LapBand VS Sleeve??

[Jaffa 5]

I am so sorry. I apologize to anyone who may have been offended.

And to anyone who is researching band versus sleeve....you are so very welcome.

[Headhunter 6]

I am so sorry. I apologize to anyone who may have been offended.

And to anyone who is researching band versus sleeve....you are so very welcome.

Steve, I guess you and I are bullies.

Whaddya say we head on down to the corner bar for a shot of Protein and venom.

maybe we can torch an orphanage along the way.

I'm Buyin'.......

HH

[*susan* 1,709]

Oh my goodness, I suppose you are going to attack the innocent puppies too! For shame you two, for shame!

[sistasassy 6]

I recently read another thread similar to this one - minus the feud - and I feel the same way about this one as I do the other one. There are statistics and numbers out there for every form of WLS on the market. We really have no idea how they actually reach those results and what the inclusive or exclusive parameters are.

I think we each have to make our own decision about what surgery is right for us. My doctor let me choose. I chose the band and have not regretted my decision. I work hard at eating right but do allow myself a great treat once a week. I think that, ultimately, this is about the way it works with each type of surgery.

I am happy for all of us who have found our own path and for some of us who have had to find a new path because our original path was not the solution. We are all here with the same common goal...to lose weight and keep it off.

I think it would be awesome if we could put our differences aside and focus on that one goal.

I, for one, am celebrating many NSVs right now since I have lost close to 65 pounds (does not matter what type of surgery I had)! I have more to go but I am diligently working towards my goal. I am excited for those who have lost weight on other surgeries as well! Look how far we have all come!

[Headhunter 6]

Oh my goodness, I suppose you are going to attack the innocent puppies too! For shame you two, for shame!

Yes, actually, that’s part of the plan.

The Animal Shelter is on the way to the Orphanage and the Bar. The idea is to adopt all of the puppies, 8 weeks and younger, and put them all inside the Orphanage BEFORE we Torch it. And you know what’s really neat? In the SAME BUILDING as the Orphanage is a Disabled Seniors Home. We can pretty much take care of them all with just ONE gasoline soaked rag and a BIC lighter. Steve and I can be sitting at the bar toasting each other with a protein-and-venom shake before the fire department even knows what’s happening!

It’s like the trifecta of murder and mayhem.

Ah, life is sweet when you're a Bully.

HH

[sistasassy 6]

"My Experience with the Band was NOT good, and it was removed....but I want YOURS to be AWESOME!" (Part of Head Hunter's Signature)

I think THIS is AWESOME! Have a great day!

[NancySmiles 2]

I had the band and lost 112 pounds with it; but because of a slip and a leak, I was converted to a sleeve. Sure, there is no follow up with the sleeve, no fills, no foods getting stuck, etc. But if you are not going to follw your diet with the lap-band, you won't follow it with the sleeve. I am gaining weight now with the sleeve because I have been able to eat all the things I had problems with when I had the band. Of course, I am eating the wrong things....but it's cuz I CAN....and some days I wish I had the band back so that I COULD get a fill, believe it or not. THe sleeve is permanent....the band is still reversible and adjustable. I love having the sleeve but I also loved having the band. You can make it work, no matter what surgery you have....it's all up to you. And I am determined to get the sleeve to work for me too!!!

do you sometimes wish you did not have a band instead you had a sleeve??

I was reading on the sleeve website how easier it is than the band!

What do you think?

I mean, i love my band, been banded for a year now, but it gets painful at times when you PB or slime or just cannot eat that yummy food because you are afraid that you might throw up!

Also, i have been reading the complications here and it got me worried!

What are your thoughts on this?

[maestrita 43]

I am shocked at how rude some people can be simply when they don't agree with someone. Thank God for the Ignore feature!

[JENNIFER7375 3]

Steve did you really read my earlier posts on this thread. All I was doing was responded to whether or not on wished I'd been sleeved instead of banded. And I simply gave one of the reasons why I was happy with my choice. I said that I knew of people that had the bypass and the sleeve that had significant weight gain. I never gave medical specifics or websites to look up. I simply gave my opinion based on real life people that I sat and talked to not quotes of a website. And in my opinion I'll take real life people over websites. And yes I did read plenty about all WLS before I decided to be banded. And who I think I am is someone who has a right to speak about my experiences and opinions without being called a liar just cuz they aren't there own personal experiences and opinions. And this is supposed to be a support group not somewhere people come to get nasty and rude when they can't get people to tell them they are right.

