CowgirlJane

The band is reversible, but it sure leaves alot of issues.... I just thank the stars that i don't have band erosion into the stomach. I am 10 years out and likely have very significant scarring etc. I guess I will find out when it is removed... just awating insurance approval on that. I was researching on PubMed and the one study I found makes it sound like the scarring etc from the band greatly increase the risk of leaks - double digit type thing. I THINK my doc told me that leaks were something like 5-6 percent for conversions and more like 1% for "virgin" WLS. I got so much info in that session that I actually don't know if I remember this right! Anyway, I have been kinda shocked at how long the recoveries are if there is a leak too - that and acid reflux are two huge fears that I have with being sleeved .

I switched because I never got comfortable with understanding the risks/concerns of band conversion from the first surgeon. He strongly encouraged the gastric bypass and I just wasn;t comfortable with that either. I came to realize eventually that he was very experienced with the bypass and not so much with the sleeve. I did the nutrition assessment, phych assessment and even had 2 meetings with the doc - I really liked him, but decided to switch to someone who had done alot of band to sleeve conversions

Oh, I also wanted to mention the "forum politics". 10+ years ago it was yahoo groups "Bandsters" and then later "smart bandsters". This was really focused about people being banded outside the country and then the initial usa surgeries too. People who weren't very successful were either openingly, or indirectly, criticized and implied or directly stated to be "non compliant". Well, if I was so perfect at compliance even when starving, I would have been able to make a million diets work and wouldn't need the help of WLS. I remember somebody who had erosion, and after she was gone it was basically implied that it was her fault for "keeping her band too tight". I remember getting alot of my info from that support group - what a HUGE mistake. I went through the paperwork that I got at the time I was banded. The brochure from BioEnterics LapBand actually had a paragraph saying something like "you will probably have to have this removed, don't count on it as a permanent implanted device". I don't remember it, but I know I read it because they had me sign a paper about it. I am guessing that someone on that online forum talked me into thinking that was just CYA talk. Actually, I think it was an absolutely true statement, and they new it a decade ago!!! So, I am gunshy. I am more scared of this surgery. I don't know why they call it the sleeve, when it should be "partial stomach removal". Even so, I feel that I have tried everything else and I need help to get this weight off!

I know this is an old thread, but I am so glad it came to the top! I can relate to absolutely everything stated already. I have always been a big eater. I didn't really have a sugar or carb addiction, so I thought the band wojuld be a good choice... I just needed help with eating less... with not being so hungry. Over time, I feel that having the band for 10 LONG YEARS has actually created food issues. I am much more of a sugar craver now. I am much more food focused then I ever was - like always thinking about food. And, like everyone else, the healthier food just tends to cause me pain. Even after all this time and with no Fluid in the band for ages, I still have to eat small quantities of dense Protein but swear can eat unlimited amounts of certain foods. sigh When I did have restriction - I went from hungry to in pain without ever feeling satisfied. It messes with your brain and emotional state, I don't think humans are meant to experience that. My band has slipped, and it has to GO, but I have three big worries about the sleeve (well, 4 if you count failing AGAIN, but we won't talk about that right now!) 1. Reflux/acid - I never had it before banding and now it is part of my life. I hate it. I fear it will get worse with the sleeve. 2. Never feeling satiated. I have spent my whole life, basically being hungry. With the band, it was worse due to the pain and hunger combination. I fear somehow just feeling bad all the time with the sleeve and of course it cannot be reversed. 2. Risk of leaks due to damage caused by the band. Thank good ness I have no erosion, I guess I will know more when they take the band out to see just how bad the scar tissue is. My doc wants to do 2 surgeries to reduce swelling and scar tissue to reduce this risk Anyway, I am 47, ,morbidly obese and getting co-morbidities. I want so much to be a healthy weight - there is so much I want to do in life!!!

You have no idea how happy I am to hear these kind of comments!

There are two ways to do it. Either as a file attachment (attach button at bottom of message) or as an imbedded image like I did with the beach picture. Do do the imbedded image you need to have hosted the picture at a hosting site.

I guess I should mention, my husband thinks that the outpatient/recovery at home is great. And of course, I know they have you go back the next day for fluids and check up.

You must first host your photos somewhere... like photobucket, picasa When you are composing a message, look for an icon that looks like a picture.. it is the "insert picture" button - click on it Put the URL from the photo into the pop up If it all worked, you see a pics from my most recent horse camping trip.

I am a patient at PSSC. I am pretty sure my insurance will cover this, so I am trying to decide if I am really comfortable with the outpatient business. Dr Billings also has priviledges at a couple of good local hospitals so that is an option, i know. On the one hand I HATE hospitals. They make me feel bad and are filled with sorrowful memories (too many deaths of loved ones in recent years). I also fear mistakes and being awoken all the time (isn't that what they do in hospitals..lol). On the other hand, I am scared of being home and having excess pain or even worse, nasuea. I do have a dear friend who is a nurse who has volunteered to stay with me at my house for the first day or two or three. she says that monitoring heart rate and stuff like that can be early indicators of any infection or similar problems. That gives me some peace of mind. So, cost aside, what are the advantages of this outpatient approach? (BTW, I really like Dr Billings and staff. They have been warm, thorough and caring so far.)

