Lap Band Is Not Reversible. Why The Sleeve May Be A Better Choice.

[crystalny 12]

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[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Actually, you're wrong. It IS 100% reversible. If the band is removed your stomach simply goes back to the way it was pre-surgery. If you have damage due to a slip or prolapse, you may have some scarring, but it doesn't remove any portion of your stomach or re-route your digestive system in any way. Not so with the Sleeve, you can't replace a huge portion of your stomach that's been cut out.

As for the Sleeve, people don't go in for reversions because they can't. More than half of their stomach is removed, there's nothing to revise. If you look at the long term statistics, people gain back weight with the Sleeve and Gastric Bypass just as often as with the Band, the difference being, a Band patient can always go back in and get a fill to start over. A Sleeve patient will have likely stretched out what's left of their stomach and pretty much be screwed.

...not to mention there's FAR less chance of major complications and/or death with the band. And the recovery time is half of that of the Sleeve.

I respect your decision to go with the Sleeve and wish you much success, but your information isn't exactly accurate.

[cakelly73 28]

I have the Lap Band and my husband has the sleeve..I went back and forth myself deciding which one is right for me..I knew i 100% did not want the bypass, and i was too chicken to get the sleeve. I have had no problems with the band since getting it 7 months ago. And i knew that if i did experience any major problems i can go in for a 20 min procedure and have it taken out. There are risks with all these surgeries. The sleeve can also leave you with permanent problems in the stomach itself. My husband become lastose intolerant within 2 months of having surgery, because they take out the part that digests dairy properly, so it sits in the lining of the stomach until you throw it up. If he even has a sip of whole milk, he will throw up 2-3x. And he will forever have to take Vitamins and/or shots to keep the levels normal.. He goes for bloodwork frequently, to check the levels.And for the first 3 months or so when the staples are still in your stomach you risk them splitting apart, and bleeding internally. These are obviously the negative aspects of it. On a positive note. It does work (just like band or bypass)...you are unable to eat large portions. But you still get that "stuck in your throat feeling" just like with the band. My husband is happy with his decison and i am happy with mine. Everyone is different, and will have diferent journeys. I wish you well with the sleeve. If my band ever stops working completely..i am going in for the sleeve!

[Humming Bird 275]

Much of this information by the OP is misinformation. I have been banded since July 2009 and have not spent my time in Dr.'s offices and never made a trip to the ER. I could go on point by point, but it sounds like the OP has made a choice and I support that.

[Humming Bird 275]

Much of this information by the OP is misinformation. I have been banded since July 2009 and have not spent my time in Dr.'s offices and never made a trip to the ER. I could go on point by point, but it sounds like the OP has made a choice and I support that.

[Yadelin29 0]

I also rushed into surgery without considering the other alternatives, but if I would have I would have rather gone with the sleeve. My sister is now considering it and it sounds a lot better than the band. The only thing I wasn't to happy with is that it entails more "surgery" in the sense that you have to take 80% of your stomach out, but in the long end you end up loosing just as much as the Gastric bypass. While the lapband is great and I'm having no problems whatsoever I just would have opted for the sleeve because you don't have to keep returning to reach your "sweet spot."

[crystalny 12]

Actually' date=' you're wrong. It IS 100% reversible. If the band is removed your stomach simply goes back to the way it was pre-surgery. If you have damage due to a slip or prolapse, you may have some scarring, but it doesn't remove any portion of your stomach or re-route your digestive system in any way. Not so with the Sleeve, you can't replace a huge portion of your stomach that's been cut out.

As for the Sleeve, people don't go in for reversions because they can't. More than half of their stomach is removed, there's nothing to revise. If you look at the long term statistics, people gain back weight with the Sleeve and Gastric Bypass just as often as with the Band, the difference being, a Band patient can always go back in and get a fill to start over. A Sleeve patient will have likely stretched out what's left of their stomach and pretty much be screwed.

...not to mention there's FAR less chance of major complications and/or death with the band. And the recovery time is half of that of the Sleeve.

I respect your decision to go with the Sleeve and wish you much success, but your information isn't exactly accurate.[/quote']

I read that although the lap band is removable, it is not completely reversible because adhesions and scarring are inevitable.

Also, in the highly unlikely event that a sleeved person stretches out their sleeve (highly unlikely because one would have to eat to maximum capacity over a long period of time, enduring a lot of pain, because the tissue on the gastric sleeve does not stretch as easily as with a bypass patient), they could go back and do more surgery to attain more weightloss. After all, the sleeve was initially the first step in the two step process for the duodenal switch, but doctors started performing it as a stand alone procedure because the weight loss was significant. We don't see sleevers getting revisions because they generally never need to.

