I am seeing so many people who were banded have to "revise" the surgery to bypass. I have been set on the band, but recently am having thoughts of "will I just have to have bypass eventually?" I am concerned about how long the band will last and long it will be effective! Has anyone else had these thoughts?

Well I guess no one really knows how long it will last. But, what i do know is SOME of the people that are going to Bypass are because they are not getting the "overnight" results they thought they would with the band. Didn't do enough research and didn't think it would be actual work to lose the weight.

Of course some weight will come off but, the majority will be because of watching what you eat and exercise.

Although they have some people on here that say the lost weight and NEVER had to watch what they ate or they NEVER exercised.... Too those people is say... good for you. But the rest of us have worked really hard to lose the weight that we have.

I know of at least 6 people who had the Bypass and one is so thin it's scary, she gets sick all the time and if she skips a meal, she'll lose a pound or two. Then i have 4 friends that have lost over 100lbs each, but over the years have gained all the weight back.

I have two friends that had the sleeve and are doing great.

Check with your doctor and ask if there are any "long-term" bander in his practice. Go to the local support group and ask around there. Good luck with your decision .....

I agree with you that many people are wanting "overnight" results- and the bypass scares me to death! Its all about making good choices and exercise. I too have seen people with the bypass looking frail and sickly. I am going forward with my band decision! I am going to do research on long term just to ease my mind.

In addition to slower results when compared to the bypass you will need to be prepared for all of the other things that come along with having the band like having to get fills and understanding that it is a process that at best takes several office visits and worst can be a constant series of appointments that may not only be affected by weight loss but my other factors, like an illness. You should know are you OK with needles, you will have to endure several needle sticks with this procedure, most times it will be no problem, other times there may be pain. You'll need to understand that being tight isn't a good thing because being unable to eat can be a reason that people start to gain weight, they are "eating" around the band.

Also i think that it is important to read about what can go wrong, issues like erosion and slippage, You need to be educated on what the symptoms are so that you don't wait until it's too late to easily correct the issue. I have found it very useful to read the revision stories on this site as well on the vertical sleeve site (I haven't really read much on the RNY site because it seems that most people revise to the sleeve) Seeing what issues people have had has made me really think about what having a band means.

Also make sure that when you do your research about other procedure make sure that to research the statements that are made, I have found that people with the sleeve have some misconceptions about other procedures, especially the band, that they use to sway people who are unsure of what procedure they want. And keep in mind that everyone that got a revision had a bad result from their original procedure but not everyone who gets that same procedure has a bad result.

Also the lap band is still an evolving procedure, even though at it's core not much has changed (an band is placed around your stomach to form a pouch) many things have changed since it has first started, like the first bands were not adjustable, band sizes are different by manufacturers, some doctors are now also preforming gastric plication in addition to inserting the band, others are securing the band differently.

There are so many moving parts when it comes to the band that you need to make sure that you are willing to take the risk. I am doing the band with plication next month and although I know it is still an investigational procedure, I am really encouraged by the initial results.

I will never sway.. I believe people who fail has failed to follow the rules and want to continue to eat the old way..

For me, the fact that the band is reversible, and there isn't going to be any cutting, removing, or stapling is what sold me. I've talked to people that have had both procedures (bypass and band), and I ultimately think it's up to the person to achieve their goals. There are ways around each of them and it's all up to you whether you succeed or not.

Best Of Luck!!

I wondered some of the same things....my doctor told me that band slippage usually happens with chronic over eating/vomiting and that erosion is often associated with aspirin or NSAID usage which affects the stomach wall. Have any of you heard that?

I had my band for one year, Dec. 2010 until 10 days ago. The band and I worked well together, I ate adequate protein every day, always drank enough water and exercised 3-5 times per week, plus I did not drink drinks with calories except protein shakes. I lost 60# in a year which is amazing for me, middle aged, yo yo dieter for 30+ years and hypothyroid.

My band slipped and a hiatal hernia returned. My stomach at the revision/repositioning surgery had been with out adequate blood flow and was in danger of necrosis, tissue death. The surgeon decided to remove the entire band.

I believe the reason things went wrong with my band was due to my extreme seasonal allergies, post nasal drip which would make my band plugged up, then I would vomit which causes stomach swelling, more getting stuck, more vomiting... I tried every available allergy medication, OTC and prescription. I never over ate and was very conscious of what I ate. I had frequent deflates/band emptying but these problems still happened.

I think the band is a fabulous tool and wish I was able to tolerate it better. You get out what you put in and I worked hard at losing weight and getting more fit.

In retrospect I would look into the sleeve. I think the gastric bypass has too many nutritional complications.

Good luck to you and your quest!!

Joan

There have been many good points made here so far. Bands are removed in about 25% of patients for varying reason.

GBP has the highest excess weight loss rate of bypass, sleeve, and band. I'd be curious to know of those who have revised to bypass or sleeve from bands, where their problems related to non-compliance of the rules or medical complications. I'd also be interested in the new bypass and sleeve patients weight-loss rates at 5 years out from the new procedure. There is a huge honeymoon period with bypass where you can eat whatever you want and still lose. When that is over, if you haven't changed your eating habits..BAM! The weight can come back.

