Gastric Bypass Vs. Lap-band

I did not want the gastric by-pass simply because I did not want my insides completely rearranged. I elected to go with the lap-band. At first it seemed to be working reasonably well and the weight was dropping slowly. after going in for a fill I began to experience some problems with food sticking and the weight loss came to a complete stop. The band had to be emptied and they were never able to get it to a working place again. I had it surgically removed and had a "gastric sleeve" done at the same time. I would recommend this to anyone. It was not approved by insurance as a stand alone weightloss surgery but we were able to get it approved as a correction for the lap-band that had failed. I have now lost 100 pounds and feel great! The sleeve limits the amount of food you can consume but does not have the sticking problems of the band.
:happy:

I forgot to add that the best part of all of this is that I no longer take any diabetes medication, blood pressure medication or cholesterol medication. My blood pressure runs around 108/55. A1C is 5.3.

here is my experience. I had a lapband put in 2008. I lost 30 pounds before I started having problems. I experienced a lot of pain, diarrhea. Nobody could figure out what was going on until I had an EGD & colonoscopy at which time it was discovered that the band had slipped & eroded through the stomach lining. I was scheduled right away for removal of the band which my insurance paid for. I still have problems with burping which I believe is from food getting caught up in the scar tissue that formed. The surgeon who put in the lapband offered to put in another at no charge but I declined the offer.
my husband had a gastric bypass in 2005 and lost 110 lbs. That was great but now he is limited on what kinds of medicine he can take. He never addressed the reason for overeating so when the eating avenue was removed he turned to alcohol and became an alcoholic. On a separate issue he has had terrible back issues & surgeries on his back. Because of the bypass he is severely limited on what meds he can take for pain. So there is good in the weight he lost but we can't see I to the future to see what implications the surgeries will have later on. I agree with the personal trainer idea I think. I sure don't recommend the lapband

When you see your doctor, ask about a 'vertical sleeve'

My girlfriend had the sleeve a couple of years ago. Best decision she made. everyone needs a starting point to motivate you to a healthier lifestyle. I managed through weightwatchers and she used surgery. Whatever works for you - if this is what you need to do to be healthier then good for you


Good luck :)a

I had a girlfriend who did the Lap-band, she looks amazing and she has not had any health problems as far as I know.

I also have my 1st appointment with the Doc 2/14 and more and more people are telling me bypass is the way to go..my cousin did the lap band years ago and shes lost alot of weight she went from maybe 300 lbs to 120/130 lbs but she also got pretty sick cuz she lost to much weight, she was one of the somewhat success cases..now they do less bands the doc told me cuz its a foreign object in your body and can cause complications but so can bypass but bypass is more permanent and you you will lose more weight and faster..good luck :]

I was offered the surgery around 3 years ago. Most places make you attend a class then a support group before you can meet with the doctor. That SCARED the hell out of me!!! Not only did at least 90% of the support group have a hard time learning how to eat small amounts and get the nutrition they needed, most of them had complications and had to get another surgery or treatments. It wasn't due to the actual surgeon, it was because they either didn't eat enough or threw up all the time so they got dehydrated or anemic and or had to be hospitalized or they ate too much and ripped their stitches. The surgery does NOT change the person. The person changes themselves. The support group seemed to be focused on how to get passed the symptoms rather than how to change their lifestyles.

My thoughts on why I didn't:

Have I really tried to lose weight? No, not really. At least not in a good way. Fad diets, shakes, and plans I didn't actually stick to for more than 2 weeks DO NOT COUNT. If I cheated and didn't stick to a healthy diet for a period of time, no. If I have the surgery, it will be years before I get back to normal. If I cant stick a simple plan out now, well, I shouldn't be allowed to do it.

Do I want to go years without being able to guzzle water and or sometimes eat without throwing up? Hell no

Do I have the skills to eat right after the surgery? No, I didn't get fat overnight. I have had bad eating skills for a long time. I am a creature of habit like everyone else.

If I don't have the willpower now, what makes me think I will change later on? It doesn't. Its simply a way to force myself to eat less. It is not a long term solution. I might as well be anorexic and save myself some money.

Have I exercised enough? No.

Am I willing to die to lose weight? No. I get the fact some people are so obese they need the surgery but I was not at that stage in my life. If I can walk, there is NO excuse not to exercise. I needed to stop being lazy.

I had a friend die from the surgery. His mother who had it too had a ton of complications and guess what? 10 years later she is fatter than she was in the first place.

So, NO NO NO.

I don't care if people disagree with me. If you haven't busted your butt then no. If you haven't worked out at least 5 days a week for a few hours a day, if you haven't eaten a clean diet, if you haven't stuck to a plan more than at least a few months without cheating much, If you are not so obese you cant walk, no.

I truly believe 90% of the people who have the surgery should have got off their butts and worked to lose weight first. People say its not the easy way out. Yes it is. At first anyways. It only gets hard AFTER the surgery because you get forced to eat less.

I feel like the people who lost weight from the surgery have invalidated the hard work I put in 6 days a week at the gym. It disgusts me when people asked if I had it. No, I actually worked for it. I sweat every day, I ate right. I changed my thought process about food. No, I didn't lose it overnight. but I sure earned every single ounce.

Do what you want but IMO, Just say No.

If you have to have the surgery I would say go with the lap band. I had a friend that had the bypass surgery and had complications from it and was under nurished. His body couldn't handle it anymore and he passed away, at a young age.

I have seen people who have had both types of surgery. All of the ones I have seen have somehow wound up gaining a lot if not all of their weight back after initial weight loss. Then they have additional complications due to the surgery.

We all love immediate gratification, but having such drastic surgery would concern me. I have had many surgeries due to having breast cancer twice. Surgery is serious and if there are other options, those would always be my first choice.

Just my two cents.

When I was in the hospital for my VSG surgery there were three other patients there with me who were all getting their lapbands out and having the VSG instead. The problem with the lapbands is that they are not really as unobtrusive as people think. They slip, they cause scarring, it can be difficult to get the right fill.. and you always have this foreign body in you that could cause a problem at any time. YES, in the short term it a less invasive procedure, but complication rates go up the longer one has the band.

I toyed with the idea of the band and with bypass for a long time, but always felt like the bypass was too extreme for me, but the band was just too difficult to maintain.... When I learned about VSG, I knew I had found the right option for me. I had roughly 75% of my stomach removed, but my intestines were untouched. The "stretchy" part was removed so the part of my stomach that is left will not stretch much so I don't have to worry about that. Ultimately, I'll wind up being able to eat around 8-10 ounces of food at a meal. (currently I'm eating just over a half cup). I don't have to worry about malabsoption of vitamins because my food still goes through the entire intestine. There's also no dumping syndrome typically associated with the VSG. I won't lose weight quite as fast as the bypass, and that's fine with me. oooh yes and the part of the stomach that produces the bulk of the hunger hormone Ghrelin is removed from the body, so MOST VSG patients experience diminished hunger.. which you don't get with the band.

My recovery was very easy, I was back at work quickly and had minimal pain and zero complications.