I have two coworkers who have gotten the sleeve and two who have gotten the band. The two that have the sleeve wish they had gotten the band for several reasons, here are a few of the problems they have to deal with:

Coworker 1:

Husband worried she would lose weight and not want him anymore, after 19 years. She insisted that she'd loved him since she was 14 years old and losing weight wasn't going to change that. For her, it didn't. He couldn't deal with the new her and ended up leaving her and filing for a divorce. She'd already lost enough weight before he left her, but after he filed for divorce she lost even more weight and is battling a number of ailments as a result.

Coworker 2:

She ate Beans soon after her surgery and had to be hospitalized for 43 days from the complications.

She use to look 30 in her 40's, now she looks at least 60.

She went from 265 to 119 in 11 months, she wanted to stop at 140. She looks like a walking skeleton and wants to stop the weight loss desperately, but can't. Eating high calorie foods isn't working because more often than not, it makes her sick.

They both look older and have a ton of excess skin. I feel bad for them, especially since there is no end in sight for them to stop losing weight. I love my band even more now.

Thank you for sharing their experiences makes me glad we chose the Band for sure!!

Scary Sh-it! And once it's done, there ain't no going back!

I'm totally with you on this; glad I didn't have a bypass or the sleeve. Way too dangerous, and once it's done, that's it. I know a couple of people with the bypass, and they're having MAJOR Iron absorption issues. They go daily for IV infusion, and after a few months of this, STILL have issues. IMHO, those surgeries are like trading one health issue for another.

i am blessed/lucky to have received what i have

and trying to make it work the best i can.....i would hope anyone

who has WLS surgery would do the same....its a kindred'hood almost.

I was very excited when I was newly banded. I've learned a lot and come a long way in the nearly five years I've had my band. After seeing what I've seen and going through what I have I'm a lot more open to other surgeries and I realize that you can't take a case here or there to justify a position you already hold. Sure, this is a lap band forum so we're mostly pro lap band. However, if I ever lost my band, which happens to the best of us, I'd choose the sleeve in a heartbeat. Plus, if you read some of the stories from bandsters who's bands have gone bad I think you'd find that they'd rather have 'being too skinny' as a problem over the myriad problems they've had to face.

It would just be interesting to see the difference in opinions on this thread five years from now.

Being a little too skinny is one thing. Being too skinny with a garden variety of related health issues, is another story.

People have bad experiences with the band also. Doesn't mean it should be discounted as a weight loss tool. Everything has risks, including being fat..

I am a nurse. I have seen lots of patients with lots of complications from gastric bypass and from sleeve. The only problem I saw in.Hospital setting from band so far was a lady who became bulimic and tried to pass it off as something else. They had to remove her band because they thought the band was the problem, but it wasn't the problem at all. I know there are other problems that can come up but at least the band is reversible.

I had a pt with dumping syndrome really bad then she developed chronic constipation. BM every 2 to 3 weeks. Doctors just scratched their heads. Said too much scar tissue. They even put her on hospice for a while. She's 50 and looks and acts 70. Skinny yes, but much more than that....just sayin

I have a friend with Ruen Y bypass (not sure of spelling) another with sleeve and both are doing great. I am doing great with band. If I were to do it again I might select bypass due to the maintenance issue that bansters have vs bypass/sleeve. Fewer trips back to the doctor and needle int he tummy every 6 weeks or so. Happy with my band, all surgeries have issues. Also, if we don't follow the dr's orders any of us can have a problem.