Scared To Fail Again...

[slikchik10 85]

Thought I'd jump in here and say this: It works, it finally works! I was banded back in Mar of 2007 and was removed/revised in May 2013. Finally I am seeing what I had hoped the lapband would do for me. With the band I lost 60, but with the reflux & other problems I had, I regained 30. Now I'm down 53 since May and LOVING it! I haven't seen this weight in 25+ yrs. and I've never been this size. I realize I'm in the honeymoon phase, but I'm sticking to the plan, making changes and MAKING sure this WLS is a success. Just work the plan, stay focused and it will work! I was talking with a colleague this past week and she pointed out that I'd not only NOT gained weight over Thanksgiving, but I'd lost a couple of pounds...how cool is THAT?! So, good luck fellow revisionists! Be bold, be of good cheer and know there are many of us out here enjoying our success. :-)

Edited December 15, 2013 by slikchik10

[Am1e 48]

I was banded march 2010. Originally lost 25 lbs in a year, then gained it back the following year. I had a revision surgery where Dr Ortiz from OCC removed the band and did the sleeve surgery at the same time. I lost 20 lbs in the first month. And I am still losing weight. There's some ups and downs but I wish I would have chosen the sleeve originally. I LOVE it. I no longer feel hungry. I see that I used to eat for boredom and other emotional reasons. My advice - drink plenty of fluids! The one night I had a bad time was dehydration. Luckily I got it corrected without ER visit through phone consult with the dr at OCC. But it feels terrible! I was weak, felt like vomiting, and thought I was going to faint. I don't think you will fail with the sleeve. For me it is an awesome tool. In the beginning I was thinking about all the things I can't wait to eat, but now I don't even care about those things. I just want to put in the very best foods since I barely eat any food. I'm sure you are going to do great!

[XXShelXX 346]

So scared of failing. My legs are shaking as we speak. My revision is set for Dec 30th. Maybe i should just go for the gastric bypass..... Been reading about people failing after a revision and it's just got me almost to the point of calling my surgeon and going for the bypass...

[Fluffnomore 1,235]

I'm completely supportive of the people who are doing well with their bands, but what convinced me to go with the sleeve is exactly what I hear against it: its permanence.

I didn't see why I would go through major surgery for this problem and leave myself an out, particularly with the high failure rate reported.

Like gmanbat said, it is still possible to fail, but you have to be willing to ignore the rules. Even my good friend, who loses extremely slowly, is following the rules and losing.

Good luck with everything!

[gmanbat 5,889]

So scared of failing. My legs are shaking as we speak. My revision is set for Dec 30th. Maybe i should just go for the gastric bypass..... Been reading about people failing after a revision and it's just got me almost to the point of calling my surgeon and going for the bypass...

There are scary stories about the bypass, too. My wife has a bypass and is doing well but she is a pretty close rule follower and we have a mutual nagging policy in place.

Reading stories is not as good as listening to your doctors who are closer to your condition.

There are scary stories about lottery winners destroying themselves. If you win and don't want to take the risk, message gmanbat....I can help!

[XXShelXX 346]

Thank you Gman I wish i wasn't getting so nervous but i guess i just don't know at this point. I need to stop listening to negative nellies i'm sure. I work in the medical field and word gets around so fast if you tell even one person what you are having done. I had a nurse who i didn't even know come up to me the other day and tell me about how the sleeve was just a passing phase like the lap-band and that the gold standard is the gastric. But if i wanna waste my money it's none of her business...WHAT? who is this lady?! anyway, thank you. I'm sure i'll be full of questions soon enough.

[gmanbat 5,889]

My surgeon wanted me to get the bypass, like my wife did. I heard the gold standard argument.

I am a surviving cancer dude. I did not want the malabsorption, I need all the nutrients I can get. What doc couldn't see was the fire in my heart to beat the crap out of fat. I had already determined to be an athlete for the rest of my life, not just temporarily get in shape.

So far the sleeve has been a perfect fit.

[CoffeeGrinDR 148]

I agree. I can't do malabsorption - it nearly killed me due to loss of Iron and severe anemia that required 4 hour IV iron infusions 1-2x a week for four months. To take iron intravenously wrecks you.

I didn't want to EVER go through that again. Gastric sleeve is the only thing I would consider because problematic malabsorption doesn't really occur.

