Question:
Which is the best long-term; lap band or RNY
— listeningkind (posted on May 21, 2007)
May 21, 2007
LapBand wasn't that popular when I had my surgery 6+ years ago, I'm not
even sure if they were doing it many places. I think it all depends on
what you are trying to achieve. I know the RNY is a lot more invasive and
a lot more permanent. A very good friend of mine is a nurse and she is
overweight. She has been studying the surgery since I had mine back in
January 2001. She tells me that the LapBand can be safer for surgery, but
the RNY is a lot quicker when it comes to weight loss and lot more
permanent. I think it depends on how much weight you want to loose. From
what I've learned from other LapBand friends I have, they haven't lost all
the weight they originally wanted to loose and most of them wish they had
the RNY. But all of them were more than 150 overweight. I think if you
are barely 100 pounds overweight (barely a BMI of 40)then the LapBand is
good. If your BMI if upwards of 45, 50, 60, then you definitely want to
get the RNY. BUT I think there is a tendency for malabsorption more with
RNY than with Lapband. That's why I take my vitamins and get my blood work
done every six months - which I am proud to say my blood work has been
beautiful for 6 1/2 years. BUT - a lot of people are not going to agree
with me. I think you will need to do some research for yourself. Most
everyone here is going to be bias. I know I am probably a little more bias
to RNY because that is what I had and it worked for me. Good luck with
your research and your decisions!!! Jennifer D.
— JGDugar
May 21, 2007
BPD/DS. Talk to the folks at http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/
Blessings,
dina
— Dina McBride
May 21, 2007
Hi,
Speaking strickly as a person who has had both, I would say the RNY. I did
not have success with my lap band after a year and had it removed. my
doctor removed the band and did my RNY at the same time. I know a few
people who have the band and they are all going this route. After awhile
the band gets so tight you are reallly limited on food choices, I could no
longer eat meat at all, and was throwing up on a daily basis. Since I
switched to the RNY I can eat normally again, small portions of course, but
I am happy and the weight is just flying off. Make sure you read as much as
possible about both procedures before you decide and best of luck to you.
Just inform yourself as best as you can since most insurance companies now
have a clause that states "one per lifetime", this is why I had
to have my surgery over the xmas holidays, to get it in before this went
into effect Jan 1st of this year.
Best of luck.
— noboat4u
May 21, 2007
Talking to my Dr. He recomends if you have more than 100 pounds to lose the
RNY is the better choice, you have to discuss your personal choices with
your surgeon.
— DollyA
May 21, 2007
Three to four years out the weight loss results for both Lap and RNY are
the same. One advantage with the lap band is that if you begin putting
weight back on you can get a fill to jumpstart your weight loss. With RNY
you don't have that option.
— R. biles
May 22, 2007
Hi Mary, and thanks for writing. People have had wonderfull success with
both surgeries, and awful failures with both surgeries. The thing with wls
is that it is not a miracle, and what you do with your surgery after you
get it means more than what you decide before hand. I had surgery 3 years
ago, and almost got the band. It was newer at the time, and we would have
to had to pay for it, but in the end I decided against it. The main
reason? I am an exerciser. I exercise, even when I was obese. I could
walk 8 miles a day, 1200 calories a day, be starving and not lose weight.
I would take off about 30 pounds or so, but then cave to the starving and
gain it all plus. It just didn't work. I wasn't convinced that this cycle
would change because I had a band around my stomach. I would have the
ability to eat less, but 1200 calories isn't that much to begin with. I
just didn't see that it would help me in the long run. I had the rny. I
told my husband that all risks aside, that I felt I needed the mal
absorptive quality of the surgery. It proved to be correct. I only lost
about 1 to 2 pounds a week, walked 5 miles a day (2 1/2 miles twice a day),
and ate protein and drank water for most of a year to lose the 120 pounds.
I definitely fill up sooner, and I have kept off my weight for 3 years now.
The last year I haven't had much "actual" exercise because I had
the TT and some GYN surgery, and it took time to recover from these things,
more than I gave credit for, but I am still able to keep the weight off.
My food habits have changed for the better, I am making choices that aid my
health instead of destroy it. Food is no long an idol for me, but I do
struggle with it on a daily basis. I think research would prove that rny
would provide the possibility for better long term benefits, but make no
mistake, you will fight for your health post surgery. Surgery is not a
miralce, it is a tool. Obesity is a head issue with a body consequence.
