male only Help guys -- Band or Sleeve? I'm scheduled for band Feb.1

[outlaw 2]

I've done a ton of research all over the net and here, but I'm getting cold feet at the moment. I've read of lots of people that are happy they did the band, have lost a lot of weight, happy now, etc. I understand that its just a tool, and it will take work, lifestyle change, exercise, etc. I'm 48, 330, 6'1, and am determined to finally do something about my weight. In my 30's, I went from 283 down to 211, but have slowly put all that back on plus more over the last 20 years.

For as many 'happy' band stories that I read about, I see as many or more disasters: slime, dumping (whatever that is), a lot of pain, slipping, having to get the band removed, etc. Almost all of these disaster people have said they needed WLS, and revised to the sleeve. Every one of them wished they had gone with the sleeve in the first place.

I know there are risks with both, and issues with both, but can that many people be wrong, wishing they had just done sleeve first?

Help with advice please people, I'm scheduled for band surgery in three weeks, and am considering either going with sleeve or forgetting WLS altogether.

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

Just remember bad news travels faster than good news. Many people post only when in trouble, but there are by far many more successes than failures. If the band was as unsuccessful as you seem to imply, the doctors would have stopped performing the procedure by now. I have heard many people with the sleeve complain about overall health impacts, but most band failures are patient compliance failures. If you are truly committed to follow lap band rules, I would stick with lap band. Maybe ask your doc about plication when he does your lap band.

[Terry Poperszky 2,784]

Too soon for me to know, I was just banded on Monday. I chose the band because it was less invasive than the Sleeve or GB. All I can suggest is do all the research you can, and then act on that information. GB and Sleeve have a higher success rate initially, but there are quite a few people out there that have gained their weight back on all three methods. Regardless of the tool you use, it won't do it for you.

[outlaw 2]

Too soon for me to know, I was just banded on Monday. I chose the band because it was less invasive than the Sleeve or GB. All I can suggest is do all the research you can, and then act on that information. GB and Sleeve have a higher success rate initially, but there are quite a few people out there that have gained their weight back on all three methods. Regardless of the tool you use, it won't do it for you.

How have these first few days been?

[Maddysgram 6,159]

I agree with Chez, the MAJORITY of LB failure is non compliance. Yes, there are a FEW that the band failed them. That being said, there is a lot of failure with all WLS. My sister had Gastric Bypass and she failed it.

No matter what surgery you choose, you will have to change your lifestyle. So if you have to change it no matter which surgery, why would you not go for the least invasive?

I'm glad you're doing all your research and I wish you the best, no matter which you choose.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Maddysgram

[PattyGirl66 1,243]

Hi Outlaw,

Well, it looks like you did a great job with research on both of these weight loss surgeries. However, when it comes right down to it, it becomes truly a 'personal' choice. No one can sway you from one or the other. Remembering there are risks with any surgeries.

Now, since you have scheduled surgery date for lapband surgery in 3 weeks, my guess is you have readily thought this through and decided lapband is the right choice for you? Maybe you are just getting cold feet? It happens to all of us!

Personally for myself, I wanted something less invasive and god forbid if anything went wrong or my body rejected the band, I could have it removed for my safety. I knew this wasn't an option with the other surgeries. I was also really nervous about malabsorption with gastric and the sleeve, let’s face it I am not a spring chicken and I need all the nutrients/vitamins I can store in my body. Also, no matter what surgery you choose, you will have to work out it, weight gain happens on all 3! The band gives you a little more of an edge because you can always work with it to lose/maintain the weight.

Have you gone through the plan with your surgeon what you will be eating like from now on moving forward with the band? If you have, then my guess is you are ready to be a bandster!

Best wishes,

[Terry Poperszky 2,784]

How have these first few days been?

How have these first few days been?

Fantastic. I am currently sitting at my desk because I couldn't stand being home anymore. There is some pain, some tenderness and eating is a whole new experience. Just taking it slow and trying to get enough calories into me to survive

[CaGottaBand 498]

Personally, I have chose the band because I wanted something less invasive and mostly because I want a wls that I have to work at. I don't want bypass or a sleeve, where the initial weightloss is automatic...and I never learn how to eat "right" and gain all the weight back.

I want something that I have to work at to change my eatting and exercise habits. I want banding because I want to change my lifestyle to a healther, more active one.

That's just my opinion.

