WASaBubbleButt

Coming out of surgery your sleeved stomach is the size of a cigar. If you eat a piece of steak and don't chew well, something bigger than your stomach it can feel stuck. But after your stomach stretches out to a small banana in 4-6 months it's not a problem anymore. There is a learning curve to all WLS types.

I was banded and a year ago revised to a sleeve. I have to say, if I had it all to do over again I would have saved a ton of self pay money by getting the sleeve the first time around. Banding is hard, the restriction issues, sliming, foaming, PBing, slips, erosion, band intolerance, all of it. I was prepared to work hard and do my part, and I did. I was not prepared for the kind of hard the band was, hard as in the stuff I had no control over. I did work hard, I did eat the right things, I did exercise, and I did get to goal but my cost was esophageal damage. I think many feel threatened when we have WLS and someone else with the same procedure type does not do well through no fault of their own. That really isn't reason to assume they are not being honest. If it is the same sticky as I am thinking of it is warning people about being paid to post about doctors and encourage everyone to go to their doctor. This is something else you might want to read: Medical News: ASMBS: Gastric Banding Less Effective than Other Procedures - in Meeting Coverage, ASMBS from MedPage Today It depends on what your GERD is from. Most of us have hiatal hernias caused by obesity. If you have a hiatal hernia that should be repaired when they do your WLS. If your GERD is not from a hiatal hernia a band, sleeve, or DS would make it worse. Bypass is the best option.

You are always welcome to PM or email me. Anytime!!!! Always and forever. I'm not sure of the phrase herniated lap band, are you referring to a slip? Do you have my email address? I'll PM it to you.

But I did share factual information and ASMBS studies. What's the problem? Nurse09 told me my surgery was proven ineffective, that is false information. She wrote that the band is the most effective WLS type on the market today. That was wrong. She wrote one wrong piece of information after another. As a fellow nurse are you suggesting we should just let it go and let people think the wrong information is correct?

If you are not obese anymore they don't have to pay for a revision. If you have WLS benefits then they do have to treat the existing band problem. If you have a lot of swelling right now then a revision may not be possible until the swelling subsides. (

My insurance would have paid for a bulk of it due to the severe band problems I was having but I didn't want to jump through hoops and such and most of all, I wanted my original surgeon so I decided to self pay.

No, we can't stretch out our pouch because we do not have a pouch. Bands and bypass have pouches, sleeves and DS have stomachs. When 60-85% of your stomach is removed there isn't much left to stretch. The elastic portion is removed, what is left is the muscular portion. It does stretch but this is a known factor at the time of surgery. Coming out of surgery your stomach is this size of a cigar, or your finger. Over the next 4-6 months it stretches to the size of a small banana. That's the size we want it. I am 14 months post op and I can't eat anymore than I could at six months. This is going to be true with any restrictive only procedure. There are some people that need malabsorption with their restriction. It's the nature of the beast. Quite frankly, there are not many. It's YOUR stomach just smaller. One can develop a stricture, it happens to less than 1% of the sleeved population and usually happens within weeks post op. It's an easy out patient fix if it were to happen. One can develop a B12 deficiency due to lack of I.F. If that happens SL B12 is the fix. Some people have reflux for a few weeks following surgery, a PPI deals with this quite well. But you wrote the sleeve was proven ineffective. That happens with EVERY surgery type. This is a life long battle we all face daily. My whole point here is that we all have to find the right WLS type for each of us and we need to get that surgery. If people don't know other surgery types exist then they may not be choosing what is right for them. Above all we need to provide solid information so people have an idea of what to research to find what is best for them.