What would you do?

Post Date: 7/26/10 8:38 pm
OK...did the upper GI...everything good...did the endoscopy...Everything good...no erosion slippage or anything...I do have a small ulcer. My band is still good after 8 years. I have 4 cc in a 14cc band right now...Do I go for the RNY revision or do I get some fills and see if I can get this band working. I did not get a whole lot of fills as I was self pay 8 years ago and only got 2 fills included and the rest were cash pay...which I ended  up not having any extra, so I only got 2 fills. Now I have insurance that will cover things...what to do????

what's your BMI?

If you have only had 2 fills there is no way I would jump into revision without first trying to get my band to my sweet spot.  I thought 8 years ago they only had 4 cc bands.  I would opt for small fills and see how that goes before I would even think of revision.

Jacqueline

My BMI is 41....I think I am going to try the fills

Don't revise to RNY - I have the band over my bypass and wish I had just gotten the band to begin with.  The RNY is the worst thing I have ever done in my life and I wish I could go back 5 years and never have had it done.  If I knew then what I know now I would be a much healthier and happier person.   

what happened after your RNY? I hope you are OK now. All the best

Before you had your revision, did you consider the DS?

How did you do with the band? Did you lose weight comparsble to the RNY?

I don't know the person that posted about the band and RNY but I do know that the band is much slower weight loss than RNY and they initially you lose more with the RNY than the band.  Although at this time I am not happy with my band I do know that it is a tool and you have to work that tool.  I can go buy a hammer and if I don't take the effort to use it then it is just a tool, but I can make all kinds of things with that hammer if I try.  Same thing as the band, it can be a tool that is not used or it is a tool you can make yourself pretty with.  OK a little cheesy I know.  If you take care of your band and have no mechanical failures you can always go back in for more fills when you quit losing.  If you choose not to have the fills then it is just like the hammer that is not used.  The band, if everything is OK, can be for life, and you can get fills as long as you need them.  RNY is for life too, but so many things can go wrong with it.  Stretch your stoma, enlarge the pouch, etc.  I don't know the percentage of band patients that regain their weight but I do know that the RnY is a big percentage. 

I am having tests on Thursday of this week to see if my band is OK.  I got a little too tight and am afraid that it has slipped, if it is OK then I am going to get back on the wagon and lose this 16 lbs I have gained.  Until two months ago I would say I loved my band, but right now I am just glad I lost what I did and pray that it is all OK and I can get back on the losing side of life. 

Good luck with which ever route you choose to take. 

Or you could get a DS. (*grin*)

If we're going to compare WL surgeries to tools, I'd have to compare the DS to, say, the thermostat on your central system. You set it, and it does the work. The only time you have to fool with it is when you want to change something.