Sydney Susan

I would really like to know what the basis is for concerns about staples. They are so commonly used in surgery today and other than those who are sensitive to nickel, I've not heard of problems with them. I'm certainly full of the things, having had a couple of major ops previously. And as for "pooping out" staples... they are put on the outside of the stomach - usually by a cutting and stapling tool that does both jobs at the same time. From there, there is no way they are going to get inside your stomach so they can travel through the intestines and "out". Where 2 pieces of stomach wall are stapled together those two pieces will fuse or join, by healing and scarring. Staples won't pass through that that join without damaging it... and probably without a fair bit of force. Pooping staples sounds like a fairy story...

That article only refers to 'leaks', not the reasons for the leaks. Nor does it refer to the number of surgeons impacted... we don't know what caused the leaks (staples or other issues), whether patient behaviour played a role or not, or whether the leaks were spread across many surgeons or a relative few. I'm really not sure why you are so keen on making people anxious about staples and staple lines. What is your concern? What are you trying to achieve? Staple use is widespread - well beyond bariatric surgery - and widely accepted.

We're not arguing about the band... just trying to correct misinformation about the sleeve. It's one of the complications of this newly integrated site. I originally read the post because the title suggested there would be talk of other surgeries than band.

What are the issues with titanium staples? I have loads of them, some from VSG and others from major cancer surgery 7 years ago... I was told titanium was 'inert', and that's certainly been my experience. Clips, staples and rods made of titanium are extremely common, and although I know they are not recommended for those allergic to nickel (although their level of nickel is apparently quite low), I've never heard of anyone experiencing problems. Certainly I've never seen any information about corrosion or opening up of the staples, and I can't imagine what else people are worrying about. Staples speed up surgery and provide more secure suture lines in situations where there is a risk of blood, bowel or stomach contents leaking through hand done sutures... they've been credited with significantly lowering the mortality rate in some operations.

Hayley, Madam Reverie posted a great article on page 2 of the thread "Dr. In My Area No Longer Does Lapband. Ugh!" It's quite medical/scientific but readable and it looks at different surgeries in a v non-biased way. It might help you.

Excellent article - thank you. Should be compulsory reading... I've never understood so many of the mechanisms, and that really helps me. We ought to post this on a lot of threads...

Nana said: ... to say that the Sleeve WILL NOT eventually stretch out, is misleading people on a surgery that they can't reverse once it's done. Regardless of which bougie size you have it WILL stretch out eventually, you are only 2 years post op, based on my friends who have Sleeves, AND many medical published cited journals to back this up.... Please, if you have journal articles you must list them here. People are v keen to read sound scientific argument, and that can be difficult to find. There's a lot of anecdotal stuff (which is fine if we all stick to what we personally know and a good range of stories are shared), but good, hard data is thin on the ground. My understanding is the same as Pxtman - that the sleeve stretches but only to a percentage of its new size, still nothing compared to its original size. And people can get resleeved, btw... Not that I've heard of that as a "game plan", but rather just to clarify there are still options if stretching is an issue.

Nan's said: Many people do not tell you the negative side effects of these surgeries, I am being honest. The very best we can do on this site is be honest about our own surgery and post-surgery experiences... And not cast aspersions on others experiences. The fact is there are a great many experiences - they are all valid but none of them, individually, tell a reader what that person's experience will be if he/she decides to go ahead with a particular type of surgery. Encouraging a diverse range of comments makes that clear to readers.

Do you have more information than this? It's hard to get good long term data (on decent population samples and with control groups), and anything that's available will be lapped up on this site.

Nana said: her vomiting seems to be uncontrollable due to the staples in her stomach Why would the staples per se make her vomit? People havw staples or clips for all sorts of operations - have had cancer I'm full of the darned things. I have impacts from the tissues that were operated on, but not from the staples themselves - they are specifically selected to be inert. Do you mean her reduced stomach size causes her to vomit? Just like the lapband, eat too much or too fast and stuff will come back up. Personally I've never vomited (I have the sleeve), but I chew well and never gulp food. As people have said, you have to work with whatever surgery you have - and getting the surgery you intuitively feel most comfortable with is a good first step to making that happen consistently.

I believe that's how it is in Australia too. I see a liver surgeon for a completely different issue and he warned me off the band, because he'd had to operate on people who had the band erode right through their stomach, spilling their stomach contents throughout their peritoneum. I've also heard people say/write that band removal is better thought of as a revision than a reversal, as scar tissue permanently changes the stomach. While I've seen rates of follow up of 100% of bankers (ie: everyone has their initial band moved, removed or replaced at some time), I don't know any stats re % of people with scaring that causes issues long term. I have the sleeve and have no issues at all - eat well, all foods, feel good, no dumping. Although the sleeve has more short term complications (up to 8 weeks), it has v v few long term problems. Given my own personal experience and the things I've been told, I can imagine doctors would prefer to avoid the band.

There's a great thread called "Lapband Vs Sleeve Vs Bypass" in which people with all 3 surgery types have written why they chose what they did and how they found the experience. There seems to be an awful lot of misinfo here on the sleeve - though PDXman has done a good job of correcting the stranger utterings - so I presume we all have incorrect understandings of each others procedures. The first hand stories do a good job of demystifying the pro and cons... And preferences of us all.

It really does get a little better each day. Have faith in your body - it sounds like it is healing really well and the weight is moving. You must be feeling chuffed. Try to take it easy and have an early night every day this week. You'll be fighting fit soon.

