How did you know Lap band was for you???

Hello everyone, I am in the early stages of my journey. Have been doing alot of research. Currently I am working on my "application" to the surgeon's office. Boy do they want tons of documentation, but I guess that is good. Anyways, How did Y'all know that lap band was for you? I am just so confused. One minute I read something and then I say yeah I have to have the band. Then the next, I say oh no. I have IBS and I am very afraid that it will get worse and then I will really never leave the house. Any thoughts would be great!!! Thanks for listening DonnaMarie

Hi DonnaMarie -- For me, it was the fact that it didn't alter my anatomy, that it was adjustable according to my needs, quick recovery time, and the wonderful stories I've read on this site. Truthfully, gastric bypass would have produced faster, and possibly better results quicker. I have to work with the band more, still not at my sweet spot I suspect, but it's worth it. Hope this helps. Diane 239/150/216

I think both the RNY and the band are great WLS options. YOU need to decide which one is right for YOU. Do some research, do some more research, and then do some more research. Have a good discussion with your doctor. Both surgeries have their plusses and minuses. Neither is without risk. You just need to figure out which surgery is the right one for you. Coming to OH to ask questions is a great start! I decided to go with the band for several reasons. Unfortunately, I have a very lengthy history of cancer in my family and was concerned about the malabsorption component associated with the bypass should I develop the dreaded Big "C". Second, my dad has Crohn's disease. Crohn's is hereditary and folks with Crohn's are generally advised not to have the bypass. Third, with the "issues" I have with food that have led to my MO condition, I feel the band is a better choice for me. Additionally, I liked the fact that the band was adjustable. I also feel that the additional follow-up with my doctor for fills (adjustments) will help keep me stay on a healthy eating plan. Weight loss is slower with the band than with the RNY though. Doctors like to see banded patients lose 1 - 2 pounds per week. Bypass patients can lose quite a bit more than that, especially soon after the surgery. There are quite a few bandsters that have lost quickly though too (check the LAP-BAND board). Generally with the band, those who have more weight to lose will lose more quickly in the beginning then taper off to the 1 - 2 pounds per week. I liked the quick weight loss of the RNY. But for ME, I think my long term chances for success are better with the band, because it "forces" me to change my eating habits in order to lose weight. Yes, with the smaller "pouch" I'd lose weight with the band, but if I didn't change my eating habits, I could out eat the band. The malabsorption aspect of the RNY virtually guarantees weight loss. Knowing myself, I think I'd test that out too much and once my body would adjust to the malabsorption, I wouldn't be where I should be in adopting healthy eating habits. That's me though! I read a recent article in which Carnie Wilson said something to the effect of, you have to change your relationship with food in order to keep the weight off. I think that is true no matter which surgery you choose. In addition, I'm a wuss when it comes to cutting and re-arranging body parts. So, that aspect of the RNY scared me. Heck, I won't even get LASIK surgery because I'm scared. I went with corneal refractive therapy instead. There are successful and not so successful folks with each surgery. There are people who've had the band, who've ended up getting the RNY anyway. There are people who've had the RNY and ended up going in and getting a band too. The key is to do your research and know which is the right option for you. The Lap Band is quite a bit newer than the RNY and US doctors have been adjusting the procedures to increase the success rate of the surgery. I just had an external appeal for insurance coverage of the band, and the external physician reviewer states, "recent studies in the United States have shown that the Lap Band reaches levels equivalent to weight loss with the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass." It just takes you longer to get there. Many insurance companies are trying to deny coverage of the band, so if you decide to go with it you may have to fight your on hands. I knew the band was the right choice for me, so I fought my insurer and won. In either case, the surgery is a tool to assist you with your weight loss goals. Good luck with your research and with the decision making process. Also, feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance! --TJ

Hi DonnaMarie! I am in my last stages of getting the band. I am on my last appeal and should know by the middle of Nov. if the insurance is going to pay for it. I also have IBS and from all the information from the doctors and nurses it should get better as you lose weight. I don't take any meds for mine until I have an attack . Mine is caused from stress they think . anyway hope yours will be the same. maybe someone that has had the surgery and IBS will answer you and let us know for sure if it will help. God bless I do know that the bypass would be worse it seems to me for IBS. that is just my opinion from a couple of friends that has had the surgery. Frances

I knew it was for me the first article I read. I was just praying that it wasn't too good to be true! So far I have found that it is all that it claims to be. I am hoping that NOvember 22 is truly the beginning of the rest of my life, my new skinny healthy life. I had never even considered the rny it was to drastic, but I was thrilled to hear that theri was another option, If you are strong willed with a drive to succeed you will be successful. IF you follow the dr's orders. I went for my pre testing last thursday and have talked to several of the nurses that chose it, because they say when you watch an rny patient suffer and watch a lap-band patient pack up and leave the next day with gas pain and a new hope. They would never do anyother precedure!

