Is The Band That Bad?

[makemyownluck 785]

Makemyownluck I hope you refer your mom here or other sites so she can inform herself about the surgery especially the risk. Im sure a lot of us would have never done this to ourselves had we really had the information at access. I thought I knew about the surgery and informed myself. I didnt really get any information about the bad things with the band until awhile ago. I knew my band wasnt working but didnt know why and when I finally went back to do some more research there was an overload of information from real people not doctors studies. I think you should encourage your mom some more and try to give her as much information as possible. There is a graphic photo on here of one lady who was revised to VSG and it showed how bad her stomache was from the sleeve. I couldnt believe it and didnt want to believe that its a possibility that something was happening like that to me. I wish you all the best on your journey and that your mom has a change of heart on being informed...

Thank you so much for your concern! At this point, my mom is just talking about it. She has already said she wants to see how I do with everything before she even considers it. Right now, she's very pro-band because the only person she knows who has had any WLS had the band, and she's been really fortunate and had lots of success with it. But I know once my mom makes the decision to start this path, she'll inform herself as much as possible, and I've become like a freakin' encyclopedia of WLS because I've been studying it like crazy for months! I wouldn't let her have surgery without having a serious conversation about it with her first, that's for sure!

I didn't think about referring her to this site, though. Maybe I can find some good posts and send them to her, re: band revisions. I haven't heard any stories about people being unsuccessful with the sleeve - they may have complications or stalls, but they do lose the weight. I can't imagine going through all this and not losing weight!

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Lets be clear, any weight loss surgery can fail. There have been a few posts by people who have not had expectations met by the sleeve. In some cases, their expectations don't seem realistic to me, but you should also know that it is possible to "fail" any WLS, although would be pretty hard with the DS.

I think it is a matter of the odds (ie what results have others acheived, on average) as well as the risk/complications you need to endure.

The lapband is appealing because true life threatening complications are rare. What was not known, at least to me 10 years ago, that the many non life threatening complications make your life hell, drive you toward slider foods and generally degrade the quality of your life. Anybody considering the lapband should go to some support groups and meet bandsters. Ask them questions about vomiting and food intolerances. Talk to people 1-2++ years out and ask them about reflux, ask them if they found their "sweet spot" and all that. Ask how many have to put the head of their bed on blocks to try to minimize reflux. I think you will find that early on, people are coping with the negatives because they are losing weight. At some point, many people have to get unfilled because they simply cannot bear the reflux and then the weight loss stops and eventually, the regain begins. There are exceptions, there are people who do well for longer, but most of them will eventually fall into this cycle of complications - even "minor" complications can be hard to live with if it is chronic.

[reshiapooh96 31]

Hey Jane, So what should we do? remove the band and try to lose on our own. that may work for some, but I tried on my own for a little over 30 years w/o success. Yes, I had all of the complications you mentioned and tried to deal with them thinking that I would continue to lose if I just deal with it and not be a failure. That didn't happen. As tight as I was, I lost no weight. As a matter of fact, I gained some. I have most Fluid out now but not all. I feel so much better but still have 40 lbs to lose. What would you suggest to do?

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Oh don't misunderstand me.... once people are morbidly obese they almost can't get the weight off without the surgery. I wrestled with this for a year before deciding to commit to the sleeve. All I am saying is that people CAN fail at any WLS and it is a mistake to think any different.

I love the sleeve, it is so much better then the lapband, I am no longer freaking starving all the time - it has improved my life immeasurably, but I would never give the impression that success is slam dunk or easy... especially over the long haul.

Hey Jane, So what should we do? remove the band and try to lose on our own. that may work for some, but I tried on my own for a little over 30 years w/o success. Yes, I had all of the complications you mentioned and tried to deal with them thinking that I would continue to lose if I just deal with it and not be a failure. That didn't happen. As tight as I was, I lost no weight. As a matter of fact, I gained some. I have most Fluid out now but not all. I feel so much better but still have 40 lbs to lose. What would you suggest to do?

[reshiapooh96 31]

Thanks Jane, Now I have a better understanding.

[NIKIMAC 19]

I really loved my lapband when I had it done back in 2007, I went from 309 to 188 lbs in 2 yrs. I stared having problems swallowing back on 07/12 and was told that I had esphegeal dysmobility and the only way to correct is to remove the band. I decided to hav a revision to a sleeve to order to not gain the weight back and to hopefully lose more in the near future. My surgery was Nov 1st and the doct did say that he saw some damage, but mine wasnt that bad. He said that the had seen worse.

