Just wondering....

what your personal thoughts are and what you've heard from medical professionals regarding LapBand vs RNY with PCOS. Regarding WLS and PCOS... are there any differences in regards to how quickly weight is lost?  Any differences as far as reductions of PCOS symptoms?  Have any of your surgeons told you that one is better than the other in reducing symptoms?  What about pregnancy following LapBand or RNY?  Is LapBand better for pregnancy due to letting the "fill" out to enlarge the stomach opening?  Or are they pretty much the same in the long run since you have to wait 12+ months before TTC?  Lots of questions, I know.  They're questions I'll be asking my surgeon as well, but I wanted to hear about your experiences or what y'all have heard from your surgeons/medical professionals regarding this. Thanks in advance y'all!!

I dont know regaurding pcos specifically, for me i read and heard about both and based on how you can "cheat" the lap band and the 230-250 pounds i needed to loose I chose rny because of the statics mostly.  I love ice cream and you can circomvent the lap competely with shakes and stuff like that, id never gotten close to my goal.  You can cheat on rny too but not as easily.

From what I've heard women with PCOS tend to do better with RNY than with lapband due to the way that the body processes insulin/glucose after surgery.  There are some women with PCOS who do well with the lapband but some don't.  I know 2 ladies (one here...one on another website) who've done well but also know 2 ladies who wish they had done RNY as at about 14m post op have lost about 45-50lb with much more still to loose.    With lapband weight is lost much more slowly than with RNY.  I believe the average weight loss with lapband is 50-60% of excess weight and with RNY is around 70-75% of excess weight.  I lost 100lb in 6 months and then was at goal of 114lb lost at my 1 year (from 254 to 140).  Now at 3.5 years post op I maintain at 140-145lb. I know that with my RNY my PCOS symptoms are pretty much gone...only one left is the excess facial hair (which will never go away without laser treatment).  I went from zero cycles a year to regular 36 day cycles and my diabetes/IR & acanthosis nigricans went away. As for pregnancy, both surgeries you need to be at least 12 months post op.  I know that with morning sickness and the lapband it can be an issue as the food has to come back up through the band to get out.  I had lap RNY and at 16 months post op got pregnant.  I had a prefectly healthy pregnancy and a perfectly healthy baby.  She's 18 months old now and we're getting ready to ttc #2.  When I was pregnant though I did 2x the prenatal vitamin and my B's and calcium.  As far as eating I just ate more frequently (about every 2-3 hrs I ate something small).  I was at goal when I got pregnant and gained 30lb. Good luck to you in your journey!  If you have more questions...feel free to ask. Kristy

I have PCOS and it was one of my concerns when I met with my surgeon. He was absolutely fixed on not telling me which surgery to have, but rather offering me the information for both of them. I think what is an issue for diabetes patients, and therefore for us since we have a lot of similar concerns, is that the initial weight loss is so much greater from bypass, so many of them can stop using insulin immediately. My doctor said that both procedures are good for my PCOS and will probably relieve the symptoms of it. With pregnancy, both proceedures are considered safe. Banding does have the additional benefit of being adjustable, and sometimes there needs to be more concern in RNY for getting enoough vitamins, but it's usually very managable.

Thanks y'all for your input!  I really do appreciate it.