band v bypass

Hi all, this will be my first post....

I would like some feed back as I was offered a bypass which I turned down and asked for a band... I am now wondering if I made the right decision, after seeining so many successful bypass patients on here and not so many band patients.

My question is can a band achieve as much as a bypass patient???
I am aware that it would proberly take longer but can it be done??? lots of people struggling scares me...

tianna70 said:

Hi all, this will be my first post....

I would like some feed back as I was offered a bypass which I turned down and asked for a band... I am now wondering if I made the right decision, after seeining so many successful bypass patients on here and not so many bypass patients.

My question is can a band achieve as much as a bypass patient???
I am aware that it would proberly take longer but can it be done??? lots of people struggling scares me...

Click to expand...

sorry do u mean band there?

ill be honest....it seems the bypassers do fab compared to banders...i agree...but apparently over 5 years they both lose the same amount and apparently the same percentage will fail on the band as on the bypass!!

with the band it does seem like u got to work harder but it doesnt seem to be as life impacting as the bypass.... ie dumping and all. i cant really say as i havent done either yet but i like the idea of a band personally....good luck whatever u choose

well that is good to here, im not in any great rush as long as I can get there, I am having the band on 28/5 so excited...

Whichever option you choose, you will provide yourself with a tool that if you use it properly will help you lose and maintain weight.

I think you have to decide which 'tool' will suit your eating habits and lifestyle better. I was originally thinking band as it seemed less invasive and less permanent but I am a grazer and will nibble all day and the band would still allow me to do that whereas the bypass would make it more difficult.
You know neither option is a quick fix and both have to be worked with so you need to read the fabulous new banders section and see if you relate to their stories as opposed to the bypass stories.

Good luck with making the right decision xx

I hope I have made the right decision, I do pick but really am a large portion eater...

well I suppose working hard is the answer.
Thanks for you comments guys.

Hi Tianna and welcome xx

I never like to answer for a bypasser because I don't have that knowedge of what it's really like to have one.

However, I do have a band and I think I have learnt a lot of stuff the hard way!

Your last comment about being more a big portion eater hopefully will mean that a band is adequate for you if that is what you really want.

Weight loss is about the same in the longterm but , wether you have a band / bypass / sleeve, the real test is wether you change your old habits and develop life long new healthy ones.
Anyone can regain if they don't change what they do on a daily basis.

The band will not give instant weight loss, you have to be prepared to find a good eating plan til you get your sweet spot and that may take several fills.
Everyone is different.

I think joining a Weight Watchers/Rosemary Conley club when you are at the solids stage is a great way to keep you on the right path until and after you start having fills.

People can struggle with any WLS type, not just bands.

If you are expecting band/bypass/sleeve to work automatically without any effort from yourself then you will be disappointed.
So luckily you have found us and we can give you some good guidelines and info that has worked for us to help you maximise the effects of whichever surgery you go for.

I would have a good read of what the banders are up to if you are concerned as we have been noting our food in take, exercise and weight losses and you can see the sort of thing you will need to do in order to get good results.

Similar threads are around the forum for other op types too, so have a really good read and see if there are any questions that pop up for you.

Hiya, can't really add anything, except to say welcome and good luck on your op. xx

Just wanted to add that a lot of people seem to think that the bypass is a far easier/faster cure than the band but i have read a lot of articles saying that after the 2 years mark more and more bypassers are starting to put weight back on and that it has gone from 5% to now 10% and rising. I have read a lot of forums regarding the band vs bypass debate since my operation as I was having some doubts as whether I had done the right thing turning down the bypass but from what I have read on the forums many people are in agreement that in regards to changing your eating habits and dealing with your food demons for life, that the band is easier as we are having to sort our issues out much faster and that losing weight quickly doesnt mean that you are changing your eating habbits. What I wanted from WLS was a tool which would aid me in changing my eating habbits for life, which i know it has started doing already without having any fills in, I take great pride in knowing that I can have chocolate and crisps but I am choosing not to and that is extremely liberating

Hi,

When I was looking into it, I was in a quandary. If I had my time again ... I'd have gone for the Sleeve. If it was a choice between the bypass or the band hhmm well... I'd have gone for the bypass (although at the time of my decision the idea of replumbing and talk of residual weight gain really bothered me).

You've made you decision now and assuming it can't be changed, I'd suggest you stick around ... lurk (like I do) for support.

However .......... and it's a big however I've never been at my sweet spot, so I've only lost a total of 14Kg (now reduced to 10Kg due to defill) my one year surgery anniversary is in 3 days! When I FINALLY get my fill I'll see how I go over the next few months.

