New and need southern comfort!

Hi ladies, I am a newbie, and I have been encouraged and impressed by all of the posts and results, and also proud of all my NC ladies for not resorting to the clique-ish and mean spirited behavior I saw on some of the other forums I saw on this site...Yikes!  I guess there really is something to be said for southern charm!! I am in the beginning stages of getting approved for surgery, but I am soo nervous and have so many questions.  I first considered lap band surgery, but it seems like I am seeing so many people changing from this to Gastric Bypass, or having many minor, yet numerous complications... I was wondering if any of you all had an opinion on that.  Also with Gastric Bypass, I have scared myself silly by reading the memorial pages.  Should I just expect there to be complications from WLS?  Or have many of you had a pretty smooth ride? I look forward to your responses. 

Hey and WELCOME!!!   I first thought I wanted the LapBand, but after attending the information session @ Mercy decided that RNY was more for me.  :)  I have many reasons, but the #1 reason was that I am scared of needles and did not want to have to have fills every so often. Also...  I had my RNY in July.  I have had NO COMPLICATIONS!  My ride has been blessed by the good Lord and has been as smooth as anyone could ever expect.  :)  The worst part for me has been the emotional side of it all.  I think that we all mourn food at some point, but I did get over that.  Please feel free to PM me or email me at [email protected] if you need to ask specific questions.  I will be happy to help!!!  

I have had the smoothest ride ever!  It was much much easier than I ever expected.  I am 5 weeks out and thrilled already and would do it all over again.   Welcome to the NC board!!  I am very proud that this group is the exact same 100% all of the time.  No clicks here!  This is the best place to come for learning, researching, support and inspiration.  I know beyond any shawdow of a doubt I couldn't have made it without all of them.   Southern Comfort all the way!  Good luck in your journey and come back often.   Connie

I did mountains of research and decided I wanted a band.  However, for reasons beyond MY control and desire, I was not a good band candidate.  Once you meet with a doctor, you may or may not be too. 1.  I have a "bad" hiatal hernia (since 1982).  The doc told me that because of that I was not a good candidate and would probably be back in a month saying "GET THIS DAMN THING OUT OF ME" due to misery with that hernia.  (Mine is beyond repair, cause I asked about that being done at time of surgery.)   2.  Can depend on what your insurance will and will not pay for 3.  Folks who need to lose larger amounts of weight (for me, about 150ish ideally), are better off in the long run with more than a band.  Since "statistically" folks only tend to lose a percentage (65-75%) of total weight loss needed (although there are folks who do lose beyond that), my doc said I most likely wouldn't lose as much as I needed to/would like to with the band and wouldn't be as happy in the long run. However, you'll find folks who will say the opposite as well, just like in this recent post in another forum here. You may have some medical reason like I did that won't "let" you be a lap band candidate.  Keep doing what you're doing and research all you can.  Like anything, there are pros and cons to any WLS procedure!  Make your questions and keep the list growing... ask here, but don't forget, you'll have an experienced surgeon that needs to be a key player too, once you've had all your other required tests/evaluations done. Like me, there may be something you don't even know about right now that will dictate which procedure is the right one for you.  Glad you're here and WELCOME!

Welcome to the group! At the time I had surgery BCBS didnt cover LapBand so I really dont know much about it :-) As for complications with WLS... I have pretty much been complication free. At 1 year 1 month out I had a small issue with some acid reflux... a few days of Prilosec OTC took care of that. Yesterday I had to have my gall bladder taken out.. while the surgeon was in there he removed some adhesions and corrected a slight bowel obstruction. They cant say if needing my GB out is a result of losing so much weight or if it would eventually would have needed removed.... however, many suregons remove it at the time of surgery or put their patients on medications like actigall to help prevent/reduce gall stones. Overall I still consider my ride pretty smooth.. I havent had any other complications.. no dumping, no throwing up.. its really been great.

Like many others here, I want to extend a hearty welcome to the NC Forum. You are so right, this truly is a group of gentle and genteel people that treat one another with consideration and respect. I hope that you will find the friendship, support, information and comraderie that I have been blessed to experience here.

I had my RNY June 5th, 2007. My large intestine was perforated with the initial incision; this is a known, but rare complication of any laparoscopic procedure. To my surgeon's credit, he was able to resect the bowel and continue with the surgery laparoscopically. I have not had any complications. I rarely dump at all. I have had what some might call a "food coma" where I feel yucky and sleep off whatever I over indulged in. That only happened rarely and hasn't occured for several months.

There are many forms of WLS and all of the have there pro's and con's. It might be worth looking at some of the other forums that deal with the other surgeries. I did, so that I could ask intelligent questions about them.

There are a number of folks on this forum who have been very successful with the band. I'm sure if you ask, they will be glad to share their experiences with you.

