How did you choose which type of WLS to have?

Don't want this to be a ******' match as to which type of surgery is better but I think it's interesting how we, in my case, stumbled upon deciding on RNY, DS, Lap band, etc. Lots more info out there today which really makes the decision more complicated than when I had WLS three years ago.  

For me, I primarily researched RNY and Lap band since, supposedly DS was reserved for the super duper heavyweights. Kind of funny thinking I realize since I weighed nearly 500 pounds but still was in denial that I was THAT fat. .

Anyway, for me the decision between RNY and Lap band was made easy since my insurance would cover RNY but not lap band. 

To let you know how screwed up I was with the "I'm not that fat" denial issue, I would have gone lap band if it would have been covered by the insurance. I used to think the decision was simply "super- duper biggun's" get DS, "super-bigguns" get RNY and "mere-bigguns" get lap band. Despite weighing 500 pounds, my denial allowed me to classify myself as a "mere- biggun."  


How about you guys?

Boner 

I have three coworkers that lost a tremendous amount of weight with RNY.  Two of them even used the same surgeon.  I saw their success and followed their lead.

Same thing with my brother who saw that RNY worked for me so should be good enough for him. He looked into lap band as well since he wasn't nearly as fat as I was although his co-morbidies (e.g. diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure) were just as bad as mine.

Boner

The docs told me lapband was too slow for me (actually that it wasn't an option given my co-morbidities). And I couldn't get comfortable with DS for a variety of reasons- lack of a local surgeon that felt the surgery was safe being one. Hence, RNY. Looking back I wish there were more choices available locally but I still would have chosen RNY for my particular situation.

MY sister had an RNY about 16 months ago. I went to her surgen, and went through his classes. About 4 months before my sugery I saw her dump. That freaked me out a bit. Reasearched the DS, found a new surgon. I've never looked back.

I choose RNY for 2 reasons.
#1: Its PERMANENT for life
#2: My diabetis will go away/into remission (which it has)

When I went to the information seesion I had been thinking lap-band all along. After viewing the success rates, researching each type of surgery, and verifying which ones my insurance covered I chose RNY. Here are my main reasons:

1. Higher success rate over lap-band
2. Malasorbtion along with the fewer calories
3. Success rates at curing both high blood pressure and Diabetes type 2
4. Insurance

I am happy to say that I have not had to take any Blood Pressure or Diabetes Meds since I had my surgery. Hopefully my sleep apnea will continue to get better as the weight comes off. I think regardless of which you choose, make sure it is YOUR decision, it is a lifestyle change and not just a surgery.

Ed

 Looked into lap-band first b/c I was completely ignorant but quickly changed my mind once I realized my surgeon recommended the RNY and my insurance only covered the RNY. So there it was. Easy enough, just got the RNY and have been happier ever since. Now if I could just find a good back surgeon I'll be even happier than that....

The RNY and the Lap-Band were the only two surgeries offered and the only two my insurance would cover. I initially I signed on for the band. I went to the initial surgical consult and my surgeon told me I would probably have greater initial success witht the RNY and that I was at the upper weight limit for the band. I told the doctor i was going to go ahead with the band. 

I started doing research on the surgeries and found out that the RNY would be a better fit for me. I had to start the whole process over. The surgeon said I made the right decision in his mind and I couldn't be happier now that it is over. 

A surgeon out of Fort Worth did a seminar in Amarillo back in about '04 and advertised in the local newspaper. My mom scanned the ad and emailed it to me and asked if I'd drive up for the wknd and go to this seminar. I was 44 and probably weighed right around 400 at the time, and my mom and dad were both worried that their granddaughters were gonna have to attend their daddy's funeral. I went just to placate them. This doc was selling lap-band surgery. It was the first I'd heard of it. Sounded interesting, but the good looking nurse who accompanied him, and was a lap-band user herself just kept making the point that you have to work at it in order for it to be successful. My thinking was, "Hell, if I'm gonna have to work at it do be skinny anyway, I might as well save the $14,000." And that's basically what I told my mom and dad. I knew that there was such a thing as RNY but I didn't know there was such a thing as laproscopic RNY. I didn't seriously consider it as an option because in my mind, getting split from one end of your gut to the other sounded like a good way to die on the operating table. Especially if the doc was having to cut through 6" of fat just to get in there. 

So  I spent the next 3 years gaining another 50 or so pounds. Fast forward to '07. A friend of mine had RNY in April, and I went to see him in late August or maybe early September to see how he was doing. This guy is 3" shorter than me and weighed about 50 lbs more. He had gone from 505 down to 363 in about 4 months. This is a guy who, in terms of self-discipline, makes me look like Jack LaLanne. And he had dropped 140 lbs over one summer. So I started asking questions. And when I asked him how much work he missed, expecting the answer to be a month at least, and instead he told me 3 days, and pulled up his shirt to show me his five little laproscopic scars, it was over. I knew right then and there, that if I could get an RNY and do it lap, that I was gonna do it. He's 18 months out and has gone from 505 down to 215. I'm 10.5 months out and have gone from 455 down to 255. I don't know about him, but I'm planning on living another 30 or so years which would've been impossible on the track I was on. Best decision I've made in a long time.

Confession though. I'd heard of VSG's and RNY's and obviously lap bands before I decided on surgery. And I knew generally how each one worked. I'd never even heard of a DS until I was a month or so post-op and had a bunch of DS'ers go on the RNY board and start a ****storm about which surgery was best. Shows you how much research I did.