Gastric Sleeve

[pjd3253 0]

I am glad you wrote about the sleeve because I am very interested in it - I have the band but my husband is thinking about the sleeve - my question is do you feel like you did before just that you can't eat as much because your stomach is so much smaller? I am wondering if I should have done that since I am having port pain and swelling, sticks up like a goose egg and I worry that my band is slipping, etc. I guess the sleeve takes all that worry away - my doctor told me he wouldn't do the sleeve on me because I didn't have 100 lbs to lose but I think he would have done it if I had insisted regardless of the amount of weight I had to lose - I went on obesityhelp forum and people were posting about politics, whether or not to keep their kids out of first grade for another year, stuff having NOTHING to do with WLS so I switched to this lap band talk site which is so much better - you can actually get real answers to important questions here. Thanks.

[ilse72 0]

I have opted for the sleeve as well. Looks like I have a tentative date of July 25th! I am just waiting for the confirmation call now. I am SO excited. Now if that dratted phone would just ring!

[aceduece 0]

I am here for everyone, ask me any question you would like and i will answer them to the best of my abilities. No worries about re-routing your insides... the sleeve removes the stomach but the stomach that remains still works the same as your previous stomach but much smaller and the grehllin is removed so now your no longer hungary!.. while everyone else is starving you dont have the urge to eat its awesome hehe. any questions PM me

[ilse72 0]

Hooray! I got my phone call so it is official. I will get my sleeve on July 25th. Now I am just counting down the days. :confused_smile:

[Ruby3901 0]

I'm not quite sure why anyone would object to your posts Aceduece but I personally want to thanks you for doing so. Afterall we all are looking for help and support in our weight loss surgery. 73 lbs in basically two months is great, bet your having to change clothes sizes pretty fast. Do you have any hunger now? Are you following a specific diet or just small portions of the foods you ate previously? How often do you need to eat? I'm guessing since the portions are smaller your goal is to eat Proteins. Where did you have it and did insurance pay anything? Right now I'm wondering if the insurance does not pay if I should get a loan and finance it myself.I was wondering other than tissue removal how is the sleeve any different than the "stomache stapling" of the past? Is it necessary to wear a medic alert Bracelet in case you are needing to be tubed in an emergency? Also is it possible for the stomache to stretch? I'm in my mid fortys and was wondering if age would have anything to do with either how fast you loose weight or perhaps the plateau people can hit and no longer loose weight? I had read a couple of books on the lap band and was wondering if anyone could suggest any books for the gastric sleeve? My doctors office is going to speak to the insurance company and do their best to convience them that the sleeve would be a better surgery for me.....I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Yes the six month diet is a pain in the rear. My insurance company BCBS of Illnois will not consider any surgery until my six months are up. I have paperwork for the last ten years of dieting but they insist on a physicians weight loss program. So I'm jumping through the hoops and taking just about every medical test imageable. I didnt know whta PB's were either until I read one of the band books, they are when you get food caught up and the person throughs up a froth or slimy sunstance until the food gets dislodged. (Sorry for the graphical description but didnt know how to describe it in any other way.) I had sommone suggest looking at U Tube and dont ya know you can see a video on it. Had no idea that site could show you just about everything imagineable! Sorry for all the questions but I have been looking for someone to ask and hadnt found anyone until now. Have a great day.........................

[Susie Girl 75 0]

Don't listen to Frenchie1959, she sounds bitter and mean... You are welcome to post on our bandster's site ANY TIME YOU LIKE!!! Hey, AceDuece, were all in this together regardless of the band or the sleeve!

Lighten up Frenchie, she's just trying to enlighten us!!!

[LngRedRose 0]

I had the gastric sleeve done on July 2nd. I have lost 34 lbs as of today. I did research the band and decided that I would rather go with something that did not require fills, worrying about slipping bands, erosions, etc. My surgeon has done over 1800 procedures.. (including gastric bypass) and has a 0% mortality rate. Pretty impressive!

[crzytchr 3]

I was banded on the 14th. I wanted the sleeve, but my insurance would not pay for it. I have two teenagers and could not afford to self pay it. I am, however, happy with my band experience so far. The fact that most sleeved patients don't even think about food was the biggest motivating factor that had me desiring the sleeve instead of the band.

[BjSkyGGEvan 0]

I am hoping my doctor will do the sleeve. The bariatric nurse said that I am not heavy enough and the doctor probably won't do it for me. She basically said how it was a 2 part surgery and they typically didn't do the sleeve only blah blah blah. The nurse was really trying to convince me that the sleeve wasn't the route I wanted to take and how I really need to read up on it. She did mention that if I got the band and didn't like it, they were more apt to doing the sleeve then. I am still unsure what the problem is, but I am going to ask the doctor to go over the sleeve in the educational briefing tomorrow and see what she says about it. I trust the nurse but I want to know what the doctor has against the sleeve when it is obviously a very good weight loss tool.

I had the gastric sleeve done on July 2nd. I have lost 34 lbs as of today. I did research the band and decided that I would rather go with something that did not require fills, worrying about slipping bands, erosions, etc. My surgeon has done over 1800 procedures.. (including gastric bypass) and has a 0% mortality rate. Pretty impressive!