Again, welcome the to forum. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Barb

Hi. I think it is great that you have turned to this group for information and support. First let me say that with whichever procedure you choose, the ride is not always smooth. There are some real struggles whether they be physical, mental, or emotional. All of us are in this situation because we have had an unhealthy overly-friendly relationship with food and breaking that relationship is tough. The people who claim that WLS is the "easy way out" are idiots. If everyone in this country had to think about and plan their food choices (nutrients, consistency, chewing twice as long, the size of each bite, etc) as much as we do, there would not be an obesity epidemic.  I have a lapband, was banded 4 years ago. I've lost about 60% of my excess weight and am very happy with it. My PCP is also thrilled with the improvement in my general health. I don't know what kind of "numerous complications" you are referring to with the LB as the complication rate is very very low, but when I researched the options, I liked the fact that losing would be slower, that the body would have a chance to adjust to the subtle slow changes, and that if, God forbid, I should ever have a health situation that would necessitate that I need more calories, the band can be adjusted to accommodate that. I am also a single mother and really did not want to put myself in a situation that was more risky than necessary. I have known people with the bypass who have had major problems (ulcers in the reattached area, leaks, vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, etc.) and with children at home depending on me, these were risks that I chose not to take. I have maintained my weight loss for two years with no struggle whatsoever. My body is still changing and adjusting (beautifully, I think) to my loss. In fact, although the scales have only gone down 12 lbs in the past six months, I have continued to go down in clothes size as my body redistributes itself. I have gone from a size 28-30 top to a size 14/16 and from not being able to find pants unless they were polyester and elasticized to today, for the first time in 20 years, I bought a real, honest to goodness, pair of blue jeans - not the elasticized kind, but real blue jeans that look normal and damn good-fitting to me! That was a big, BIG, non-scale victory for me. Just ask my kids how happy I am about that! I've been squealing all day!   I have not had an adjustment in almost 2 years (my own laziness) but I am now ready to continue the journey and will be going back to my WLS on Monday, January 7 to get a tighter fill so that by summer, I hope to have lost another 20-25 lbs. I applaud you for checking out your options and from what I hear, Dr. V. does a great job. If you want to email me personally, I can put you in touch with a group that can give you personal experience information on Dr. V. and their lapband journey with him.  It seems that there are more bypass people on this site than LB so bypassers, please do not be upset with me for singing the praises of the LB. I absolutely believe that both procedures have their place. I'm all for people who want the bypass (my best friend had it.)  I cheer for all people who want to take control of their health, however that may be. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is that everyone needs to make their own decision, based on what they are comfortable with, that fits their lifestyle, and after totally researching them both. But I will always say that the lapband was the best choice for me.

Welcome to the NC Forum...truly a class act!   I researched the types of surgeries out there, but at a very basic level.  After my initial research, I found out that my insurance only covered RNY.  So, RNY was my choice!  :)  I'm a little ashamed to say I did more research after the fact, so I could talk knowledgeably about the options to friends and family.  So, that said, I think I probably would have chosen the RNY anyway.  It was scary though.  Very scary to re-route a major bodily function, that essentially worked just fine the way it was.  There certainly is a possibility of complications, and any responsible Dr will talk to you about those risks.  Many people do experience problems, I have personally have been blessed.  I was quite sore for about 4 weeks, and it took 6-8 weeks for my energy to return, but that's it.  I, like Barb, haven't experienced dumping syndrome (knock on wood.)  But I do get drop dead sleepy if I eat too much or too fast.  So, that's my story!  Do your research, see what is available to you.  If finances are an issue, check with your insurance company to see what they'll cover.  Finally, keep hanging out here...it's a wealth of information both before and after surgery! Oh, and Starfish...you shouldn't feel bad for singing the praises of your lap band!  The fact is, there are multiple surgeries out there, because each person is different and has different requirements, desires, etc!   I'm glad that we were able to give personal experiences with both Gastric Bypass and Lap Band!  Congrats on your success!!!

Welcome to the OH NC boards.  I think that this is a wonderful way to meet friends and get support.  You've come to a great place.  As far as Lapband vs. RNY, I think that depends on your health and your insurance.  Some of us have had to choose RNY because our insurance didn't give us the option of banding.  Having said that, because of my high BMI I would have gone with RNY anyway.  It really is something that you need to do your research on and talk to your doctor and his/her insurance representative about.  Unless, of course, money is not a factor.  In regards to the complication rates, I don't think I'd spend a lot of time on the Memorial pages.  I think that people are quick to talk about complications of anything and those that have none tend to happily go on about their business.  The end result is you tend to hear more about the bad stuff than the good stuff.  If you think about it this way, 100,000+ people are having some type of WLS surgery every year and less than one percent die.  The complication rates vary from doctor to doctor but are usually between 1 and 5 percent.  Make sure you pick a doctor that has performed at least 100 surgeries and has as low a complication rate as possible.  They will answer these questions for you if you ask them. Good luck with your quest and please feel free to ask questions either here on the boards or via email.  We all have opinions, and that's all they are, but we're happy to share them.   Take care. Ellen

Welcome welcome welcome, I too am pre op but scheduled for RNY 02/21/08. My insurance covers nothing so I will be going to Mexico for my procedure. This forum is a such a nice place and I see that your are in Charlotte too. So am I if you would like to get together let me know we can meet for coffe.

Welcome

Sandra