Which surgery to have?????

[Debbie]

I am doing all of my doctors appointments right now and I fo back to Dr. Allam on the 28th of May to pick out my surgery date. I was 100% sure I wanted the RNY surgery, until reading and reading about all the other stuff. I have friends who have done the RNY and are doing freat I also have friends who did the band and are doing good. I have met and talked to a few who have failed at both. I am really on the fence now as to which method to choose. I believe that the lap band is safer but it seems to take so much longer to lose the weight. Please let me know which surgery you had and why you chose it. Also let me know when you had it and to date how you have done. I again can't seem to figure it out now.

[Regina]

Hi Debbie first, let me start by saying welcome to our message board and thanks for posting. :D

I had the RNY almost 5 years ago and I am 110% happy with the choice I made. The reason I picked the RNY is cause I knew myself and I needed to have the certain restrictions that came along with that procedure. Even though today I am able to eat some things now that I could not have then I am still glad I picked this procedure.

I lost 140 lbs in one year’s time and felt alive great fantastic just to name a few ways of how I was feeling. I will be honest with you and tell you that I have gained anywhere between 25 to 30LBS back. I am not happy with that but I knew that we would gain some weight back because over time we are able to eat more. Not as we use to still more then what we were able to the first year or two even. I am now trying to watch the food that I am eating and it really is not the food that made me gain the weight it was the grazing that I do that caused it. I know what I did and I have no one to blame but myself. I am trying now to stay away from the junk it is not easy but I am trying. I always looked for the crunch part after my surgery and found that pretzels (honey wheat) became my friend in between meals. Overall, as I said I am trying to watch.
I also think that going to our support group meetings and being as active with the message board here has really kept me from going over the edge and really gaining more.
This is a Tool that Dr. Allam gave us and we need to use the tool to our advantage. If we eat something that we should not or fall off track, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We can't blame him because he did his part the rest is up to us.

I am sure the lap band people will tell you why they picked that surgery. I can't answer for them.

The thing I can tell you about both surgeries is that it is YOUR CHOICE. You need to weigh out which one is going to work for you. Coming to our Support Meetings can help you make that decision. Listening to both sides telling why they picked the one, they did. You need to be happy and most of all confident in the choice that you picked. You need to stand behind you choice. The road that you follow is pretty much based on the surgery you choose. Even though they are similar in ways they still have there differences afterwards. So think research, come to the meetings, and then weigh it all out what is BEST FOR YOU!

Our next meeting is May 20th at 6:30 PM at the Hampton Bays Library. I usually send out a reminder the day before our meeting so please try to come. If you have not attended any of our meetings, already it will sure help you with your decision. If you have then continue to come and ask us anything you want. We are there for each other no matter what surgery we have picked. We all have walked in each other’s shoes so we know what you are going through.

Hope to meet you at the meeting.

[Debbie]

Yes I will be at the next meeting. Thank you for your imput. I know the choice is mine and mine alone it is just after reading the risks I am confused. I know in my heart the RNY is the way that I should go. Just my other half read the risks and he thinks that I should go with the band even though it will take longer to work.

[connie]

Debbie I agree it is a tough decision. I had the lap band 5 weeks ago. I am doing great, I was not sure which procedure to chose as well. I too had friends who had the bypass. I dicided on the lap band because I live a very hectic life with 5 children, I researched the lap band to find that there were less complications, surgery was quicker,hospital time was less and they did not have to re-route any organs. It was the best choice for me but,everyone is different. Oh yeah another thing..I need to lose about 100 pounds,the lap band takes longer to lose the weight but in my case losing it slower is okay. It took me 38 years to reach this weight so losing it slow is just fine with me.
Hope this helps and Im sure you will make the right choice for you. Please come to our next meeting ,you will meet some really extra ordinary ,caring people who are always willing to share advice. Good Luck .Connie

[Jamie]

Hi Debbie,

My name is Jamie and I am so glad to see you up and posting. Posting, reading the board, and attending the support group meetings are the best and smartest way you can learn about each procedure's pro's and con's, and to help stay on track when you finally make up your mind and choose the one that is right for you.

As Regina said, you need to make this decision yourself and we are here to help you with the info and questions you may have on each one. I see that you will be at the next meeting, so I would suggest that you jot down a list of questions that you want to ask so you don't forget anything that night. If you want, show up a little early (we are there at 6 pm.) and one of us can help answer anything you want before the meeting. Bring your other half if you want so they can hear for themselves, and ask questions also. But the decision is ultimetly up to you. There is a post on the board about a show on TV and that has some interesting facts, saying that bypass surgery was safer than having gall bladder surgery, but everyone needs to be mentally ready for the lifechange.

