looking for advice

HI ya,  I'm new to this part of the forum so forgive me if my question is a common one.  I've decided on WLS surgery but I'm having trouble weighing my pro's & con's for RNY or Banding.  I'm leaning toward RNY due to the amount of weight I"m looking to loss and my co-morbidity's.

My biggest long term thought is pregnancy.  My husband and I would like to have a family.  Does anyone know where I can find statics that compare birth rates and/or complications for the different surgeries?  I've been able to find stats on obesity vs. WLS as a total but not a break down of types.

Any help, even anticdotal would be much appreciated.

Christine

I don't know of any statistics...but I do know there are women from every surgery type on this board who have gone on to have successful, healthy pregnancies.  Some women have complications - just as 'normal' women w/o WLS have complications - and some women have vitamin deficiencies that have to be monitored throughout the pregnancy, all the way from increasing taking a pill to having iron transfusions...but that's a rarity and still workable towards having a healthy baby. 

Honestly...and I hope I'm making sense here...I wouldn't base which surgery I had on the effects on pregnancy, simply because it doesn't have a huge effect on pregnancy...and pregnancy is a short term (though important) portion of your life.  I'd tell you to base your surgery choice on the long term effects of your life - which one you feel will provide you the most benefits re long term weight loss, reducing or eliminating co-morbidities, etc.  Overall...remember...your stomach (for the WLS) and your uterus (for the pregnancy) are not directly linked.

Good luck on whatever you decide.  You're welcome to lurk around until you have whatever surgery you choose and bide your time until it's a good time for you to TTC.  You can learn a lot here and be well educated by the time you're ready to welcome your little one.

i havent been able to find many stats either... i have 2 post op babies... my son will be 2 in oct.. and my daughter just turned 5 months yest... my son was a 6 lb preemiee ( had nothing to do with wls) and my daughter was 7 lbs 3 oz... some women do have complications but are not related to wls.. just something that would have happened anyway.. either way.. a healthy mama is more likely to have a healthy pregnancy

Do some research on the sleeve (VSG).  No malabsorption like with RNY, so no need to take tons of vitamins. No foreign object in your body to slip/fail/flip or cause issues like with the band.

I personally know 3 women who have the band and went on to have kids. All 3 gained tons of weight with each pregnancy because their OBs had them get an unfill. One also had a slipped band from morning sickness vomiting.

As far as individual statistics for each type of surgery, I'm not sure if that exists. There is research out there that found babies born after WLS are healthier than babies born pre-op to obese moms.

Hi, thanks for that bit on VSG.  I've actually spent some time looking into it but unfortunatly my insurance will not cover it. As it is still considered un-proven.  I can"t afford to pay out of pocket so my two choices are RNY or Band.  Someone suggested doing the band and then later down the road revising to VSG... but that seems a bit extream.

There are pros and cons of every surgery. I have the lap-band, and I love it. I've lost 115 pounds over 20 months, and need no plastic surgery for excess skin. Part of the reason I opted for the band is because you can have the fluid taken out during pregnancy, and then put back in afterward. I'm nearly 4 months pregnant, and haven't needed to have an adjustment yet (but I might down the road.)  I also have had no vomiting whatsoever.

I considered having RNY because my best friend had it. I went to all of her pre-op appointments, counseling sessions, and support groups.

I was concerned about malabsorption, and frankly, I'm a huge wuss when it comes to doctors and surgical procedures, so the thought of having anything "re-routed" was really scary to me. But, having an "implant" didn't seem as bad... especially because if I developed complications, I could have it removed.

That being said, I have personal friends who have succeeded and failed with both the lap-band AND with RNY. If you're not in it for the lifetime committment, and if you don't get your head in the right place, it is possible to gain every bit of your weight back, regardless of which procedure you choose.

PS... it's worth mentioning that when I was severely obese, I had very irregular periods (like 4 per year) from the ages of 21-30.  I was told that I would never be able to have children without having fertility treatments or in-vitro.  Once I lost about 80 pounds, my periods started regulating, and eventually, I had normal cycles between 28-34 days.  My husband and I NEVER expected to be able to get pregnant without medical assistance, so imagine our surprise when we decided to start trying and I got pregnant on the first shot!

I had the rny and lost 80 pounds in 4 months I am currently 5 months pregnant, and still holding steady at 250 I am not on any radical vitamins just one centrum a day and iron and every check up has been fine. I feel great and baby is awsome. Pray about it all the options are good remember that surgery is a tool and not a cure I know people who have had the different surgeries and gained all the weight back so I can not say one is better than the other, but I do believe that the more drastic the surgery, the more will u seem to have "speaking about myself". Good luck on ur journey and welcome to the forum. love Sue.

Thank you for the wonderful and thoughtful responses.  I'll keep contemplating I'm glad to hear pregancies are common on both those types are surgeries. 

I've been lurking all around the boards and recieved wonderful support from some many great OH people on different topics.  I guess I should thank my lucky stars that someone pointed me in this direction.