Cant decide / please help

[ninaboo 1]

Hi all, Im so confused , I have a surgery date scheduled for June 18 for the LapBand, However I have personally seen at least 3 people fail with the band but on the up side have personally met one person who is extremely happy with it. I didnt know too much about the sleeve but the more I read about it and the more I look on this site I just see more and more encouraging positive stories about it.. I am so anxious to start loosing weight I know if i change my mind now it might be another 2-3 months before i can get the sleeve surgery but i want what is going to be the most effective, so If if any one that has had any experiences with the band can you please share them with me. I do know every person is different I just want to get a gauge on the band ... please help:scared0:

[MINI-Me 196]

I'm sure Tiffykins will chime in since she is a band to sleeve revision as well as some others.

I too have 3 friends with a Band and 3 with Gastric By-Pass.

All 3 with the Band have not met their weight goals in the 2+ years they've had the Band. What they have had is lots of complications including vomitting, esophagus swelling and scarring.

1 of the By-Pass friends is one year out and very close to goal. Another one met goal at one year and gained 80% of it back the second & third years. My last friend with by-pass, has been at goal for 5 years and had plastic surgery about 2 years ago to remove excess skin.

So, I have seen issues in 5 of 6 friends. I knew I did't want (or qualify) for by-pass. I watched my friends struggle with the Band and knew that was not right for me either.

I have 1 friend with the Sleeve. We have simliar personalities and issues with food. We were also 3 pounds away from the same starting weight. She has done wonderfully and has kept off the weight in the past 18 months. After talking with her & watching her life transform, the Sleeve was the only option I continued to research. I am now 4 months out and a little over 18 pounds from goal. I went from obese to normal BMI in 17 weeks. I am still amazed & keep checking the scale to make sure someone isn't playing a trick on me.

So ... back to you. Why do you think changing your mind on the surgery will extend your surgery date? Is it due to insurance? Have you talked to your surgeon about the sleeve and its benefits for you? Is he willing to change the surgery to a sleeve? If so, he may be able to help expedite an approval from your insurance company.

Best of luck in your decision.

[mp8btpc 33]

When I decided I was going to do something about my weight a couple months ago I had no idea about the VSG procedure. I do not know anyone personally that has had it ...at least nobody has told me they had it. I was actually posting on the lapband talk website when the ads for the VSG procedure kept popping up and I got curious. After reading back and forth between the two sites and then thinking of the people that I know of with the lap band I was really excited about the VSG procedure. I was concerned with the cutting of the stomach but once I was explained the procedure and watched a couple of video's on them actually being done I was more at ease with the safety of the sleeve.

I was concerned with the band slipping and getting fills and being overfilled and on and on with the issues that can pop up with the band. It appears to me with the sleeve that once you get it and you recover it is a done deal as far as the complications. The band can be great then suddenly you get overfilled and your on a roller coaster figuring out how to get it back to being comfortable. Then you get sick and start vomitting and the band slips and you get all sorts of secondary issues.

I like the once and done finality of the VSG. I don't want to be wondering if and when the band may just turn around and kick my a$$.

[ninaboo 1]

Thanks Ladies For Responding, MiniMe I have been on here for hours reading Tiffykins posts and she provides a lot of information and links that allow you to do your own research to make a well informed decision. The more I am reading about the Sleeve the more I am willing to wait the extra time. The reason I would have to wait because I would have to switch surgeons as the one I am with now does not do the sleeve, and with my insurance I have to switch my pcp to get another surgeon at a different hospital, Good thing about that I did all the pre testing and classes already and can just have records transferred but, He is so booked I wont get an appointment to see him until the first or second week in July...uggh.. I can be Patient I know this... I didnt get fat overnight!! One question though I know if you fail with the lapBand you can transition to the sleeve, but what happens if I skip the Band go straight to the sleeve and fail what is the next option? the Bypass?

BTW my staring wt 271 in April went to Seminar Today I weighed 257.6 YAY did that all on my own :thumbup: Practicing the liquid diet only for Breakfast and lunch then a healthy dinner its working:biggrin0:

[Phatcurves 3]

I can only speak from experience. With the lap band I was miserable for 5 years and now that I am sleeved i have serious regret for not doing the sure thing the first time. Let me put it this way, you have 40 percent chance of NOT succeeding from the lap band as a result of malfuntion or you side stepping the band. The port is intrusive and sticks out and unless you find your sweet spot your either puking or gorging. CHOSE wisely because chances are you are going to have to pay for two surgeries if you get the band. Good luck to you whatever you do.

[AnneGG 0]

I went into surgery last Wednesday with the intention of coming out with a lap band. I came out of surgery and woke up with no lap band- my hiatal hernia is huge and had misshapen my stomach too much to make the band an option now or later.

