Starting over with so many questions. Please help!

I use to come to the boards on a regular basis until I got discouraged about fighting to get the approval for WLS. My profile says a bit about what I went through. The approval I thought I had was actually a mistake. I was turned down for the reasons listed in my profile. A co-worker actually told me to try a different surgeon and clinic as she had also gotten denied by that surgeon then later approved by another surgeon. I was originally going with lap band but now I'm unsure. I am 24yo about 5'7 and around 316lbs. I'm so scared of failing and I am also very scared of the skin I will be left with so I am interested in hearing what others have gone through. Currently I am between insurance companies too and would like to hear your experiences with different companies as I will need to choose one. Thank you so much for reading, I know this post is somewhat scattered but bare with me as I am just getting back into things.

please check out my profile for before and after and along the way pic. also I did a one year out over view I posted this on 2/6 and I put a copy in my profile under the blogs. but the simpist answer is I LOVE MY BAND I'm so happy I had this done best thing I ever did for me I'm so happy and feel so blessed every day  and know ,not evey day has been great I have had set backs and moment where all was not good but I'm down 121 pounds from the start and that alone keeps me going I will never weight 315 pounds again because I have a life long tool to help me along they way. I may have good days and bad I my not alway follow the rules or eat right but I know I can rely on my band to help me get back on track and get back to where i want to be and my band will alway be there now and in 10 years from now  the band may be a slower weight loss but at the 2-3 year out point weight loss for band and rny is about the same and at that point  or in some future point if I need to get back on track I can use my band  and the rules to help me. ryn'ers need to rely on the rules and dieting to get back on track and for me If I was good at dieting I wouldn't have needed wls!  this works for  most rny's I just knew it wouln't work for me.  Look at your eatting habits look at your goals and where  do you want to be in five - ten years from now and how do  you think  you'll maintain your wt loss then decide on which surgery will work for you. any wls is worth it if you can loose the wt and keep it off. so which one can you live with cause your the one who makes it work you live with the choose and most wls can't be undone( and I don't think should be  but Band does give you the choice)  . As far as the skin  goes any wls can leave you with the extra skin the band is slower loss so your body can adjust a little better to the changes and your young this helps but i feel the skin is better to have then the fat and plastic surgery is an option as for insurance I have Healthpartners and its been fine  I like the doctors I have and they let me do the Unity program which I think is great ,wonderful staff and great support  good luck  this is not an easy thing to do but I for one am so happy I choose wls and very happy with my band.

I was 28 years old when I had surgery I was also 5'7" and about 323 lbs when I started this.   I have lost around 140 lbs most of the weight lost in the 1st year.  I have extra skin that I'm not too pleased with when I look at it.  If I would have exercised more maybe I could have toned it up a lot better but compared to weighing 323 lbs I'd take the extra skin any day.  My husband isn't turned off by it but I will admit if I were single I would be a little more self conscious about it.   I have no plans at this time to remove it by surgery.  The pain of that surgery scares me more than living with some extra skin.  As far as the surgery you want that is very personal decision I just always knew I wanted the RNY versus the Lap Band but my reasoning basically that I felt I could "eat around" the lap band.   The aftercare was a little too much for me too I didn't want to have to go in for fills.  But I also admit I'm not very educated on the lap band.   I hope one of the lap banders offers their reasoning behind their surgery choice.  Its very personal and I think the best thing for you is to research as much as possible and way out the pros and cons of each surgery. 

Hello.  I really think that you should look at all of your options.  You are young and have to live with this surgery for the rest of your life.  Look at the Duodenal Switch as well.  It gives you the best long term weight loss results.  Check out dsfacts.com and also dusodenalswitch.com.  There are so many options available to you research them all.  There are many more choices than just the band and the RNY.  Good Luck to you.

Jennifer