New here... thank-you!

[sabrina140 33]

Hi there! I am new here. Until a couple weeks ago I 'knew' I wanted Lap Band, but as the time of final decisions gets closer, I am leaning towards VS. I am doing this as a tool to help me lose weight, and live a loooooong healthy life and keep up with my kiddos. Thank-you all for the abundance of info and sharing your experiences!

love, Sabrina.

(My surgeon is going to be Dr. Mueller in San Diego @ Sharp... if anyone has experience with him, let me know! I'd love to hear about it!!)

[Raine 170]

Hi and welcome to the board! You will find so much information here that will help you and people are always willing to give their opinions and support. There are a lot of band to VSG revisioners on here and we even have a place where that is the main point of topic. The best way to make this decision is to be well informed. Good Luck!

[omamilam 11]

Hi,

I am also making the decision between LB or VSG and doing a lot of research. After being in the LB chat room for 3 weeks now, I have noticed that there are a lot of dr. visits to fill or unfill because of discomfort, or not losing, food getting stuck, emergency surgery because the band slipped etc. I became frustrated that there was never anyone in the VSG room to talk to about the sleeve. I had an epiphany one morning that is because no one has anything to complain about after they have healed from the surgery. That spoke volumes to me. Yes, it is more invasive, recovery is longer and leaks are rare but you do not have a foreign object in your body that you have to continually adjust. Yes, the LB is reversible but if you are not committed, why do either surgery? Are you really going to have the band removed? I have noticed that after you heal with VSG you are more normal and can eat whatever you want with no food restrictions to speak of with the band you can not have many of the foods you love EVER. I like the fact that your pouch is larger than with the band. You can actually go to a restaurant and eat a kids meal where with the band, one or two bites is all you can tolerate. Having a pouch the size of a golf ball (LB) as compared to a banana (VSG) and the hole to your stomach is normal size instead of restricted by a band so food can't go through easily, I have elected to be more "normal" and just have my stomach reduced to the size it should have been before I got fat and made it the size of a football. The part of your stomach that stretches is removed so you will not stretch back out and the part of your stomach that senses hunger is removed so you don't get hungry. I would rather go to the doctor every 3 months for a check up with VSG than every month with the band (if not more than that for problems.) Did I mention every fill with the LB is $150? Also, most people that have the band removed due to slipping end up with the VSG anyway. I also do not want to be stuck drinking Protein powder the rest of my life 3 times a day just to get my protein requirements in because I can not consume enough food orally. This is why I am choosing VSG over LB. Its a personal decision, do your homework and research. Good Luck

[kemo46 82]

Keep researching. I too was considering the Lap Band, I am so happy I went with the sleeve. A very large percentage of the sleeve surgeries the surgeons perform are LAP-BAND REVISIONS. The corrosion, the slippage and people get tired of the on going maintenance that is required with all of the fills are the main reasons for the revisions.