RNY I could have gotten paid by insurance w/ a fight. Lapband I was self pay with a home equity loan. I chose Lapband bec I just could not get over the death rate with RNY and the complications many had w/ it. I am not looking to reverse my lapband, but knowing if I needed to I had that option. I am an option kind of a girl. Also, I am a single parent and if I would have died w/ an elective procedure like wls... well, I just couldn't get over that mentally. Lapband has faster recovery, will hopefully force me to learn better eating habits and overtime get me where I want to be weight wise. leslie

Here's the main reasons I chose lap band over RNY: 1. Mortality rate of 1/2000 versus 1/200. One out of every 200 die having RNY. Have you seen the memorial pages here on this website? It is a sobering reality of the death associated with RNY. I was not willing to take those risks. I am happily married with 2 small kids. I wanted to find the safest way to lose weight and keep it off. I enjoy my life and want to be around for a long time. I want to be a grandfather some day. I did not have any other co-morbidities, just too fat. 2. RNY is so invasive. I did not want my intestines sliced and rearranged. I read too many stories of people getting infections due to leakage and dying. With the lap band, there is no such thing as leakage. 3. I did not want to be subjected to a life long requirement of vitamins and supplements to survive. RNY causes your body to be malnourished and starves itself. Lap band works by controlling the amount of food you can eat. 4. I like to eat cake and ice cream at my kids' birthday parties (and other times too)! With RNY, sweets are forever gone. With the lap band, sweets are a "treat". There is no "dumping" with the lap band. 5. I had surgery on a Wednesday, was back to work Monday morning. 6. If the lap band doesn't work for me, I always have the option of RNY available. Once you have RNY, that is pretty much it 7. The lap band can be removed if need be due to illness, etc. or, if I just decide I want to. RNY is permanent. There is no real "reversal". 8. Tomorrow, if a magic pill is found that cures obesity regardless of what or how much you eat, I can have the band removed and eat like a pig if I want. 9. When I reach my goal weight, I plan on having the saline removed from my band and eat normally. If I gain 10-15 pounds, I'm heading back to my doctor and getting filled back up. Your life is forever altered with RNY. 10. My insurance didn't cover WLS and the band is less expensive than RNY. One of the "cons" of lap band is that you supposedly lose weight slower than RNY patients. While that may be true for some or even most, I have lost 115 pounds in about 5 1/2 months. I've got another 35-40 to my goal. One complication, slippage, where the band slips down and makes your stomach look like an hourglass, occurs in less than 3% of cases I think, and will "fix itself" sometimes or can be fixed laproscopically if necessary. Erosion, where the band "eats into the stomach" happens much less than 3%. In most of these cases I am aware of, the band is removed laproscopically. Good luck no matter which route you decide to take.

DonnaMarie, Welcome. No one so far has mentioned Duodenal Switch, which is a worthy WLS. I only considered RNY until I learned about DS and the Lap Band -- both seem like better options. I think in a few years, both will overtake RNY in popularity. I am chosing a LapBand because: (1) it's safer -- the surgery is way less risky and the post-op complications are fewer and less deadly than the DS. (2) it's available laproscopically -- no doctors in my area do the lap DS. (3) it's adjustable/correctable -- it can be "fine tuned", whereas RNY or DS can't be. (4) I can lead life almost as normally post-op with a Band as with DS. I will lose weight slower and have to chew better but I will be at less initial risk. It's the trade-off I've decided to make. Now I'm hoping my surgeon agrees!! I'm afraid that because of my high BMI he will say only a lap RNY or an open DS, in which case I'm in for some heavy (pun intended!) decisionmaking! Donna C

It was very simple...I never considered ANY WLS until I heard about the band. I come from a very medically-sensible family and there's just no way I'd have my innards drastically altered with all the not-fun complications and malnutritive issues that often occur. The thought of osteoporosis by the time I was 40-45 didn't appeal to me. Considering that I've personally known 5 women (all under 40, all with no pre-existing heart problems or serious co-morbidities) who DIED from RNY and DS, there was just no way. I'd rather be fat with no cormorbids for the time being than risk the types of horrible complications that can and too-often occur with rearrangement of the GI tract. What's the point of being thin if you're not healthy? It's just trading one set of medical issues (obesity) with another. Also, the concept of rapid weight loss doesn't appeal to me (other than my spoiled inner "Veruca Salt" who wants things NOW! LOL). I have yet to see ONE study that shows that rapid loss is as healthy as slow sensible loss, or no harder to maintain. Rapid loss might be fun for that instant gratification thing, but slower, more sensible loss is healthier in the long run. The band completely appealed to my sensibilities about how weight loss should occur and that it should result in an overall healthier person, not someone needing to deal with a whole other set of potential issues. Nancy 394/299/180

I just wanted to thank each and everyone of you for replying to my post. I truly appreciate all your imputs!!!! I guess my research is not nearly done!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!! DonnaMarie