Band07

Less invasive and long term results are just as good .

Yes that’s my normal. I’m 7 years out and deal with that daily .

I was banded for over 6 years, I lost all the weight but I was miserable and always stuck and in pain. The reflux was terrible. I had it removed and was supposed to revise to sleeve but I feel like my surgeon went very conservative because I weighed around 165-170 when I had surgery. 2 years after that and an additional 20lbs later, I revised to MGB and that was in April of 2015. The MGB was a huge difference for me from the band. I do still occasionally have foods get stuck or come back up but not often. The biggest issue with MGB for me is everything I eat goes through pretty quickly and as I'm sure you've read the stories, BMs can be a horrid experience. I was afraid to leave the house the first year but now it's a lot more routine (though I still have emergencies from time to time). I use IF and I work out 6 days a week to keep the weight off and I've had no problem staying within 10lbs of my goal .

I had surgery late Thursday evening, flew home on Saturday and went back to work Tuesday. No issues, a little tired but it was very manageable.

I’m 13 years out and I weigh 3x daily . I have a danger zone number, if I hit it I take action fast .

Literally asking for a friend. What are your thoughts on MGB for a lower BMI patient, like someone with max 40-50 lbs to lose?

I'm 5 years post op. I flux between 155-160 and I'm pretty happy there. I would prefer 150-155 flux but I eat whatever I want. I also practice IF and run 4-5 days a week to keep the weight off.

Well it depends on their BMI and the surgeon you're dealing with if they will even do a bypass surgery; but from experience I had the RNY bypass and had not one single issue and lost ALL my excess weight..
Your friend needs to research more before deciding if they want to put their body through surgery for only 50lbs?

I've never heard this either. Ultimate success is mostly dependent on your level of commitment to your program.

I haven't heard about any differences in regain depending on where you do it. If anything matters to regain, it's probably the surgeon, not the location. But I think genetic differences and how well you stick to the diet are even more important than the surgeon.

I had my surgery in Mexico - Dr. Cordova at Hospital Angeles. I have absolutely no regrets about it. In fact, it was one of my best medical experiences in terms of how I was treated by the staff. I feel like they were really attentive and took good care of me. As long as you do your homework and choose a super experienced surgeon, why not save a few K?

I am a low BMI and had my sleeve op. rjan is right, bypass causes Vitamin deficiencies & are bigger ops than sleeve. Low BMI's do not seem to need it that's why the surgeons prefer sleeve.

I started with a BMI of 35 and had the sleeve 4 months ago.

Unless the patient has GERD, I'd tend to lean towards suggesting a sleeve for a fellow low BMI patient. Low BMI patients tend to have the the best results - on average they lose 80% of their excess weight, compared to 60% for the higher BMI patients, and many reach a normal weight. There's only ~5% difference in weight loss between the sleeve and bypass type surgeries, but bypass surgeries are more likely to lead to certain types of Vitamin deficiencies in the long term. A high BMI patient might want that little extra kick of a malabsorptive procedure, while a low BMI patient is likely to not need it, so why take the extra risk?

My doc did something extra to prevent bile reflux, it’s standard now with some surgeons .

Yes the progression is the same, I think I did 2 weeks liquids, 2 weeks mushy and 2 weeks soft. I can eat anything/everything and I’ve never had much restriction, most of my weight loss/maintenance comes from the malabsorption now. Also too much sugar/dairy makes me sick . Check out the fb group MGB, lots of great info there !

It absolutely can and will stretch if you're not careful ! Iv worked with sleeve patients for years and have seen plenty of patients gain weight back from stretching the sleeve. I myself am one of them and I have xray pics at one day post op and one year post op to prove how much it has stretched. Why do you think their are revision surgeons that now resleeve patients? Just be careful, don't over eat to the point of misery and avoid carbonation. My sleeve was a 42 Bougie and I had scar tissue as well which made mine easier to stretch but it happens to others too.

