HELP!~

Hi all, I have not been here in a long while and now I see where I should have been. I am scheduled for the lap band with Dr Woodman in Memphis on August 3rd! I am so excited, but now have been meeting all these people all at once that have had the gastric bypass surgery...and am starting to have second thoughts. I talked with the Dr's office about it, and Kelley said that if I decide on the other surgery they have to send a letter to my insurance company but that it could be done pretty fast. It was like I went for 6 months not meeting anyone who had the surgery, now it seems everybody I meet has had or knows someone close to them that had it...but I have not seen or heard of one lap band yet. Any help from those that have had both here that could post real life pro's and cons would be great! I also just read about a new surgery (or is it not new?) the Duodenum switch??? Anybody have this one?? Thanks so much in advance! Carolyn

Carolyn, I am glad to talk to someone who is seeing Dr. Woodman. I am going to have the Lap RNY when I can. I am in the waiting for insurance approval phase right now. I went to Dr. Woodman 2 years ago and was going to do the Lap Band and was approved but then the company I worked for changed insurances and they did not cover it so I had to wait. (that's all in my profile). Anyways, after doing more research I decided to have the RNY done lapriscopically. I just know more about and there are alot more people on this site that have had the RNY. I just feel safer and more comfortable and think it will give me the results I am looking for. Cindi at the office told me there are more people that have the Lap Band by Dr. Woodman so they are the ones at the support groups but they are hoping of starting one for the RNY patients because they are being performed more frequently by Dr. Woodman now. I am happy here on the main message board though. I have learned so much from the people there and they are always so nice and willing to help with advice. Anyways, I hope all the best of luck to you and hope everything is easy and not painful. If you would like you can email me and maybe we could exchange phone numbers if you want to talk. My email is [email protected] Tara

Hi Carolyn, from what I have heard and from people I know, most won't go with just a lap band. After about two years, you will need a fill in, the band starts breaking down back to the big stomach and gaining all the weight back. Is this what you want? I know I don't, I want my surgery to be gastric bypass, where my stomach is the size of a golf ball, and is totally separated from the main stomach. Better chances of losing the weight, and keeping it off, this type is a life time committment. So please really think about it before you have it done on August 3. Most insurance companies don't pay for the fill ins, one girl said it was going to cost her close to $900 out of pocket for the fill in. That's about every 2 years. Whereas the gastric is final. So please really think hard about it. This TN board has really helped me learn more plus doing all my research. I have been turned down by 2 doctors, Monday I see a new one and I am praying he will do the surgery. I have everything done, just need for him to file with my insurance, medicare/Blue Care. With these two, I won't have to go thru the denials, they just need to know that it's medically necessary. So the best of luck to you. I don't know anything about you, but we're talking for the rest of your life. Every one that I have gotten to know on this board are having gastric, I have only met one female that is having the lap band. that all her insurance will cover, the fill ins in two years has to be out of pocket. God be with you as you decide what is best for you. Kathy

Hi Carolyn my band buddy, I too am having the lapband & as I can see from the answers to your post there is a lot of misunderstanding about this surgery. I am not going to bash the other surgeries but I will say that the lapband is the safest of all the surgeries & I would not have any other. It has almost the exact percentage of weight lost at the 5 year range & I'd say if you were looking for a permanent solution the band is the way to go. Unlike what the other poster said it DOES NOT break down in your stomach & you don't get a fill after 2 years, this person has NO clue what the band is about. You will get the absolute best advice if you'll go & visit the lapband forum on this website, it is full of successful bandsters & there you will find ALL the information you need. The band is a wonderful surgery that doesn't involve rearranging your insides, it is a much safer procedure with a long term success rate & it is 100% irreversible if something were to go terribly wrong(which the percentage is much lower of serious complications than with other surgeries). I encourage you to visit the lapband forum before you decide to switch to the RNY. Glad to have you on this board. TTYS Candi

Hello Carolyn, I agree with the other posts,the lap band is the best way to go for me anyway.Candi you said it very well,i will not have any other surgery.I can't wait to get my surgery date.I am hoping for Aug. sometime.Welcome to the board. Eva

