Weight Loss Surgery: What is the Best Procedure?

hi i am going to undergo a banding operation in january anyone had one and any advice thanks spence

My sister had the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago. She hit her goal weight within 18 months and lost a total of 192 pounds.

My mother had the same surgery 18 months ago and she hit her goal weight in about a year. She lost 126 pounds.

Both say they would recommend the surgery to anyone and say it has changed their lives beyond words. However, the risks are great and if you don't follow the doctors' order exactly you are putting yourself at greater risk than is necessary. For instance:

My sister's mother-in-law has gastric bypass surgery but did not follow the doctors orders to stop smoking and stop drinking carbonated soda before the surgery. These 2 habits contributed to nearly losing her life on the operating table due to breathing issues and numerous infection issues after surgery because her immune system was compromised. She lied to her doctor about the smoking and lied to him about drinking diet soda (the soda inhibits proper healing of the incision site within your intestines - or something like that).

So be wise with your decision. Follow the doctors' orders. And know what you're doing before you step into such a serious operation.
~Pam

I am waiting for my insurance approval for Roux NY surgery...and I can't wait! I know several people who have had this procedure and they are doing amazing...even those who had it done openly 3 years ago (mine will be laproscopically.) Just do what the doctor tells you and follow the instruction post op for at least 6 months and you should be fine...that's what they say anyway...there is a great site obesityhelp.com that answers questions, has a chatroom, before and after pic, journals to read of those that have had it done, etc. and I have found this site to be extremely helpful. Good luck to everyone.

I had the Roux-en-Y in October 2003. I have lost 120 lbs. , but I did have complications early on that landed me back in the hospital for a week.

Would I do it all again? Heck, yes. I have my life back and plan on living quite a few more years.

The main thing that I would say is that you really can't recommend one procedure over another to a person. That person really needs to do the research and find out which of the options works best for them.

Just be careful with the obesityhelp.com webiste. It's pretty obvious who sponsors the site and what their interests are.

I'm sure it's a useful resource, but please remember what the goal of the site is. Don't use it as the soul source of information about these procedures, try to get a well-rounded view - as I've seen quoted on this blog and other places, there is a fatality rate of 2% in the first year that you should keep in mind. Of course, for the people that this surgery really helps, that may be better odds than they're currently looking at.

Just my 2 cents.
-D

Does anyone know how soon after surgery you can do normal work. I am on my feet and moving constantly on my job. Also, if you have lap band surgery can you have alcoholic beverages. Does anyone know if Star Jones had surgery to lose her weight?

I returned to work a week after my surgery however I am not constantly on my feet. You might like to have a couple of weeks off. You can still drink alcohol with the band but remember that it is dead calories. It in fact works against the way the band works as it will just go straight through, however on a special occasion or night out its not that big a deal.
Sorry no idea what Star Jones had but I would have my lap band done every year for the rest of my life if I had to. I have lost 137lb in 14 months. I LOVE my band!

I was banded about 6 years ago now....im 24..at first the procedure was pretty drastic, at the time i was the youngest patient in all of Canada to have it done, and my surgery was filmed and a documentary made for a Toronto news station. Would i recommend this to sombody my age? defenately not. Did it help me a lot? yes, at the time; but not without consequence. I lost a dramatic amount of weight extreamly quickly, with no saline fill in my band at all. My recovery took a few weeks, and it was a few monthes before i could eat solid food. Still years later, I cant eat certain things.. the weight has slowly been coming back on, and some days i cant even swallow my own saliva. Things get stuck, my chest hurts every now and then.. the stitches on one side of my port popped one evening and i had this thing sticking two inches out between my breasts... For sombody who just CANNOT control themself, for sombody willing to take the risk, and for sombody who is extreamly obese... Id say go for it.. but know what to expect. My surgeon never mentioned that some days i would have to drive to emergency and get pressure released from the port so that i could swallow again. He never mentioned how tender by chest would be even 6 years later. Ive gone through this whole adventure with NO saline fill. ive lost about 130lbs, kept off about 100 of it. Ive tried to get my port filled again to get over my plateau, but I cant even swallow with only a 1cc top up. I would not suggest any young people get this.. im stuck with this thing the rest of my life and its only a burden to me now. We are all relative, but if my daughter ends up with a weight issue, im teaching her self discipline and fun ways to stay fit without having to look to surgery for a solution.

I'm with Great-West Healthcare. Does anyone know how long it takes to get an approval from them. I'm waiting for approval on the gastric bypass. The only thing I keep hearing is that United Healthcare is the best for approvals. Let me know what you think.

Thanks St. Louis Missouri

if you were banded and hate it then why dont you have it removed?

jan said:
if you were banded and hate it then why dont you have it removed?[...]

I dont have it removed.. because I dont have an extra few thosand for the surgery.. nor do I have the funds set aside to be able to have two weeks off for recovery.

Easier said then done .

I had bariatric surgery three years ago and started drinking soda's a month ago. I noticed I was eating more so I stoped. Will my stomach shrink back? Do I have to continue to eat small six meal a day? I'v noticed I have gained some weight back. I need to back on track. Please help...