rny or lap band pros and cons

I am in the process of deciding which to have I have read every post on this board and the lap band board and still am unsure as to which is best for me...help please

Hey
I just posted the same question, and we have the same name lol!  Im just not sure I went to 3 seminars and I see good and bad with both.  Whats your thoughts?

Theresa

I am so unsure I have several friends who have had wls....one had the band and he loves it he went from over 600 to around 300 right now and is doing wonderful....another had rny and she is doing wonderful also...yet another had rny 8 years ago and has gained most all of her weight back....I dont like the thought of having my self rerouted lol but I want to lose this weight and the band has a higher failure rate I am not looking forward to more than a night in the hospital either I have 4 boys still living at home and I can see the party they will have lol I am going to a seminar tuesday night maybe that will help more also but my Dr is for rny what are your thoughts?

When my mom had rny 10 years ago I will admit I was pissed that she didn't do the band.  I was worried that if something happened it couldn't be reversed, and that she had changed her body's digestion.
Then, I started looking into it myself and realized that for me the band would be useless, because of the reasons I gave earlier. 
As far as your friend who has gained back...that can happen with the band also.  Gaining back has to do with YOU, not the option you choose.

All I can talk about are my impressions and opinions. I didn't have to make a decision which surgery I"m going to have, my insurance would of covered both. Basically my decision came down to taking a good look in the mirror and acknowledging some self-destructive eating habits I've developed over years. I also look at all of the literature and long term outcomes of both surgeries.

I am  53 years old and have been overweight since my first semister of college... that is 35 years. Over that amount of time I have also developed additional health issues; such as high triglycerides and working on type 2 diabetes. Also osteoarthritis in both knees (from work and being overweight).

When I weighed all of the options, the choice was a permanent solution to what has developed into a long-term problem. I also had converations with my surgeon and he basically told me, he would not do a Lap-band because of all of the above. He felt that success with weight loss would be short lived .. and that wasn't based on research, but his years of doing both procedures.

So, please take out a pencil and paper and categorize your feelings, health issues, long term goals.. .it truly does help to commit to it on paper.

My surgery is about 2 weeks away .. and yes, I did think about the additional risk factors of the RNY vs Band.

Hope my rambling helps,

My Dr said he will do which ever I decide on but he really wants me to have the rny....I am researching everything I can put my hands on....thanks

If you fully trust your doc, which you should, then you should trust their opinion.  They have done this many, many times and know the success rate with patients your size and with both options.  I would go with what your doc thinks will be the most successful for you.

I had RNY instead of the band for the following reasons:
1. If I was going to have surgery it was going to be with the procedure that had a better success rate.
2. I didn't trust myself to have the band adjusted if I was able to eat more than I should.
3. We are military, finding a new surgeon all the time to have it adjusted just isn't in the cards.
4. I didn't want something foreign in my body that could cause infection, or the other complications that come from foreign objects.
5. I know a few people who have had the band, and then about a year later have gone back to have RNY because they were not satisfied with the band. 

Even though I had a stricture I am very happy with my decision.  Good luck!

what is a stcture? how long were you in the hospital? How has your eating ha*****anged?

A stricture is pretty common, it is when scar tissue builds around the bottom of your pouch.  It makes it hard to digest things, and most things come back up.  All they did was put a camera down my throat (I was knocked out) and ballooned the scar tissue to break it up.  It wasn't a big deal, I was in the hospital for about 2 hours...start to finish.  The procedure was 15 mins, but it took me an hour to full wake up and be allowed to leave. 

As far as the rny I was only in the hospital one night.  I had the surgery Monday morning at 8:30 and left Tuesday night at 4:00.  Now, while I was in the hospital I felt great...thanks to my little friend the morphine button, and the meds they were giving me orally every 4 hours.  From Wednesday-Friday I felt like I wa**** by a bus.  But, Saturday I woke up feeling great and already had a lot more energy than I did preop.  Other than the basic recovery pains (muscles twitching, soreness, etc.) I have been fine.  I teach 7th grade science, have a 5 year old boy and a 1 year old girl, and only needed one week off of work.  I went back to work a week to the day of my surgery...granted I took it slow, but I was fine.