WASaBubbleButt

A revision is a very different procedure, it requires more OR time for one. Also, you HAVE to go to a true revision surgeon and not just someone who does bands and sleeves. The risks for bleeding, perforation, infection, and leaks is 3x greater in a revision vs. a straight sleeve procedure. Does your insurance cover DS? There might be a way around this insurance issue in getting a sleeve. ;o)

Fantastic! Congrats to you!

What procedure did your father have? Would you please provide more details?

What aftercare are you wanting after your sleeve?

I know a guy in the US that advertises DS but truth is, he doesn't even DO DS. He does ERNY. So failed bypass patients go to him thinking they can revise to DS and instead they come out believing ERNY is superior and it isn't. If a bypass patient loses 200# on bypass and then it fails and they regain the 200#, ERNY will give them about a 50# weight loss. They will still be 150# overweight. DS would give them about a 180# weight loss. Yet this doctor doesn't do DS so he pushes ERNY and it's just not going to work. That's why you always want to go to someone who does all the major procedures and you get a better idea and a more balanced view of all the surgeries. There is a doctor in MX that only does banding. He refers to sleeves as stomach mutilation. It's not stomach mutilation but it sure sounds bad when a "doctor" doesn't like a given procedure and calls it a name that is deadly sounding. Truth is, he doesn't do sleeves so he pushes everyone into banding. Doctors are in business to make money, no way around it. They are not in business to send you to a doctor that does the procedure you want, they are in business to take YOUR money for the procedures THEY do. No single WLS is right for the entire population, it just isn't. I don't like band mills, bypass mills, sleeve mills... if someone only does one procedure type I'd find another doctor. Besides, banding is the easiest procedure to do, it's simple. If a doctor can only do the simple procedures that might be a red flag as well.

Very true! And through this we have become friends as well... nothing like those 3.5 hour conversations on the phone! HA!

Many are happy with their band. The problem is with those who have problems. The first reaction of others is... what did you do wrong? Sometimes people do everything just right and the band doesn't work. I was one of them. I did EVERYTHING by the book, I was the star band patient and the band almost killed me. You know, WLS is like a computer. What is in today is out tomorrow. Yesterday bands and bypass were the "in" thing. Today it is sleeves and DS. 20% of bypass fails, 25% of bands fail. We do what we have to in order to lose weight. My frustration is not with band surgeons, my frustration is with band mills, band factories. Those that ONLY do bands. They do not offer patients ALL their options. People need to know all their options before they can make a reasonable choice. If a doc only does bands/bypass they do not tell of other options such as sleeves and DS. Doctors are in business to make money like the rest of us. If they do not DO sleeves and DS they aren't going to push those procedures. It would be like a honda dealer pushing a toyota. They just won't. People need to know ALL their options and the TRUTH of each option. Not just what that particular surgeon offers.

Nobody can resist us. ;o)

