PCOS -lap band vs. RNY surgery for weight loss

I have been reading some of the post here and I wanted to share to get some opinions.
When I had my consult with my surgeon I told him how I crave sweets and have insulin
resistance as one of the wonderful effects of PCOS.  Anyway after discussion with the
surgeon he explained that RNY surgery has helped many of his patients that have sweet
craving but the lap band does not take sweet cravings away and therefore wouldn't be a good
option for me.  Any opinions?  I was surprised to see the number of lap banders with pcos
do you crave sweets and has the weight loss been alot slower with having Pcos than normal?

I am a bander. I am almost 3 months out and down 50lbs. I didnt have my menzies for over a year... then...after losing 30lbs, I got it!!!! Then the next month -- again!! And just today.... I got it again (3rd month!!)   I couldn't be happier.

For me, the hair on the body has subsided dramatically!!! My craving for sweets has gone -- but the band helps with my appetite, so that's probably the main reason.

To tell you the truth, my biggest fear was that PCOS would cause me to lose 20lbs with the band and that's it.... I had about 120lbs to lose or so....(started at 304.5lbs).... so I did consider the RNY.

But now, I am 100 percent happy with my choice. I would also hit the LapBand forum and ask the same question. Lots of banders there with PCOS. :-)

Good luck on your choice and whichever one you make will rock!

Elena,

Thanks for your response.  I'm actually set up for the RNY surgery on 10/16 already.
It is really good to know how PCOS symptoms have improved for girls on this forum
with the surgery it is very encouraging. I started off at 259# and I'm down to 244#
I have to maintain this loss until my surgery.  I notice even with a high fiber lower carb
diet that my periods come every month.  In the last year I have maybe been 4 months total
with out a period so I have been lucky in that respect.  My main issues are painful leg swelling,
sleep apnea, borderline high blood pressure and pre diabetes.  These are some of the issues
I'd like to resolve with my health.   Thanks for the reply.

Congratulations on your date!! That's the best feeling ever -- I am so glad that you have already seen some results.... PCOS can be a devil... but definitely not something we can't tame.

I oversee a WLS support group on another website for women with PCOS and from what I've seen the RNY does tend to have better results with sweet tooth cravings (due to the dumping syndrome) and IR (due to the way food is processed) but the choice as to which surgery to have is up to you and what your needs are.  I had the RNY and am very happy with my decision.  I'm 4 years out and maintain at between 140-145lb (when I'm not pregnant of course).  I had IR & diabetes pre op both of which are gone now (I'm not even gestational diabetic).  My body hair has lessened although the facial hair is still there and not gone away it's not getting worse and it's much more easily manageable now.  My hormones are in balance finally and after 8+ years of infertility I was able to concieve 2x both on the 1st month trying. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that these surgeries work in 2 different ways.  The lapband only restricts how much you can eat.  There is no malabsorption, no change in the way your body abosrbs food and processes it.  Since it's restrictive only there is no dumping syndrome that you can develop like with the RNY.  If you want a milkshake...by all means you can have one...not that it's the best choice...but you get what I'm saying.  Also it may take a few months of fills & unfills to find the correct amount of restriction that you need to optimize your weight loss.

With the RNY it's restrictive & malabsorptive.  You're restricted in how much you can eat and are somewhat limited in what you can eat, when it comes to fried/sugary foods as they can trigger dumping.  I'm on the more extreme end of sugar intolerance as I can tolerate about 10g of sugar before I dump.  Most RNYers I know can tolerate 3-4x that much.  You also (especially in the beginning) absorb less of what you eat.  Over time though your body will adapt to a point and absorb more nutrients.  I have very good absorption now at 4 years post op and absorb most of what I eat.  So if I take in 1200 calories I'm absorbing almost all those calories.  I still have to watch what I eat though and at 4 years out it's harder to loose weight than it was in the beginning and if I'm not careful I can regain my weight back. 

So...the choice is up to you.  Discuss it with your surgeon and hopefully you can both agree on which surgery is best for you.  Good luck!

Thanks for the reply, I'm actually set up for RNY surgery already for October 16th.  I think for me
it makes sense.  I am happy to see others here who have had WLS that have PCOS.  Knowing
the ways that it has helped others is encouraging.  I am hoping to get down to about the weight you are I started at 259#  I'm 244# and need to keep my weight where it is until my surgery.
Thanks again for the information.

You're right around where I was.  I was 254 at my heaviest and 246 when I had surgery.  Congrats on your date!  You'll be on the loosers bench before you know it!

I put a lot of info on my profile page about PCOS and the RNY. there is actually a study (there's a link somewhere on my page) about this. it's more towards the top *lol*
I do think that your doc is right though and the RNY is more appropriate for PCOS, but i'm also biased that the DS was the best choice for me and pcos though, but there is that study on my page!! : )