[Miz Barkee]

Hi y'all! I am a long lost lamb. I used to post on the Low Carb boards more than 5 years ago. I had a bunch of problems crop up all at once and had to give up the internet for a while. I did survive, though. I know how many smart, supportive people participate on these boards so I am back for some help.

I have been battling the bulge since I could first open the refrigerator door and realizing that every diet only leads to weight gain, I began thinking about surgery. I saw Dr. Manny discuss lap band on Fox and Friends one morning and I decided that was for me. I had my bariatric consult on Thursday and the surgeon is pushing me toward gastric bypass. My personal MD wants me to have the bypass. I am terrified by the thought of it, but am considering it. I still like the idea of lap band a whole lot better, though.

So, how do I decide. Go with my doctors who are probably really smart and know what they are doing? They feel I need more rapid weight loss since I have recently developed diabetes. But I am doing well on meds and kind of feel like a slower loss is healthier and the lap band is less drastic and reversible. Apparently I am a good candidate for either type. I am in such a funk about it all and will have to make up my mind in two weeks when the insurance company makes its decision and the surgery will be scheduled.

I would truly appreciate some words of wisdom and encouragement.

Miz

[kfs151]

The very best choice is lots of research!! Take the input from your doctors and from here and weigh the pros and cons and decide which one is right for you.

I had the lapband a year ago and I'm very happy with my choice. I've lost 56 pounds this year and still have 100+ to go. My husband and I did our research and had a very frank conversation with my surgeon before making a final decision. I really wanted the lapband because I considered the surgical risks of the RNY unacceptably high (if something went wrong it went REALLY wrong), I felt very uncomfortable with the long-term malabsorption issues and I liked the idea of the slower (but steady) weight-loss.

My biggest fear and the biggest arguement for me in favor of the RNY is that with 150+ pounds to lose (I was 316 and 5' 3" at my consult) that I would be a lap-band success (50% of excess weight lost) and STILL be obese. My surgeon made it plain she favors the lapband, even for her high BMI patients and said she would personally revise me to the RNY if I wasn't happy.

Now that a year has gone by, I can say I absolutely made the right choice for me. I still struggle with head hunger and making the right food choices and I think I would have lost weight great initially with the RNY and then gained it back once my system adjusted to the smaller stoma (or stretched it out) and my old food habits persisted. I'm very happy to have lost 56 pounds (beats gaining!) but there is definitely a part of me that is sad/depressed that I am still well into the Morbidly Obese category, and will be for another 35 pounds.

My best advice to you is after you've done your research, visualize yourself after each of the surgeries, with the best cases and the worst cases. That was what turned the tide for me - I was profoundly uneasy about the long-term malabsorption and very concerned about the infection and other risks of a bad suture line in the stomach. The biggest negative for the lapband was not losing enough weight and that responsibility rests squarely on my shoulders - it's up to me how that turns out!

Good Luck with your choice,

[jiffypop]

hey there. miz B - KFS raises some excellent points. and here are a couple of more. and a few random thoughts. first of all, you have a lot on your plate, being just diagnosed with diabetes. just about any doc will tell you that ANY weight loss will help manage your diabetes - so the extremely rapid weight loss with the bypass isn't really an issue -especially since your diabetes is stable on meds.

if you go with the lapband and you're not getting the results you NEED to control your diabetes and overall health, then you can indeed have it converted to a bypass. the big question here is whether your insurance will cover TWO surgeries - and since many people have trouble getting coverage for ONE surgery, ya better ask them before making up your mind.

I'd also wonder why the docs want you to do the bypass. do they have far more experience with the bypass and not as much with the lapband? ask them directly about their experience and see what they say. there's one very very famous surgeon who only does open - and manages to convince all his patients that it's the right choice for them. the REAL reason is because he's never trained in laparascopic surgery. that doesn't mean that he's a bad surgeon - he's an excellent one - it's just that he only knows and feels secure with the open procedure.

so, go back and ask more questions and breathe.

[Leenie]

Back

Ditto's

Take your TIME, ask ask ask and really research. This is such a personal decision and don't let anyone make it for you.

You said you were here 5 years ago on the LC boards...did you have the same name?

Hugs and good luck !!!

[Miz Barkee]

Sorry, I’ve been unable to answer for a while. My computer decided to freeze up on me even though the weather here in South Carolina has been balmy! Oh well!

Starting from latest…Leenie – when I was here before I was Ynaught. I lost my password and couldn’t recover it since my email address no longer worked. So I had to re-register.

Jiffypop – I have just received my tentative surgery date of March 14. I should know about insurance coverage next week. Fingers crossed. Hubby says we will self-pay if need be. Dang, I was hoping for a really, really nice 25th anniversary present. Well, I suppose this could be it, although how do wrap an operation in a bow? The best I could get out of my surgeon about why he prefers the bypass over the lapband is that he thinks the lapband hype is generated by the company who produces the lapband. He says that the results are not as positive as they are made out to be in advertising about the procedure. His success has been greater with the bypass.

Kfs – I am doing so much research and I am researching here too! Seeing the comments you all make about the different surgeries is very helpful. You made a comment about “head hunger” and that is what I am most worried and curious about with regards to my psyche. I conquered smoking (I was at three and a half packs a day after 25 years of smoking when I quit almost 19 years ago!) and have no desire to smoke! I suppose I was also an alcoholic. At least I drank a whole lot and one day, about 10 years ago, I couldn’t stand the smell of liquor! I might have a vodka drink once a month but just to be social. I have no desire. I would love to wake up and not want food except to keep alive! Yeah, that’s too much to ask for, but I’m hoping for.

Do people get over “head hunger” ever? My dad, God rest his soul, did. He was obese his whole life until my mom began dying of cancer. Dad was with her 24/7 and forgot to eat. He lived 17 years after she died and he was skinny man for those last years. Food just stopped being an issue for him. All I want for Christmas is that same attitude!!!! I don’t see that happening now, but is there a chance that after surgery and getting used to eating less and having to stay away from some foods that the desire lessens? I know there is no silver bullet but can it at least be easier?

I’m rambling…thanks guys! It’s great to be back!

Miz

[jiffypop]

head hunger? oh yeah. well. at some point or other, at least we become aware that it's head hunger! so we end up making a conscious decision, and it's not always a good one. unfortunately.

and the answer you got from your doc wasn't a bad one - in fact, it's more than some docs will say. sometimes the reason for the better results with one over the other is actually the amount of support that the person can get.