My surgeon once observed that for most patients, if they are unsuccessful with one procedure they will be unsuccessful with another, because in his mind it is usually non-compliance that causes failure. As in size10again's case, that is not always true, but it would be interesting to see long-term follow-up on revisions. In the US, bands have only risen to popularity over the past 5 years when insurance companies started paying for the procedure. So now we are getting some longer term results here with the newer placement techniques.

Hello all,

I am new here. I just wanted to post that I am scared of the band. I have heard so many stories of slippage and erosion. I wouldn't want to pay for the lap band and then have to pay to get the sleeve, which is what I would do. I am thinking I will probably get the sleeve just because I don't want to get the lap band and have something happen and have to pay to get the sleeve. Since the sleeve is about the same price as the lap band, I think it would be my best bet. I am still a little on the line. I have seen so many people do well with the lap band and then I've seen so many others do well with the sleeve. Bypass is too extreme for me. I am not THAT overweight, about 220 lbs but I do have a comorbidity. I am planning on going to Mexico for surgery and I need to make up my mind. It is so scary. I think the lap band is a nice tool in theory, but the slippage and erosion/leaks have me scared. I wouldn't want to go through TWO weight loss surgeries.

Hello all,

I am new here. I just wanted to post that I am scared of the band. I have heard so many stories of slippage and erosion. I wouldn't want to pay for the lap band and then have to pay to get the sleeve, which is what I would do. I am thinking I will probably get the sleeve just because I don't want to get the lap band and have something happen and have to pay to get the sleeve. Since the sleeve is about the same price as the lap band, I think it would be my best bet. I am still a little on the line. I have seen so many people do well with the lap band and then I've seen so many others do well with the sleeve. Bypass is too extreme for me. I am not THAT overweight, about 220 lbs but I do have a comorbidity. I am planning on going to Mexico for surgery and I need to make up my mind. It is so scary. I think the lap band is a nice tool in theory, but the slippage and erosion/leaks have me scared. I wouldn't want to go through TWO weight loss surgeries.

Hello,

In my opinion the sleeve is your best bet since you plan to go to Mexico for surgery. To have the band and you work together you'll need an appointment each month with your surgeon for the first year for check ups, fills... I had to go in much more often than monthly sometimes for deflates due to being too tight. Unless you can do all these appointments in your town I wouldn't consider the band. Many people fail with the band because they don't receive the necessary follow up visits.

Good luck to you!

Joan

I agree that if you are going to mexico you should either get the sleeve or plication. In case you don't know what plication is, it is a procedure where the stomach is folded onto itself and sutured to form a sleeve like pouch. Like the band this procedure should be reversible and it has similar EWL as the bypass. Also like the sleeve and bypass you won't need to have as many follow up visits with a doctor

I'm starting my 7th year postOp in a few days.

So far so good.

Still "35# from goal". No more insulin shots after 15 years on the needle; no CPAP after 10 years. My co-morbidities are all but gone.

Haven't made it to size 40 pants yet, but 42 & 44 instead of 56-58 day of surgery

Don't forget, the Band is : adjustable; repairable; replaceable; removable. And mostly, pretty effective. Some have to revise to something else.

Cheers on your journey.

I'm six years post op, have a BMI of 20 and am still extremely happy with my band even though I had to unfill it for a surgery and have never quite gotten the same restriction back that I had.

The one thing about the band is its adjustability. I've read stories ont he sleeve board about people who are unhappy with their "restriction" or how much they can eat or whatever you want to call it. Fact is, you will be eating a LOT less and if you do the work (and yes, there's still work), the actual amount of restriction isnt that important, if you eat less, move more, you lose weight. But that would be the one factor that would concern me - the what if?

However, I once would have said that I didnt want to cut or remove parts of my body. I've now got no rectum or sigmoid colon, and it was traumatic losing those, but now its all over, I wouldnt even know they are gone. My body functions differently, but it functions pretty well and the sidfe effects are tolerable.With a sleeve the side effects are weight loss! And the issue of stomach acid. But that does settle with time. It wouldnt really concern me to lose half my stomach (the half that was making me fat!) and if I ever have to revise, and the sleeve becomes more widely done here, I would do it in a heartbeat.

But I personally think, with ALL these surgeries, once you decide to have it, you know that things might not work out, but you have to have faith that that wont be you, And in all probability, it wont. There's risks with any surgery that it wont have the desired effect.

I researched all three procedures and decided that for me, lap band was the best. Gastric bypass is just that - you're bypassing your stomach. You have to be very careful what you eat, and know, in advance, that your body isn't retaining the nutrients that it needs. Yes, you get immediate results, but you have to live with it for the rest of your life.

Banding is a tool, to be used along with diet and exercise. After yo-yo dieting since I was a teenager and trying every diet known to man, the lap band seemed the logical choice. I know how to eat right and I don't mind exercising - I'm just tired of gaining and losing the same weight every year. And if, for some reason, I need to have it removed, its a very simple procedure.

I don't know if it will last forever, but if it doesn't, I'll still be grateful for the years it's given me where I lost the weight and kept it off. If it stopped working, I would probably opt for another lapband if I could (the devil I know!) than revise to sleeve. I know the lapband works for me. Why fix what ain't broke?