Do anyone knowwhat surgery is best for me

[rtaylorel 6]

I'm 5'7 &weigh 261 plus I have a moderate size haiatal hernia. I seen one surgeon who had bad bedside manners so I switched &I see a different one on the 25th. I'm just curious what may work best for me the sleeve or the band...Please Help

[Ms.AntiBand 2,984]

I don't recommend the band, but you and your doc are the only ones who know best.

The band has vast more complications compared to sleeve and is continously problematic to most .. and is high maintenance. With any surgery there are complications

[ShrinkingBiker 121]

I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you that I was 5'9 and 326 just a month ago when I started my pre-op diet. (sleeved on 3/20) I am now 283. The band to me was not the choice..

My reasons where:

1. I didn't want something implanted in me that needs to be adjusted multiple times.

2. i saw too many people that either lost and regained, or ate just as much just took longer..

3. I saw a lot of revision / removal people who had a surgery and had to have another one for various reasons.

4. I just liked the sleeve option best after doing research on side effects of the other surgeries.

This is a choice you need to make with the consultation of your doctor. I am glad to hear that you are seeking another option if not satisfied with your doctor. You need to do what is best for you.

[Butterfly66 63]

I would not recommend the band to anyone. My daughter had the band put in a year ago and although she initially lost 60 pounds, she was not able to keep it off. She has other contributing issues, PCOS and a knee injury that prevents her from doing aerobic exercise. If you are looking for the least invasive restrictive surgery, I would suggest the sleeve.

[RAAinNH 113]

My band is coming out and I'm having sleeve surgery. I had nothing but problems with the band and never had success losing weight.

[nsquared 232]

5'6" and a half, started at 274lbs with a hiatal hernia. The sleeve was my choice when I had surgery 2 months ago. The hernia was repaired during surgery. I am very pleased with my choice.

[Butterfly66 63]

RAAinNH, did you already get approved for revision? We are going down that path with my daughter now and I am curious how easy it will be to get approved.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

sleeve or the band

rtaylorel

there are so many revisions from the lapband to the sleeve

why would people feel the need to have another surgery, if the lapband was good??

i bought this purple dress years ago - it was the fashionable thing to buy - everyone was buying it - looked nice for a long time

eventually problems started - the colors ran - just didn't look pretty any more

everyone was having problems with that brand name -only a few people want to buy that colored dress anymore

there was a new and improved red color that looked much better, and everyone seemed to like it

people switched to the red - now i'm finding out that they are making very few blue dresses now

people seem to switch from the blue to thee red - much happier

congrats on your "soon" to be wise decision having the sleeve

out with the old - in with the new!!!!

good luck!!!!

[Butterfly66 63]

Good luck.

[sharonintx 1,275]

I think you'll find that everyone on this forum will say the sleeve is better than the lap band.'

And I agree with them.

[rtaylorel 6]

THANKS EVERYONE,IF EVERYTHING GO AS PLANNED I WILL BE SLEEVED MID JULY :-)

[vinostacy 2]

I am 5 6 and started at 286. This week I am 6 weeks out and exactly 40 pounds down including 2 week pew op. I have not regretted this once!!! I appear to be a wimp and it took me some time to feel like myself again but I still have no regrets. I also. Had a large hiatal hernia and had it repaired. I have so much relief from that being gone. No heartburn or acid reflux for the first time in at least 10 years. I am so happy with my decision.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

You have asked this question of a very biased group...lol We tend to be pro sleeve because each of us had our reasons for choosing that procedure.

do your own research, don't just rely on our opinions. I don't think even a surgeon can give you a clear answer to your questin - they have their biases!

I am 16 months post op, have had a complication free time of it and in maintenance. Hunger is returning, but that happens after all WLS at some point.

This surgery has been a life saver for me - but you will find plenty of people who say the same about the rny and DS procedures.

I counsel you to NOT consider the band. It sucks - I had it for 10 years and it sucked pretty much from the beginning. I vomited alot and I never vomit with the sleeve so it isn't just "compliance" like the doctors try to tell you....

[barbi1281 112]

I'm 5'7 &weigh 261 plus I have a moderate size haiatal hernia. I seen one surgeon who had bad bedside manners so I switched &I see a different one on the 25th. I'm just curious what may work best for me the sleeve or the band...Please Help

Like everyone else - I can't tell you what to do b/c it's a personal choice but I will share my journey/decision with you. Fair warning - this will be long, but as far as I see it, you really should have as much info as possible when making this decision.

When I decided to have WLS a year ago (yep it's been a whole year since I went for it - Surgery was 6 months ago though), I was definitely getting the band. My primary care doctor has the band and it seemed safer and less invasive than the alternatives... now the idea of the needle for fills bothered me a bit b/c I don't like needles but hey I'd rather deal with that then die, right?