[Headhunter 6]

I had the band and lost 112 pounds with it; but because of a slip and a leak, I was converted to a sleeve. Sure, there is no follow up with the sleeve, no fills, no foods getting stuck, etc. But if you are not going to follw your diet with the lap-band, you won't follow it with the sleeve. I am gaining weight now with the sleeve because I have been able to eat all the things I had problems with when I had the band. Of course, I am eating the wrong things....but it's cuz I CAN....and some days I wish I had the band back so that I COULD get a fill, believe it or not. THe sleeve is permanent....the band is still reversible and adjustable. I love having the sleeve but I also loved having the band. You can make it work, no matter what surgery you have....it's all up to you. And I am determined to get the sleeve to work for me too!!!

Nancy;

Now, THAT was a reasonable, thoughtful, and articulate answer to the original question. You have personal experience with both, you recognize the plusses and minuses of both procedures, you see the ability of a human to screw up EITHER process, and you're willing to do the work to MAKE it work the way it should. And, I believe you WILL make it work. I look forward to hearing how you are doing with it.

As I have been saying all along, every single one of the WLS procedures have their pitfalls, limitations, and drawbacks. Do the research, get ACCURATE information from LOTS of reliable sources, and you'll have a good chance of picking the one that is meant for you.

In Nancy's case, she kind of had the sleeve thrust upon her. But, she's doing what she needs to do to make it work.

I'm not sure that there is a better answer to the original question than what Nancy just handed us! :bored:

"The Journey is the Reward"

HH

[jms462001 9]

do you sometimes wish you did not have a band instead you had a sleeve??

I was reading on the sleeve website how easier it is than the band!

What do you think?

I mean, i love my band, been banded for a year now, but it gets painful at times when you PB or slime or just cannot eat that yummy food because you are afraid that you might throw up!

Also, i have been reading the complications here and it got me worried!

What are your thoughts on this? :bored:

My last PB was in April. My second and last fill was in February. I get a bit hungrier now, but still fill up fast and still lose at the same rate with no more problems eating or worrying about anything getting stuck. I still stick to the Protein shake and skinny latte early in the day.

[jms462001 9]

Interesting - it seems no surgery is all that "successful" for super morbidly obese individuals meaning that you are highly unlikely to get to and maintain a "normal" weight. doesnt mean you cant have a whole lot better life! And similarly, nearly everything works better for lower BMI patients.

Puts paid to those who like to bitch and moan about how lower BMI patients shouldnt have surgery.

With regard to the death, how sad, but in all fairness, that could happen after you had your tonsils out. Dying as a complication of surgery and dying as a complication of weight loss surgery specifically are two different things. Anyone can get clots, aspirate Fluid into their lungs etc.

However, here is where adjustability is a bit of a crock - if your weight loss peters out with a sleeve before you're happy with the result, well you're ever so slightly f...d. If that happens with a band, then theoretically you can tighten it. But that's where I think the problems start to occur. I dont think you CAN just get tighter and tighter. I think way too many people try to get more out of the band than it can actually delivery. Its a surgery for people who are able to make good food choices, werent too disordered and ill to begin with and are able to exercise with dedication (at high levels). For them, it works brilliantly. Its a valid, sensible decision if you can honestly say you're one of those people. I also dont think I had any sort of ghrelin disorder personally, I wasnt inappopriately hungry, I just ate lots coz it felt good and I got into bad habits.

It is NOT a good surgery for people who need more help than that and are going to need to be tighter and tighter to control appetites and head hunger.

I agree with you totally and I would bet that at least 75% of people who have problems with their band are having those problems because they keep getting fills in hopes it will cure their emotional eating. And, it does to some extent because they get sick a lot. It conditions them to not eat so much. However, most will give in to slider foods and quit losing. There should be no reason for people to get sick all the time, have reflux, etc if they are eating properly and not keeping their band too tight. The other 25% who fail just can't tolerate the band. The problem is that so many people get the surgery without taking care of their emotional problems first which cause them to overeat or binge. I was like you. I ate very healthy, but I ate too much and enjoy food!

[Jaffa 5]

A. the attitude that adjusting the band tighter and tighter to fix the mental side of poor eating habits, will eventually lead to band failure. You just simply can't keep tightening it down to fix yourself.

Jennifer, I understand what your saying, I wonder why or if you have known anyone with the band who just gained their weight back, and if you do, why is it that therefore the band is somehow different or better in this regard. Your original post notes how you know people of GB and GS that regained, but you don't know just as many or more with the band who regained? And yes, anyone with a failure and removal counts.

So I ask, why is this significant in your decision? I just don't get it.

