Question:
did my research but?????confessed

I have been on here everyday since I joined this site, but I am a little confessued on wich surgery is best for some at 5"2 and 219 pounds they both sound helpfull so please let me know what you think thanks.....    — Lilmeme (posted on August 4, 2007)

August 4, 2007
Truly, this is a personal decision. I would suggest seeing your preferred surgeon and discuss the pros and cons of each based on your body type, weight, height and how much weight you want to lose and how quickly, etc. My personal decision - LAP RNY. 5'8" and 286 my highest weight. I wanted to lose 108lbs. I did my research, took education classes, etc. it was my best decision.
   — jammerz

August 4, 2007
Lee, your BMI is 40, so you qualify for pretty much whatever form of WLS you feel is the best one for you. My best advice to you would be to try and meet up with people who are living the life of post-ops - for YEARS - not months, and find out what real life is like as a longer-term post-op. See if you can find support groups in or near your area - and GO! Meet as many post-ops of as many different types of WLS as you can find! There are MANY types of WLS being done today. Check out VSG, DS, RNY, Lap-Band - all of it. Make sure you are 1000% at peace about what the lifestyle as a post-op requires. Being compliant as a post-op is a REQUIREMENT, not an option. It's not just about losing the weight - it's about being healthy - for the long term. What a great place to be - looking forward to a wonderful future. May you be richly blessed! Hugs, dina
   — Dina McBride

August 4, 2007
Hi Lee, I had the Open RNY January 13, 2004. But I have started just now to gain weight and am scared to death. I weighed 465 and got down to 227 now I am at 248. If I have a revision it will be with the Lap band this time around. But according to my surgeon at the time most peeps really BIG have to have Open RNY so they can get around in there. Best of luck to you!! Mickey..........
   — MCraig3

August 4, 2007
Do you have any co morbidities that one surgery would be better for? You should visit the lightweights boards and do your research. I myself weighed 217 on surgery day, having lost about 5 lbs the week before surgery and I am 5' 2.5". I have type 2 diabetes and my surgeon rallied for RNY becasue the success rate for diabetes was better. In addition, RNY was more restrictive and provided a faster result. All of these reasons made me choose RNY...I had a successful surgery and pretty uneventful post op except for a small ulcer which has been taken care of. I am a little over a pound from goal in 9 months. If you want this type of result I'd go for RNY, but again, its foryou and your surgeon to decide. Good luck!
   — Sheri A.

August 5, 2007
Hi Lee. You ask the age old question. It is a good one. It is a highly personal decision, but here is my take on the issue. Both surgeries come with risks, different risks, but risk. I think both can be life threatening. Blood clots are an issue with both surgeries. You can have leaks with rny, but you can have other complications with the band, such as it adhearing to your stomach, and causing enough scar tissue that you could not get a different surgery to correct it. Both have risks that need to be assessed. I am 3.5 years out from rny, and personally, I would say that is how I would lean for you. The main reason is your height. Tell me, or rather, tell yourself, have you ever lost over 100 pounds on your own? Even with the lap band, I could not have done that. I am 5'4", and with the rny I still only lost 1 to 2 pounds per week with walking 5 miles a day, protein and water. It was a hard workout for a year to lose my weight. I don't think for one minute that the lap band could give me that type of result. I would have cheated and had stuff that would not make me sick. Rny gives me the tool to stop. It gives me what I need. It was right for me, and I knew it. I, at first wanted the band, but I am so glad I did not do it. I cannot tell you the amount of people who got the band thinking they were getting the same thing as rny and did not lose the weight they hoped too. Part of being obese is the lie we tell ourselves after surgery that we don't have to work as hard. It is a lie we tell ourselves prior to surgery (we can't we are too heavy), and we say it again after we have the tool. It is a head game. If you have the fight and diligence to exercise, water and protein, stick to it no matter what and fight through the discouragement of slow weight loss, the band could work for you. My hesitation again, is the height issue. People around your height and mine have a horrible time losing weight and keeping it off, and I think that is a strong consideration. PLEASE do what is right for you. Please do not take my thoughts as a recommendation, it is not. You asked for an opinion, and I didn't want to just say do what you think is right, ofcourse that is the first thing, but you, I think wanted more than that, so my opinion you got. Keep up the research, and I advise praying. Prayer was primary in my decision, I am a Christian and reading God's Word and praying was a huge part in my decision making process, along with the support of my husband. I have had my share of "issues" with my surgery, but I take them gladly for the weight I have kept off for over 3 years. I thank God for my surgery and the success I've had, but it didn't come easy, get ready for the fight of your life for your health. Take care, and I wish you well. Patricia P.
   — Patricia P