hi carolyn...here i am, crusading for educating people about the lap band. please speak with your doctor about the surgery and don't accept everything you hear on the message boards as truth. check out this essay i wrote in an attempt to educate people on the lap band (i'm a teacher--what can i say? lol). i LOVE my band and would never have considered any other surgery. cheers, allie 287/241/150 TITLE: LAP BAND MYTHS: AN EXPOSE i would like to take a minute(or ten) to disabuse people of some of the more popular myths about the LAP BAND. i've seen many posts where people ask for information about the lap band on this forum and are given misinformation. in an effort to shed some light on this topic, i have included several of my favorite myths. also, please feel free to drop by the Lap Band forum hosted by this website--you may access it from the main/welcome page using the pull down menu--go to LAP BAND FORUM. cheers! Myth #10: Slower weight loss compared to RNY (truth: lap band patients lose an average of 1-2 pounds per week and it is not uncommon for patients to lose 25-35 pounds in the first month and 4-9 pounds each month after with no malnutrition issues!!!) Myth #9: Maintence is difficult (getting a fill in the band) (truth: a fill takes about 5-15 minutes and is only required when weight loss slows or plateaus. the fill of saline is injected into the port and it inflates the band causing greater restriction on the stomach.) Myth #8: The Port is visible/painful/located on your forehead (truth: the port is not visible and is only tender for a few weeks after surgery. most ports are placed on the right side of the body about two inches above and to the right of the belly button. if you press gently, you can feel the port--feels like a quarter--which is SEWN into place so it doesn't 'free float' in your body.) Myth #7 Bands can snap/break (truth: the band is made of durable plastic--not glass!) Myth #6 The band can erode into the stomach (truth: there are few recorded cases like this and many were during the FDA trials in the late 1990s.) Myth #5 The band can slip out of place (truth: again, during the US FDA trials in the late 1990s, there were a few problems with the band, but doctors worked to remedy them. today bands are stitched into place to prevent slippage.) Myth #4 Lap Band patients gain their weight back (truth: RNY patients gain weight back too if they don't follow a sensible diet! WLS is a TOOL to help you in the weight loss battle--if you're not dedicated to a healthier life it's possible that no surgery can help you.) Myth #3 Lap Band Surgery is Experimental (truth: lap band surgery is not experiemental, though some insurance companies try to deny it as such. please take the time to speak with your insurer to see what can be done about this. i have Health Net of the Northeast and they approved me in 8 days!) Myth #2 Lap Band Surgery is not for seriously overweight people (truth: there are many patients on our board who started in the 350-400 range and are doing quite well--come to the board and talk to them.) Myth #1 I WILL NOT LOSE AS MUCH WEIGHT WITH THE LAP BAND (truth: several post op studies have shown that lap band patients actually lose MORE than RNY patients over a 3-5 years span. why is that? well, as a lap band patient you can continue to have your band filled and drastically increase your restriction. on the lap band site, there are about 60 of us who post regularly and between us all we have lost over 2,000 pounds. LAP BANDS DO WORK! i am living proof--you have to be willing to make changes in your lifestyle...but the band is a highly effective tool that does NOT change your anatomy. the mortality rate is almost NILL! one person's death has been attributed to the lap band surgery in over 100,000 surgeries. please come check out the lap band board if you would like to speak with others. i know this is a long post, but i'm tired of all the incorrect information posted about the lap band. surgery is a HUGE decision, but it is easier if you have accurate information.

Thank you so much for your post. I don't want to start a bashing war on here, but I was not happy with the person who posted such terrible information about the band. I really hope this information will help Carolyn make an informed decision. Love ya! Candi

Please visit my profile, I have some really great links that I found very helpful in my research. I hope that before whatever surgery you choose that you will thouroughly research your choice & make an informed decision. TTYS Candi

WOW...Thanks to all of you who posted replies. I have been researching the surgery for about 6 months now, but reading things and hearing personal experiences are two different things. I then realized that this is probably like what I went through when I got pregnant with my first child and was asking every woman I knew what labor was like. I think that each person has a unique experience with their surgery, and what is true for some is not true for others. I am going to have to wait and see how it goes for me personally, but I think I am going to stick with the lap band. I went over to the lap band forum last night and had the opportunity to go into the chat room and chat with some other banders. My husband wants me to have the band as well because of the reversability of it IF something should go wrong. I am going to see the nutritionist at Dr Woodman's office tmw and will ask Kelley about the fills and the cost at that time, but even if I have to pay for fills out of pocket, I can afford it. (I'll just save the money I have been spending on fast food!) I have heard that my insurance, United Health Care is really good with surgery expenses, and so far I have paid only for the psych eval and for the appt with the nutritionist...about $250 total. Everything else has been covered. Also thanks for the essay! It really did help me because there were things in it that I had heard and was starting to believe which is why I was having second thoughts about the band. Like it doesn't work as well as the RNY and you don't lose as much weight. I know you lose it faster with the RNY, but I think the slower loss is probably going to be better for me in the long run. I am at 337 right now. Ending up at 230 would be a blessing for me, but as I told Kelley, I am not going to go by the nbrs on the scale as goals. My goal is to feel better...ie: constant swollen feet and legs, no energy etc. Again thank you all and I will stay here until and after the surgery! I work full time, and am about 45 mins from the support groups, so this forum is going to be helpful for me in support issues and is much more convenient for me than driving to the meetings. Take Care! Carolyn

Hi Michelle, Thanks so much for the reply and YEAH! You look great! My main focus being a week out from surgery is food...meaning what kinds of foods to eat after I have done all the healing and come off of the liquid and puree'd diets. One of the biggest obstacles in my life has been planning. I am a cronic last-minuteitis person. This is one reason I have ballooned up to 335. I was about 309 when I started a job a year ago. The stress of the job, plus my lack of planning for my meals is whats contributed to the weight gain. The psychologist I went to said he didn't think I was a good candidate for WLS "yet" because I loved fast food too much. It's not that I love fast food...its that I didn't plan for lunch and dinner before I left home and had no choice but to eat the wrong foods. What changes have you made to prep for the food changes like when eating out, or mostly just your daily life...because the occasional eating out isn't whats going to get me...its the daily life stuff. Any suggestions? Thanks! Carolyn