I went to the band information seminar and that sealed it for me - as soon as I went through the insurance hoops (i.e. nutrition, psych, etc...) I was getting it done. Now I'm hear on the VSG board so obviously I changed my mind...Here's what did it... About a month before my surgery I started really planning for it - doing whatever research, meal ideas, weight loss statistics, complication rates, etc... I wanted to be 200% ready for anything after my surgery - including not hitting goal or having a complication. As I started really digging I found out some things that bothered me about the band like...

• Weight loss with the band is almost always (there are exceptions) slow and some people never get to a healthy BMI or their goal (maybe the goal/BMI thing happens with sleeve to, but I don't hear about it as much as with the band) - OK not a deal breaker for me b/c I was low BMI, but it was in the back of my mind - I do want to say that in hindsight I'm glad I made this choice - as of today I've hit goal by losing 70 pounds (maybe not a lot to some but I'm between 5'0 & 5'1)... also, I have a surgery buddy who has lost over 100 pounds as has a friend of mine on MFP, and my cousin who is religious about following the healthy guidelines has lost nearly 100 pounds already and her surgery was after mine.
  
• The access port to fill it is right under your skin - Once again, not a deal breaker... they gotta be able to access it right? Only major concern I had is that I am a mommy and I got the skin and stretch marks to prove it (and I had them before I gained weight so I knew they weren't going anywhere) - ultimately I'm planning to have a Tummy Tuck to fix it... well I started to wonder, if this thing is right under my skin and you can sit it a bit when pregnant - what happens when I have my tummy tuck? As well, what happens during the tummy tuck surgery when the pull my skin tight? Is there going to be a problem since I have this port sitting in there?
  
• Band fills - I was thinking you only need them occasionally, so no big deal... well that's not always the case - in the beginning they are quite frequent and if not enough liquid is put in when they do the fill you have to go back for an adjustment, on the same note, if too much is put in you have to go get an adjustment... Did I really want to do this for the rest of my life? Now I will say there was one benefit to being adjustable and that's that you can have all liquid out during pregnancy... I'm trying to get pregnant right now (Doc said it was OK) and I'm worried about getting enough nutrition.
  
• Corn - OK this is petty, I'll admit it but I LOVE corn on the cob... so you're telling me that I may never eat it again b/c it could get stuck??? This alone wouldn't have changed my mind but it irked me a bit. I will come clean and admit that I was in mourning for never again eaten corn as soon as I found that out
  
• Complications over time - I started reading a lot about band revision where people were going from band to VSG or having to have it taken out completely... HUH? This is supposed to stay put - no way they're opening anything back up!! Why are they having revisions? B/c they stretch their pouch and the weight comes back or the band slips, or even worse... erosion - WTF? This think may cut into my stomach later and require major surgery??? And the real kicker is that this risk never goes away as long as the band is there... do I really want to always worry about some complication popping up later? In the words of Sweet Brown - Ain't nobody got time for that! That said, the initial risk (during surgery and the first 45 days) are higher with VSG, but once I get through those days the risk is gone FOREVER! Hmmm easy start but possible long term problems or harder/worried start with no long term complications? For me that was an easy choice considering that part of the reason I was doing this is that I survived asthma with only 1 near death moment for 30 years, but 30 years in I got so sick I didn't expect to meet 31... I was the healthiest person for the 1st 20+ years and then a problem! And here we have the deal breaker!
  

The other things bothered me a bit but I could live with them if the alternative was dying (and I really was that sick)... but really? Possibility for complications forever??? Yeah eff that! I thought about it another week or so and talked to my husband, explaining that my biggest risk from switching is a leak but that risk would be gone in 35 days and then no more risks... Surgery is always a risk - we both know that (I had a total of 4 last year so we know what can go wrong and we know how small the chances are). A little over a week after I really decided to get VSG instead of lap band, I called my surgeon and ileft a message for him that we were switching.

Now I know this is long, but I wanted to share everything...

BTW - I did not even consider bypass b/c I'm low bmi and I was severely lactose intolerant (somehow it went away after my VSG - I don't know why and I'm not asking) - I know what dumping feels like and to hell if I was having a surgery that could make me feel that way b/c my cough drop had too much sugar in it and it was labled sugar free (yes I know someone that actually had that happen with SF Halls)... Plus I like sweets... I'm wasn't fat b/c I ate a whole cake every day (I'd get sick of cake if I did that ) ... I was fat b/c my thyroid sucked and I was HUNGRY.. I actually ate just fine but I ate a lot and my thyroid is an evil psycho .

Ok I'm done taking up your thread . Feel free to come to me with any questions - perfectly willing to offer up any knowledge that I have... I wish you the best of luck no matter what you decide.

Edited April 12, 2013 by barbi1281

[RAAinNH 113]

Hi Butterfly66.... I am very fortunate.... My insurance company will pay for the revision because I have not retained 30% of my weight loss. To be totally honest, I never lost 30% of my weight to begin with. I have joined a new bariatric program at a different hospital. A fresh start... a new beginning.