[BB145 34]

I researched, pondered, and considered the band for a year before finally deciding to do it in April 2008. I was successful or so I thought. But if I'm honest with you and myself, I was chronically overfilled. I spent most of my time throwing up. I lost about 90 pounds in 2 1/2 - 3 years, but that was because I couldn't eat. Friends who didn't know I'd had the band would notice my "weird" eating habits. I wonder now how many thought I was bulemic? I never ate fruits and veggies because I could never ever tolerate them. There were days even liquids were hard to get down. I'm pretty sure I was chronically dehydrated as well. I would aspirate on stomach contents at night and I feel like my lung volume is not what it used to be. I wonder about damage there as well. For months I've had almost no restriction and I'm sure I have a leak. I've been recently having sharp pains in my port area. I'm planning to go to another surgeon as I didn't care for the surgeon who did my band nor his staff. I'm terrified to have WLS that requires cutting. I swore I'd never do that, but obviously the band is not working for me anymore either. If I could do it on my own, I wouldn't have ever had WLS in the first place. I'm so disgusted and ashamed. I haven't gained all the weight back, but I'm well on my way. I feel like such a failure. I just don't know what to do at this point. I need more information, for starters. Could someone please point me in the direction of a thread or sticky about food choices, etc for the sleeve? Are there foods you can never eat, etc? Thanks for all of your stories. I feel better knowing I'm not the only one banded with issues.

[freespirit63 112]

BB it sounds like you band is too tight, I had a complete defill and waited 6 months to fill it again. I only gained back some but I lost only 30 pounds on a band anyways. I am saving up money to have a revision to sleeve. Nothing gets stuck with a sleeve unless you force it.

[O.T.R. sleever 3,386]

I researched' date=' pondered, and considered the band for a year before finally deciding to do it in April 2008. I was successful or so I thought. But if I'm honest with you and myself, I was chronically overfilled. I spent most of my time throwing up. I lost about 90 pounds in 2 1/2 - 3 years, but that was because I couldn't eat. Friends who didn't know I'd had the band would notice my "weird" eating habits. I wonder now how many thought I was bulemic? I never ate fruits and veggies because I could never ever tolerate them. There were days even liquids were hard to get down. I'm pretty sure I was chronically dehydrated as well. I would aspirate on stomach contents at night and I feel like my lung volume is not what it used to be. I wonder about damage there as well. For months I've had almost no restriction and I'm sure I have a leak. I've been recently having sharp pains in my port area. I'm planning to go to another surgeon as I didn't care for the surgeon who did my band nor his staff. I'm terrified to have WLS that requires cutting. I swore I'd never do that, but obviously the band is not working for me anymore either. If I could do it on my own, I wouldn't have ever had WLS in the first place. I'm so disgusted and ashamed. I haven't gained all the weight back, but I'm well on my way. I feel like such a failure. I just don't know what to do at this point. I need more information, for starters. Could someone please point me in the direction of a thread or sticky about food choices, etc for the sleeve? Are there foods you can never eat, etc? Thanks for all of your stories. I feel better knowing I'm not the only one banded with issues.[/quote']

BB, first off let me say, YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE. The simple fact that you are here investigating what options you have means that you haven given up. Failure only comes when we quit trying. It does look like you've come to the same conclusion many banders come to. The simple fact is the band has a very high failure rate, over 60%. Over 40% of the bands placed are removed within 5 years for one reason or another.

What we need to work on here is perspective. You are uncomfortable with the sleeve because it is "cutting" your stomach. That's completely understandable. In fact if that didn't concern you I'd worry.

You need to be aware that you are at more risk for complications now than you will be 2 months post-op with the sleeve. You have a foreign body in your abdomen that has been known to slip, twist and in extreme cases has even worn holes into the stomach where it rides.

The sleeve on the other hand puts the vast majority of its risk right up front. Leaks are almost always developed immediately following surgery and can be diagnosed send treated at that time. The worst cases happen when there is a failure to diagnose a leak. I can tell you if you experience this (quite unlikely) we do have a couple members that can help you and guide you to make sure you get the care needed.

As for food, the sleeve is pretty restrictive the first few months. After that, you can eat anything, just in small amounts. But in reallity, you don't want to eat all the stuff you use to. I've had a complete change of view on food. Now if it's not benificial, I don't put it in my body.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

BB, welcome!

