Lap Band vs. Realize Band?

I am hella morbidly obese, but am TERRRRIFIED to get the roux-en-y or any other non-reversible weightloss surgery.

I have been seeing advertisments regarding the realize band.  I went to the website and it sounds very similar to the lap band.  I know there's a new program with the realize band that helps you journal everything and whatnot... but i'm trying to decide which is better for me.

The weightloss results seem very small, like 1-2 pounds a week... I mean i was losing 2lbs a week doing weigh****chers... so why get the surgery?

Pleaseeeee let me know if you know anything about either of these options or have any suggestions for me.

Muchisimas gracias!

-Augustina :)

I don't know anything about either bands... but did want to inform you the RNY is reversable.  The original stomach and everything is left in the body and everything is generally peachy is a reversal is needed.

From my limited knowledge, its as if the realize band is like the lap band just with the added network, I'm not entirely sure.

Good luck in your decision, though!

hi Augustina,

I can sympathize with your plight- and yes, the whole thing is really confusing with the bands. if you'd like more opinions, the realize band forum and the lap-band forum has lots of people that know more about it. I am in the minority here, having had the band surgery myself. This is what I can tell you:

1. You will lose less weight per week with a band rather than bypass. period.

2. There isn't enough data to be sure, in my opinion, but it looks like the average weight loss for bypass people is consistantly more than with the band. The numbers I have heard say 40-60 percent of Excess Body Fat for bandsters, and 50-70 for the bypass. Some studies tend to suggest that at five years out they become almost the same, but I think that it's still safe to say that you will lose more with bypass.

3. What kind of band you get has almost no impact on your weight loss, and in plenty of cir****tances your surgeon will have a strong preference for one or the other. The Realize band does have something called Realize my Sucess, which is a online thing, but I have heard that the Lap-band has one as well it's just different. Regardless, Realizemysucess has been okay but nothing worth choosing the band for. In contrast, OH has been MUCH more helpful for me.

4. I understand about your fear with the Bypass, and I would have to practically disagree with jaci. though it is possible to re-attach your whole stomach after bypass, it's a riskier process and they don't do it without a significant reason. Also, they can't un-shorten your intestines, which is where the problem of vitamin deficiencies come in. So, yes, it is reversable... but its a big deal, and it's definitely a more involved surgery than having a band placed.

The decision on which surgery to have is unique to everyone, I believe. I discussed both with my doctor and my family and read countless amounts of medical research comparing the two before I decided to go with my band. My biggest reasoning was honestly that my parents couldn't handle bypass with me this young, and they were the ones who paid for it (I was denied by my insurance). I also felt that because of my age, I still had time in my life to try less drastic means (i.e. banding, vs. bypass) and I know that in five years or so, I can look at a revision if I'm not satisfied.

I consider myself to be an impatient person, so the amount of time it takes to lose the weight was off-putting, and sometimes still is. I can say now though that I am so greatful that I have to address lots of issues early on rather than what would have happened if I had chosen to have bypass- I probably would have started gaining back weight after the initial honeymoon period, and now my skin has time to adjust as I'm losing, and it looks way more natural if I choose not to tell people that I've had surgery.

If you ever want to talk more about this, or have more questions, feel free to shoot me a message. Good luck with your searching and decisions.

hi girl, and wellcome. good luck with your reserch.
i had rny almost a year ago and it`s been great so far. i have a friend who had the band  and she is losing as  fast as i did. so its about what yuo feel confortable with.
abou the weigh loss if you think u can lose as much as weight doing weigh watchers. don´t get surgery. this is a life time compromise. you have to be very sure about the decision you are gonna make.
if you ask me i would do it over and over again if i had 2.
good luck with your reserch.!!!!!!
keep us posted.
hugs.
mariana.

I am still preop but this is what my doctor told me.. do not choose any surgery based on it being reversible.  A reversal in either case will never bring you back to normal - with the band there is scarring and thinning around where the band was placed -with the rny there is scarring where the sutures meet and chance for rupture.

He said the biggest difference between the lap and realize is the port and how it is attached to your body.  They are different manufacturers...  also the surgeon you choose most likely will use one or the other so that will be a big factor.

so the biggest reason for choosing band over rny should have to do with malabsorption because that is the key difference.

Hi There :)

The Realize Band and the Lap-Band are virtually identical.  Realize has minor changes to its look, and the way it works but that is only for copyright/trade mark issues.  Both tools utalize an inflation like property to create a small stomach pouch, and have an internal port in order to control the fluid that inflates the device.  Realize does have a computer program with it, and to my knowledge Lap-Band does not.  I have chosen the Lap-Band primarily because my doctor is only starting to get certified in Realize -- and the closest Realize surgeon is 100 miles from me.  The Realize and LapBand message boards will be great resources for you. 

I am choosing the lap-band for several reasions.  One of which is in direct conflict with another poster -- I feel safer with the thought that should something drasti****ur, the band is removable (abet not without some risk).  Should you chose to do either banding, you should go into it with the mindset of it being a perminate fixture in your life.  However, with having a mom *****cently got a RNY -- I've seen the issues the surgery can cause (and my mom's surgery has gone well).   I also have a best friend who has been banded for several years -- so I have seen the positives and negavitves of that procedure as well.

As far as weight loss goes -- my best friend dropped her weight like a RNY patient -- maybe a touch slower but she wen't from probably a 22/24 to a 10/12 in a matter of months.  I also agree with another poster that I prefer the slower rate of loss because it appears to be more natural should you not want to tell the whole world about your WLS.   Don't get me wrong -- I'd love to drop the weight like RNY patients can, but the risk outweighs that want in my book.

Finally I also chose the banding because of my age and the fact that I'm not married, and haven't had a child.   Though PLENTY of folks have babys post RNY -- I just felt that the flexability of the Lap-Band made me feel safer about pregnancy (I have a family history of folks with hard pregnancys).  

So thats my story -- but you do have to make up your own mind about whats best for you.  :)

-- Ashley

hey girl. I got my lap band 1 year and 2 months ago. It is my baby and I take it everywhere I go! lol not that I have a choice. I don't think there is really a difference in which band you get because the surgery is pretty much the same. although I will tell you that some bands hold more liquid than others.

If you are doing good on weigh****chers and you feel that you can really lose the weight -and keep it off- then keep doing that if you feel it's best for you. The reason I got the band was because I see how my family struggles with food and "diets" and even how I have in the past and I was like you know what i'm 24 and I don't want this to be a life long struggle for me. So I made the decision that was right for me.

But let me tell you it's not easy. As an American (and a latina) we focus SOOO much on food. We want to celebrate-we go out to eat, we grieve-we eat, we fellowship-we eat. It feels like every special moment in life is associated with food. I've had to learn that food can no longer be something I do for enjoyment (although I should be able to enjoy the little bit I eat). Food should be for survival-as it was intended. And I know I say this and it's one thing, but to live it every day-is much harder!

Oh and i'm just going to say this last thing. The other reason I also choose the band was because 10 years down the road if I feel like i'm able more food then I should, I can go and get an adjustment and get back to my 1 cup of food.

Good luck in your decision and keep us posted!

You have pretty much heard it all. However, I am in my 20's in spite of age, you have to do the research to make sure you decide whats best for you. Each person has  a different situation, body reacts differently,etc...I was thinking of the band but the big turn off was the foreign object placed and left in my body which you should read on that...there has been stories/testaments of corrosion. However, each wls procedurecomes with its own set of  POSSIBLE complicatons. You know you..in spite of what any says...and you know what will do you well. Good luck on whatever you decide, but remeber each tool can't work itself, the tool must be worked in order to be fully successful and achieve the great results.