My surgeon (who was supposedly running a center of excellence) told me the band worked because of restriction not malabsorption. Then the awesome surgeon I saw to get the jaws of life out of me said "of course it's malabsorption." So the science behind the band was switched up in the middle of pushing the product?? Yep.

This time I have waited, read the medical journals. To me, gastric sleeve is the gold standard for sustained health. My mom had gastric bypass and I don't think her health is as robust as it used to be.

Just my 2 cents.

[XXShelXX 346]

I agree. I can't do malabsorption - it nearly killed me due to loss of Iron and severe anemia that required 4 hour IV iron infusions 1-2x a week for four months. To take iron intravenously wrecks you.

I didn't want to EVER go through that again. Gastric sleeve is the only thing I would consider because problematic malabsorption doesn't really occur.

My surgeon (who was supposedly running a center of excellence) told me the band worked because of restriction not malabsorption. Then the awesome surgeon I saw to get the jaws of life out of me said "of course it's malabsorption." So the science behind the band was switched up in the middle of pushing the product?? Yep.

This time I have waited, read the medical journals. To me, gastric sleeve is the gold standard for sustained health. My mom had gastric bypass and I don't think her health is as robust as it used to be.

Just my 2 cents.

That's the whole reason I picked the sleeve as well. I do MRI's and Bone Density scans. I see Osteoporosis so often due to lack of nutrition with gastric bypass patients. It's really amazing but people really don't take their bones into consideration. Without enough Calcium and Vit D3, the bones just lose so much density. Before you know it you have Osteoporosis and you are breaking a bone...getting shorter...getting hunched over...who wants that?! now i'm sure there are plenty who will take their Vitamins and not develop it at all. But a great many women do. My mother in law had GB nearly a year ago and she looks like a skeleton now. A skeleton who is always running full speed ahead to get to the nearest bathroom! It's hard to believe I know all this and still considering doing the bypass (taking all my vitamins of course) all because i'm scared i'm going to stay fat if i don't. sigh. Off to do some soul searching...or coin flipping. lol

[Fluffnomore 1,235]

Coin flipping: excellent scientific and medical researching technique!

[megawatt 4]

Just found out surgery date is 9 Jan. Oh no....here we go!

[PeachyDexter 14]

Hi, would love to hear from you guys who have had the sleeve done since your posts.

I'm in the same boat and scared I will fail with the sleeve. I lost nearly 200lb with the band until it eroded and have gained 80lb and am 5 weeks away from the op.

I am so undecided ...... Sleeve or bypass, failure, gaining more weight.

I am sure there are lots of people out there with similar experiences or am I just one of a few of us

Peachy x

[want2bthin 93]

Please read the post I just added for my Two Year Surgiversary which is today - well at least for the next 5 minutes.

I had the same fear of failure. I honestly don't think people can understand (except for those of you here who failed with the Lapband) how big of a failure I felt with it. At the most I lost 47 lbs and I had it for 6 years almost to the day. I went to support group meetings for a couple of years even - and stopped going when new people would ask me when I was going to have surgery and I told them I had it 3 years ago.... Eventually I gained all the weight back plus another 13 on top of that prior to having the Sleeve.

Two years ago when I was asking the same questions that many new to this are still asking I was encouraged by 'veterans' that there was no comparison for the sleeve to the Lapband. They are 100% right. With the Lapband I was always hungry. I had many many fills - most of the time I felt no difference and there was one time where I literally couldn't drink Water and had to go right back in for an unfill. Oh boy how I do not miss that at all - another huge benefit of the sleeve. I can never fault the Lapband for my failure completely. In time I learned what went down easy and if something got stuck I learned how to get it unstuck and once I did I could eat the same way I used to again. It still amazes me now. There's no way I could eat a whole slice of pizza or a sandwich now at one sitting. With the sleeve I was virtually never hungry and really haven't been for almost two years unless I really go a good 5-6 hours with eating nothing. I think that is what still amazes me the most. And not being hungry is incredibly liberating. I had to find other things to do with my time; I got to where I forgot to eat. My husband and I would be out for hours and he would want to get something to eat and I would say 'well I'm not hungry' and he would respond - 'well some of us still have to eat ya know - it's been 4 hours since I ate :)"

Bottom line is do not let the fear of failure stop you - I'm so glad I didn't.

Susie