I am horse crazy too! My trusty stead is heading toward retirement, but my dream is to ride Drill Team and maybe take up barrell racing. A skinnier me and a younger horse are both necessary to fullfill that horse dream!

Thank you all for the information and sharing. I am inspired to see people with similiar BMI starting - 49 - have had such good results. I am 47 YO and have gained and lost weight so many times I don't know that I will lose as well or as fast, but I would be pretty happy to move out of obese and into just plain overweight! Getting to and maintaining a normal weight/BMI almost seems to hard to believe after all these years of failing.

Hi there, I am new here too. I had similiar problems, healthy foods like lean meat and veggies were the hardest foods to eat. Made it hard to have a normal life! From what I gather about the sleeve, eating is hard at first, but after that initial 6-18 months you can eat most foods so don't have that problem of choosing foods based on what doesn't hurt! good luck with your revisions!

Hi everyone, I am so glad I found this forum! I am wondering if anyone has found much info/research on success with the sleeve 3+ years out. I know this is not a new surgery (ie step one in a two part and was used for stomach cancer etc in the past) so you would think there would be some data on long term health issues/concerns as well as weight loss maintenance. I was banded 10 years ago, in Europe where I lived at the time. I would have never gotten that band had the long term risk of complications versus "success" percentages been known to me. I had thought risk of slippage, erosion etc was in the 1-2% range but it is really much much higher. I fear that I am sold on the sleeve based on short term success and I really don't know what the 3+ year timeline looks like. So, I did "ok" with my band the first year. I lost about 70 pounds, and because i didn't loose well unless I exercised like mad, I was pretty fit and happy even though I never got below 200#. (I had a home gym that I used nearly daily, rode my bike to work and did daily walks - losing weight was a huge focus, but I have to tell you, I lost better on Weightwatchers later on in life). Well, I regained all that, plus. At one point I was at 332, but lost a bunch on weigh watchers and got down to 245 about 4-5 years ago. Right now I am floating around in the 285-290 range and NOT happy. I don't exercise like I used to, but still remain active with my dogs and horses. I don't need to tell any of you, you all get this, but I am really desparate to get the extra weight off. My knees are shot due to arthritis and I have alot of physical pain that seems to be weight related. So, I started having problems with the band in ... well, who am I kidding, from the very beginning. In 2003 I was regaining AND having the horrible side effects, by that time back in the USA. I had a hard time finding a doctor to take care of me since my surgery had been done out of the country. I had a flouroscopy and had pouch dialiation so had all the Fluid removed. I SHOULD have gone to Mexico and had the band removed right then and there, but I didn't. I had the wrong impression that an empty band just parked there was "harmless" - it is not. I finally got off my butt and started exploring revision and find that years later, surgeons aren't scared of taking on a foreign implanted band like they were back in 2003/2004. Now, I am having a lot more stomach irritation etc and I had a flouro Monday and found out that my band has a big slip. Doctor said there is a change of getting totally closed off and not being able to drink Water, so that thing has got to GO. Friday, I did the upper endoscopy, and although I was loopy when I talked to the doc, I do remember the great news NO EROSION. Thank goodness, I was scared of that. He did biopsy to check for ulcers and that precancerous espohogal condiion (Barretts?). I was out of it from the twilight sleep, so I can't remember if he said he saw anything suspicious, or if this was routine. I guess I will find out next week. I LOVE the doctor I have found. He was the second Bariatric surgeon I met with and I felt like he was the one that gave me the cold hard facts about risks of leaving the band in, risk of revision. The bands they used 10 years ago where "smaller" so even with all the fluid out, slippage and erosion are still very likely - I am a case in point as I do now have the slippage even with no fluid. When I found out how risky revision is to Gastry Bypass (due to stomach damage from the band) I was SHOCKED. He estimated that risks are something like 5-10X as high as people who have never had WLS. I don't remember THAT in the band promotional literature! I had mostly ruled out the bypass anyway, but that finished it for me. In order to reduce the risk of leakage with the sleeve, I plan to have the band removed, time to heal and then be sleeved. He has done alot of revisions, and based on his own practice as well as other information within the bariatric community, the risk of leakage for revisions IS higher due to the scar tissue etc. The healing time will help, but I still have a higher risk. The good news sees to be that once you get past that initial leakage risk, he felt that band revisions fall into "normal" population in terms of results and long term risks. I got a little scared though after reading how horrible the recovery from a leak can be though... I am curious if this info is consistent with what others have been told by their surgeons. The sleeve sounds like what I need so I can get this weight off, but i would sure feel more confident if I could get a better indication of how people are doing a few years out.