The question everyone asks

Ok, so I am 26 years old and have not had children yet, but plan to.  I am a 43.6 BMI so pregnancy is one of the big reasons I am considering WLS.  I want to be a healthy mama.  But I am still not sure which one to go for:  RNY or Lapband.  What are peoples feelings about being pregnant with either of these surgeries?  What have been peoples good or bad experiences?  Is it hard nutritionally? 

natalie

 I'm 34 and this is my third child, first after surgery. I had RNY 3-1/2 years ago. I have had no problems getting in the food I need. I have gained exactly 20 lbs and I feel great!

I don't think it matters which surgery you have, just plan on waiting 18 months after to get pregnant. It will be healthier for you and the baby, and easier for you to handle. Make sure to use good birth control after surgery, because your chances of getting pregnant go up dramatically when you loose weight.

Melanie

There are people here representing both surgeries (and more....DS and VSG also).  I think you just need to do your research for whatever surgery fits for you and go for it.  Both types of surgeries usually result in healthy babies as long as you keep up with your dr and eat what you should...and wait the required time before getting pg.  If you went for RNY, there is the malabsorption issue, but the majority of women are able to stay within healthy ranges of vits/minerals by increasing them and having them monitored during their pregnancies.  I don't believe lap bands have malabsorption issues, so they just have to make sure they get enough food in and possible have to have the fill removed or reduced until after the pregnancy.

Good luck on whatever you choose...but don't make your decision based only on the desire for a baby...pregnancy is a temporary state, you want your WLS to be a permanent thing for the rest of your life and should go into it that way.  A healthier pregnancy for you and baby are just side benefits of having the surgery.

I have the lapband and gained 30lbs in three months. I miscarried in my third month. I had trouble getting in protein so I had to be defilled. I had no restriction and with the hormones oh boy I gained, gained, gained.

I do see however that the RNY ladies have not experienced much weight loss.

I would do my research if I were you as I am doing a revision to RNY partially for that purpose.

Take care.

I feel the need to defend my surgery choice here. I hate that this happened to you sweet... but...

To the OP: this much weight gain is not the usual for lapband patients. It's not the usual for anyone who gets pregnant. My band is pretty much empty and right now I'm 4.5 months and I'm at -3 lost since being pregnant (put back on one lost pound).

All WLS carry the risk of not losing, regaining or having complications but when it comes to pregnancy and WLS, it seems like everyone does just about equally well around here! I wouldn't worry about making your surgery choice based on the pregnancy issue - do your research, consult with your doctor and decide which surgery is best for you. Once you're at a health weight, pregnancy will be so much better no matter which surgery choice you made.
Personally, I have a band, and I had no trouble at all. I had a little fill taken out while I had morning sickness and then got it put back in once it cleared up. I gained around 20 lbs during the pregnancy, but was only up 4 lbs by the time I got home from the hospital.

There's pros and cons of both for pregnancy. Here's my little list of lapband pregnancy pros and cons.... I'll let others touch on their feelings regarding RNY pregnancy... I've never experienced it so my knowledge is slim.

I'm excluding the pros that classify as pros for both surgeries (like reduced chances of gestational diabetes, less weight gain, etc.)

Pros:
* I don't have to take as many vitamins... just the usual multi with folic acid. I also supplement calcium because I don't usually get enough.
* Usually when you get an unfill, you can eat more. This helps ensure that you get enough food for you and baby. Not sure if the inability to eat much is actually a problem for RNY post ops because you can always load up on calories via protein shakes and stuff. I guess this one is sort of a moot point.

Cons:
* When I had morning sickness (and even before pregnancy), I was unable to vomit. I never tried to vomit when pregnant because I knew it wouldn't work.... I just dry heave until my tummy calms down. The food won't come up above the band. If there's food above the band, it'll come up, but usually if you're nauseous, you haven't eaten in a while and therefore the food would be below your band.


Really.... IMO pregnancy shouldn't be a big determining factor in choosing your surgery. Any type of surgery is a huge decision. Healthy pregnancies are the usual for both types of surgery. My advice would be to choose based on what's important to you long term. You'll have to live with your choice for life, so choose based on the lifelong pros and cons of each surgery.

Thank you all for the thoughts and ideas.  It helps and lets me know it everything is possible and able to happen! 

It would depend on how much weight you have to lose, and also if you any current medical conditions that you may need to address.
I can tell you I had RNY and 1 child post op, and my pregnancy was 'textbook' with no problems. Got preggo 17 mos post op, she is now 3 1/2.