[outlaw 2]

_{Thanks PattyGirl and CaWanna, good points. You're right, the cold feet are setting in -- I'm just trying to avoid doing the band first, then have to do the sleeve anyway. For some, they wish they never saw or tried the band. I've done all the preop visits, etc, just now have to do the diet thing before surgery.}

[PattyGirl66 1,243]

_{Thanks PattyGirl and CaWanna, good points. You're right, the cold feet are setting in -- I'm just trying to avoid doing the band first, then have to do the sleeve anyway. For some, they wish they never saw or tried the band. I've done all the preop visits, etc, just now have to do the diet thing before surgery.}

Hope to see you around the threads, read and write often. It truly helps a lot! You have so many on here who are very helpful!

Take care,

[Lapbandster 496]

I agree with everyone above

I chose the lapband because it is adjustable and reversable (if needed). Of course theres a chance that things will go drasticly wrong, but remember, your band can be adjusted if that's the case. If something goes wrong with the sleeve then oh boy, you're in trouble because your stomach will NEVER be the same.

I hear that the weight loss with Gastric Bypass and the Sleeve comes off faster, but to me, I don't mind having slow loss and putting in a lot of effort on my part. I just want the safest surgery that will give me my desired results

[Lapbandster 496]

I was also very torn about what surgery to do, but after reading some horror stories on verticalsleevetalk (a sister site to lbt) I was convinced NOT to do the sleeve. Yes, both surgeries have complications, but the lap band complications were ports flipping, leaks in bands, and once in a while an eroded band. On the VSG website the complications sounded SO scary. One person wrote that her mom got sicker and sicker from the surgery, needed to have multiple surgeries and stents put in, and eventually they had to detach her whole stomach from her esaphagous and she will need at least 3 months to recuperate.

Maybe I'm just a wus, or a baby, but these things just terrify me

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Getting cold feet before surgery day arrives is quite common, and so is "buyer's remorse" after surgery. You're contemplating a huge change in your life, and making the "right" WLS choice can be overwhelming. Sometimes I think that's aggravated by doing so much research online - you're overloaded with information and it all seems confusing.

I've had both the band and the sleeve, so I'm uniquely qualified to respond to this thread. I'm going to quote from a post I made on a band-to-sleeve revision forum recently, but first I want to address a few specific things you said:

For as many 'happy' band stories that I read about, I see as many or more disasters: slime, dumping (whatever that is), a lot of pain - Whether eating problems like sliming, stuck episodes, or PB's (food regurgitation) are a disaster is up to the individual. None of those events are life-threatening, so I don't consider them disasters. Unpleasant? Yes. Inconvenient? Yes. Painful? Sometimes. As painful as having your foot cut off? Probably not. We all have differing tolerance for pain.

Edited to add: also, most of those side effects can be prevented with careful eating.

Dumping syndrome results from rapid gastric emptying in sleeve and bypass patients because the stomach is too small to store and begin digesting food before the food hits the intestines. It causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels that can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, lightheadedness, and a general feeling of being ill for about 30 minutes (in my case). Dumping is more likely to happen when you eat something high in sugar or refined starches, but can also result from eating too fast or overeating. I've never heard of it happening to a bandster, but I guess that's not impossible, especially if the bandster is diabetic and therefore more sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations because their pancreas can't keep up with the food being consumed and digested.

slipping, having to get the band removed, etc. Almost all of these disaster people have said they needed WLS, and revised to the sleeve. Every one of them wished they had gone with the sleeve in the first place. I have a strong suspicion that they feel that way because their experience with the band was unhappy, not because the sleeve is intrinsically better than the band. When they had their band removed and revised to the sleeve, the euphoria they felt was a bit like the relief you feel when you stop banging your head against a wall.

Now, as I said before, I've had both the band (which I loved) and the sleeve (which I don't love), so here's a summary of my experience so far:

I was banded in September 2007. I lost 100% of my excess weight (90 lbs) in one year. I had a minor band slip (cured with a complete unfill and 6-week rest period) and a port flip (fixed with outpatient surgery) and loved my band. When it was properly adjusted, it drastically reduced both my physical hunger and my appetite (desire) for food. Food just did not taste as wonderful to me as it had in the bad old days. I also experienced the early and prolonged satiety that is the band's #1 claim to fame.

Unfortunately, I lost my band in April 2012 because of damage from 20+ years of silent reflux, which my band may have been aggravating. My surgeon and gastro doc agreed that my band had to come out, so I opted to revise to the sleeve in the same procedure. That didn't happen because my surgeon couldn't pass the bougie (the sleeve "calibration" tool) through my esophagus because of an undiagnosed stricture, so I was bandless until my 2nd attempt on August 16, 2012.

