Mid Process and Need a little Advice - ThinnerTimes

Angelica · 09-15-2007, 10:13 AM

I am mid process for WLS. My insurance company has not yet approved me, but since I work for them, I am pretty sure I wont have any issues.

I went to a education seminar with the idea in my brain that I was only having a lapband surgery. Everything else seemed to invasive for me. After sitting through the seminar, I have second thoughts.

Can someone please help me figure this out. The bypass seems wonderful, quick weight loss, and allthough I realize it is reversable, it just seems so permant and invasive.

The lapband seems awesome too, but with the slower weight loss, and the fills, and having to follow up so often, I just need a little assistance. I want to get this right the first time.

So I would appreciate all of your ideas, and suggestions on how to make this difficult decision.

Thanks
-A

Claire-in-Texas · 09-15-2007, 01:26 PM

Angelica, my only suggestion is that, after having listened to the seminar, you have a certain gut (excuse the pun) instinct as to which is better for you. I always go with that.

But having said that, do your homework. Go to another seminar and hear it again. Get a book called "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies" - very helpful and very informative, not only for your now stage, but for every stage.

It is a decision that only you can make. It has to feel right, and you have to feel that the time is right. It's all about YOU and putting yourself in the number one position.

I am five months post-op, and I have loved the decision I made to have RNY Gastric Bypass. It is, indeed, major surgery, even with laproscopic (which I had). Things happen that have to be addressed - I call them bumps in the road. I've had one or two, easily fixed.

This is a great place to ask questions - maybe under the General Discussion category of either Lap Band or Gastric Bypass, or both. You will get many viewpoints, and you will find that it is different for a lot of people as to how motivated they were and what motivated them to do which surgery.

I wish you the best of luck.

twodogsmom · 09-15-2007, 04:02 PM

I had a GBP (RNY) about 20 months ago and was down 100 lb in 8 months. The speed of the loss was so exciting. I am glad I did it that way. Also, please don't consider GBP reversible. Sometimes it isn't or a reversal doesn't work. Go into it consider it a permanent change in your eating habits. Good luck which ever way you choose-soon you too can be a LOSER!

fisher1000 · 09-16-2007, 06:04 PM

I went to a meeting as well thinking I would rather have lap band, but the doctor told me that the risks were not much different, and that the RNY would be much more effective in the longterm. Additionally, the lap band could slip over time, or cause rough patches that may need to be surgically corrected. I'm definitely doing the RNY now. (Next week, as a matter of fact!)

LisaM · 09-16-2007, 06:51 PM

Wrong! The risks are EXTREMELY different from the band to the bypass. You need to do some reading up. There's a one to two percent fatality rate from the bypass surgery, overall, though your chances vary more according to your surgeon's experience than any other single factor, and between 20 and 30 percent complication rate for the bypass. The fatality rate for the band is effectively zero, and the complication rate is correspondingly lower as well. Please do some reading here on Thinner Times rather than assuming that the risks are effectively the same between the two surgeries.

I am NOT saying you should or shouldn't have the bypass. I had it, and I'm very happy with my decision. But you shouldn't walk into it thinking it's a walk in the park--it's not. It's very serious surgery, with the possibility of life-threatening complications.