Dont know if this is the procudure I want

[pistella_2000]

Hi, my mom and I are planning on having surger but we are confused as to what option to go with, the gastric-bypass or the lapband. My Grandma had the gastric-bypass and has had a few problems with it as to what she can eat. She gets gas when she eats certain foods and cant handle other foods and I was wondering if you have those possibilities with the lapband? Also, do you have to have the band replaced after so many years? I have a Dr appt on Feb. 21st and my mom and I have to have our minds made up by then as to what option we want to do so I am hoping someone can help me with the concerns that I have! Thanks

[mommyrkr]

I absolutely would not have bypass surgery. Here are my reasons. The risk for long term health problems is far greater, as is the surgery and recovery much more difficult and riskier. It is irreversible and not adjustable. Many people with bypass end up gaining back some or a lot of weight. With the band, you can adjust it still. It is much safer, much cheaper, much easier. The best way to make any decision is to read everything you can find. If you are interested, there a number of people who have posted here all along they way, from pre-op during surgery and recovery, and then the journey afterward. You would get a much better idea of exactly what living with a lapband is like by reading those posts than by anything else. Everyone's experience is different, but for a long term solution, I decided I would rather be fat than have bypass, if the lapband were not a possiblity for me.

Check out the newly banded section on this board. A number of people have posted, and the ones with the most posts generally tend to have followed people for the longest time. They can be long and time consuming to read, but very helpful and worth the time when you are talking about such a huge decision.

Good luck in your decision, it is a big one. Feel free to ask questions as you think of them. There are a lot of nice people here to answer, or call the Obesity Control Center. They can answer a lot of questions. This is where most of us on this forum had surgery.

Becki

[Pamela]

I decided to go with the Lapband because it is less invasive. I had surgery on Friday the 9th of Feb and I was back at work on Monday the 12th of Feb. Right now I am still on the post op diet (anything through a straw, NO CHEWING) so I really don't know what foods are going to pose a problem. However, after ready several posts on different forums, there will be foods that cause problems such as steak. Everyone is different so you just have to stay on these boards and read people's experiences. That is what has helped me to decide to go with the lap band. The band should be for life. With anything, there can be some issues down the road such as erosion. These are few and far between but it can happen. You won't die, you will just have to have the band removed and then replaced (if you want).

Good luck and just do your research and make right decision for YOU!

[BSN]

Hi, my mom and I are planning on having surger but we are confused as to what option to go with, the gastric-bypass or the lapband. My Grandma had the gastric-bypass and has had a few problems with it as to what she can eat. She gets gas when she eats certain foods and cant handle other foods and I was wondering if you have those possibilities with the lapband? Also, do you have to have the band replaced after so many years? I have a Dr appt on Feb. 21st and my mom and I have to have our minds made up by then as to what option we want to do so I am hoping someone can help me with the concerns that I have! Thanks

You couldn't pay me to have bypass, I'll keep my parts thenk ya bery much! ;o) Seriously, bypass removes the part of your intestine that is responsible for absorbing Vitamin B12 and Calcium from your food before letting it pass through. Bone loss is a huge issue with bypass patients. Ever seen those people that have a hump at their shoulders? That is bone loss. They have to take oral and injectable supplements for the rest of their lives to try and undo the damage from the surgery.

Bypass surgery is painful, recovery is long, and depending on the research material you read it has between 100-500x the risk of banding. However, understand it is a MINIMUM of 100x riskier than banding.

Stats show that after five years bypass patients have only lost 1% more weight than banding and after 7 years more banded people have kept their weight off where bypass tends to gain it back.

There there is the stink factor. Ever been near a bypass person that just pooped? Or had to fart in the middle of the room because they had no control over gas? The stench has cost marriages. There are pills some people have to buy to control odor because those around them just can't hack the extreme stench.

Considering banding is so much safer, less envasive, less risky, less stinky, weight loss is the same after five years and better stats after 7 years... for the life of me I can't imagine why anyone would want bypass. Go to www.obesityhelp.com and read the memorial page. Those that died from WLS are bypass patients, not banded patients.

[doclynch]

Hi, my mom and I are planning on having surger but we are confused as to what option to go with, the gastric-bypass or the lapband. My Grandma had the gastric-bypass and has had a few problems with it as to what she can eat. She gets gas when she eats certain foods and cant handle other foods and I was wondering if you have those possibilities with the lapband? Also, do you have to have the band replaced after so many years? I have a Dr appt on Feb. 21st and my mom and I have to have our minds made up by then as to what option we want to do so I am hoping someone can help me with the concerns that I have! Thanks

I posted this on another topic, but I think its worth repeating:

I think Dr. Ortiz put things in perspective for me. He was sitting on the couch in my room, I was getting ready to go in for my band... I asked him about problems associated with the band. He said about 1 in 200 have problems. Erosions or slippage, that type of thing. His words "1 in 20 don't make it out of the hospital with gastric bypass". HELLO? 1 in 20 DIE before they are discharged. 1 in 200 might have a PROBLEM... not DEAD, but a problem. pb'ing and farting alot are bad, but it beats DEAD i'm pretty sure.

Randy

[stacy16]

I posted this on another topic, but I think its worth repeating:

I think Dr. Ortiz put things in perspective for me. He was sitting on the couch in my room, I was getting ready to go in for my band... I asked him about problems associated with the band. He said about 1 in 200 have problems. Erosions or slippage, that type of thing. His words "1 in 20 don't make it out of the hospital with gastric bypass". HELLO? 1 in 20 DIE before they are discharged. 1 in 200 might have a PROBLEM... not DEAD, but a problem. pb'ing and farting alot are bad, but it beats DEAD i'm pretty sure.

Randy

what is pb-ing?

[stockprincess]

pbing stands for productive burping. this happens to me when i've eaten too quickly. without getting too graphic, it is exactly what it sounds like - a burp that produces something. and the something is a thick liquid as your body is trying to correct the situation. it hurts SO bad and you don't want to do it - promise. the first time I pb'd, i thought i was going to die, literally. But, I walked around and stayed calm and everything is fine. Just a good reminder to CHEW.