Lap Band vs Sleeve

[H123987 0]

Desperately looking for advice. I started my journey wanting the do the Lap-band because I preferred the aspect of being less invasive, and the option of being reversible. The more research I do, and now after speaking with my PCP, I'm starting to consider the sleeve. I have hesitations about the sleeve because I've also been reading that it's really easy to gain weight back, but people keep saying the band is outdated, and no one does it anymore. My insurance only allows for one bariatric surgery in my lifetime, so I'm feeling extra pressure to make sure it's the right one. I won't have the option to change from the band to the sleeve, at least not covered by insurance.

I'm still leaning towards band but I'd love to hear pros and cons of both, people who have been successful with the band and those who have been successful with keeping the weight off with the sleeve.

[onmyway11 43]

I can only tell you my story and I have had both. The band for me was AWFUL. AWFUL! I can't believe I lived with it for 5 years. I had port pain for 5 years it never went away. Sure sometimes I couldn't feel it but many many times years later at night I could feel it and it was sore. The other nightmare about the band is that if you eat one bite of something that doesn't go thru you are in trouble. So for example an innocent piece of broccoli? You experience pain and being to slime and can only hope it will come back up. This happened to me at restaurants, people's houses, during birthday dinners with my family. I missed so much in the bathroom praying that little piece of whatever would come up. It's not if you overeat it's if it goes down wrong. Slider foods? Have fun with that bc you can drink a mcdonalds shake and eat crackers or Cookies and you can eat a lot of them. Lastly I never lost any weight. Maybe 20lbs in the beginning. But that's it! You can eat slider foods so much more easily with the band and you probably will if you have the experiences I did with the healthier foods not going down. If it was choice for me to eat crackers that were guaranteed to not give me a problem I would choose that over a salad with chicken because who needs that kind of work?

Fast forward 5 years and I finally revised to a sleeve in January. My only regret is that I didn't start here and wasted so much time suffering with the band. I'm down 100 lbs in a size 10 jeans and I feel amazing. I can eat small amounts of whatever I want however I have become a much healthier eater. For example we are tailgating tomorrow and I made a ton of food today and a huge veggie tray that I will munch on. With the band I would have planned on chips and salsa so I didn't end up in the bathroom for the entire game.

As far as keeping the weight off no tool will do that for you. This is a long and difficult journey. My weight loss is slowing down now dramatically and I have to start thinking about maintenance and it's scary. However the past 9 months have been preparing me and I feel optimistic that I will be able to continue eating healthy and since I am unable to binge on anything I really think I'm gonna make it.

I know there are some people that have been successful with the band and maybe they will tell you differently that it works and go for it but it absolutely did not work for me it worked against me. The sleeve is a dream and I'm so so so happy I did it! Good luck!


Band to sleeve revision surgery 1/16/17
HW: 283
CW: 183
GW: 160

[Introversion 1,876]

Although many people have had success with the band, it is falling out of favor in the context that many surgeons remove more of them than they insert these days.

The band is falling out of favor due to insufficient weight loss. It works due to restriction alone, but doesn't address the hormonal contributors to obesity (e.g. ghrelin, peptide yy, insulin, leptin).

Thus, many people with bands still have raging hunger. They learn to eat around the band. Therefore, keeping the weight off is an uphill battle (if they ever get to goal in the first place).

The sleeve addresses hunger via removal of the portion of the stomach (greater curvature) that produces ghrelin. Once you awaken from a sleeve gastrectomy, your sensations of hunger and thirst are diminished.

Really, if your insurance has an allowance for only one bariatric procedure in a lifetime, you should be deciding between the sleeve and the bypass. At 271 pounds, your chances of getting to your goal weight of 140 pounds with a lap band are virtually zero.

The sleeve addressed my insatiable hunger. I am 2.5 years out, lost 100+ pounds, reached my goal weight, and maintain it almost effortlessly. I know I still would've been hungry with a band.