Surgery helps the body to choose a different consequence, but be sure, you
can fool your body into not losing weight, even post surgery. The lust for
food is a powerful lust. My biggest suggestion for anyone is to be sure
they are dealing with the head issues both pre and post surgery. You have
to be prepared for the changes, if you are not, you can set yourself up to
fail. Take care, Patricia P.
— Patricia P
May 22, 2007
Hi Mary... The question you ask is a personal choice question. You will
find people that pro/con for each surgery. Another question you could ask
people that may help you make your decision is why they chose the surgery
that they did besides being one that the insurance would pay for. I did a
ton of research prior to my surgery and chose the RNY. The reason that I
chose this route was that I know myself very well now, more so after
intensive counseling, which I recommend to everyone to deal with their
issues with food. Food is used as a bandaid in most instances and as a
friend. That friend (food) is always there for you, it never lets you
down, it does what you want it to do and that is soothe your boo-boos -
physical as well as emotional. But that friendship comes at a very high
and self-destructive cost. I would recommend counseling as if/when you
have the surgery and can no longer use food as your soother, bandaid etc..
what will take its place? Will it be something self-destructive like
drugs, alcohol, gambling, excessive shopping or something positive like
spending quality time with your family, exercise, new hobby, etc. Mine
would have been the excessive shopping. With the lap-band there will be no
"dumping syndrome" when you eat cheesecake, chocolate, excessive
fatty or sweet foods. Which if you are not disciplined, you will be doomed
to fail. Don't get me wrong, though, you will still have to be very
disciplined with the other - the RNY, on the other hand, is restrictive and
malasorptive. Because of the way they re-route your intestines, most
people find when they eat something high in carbs, sugar, fat will have
what is called a "dumping syndrome" This is when your body
reacts to a sudden fluctuation of sugar. You will get sweaty, have heart
palpitations, nausea, vomiting,diarrhea, and weakness or feeling like you
have the true flu. Everyone experiences this differently. Some people get
all of the symptoms, some only a few, but any of them are unpleasant, put
them altogether they make you feel miserable. The symptoms can last for an
hour to all day. I felt that I needed the "body police" as I
couldn't trust myself to stay away from the carbs on my own. And, true to
form, I have tried small amounts of these most desired foods and have paid
the price listed above. The other thing to consider is that with the
lapband, you will not have the problems associated with the malabsorptive
part of the RNY being deficiencies in your vitamins and minerals that you
absorb through your food. With the lap band you will absorb all of your
vitamins and minerals. With the RNY, because the first portion and part of
the 2nd portion of your small intestine is bypassed (where many of these
vitamins/minerals are absorbed) you will have the potential of becoming
anemic, low on your calcium - that can lead to osteoporosis, low on your
b-vitamins which can lead to the anemia and some other diseases in extreme
deficiencies. So you will need to take vitamin and mineral supplements for
the rest of your life ... no way of getting around it. So as you can see
there are pros/cons of each surgery. You have to know yourself well enough
to know what you need and what you can live with... good luck to you and
hope this helps. There is an excellent book that I tell everyone about (I
should be getting some royalties back.. LOL) but it is called "The
Doctor's Guide to Weight Loss Surgery" by Louis Flancbaum. It is the
most complete and comprehensive book that I have come across. It takes you
through the thinking about the surgery and the different types of surgery,
the application - approval/denial process, immediately post op, long term
post op. It was the best $15 that I have spent. I still refer back to it
now and then....
— Kari_K
May 22, 2007
I considered both prior to my RNY in June 06. My decision came down to the
fact that I felt that I could very easily defeat the lap band as I like
sugary liquid drinks.. milkshakes, soft foods, etc. I felt that I was
setting myself up for failure and that if I was truly going to do this then
it was all or nothing. Since being post op, a close friend of mine had to
have her lap band removed because she had major problems with hers. I've
also seen those with lapbands eat totally wrong foods, but because the body
lets them, they have no positive reinforcement that it's bad for them. With
the RNY.. I know that if I dare to eat ice cream I'm going to be sick. I
love it but it makes me sicker than a dog. I used to eat it every day and
I've maybe had it 3 x since surgery, all low carb, low sugar brands and
I'ts made me ill each time. Easy way to learn that its not soemthing you
can eat.
As in everything though, this is a very personal decision and you have to
look at all the options and choose what is the right proceedure for your
lifestyle. I knew RNY was mine... you have to figure out what yours is...
— oceanrayne
May 22, 2007
My husband had the lap band and it perforated his stomach. His hemoglobin
count went from 160 to 72. Very dangerous. He now has a roux en y by pass
and is doing very well.
— azb1944
May 25, 2007
Thank you everyone for your responses.
— listeningkind
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