tough decision

[wheeling 18]

Hello all. Brand new to the board. I am a soon to be a 49 year old male with a big decision. I have a great surgeon and going through the process of getting ready for surgery in May or June . Waiting on insurance , and going to support groups, etc. I once weighted 418 pounds back in the late eighties. I now weigh about 290. Sounds good But I was around 260 on weight watchers a couple of years back. The weight is creeping back as I get older. My surgeon is reconending the sleeve, But the lap band seems less dangerous. Ive heard all the stories about the high maintence of the band and the problems with It. But am cautious about the Long term sucess with the sleeve. Any info from the board would be greatly appreciated..

[ISleevedIt 380]

Hi, I too am 49 and am getting sleeved on Feb 21st. As I've been told by my nutritionist and the doctor (and many here on this site), the sleeve is just a tool and it's what you make of it. If you eat healthily and control your portions it will work. I too have a fear that I will not be able to watch my eating, but I think it's a better choice than the band or the roux en y bypass. Many problems with the band and as said before, it's not being recommended as highly any longer and the bypass, you can have malabsorption problems.

I've read on here of people who have had the sleeve for a couple of years and have able to maintain their weight. I'm just praying that I will be one of those people that can maintain the weight loss and keep up with exercising.

Good luck to you and I'm sure you'll make the best decision for yourself.

[DrmBig4Evr 152]

I encourage you to research as I did, was set for the band and a good doctor unrelated to what I was doing along with my brother who is a pediatrician both separately recommended the sleeve. I'm not here to convince you either way, it is an individual decision. I would search google for JMA or NIH articles comparing the band and sleeve. Also, Dr. Oz did a video presentation on the difference and posted statitics in his video regarding the long term % of "excess weight" lost. Good luck on your decision!

[kimbernada 190]

I agree... do the research. The surgeons at the Center of Excellence that I went to still do all three of the surgeries, but they all seem to feel the RnY or the sleeve are the best options. My mind had been made up for the RnY until I went to the informational seminar. I thought I was going throw up or pass out when they started talking about another option. Seriously! It was too much information. Then I started researching and I think I made the right choice for me. (The sleeve.)

[wheeling 18]

Thanks all. I have been doing research every day. Just cant make up my mind. The band is reversable, I know the sleeve is not. I know the decision will be mine But peoples oppinions help.

[sue8925 17]

If you have diabetes the sleeve is supposed to help. the lap-band does not

[TheGamer 406]

As many of us did, I did my research and ultimately decided on the sleeve. It wasn't as extreme as the RNY, which I liked. It wasn't temporary like the band. For me, it was knowing that the band was not a permanent tool that put me in the sleeve camp. I have seen firsthand what happens with a sleeve if you are unable to get adjustments done - the weight just piles back on. There was the risk of slippage of the band itself. The band would do nothing to keep me from getting hungry.

With the sleeve I have a tool that I can use for the rest of my life. While there is not a vast body of data on sleeving (yet) there is enough to see that at present, results are on par with the more extreme weight loss surgeries without as many difficulties. The fact that the portion of the stomach removed at least temporarily stops ghrelin production was a big sell for me. One of the largest problems I had was the fact that I got very hungry very easily. I can speak from experience when I say hunger is not an issue any more and is a key part of my success.

In short, the sleeve was the right decision for me. Even with the issues I had, which were minor compared to some, I do not regret this choice.

[Escape_Pod 358]

One of the things that concerned me about the band was the need for regular visits for "fills". I do see my surgeon regularly to make sure I'm on track, but I didn't like the idea of needing to make constant adjustments to a band for it to work well for me. Some of the patients in my support group who have a band talk about having trouble when they fly - possibly the change in air pressure? I have no idea. Sounded like kind of a hassle, but I guess whatever surgery you pick, post-op life is work, right?

The other thing that really concerned me with the band was the rate of complications down the road. Before I had my sleeve, I knew one person who'd been happy with her band. A year later she was in the hospital for an emergency revision to a sleeve. But again, any surgery comes with a risk of complications. It seemed to me in my research that a lot of surgeons are recommending against the band these days, or have stopped doing band surgery.

If you live in a fairly good-sized metropolitan area, I suspect you'll find most of your local hospitals offer bariatric surgery seminars where their surgeons discuss the pros and cons of the various options. I went to several, and found it very helpful. Might be worth looking into for more input!

Good luck - it's a hard choice picking the right surgery!