Good luck to you.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Introversion

[Lannie 135]

I ruled out the lapband for a couple of reasons

• high maintenance requiring routines fills, it take a bit to "dial in" the right amount
• i didn't like the idea of a foreign object, risk of slippage and deterioration.
• older procedure;

I choose the sleeve because

• provides restriction to promote weigh loss
• hormonal change with removal of stomach (I believe this will be key for long term success.)
• low maintenance - this will become my new normal and I won't have to constantly managing the tool

As with all surgery, regain is possible if you don't follow the rules of the tool. People regain with band, sleeve, and bypass. All depends on making lifelong changes. I'm only a few months out so I can't speak from personal experience long term. For me, the sleeve was the best option.

Good luck on your research.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Lannie

[loriptr22 3]

Hi , I had the lap band put on several years ago . I lost almost 100 pounds with it but it definitely came at a cost . I would throw up ALL the time , literally having to leave the table ... sometimes 3 times a day or more . They would fill it then un fill it ... I couldn't eat certain foods because they would get stuck and hurt really bad ,( which I know is common) but what ultimately happened was it just stoped working and slipped. I slowly started to gain the weight back . It took a few years it was slow but nothing I tried worked . I seriously tried every diet out there. I eventually regained about 60 pounds . I was miserable. I didn't want to do the sleeve I fought my dr for a year looking at every other option . But finally gave in because I was tired of being fat and unhealthy. Before I was on zero medication but after gaining the weight I was becoming pre diabetic and starting to have other issues. I had the sleeve surgery a few months ago .
The first week was tough and it takes some getting used to . I still have head hunger but I am only able to eat a little food and it's really great . I am loosing weight again but it's very slow . Yes this is permanent but that's what I truly needed a permanent life long healthy option . I do believe the band is outdated... there are so many issues with it that can happen at anytime. Mine worked for years and I was lucky but it easily could of slipped much sooner . I hope this helps in some small way , everyone is different and has different experiences but if I had to do it over again I would have just gone with the sleeve surgery the first time .

[Strivingforbetter 247]

I had the band for two years and lost very little weight. Just as the first person posted, I would be in terrible pain if I ate raw vegetables or any chicken that wasn't drenched in gravy. It was horribly painful when food got stuck. I would get a copious amount of saliva filling my mouth and I would have to spit or throw up. Eventually, I gained 30 pounds on the band and decided I'd had enough and had it removed. I'm very happy I went with a different WLS. The band was a complete waste of time and money. I also originally thought it would be the best procedure for me because it was the least invasive, but I needed a different procedure that gave me more restriction and curbed the hunger, two things the band did not deliver on. I'm very happy with my duodenal switch.

[LaLaDee 519]

I initially wanted the band because it's reversible and seems less scary than having part of my stomach removed. However, my surgeon talked me out of it. He said he barely does a handful a year and that he spends lots of time doing band revisions and removals. Apparently, a lot of people have had to change from the band to the sleeve. There are a lot of complications like band slippage. With the sleeve, you also don't have to get adjustments or worry about as many follow up appointments. Also, it can restrict your ability to eat healthy foods like raw vegetables and chicken, but then things like ice cream slide very easily down. For me, the main thing that freaked me out was having this foreign object in my body. I read on the internet about people who can see or feel their port through their skin and I didn't like the idea. I think you should talk to your surgeon and do as much research as possible. My surgeon did say that for someone with a lot of weight to lose, the sleeve is better. However, if you don't have much weight to lose then maybe the band could be for you (or you might consider the laparoscopic balloon or another alternative).

[BooBee66 104]

I would do the sleeve I did and don't regret I hour or minute of the benefits

Sent from my LG-K373 using BariatricPal mobile app

[ZinNH 173]

I had the band put in back in 2008. I spent a miserable five years. I was banded at 263, and didn't lose more than 15 pounds. I could eat a teeny piece of scrambled egg, have it get stuck, and spend the day sliming until it would finally get unstuck 12 or 14 hours later. I ended up developing a wicked sweet tooth. I couldn't eat healthy food, so I started eating slider foods- stuff that would go down easily. I sank into a deep depression, because seriously- I went to the extreme of having weight loss surgery and was STILL a failure!