Thank you both for your insite. I'm not at all offended. I work in the business (weight loss surgery) and believe me I'm usually the first to doubt when someone tells me they are doing everything "right" and still not losing. Iv put a lot of time and work into my relationship with food. I do listen to my body, eat slow, chew well all of those good things. Lately my body tells me often I'm hungry, I'm still taking Prilosec for acid and I'm afraid to stop because before that the hunger was terrible !! Why eat a 6" sub? I didn't get a chance to pack my lunch last week and it was a better alternative than other fast food options at the moment. I do listen to full signals and Iv never once thrown up or even eaten to the point of being uncomfortable With the sleeve. I have gotten very very nauseous a couple of times but I think that was more of a poor food choice ( too greasy too sweet) than a volume issue. I don't know what size my sleeve is but I do know I have a small pouch at the top left over from my dilation With my band, I saw it myself on the X-ray, my doc says it shouldn't make much difference but I don't see how it can't, obviously food has more room to fill at the top before moving on down. Regardless, I'll keep working on me, trying to make good food choices when I can and increasing my milage each week. I never regretted my band, ever. I hope to one day say the same about the sleeve but only time will tell. Thanks again !

Wow, so sorry to hear about your experience. Dr. Almanza didn't even make my list when deciding on a surgeon, I didn't even need five mins of researching to know he was never to be considered. Unfortunately many others have also spoke of bad experiences with him. I'm always amazed when I see that people continue to schedule with him because of his prices. That being said, it doesn't mean that "resleeving" isn't a real thing or isn't an option for some. It is. I did extensive research for months and months looking to have it done myself. If your sleeve is large enough, a resleeving can correct it and put you back on the weight loss track but choice of surgeon is everything ! The only one I would trust to do it is Dr. Wilhmey. I however decided that if a sleeve can stretch once it can stretch again and went with a revision to a Mini bypass with Dr. Rodriguez. He took my small intestines and brought it right up to my existing sleeve a few inches from the top giving me a smaller pouch and also some (but not too much) malabsorption. Dr. Rodriguez doesn't believe in resleeveing because he doesn't think it will give the same results as the first time as your body is already used to restrictive procedures at that point. So far I'm very happy, my recover has been great (I did get dehydrated and pneumonia in both lungs) but bounced back very quickly. I don't know if you're looking for other options but I don't know why the MGB wouldn't work for you as well. Just a thought...

Who is your surgeon ? If they do things right you should never have to worry about bile reflux. I was a band too, mgb 14 months ago, only thing I'm low on is Iron. Very happy with my decision.

The MGB is a great choice ! It has better long term weight loss and less risk/complication than any other surgery! I'm happy to answer any questions you have. I'm a former band and former sleeve patient so I've been around the block a time or two ! Lol

The stomach cancer issue/reflux has been resolved as long as the procedure is done correctly they can now position the bypass so that bile flows down and not up.

I'm in no way trying to be insensitive, I actually do some work as a drug/alcohol counselor so I realize what a major issue addiction is and the very real possibility of transfer addiction, however reading your first few posts, drugs were not mentioned and you scared a whole lot of people who were led to believe that ALL of your health issues and personal problems and even demise of physical appearance was 100% due to your weight loss surgery. Now sure, you can say I had weight loss surgery and became a drug addict and that in itself is a tragedy that many will empathize with, however had you not started using, would your bypass had led to the same results ? I for one think it's important to clarify and report the whole story when discussing such serious life threatening complications. Regardless, I'm glad you are doing so much better.

The MGB is a great choice ! It has better long term weight loss and less risk/complication than any other surgery! I'm happy to answer any questions you have. I'm a former band and former sleeve patient so I've been around the block a time or two ! Lol

I'm 5'4 and was 189 day of revision.

I'm an original band patient (2007) then revised to sleeve (2013) and MGB April 2014 so I'm 1 year 1 month post op. I'm very happy with my MGB, I haven't had any issues with malaborption so far and I'm honestly not great with my Vitamins. I take a couple one a days and B12 when I remember it. My bypass is around 9' and I was only 189 the day of surgery. Dairy and high sugar give me TERRIBLE gas and high fats make my dump but really everything I eat goes through me pretty quickly. I'm happy to answer any questions.

I'm an original band patient (2007) then revised to sleeve (2013) and MGB April 2014 so I'm 1 year 1 month post op. I'm very happy with my MGB, I haven't had any issues with malaborption so far and I'm honestly not great with my Vitamins. I take a couple one a days and B12 when I remember it. My bypass is around 9' and I was only 189 the day of surgery. Dairy and high sugar give me TERRIBLE gas and high fats make my dump but really everything I eat goes through me pretty quickly. I'm happy to answer any questions.