Cleo's Mom

I have posted this elsewhere and got several replies - none encouraging - so I will try here: I want the lap band removed (placed in 2008 by different surgeon) but I am still struggling with the decision to get the sleeve. Ultimately I know the decision is mine and I have to do what I think is right but I'd like some practical (not philosophical) advice. To me the main purpose of any WSL should be to improve one's quality of life. If losing weight does that - great. If your medical conditions improve - great. If you can do things you couldn't do before - great. And finally - if you look and feel better - great. My band is unfilled now and I can eat most anything. It is a crap shoot though as to when I get stuck or feel very uncomfortable and need to make myself throw up. I also get left shoulder pain. I was diagnosed with GERD many years ago and have been on nexium for about 10 years - so I have no heartburn or symptoms of GERD. During this time I have slept elevated. At age 64 I have chronic back pain and arthritis. Tylenol is not effective. My weight doesn't keep me from doing anything - more so the back pain and arthritis (neither of which improved with my weight loss with the band). So that brings me to my dilemma: I am at a BMI of 35 and the surgeon says I can expect to lose about 45 pounds. And I won't be able to take NSAIDS for life to treat my pain. I have also read that about 1/3 of those who didn't have acid reflux develop it after the sleeve. I have also heard the word "stuck" and vomiting and sliming with referral to the sleeve. Then there are all the foods (even healthy ones) that one cannot eat after the sleeve and many posts about problems with foods - getting enough Protein, etc... So, I guess what I am trying to decide is if the sleeve will improve the quality of my life or create problems I don't have now without benefits to my medical conditions (that's asking a lot for 45 pounds). Any advice - especially from those who didn't have a lot of weigh to lose?

@@cute1 This is why I say all weight loss surgery is a crap shoot. You never know until you've had it what YOUR results will be or what complications you many have. I hope you have success with your resleeve.

@@losinghope15 My suggestion to you is to call your surgeon's office and get copies of everything - all of your pre-and post op tests - most especially each operative report - every time they cut you open. Create your own timeline of when and what happened. Keep copies of all your overdue bills and your financial situation, including losing your job. You might need this for future litigation should it come to that. You've been in misery for 8 months and this is unacceptable, IMO. I think the suggestion to call various agencies is a good one. Start with SS disability and then try the other ones suggested. food banks, churches, etc.. all good ideas. You shouldn't have to put up with the pain and the financial problems both. Seek help and good luck. Your post is a reminder that complication might only happen in 1% but if you're that 1% statistics don't matter.

My understanding is that all forums on here are open to all members who are free to post their opinions as you are yours. Neither I nor anyone else posted fears or misconstrued risks. I simply stated what I would do and I stand by my statement. People are free to have their surgeries anywhere they wish, as am I.

You are smart to do your research an you are right that every minute count in an emergency.

If I were having this surgery I would want it in a hospital that could handle any emergency that would arise post-surgically and not have to be transported to another facility. Every minute counts in an emergency and I wouldn't care how close another facility was. For me saving money isn't worth risking your life.

@@JanetPRN My husband also had fundoplication surgery about 33 years ago to control his chronic heartburn. He had no muscle at the base of his esophagus. Back then it was a large incision (not laproscopic). The surgery was unsuccessful. He continued to have heartburn, started on PPI's and then developed Barrett's and then esophageal cancer from which he died. @@craigcu Having Barrett's was definitely a precursor to my husband developing esophageal cancer. No, he did not have WLS but did have the fundoplication surgery. The "wait and see" approach with the yearly endoscopies was clearly a failure. Because he had no dysplasia one year to esophageal cancer the next. They removed his esophagus, pulled up his stomach, he had no lymph node involvement, so the prognosis was good. Eleven months later it was in his liver and terminal. They have made progress in treating Barrett's now and if I had it I would undergo any treatment to remove it, including surgery to remove the Barrett's portion of my esophagus. Good luck to you.

Be very cautious with Barrett's. Personally, I would not have the sleeve with Barrett's. My husband had Barrett's esophagus (did not have WLS), took acid blockers (PPI's) and had yearly endoscopies and went from one year with no dysplasia to esophageal cancer the next and died two years later despite being caught early and given a good prognosis. Esophageal cancer is a very difficult cancer to treat. His treatment was to remove his esophagus and pull up his stomach to create a new one. Can that be done with the sleeve? Ask your surgeon that question. There's a reason some surgeons won't do the sleeve on patients with Barrett's esophagus.

@@Band07 I am so glad things went well. I have been following your posts about your difficulties with both the lap band and the sleeve. I hope the MGB works out for you. I think your experience underlines the fact that no WLS is perfect and each carries its own risks and results. And the results for one person are not necessarily the results of someone else. The complications forums certainly prove that. You decided to get the sleeve because of all those who said it was "great" and your experience was that it wasn't. Good luck to you and I hope you have much success and will let us know.

While the band might not be about restriction it certainly NEVER, and I mean NEVER dimmed by appetite or reduced it in any way. The physiology of satiety is when the stomach is stretched (from eating) it sends signals to the brain that it is full and you've reached satiety. The amount of food it takes to reach this point varies from person to person. When I ate with the band I was always still hungry - like the bottom part of my stomach was saying "feed me" but I couldn't eat more because it would have caused pressure or pain. So, for me the band was the worst of both worlds - still hungry but couldn't eat. And of the 75 pounds I lost, only 15 were from the band. I lost the 60 prior to and right after the band with all the dieting and month of liquids only. Research shows that it is not very effective for long term weight loss. It is even promoted as allowing for a loss of up to 50% of EXCESS weight. So, if you weigh 300 pounds and should weigh150, then it will allow you to lose 75 pounds - you would be at 225 and still be obese. There is a reason why some surgeons no longer do lap bands. You have to ask yourself why.