[BjSkyGGEvan 0]

Luckily I go to a military hospital that has a bariatic clinic in it or I wouldn't stand a chance to get the sleeve. Military insurance covers the bypass and just recently started covering the band but they don't cover the sleeve yet. Since I am using a military hospital, insurance doesn't play a part in it anymore. If military insurance did cover the sleeve, I would go to a civilian doctor who doesn't have a problem doing the sleeve. I am glad that you are happy with the band and I may not have a choice but to be happy with one too. LOL Good luck with your weight loss!

I was banded on the 14th. I wanted the sleeve, but my insurance would not pay for it. I have two teenagers and could not afford to self pay it. I am, however, happy with my band experience so far. The fact that most sleeved patients don't even think about food was the biggest motivating factor that had me desiring the sleeve instead of the band.

[aceduece 0]

Wow so many questions I dont know where to answer them all.. So Instead of typing for hours on end if anyone wants to talk Private Message me with a phone number and I will be happy to tell anyone anything. No out of the USA phone numbers please as I do not have the capability of calling there. Have a great one and hope to hear from you all soon!

[Vicki J 0]

I think you're all being to hard on Frenchie 1959. I have to say that when I started reading this post I had the same question as would anyone on a sleeve post if someone were to post pushing the band on a site for other WLS. Yes, it does kind of sound like you're pushing the sleeve. I can understand why since it seems to have some great results. I honestly don't think that your weight loss is the norm but it is fantastic for you.

I have a co-worker that got the sleeve about a year ago and has done great with it. It's funny because I chose the band because it is adjustable and they don't take 2/3 of my stomach out and throw it in the trash can. I have a family history of cancer and should I ever need more food they can unfill or remove my band and I can get whatever I need.

You say that you don't have all the follow-up (summarizing here) and that's true. Having the band can be frustrating because you have to wait until you reach the right fill to get what you got instantly. But, what are you going to do when your pouch stretches or God forbid you get ill and need more nutrition?

There are pro's and con's to all of the surgeries. None of them are magic pills so to speak. It's good for everyone to be able to choose which surgery is best for them and it's also good to be able to reach out to people who need the support for said surgeries. I hope that you're in the right area in obesityhelp.com because I'm sure that you could be an effective role model for someone with the sleeve.

Yes, I've read the posts on this thread and I did so because I was hoping it wasn't what it seems to be. It seems to be a band-bashing and that's sad. I see people who are on this thread that are sad because they HAVE to get the band. That's really sad. WLS can be a marvilous thing if you let it. However, if you go into it feeling like you "just settled" for what you got, you're probably setting yourself up for heartache.

I totally understand why someone who had to go out of the country for surgery wouldn't want to have to continually go back. I also understand why someone would go out of the country for surgery considering the cost. However, (and this is a biggie) what are you going to do when your insurance cancels you because you had a surgery done that they don't cover AND everyone else turns you down because you had an experimental surgery done (and that also equates to a pre-existing condition)?

There is only 5 years of information about the sleeve. Staple lines can deteriorate, ulsers can form, pouches can stretch, etc. THERE IS NO WLS THAT DOES NOT HAVE COMPLICATIONS. The only surgery that they can easily undo in case of a complication is the band.

This is all said in the mere context of conversation. I am NOT sleeve bashing, I am NOT chewing anyone out for promoting the sleeve on a lapband website. These things are JHMO. But if you are going to post pro-sleeve/band bashing threads on a lapband site you had better pull up your big girl panties and be prepared for bandsters defend their choices.

[BjSkyGGEvan 0]

Yes, I've read the posts on this thread and I did so because I was hoping it wasn't what it seems to be. It seems to be a band-bashing and that's sad. I see people who are on this thread that are sad because they HAVE to get the band. That's really sad. WLS can be a marvilous thing if you let it. However, if you go into it feeling like you "just settled" for what you got, you're probably setting yourself up for heartache.

No, what would be sad is not take what you are able to get and work it to the best of your ability and get the weight off and get healthy.

[aceduece 0]

I dont think ive bashed the band at all... Matter of fact I was 2 thinking about getting the band and then I learned about the sleeve. And people are interested about it becuase people are posting here so stop trying to tell people that im bashing the band I dont appreciate it.

[Vicki J 0]

People are posting you from both sides. Sleeve AND band. However, if someone DARES state that it is weird that you must come to a lapband SUPPORT page to tout all the advantages of the sleeve over the band then they are the bad guys and you are....simply the victim. Come on - stop it - you're here because you're trying to tell everyone why they shouldn't get the band. ANYONE who is interested in the sleeve is perfectly capable of going to a website that is about the sleeve and find the information. You said that it was suggested that you go to "lapbandtalk.com" to tell everyone about your sleeve. Doesn't that seem weird to you? Are you trying to justify your decision?

Yeah, this sounds harsh because this thread is a band bashing. Either that or do you have some vested interest in converting people for say your doctor? I can't see why you would want to post a thread for one surgery on a page that is totally for another surgery unless you simply want to make others doubt their decision.

Well, after 122 pounds (ticker needs updating) I can't see where the band is a bad choice. And like you, if I feel you're band bashing I'm entitled to my opinion. EXCEPT - I'm on a LAPBAND SUPPORT PAGE!