It has all been said before, but I can only add that as someone who had the band for 10 years, the sleeve is much LESS restrictive about food tolerances. There is a slow re-introduction period of solid food, but by several months out, I could eat anything. There were foods I could never keep down with the band, even with all the Fluid gone.

With the sleeve, some people do develop lactose intolerances. I am much more prone to issues like diarrea, but it is not a big problem. The sleeve has more impact on your overall digestion, BUT, you don't need to spend your life living like a bulimic. I really don't vomit at all with the sleeve which is wonderful.

Except for the tiny portions, people would not know I had WLS. In fact, several people I have eaten with don't know it, they just know I have been losing weight. I eat enough at a sitting that nobody thinks I am starving myself either - just normal, petite portions.

[4weightlosssake 8]

I researched, pondered, and considered the band for a year before finally deciding to do it in April 2008. I was successful or so I thought. But if I'm honest with you and myself, I was chronically overfilled. I spent most of my time throwing up. I lost about 90 pounds in 2 1/2 - 3 years, but that was because I couldn't eat. Friends who didn't know I'd had the band would notice my "weird" eating habits. I wonder now how many thought I was bulemic? I never ate fruits and veggies because I could never ever tolerate them. There were days even liquids were hard to get down. I'm pretty sure I was chronically dehydrated as well. I would aspirate on stomach contents at night and I feel like my lung volume is not what it used to be. I wonder about damage there as well. For months I've had almost no restriction and I'm sure I have a leak. I've been recently having sharp pains in my port area. I'm planning to go to another surgeon as I didn't care for the surgeon who did my band nor his staff. I'm terrified to have WLS that requires cutting. I swore I'd never do that, but obviously the band is not working for me anymore either. If I could do it on my own, I wouldn't have ever had WLS in the first place. I'm so disgusted and ashamed. I haven't gained all the weight back, but I'm well on my way. I feel like such a failure. I just don't know what to do at this point. I need more information, for starters. Could someone please point me in the direction of a thread or sticky about food choices, etc for the sleeve? Are there foods you can never eat, etc? Thanks for all of your stories. I feel better knowing I'm not the only one banded with issues.

Your story sounded exactly like mine. Had surgery in 2009, lost 90 lbs, was considered a lap band success story because I was chronically overfilled too. I spent so much money on fills .I didn't care so much for my lap band surgeon and his staff as well. After unfilling my band, I asked to revise to sleeve and he told me to go home and come back after 3 months. I had already gained 15 lbs back at this point. I said " you know what ? forget you. I came to this forum and started my research on going to Mexico. I was going to be self pay anyway. I ended up deciding on Dr Aceves . Tomorrow is my 5 months surgivasary. I am happier, skinnier and look absolutely fabulous. I can eat anything I want in moderation. I have a new found love for pear. I eat them like crazy. I eat grapes, watermelon, things I couldn't eat while I was banded. I have never had to rush to bathroom to throw up like I used to do on every outing while I was banded. I could go on and on and on why lap band is a bad decision. Your quality of life is so much better with sleeve.

[BB145 34]

Thank you all so much for your kind responses. I feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who has had issues. I'm going to see a surgeon and discuss my options including sleeve. I just want to eat "normally" and live my life. With the band I thought food wasn't an issue when in fact it was a bigger issue than it ever has been, it was just going the other direction. There were only a handful of close friends and family who even knew I had the band and now I feel like they look at me like "I thought you were 'fixed'". You know? I'm successful in every other aspect of my life, but this is something I can't conquer.

I want to be as educated as possible because if I do decide to have this done, I will have to convince my family it is safe and effective as well. I have a wonderful support system, but it's "cutting". Anyway, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Thanks again for your help. Your stories are inspirational and helpful.

[freespirit63 112]

Cowgirl Dow much weight have you lost with a sleeve in how long. At this point I have no problems with the band but I still want it out as prevention. 16000 I paid but I can't say I waisted money. I learnt a lot in terms if my relationship to food with the band

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

My weight loss is in the signature ticker. I have lost 123 of the 150 I want to lose. I have already met my initial goal (ie minimum for me to consider this a success!) several months ago.

My weight at start of 2 week preop diet was 308, It was 300# on date of surgery which was 12/12/11. I weigh 185# now - targeting to get to 158 - to stay under 160!

Cowgirl Dow much weight have you lost with a sleeve in how long. At this point I have no problems with the band but I still want it out as prevention. 16000 I paid but I can't say I waisted money. I learnt a lot in terms if my relationship to food with the band

[Tipintx 41]

Cowgirl you really are an inspiration - thank you for sharing.