Decisions! Decisions!

[RavenClaw779 2]

I've been told by my WLS that my band has to come out. I've also been told the I didn't fail, the band failed me - or more like the band functioned as it should, my body just didn't like it. Nevertheless, I'm now a candidate for VSG at the same time the band is removed.

Problem is I can't decide which route to take!? As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I realize the importance of a healthy weight and lifestyle...but losing 75% of my stomach also sounds risky. Even my surgeon pointed out that this is the newest of the procedures - comparatively speaking - and who knows the long term outcomes? Apparently the staple line could leak at some future date, there's a risk of not being able to take in enough nutrients, there's the potential of swallowing issues. Some of the YouTube videos from VSG patients are down right scary...hair loss(well, been there - done that with chemo), vomiting, dumping, not feeling hungry when you need to eat but instead having a sick to your stomach feeling be your flag.

Any body been down this road? I'm open to any and all feedback!

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,722]

Jeannie of bandwagon revised to the sleeve. I will pm her and tell her to respond to this thread. all the best.

[Toddy 758]

A dear friend of mine had vsg the end of January. She's already lost 65 pounds, discontinued her insulin and her CPAP. She has only had one bad incident which resulted in her throwing up, but she knows what she did wrong and won't be doing that again. She's really, really happy with her decision.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having to deal with this. You're contemplating a big decision that could have a big consequence, and making the "right" WLS choice can be overwhelming. Sometimes I think that's aggravated by doing so much research online - you're overloaded with information and it all seems confusing.

I've had both the band and the sleeve, so I'm uniquely qualified to respond to this thread. Because my response is so lengthy, I'm going to give you a link to a blog post I wrote about this a few months ago. http://jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-lot-of-people-especially-those.html

I think the bottom line is this. When contemplating a medical decision, it's just not possible to accumulate and process every tiny piece of data that could influence that decision. We have to make the best decision we can based on the information available to us at the time. If the problem we're having isn't acute or life-threatening, we have more time to consider the best course of action, but that doesn't mean our choice is guaranteed to work out perfectly.

If you have more questions that you don't feel comfortable posting on the forum, send me a private message and I'll do my best to answer or to send you in the right direction.

Good luck!

Jean

[RavenClaw779 2]

All I can say is, "Wow!" I have this voice in my head that is telling me that messing with my insides might not be the smartest thing to do. Your experience seems to echo that.

For anyone reading this, I'm not knocking the band, the sleeve or gastric bypass. It's not a easy decision, a quick fix or the "easy way". If there were just one solution, we'd all take it. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised at my band issues as my body also rejected the initial attempt at breast reconstruction; the tissue expanders had to come out a week after placement!

I know the battle of weight - tougher for women just based on being women, but also by way of society's narrow definition of what is beautiful. It still chaps my hide that you can be an obese man and be a respected politician(Gov. Christie, NJ), business leader etc. but by and large, an obese woman won't get the same respected or success. And let's not even get into the attitude to being over age 30 - heaven forbid a woman in her 40's or 50's be considered "sexy" - why it's a fluke that requires multiple magazine articles and conjecture on how much "work" she had done. See any guys in the same age range getting the same treatment?

I'm sure I'm not saying anything new; I'd thought that with WLS I'd not be thinking about food as much. Are you kidding me?! It's all I think about...can I eat this? will I get enough Protein? is there a bathroom nearby in case I get sick?

It looks like regardless of choice, food will always be the monkey on my back. It also appears I will always be dealing with people like my husband, who's answer to all of this is for me to have the band removed and just, "try harder to diet and exercise" and my sister-in-law who's all for me having it out, "before summer so you can eat summer foods" - frustrating any way you look at it.

Trying to weigh(no pun intended) both sides of the health issue (obesity -v- complications), the fear of gaining the weight back, the annoyance of regardless of which path I chose, knowing I'm going to have to think about food far more than someone without a weight problem - for the rest of my life. Somehow it feels like I'm going to be damned if I do & damned it I don't!

I do appreciate everyone's thoughts and input - gives me a lot to think about.