The LONG TERM issues are greater in number with banding. You can have: Esophageal damage, Esophageal dilation, Esophageal spasms, Pouch dilation, Stoma spasms, Port flips, Port infections (possible each time you get a fill), Band intolerance, Slips, Obstruction due to swelling, Erosion, Band intolerance, Scarring growing under the band causing too much restriction even with no fill, Mechanical malfunctions such as tubing being disconnected, holes, leaks, kinked tubing all requiring surgery to repair. Sleeves long term can have: The need to take B12 Vitamins, Strictures. Many food cravings do disappear with sleeves because of the removal of Ghrelin. If you check out the sleeve section of LBT you'll see many (most?) people that no longer have the cravings we used to have. Not to the same degree. I fully relate to the food addiction issue but for me it's a food obsession. We really don't go through withdrawal like a cocaine addict. We obsess over food. We think about it all the time. The difference really needs to be made because there is no effective treatment for an addiction but there is effective treatment for obsession. With an addiction you suck it up and deal with it. With an obsession you take meds and it can potentially kill your head hunger and the way you think about food all the time. This is one area where I LOVE LOVE LOVE my doc! He will give Luvox or Paxil for food obsessions. If you are really struggling he'll treat it. I have a lot more control over food obsession today than I did three years ago. But sometimes it gets hard and I take Luvox for a few weeks and that kills my head hunger. I just quit taking it a few days ago because it's under control again. I take Luvox probably 2-3 weeks maybe 2-3 times a year. When I take Luvox I become one of those people that needs to remember to eat. With no head hunger and no stomach hunger it makes life easier. When both are kicking it, life is hard. Very hard. There is actually a huge amount of information on the internet about sleeves. Thing is, you have to go to a website of a doctor that does them or the information is outdated. Long term studies just came out last summer. Many doctors have not updated their websites. I was a little apprehensive of being sleeved but now that it's done it's no big deal. I was far more aware of my band than I am of my sleeve. I just get full quickly. It's done by lap surgery just like a band. Recovery is about the same. Having been banded and sleeved I know being sleeved is so much easier. I don't have to worry about fills, unfills, restriction issues, sweet spots, getting stuck, etc. For the sleeve they remove the fundus of your stomach. That part of your stomach does two things, it is elastic so it holds a great deal of food and it produces Ghrelin. That's all it does. All the important stuff is still there. The nerves, the pyloric valve, etc. It's just smaller, that's all. With a band if you don't chew well you get stuck. I don't have to chew as much as I did with a band. We have to chew better than we did before when we inhaled food but nothing like with banding. I view the fundus of my stomach the same as I would a diseased appendix or gallbladder. It does nothing positive for me. I do not want the ability to eat a large quantity of food, I want to eat small portions without chewing to a paste and be full quickly. This does it for me. You choose not to alter your anatomy. What if you had gallbladder problems such as stones? Wouldn't you alter your anatomy to remove it? I would. The fundus of my stomach was nothing short of unhealthy because it permitted me to eat, gain weight, and be obese. And btw, you are altering your anatomy with a band. Mother Nature did not intend to put a band around your stomach and grow layers of scar tissue engulfing the band. People think that you can remove the band and your stomach is exactly like it was before banding. Not true. Sleeves are not for everyone, bands are not for everyone. Same with Bypass and DS. You have to find what works for you and go for it.

Some of this info is outdated. They started doing the sleeve as a two part procedure for mega high BMI people. If they were too high risk to have DS or bypass due to extreme weight (600#, for example) they would do a sleeve and wait until they lost a few hundred pounds and then they would go back and do the bypass or DS. They discovered that people were not needing to go back for the bypass or DS, they were getting to goal with the sleeve alone. They started watching weight loss and recording results and they discovered that the sleeve is an excellent stand alone procedure and just in the US it's been done since at least 2000. As a two part procedure for about 30 years. Not exactly new. ;o) The weight loss stats are also outdated. New stats came to light last summer and show much better weight loss than 40-60%. The procedure also removes Ghrelin, a hormone that tells your brain you are hungry. We sleeved folks don't really experience much hunger which obviously helps with weight loss. There is less than 1% additional "surgical" risk with a sleeve vs. a band BUT... long term the sleeve has far fewer risks and complications than banding. Overall the sleeve is actually safer than the band with better and faster weight loss.

The makers of Necter (Syntrax) offered me a job a long time ago. At first I was going to take it and then changed my mind. But when I thought I was going to work there they sent me full containers of every product they made. Suffice it to say, I had Protein products I didn't even have room for! When the chocolate and Vanilla Necter first came out they sent me that too and I tried it and thought it was beyond disgusting. But, I am in the minority, most think it is fantastic. I don't like any of them, I think they are all gross but again, most absolutely love the stuff. I can't get beyond the smell. Gahhhh

I didn't make my band experience what it was. While I agree with you in most aspects on this topic there are an awful lot of people that do everything right and just can't hack the band. Slips, erosion, band intolerance, etc. I think those are the people that are forgotten. I recall a post just a couple of weeks ago, a person was really struggling with reflux, etc. One of the people responding said that obviously the person was doing something wrong so what was it? We are quick to blame the person when in reality, many times it is the band and not the person. So for the most part I agree with what you are saying by... make the best of the band and do your job. I did it and lost well, and quickly. But then band problems kicked in after hitting goal and I was beyond miserable. Sometimes scar tissue forms under the band and with no saline there is still too much restriction. That's not the person, it's the band.