I had thought that the sleeve would be a good 2nd choice for me because I wasn't crazy about the malabsorption aspect of RNY or DS, because one of the best features of the sleeve is that the reduced stomach size drastically reduces production of the hunger hormone, grehlin, and because the idea of a surgery that wouldn't require fills to achieve optimal restriction was appealing.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way for me. I am now ferociously hungry on an hourly basis no matter what, how much, or when I eat. I have to eat 8-10 times a day in order to keep my blood sugar steady. I've had to start taking metformin for my type 2 diabetes after easily managing it with diet and exercise for 7 years. I've discovered that sleeve patients can dump just like gastric bypass patients. It gives me miserable symptoms of nausea, dizziness, drenching sweats, and fatigue. That happens not just when I eat something with sugar in it but also when I eat so-called healthy foods (Protein bars, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, Protein shakes, most fruits). I've become anemic and have to take an Iron supplement twice a day in order to give me enough energy to function. Turns out that micronutrient malabsorption isn't unique to RNY & DS patients. Also, since my sleeve surgery I've developed a gastric bleed. When doing an EGD to locate the source of the bleed, my gastro doc discovered a gastric polyp (probably the cause of the bleeding) and duodenitis (inflammation of the duodenum), neither of which were present when I had an EGD 3 months before my sleeve surgery. Finally, I've discovered that sleeve patients can have "stuck" episodes just like bandsters do, and for the same reasons (in my case, careless eating).

I'm not able to be objective about my sleeve at this point, and at 5 months post-op, it's probably too early for me to decide it was a mistake. But even if I decide it was a mistake, I'm never going to get that missing chunk of stomach back. It's gone forever. I do know that I absolutely refuse to go back to the land of obesity, and I'm grateful that my sleeve has helped me avoid that. I've lost the 30 lbs I had regained after losing my sleeve, and that is wonderful thing.

One difference between my band surgery and my sleeve surgery is that my sleeve surgery was much harder to recover from. My surgeon says that any revision surgery is difficult because she's not operating on a "virgin" belly. I thought that the slow recovery was due to my age (59) because an older friend (age 61) who revised to the sleeve at the same time also found it difficult, but I met a younger woman (mid 30's) in my surgeon's waiting room whose sleeve was her 1st (and we hope last) WLS was also finding it difficult. I think the length and ease of recovery is also related to the patient's age (I'm 59), pain tolerance, general health, and amount of time spent under general anesthesia. My surgeon keeps band patients overnight in the hospital for one night, and sleeve and RNY patients for 2 or more nights. I hate being in the hospital but I was a mess even after 2 nights there. After my band surgery, I felt fine after one night in the hospital and was bored and restless and ready to go back to work (I worked at home then) within 3-4 days. After my sleeve surgery, just lifting a glass of Water to my lips was a struggle. I needed the whole 3 weeks my surgeon insisted on off work, and even then I was dragging.

The other thing I want to say is that while my food capacity now is small (depending on the consistency of the food), my desire for and enjoyment of food is like it was before my band surgery. I feel like I get way, way too much pleasure out of eating. I believe that food tastes good for a reason (to keep us eating enough to survive and perpetuate the species), but that extreme enjoyment is a very mixed blessing. I constantly have to fight with myself to not take another bite so as to prolong the pleasure of eating. With my (adjusted) band, I did have some intrusive food thoughts, but nothing like it was in the bad old days. Well, the bad old days are back now. I think about food far too often for the good of my weight management.

I wish I had a happier story to report. I've been told that I'm not trying hard enough to like my sleeve because I loved my band. That may be true, but I sincerely wanted the sleeve and sincerely wanted it to work. I know plenty of ex-bandsters who love their sleeves. Ask me again in a year or so, and I may be waving the sleeve banner. And as the advertising hacks would say, "Your mileage may vary."

Jean

[Lapbandster 496]

Jean, thank you for your informative post!

You, more than anyone, can really speak about both surgeries since you've experienced both.

Just wondering, is it possible to get a LapBand put in AFTER someone has gastric sleeve surgery? To alleviate the food cravings and stuff? I know your situation may not permit it, but for someone else, maybe they can revise to the lapband?

I wonder if that's ever been done

[dandaman4 7]

Just remember bad news travels faster than good news. Many people post only when in trouble' date=' but there are by far many more successes than failures. If the band was as unsuccessful as you seem to imply, the doctors would have stopped performing the procedure by now. I have heard many people with the sleeve complain about overall health impacts, but most band failures are patient compliance failures. If you are truly committed to follow lap band rules, I would stick with lap band. Maybe ask your doc about plication when he does your lap band.[/quote']

Question??? What is plication?