Questions..please help!

[gatormomof2 0]

I am going Tues. for my seminar. I am debating between the band and the sleeve, from reading everyone on here I think i'm leaning more towards the sleeve. I will be self-pay as my insuance doesn't cover it. So here are my questions:

Which is better band/sleeve?

How long is the process for self-pay?

Do I need to do a diet before I can have surgery or is that only for insurance?

Has anyone ever heard of any long term problems with the sleeve?

Sorry so many questions and if you can answer any of them I would greatly appreciate it..THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!:lol0:

[Tiffykins 673]

I am going Tues. for my seminar. I am debating between the band and the sleeve, from reading everyone on here I think i'm leaning more towards the sleeve. I will be self-pay as my insuance doesn't cover it. So here are my questions:

Which is better band/sleeve?

How long is the process for self-pay?

Do I need to do a diet before I can have surgery or is that only for insurance?

Has anyone ever heard of any long term problems with the sleeve?

Sorry so many questions and if you can answer any of them I would greatly appreciate it..THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!:lol0:

First off, hello and welcome to VST.

To answer your questions:

1) I had the band, it sucked the life out of me, I only had it for 8 months, I was miserable for those months, in chronic pain, and it destroyed my stomach tissue. I have had the sleeve for 10 months, am below my surgeon's goal, and loving life every day. That's the cliffnotes version of my band to sleeve revision story. Seriously, the sleeve is much better than the band for so many different reasons.

1 in 4 band patients need another surgery to either repair, reposition the band or port, or remove the band within the first 5 years.

Fills/unfills are a nightmare.

The band has the slowest and lowest weight loss stats out there.

Massive food restrictions, and complications with the band are long lasting. Check out the complications forum on Lapbandtalk.com and the failed weight loss surgery and revision board on obesityhelp.com to see just how many problems the band causes.

I really thought I would beat the odds with the band. I did lose initially then complications took over, and I had to get rid of it.

2) I don't have any idea on time with the self-pay. Insurance covered both of my procedures. But, since you are self-pay, I would definitely look at the cost of fills/unfills and maintenance of the band. My mom has had a band for 2.5 years, and has had over 20 fills/unfills trying to find her sweet spot for restriction. Well, guess what, she has been at a stall for a year now, and pukes 2-4 times a week. Last week, we were in Tx visiting family/friends for spring break, and she puked after eating 1/4 cup of oatmeal and it took her 30-35 minutes to eat that small amount. Her band is pretty useless because either she has no restriction or too much which causes puking, and she is left having to eat mushies/full liquids instead of solid foods.

3) Your surgeon should give you a pre-op diet. Mine for both surgeries was low carb/high Protein for 1 week before surgery, and the night before surgery nothing by mouth past midnight. Some surgeons require a liquid pre-op diet for 1-2 weeks.

Preparing yourself for smaller portions isn't a horrible idea. Slowing down when eating is a big challenge for a lot of patients, so try sitting your utensil down in between bites, take 20-30 minutes to eat, eat your Protein first, then the veggie, and carb last. Avoid white carbs as they are not typically recommended during the losing phase.

4) Complications with the sleeve typically happen early out during the healing period. Long term complications haven't been documented as the sleeve as a stand alone procedure has not been performed long enough for there to be definite evidence of complications. The longest studies out are 5 years, and there were no notable complications within those studies. The sleeve is however the first part of the Duodenal Switch procedure which has been performed for much longer than the sleeve as a stand alone procedure.

Don't ever feel like you need to apologize for questions. We'll try to help as much as we can.

[Turbo Owl 0]

I was told that they want you to loose weight prior to the surgery to shrink your liver. making surgery better for the surgeon and therefore easier for you.

[TexasT 99]

Ditto what Tiff said. I had a band for 3.5yrs and am so glad it is out of my body!!! My surgeon also said most band patients will have complications 3-5 years after having one. So why do something like that when you know you'll have problems later? Unfortunately, doctors don't always tell you this at their seminars. They know most insurance companies will pay for the band and not the sleeve, so they push the band.

Trying to eat with one is nothing but hassles. I couldn't eat anything for Breakfast, a tiny bit for lunch, then sometimes a lot for dinner. food was always getting stuck, even with careful chewing and eating slowly. I could go on and on. I lost all my weight the first few months after surgery, then nothing the next 3 yrs.

I was self-pay for both procedures. Basically I only needed to have a cardiac clearance and was good to go. No supervised diet, no psych consult, etc. Each surgeon has their own pre-op diet designed to help shrink your liver - I think mine was around a week the first time around.

[Tiffykins 673]

I was told that they want you to loose weight prior to the surgery to shrink your liver. making surgery better for the surgeon and therefore easier for you.

It takes months to shrink a truly fatty liver. Most of the time the liquid diet pre-op will help shrink the fatty deposits on the exterior of the liver making it easier for surgeon to move the liver out of the way with the liver retractor tool, and it isn't all slippery thus reducing complications.

Insurance companies are sneaky, and make people do a 6 month diet and then they fall below the BMI requirements and hand the patient a denial letter for not meeting requirements.

[Mary Gordon 3]

i had the sleeve because the recuperation is much faster, plus the aftercare is less complicated plus the success rate for weight loss is much better with the sleeve. have you picked out a dr yet?

[Genesis1 0]

I had a lap band for 8 months - it slipped and I had to have emergency surgery to remove it. It was not a good experience for me. I had lots of trouble with many foods that I just could not eat, I did not lose much weight, and although I could not eat much I felt hungry all the time. With the sleeve, removing the part of the stomach that creates the Grehllin that signals hunger has made me feel satisfied most all the time and if I get a bit of a hunger twing I eat a tiny amount and the hunger is GONE. I would definately recommend SLEEVE

[gatormomof2 0]

Thank you everyone..all the infomation I have been getting is so helpful! I have chosen my doctor and i'm using Dr. Webb (Jax, Fl), his staff is awesome and I can't wait! Hopefully soon I can share my journey with you guys :-)