Question:
Help! I love my sweets. Is it true that the lap band won't work for me?
I'm torn between the lap band and RNY. I would really prefer the lap but I do of course want to be successful and I don't really know if my weight is because of my love for sweets or food in general. I do over eat but I don't for example take 20 plates at the buffet table. I see my PCP tomorrow and I don't know exactly what to ask for. Any input would be helpful. Thanks! — April R. (posted on June 30, 2003)
June 30, 2003
Hi. I was in your boat. It was the sweets that were really hitting me in
the fat area. I had the lap rny and have lost 220 lbs in 18 months. It was
worth it, trust me. I can eat some sweets now, but have to really watch it.
If you want to lose weight, you HAVE to give up those sweets! I have many
recipes to replace my sweets... see my profile for help!
— Sharon M. B.
June 30, 2003
That's a really tough question to answer! Whether you have RNY or Lap-band
you have to severly curtail your sweet eating and the RNY does not
guarantee that you'll automatically give it up because not everyone dumps.
My surgeon estimated to me, that only about 1/2 of his RNY patients
experienced dumping from fat or sugar! I dumped severly on fats, but sugar
really didn't bother me much for a long time. Now it does - go figure -
and I'm 11 months out. <sigh>. If your banking on the RNY to kill
your craving for sugar, I think you may end up disappointed. Will power
does come into play either way. What are the reasons that you prefer the
lap-band? I agree it's less invasive and you don't have to worry about
malabsorption, and those are good things. However, I banked on the
malabsorptive properties to help me to lose weight, not just the small size
of my pouch. Guess that's why I went with someone messing with my
intestines - though I had also HOPED for dumping :>(
— [Deactivated Member]
June 30, 2003
I went to a WLS seminar a few months ago. The surgeon did RNY (both open
& Lap), Lap Band ... he stressed that if you were a sweet eater he did
not recommend the Lap Band procedure.
— [Deactivated Member]
June 30, 2003
I was in the same position as you so I understand your dilemma. My doctor
is a very strong advocate of the LAP-band and we discussed it a great deal.
He feels that in the long run the LAP-band will prove to be much more
successful than early US studies have shown, but one of the major keys is
choosing the patient wisely. The LAP-band is not a good surgery for those
whose primary problem is sweets and liquid calories. While it is true that
not all people "dump" with the RNY, there is the added factor of
malabsorption. Good luck with your decision. I ended up opting for the
RNY primarily because I was afraid the LAP-band wouldn't work, but I still
wonder if I made the right choice.
— [Deactivated Member]
June 30, 2003
That's the reason I had RNY, I LOVE sweets and am not a big portion eater.
If I didn't have the dumping like I do now, I wouldn't be as successful as
I am. I'm afraid to take in too much sugar which is great for my weight
loss.
— ZZ S.
June 30, 2003
Yes the Lap Band does work for some people. When I was researching WLS, I
wanted the Lap Band not RNY. But after talking to my surgeon, I ditched
that idea. Why? Because I could eat a bag of candy and not blink an eye.
Cookies for breakfast. I drank sodas like there was no tomorrow. Ect... The
band would not stop me from doing that. It works mainly for people who are
VOLUME eaters but doesnt help in the sweets area. (Thank goodness I dump on
anything over 10g of sugar now.) Do your research and be HONEST with
yourself as to how you got where you are now. I wish you all the luck in
the world no matter which one you go for. ~Sidney~ Open RNY 10-23-02 down
100+ 23 until goal
— Siddy I.
July 1, 2003
I would have preferred something less invasive than the RNY (I looked into
the lap band) but I know it would not have worked for me. Without the
dumping, I would still eat sweets, because I push the limits even knowing
I'll be sick. I would have eaten around the surgery because I'm a carb
addict and I need all the help I can get.
— mom2jtx3
July 1, 2003
There is strong evidence that a person's sweet eating habits have NO effect
on their ability to sucessfully lose weight with the lap band. Here's the
text from 1 Australian study which references 2 other studies (located here
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12568183&dopt=Abstract)
<BR>Sweet eating is not a predictor of outcome after Lap-Band
placement. Can we finally bury the myth?
Hudson SM, Dixon JB, O'Brien PE.
Monash University Department of Surgery, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne,
Victoria 3181, Australia.
