ban vs bypass - ThinnerTimes

corey · 07-12-2008, 10:42 PM

im realy thinking i want to go with bypass im 6'0 and at 365ish but insurance does not cover this so its out of pocket for me the bypass is 25k upfront then any fallowup on that but band is 14k.

my only fear is i have read the long term succes is lower with lapband?

Debri85 · 07-13-2008, 04:49 AM

Hi Again,

I had the band, no problems at all and had minimal success...my friend who got it a month before me, had great success but developed slippage about 2 years out. We both decided that GBP was for us.

GBP, is very dramatic and besides the obvious risks and complications, you MUST take a lot of vitamins to cover the malabsorbtion. I know, sounds ridiculous that it should be an issue, but I am so BAD about taking pills..lol! I didn't realize I'd be taking them all day. Then theres the odorus issues...yikes!

The search feature is really good on this board and a good read is the Weightloss Surgery for Dummies.

Hope this helps...

D

Sue0609 · 07-13-2008, 08:52 AM

I was originally scheduled for the lap-band, had a date and everything. I met with my surgeon, who does both surgeries, and she had a very frank conversation with me about the issues with the band. They are a bariatric center of excellence, one of the hospitals that is frequently on TV (60 minutes, PBS, etc.). She told me the "failure" rate of the band is about 30%. Meaning, it doesn't cause adequate weight loss in 30% of the people. I asked he is there are certain type that fail and she told me it is unpredictible. It just doesn't work for some people. She also told me that it is much more risky to have the band and then convert to GPS than just having the GPS in the first place (plus some insurance companies will make you wait a long time before they will pay for the second operation, like 18 months). That did it for me! I am not the gambling type. I changed my mind and ended up with GPS 5 weeks ago. The only complication I had was an infection in one of my incisions, but that can happen with any surgery. I haven't thrown up once, I've had no gas issues, etc. I'm on mushies right now but I stretch that a bit (I'll eat any protein that I can chew to the consistency of mushy). I've lost 33 pounds.

corey · 07-13-2008, 10:41 AM

thanks for the replys public and private i thinking going with gn is looking like the best to choose for me