Welcome to VST! I'd say your best bet is too keep reading the different forums (especially the post-op one) and you'll see some of the challenges people have faced with the sleeve. I personally didn't have any major physical difficulties with the procedure or recovery (did have constipation, low energy levels first month), but the emotional aspects of losing weight so fast got to me every once in a while and if you read through my blog, I tried to share the joy and hard times.

Good luck with your research!

Welcome..... I was set and ready for the Band myself and my doctor recommended the Sleeve so I held back and decided to do lots more research. I have decided it is the way to go for me. This site is also great and I come to read everyday. I hope you make the right decision for yourself. I like the fact that the hormone that generates hunger is greatly deminished which sold me over the band which I read post about others being hungry all the time. Well good luck with your decision.

I had the band, and I can tell you that it was a deplorable life to live. I'll only give you facts and not my opinion of the band. But, statistically, the band has the slowest and lowest weightloss stats. Complications are on the rise, and you can find plenty of them here with many of us that had the band and switched to the sleeve, or you can check out the failed weight loss surgery board on obesityhelp.com, and the complications forum on lapbandtalk.com

I can't say anything negative about my sleeve experience, and I had complications. I had a leak because the band destroyed my stomach tissue. I was hospitalized 6 weeks after my revision because I had abscess/fluid pockets in my abdominal cavity, but I would do it all again, to live the life I live every day with the sleeve.

If you don't mind, slow weight loss, food getting stuck, not being able to enjoy salads or really any bread, and the fact that you won't have true restriction until you get a decent fill which could take up to 6-10 months, then the band is something to consider. Until you get a decent fill, you're just going to be dieting until you get to the "sweet spot" on restriction. Still being hungry even though you can't eat anything because your pouch is full, or you can't eat healthy food because those foods get stuck. That's what band life entails. I lived it for 8 months, my mom still has her band and she pukes 2-4 times a week, she can't eat this week because her allergies are going crazy and sinus drainage (she lives in Texas) irritates her pouch, she hasn't had a fill in 15 months because even 0.25mls makes her too tight, yet she has no restriction. She's only lost 75lbs in over 2 years, and has another 40 to go to get to goal.

Don't believe that the band is reversible. It's removable and can be unfilled, but once it's sutured around your stomach, your anatomy is forever changed.

The sleeve may seem more drastic, but so is wrapping a piece of plastic around your stomach. I know very few successful bandsters that haven't had complications or a deplorable quality of life due to daily struggles with band issues.