I gained back the fifteen pounds that I lost, and i had it removed in 2012. I ended up maintaining my weight for a few years, then hit age 40 and ballooned up to 305. Last year I stumbled back onto WLS sites, and that's when I discovered that it wasn't ME who was a failure- it was the band. I couldn't believe how many other people had stories just like mine. I literally read hundreds of stories where people suffered just like me.

I was sleeved two weeks ago, and already I can see a huge difference. I could go on and on. My only regret is not doing this earlier. And I wish I had discovered earlier that I wasn't the only person having trouble with the band. The mental anguish was almost as bad as the physical discomfort.

[SIPS in Seattle 345]

I was banded in 2010 at 239lbs. I only lost in the first few months. My memory is shot but I think my lowest weight was 185ish. Then my gallbladder threw a fit and had to be removed. Once they unfilled my band for surgery that was it. I never could get back into the sweet spot. I couldn’t eat solid healthy foods without stepping away to go vomit up what was stuck. It was embarrassing because everyone knows why you have to leave the table and run to the bathroom. Finally it became too tight and caused heartburn. I never had slippage or erosion.

2017 rolled around and I had enough once Water started giving me that stuck feeling. Had my revision consultation at 242lbs. I weighed more than when I went I for my band!

I am almost 7 weeks post revision to the single anastomoses duodenal switch and already hit onederland.

So freakin happy to have my torture device removed. I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to get a band. Just sayin.

[Strivingforbetter 247]

I agree with SIPS in Seattle and ZinNH. It was a torture device and I blamed myself for its failure. It was a relief to me also to discover that I wasn't the only one who had failed with the lapband. I think a lost a grand total of 8 pounds in two months on that thing. Then I gained 30. So glad that thing is out of me. I've lost 40 pounds so far with the DS, and I'm confident I'll reach my goal by May.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Strivingforbetter

[FluffyChix 17,415]

I looked at it this way...I really get where you're at. I was like that at first too. I wanted to do the least invasive procedure possible, and one that could be reversed. But after hours and hours of research I decided that the statistics for long term complications with the band made it a very poor choice--really it took it off the table as a choice.

What I've spent the last few months wrapping my head around is that WLS is a big time Billy Badass solution to morbid obesity. It carries serious risks and serious rewards. It's a high stakes game. So I decided the answer for me is to go with the THE most effective surgery (not including DS). I only want to do this once. I will only get 1 shot at a first chance at WLS. And in these months, I quit looking for ways to "cheat" the system if you will--quit looking for "less invasive" ways to accomplish something. It's kinda like trying to get a job as a doctor without going through the pain and heartache and endurance of med school and residency. I think time is showing with the lapband that long term, there just aren't any good shortcuts.

So I'm choosing RNY, now hopefully my body and my surgeon will agree with me and will cooperate! I'm choosing RNY over VSG because I think there is more track record with it and because of my history with GERD.

[Introversion 1,876]

19 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I decided the answer for me is to go with the THE most effective surgery (not including DS). I only want to do this once.

Bingo...you hit the nail on the head.

Some people fail to realize one important tenet in the battle of the bulge: obesity is not curable. Let me repeat that...obesity is not curable, ever.

Obesity can be placed into remission by attaining a normal body weight. However, those of us who are/were obese have biochemical makeups that will always favor fat storage, especially if you've been battling your weight problem for many years.

Therefore, it is important to select the right surgery the first time around. For most of us, the right surgery will address both the physical and neurohormal contributors to our obesity.

Good luck to everyone who is still deciding.

[FluffyChix 17,415]

2 minutes ago, Introversion said:

Therefore, it is important to select the right surgery the first time around. For most of us, the right surgery will address both the physical and neurohormal contributors to our obesity.

Good luck to everyone who is still deciding.

@Introversion Oh yeah. I completely left off the neurohormonal angle! That was more important to me actually in deciding about RNY v. VSG than the GERD issue! It was #1 at the top of my list. Thank you for addressing that!!!

Edited September 25, 2017 by FluffyChix