REALIZE BAND TO RNY.......

Hope someone can help..this is my story.....In April 08 I had the REALIZE Band put in....was great...i lost weight..slowly..but only as far as 30 lbs....then i obstructed when i went for a fill...i was so overfilled i couldnt hold down my own saliva.  I ended up with an emergency unfill....after gradually refilling i found out i have a leak in my port.  I have been empty and have gained the 30lbs back already...I have decided to go with the RNY because i have Diabeties and was recently put on Insulin....I have been approved fro the revision to change to the RNY but i am terrified.  I am happy about getting the band removed but i am terrified because I questioned fatalities and he said the first 30 days are the most crutial...i receieved my cardiac clearances and all other clearances but i am afraid of dying.  I have to do this...i know its the right thing to do especially since i have now been placed on insulin.  After having the band put in i also developed panic attacks for the first few months...something i NEVER had in my life...will that happen as well with the RNY????I hope there is someone out there who can help put me at ease.

It is not the RNY that will kill you.  It is going into surgery and under anesthesia that is the big risk.  You are not afraid of having the band removed (which involves surgery and anesthesia) but you're afraid of the RNY?  WHY?  Most folks on the memorial board who passed away did not do so because of the type of procedure they had -- it was the fact that they had ANY procedure.  The RNY should actually be better for your diabetes.  Yes, I know others will chime in and say a DS would be even better -- they are probably right.  However, most of us know we can only get what the insurance will pay for.  You need to do some more reading.  Educate yourself.  Thinking that you will die because you're going to have an RNY instead of a band isn't really rational.  Sorry, but facts are facts.  We all have jitters before surgery and I don't blame you there, but don't freak because it's an RNY.  You'd have just as much risk from simply having the band removed.

Linda

Before you set the date for the RNY, you owe it to yourself to look into the DS, the duodenal switch.  Visit the DS forum (under Forums; Surgical Forums).  You should also read other boards here, like "Complications," "Revision Weight Loss Surgery," and "Failed Weight Loss Surgery." (these are under Forums; Surgical forums and Forums; Weight Loss Related).  Note how many problems, complications and failure are associated with lap band and RNY.

Depending on your BMI, the DS may be a great option for you.  It provides better weight loss and a better life style food wise than either the lap band or RNY.

see you on the DS board I hope,

mspppants

Like Ms PP said, please look into the DS befoer you go under the knife again. It could save your life.

Please check out my profile for lots of resources showing the superiority of the DS for type 2 diabetes, particularly in the long term.

Many insurance companies do cover the DS now, and if yours doesn't, there are lots of people on the DS board who have fought their insurance companies for the DS and won.

We all have a choice of the surgery to have, Our fears are our biggest problems. We all play the what if ,I should die.What if I fail .
My biggest fear is if I continue to live with the diablete what will it do to my body. What if I continue to to live with obesity , I know what will happen. Will I have a heart attack ,will I have another stroke, will my organs shut down because of the diabetes.Will my knees give out without the surgery.
My choice is to have the surgery. If we don't do this for ouselfs now, we may have major medical problems that we really don't want to face.
I'm writing this for me as well,  This is a good life changing for us all,.But believe that you are doing the right thing for yourself. Believe in yourself.
The Drs. have to tell the the possiblities,but the boards here tell you of all the success that will follow after the surgery and the work on your part.
Wishing your well on your surgery and your decision.  We are all nervious about any surgery, this is normal. Remember your VICTORY is just around the corner.

The more you learn, about the procedures, what to expect, how to live and how to deal with what might come, the more at ease you are likely to feel. 

You should learn all you can about the big 4 procedures: RNY (gastric bypass), LapBand *you know that well already*, Duodenal Switch (DS) and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG). Each of these works differently, which is good because we are obese for different reasons. The next thing you want to do is look to yourself and your weight history. Why is it that you are obese? Compare that reason to find the procedure that will serve you best. I’ll give you my history as an example. I’ve done every fad diet since I was about 12 years old. Mom and I did it together. Extreme diets would plateau my gaining, but I just wouldn’t lose anything. For this, I just knew I needed more than the restriction only procedures (LapBand and VSG). I had to change the way my body metabolized food. I selected the DS to hit my own body with both barrels and the best chances at success than any other procedure.

You mentioned your diabetes.  I wanted to add that the DS has a 98% permanent cure rate for type 2 diabetes, not just remission.  With other procedures, the diabetes is likely to return if the patient regains.