RNY vs. Lap band - I need some help thinking - ThinnerTimes

Gina in NY · 09-13-2005, 01:59 PM

I had always thought I'd do the RNY, but I see many people here that had the lap band done. What questions should I ask myself to make the choice. Do I have to be more disciplined with lap band? Is the weight loss MUCH slower? Does it matter what kind of shape I'm in health wise?

I must admit, the shorter recovery does look nice!

Mavisavis · 09-13-2005, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gina in NY

I had always thought I'd do the RNY, but I see many people here that had the lap band done. What questions should I ask myself to make the choice. Do I have to be more disciplined with lap band? Is the weight loss MUCH slower? Does it matter what kind of shape I'm in health wise?

I must admit, the shorter recovery does look nice!

Gina,

There are a few around that have done the lap band, but you may be seeing us say "lap" and we mean the laparoscopic version of the RNY. Many of us did have that. I considered the band and for me I did feel it required more on my part than I might be able to do. No foods make you sick because your stomach and system is not altered, and some foods and beverages can go down easy and allow for much quantity (ice cream, chocolate, and I've even heard cake). The lap RNY means we had the exact same surgery, but instead of a normal incision we have little sutures where the tools and camera were inserted for the surgery. Good luck and hang around. You can also go to a search feature and key in words and read old discussions that might help.

bridgetgirl · 09-13-2005, 05:11 PM

Mavis is right... i would have to say about 95% of us are RNY'ers, or if preop going to be RNY'ers.. well tell ya thats they way to go. You get dumping to keep ya in check, your weight loss is more rapid! Hmmm what more can I say... your gonna get more rah to have it done bypass style here! I am so happy with my choice!

Welcome to the board!

Gina in NY · 09-13-2005, 07:43 PM

I was so tempted by that quick recovery (I have a 2 year old) that the lap band looked pretty good. After posting my question, I was directed to a bunch of other posts about this very issue. Looks like there are many problems and several people who had the band and then went back in for RNY.

So, I'm still plugging along for this #$%@ 10%. It is the sleep deprivation that makes it so hard, and I have my period this week. (Quick, get me a violin, I'll play for myself here) I know it is no big deal, but with 4 hours of sleep a night, making good choices for dinner can be very challenging whereas moaning about it is quite easy. I dream of a day my poor choices and mistakes can only be 2 ounces wrong!

But off to bed now, maybe even 7 hours of sleep tonight! We'll see how the baby does.

Thanks for your help everyone. The losing side feels far away; Forget the light at the end of the tunnel, I can't even see my tunnel yet! I know, I know...I spent 35 years getting this way, 9 months is not much time to wait and I need the practice with life-style changes. Really, I'm not as down as I sound here, just tired.

I think I'm sleep-typing...Good night!

(I need one of these smiles that looks asleep.)

lealphachienne · 09-14-2005, 09:41 AM

Dr. Callery and Dr. Potts are of the school of wait and see until more is done before they will advocate for the Lap-Band in their practice. They will do them if appropriate and the insurance will pay. Many insurances don't cover a Lap-Band because of it's long term track rate is uncertain. The RNY procedure has been around for many decades and has had much more research and follow up.

The Lap-band is purely restrictive. There is no honeymoon period of weight loss. The hunger returns much more quickly and you need more disicpline to start with. All gastric surgeries need some discipline to make healthy food choices. With RNY, you have a little more time to develop new habits.

Mavisavis · 09-14-2005, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lealphachienne

The hunger returns much more quickly and you need more disicpline to start with. All gastric surgeries need some discipline to make healthy food choices. With RNY, you have a little more time to develop new habits.

And you get more kicks in the behind when you forget!! That's a big reason I chose it over the band. My surgeon does the band, and my insurance covers it, so I did make the decision. For me it was the RNY hands down.