having doubts about sleeve

[cupcakebarb 0]

I was going to have lap band but after taking to consultant decided on sleeve and booked 25 april at leeds spire with healthier weight. But starting to have doubts about it cos I didn't want anything permeant and I suffer arthritis in my ankle and wont be able to take naproxen after surgery. Which I thought ok I will manage with gel but started to think what if I get riddled with arthritis when I'm older, I'm 53 at moment, but if t it so bad that I need naproxen what then. I know band is not as good as sleeve but its reversible if needs must . Help any advice please think I'm just getting worried bout it as well

[msjg46 39]

WLS will help with having less pressure on your joints. I am 53 as well and I have noticed my leg doesn't hurt and I workout on the treadmill for my 1 mile (sometimes 1.5) fast pace walk.

Talk to your surgeon about your concerns and also talk to your primary as they will be the one in the long haul ordering meds for you - unless you have a rheumatologist.

[PayItForward 207]

I was going to have lap band but after taking to consultant decided on sleeve and booked 25 april at leeds spire with healthier weight. But starting to have doubts about it cos I didn't want anything permeant and I suffer arthritis in my ankle and wont be able to take naproxen after surgery. Which I thought ok I will manage with gel but started to think what if I get riddled with arthritis when I'm older, I'm 53 at moment, but if t it so bad that I need naproxen what then. I know band is not as good as sleeve but its reversible if needs must . Help any advice please think I'm just getting worried bout it as well

Are you sure that you can never take it again? I just had to stop taking my medication 10 days before surgery and was able to start taking it again 6 weeks after surgery. I take mobic.

[rking 484]

i just had an appointment with my surgeon last week. i am 50 and have horrible knees. arthritis, bone spurs, swiss cheese meniscus, degeneration, you name it. he does not want me taking nsaids but said i could if pain got bad. he said to be sure something was on my stomach.

fyi...... i was hell bent on lap band. i, too, did not want anything permanent. the more i read, the more negative things i kept seeing. my best friend has it and has had no problem at all. my biggest fear through this whole thing is being nauseated and/or throwing up. i did a lot of research on lap band. i started thinking about the sleeve in the back of my mind. when i went to my docs seminar, there was a lady there who had gotten the band a few years ago, and was there to switch to sleeve. she told her story about after getting the band, that she would throw up about 10 times almost every day. that sentence screamed at me. with that and everything else i had read, i made the decision that the lap band was not for me. also, i live five hours away from my doc and did not want the inconvenience of having to get the fills.

i know it works wonderfully for many people. you just need to read and research and keep reading and researching. only you can make your decision.

the sleeve surgery was the easiest surgery i have every had. i have, not one single time, been nauseated since surgery. i have actually felt great the entire time, except when i had fever in the hospital.

good luck on your journey!!!

[VDLT 244]

Talk to your surgeon but NSAIDs are usually not a problem after sleeve. Yes the sleeve is permanent but the damage caused by the band in my case and in many others was very real. While the band is "reversible" some of the damage caused by it is not, but the surgeons still using it don't always properly advise patients of the possibilities of complications.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

You have to decide for yourself.

My bad knee that had arthritis in it, doesn't hurt anymore at all after losing over 90lbs. I forget it is my bad knee now.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Doubts are healthy.

I think you should discuss at length with surgeon as there are pros and cons.

There are many successful band patients on this site,but I was banded in 2001, revised to sleeve in 2011, revision being the fate of many people that were banded that long ago. You can fail or succeed with ANY WLS, but it seems some of us had a much harder time finding the "sweet spot" with the band. It is a little trickier, a little higher maintenance but with education, support and willingness to adjust fills, people make it work!

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Boy, there sure seems to be a lot of confusion about NSAIDs and sleeves.

Here's what my surgeon said -- and I've confirmed it by doing a lot of research myself:

* Sleeve patients should not take NSAIDs on a daily basis just prior to or forever after VSG surgery. And once again, that's a permanent forever no.

* Sleeve patients may take NSAIDs occasionally for severe discomfort. But, again, they should not take NSAIDs on a regular, daily basis after VSG surgery.

* Why not? Because NSAIDs weaken (destroy) the stomach lining, increasing the probability that the stomach itself will be attacked by its own stomach acid, causing stomach ulcers -- something that people with a sleeve (and not a big fat stomach) don't want to incur, since we don't have a whole lot of stomach left to remove should we have a bad ulcer that required removal of that portion of the stomach where the ulcer is.

* This next bit seems to be greatly misunderstood by VSG patients AND medicos alike. It does not matter at all whether you take an NSAID via mouth, via IV, via shot or via a topical cream. The net negative effects of NSAIDs on your stomach are exactly the same. NSAIDs don't harm your stomach lining only because NSAID medications come in contact with the stomach lining -- but because the NSAIDs (delivered in any way to your body) reduce the ability of your stomach lining to protect the stomach against its own stomach acids. And protecting your stomach against ulcers caused by stomach acids is something you REALLY want to support.

There's a somewhat understandable discussion of this at this link: http://positively-healthy.com/nsaids-and-bariatric-surgery-whats-the-deal/

Finally, it is probable that all your other doctors and dentists have NO IDEA that you shouldn't be taking NSAIDs post-op and will prescribe them for you.

P.S. Did you know that aspirin (even baby aspirin) is an NSAID? Google "what's an NSAID" and you'll find long lists of all the NSAIDs that are readily available over the counter and via Rx.