New To Lightweights and Lookin for some support :)

Hey there :) I have been on here a few times this last week and to be honest I got some flack for not being "heavy enough" over in the other forums so I thought Id look here. My story is quite a tricky one and can be loooooong lol. Its all on my main page so feel free to stop by and read but the quick version is that after seven months I was approved for what I thought was LapBand and during my pre-op I noticed I was approved for Bypass without my consent. So I had to cancel and now Im waiting to go back to the Dr on the 14th.

My question here is what surgery did you choose and why? I made the mistake of asking the other forums "Which Surgery is Best" and about started a war lol. My reason for asking is that now that I am able to really sit back and read Im no longer sure Lap Band is right for me. Im terrified of slippage or errosion or what-have-you....any information on your surgery good or bad would be great :D

BTW I am 5'7 and my approval weight was 255

Welcome to the light weight board and wonderful to have you here, you will find a wonderful group of people here who are extremely knowledgeable and nonjudgemental, I love this group of people.

As far as your question goes, I chose RNY over lapband because I know how I am. I was afraid of having a foreign object in me permanantly, I couldnt guarantee I could get in for fills every month and I am huge carb and sweet addict.
I have known many who have had revisions, lap band to Rny for many reasons and the main one is not following the diet.
With the RNY I do have dumping and know when to stop eating. I have lost 42 pounds so far and am so happy with my decision.
The biggest thing for you though, is to weigh your options. Do your research and come up with your own conclusions, ask yourself questions and be honest with yourself about them. To me that was the hardest part, being honest to myself. Good Luck in your journey and good luck on your decision.

Thank you for this post I too am a HUGE carb and sweets gal myself...some more things to think about.

Types of surgery are a personal decision.  I had VSG because there was no re-routing and no foreign object in my body.   There's no malabsorbtion, just a smaller fully functioning stomach.  It's worked great for me and you are close to my stats. 

Its not about being heavy enough, its about being healthy and happy with your self.   Making the decision to have surgery before you are considered "heavy enough" just means that you made the decision to be healthier sooner than other people would and have a head start on your healthier life.  This board is great. Welcome!

I refused to wait until I was "heavy enough" so i was totally self paid.  This allowed me to choose the surgery I really wanted and not be tied to the insurance company's decision and time line.

I chose the VSG because I saw first hand the results from a co worker who had VSG 3 years earlier.  I saw her recovery was relatively simple, she was never sick and she was able to eat pretty much everything but in very small quantities.   Also her cousin who also had VSG with the same doctor, had a problem free pregnancy just over 1 year after surgery. 

I also did my own research and determined that the lap band was not for me because I saw too many cases of people going in for adjustments, revisions or removals.  I did not want that.  The bypass was too extreme for my age and for how much I needed to loose. Also since I have not had any children, I did not want any surgery that would cause any type of malabsorption.  I  did not want to worry about that when its time for me to get pregnant. 

Overall the VSG was the best decision for me. Every surgery has their benefits and it is really up to you to determine which one will work for you in the long run.    I could not be happier with my decision and woud recommend it to a friend anytime.

Sorry for the long answer but I know how difficult it is to make a decision.I hope this somehow helps.   Best of luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the LW board!  This is a great place without the drama found at a lot of other boards.  

I picked RNY for the excellent long-term results, plus the years and years of experience my surgeon had with this procedure.  He also did the VSG, but had done just a couple hundred of the procedures - compared with thousands of the RNY. 

I wanted the restrictions that come with RNY - I am a sweets addict, and I knew that would be off limits with RNY.  I thought that was the best stance for my long-term success at weight loss.  I did not want a procedure, such as VSG, that allowed me to eat anything I wanted.  I was willing to put in the effort and restrict my diet, so long as the tool worked hand in hand with my efforts to finally give me success in weight loss.

I am very very close to my first goal of 145 pounds, at 5'4".  I will have lost 75 pounds.  I plan to lose another 5-10 pounds beyon that goal to accommodate the bounce-back.  Plus I still have some back fat and other unappealing jiggles! 

So, from my point of view I think the RNY and the VSG are the best procedures.  I personally would not even consider the lap-band because of the poor success encountered by most people. 

Either way, you should read all you can, educate yourself as much as possible and make the decision that's best for you.  Stick to the LW board - we will support whatever decision you make and give you our support and encouragement.

We all understand the "not big enough for surgery" comments. Many of us heard that from healthcare professionals while doing our pre-op testing.

As far as which surgery to choose, it is a very personal and needs to be a very informed decision. You have to live with it for the rest of your life. We have lightweight members with each surgery type, so hopefully everyone will chime in.

I chose the sleeve because I did not want any type of malabsorbtion. I also did not want a foreign object in my body. I have heard of too many complications with the lap-band, and I wanted no part of it. I decided that I wanted to change what I ate and how my whole family ate, so I just needed help with the portion control. I also did not want to dump. I eat basically like a "normal" person or naturally thin person now. I am able to eat sweets occasionally, I can eat anything I want. I just choose to eat very clean and healthy 90% of the time. I also work out very hard. Some people may need the malabsorbtion or the threat of dumping to keep them on track. It is all up to you. You are welcome to PM any of us for help and advice as well! Good luck with your decision, and I'm so glad you found the lightweight board.

Yup.  I echo Shannon. 

I made my decision based on the malabsorption.  A non-malabsorptive surgery would have been a bad decision for me, because of my eating habits.  That ruled out the sleeve (which my insurance wouldn't cover, anyway) and the band.  

I'm a huge fan of the RNY and highly recommend it, especially for those of us with a sweet tooth.  I haven't had any refined sugar since my surgery months ago, and haven't looked back. 

The only people I wouldn't recommend the RNY for would be those who have chronic pain issues.  It may not work to have to restrict NSAIDs for those who have major back issues, etc.  And I get jealous of Shannon, for example, who can pop an Advil after a hard workout.  That's not an option for me (I work out really hard, too).  So that's the main downside I've experienced, so far.

I think that the best idea is to select your procedure based on your habits.  Only you know yourself.  

Good luck, and, by the way, welcome to the LW's board!  It is wonderful to have you.

Rosa

When I began this I was informed to keep a food journal and I did. Upon delivering this to my dietitian she told me that my choice in food was mostly fine (maybe less Micky D's and ice cream sandwiches) but for the most part okay. She did notice tho that I eat about four times the amount i should be eating. What a shocker as it seemed to me "clearing the plate" was normal and okay. Well not when your plates are larger than your face. What an eye-opener when I saw what a real portion size was...thanks so much for this point of view :D

Yeah, I was the same way. For the most part, I like healthy food, I just ate way too much of it. I started weighing and measuring pre-op, and now my stomach limits me. I now eat Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches :)