considering revision from band to bypass

Hi all...I am 1 year post op with the lap band and am down 57 lbs..I have had multiple problems with the band, nothing life threatening but the problems have really caused my success to be limited....I am discussing a revision to gastric bypass (which I probably should have had first considering the amount of weight I need to lose) but I am petrified. I have been researching the bypass surgery for about 4 months now and think I'm ready to move forward but I'm still fighting off the reservations and I think most of them are just from fear.....I was wondering if any of the people here that have had bypass would mind sharing some of the problems, if any, they faced with the bypass...I think the band is a wonderful tool so I"m not bashing it at all but I think the band and I just aren't the right combination for this journey.....
I appreciate any feed back I can get......
Thanks so much!!
Lorraine

I am feeling the same way. I am one year post op with the VBG and I have lost 62 lbs but I am not having any luck. I am wondering insurance wise will it be possible ot have the bypass.

I had the band out and something else instead (DS rather than the RNY) and can absolutely say it was worth it. I was terrified before the op - being revision is always trickier, I don't like pain, I can't stand hospitals and hate to feel dependent, but I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had to.

I have never lost this much weight in my life, I'm not dying from diabetes anymore, and I have hope. Surgery sucks, and RNY/DS revision takes much longer than the hour it took for the band, but this was a lifechanging thing. I got help with the anxiety - lovely pills from my PCP, concentrated on getting as well as I could before the op, and prayed! The alternative for me was a gradual decline in health, feeling like I'd missed out on life and mostly being unhappy with how I looked.

Gird your loins girl and be brave, its definitely worth fighting the fear.

Sal

I suffered through the band for almost 4 years.  I am having it removed and the DS done on 12/1.  Make sure you look into that first before choosing the RNY.

Good luck!!

If you won't bash the band then I will!       The band is probably the worst thing to come around in a long time.  The ads makes it look like rainbows and roses and it's nothing but thorns.  I have had my band for two years and am getting a revision to DS.  I can not wait.  I would not recommend the band to anybody.  Don't do it.   Get the best option out there that let's you lead a normal life without a pouch to make you throw up all the time.  And lose all of the weight you want, not just part of it. 

I agree!  I had not one but two bands - both terrible - I became a professional puker.  I had my band out on 11-5 and was revised to RNY - should have done this 4 years ago but hey, its time to move forward.  I had no issues at all - 4 hour surgery - laproscopic - 4 days in hospital - back at work a week later - lost 14 lbs so far in 13 days.  Hope it continues, of course I feel like the only RNY person that this procedure wont work for....

Professional puker - man, I never thought of that phrase but it is exactly how I felt with the band.  I only had mine for a little over two years, because I vomited No Less than 5 times a day, but usually at least 10 times a day.  My life was miserable.  I can say, I quit living with the band.  Food was actually my worst enemy.

I didn't have insurance that covered the RNY when I got the band out.  So I'm trying to get it now.  I'm still a revision, since the band caused lots of scar tissue, etc.

Thanks for the phrase....I'm gonna steal that one when I'm explaining the band to others...it really does explain how I felt.

Angie

AMEN. I am glad that someone finally said it...

This band has  done the following for me:
 
*Caused me weight gain after my initial 30 lb loss
* Caused me to have anxiety whenever we are invited out to dinner, or go to a restaurant
* Caused me to spend countless hours over toilet bowls and bathroom floors
* Caused me to feel isolated, as I feel like  a failure and a fool for wasting $13,000.00 and  2 years trying to make this work.

Anyhow, if you want to follow my journey from Lapband hell to RNY, here is my new blog:

http://livingthelap.blogspot.com

Wow! You said it all in a nut shell! I feel the same way, I had  the band lost 47pounds and then put 37 back not to mention I  need to lose  over  100lb.  You have no idea how excited I just got reading your post.  I have been feelng like the biggest failure for too long. I was thinking of getting gastric bypass, have not talked to the Dr. about it  yet because of  being embaressed  about weight gain  and no insurance. Even family members had doubts that I would fail thought I was going to prove them wrong, guess not. That part really sucks! Well sorry for blabbing so much. Seriously though thank u,I don't feel so alone.
Carla

It is time that we all came out of the closet about the band.  It is not what they say it is.  It is a nightmare.  Everyone needs to tell the truth about the band and all of the problems it has caused people.  They need to really think about getting it.  I love the pro-puker thing.  What a great phrase!  I hope that we all come out the other side better off than we started.