August 5, 2007
I would like to put my two cents in here in favor of the band. It has helped me beyond what I ever expected. I did my research and decided that I could handle the pros and cons of Lap band better than any of the other surgeries. It is a very personal decision and I think all the surgeries have their pros and cons. It will depend on what you think you, personally can handle and live with as to what your choice will be. In any case I am now 10 months post op and down 125+ lbs. I am still losing. I have still a lot to lose. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. Good Luck with what ever surgery you decide on!
   — Bee

August 5, 2007
I chose lap band because I am a volume eater. The band will for the rest of my life help keep me from over eating and regaining my weight. If I had been a sweet eater I would probably have gone for the RNY as it has a high rate of causing dumping therefore preventing that food intake. With the band if you eat things like chocolate, sweets, shakes etc that are high calorie but low volume it works against the band & you don't lose weight.
   — Donna O.

August 5, 2007
Please do not bash me for my answer people, it is my opinion only. I would seriously look into both procedures. I had both so I know. I started with the lapband without success and a year later had a revision to the RNY bypass. I am sorry I did not have the bypass in the first place. My band was as tight as it could get and I could no longer eat meat, just mushy foods and liquids. I could also still eat sugar, which was bad for me. I lost 25 lbs with the band and gained half of it back. I had my revision in January of this year and have lost close to 80 lbs so far and am 25 away from goal. The second surgery was a piece of cake, maybe because I knew what to expect, but there was no cutting into muscle either as with the lapband (I had both done under the lap). I felt better after the second surgery and have not touched sugar yet, did have some unintentionally, I did not know it had sugar, and I got sick, so that took care of that. i can eat normally again, meats, vegs, etc. i even just came back from a cruise, ate alot and still lost 3 lbs!!! So please consider all of your options now, there is a new clause in most insurances as of jan 1st this year that states one WLS per lifetime, so consider that also. One more thing, when I made my decision to have the revision, my doctor told me that they were just not having the results with the lapband that they hoped for, while it did work great for some, there were more patients than not that it did not produce the results they expected for. So all you banders that it has worked for, I am happy for you, please do not bash me for my statement. Best of luck to you and I hope you read around this site and do your homework first, remember, you can't change your mind later and expect the insurance to cover it. Let me know what you decide, whichever way you go, Diane
   — noboat4u

August 5, 2007
Which surgery you should have is based on many different factors. First, you need to consider which surgery is better for any co-morbidities that you have. Next you have to consider your eating habits. If sweets are an issue, the bypass is more likely to stop you from eating sweets since most folks "dump" if they take in sugar. That is not an issue with the band. If your problem is just general overeating and what you need is a tool to help control your eating, the band is an excellent tool. I know, I have the band and have achieved total weight loss and maintained the weight loss. My surgery was 4 1/2 years ago. You can have complete success with either surgery or complete failure with either surgery. It is what you do with the surgery that will determine your outcome. With all that said, the best advice I can give you is to talk to a surgeon who does all of the surgeries. Be careful not to go to a surgeon who only does one surgery as s/he will direct you to that surgery. Good luck.
   — VickiStevens

August 5, 2007
Well it seems like the others who responded to you forgot one important item, check out the duodenal switch surgery. If you have diabetes, it is more certain to go away with the DS. Better chance of keeping weight off long term. Normal stomach, just made smaller. Pyloric valve is intact so no dumping. It really seems like the cream of the crop. More doctors are doing it and I wish I had done it 2.5 years ago. I had RnY and that definitely did not work for me. Go to duodenalswitch.com. Check it out.
   — KRWaters

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