On another note .... I'm no expert ... but my surgeon - who has bypassed lots of people on this forum suggested I have the band (don't know if he had a vested interest in banding me over bypassing me - it was done privately) ... he was not keen on the Sleeve. There are stories of failure on bypass as well as banding. I think this forum is overrun with successful bypassers because the weight change come very quickly (relative to bands). May be in2-5yrs time the demographic here will look a lot different?

JigglyPuff87 said:

Just wanted to add that a lot of people seem to think that the bypass is a far easier/faster cure than the band but i have read a lot of articles saying that after the 2 years mark more and more bypassers are starting to put weight back on and that it has gone from 5% to now 10% and rising. I have read a lot of forums regarding the band vs bypass debate since my operation as I was having some doubts as whether I had done the right thing turning down the bypass but from what I have read on the forums many people are in agreement that in regards to changing your eating habits and dealing with your food demons for life, that the band is easier as we are having to sort our issues out much faster and that losing weight quickly doesnt mean that you are changing your eating habbits. What I wanted from WLS was a tool which would aid me in changing my eating habbits for life, which i know it has started doing already without having any fills in, I take great pride in knowing that I can have chocolate and crisps but I am choosing not to and that is extremely liberating

Click to expand...

intresting read..and wow u have lost loads in a small amount of time!

I guess the short answer is yes you can lose as much with the band as you can with the bypass, that is providing you do your bit, but that's kind of important regardless of whatever type of procedure you opt for.

I've seen bander's have spectacular results, and I've seen bander's fail badly, but I've seen the same thing with bypassers too. Whatever you decide upon if you don't make the changes to your lifestyle that are required, then intimately you will fail.

The bypass gives you two ways of losing weight. You have the restriction of the small pouch, and the malabsorption that comes from having a large part of your intestine bypassed. Malabsorption settles down after around 18 months to two years so you have to make the most of that time if you are to maximise your loss. It does mean that bypassers will lose weight much more quickly often losing the bulk of the excess weight in the first year.

Bander's have to go through a period of band adjustment and that can mean it will take a while to find the level of restriction that works best for them. They don't have malabsorption to help so they lose weight more slowly than bypassers, and they also have to be far more self disciplined in regards lifestyle changes in the first year because they don't have their guts rearranged like a bypass patient.

Complications post op are possible with both types of surgery, as I guess is the number of people that regain weight after two years or more.

If you are sure that you have the discipline to work the band to its maximum effect then it should be an effective method of weight loss over time. If you have other issues such as diabetes then the bypass is the best option.

For me I didn't have a choice the bypass was the only option on offer to me at the time. I'm really pleased with how its worked out for me but though it would be my choice if I had to do it over again, I would never say that its better than the band.

Good luck with your choice and your journey

Hi

I was also struggling to choose (spoke to surgeon who was happy to leave decision to me), have lost quite a bit of weight (About 15 stones !!!!) while waiting for operation so for me the initial speed of weight loss after the operation was not the main concern, it’s the long term maintenance side of things that are important to me.

Think I will be going for the band. Seems effect at long term maintenance:-

From (Long-Term Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Body Weight, Comorbidities, and Nutritional Status -- Shah et al. 91 (11): 4223 -- Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)



And (from Meta-Analysis: Surgical Treatment of Obesity (heavy reading…))



Another concern I had was that bypass was better at suppressing hunger than banding, which I still believe to be the case, but banding still does appear to offer significant satiety in the long term.

from Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding Induces Prolonged Satiety: A Randomized Blind Crossover Study -- Dixon et al. 90 (2): 813 -- Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)


White bars, Optimal restriction; black bars, reduced restriction; striped bars, BMI-matched controls

Also see, Different Plasma Ghrelin Levels after Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass and Adjustable Gastric Banding in Morbid Obese Subjects -- Leonetti et al. 88 (9): 4227 -- Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

Good luck whatever you chose.

magicbeans said:

intresting read..and wow u have lost loads in a small amount of time!

Click to expand...

Just to clarify I havent lost all of that since my band! Im 3 weeks post-op and have lost 5 pounds, which im very pleased with! I lost 9 stone over the period of a year and a half before my op.

Just want to wish you every success with your surgery Tianna x

You have had a lot of help and information above to put your mind at rest. I think it goes to say that whatever surgery you have.....the weight will not dissapear without your imput....like most things in life you have to work with it!

Good Luck and Best wishes hun x







Love Kat x

wow, thats impressive!

Thanks all....x