One point you mentioned is what i actually really love about the band, the fact that it is adjustable. And that the recovery time is way shorter than with the sleeve, but id rather give up an extra week of recovery now than to have to be worried about having another surgery in the next five years.I just feel like the band is a great tool, but it is definitely not permanent and the majority of banded people will need to have another surgery within five years. I haven't found one person that has been banded for over 8 years without a serious problem and that's scary to me. In 8 years I will be ready to have children and will not want to have to worry about my band giving me problems.

[Jachut 487]

What I think people fail to realise with any weight loss surgery is that the effect lessens with time. Your body adapts. You can eat more. Your evangelistic enthusiasm wanes, you gain a little weight. It happens with every surgery.

The major advantage of the band is that you can adjust it. And the physical tightening up really us a mental tightening up too. Suddenly you focus again and get on with things. Ask any bandster seven years out. Ive really had cause to appreciate that.

And mo doubt about it, if I had not been able to unfill my band during cancer treatment, i would have had to have had a PEG tube inserted, I got so skinny. Being able to unfill is a major advanage if you are unlucky enough to be struck by injury or disease.

Nonetheless, the constant upkeep is problematic for some, especially with the US health system. Insurance hassles, doctors being unwilling to treat other doctors' patuents, people getting andedin Mexico etc. The OPs points are considerations.

But few of us are so stupid as to not have considered these things. I would respectfullu suggest if the OP feels that way, go hang around the sleeve forum and keave us poor ignorant souls to wallow away in misery with our ineffective bands.

Spoken by omeone who lost 120lb, had kept it off for over five years and a has a bmi of 20, so what would I know really?

[crystalny 12]

I have the Lap Band and my husband has the sleeve..I went back and forth myself deciding which one is right for me..I knew i 100% did not want the bypass' date=' and i was too chicken to get the sleeve. I have had no problems with the band since getting it 7 months ago. And i knew that if i did experience any major problems i can go in for a 20 min procedure and have it taken out. There are risks with all these surgeries. The sleeve can also leave you with permanent problems in the stomach itself. My husband become lastose intolerant within 2 months of having surgery, because they take out the part that digests dairy properly, so it sits in the lining of the stomach until you throw it up. If he even has a sip of whole milk, he will throw up 2-3x. And he will forever have to take Vitamins and/or shots to keep the levels normal.. He goes for bloodwork frequently, to check the levels.And for the first 3 months or so when the staples are still in your stomach you risk them splitting apart, and bleeding internally. These are obviously the negative aspects of it. On a positive note. It does work (just like band or bypass)...you are unable to eat large portions. But you still get that "stuck in your throat feeling" just like with the band. My husband is happy with his decison and i am happy with mine. Everyone is different, and will have diferent journeys. I wish you well with the sleeve. If my band ever stops working completely..i am going in for the sleeve! [/quote']

Thanks doll... This was very informative. I hadn't heard about lactose intolerance much until this post and I did a bit of googling. From what I found, most people are only intolerant to lactose for the first few months to a year after being sleeved. If it persists, people take lactic pills and they are perfectly fine, maybe he could try that? Thanks for the info.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Actually it's pretty common for people with both Gastric Bypass and the Sleeve to stretch their pouches and gain weight. In fact, that's the reason Carnie Wilson is currently getting the Lap Band after already having Gastric Bypass. She stretched out her pouch and gained weight and is now getting the band in an effort to correct it. I know seven people that have had either Gastric Bypass or the Sleeve, and every one of them is gaining weight back within a couple years of surgery. Every one of them slowly began eating more and more and eventually stretched their pouches and now there's nothing they can do to correct it.

Again, to each their own, but I'd check your facts.

[crystalny 12]

I also rushed into surgery without considering the other alternatives' date=' but if I would have I would have rather gone with the sleeve. My sister is now considering it and it sounds a lot better than the band. The only thing I wasn't to happy with is that it entails more "surgery" in the sense that you have to take 80% of your stomach out, but in the long end you end up loosing just as much as the Gastric bypass. While the lapband is great and I'm having no problems whatsoever I just would have opted for the sleeve because you don't have to keep returning to reach your "sweet spot."[/quote']

This is how I feel. I love the idea of the band and I would probably consider it if I didn't have t worry about moving to other countries and maybe not having insurance. I feel like although it's an amazing tool, there is just too much upkeep for me and I can't tell the future and what position I will be in then.

[crystalny 12]

What I think people fail to realise with any weight loss surgery is that the effect lessens with time. Your body adapts. You can eat more. Your evangelistic enthusiasm wanes' date=' you gain a little weight. It happens with every surgery.

The major advantage of the band is that you can adjust it. And the physical tightening up really us a mental tightening up too. Suddenly you focus again and get on with things. Ask any bandster seven years out. Ive really had cause to appreciate that.