I by the way had the lapband in June of 2007 and have lost about 85 lbs. You are right, about it not being as fast, (we have one guy that had the bypass a couple of months ago and he has lost 80 lbs. already), but there are other things to consider also. Everyone, except one or two people that I have talked to say that they would have the operation again in a heartbeat, no matter which operation they have had. You just have to listen and learn from our posts or input at the meeting as to which way to go. You are doing a great job of getting right to it and posting ot find out the right answer for you, so keep it up.

Please keep asking questions,

Jamie

[cchheeffyy]

I had a lap band on March 28 done and so far I've lost around 38-40 pounds.
I'mvery happy with it and was glad I di it.
The bypass was to risky for me.
I'm 38 a professional chef and have had weight issues my entire life. I'm glad I did it and have NO REGRETS.

The only issue I've had so far is the first "Juice" that I recieved from the doc was a little painful due to the fact that it was hard for him to find the port. BUT he said next time if he has trouble he would send me to the hospital for a sonnogram.

I chose the lap band for the reason that it wil give me the slow weight loss that I wanted.

It was my PERSONAL OPNION that the weight didn't go on over night so I didn't want it to come off overnight.

JIM

[Debbie]

I am leaning towards the lap band now more than ever. I will keep researching it and see but I feel like you do I can't lose it to quick.

[candiekisses68]

Hi Debbie my name is Michelle i had the bypass october of 06 lost 142lbs and have not gained any back thank god,i still eat pretty much the same as i did then i did from the start from when i could start eating again im very happy from what i choosen i would not have done it any other way,however it is a personal choice and im sure which ever one you choose youll be happy with!!! i wish you the best of luck on your new road to your new life!!!!

[Regina]

Hi Deb here is the link that Jamie was talking about in his post it was posted by another member Lee3.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/17/60minutes/main4023451.shtml

[QUEEBELL]

Hi Debbie,
My name is Isabel and I had the RNY November 29, 2007 and I have lost 96 pounds. I had originally decided on the lap band, but I am a single working mother of two and decided that there was just too much matinance for me. I'm also skiddish about getting needles so the idea of getting fills scared me. :eek: My friend had a lap band and won't go for fills because she had a bad experience. Now she says the lap band doesn't work. Now I did explain to her that she needed to go for fills, but she won't. This is another reason I changed my mind. I went into Dr. Allam's office the first day and I knew I wanted the bypass. I never vered from that decision no matter what anyone said to me.
As for my own personal surgery experience, it was uneventfull. Tuesday night I had my last big meal, Wednesday I was on liquids all day, Thursday morning I went in and had my surgery, Thursday evening I was out of bed and walking without much discomfort at all (I had the epidural), Friday morning I went for "the test." I passed and was given my first "meal" of chicken broth and nasty protien stuff I skipped on. Saturday morning I went home. I was uncofortable for the first couple of days. I didn't need pain meds for more than 2 days. I went back to work 13 days after surgery. I don't regret what I did at all.
I agree that the surgery you pick is a personal decision and it is, in my opinion, one of the most important decisions you will ever have to make in your life. Once you make it, own it. Don't let anyone talk you out of it or sway you in any way. It's your body and for the rest of your life you will have to live with it. Whatever you decide you can take comfort in knowing that all of us here on the web site and in the support group will be here for you, lap banders and RNY's both.
Best of luck!
Isabel

[Debbie]

I want to thank each and everyone of you who has responded to me. You all have been a great help with this. Hope to meet all of you at the meeting next week.

[Jamie]

Hi Debbie,

No matter which procedure you choose, you have to commit to it. Each one has a certain amount of after care that has to be taken care of whether it is to go in for fills or making sure you are getting in your proper amount of protein and taking your supplements. I think by reading the other posts you can see that everyone seems to be happy with whatever procedure that they have chosen, and that is a good thing!!! Now you just have to make the proper choice for you. You sound like you have done your research and now need to decide which one you will commit to.

As far as my choice, I don't feel that going in for the fills to find my sweet spot is a burden at all. It is a necessary part of the procedure that everyone needs to go through, because everyone is different. Two people with a 10 cc. band could have a different number of fills, because one may feel full at 4cc's and the other person doesn't feel the satiety until they reach 8 cc's. I also believe that they have gotten more aggressive with the fills. Now I think they put some in the day of surgery, and then they give you more each fill at first until you start to get up there and then they take a little slower as you get close.

As for Isabel's friend (not knowing the bad experience she had) , I'm sure that she was told that there was after care that she had to go through. Not maintaining your fills is not giving the band a chance, so how can she say that it doesn't work?? That doesn't mean that the band doesn't work, it just means that maybe the friend wasn't commited to letting this tool work!!!

As Isabel and a few others said, this will be one of the most important choices you will have to make, and you are going about this the right way by asking questions, and reading what others have to say and weighing out the correct answer for your lifestyle.

We are all here to help, so keep asking whatever pops into your mind, and I know that there will be many questions that will arise.

See you at the meeting on the 20th.,

Jamie

[candiekisses68]

I Second That!!!! :)