After completing all of my pre op testing my patient advocate called me to schedule me with my Surgeon and nutritionist I'm having my surgery mid September. She broke news that my new secondary insurance dose not cover the sleeve but will cover the band... I'm sad and unsure if I should go thru with the band because of all the restriction on how you chew your food, swallow the food, you have to eat slow, the food gets stuck, you cant guzzle drinks, you have to take small bits, you have to have enough cc's for restriction in order to loss... ect ect.....I'm not sure if that's something I want to live with.. Although the band is much safer than the sleeve... Are all the restrictions really worth it? Are you able to cope day in and day out without stressing about "All The Many" restrictions/limitations ? Please advise ?

Yes! Totally worth it. The band has retrained

My eatin habits. I eat like a normal person now, not a cave woman. Its very worth it. Be prepared for some difficult adjusment periods after fills. I am so glad I did this for myself, best decision I've made in a longggg time. But you need to know that your comfortable with the changes you'd have to make.

I am recently debanded following a major slip and herniation of my stomach. I had my band 2 1/2 years and lost and kept off 70-ish pounds (about 50% of my excess body weight). My BMI went from 50 to 36. I started having issues with my band about 6 months post-op. for years I had vomiting (or technically BPing) even brushing my teeth would make me sick. I had recurrent heaviness in my chest and an almost choking sensation in my throat. I was not a bad girl. I followed the majority of the rules and did not eat things I was not supposed to. Looking back, the band was not for me. I've always been one to pick up stomach bugs easily and have major allergy issues. If I was stressed, congested, near my period...anything out of the norm, my band would tighten up and I'd have problems, even with almost nothing in it. The band is not evil. Many people here do fine with it. But the band was not for me. I wish I had started with gastric bypass.

One of the things the band proponents speak of is the easy reversibility of the band, it can be taken out fairly easily but there is a lot of scarring, strictures, and other issues that may be permanent after removal.

Good luck with your decision but don't go into either surgery until you are comfortable with your choice!

I absolutely love my band and have had great success with it so far. While I do have to be careful to take small bites and chew it until mush, there isn't any foods I can't eat.

However, getting the band just because your insurance won't cover the Sleeve isn't necessarily a good decision. If you do get the band, it has to be because you truly want it and are committed to changing your eating habits to healthy ones for a lifetime.

Do your homework and make sure you know not only how it physically works but what you will need to do to be successful with it. Make sure you have all the facts before making a decision.

Best wishes with whatever you decide.

Wow 3 awesome replies and all relatively different, thank you all so much! I have to pray about this