Lap Band vs Duodenal Switch

Hello All,
I am new to the board and am about to finish my 6 month medically supervised weight loss program at the end of May and am looking into a weight loss surgery.

I keep going back and forth between a Lap Band or the Duodenal Switch. I have never had any weight loss surgeries in the past and just don't know which is going to be right for me. The band seem like the introductory surgery for people under 50 BMI and then if that don't work down the road you can look into getting it reversed and into the DS. Or if I had a BMI of 60 or 70 they would just do the DS now...

My BMI is 46 and I am 33yrs old and I am worried about having a band in my body for the next 40 years (God willing I live that long) and it starting to eat through my stomach or who knows what as I get old or it helps me lose half the weight I want to lose and I stop at sort of where I want to be at but not really, a BMI of 32, better where I am, but not where I want to be and then in 3 or 4 years, slowly start to gain weight....

I would appreciate any advice anyone has on this....

You would do well not to think of any surgery as an "introductory surgery" unless you are wealthy enough to self-pay for the second surgery. Many insurance policies these days have a one-surgery-per-lifetime exclusion on weight loss surgery. As we always say, "Think twice, cut once".

I'm curious; why are you considering Lap-Band as an alternative and not the VSG? It's a much more effective restrictive surgery than the band, with fewer potential complications.

Obviously, DS is the most effective surgery but I realize it isn't for everybody.

Lap-Band, in my opinion, is practically worthless as a cure for morbid obesity.

Good luck with your research and your decision!

I guess I have only been looking at the Lap Band because of the media attention it has gotten and that is what I have gotten the most informatoin about. Recently, Dr Oz had an episode about "weight loss surgery" and only spoke about the band.

To be honest I am not real familiar with the VSG and will need to do some homework on that option and that is why I am posting and looking into things now, since I am not even insurance eligible until June.

Although there is a a "one-surgery-per-lifetime" exclusion, I sure see alot of people on here with complications from different things that end up with multiple surgeries, stapling to band to DS, etc... Obviously, everyone's story is unique though. 

The band gets a great deal of media attention that is bought and paid for. Because unlike other surgeries, the band is a product which a company is selling. That's why you see so many ads for the Lap-band.

That is true, can I ask if you know if there is typically a difference in insurance coverage between the DS vs the band vs the VSG? I have pretty good insurance and had my gull bladder out for pretty much nothing a few years ago, but I saw that one person on here had a 3,000 dollar copay for the DS....does that sound normal? 

DS and VSG have started to be covered more often, but they are still not covered on a par with RNY and band. The good news is that if your insurance denies the surgery type, that can usually be successfully appealed. The copay (or program fee) situation largely depends on your surgeon. I chose an excellent DS surgeon only 5 hours from my home, and I did have to pay about $4,000 out of pocket. Best bargain I ever had! I could have traveled elsewhere and had it covered more fully, but I would have had more travel costs and wouldn't have had the surgeon I really wanted.

The media attention Lapband gets is miserable in my opinion. Like the previous poster said, they are trying to make money. Because it is the cheapest surgery (initially) they try to rope in self pays with the dream of an easy weightloss. I am not opposed to the lapband, it has been such an amazing tool for me, however it rarely gets represented properly by the media and Dr. Oz did a terrible job or portraying it the way it should have been. I noticed several misrepresentations of it within that episode, and a lot of key information left out. Where I do not agree that lapband is a worthless option since it can be an amazing solution for many people, but if you have 1 chance only, research closely the options available to you so that you will be the most successful.

Hi there,
In my SIGNATURE LINE are some very, very INFORMATIVE links to the DS. ONE of those is even regarding Dr. Hess' first DS patient (23 yrs.ago) who is still living and is into his 70's or 80's.

Remember, the commercials on TV are trying to 'sell' you something and will ONLY tell you what you want to hear. There is NOTHING like GOOD OLE' RESEARCH.

Please do as much research as possible so that you are FULLY PREPARED to make the RIGHT decision. The DS isn't for everyone, BUT....................I will tell you this much................It IS the most effective LONG TERM. My own daughter was 28 when she had her DS (I was 53 when I had mine, which was 10 months after her.) It has been almost 6 years for her and almost 5 for me and we are BOTH healthier than ever. She has had TWO babies since her DS (and went even better than her first two pregnancies before the DS). AND.........she has recently lost an additional 25 lbs with little effort!

As the DSers are known for saying, "Think TWICE, Cut ONCE". I would never want to go into ANY kind of surgery thinking that if it didn't work, I would go on to the next!

Best of Luck to you.

ETA: Clarification of years

What makes you think the VSG is more effective than the band? It's NOT even adjustable, yea right after surgery when your stomach has been cut out and you can't eat much, ANYBODY SHOULD lose some weight and lots of it but after the honeymoon is over that is IT ....I would NEVER get an restrictive surgery ONLY and be left with a stretched pouch YEARS OUT and gain my weight back. I've seen that happen to my sister back in the 80s with the stomach stapling reminds me of the VSG, yea she lost weight but has gained every bit back and more.....The band does EVERY THING VSG does AND MORE...at least you can get a fill YEARS OUT to get weight loss moving again, I can attest to that...once the VSG stretches and the party is OVER...that is IT.

LOL! Are you serious?