BACKGROUND: It is common belief that sweet eaters will do poorly after
gastric restrictive surgery. There is scant evidence for this and
significant evidence that sweet eating behavior is not predictive of weight
outcome. Preoperative and current sweet eating behavior was assessed in
subjects who have had Lap-Band surgery, to find if this influenced weight
outcomes. METHOD: 200 unselected patients who had bands inserted for > 1
year completed a questionaire regarding preoperative sweet eating behavior.
The last 100 patients also reported current sweet eating behavior. Sweet
eating was scored using a standard dietary questionnaire. RESULTS: Mean +/-
SD % excess weight loss at 1 year (% EWL1) for the 100 with the highest
preoperative sweet eating scores (SES) was 47.1 +/- 16% compared with a
loss of 48.2 +/- 16% by those with the lowest SES (P = 0.64). Analysis
showed no significant linear or non-linear correlation between the SES and
the % EWL. For the highest quintile of SES, the EWL1 was 47.3 +/- 14% and
for the lowest was 46.1 +/- 16% (NS). Sweet eaters were younger (r = -0.21,
P = 0.003) and had higher fasting insulin concentrations (r = -0.18, P =
0.03). Preoperative SES had no influence on % EWL1 after controlling for
factors known to influence weight loss. % EWL at 2 years (n = 130) and 3
years (n = 88) were not different for sweet eaters and non-sweet eaters.
Current sweet eating tendency (n = 100) also had no impact on % EWL.
CONCLUSION: Sweet eaters do not have less favorable weight outcomes
following Lap-Band surgery. <B>Our study confirms the findings of two
other major studies. Sweet eating behavior should not be used as a
preoperative selection criterion for bariatric surgery.</B>
— TMF
July 1, 2003
I just wanted to add something else. There is no guarantee that you will
dump after RnY, nor what you may or may not dump on, nor what amount of
which food will make you dump.<BR>
I have never known a milkshake addict in my life, whether before or after
banding, and I after reading literally thousands of message boards over the
past several months, I have yet to see a single banded person who was
unsuccessful because they liked sweets. The majority of banded people I
talk to report drastic changes in their eating habits after they are
banded. The reduction in appetite has a lot to do with it and speaking
from personal experience, I can tell you that I am drawn toward healthier
foods now. With that said, I had about 1/3 of a piece of cheesecake this
weekend. I didn't dump. I didn't sit down and eat the whole cheesecake.
I didn't have dreams of eating an entire cheesecake. I didn't want
cheesecake for breakfast the next day. I didn't damage my weight loss in
any way. <BR>
~TF
— TMF
July 3, 2003
I was a TOTAL sweet-eater. I could polish off half of a package of
double-stuffed Oreos, or eat a whole can of frosting in one sitting! I did
this very often! After being banded, I no longer have those desires. Yes,
I have eaten a couple of small bitsize candy bar (during THAT time of the
month) and I have had several bites of cake on occasion, but I was totally
satisfied with that. I never feel deprived. For some reason, I just don't
crave the sweets like I use too. I have heard that this is common with
bandsters.<p>
For me, I ended up doing my own research because I found that many doctors
are unaware of the success of the band. Many base their opinions on the
pathetic FDA studies. They aren't reading (or are turning a blind eye) on
the newer studies and of the HUGE success outside the US. Do your own
research and decide for yourself. For other websites, check out:
<p>
http://www.spotlighthealth.com/common/SG/topics.asp?m=1&sb=25
<p>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bandsters/<p>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters/<p>
Good luck!! Sheryl
— Sheryl W.
July 7, 2003
The chart on this site http://gr-ds.com/forpatients/comparison.html
compares the results of 4 types of surgery. Pre-op I was a huge volume
binge eater of sweets. I'd eat a half gallon of ice cream and a box of
cookies almost every night! God it still makes me cringe to say that. 13
months ago I had DS, which has no dumping, and what I've found is that my
tastes changed radically. For a long time sweets tasted disgusting to me.
When I could tolerate them I'd have a piece or two of candy or a little ice
cream. There's been a few times when I've had relatively minor sweets
binges, but the aftereffects--horrible gas and BMs--have kept that to a
minimum. I also find that if I don't eat enough protein I feel lousy, so
that helps too. I can only eat so much, so the good stuff gets top
priority; a small amount of sweets cause no problem. Hope this helps! Chris
— Chris T.
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