You need to call your doctor right away. Are your nail beds darker as well? Seriously, call your doctor right now.

It's a very high quality protein product. Check out the prices here, I'll bet with shipping it will be cheaper: Syntrax Nectar This is the cheapest place I have found for stuff like this. No matter how much you buy shipping is only $5.00.

I didn't save the links. But they came from Inamed. Inamed is saying that people are maintaining, on average, a loss of about half their excess weight at the end of five years and the re ops are anywhere from 30-50% depending on what you consider a re op. Whether it be a port replacement or the actual band such as in a slip repair. They first posted the actual numbers about 3 months ago. Then they changed it to say it's about the same as bypass for reops and weight loss. Well, it isn't the same as bypass, when they first posted the details instead of what they have now, generalities - they were comparing banding to a target group of bypass that did not have enough intestine bypassed. Drug companies are bottom feeders in every way.

The hardest part of being sleeved for me was not guzzling water anymore. I really missed that. Everyone told me I'd get used to it and I was positive I'd NEVER get used to it. But, I did. Now it's no big deal. Now that the weather is getting warmer I love drinking ice water and every now and again I wish I could just down a glass of water but it's not a big deal.

When I first started on solids I was burping like a truck driver. It was embarrassing. I was beginning to regret being sleeved. I mean seriously, how feminine is it to burp like that after a meal? Totally unexpected and LOUD! Dr. Aceves explained that it was esophageal swelling and irritation and it would go away. It did. I never do that anymore. Maybe you guys have your own version of my burping? ;o)

CONGRATS!!! That's fantastic. You get your life back! I'm really happy for you! Are you excited? No worries about last dinner. We all go through it. I could tell you not to do it but you will anyway. Just keep remembering that you WILL eat those foods again, you are getting a sleeve and NOT a band! ;o)

Sure, if he has done at least 250 DSs and 250 bypass or at least a total of 250 DS and a total of 500 staple lines he's fine. Does he do DS by lap? Still do your research and really know everything there is to know about him. Ask for bougie size, stats, leak tests, etc.

No, I had band intolerance. Sadly, the new stats (from Inamed and other sources) are showing complications are going up. 30-50% of people need a 2nd surgery in the first five years to correct something with the band. A slip, erosion, flipped port, etc.

Daisy, when did you feel full on Clear liquids with your banding post op diet? When did you EVER feel full on clear liquids?

I lost 132#. And yes, I feel that way. The band about killed me. I was quite ill by the time I got a revision. Had I not done the revision when I did I wouldn't have been a good surgical risk for even band removal. I still have esophageal damage from the band. Bands are just not panning out to be good choices long term.

Your surgeon is correct, per Inamed people are keeping about half their excess weight off at the five year point. Complications are on the rise, not the decline. Banding provides the slowest and least weight loss of all bariatric surgeries. I think a band is okay for a 30BMI person. Higher than that and people just don't KEEP the weight off.

Your surgeon is correct. The band is the slowest weight loss and lowest weight loss of all procedures. Per Inamed people are losing about half their excess weight at 5 years. The complication are on the rise and they do not seem to be getting better. I wouldn't get another band if someone gave it to me for free. Actually, you couldn't pay me to have another band. I value quality of life over banding.

Yes, weight loss is better and faster than banding. Initial weight loss is faster because you come out of OR with restriction unlike a band. With a band you have to wait to heal before they can start doing fills and giving you restriction. With a band I couldn't eat bread, Pasta, cold foods, hot foods, eggs, potatoes, etc. With a sleeve I can eat anything I want but in amazingly small quantities. I can't speak to quantity, the band for me was either wide open or obstructed. I never had a sweet spot.