And mo doubt about it, if I had not been able to unfill my band during cancer treatment, i would have had to have had a PEG tube inserted, I got so skinny. Being able to unfill is a major advanage if you are unlucky enough to be struck by injury or disease.

Nonetheless, the constant upkeep is problematic for some, especially with the US health system. Insurance hassles, doctors being unwilling to treat other doctors' patuents, people getting andedin Mexico etc. The OPs points are considerations.

But few of us are so stupid as to not have considered these things. I would respectfullu suggest if the OP feels that way, go hang around the sleeve forum and keave us poor ignorant souls to wallow away in misery with our ineffective bands.

Spoken by omeone who lost 120lb, had kept it off for over five years and a has a bmi of 20, so what would I know really?[/quote']

You are so right that the major advantage with the band is that you can adjust it and get as many "do overs" as you need.

I would also respectfully suggest that you hold the sarcasm because I feel like you are trying to say I am saying the band is ineffective, or that for some reason people who consider the band or have the band are stupid. I don't feel that way at all, and I'm sorry if you took it that way.

No doubt the band is a great tool and works, I think that's obvious because if it didn't work, people wouldn't be getting it. But I do feel like for me, the sleeve is a better choice for all the aforementioned reasons, and I just want to provide the information for someone who may be like me four months ago, rushing into a surgery before I really explore my options.

[crystalny 12]

Actually it's pretty common for people with both Gastric Bypass and the Sleeve to stretch their pouches and gain weight. In fact' date=' that's the reason Carnie Wilson is currently getting the Lap Band after already having Gastric Bypass. She stretched out her pouch and gained weight and is now getting the band in an effort to correct it. I know seven people that have had either Gastric Bypass or the Sleeve, and every one of them is gaining weight back within a couple years of surgery. Every one of them slowly began eating more and more and eventually stretched their pouches and now there's nothing they can do to correct it.

Again, to each their own, but I'd check your facts.[/quote']

Anecdotes don't hold much weight in my opinion because if I went by the anecdotal evidence that I have on the surgeries, I would never have even considered the lap band or bypass, WLS in general, because the three people I know that got the band and one with bypass all gained all of their weight back and more.

I have done substantial research, and what my research has showed me is that it is extremely unlikely to stretch the sleeve. It is way easier to stretch the pouch with the bypass, however. I will take your advice though and read up a little more on the sleeve.

[waitingpatiently 250]

No offense....and I'm happy that you have found a WLS that is right for you, but then why are you "lurking" around a lap band support site.....don't you have one of your own? Those than come to this site seeking information about the LAPBAND not other surgeries.....and honestly, since you don't have one, I don't see where you can offer any advise. Those that have the lap band and have had issues, do a good job explaining the draw backs and are very honest as to why it didn't work for them, but it just seems strange to me that some feel the need to come to this site and express an opinion about something you don't have.....if they want information about another surgery I'm sure they can get that on another site where the members would be more educated in the sleeve or bypass than the ones on this site. It really makes me question your motives. It is everyones responsiblity to educated themselves. I'm sure I can find some that feel they rushed into having half their stomachs removed and have numerous issues.....BUT I know they are probably just the unfortunates that are listed in the satistics just like the satistics for the band. I LOVE my band...but I would never feel the need to bash the sleeve or bypass...(even though my 42 year old cousin died shortly after getting the sleeve....just saying) We each must make our own decisions.

[crystalny 12]

What I think people fail to realise with any weight loss surgery is that the effect lessens with time. Your body adapts. You can eat more. Your evangelistic enthusiasm wanes' date=' you gain a little weight. It happens with every surgery.

The major advantage of the band is that you can adjust it. And the physical tightening up really us a mental tightening up too. Suddenly you focus again and get on with things. Ask any bandster seven years out. Ive really had cause to appreciate that.

And mo doubt about it, if I had not been able to unfill my band during cancer treatment, i would have had to have had a PEG tube inserted, I got so skinny. Being able to unfill is a major advanage if you are unlucky enough to be struck by injury or disease.

Nonetheless, the constant upkeep is problematic for some, especially with the US health system. Insurance hassles, doctors being unwilling to treat other doctors' patuents, people getting andedin Mexico etc. The OPs points are considerations.

But few of us are so stupid as to not have considered these things. I would respectfullu suggest if the OP feels that way, go hang around the sleeve forum and keave us poor ignorant souls to wallow away in misery with our ineffective bands.

Spoken by omeone who lost 120lb, had kept it off for over five years and a has a bmi of 20, so what would I know really?[/quote']

Also, I would love to know if you have been banded for over 8 years without any problems or additional surgeries, because that is evidence that I cannot find anywhere, and if so, I have tons of questions,