Gastric Bypass or Lapband?

Does anybody have any idea which surgery statistically leads to a higher amount of weight loss? Or is it about the same since the concepts of the 2 surgeries are similar.   I notice with the gastric patients I read about these huge 100+ pd losses in a year. On lapband Im hearing lower numbers like 50 pds in a year , some a lil more, some less. It just seems from what I see that gastric is more successful for losing the weight more quickly. Is it a personal thing or does anybody know if Gastric really does lead to a quicker weight loss? TIA, Ryanne

Gastric bypass patients lose the most weight.   It's a very rapid weight loss.  The lap band patients tend to lose more slowly.     Do you know what surgeon's office you will be using?  I schedule consults for patients that attend weight loss surgery seminars.  We have a fantastic presentation which covers in detail the differences between the lap band and gastric bypass.

I don't have a surgeon yet. I won't even speak to my PCM about getting a referral til July 2nd. I want to be banded but most likey my ins. won't cover it. They def. cover gastric bypass though. I'd love for you to send me info on the seminars. I live in Dover.  Ryanne

I see there is a seminar on 6/20/07 on Christiana Stanton Road. This was the only one I could locate. A friend of mine had his procedure done by Dr. Peterson and he mentioned seminars being held at the Abby Medical Center in Newark. Are you familiar? I am at the very beginning stage and just getting information at this point.

I have no idea personally about the statistics of each surgery per se, but having said that they are as good as what you contribute (as far as eating right, exercising, taking your vitamins and following directions).  That being said the surgery you pick is a personal choice I believe and what you believe will work the best for you and your body.  There are some people who have lap and like the luxury of some of the things that us bypass patients don't.  Now please keep in mind I'm no expert but from some of the people I talk with at support the beginning we were all losing about the same and then the bypass kept going and the lap people seemed to slow down a bit more earlier.  Just my input on this question.

Hi I reccommend that you attend some support group meetings (Elissa posted a list several days ago) and speak to some post-ops face to face.  There usually are RNY & Bandsters in attendence but there are also separate meetings for each.  You might also want to research the DS surgery too.  Make sure you are thoroughly informed on all the surgeries before you make your final decision (along with whomever you choose to perform your surgery).  Good Luck!

It's true that RNY patients lose more quickly at first than lap banders but it all seems to come together by 4 years out with similar results.

It's all a personal decision and one that you will need to have more information to make that informed decision. My reasons for going with lap band was because some of my RNY friends were able to eat larger amounts of food after the first year or so, which ended their weight loss honeymoon period.  Because one of my weight loss issues has to do with AMOUNT, I go for a fill when I find I'm able to eat more than needed & my weight loss stops.  I like feeling full on 1/2 cup of food.  I've lost 60 pounds in 14 months. Keep asking questions!  You might also want to check out some of the support groups in your area.  It's great to meet the folks you see on this board and hear their stories. Love & peace, Fran

Well, depending on how overweight you are, you may really want to research the DS.  You would have to travel to get the surgery (and for follow-ups for the first year or so) as no one in Delaware does it.  I had it, and readily sing its praises.  It's not as easy to get done, but worth it.  I eat normal portions, can still have sweets if I want them (no dumping, ever), and I've lost a lot of weight in a relatively short time.  I don't have a strange odor, chronic diarrhea, or gray skin - the common myths about DS patients.  There are those that experience vitamin deficiencies, surgical complications (it's a much more complicated surgery than the RNY or LapBand), or too much weight loss.  YMMV.  As long as I take my vitamins, the malabsorption doesn't affect me.  The only drawback for me is that my poop stinks more than it did before.    After the DS, I think the RNY allows people to lose a lot of weight, although the regain percentage is higher than the DS.  If dumping is a positive for you (and the possibility scared the bejeezus out of me), then it's got that going for it.  You have a lot of restriction and fairly little malabsorption.  Lots of people have had RNY and it can be done locally.  The negatives, for me, were that you could eat only the tiniest portions of food and that the malabsorption was so trivial that it didn't provide enough help during maintenance.  I'd still have to diet even after having the operation, and dieting was sooo not working for me.  Plus dumping if I ate something with too much sugar or fat - although to be fair, there are some 30% of people who get RNY surgery and don't dump. The LapBand seems to work really well for people with lower BMIs who just need some restriction.  It initially appealed to me because it's the least scary of all the surgeries - no one's cutting your stomach or intestines, right?  The fact that you could have it removed at some point - completely reversable - was also a big plus in the pro column.  In the negative column, the fact that I could never eat certain foods again because they'd get stuck or cause "sliming" was a real turn-off.  There are also people that fail with the band because they rely on soft foods like ice cream and mashed potatoes because they go down easily and are easy on the banded stomach, but also are hightly caloric and cause weight gain.  That said, you can out-eat any surgery if you really put your mind to it .  With the DS, I have to watch my sugar consumption - only one treat a day if I still want to lose weight.  Today's was a cheesecake brownie. Please look at all of the options and decide what you think will work best for you.  You have to remember that you will be committing to this FOR LIFE.  You'll get lots of help on the LapBand and the RNY here.  If you want any info on the DS in addition to what I've provided here, you can PM me or come over to the DS forum.