[Alex1025 0]

When I first started looking into surgery I was dead set on the lap band. My reasoning was that if something went wrong I could always get it out. My surgeon felt that the choice was up to me which surgery I had done, he thought the sleeve would be better for me but it was my choice to make. When going to the psych visit that was required she asked me why I wanted the band, and of course I explained that the main reason was that it was reversible. She told me to really look at the sleeve. Most people do not have the band taken out, and for the amount of weight I needed to lose the sleeve would probably be better. So I went home and researched for a few weeks and made another appt with my surgeon to talk about it and I ended up with the sleeve. It really was the best decision for me. I don't have time for fills etc. and I know a girl who has the band and she is restricted on things she literally cannot eat or she will throw up. That's not for me. All I can say is research and talk to your surgeon, everyone is different. Good luck!

[NurseGrace 509]

Hello all. Brand new to the board. I am a soon to be a 49 year old male with a big decision. I have a great surgeon and going through the process of getting ready for surgery in May or June . Waiting on insurance , and going to support groups, etc. I once weighted 418 pounds back in the late eighties. I now weigh about 290. Sounds good But I was around 260 on weight watchers a couple of years back. The weight is creeping back as I get older. My surgeon is reconending the sleeve, But the lap band seems less dangerous. Ive heard all the stories about the high maintence of the band and the problems with It. But am cautious about the Long term sucess with the sleeve. Any info from the board would be greatly appreciated..

I had a lapband before I had the sleeve and really, I cannot recommend it to anyone with a clear conscious You have to educate yourself about the facts. Did you know the Lap Band's success rate isn't any better than people who do weight watchers? I don't say that to bash the band but speaking from experience I can tell you that healthy foods were hard to eat. Bad foods were easy. I was throwing up nearly daily with the band.....

I am two weeks out from sleeve surgery and I can already tell its a completely different beast. I do not find the sleeve to be as punishing, I have not thrown up a single time, I can tell that when my diet progresses more I will be able to eat the healthy foods I want to eat without fear that I will be in the bathroom projectile vomiting.

[nyc8dove 40]

I had a lapband before I had the sleeve and really' date=' I cannot recommend it to anyone with a clear conscious You have to educate yourself about the facts. Did you know the Lap Band's success rate isn't any better than people who do weight watchers? I don't say that to bash the band but speaking from experience I can tell you that healthy foods were hard to eat. Bad foods were easy. I was throwing up nearly daily with the band.....

I am two weeks out from sleeve surgery and I can already tell its a completely different beast. I do not find the sleeve to be as punishing, I have not thrown up a single time, I can tell that when my diet progresses more I will be able to eat the healthy foods I want to eat without fear that I will be in the bathroom projectile vomiting.[/quote']

That is wonderful to know...thank you!!!!

[moregoodtimes 331]

Hello all. Brand new to the board. I am a soon to be a 49 year old male with a big decision. I have a great surgeon and going through the process of getting ready for surgery in May or June . Waiting on insurance ' date=' and going to support groups, etc. I once weighted 418 pounds back in the late eighties. I now weigh about 290. Sounds good But I was around 260 on weight watchers a couple of years back. The weight is creeping back as I get older. My surgeon is reconending the sleeve, But the lap band seems less dangerous. Ive heard all the stories about the high maintence of the band and the problems with It. But am cautious about the Long term sucess with the sleeve. Any info from the board would be greatly appreciated..[/quote']

I started the same place you are but once i fully researched both and clearly understood the impact the sleeve will have on ghrelin and leptin, i changed my mind. I was sleeved one week ago and know it was the correct decision for me. Long term success with both is what you make it. Good luck with your decision.

[readyfor50 4]

I just had a band to sleeve revision in January. I was never happy with my band. I threw up constantly! My band slipped and I developed a leak in my tubing. I feel so much better. I am very happy with my decision and down 25 pounds already.

[wheeling 18]

Thanks all for the comments. I had a support group Meeting yesterday. I am not a 100% yet, but looks like I leaning toward the sleeve.

[desertmom 297]

Hi,I had the band and if you worry about the long term result of the sleeve,wiht the band you dont have to worry about it,there is no long term success...lol.

You would just waste years of your life trying to make something that cannot work,work,like so many of us did.

The one regret a lot of us have is that we didnt get sleeved in the first place.

None of these surgeries works by themselves.You have to make the changes,the surgery helps you to it.The band however causes you lots of issues you didnt have before and as the winning prize you have to have more surgery and will most prob still be obese.

The sleeve is by far the superior surgery in my experience.