@@Erica Brownlee He is just going to do the bypass with no reason? No further testing done? Nothing? Aren't you concerned about this? Did you ask any questions or get a copy of your sleeve operative report?

My surgeon said no NSAIDs for life. Said they can cause ulcers and thin the lining of the stomach. Since I have chronic and acute back problems and arthritis for which Tylenol is ineffective, that would be a problem for me.

You are right to be concerned about the long term affects of GERD and esophageal cancer. I know because my husband (who didn't have WLS) suffered from GERD, developed Barrett's esophagus which was being monitored yearly and went from NO dysplasia to esophageal cancer the next year. Though caught early (they removed his esophagus) and given an optimistic prognosis, it was in his liver 11 months later and he died the next year at a young age. If you have GERD the sleeve can make it worse. They suggest RNY for those with GERD and it seems to resolve the issue. It seems like you are too tight. I have always said that regardless of which WLS you have - eating should not be painful. Didn't we go through this to get healthier? We shouldn't have to have pain when eating or not be able to drink water or sleep sitting up. That is not a healthy lifestyle regardless of the weight loss. Btw, I had the band put in in 2008, unfilled in 2009 and have hated it every single day. It has never done one thing for me, including helping me to lose weight. But I am not ready for a revision of any kind. Too many problems with each of them. I think you should get an unfill, let yourself heal for awhile and not worry about the weight at this point and then maybe have some testing done to see what is going on with your band - and upper GI and endoscopy perhaps. Good luck

I'm the 4th in my family and I know of someone else.

Agreed. I cried. I am a big fan of Walton Goggins from back when he was on The Shield, then Sons of Anarchy and then Justified. He is an amazing actor.

It's about U.S. Deputy Marshall Raylan Givens, his nemesis Boyd Crowder and the girl Ava - all of whom grew up together in Harlan County, Kentucky and a whole host of other partners in crime. Not sure if it's on Netflix. The series finale just ended last night.

Just finished watching the series finale of Justified. Bittersweet as most of them are.

Please keep in mind in your band journey that eating should NEVER be painful (unless you are eating something soon after post op surgery you shouldn't). We all got this surgery as a tool to help us lose weight. The band (and all WLS) should allow you to eat the healthy foods in the right amount. What you are describing is a horror and you need to see your surgeon ASAP for an unfill. If he can't see you - go to the ER. You could get seriously dehydrated. Additionally, keeping a tight band is one of the reasons, IMO, for band failure - it causes erosion, GERD, esophageal dilation, etc.. Please get the help you need NOW.

I agree with those who say that we have a LOT to learn yet about the human body with regard to obesity. I don't believe that all naturally thin people eat little (and healthy) and exercise a lot. Many thin people stay thin/normal weight by smoking, too. While I do believe food is a big factor, I also believe that much of obesity is genetic. So, until they figure out that factor there is WLS. I also agree with the fat cell theory - that you have them at birth or develop them during pregnancy (another bonus for us women!!) and once there they can shrink but not disappear (unless through liposuction as the poster said) always ready to be filled. I also believe in the set point weight - that your body desires to get to a weight it is comfortable with - where you struggle trying to lose beyond it. But everyone has their own unique experiences with weight, weight loss and metabolism.

@@JustWatchMe Your post touched me. While reading it I think of how many of us who are or were obese beat ourselves up all the time. Some think they don't deserve anything. They settle for jerks in relationships. They don't take care of their health. They don't go out much. They think of themselves as fat, lazy, lacking willpower. It's a vicious cycle. No matter what size you are - you matter. And you deserve happiness. And you deserve to be rid of the toxic people in your life. That is a very important lesson I learned a long time ago. If people don't treat you the way you deserve to be treated - they're gone. Life is too short to waste energy on them. Each time you move forward with a life changing event - you will get stronger. And you will feel better. It takes time but it will happen. You deserve joy in your life - whatever form it takes. Accept it. Joy and happiness are not about a size or weight. You are stronger than that. Good luck. I

I think much of the future of medicine will be in gene therapy and we are a long way from that. I think conditions like cancer, alzheimers, parkinsons, autism and the autoimmune diseases will likely require gene therapy for prevention or cure. So, too, I think will obesity, which is a disease. I envision a (far away) future where people will say - "What? they used to cut out 80% of your stomach or reroute your stomach to lose weight? So glad they don't have to do that now".

Just call your surgeon and say you want a copy of your operative report and all pre and post op test results, including upper GI's etc. Depending on your surgeon there may be a fee but you have a right to see all of this. My philosophy is - if the doctor sees it, I see it, so I have an accordion folder filled with all my test results. It has served me very well, especially since I go back and forth between two hospital systems depending on what I am having done and they can't see each other's tests, etc... I would see a new doctor if I were you. My original surgeon lied to me and said he put a 10cc band in and when I got the operative report and went to see a different surgeon he told me it was a 4cc. Explains why I had so many problems when the first (idiot) surgeon filled me with 3cc quickly after surgery. You might be very surprised to find out what's in your operative report. I was.

@@Erica Brownlee I think the suggestions of going for a second opinion are good. However, before you do please get copies of all your tests, especially your operative report. You may be surprised at what you find. Doctors don't tell you everything. The operative report will.

@@parisshel I think the most important thing you said is that when one falls on the wrong side of statistics, the statistics don't matter. That is why I say all WLS is a crap shoot. If they are all 99% successful with no complications and you are in the 1% - it hardly matters, does it? And there are no guarantees which one you'll be.

@@JamieLogical That is a part of the equation many leave out. Your metabolism is affected by how active your are, how old you are, how much you weigh, by how many years of yo-yo dieting you engaged in as well as genetics.