crystalny

I have the Lap Band and my husband has the sleeve..I went back and forth myself deciding which one is right for me..I knew i 100% did not want the bypass' date=' and i was too chicken to get the sleeve. I have had no problems with the band since getting it 7 months ago. And i knew that if i did experience any major problems i can go in for a 20 min procedure and have it taken out. There are risks with all these surgeries. The sleeve can also leave you with permanent problems in the stomach itself. My husband become lastose intolerant within 2 months of having surgery, because they take out the part that digests dairy properly, so it sits in the lining of the stomach until you throw it up. If he even has a sip of whole milk, he will throw up 2-3x. And he will forever have to take Vitamins and/or shots to keep the levels normal.. He goes for bloodwork frequently, to check the levels.And for the first 3 months or so when the staples are still in your stomach you risk them splitting apart, and bleeding internally. These are obviously the negative aspects of it. On a positive note. It does work (just like band or bypass)...you are unable to eat large portions. But you still get that "stuck in your throat feeling" just like with the band. My husband is happy with his decison and i am happy with mine. Everyone is different, and will have diferent journeys. I wish you well with the sleeve. If my band ever stops working completely..i am going in for the sleeve! [/quote']

Thanks doll... This was very informative. I hadn't heard about lactose intolerance much until this post and I did a bit of googling. From what I found, most people are only intolerant to lactose for the first few months to a year after being sleeved. If it persists, people take lactic pills and they are perfectly fine, maybe he could try that? Thanks for the info.

Actually' date=' you're wrong. It IS 100% reversible. If the band is removed your stomach simply goes back to the way it was pre-surgery. If you have damage due to a slip or prolapse, you may have some scarring, but it doesn't remove any portion of your stomach or re-route your digestive system in any way. Not so with the Sleeve, you can't replace a huge portion of your stomach that's been cut out.

As for the Sleeve, people don't go in for reversions because they can't. More than half of their stomach is removed, there's nothing to revise. If you look at the long term statistics, people gain back weight with the Sleeve and Gastric Bypass just as often as with the Band, the difference being, a Band patient can always go back in and get a fill to start over. A Sleeve patient will have likely stretched out what's left of their stomach and pretty much be screwed.

...not to mention there's FAR less chance of major complications and/or death with the band. And the recovery time is half of that of the Sleeve.

I respect your decision to go with the Sleeve and wish you much success, but your information isn't exactly accurate.[/quote']

I read that although the lap band is removable, it is not completely reversible because adhesions and scarring are inevitable.

Also, in the highly unlikely event that a sleeved person stretches out their sleeve (highly unlikely because one would have to eat to maximum capacity over a long period of time, enduring a lot of pain, because the tissue on the gastric sleeve does not stretch as easily as with a bypass patient), they could go back and do more surgery to attain more weightloss. After all, the sleeve was initially the first step in the two step process for the duodenal switch, but doctors started performing it as a stand alone procedure because the weight loss was significant. We don't see sleevers getting revisions because they generally never need to.

One point you mentioned is what i actually really love about the band, the fact that it is adjustable. And that the recovery time is way shorter than with the sleeve, but id rather give up an extra week of recovery now than to have to be worried about having another surgery in the next five years.I just feel like the band is a great tool, but it is definitely not permanent and the majority of banded people will need to have another surgery within five years. I haven't found one person that has been banded for over 8 years without a serious problem and that's scary to me. In 8 years I will be ready to have children and will not want to have to worry about my band giving me problems.

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Hey everyone!

My name is Crystal and I live in Brooklyn, NY. I started looking into lap band surgery a few months ago in 2011. I did research on insurances and found out that NYC Medicaid would cover the procedure. I applied and got approved in January and start looking for a surgeon. In January, I learned about Dr. Gorecki and made an appointment, but I needed a referral. I had to get a new PCP who initially gave me problems with giving me a referral, but I went back today and got one thank GOODNESS.

Just wanted to give a background story on me lol. Now im waiting for the middle of march to get here for my consultation and to get this show on the road. I'm excited!!

Has anyone here gotten their surgery through Dr Gorecki in NYC? How long from your initial consultation did you get a surgery date?

Thanks!