Are others still having problems with the new site? These are mine (using iPhone app): 1. Can't create new threads 2. Get "time out" messages when I reply to thread, although the comment actually gets posted 3. Get "time out" messages when I try to edit my own posts, and edits don't work 4. See code rather than formatted text in others posts 5. Keep getting error message "You do not have access to the private messaging system", even though I'm NOT trying to send a private message 6. No ability to control "current threads" to only see those topics of interest. I thought this was coming 7. Missing posters and topics I like to follow. Have people left the site or are these just harder to find now?

So Aussies, how are you all doing? Well I hope.

So Aussies, how are you all doing? Well I hope.

Congrats. It amazes me that you still have a BMI of 28 - goes to show, I guess, that we've (or I've) lost track of what "normal" body weight looks like. If have thought you were well within the healthy BMI range.

Compliments are great - obsession is not. I suggest some of your colleagues don't have enough to do. And yes, wanting to take even a single photo of your butt is "off", let alone a series to show the changes. Your VP needs to know that too. I am assuming mostly women are making these comments. Perhaps point out how creepy - and inappropriate - it would be if men were to make the same comments. And a few loud reminders that you want them to be amazed by your brain, wit, persistence, creativity etc, might help to rein them in a bit. Good luck.

I had to get my BMI from 34 to at least 35, and over did it, getting to over 36. It wasn't hard at all for me - just happened when I stopped trying to eat less, as I had been doing for years. But it's long gone now.

Hi Hayley. Well no doubt you will get a huge number of responses on this newly integrated site. And we'll have opinions that don't align tidily, so I bet you still are confused at the end! But it seems I get to go first... I have sleeve, which seems to be done very similarly in Australia to the US, although perhaps with slightly longer stays in hospital. We also have a very different private insurance scheme to the US, and insurance company approval is not an issue - it's entirely between you and your dr, and your health insurance either covers bariatric surgeries or it doesn't. Also, for me at least there was no difference in the cost - my dr offered all options and all were the same price. I understand that satisfying insurance requirements and cost is a big issue for many... And influences the decisions of some. But as I said, not me. Why not the band? I don't like the thought of a foreign object inside me (I'm a near-miss cancer survivor, which may be a factor in the absolute repulsion I have about that), and I'd also heard terrible stories of bands eroding through stomachs etc. I also didn't want to worry about bands slipping, regular visits to Dr to increase or decrease the band etc. Why not the gastric bypass or duodenal switch? My BMI was just over 36 so I was never really a candidate for those, although I had a lot of co-morbidities. I didn't feel I needed something that drastic and I didn't want malabsorption. I wasn't sure I could live with that long term. Why the gastric sleeve? I wanted something permanent - I've had problems with hunger and portion size all my life although my weight really only got out of control after the cancer, which took an enormous toll on my body. I wanted portion control and hunger reduction and sleeve does both of these. After the first 6 weeks, sleeve complication rates are lower than the band, and that appealed too. How long and how much? 6.5 months and 26kg. The amount is less than predicted but my thyroid packed up early in month 3, and is only just now recovering. Weight loss was 22kg by 9 weeks and 4 kg since... But I haven't exercised a great deal as I've felt so awful (from the thyroid). I'm just picking up again now. Problems? Reflux is sometimes better and sometimes worse than pre-sleeve. Would I do it again? Yes! I eat normally now though avoid carbs (by choice). Nothing I can't eat. Have a glass of wine occasionally. Feel very much in control of portion size, which is tremendous. People who don't know me think im a small portion size, slow eater - that's all. Slower weight loss means I've had no trouble with hair loss and my skin is in pretty good shape. What else you should know... 1. I'm 53. If I was a lot younger I may not be as keen on a permanent solution. Don't know, as my eating habits feel very natural now. 2. I had a very good surgery and recovery but not everyone is so lucky - go in with your eyes wide open! It's not a small surgery. 3. I had an easy adjustment to the sleeve - I was begging for restriction and never once regretted it. Again, not everyone is the same. But I really didn't feel physically better and able to eat and do a little more each day. I took on your new foods very slowly, so my stomach was well healed before I tried each one. 4. (So far) I've never vomited or had dumping syndrome. Good luck with your decision.

Na NA, I had promised myself I wouldn't post, but girl you really have to get some feedback on your postings from someone that you respect - show it to your sister or a good friend. Someone who loves you enough to tell you the tough truth will be a great friend to you. You control your own destiny, and right now it's looking like one in which you set yourself up for a series of unpleasant retorts with bombastic posts, overuse of caps and very suspect anatomical discussions. You have a lot to offer but your delivery is waaaaay off. Ps: I live in a very, very big city.... so I must know a thing or 2... ; )

I mostly use the iPhone app version and am now having another problem. I haven't had a notification of a posting to something I'm following but the app icon has the number 1 on it - suggesting one notification. When I open the app there no threads in my subscribed groups showing as having new posts but on the "more" page it says there are 3 new postings. Totally confusing.

Just created a thread and wasn't automatically subscribed to it. Had to manually do it.

I go to threads and although the top page list has the last page highlighted and at the bottom of the page there is no "next" button, only "previous", the posts will be the first or some other page. I have to select the second last numbered page, wait for it to load, then select the last page again, and then it will be ok. This happened several times in the last 20 mins. Also, subscriptions are all over the place - done there, some not, some auto subscribe when I post to them but others don't. Also, sick to death of seeing the "current threads" choc full of stuff that has no relationship to me (lap band and bypass). I've asked several times but am still waiting for a reply - are we going to be able to customise what we see or is the way of the future? I am soooo unhappy about these changes. One of my favourite sites has become bland and the posters and action I liked to follow are just lost. I really think you made a terrible decision here and need to re-think it. And the fix is taking waaaay too long.

Mine works but not perfectly - I'm using iPhone version.