[JENNIFER7375 3]

Steve I do know banders that have regained I said so a bunch of times earlier. One of my best friends had it done. She hasn't regained a whole lot at this point. She dosent have a bunch of medical issues just dosent really have the right eating habits. But I also know banders that have gained and relost again. I dont know anyone personally that had there bands removed.The bypass was the one surgery I was dead set against for myself. And that's because I knew a few people that had very nasty post-op problems. And I met sleeved and banded people and not 1 of them had any major medical problems post-op. I did a lot of research and know there are major differences between the bypass and the sleeve. If I hadn't been banded I'd have chosen the sleeve. And if I had to have my band removed for whatever reason I'd get the sleeve. But the research I did lead me to being banded at this point . And so far the bands worked really well for me. I don't knock anyones choice of surgery cuz just making the decision is a big step for anyone regardless of what they chose. I have a lot of friends and co-workers that are considering WLS. I tell all of them to do as much research as they can and attend support groups before making a decision. I also tell them the same thing that I've said on here, that if they aren't willing to give up there old eating habits and relationships with food that none of the surgeries is gonna work for them. The choice that we love ourselves more than we love food is the hardest part of the choice to make.

[Headhunter 6]

Jennifer;

Now that the rhetoric has subsided somewhat, I’d like to address your comments a little further; your original comment, and your subsequent posts defending your position.

First, I’m not pleased that you got attacked, even though I was firing in the first assault. It’s never pleasant to be on the defensive here, but it simply happens. It has happened to me. Sometimes daily.

Some people deserve a virtual slap in the face. I’m not saying that YOU do, but for some of us your comments were unreasonable and ill-informed. Your comments did not reflect what would constitute a well-defined and researched opinion on the merits/drawbacks of Lap-band vs Sleeve. It appeared to be a simple shot at the bypass and the sleeve because you didn’t like them for whatever reason.

You stated in subsequent posts that you had indeed researched the BP and Sleeve thoroughly. Then, why didn’t you merely say, for example, that you had spoken with 14 doctors, perused medical journals at the facility where you work as a nurse, and been to a handful of seminars on the subject, and you had concluded that the band was what would work best for you? What you did was give an example of incorrect behavior by a failed WLS patient. That person would have failed regardless of what WLS they had chosen. It had NOTHING to do with the bypass.

I would NEVER think that someone is a moron merely because they failed WLS. BUT…in the situation you described, the individual “ate and ate junk the whole day long.” I WOULD describe that as moronic behavior for someone who has had WLS, and I’m not sure that ANYONE could disagree with that assessment.

WLS fails in many, many people…that is a Fact. But for many, it fails because it was the WRONG SURGERY for THAT person. For others, the Surgeon is at fault. But in many, many cases, it is the fault of the person that HAD the surgery, in failing to comply with the prescribed protocol. And this is true REGARDLESS of what Weight Loss Surgery the individual has. I don’t know whether your co-worker was insured or a self-pay. A Gastric Bypass is going to cost $10-15,000 either way, and I will say again that for a person to squander THAT amount of money (regardless of who is paying for it) by “eating junk the whole day long” (your words), is just plain stupid.

I’ll stand by my statement that you don’t have a clue about what you’re talking about with regard to BP and the Sleeve, because the only example you gave, as I have said, is that of patient MISBEHAVIOR, and not because of any inherent flaw of the GB procedure. If you had actually done any real research, you would have discovered that weight regain in Bypass patients is by FAR the exception, rather than the rule that you appear to think that it is.

I acknowledge that there are SOME people who do regain weight post-bypass. I have a very good friend who is the musical director for a major music performer. He is quite wealthy, and can afford any surgery he wants. He had the bypass, and he HAS put some weight back on. But I know this guy well, and HE is one of those people for whom NO WLS is going to work entirely.

I’ll quote Dr. Robert Zane, who is the Chief of Bariatric Surgery for a major HMO. He stated that “weight regain in Gastric Bypass patients is very, very rare. You have to make an effort to do it; it’s almost a conscious decision.”

And that is why I went off on your statements. And I went further to address some of the fallacies and notions that people perpetuate about the bypass and other surgeries.

You’ve had the Band, and you’re happy with it. I think that is awesome. It is working for you, and THAT is the desired outcome for ANY WLS.

I’m not all that concerned with people that have successful weight loss with the Band, Sleeve, or Bypass. That’s what the desired outcome is. The people I AM concerned about are those who are in the process of MAKING THEIR DECISION; I do NOT want them to rule out what could potentially be the RIGHT surgery for THEM on the basis of biased, incorrect, and fallacious information. That is all. Plain and simple.

HH

Edited June 25, 2009 by Headhunter