Lap Band or Sleeve?????

[slm2007 7]

I have finished up my six month diet and have one last clearance before this sent to the insurance. Today....after six months of visits my PCP says to me "have you considered the sleeve?" He proceeded to tell me that this might be interesting to me since I was so scared of the bypass because I don't like the idea of them moving my body parts around, that the sleeve would be restrictive but not cause the malabsorption problem because they don't bypass the intestines etc. He said it would help with hunger because they remove so much of the stomach that it reduces the "hunger" hormones?

Has anyone thought of the sleeve....why Lap over Sleeve? Curious because NOW I'm really confused!

[54Shirley 105]

I have ! I wish I had the money to do t, because my ins. doesn't cover that. I had the band put in in 2006. It took about 6 months and it blew! I lost 100 lbs. before I got the band, lost about 20 after banded. To this day I wish they would make the sleeve available. Because when they do,,, I'm getting it done.

[rottie69 4]

Hi!

I had my realize band done in 2009. If I had known my insurance was going to approve the sleeve in the following year I would have waited!!!!!!!!!!! Its the surgery I wanted and couldnt get approval for. SO I went ahead with the band. BOY was I disappointed to see that Cigna approved the sleeve barely a year later!!!!

We are all very different , but I would have loved to get the sleeve.

[dFaults 1]

me myself, I'm going with the band. I don't like the idea of being cut. the fact that they leave the part that they cut to "float" scares the bageebies out of me...I've heard of people getting cancer in their floating stomach that has no function. I like the fact that the band, should anything go wrong can be removed and my stomach return to its normal self.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

[dFaults 1]

Hi!

I had my realize band done in 2009. If I had known my insurance was going to approve the sleeve in the following year I would have waited!!!!!!!!!!! Its the surgery I wanted and couldnt get approval for. SO I went ahead with the band. BOY was I disappointed to see that Cigna approved the sleeve barely a year later!!!!

We are all very different , but I would have loved to get the sleeve.

How are things with the band???

[ElfiePoo 109]

The band is less invasive than the sleeve...but to be honest, that's about all the good I can say for it at this point after my experience. With the sleeve, you start losing right away and drop a considerable amount of weight your first year because it does restrict how much you eat right from the start. With the band, it takes time to get to the right spot where it actually gets rid of the hunger and, for many of us, it never restricts how *much* we can eat. Also, the band seems to tighten and loosen on a daily basis making it a rollercoaster of joy (not) in knowing what foods are going to be a problem. Today I might be able to eat an egg...tomorrow, maybe not.

I had the band put in 15 months ago. I'm getting ready to go back into surgery to get it taken out because since the day of surgery I've had persistent phrenic nerve pain (shoulder pain) from the band rubbing on my diaphragm. I plan on living without the band for a bit but if the hunger comes back and I can't control it, I'll go in for the sleeve revision.

[slm2007 7]

WOW....really something to think about now. I'll have to contact the insurance to see if this is covered (BCBS). I'm not scared of getting cut and it being a permanent issue, the thing I didnt' like about bypass is that they were really "reducting" your insides and skipping your intestines...that freaked me. As for the "floating stomach"...I think I read that it is removed laproscopically?? I could be wrong (which I usually am) but I know it is left there with bypass but for some reason I thought they removed it with the sleeve? I think what scares me about the sleeve are the staples that hold your stomach together. I thought it would be like skin or a bone, they would staple it and your stomach would "heal" itself and grow back together...but I'm thinking the staples are supposed to hold it together forever? Thank you but now I really have some thinking to do! I love the idea of the sleeve and the fast weight loss where the band is a "test" but I also like that it isn't permanent if there are problems. If there are problems with the sleeve, it is a permanent cut!

[ElfiePoo 109]

I think what scares me about the sleeve are the staples that hold your stomach together. I thought it would be like skin or a bone, they would staple it and your stomach would "heal" itself and grow back together...but I'm thinking the staples are supposed to hold it together forever?

You are correct...the staples hold the cut side of the stomach together, just like sutures, until it heals itself. They remove the unused part of the stomach (which also removes the ability to produce ghrelin, the hunger hormone) leaving you with a banana shaped 'stomach' that still allows you to digest food in the way your body was intended to do. It's my understanding that the body figures out how to start producing that ghrelin again after about a year, but they figure by then, your weight loss is significant enough to (1) reduce medical problems (diabetes, etc.); and (2) this weight loss will motivate you to continue. What you will always have is restriction as long as you don't overeat and stretch your new stomach out...which you can do.

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[Cocoabean 430]

I believe they do remove the 75-80% of the stomach that is cut away during a sleeve procedure. Please research "strictures" about the sleeve. It is an uncommon complication, but scares the heck out of me.

Also speak with a bariatric surgeon about the insurance, they usually know if a procedure is going to be covered any time soon. I have BCBS Ca HMO and they do not cover the sleeve. You might pop over to verticalsleevetalk and see what they have to say. Just a word of caution, they are several people who've had bad band experiences there. Not everyone with a band has had a bad experience, but it is a great place to get sleeve info!