYers and none were Lap Banders...even though it is a SMALL percentage, it just scared the hell out of me.....The band is simply put around your stomach to make a smaller one.....The surgery took 50 minutes....I suggest attending a consultation or seminar at your weight loss center/hospital and listening to both the lap band and bypass surgery consultation.....Either decision you make will be for a better and healthier you. I am about 7 months out and I am down 70 pounds....and not much loose skin at all....good luck and take care Dave T

Hi Tina: Welcome to the very first stages of your journey. Each person on this board has a story to tell and most of them have a happy ending. You have to do research about which procedure is best suited for you. I had a very high BMI of 69. I am 51 years old and very fortunate that the only co-morbidity that I have is osteo arthritis in my knees. I chose the hospital that I wanted to have the surgery and then picked the surgeon from that point (kind of backwards). It WAS THE BEST THING THAT I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE. I was operated on June 14, 2006 and 10 months later I am 150 lbs. less. I still have a long journey but I would do it again and again. Do your homework, attend support groups, ask questions. You have a very valuable source of information living in your own home. Good luck to you. If I can be of any help please contact me. Jeanne

hi tina i agree with everyone else -- research and education and personal choice -- when we (my husband and myself) had our surgeries our insurance company made the decision for us (Open RNY) -- aetna and bc/bs nj did not offer the lap band at the time -- everyone's weight loss is different --how much does a person exercise -- how much does a person not follow the recomendations of the nutritionist -- how much did the person weigh when they started -- the more you have to lose, the faster you will lose it -- i have lost 65 lbs in 5 months -- day of surgery i was 228 -- my husband lost almost double that in the same amount of time -- day of surgery he was 373 -- i have not encountered the text-book dumping syndrome -- if i eat too fast or eat too many wheat thins (my downfall at the moment) i feel like it's coming out my throat -- but it's all just stuck and the only thing that works for me is to go to sleep and hope it goes away soon -- i have had birthday cake, going away cake, chips ahoy cookies, milky way bars, a glass of regular pepsi -- granted these were one time deals so far -- but no dumping from any of them --i had the surgery on a wednesday -- was on the table for only 35 minutes -- ross was on the table for 25 minutes -- got out of the hospital on friday afternoon -- was driving on monday -- and back in work (physical work) 2 weeks later -- only took the pain meds for saturday and sunday -- and only took 2 per day -- no staples -- disolving stitches with steri strips -- the steri strips fell off at about 7 days -- no infections -- no drains -- i take 2 prenatal vitamins a day -- 2 ducolace tables per day -- 1 calcium citrate 1000mg -- 2 prevacid capsules per day -- that's it -- i'm supposed to take iron -- but i like to go to the bathroom on a regular basis with either surgery you will have to keep up with your nutritional needs -- choose a doctor that you are comfortable with -- our surgeon is a gastro/intestional surgeon -- he will also be doing my husbands hernia repair -- not many surgeons will touch someone who has already had WLS because they are not familiar with it and doing another type of surgery (hernia, gallbladder) will be different -- find a support system -- try to get a package deal -- surgeon, nutritionist, pulmonary, cardio, psych dr, support meetings all wrapped into one neat little package -- that way you don't have to go searching for this doc or that doc -- the things that i don't like about with the lap band (from what i have read) is the fills -- i wouldn't want to have to take time off from work every couple of months to get a fill -- the risk of it slipping -- people have talked about how the port is 'sticking out' now that they have lost weight and you can see it 'sticking out' -- there are also many other types of WLS out there -- research them all -- keep in mind that surgery is surgery -- there is a risk no matter what -- you are going to be put under -- you will be on medication -- ask yourself what part of the surgery is scary for you -- the people on this board will tell you that EDUCATION and RESEARCH are key to what you plan on doing -- please don't do something because someone said it was the best -- everyone is different - do what is best for YOU and YOU only good luck to you and congrats to your husband on his weight loss Roberta

Just a note on the lap-band again.....there is the risk of slippage, however surgeons today have taken extra steps to make sure that risk is very very minimal, my surgeon told me he stiched my band in place in such a way that slippage would be very difficult, and it is a rare occurance, another downside talked about is erosion into the stomach, this is rare too and can be cause by keeping your band too tight, a too tight band can also cause vomiting and productive burping which if your vomitting too much that can lead to slippage. The key with the band is knowing when your filled just right so that you can eat a small normal meal without problems, if you get too tight after a fill you will run into problems and should request a slight unfill, its about tweaking your band to suit your needs not make yourself so restricted that you cant eat. Every doctors office is different, for me I am able to get my fills on my lunch hour or after work so I never have to take time off from work to get a fill, its a very fast painless procedure from what I understand, but I will let you know for sure on May 1st, thats my first fill. I have done tons of research on the lapband in a 2 yr period and I have talked to at least 100 people who have the lap-band and have had it for many years and very very few have had complications, alot of these people were in the medical field themselves. Oh and yes the port can seem to show through the skin after weight loss, but that usually does not happen and it depends on where in your body the surgeon places it, from what I've seen, it happens to some and not to others, so please dont think this will definately happen to you, and the few that have a port showing really dont care and if they really want to can have it placed in a different spot, I personally wouldnt bother and could care less if it shows one day, its better then a big ole fat roll anyway. I do not feel anything in me, though I know Im banded, it really is a wonderful tool to help you reach your goal, but the same rules apply regarding making better food choices and exercising, you simply must make better changes in your diet same as you would with the gastric bypass. I would never ever put down the gastric bypass surgery because I believe if you follow all the rules and if you are a good canidate for that surgery to begin with then it will surely work for you, again its personal choice. I just don't want you get too much negativity from those that did not choose the lap-band, because obviously whatever surgery one has had is the one they are going to support the most. It is great to hear both sides, thats how we learn. good luck