I am semi new to the forum. About a year ago, I was gun-ho about having surgery. My husband and I wanted to try to have kids but after 2 miscarriages I just couldn't try again. Then, as I was scheduled to have a meeting with a surgeon about surgery, I chickened out and said I wanted to try on my own. Well, here I am a year later and have yoyo'd my weight. I have an appointment on the 29th again and I am stoked! However, I can not seem to make up my mind about lap band or VSG. I have done the research, believe me, a years worth. But there are many pros and cons to both, and can't seem to decide what would be better for ME. I need HELP!! What were some of your reasons for choosing the sleeve over the band? How long was your recovery time? What are/is the biggest restrictions?

There's another good forum out there.... thinnertimesforum dot com. They have different sections for the different surgeries: gastric bypass, sleeve, lapband, lapband revision. I'm over there some, although once I decided on the sleeve, I mostly stick to the VST site.

Is your health insurance covering the surgery? Do they only cover one bariatric surgery in a person's lifetime? Just something to think about. If you do have the lapband, and it doesn't work out, is a revision surgery 100% out of your pocket? Just something to think about. I mean, there ARE people out there who have had a successful lapband, just that you won't find any of them here.

Hey, but I don't mean to sound like you should go over to the other site and stay. Nope, just that there's good information there too.

I personally think the band is becoming irrelevant... it just does not work as well as other WLS. Many docs have stopped implanting them except in specific cases. I recommend that you ask about 5 and 10 year stats - forget about weight loss - I mean how many people have to have the dang thing removed.

I got the lapband in 2001 and found in my paperwork a statement that it was intended to be a "temporary" device. I had it removed in 2011 and mine lasted longer then most people I knew that had it.

I had to have all the Fluid removed in winter of 2002/2003 and immediately regained everything I had lost. I feel that one of the many disadvantages of the band is that it tends to drive you toward "slider" foods since it is very hard to eat dense Protein and remain comfortable. With the sleeve' date=' I am very comfortable eating protein and green veggies - the mainstay of my diet and how I lost 150+ pounds with the sleeve.[/quote']

CowgirlJane (one of my favorite sleevers, and personal mentor lol) makes a great point. One of my biggest issues with my band has been the ability to get down dense lean Proteins and any vegetables! Forget raw fruits and veggies. They all got stuck for me, even with light restriction in my band. I gravitated to slider foods because it was the only thing I could get down a lot of days. Unless you can hit your "sweet spot" with your fills and get your adjustment exactly right, losing with the band can be very difficult. Then, when you can't lose, you want to get more fills, and being overfilled leads to crazy complications!!

Also someone (sorry, on my phone can't look back to give you credit lol) made a great point about lifetime max's on WLS. If you only get one, like a lot of insurances state, than you should consider the probability of needing to revise a band later on down the road, even if just to another band!

Good luck whichever choice!!! The hardest part is deciding you need the help!!

Thank you for all your help/support! I will definitely be making a lifestyle/mental change and I have been preparing for it for a year. The insurance thing is good. I've called and am covered for either surgery (except one is $750 and the other is $2500). I'm not concerned so much about the cost, but obviously if I spend that kind of money I will not want it to go to waste. Has anyone heard of the plication surgery?

I was banded when I was 35 and it did nothing for me to improve my fertility or to lose weight. 10 years have passed and I did finally have a baby through IVF and carried full term with gestational diabetes and borderline high blood pressure. My son is now 3 and I am now 45 and were we're not able to go for a second due to my weight which up until 2 months ago hovered at 257 for an entire decade. I would not waste any time with the band, really. Go straight to sleeve or even bypass if that is your preference. The weight loss will help you get pregnant.

The band sucks. They should take it off the market. The end!

I have a band. Worst thing I ever did. In for revision surgery in a month! Thank god!

I am new here but I currently have the lapband. I initially got the band so my husband and I could have another child and at first I did great. Lost about 50lbs my first year and then it all went down hill. I couldn't get past that 50lb mark. So I was driving over an hour every month to get fills/unfill's trying to get that sweet spot and as if I thought life couldn't get any worse that last fill/unfill set me off to sliming at every meal. What I mean by that when a piece of food would get stuck it starts with reflux, hard chest pounding, eyes get watery, can't talk and running to the toilet. Then slime(thick silva) and the undigested food will come up. This is not like vomit but has been my life for over a year and it sucks!! I have had the band for 3 years and am looking into having the sleeve. I'm going to have to be self pay this time as now my bmi is too low for insurance to cover it even though I have gained 20 of the 50 pounds due to eating around my band with slider foods just so I wouldn't slime. I have gotten pregnant only once which ended in miscarriage in 2011. From my personal experience I would not recommend the band. It's not meant to last forever and the complications that I have seen far out weigh the good. It's just not worth it especially since my husband never wants to take me out to eat since the first thing I do is look for the restroom. It's embarrassing. I still have at least 50 more pounds to lose so sleeve here I come! Do what's best for you and good luck!

I'm so sorry for those of you that have not had any success with the band. I really hope things will get better and you do not have to suffer much longer! I really do appreciate all your help though and if you ever need an ear I am more than happy to listen :-)