So- back to the drawing board! At first I was big time bummed, but then got on my computer and started researching. At this point I think I am glad the band didn't work, because I think the sleeve would work better for me. I'm hoping my doctor agrees with me- I see him again Tuesday. He already has my next surgery booked for June 22, so I don't have long to wait.

Wish me luck! I've been posting on LapBandTalk for awhile- I was so happy to find this site!

[Tiffykins 673]

Doing all the doctor changing is well worth it to get the sleeve. If you've read my posts, then you know my stand on the band. I'll never recommend it to anyone.

You really have to do what's best for you, but believe the stats rolling out with the band last year and this year are not promising for long term success. I'll just out my personal feelings on the band and let you know the facts.

1 in 4 will have to have any surgery to correct, replace, remove or revise with the band.

The band has the lowest and slowest weight loss.

The band is 2nd in long term complications only next to RNY.

You won't fail with the sleeve, don't even let that thought enter your mind. You don't want to be a revision patient at all from band to sleeve. Because you have no idea how much damage that boogar of a band can cause.

I started at 270 with the band, lost a total of 7lb before I revised to the sleeve. Revision surgery date I weighed 263 standing 5'2", and today I'm at 122lbs. I have been bouncing in the low 120's for a month now so I'm at maintenance. I essentially lost 140-141lbs in about 10 months with the sleeve alone.

If you happen to not reach your goal, you can revise to either RNY or the DS procedure. But, don't even let failure enter your pretty little mind. It won't happen if you don't allow it.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me via the private messaging system, or post away here on the forum. We're all here for you.

[ninaboo 1]

one more question is there a certain weight that is required to qualify for the sleeve, if I am at 264 now and continue to eat healthy and loose weight and by surgery date if its not until a couple months away my weight goes down, ( which has been since i have been working out and limiting my calorie intake to 1100 day) Basically what I am asking is what is the weight or BMI I am suppose to be at to still be able to have the sleeve?

[Jane_J 117]

Ninaboo, I initially was going to do the band but after researching on sites like this decided to go VSG and I am very glad I did.

[ninaboo 1]

Jane J congratulations on your success, 100lb weight loss is amazing!!:tongue_smilie: I hear all the great things about the Sleeve I really want to know it all the good the bad and the ugly. what are some of you personal dislikes about the band? How was it right after surgery? do you have food Choice limitations?

[Jane_J 117]

Hi, I never had the band because when I researched it I kept hearing about problems with slippage and erosion and ports flipping and the idea of a port made me feel sick anyway.

I have no food restrictions at all now, except on volume of food I can get down. I am really happy and cannot see any down side to how I am now.

I have found the past year hard, getting used to my new appetite, losing weight and hair which is now OK, and just seeing myself in a new way. Right after surgery I was doing what everyone else does, trying different Protein drinks, some are OK others are skanky. Taking it really easy on the healing tummy, not feeling hungry, when I did feel hungry that was sorted by moving to the solids phase as that food stays in your tummy much longer.

But it has been 100% worth it and I hope now to be on this earth for a load more years so I can be a good grandma to my future grandchildren. My daughters are only 18 at the mo and I am 52 so I will not be a young grandma so I need all the help I can get.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

it will be worth the wait to get the sleeve and not live in misery with a band.

Most ins. companies want you to have a bmi 40 or above to get the sleeve. I wouldn't worry too much about failing with the sleeve. I don't know anyone who has failed with the sleeve. I know a lot of people who don't lose weight with the band. It's a pretty common fact that you will only lose half your excess weight with the band, and complications usually set in by the second year.

[jacqony 0]

I am about to make the decision to self-pay for the sleeve. My doctor hasn't updated his stats on the OH profile in years. Is there any way to find out how many sleeves he has done besides calling the office?

[Lillie24 2]

I too was in the process for the band approval with my insurance co. until I recieved a call stating that my insurance guidelines had changed and they were now offering the sleeve as an option. I did my research for 48 hours and after that I made the decision to go with the sleeve and never looked back to the band. What made my decision? The probability that my insurance co. would only cover one weight loss surgery, If I was going to go through surgery it was going to be the one that would help me get what I want... those two reason's alone were the first 2 reasons that came to my mind and then others and others followed. Really consider both... for me hunger and cravings were a huge issue. I would not be worried about changing doctors and the extra time. The way I look at it is why rush and end up maybe having to have surgery twice?

[NtvTxn 1,262]

I made the decision to have WLS last Dec. (i'm self pay) I was going to get banded. After much, MUCH research and after starting out on the band forum and ending up here in my 'knowledge quest' I changed my mind in January. The sleeve just seems like 'the perfect' tool all the way around. You need to make up your own mind though, and read...any question you have, ask Tiffikins, she is a wealth of knowlegde! Good luck!