Hey everyone,

Hoping I can get some help here. I had my appt with my doctor yesterday and he recommended the sleeve. I have been focused on the band since I decided to do a wls so now I'm a little confused. Curious as to why people picked the sleeve instead of the lap band. At the end of the day, I know it's my decision but I would like to get some feedback in the mean time. If you have good, bad and ugly stories I would love to hear them all. No sense in sugar coating what's to be expected if I decide to go with the sleeve. Thanks in advance!!

Hi, I would like to tell you my experience with the band. I had the band placed 4/11/2011, and rite from the beginning I was having problems, I had unbelievable gas pains in my shoulder- the doctor told me to walk and take gas-x, it was a little better but never went away. Then I always had a pain in my throat I was told that was my bodies way of telling me I was full even though I told them I never ate anything. The doctor did a fill and that was the worst it literally felt like I was being strangled. I never lost a pound. I started to realize that I could not eat anything solid... ever. I would throw up all the time. I went back and forth to my doctor for a year and a 1/2 and explained all these concerns and kept telling him I was feeling so terrible but he did not want to hear it. He kept on continuing to tell me the band was the greatest and he was the greatest surgeon also. I finally went to another doctor, who thank god sat and really listened to me. He ran a whole bunch of test 1 being a endoscope and then a cat scan. to find out that my band was never put in properly it was placed to high and I had a large hole in my stomache, from the erosion. They removed the band rite away, and now it has been 6 months since my band was removed and now I am scheduled for the sleeeve on August 7. The big picture is the sleeve or the band like any WLS can give you complications but what I went through with the band was horrible and at least I know after the sleeve it will just be my stomache to heal and then I am on my way to losing weight. You also loose alot more weight with the sleeve then with the band. With the band you need to keep going banck and forth for adjustments and you always feel the band in your stomache. Best of luck with what ever you choose.

I wanted something permanent. I didn't want to go to appointments all the time for readjusting. I didn't want to worry about slips or port flips. And I didn't want to have to get it removed in 3 yrs because of corrosion. I wanted a true lifestyle change that would be for life.

Also, I've known to many people who were unsussessful with the band- especially if they have a higher BMI.

Of course, this is a very personal desision, and you have to do what's best for you. But I love my sleeve.

Family with issues with the band, lots of anecdotal issues I've heard from others all lead me to the conclusion of the sleeve, then my doctor said flat out I don't recommend the band. In my nut class one week post op there were about 25 people in there for the 2 surgeons, only 1 bypass and 1 lap band. The rest were sleeve patients for a reason. It is successful and in general has less complications or room for complication. That proved I had made the right choice.

I looked into getting the Lap band about 1&1/2 years ago, got to the point of scheduling the surgery and chickened out. Then this past November I decided to look into WLS again and found out about the sleeve. It appealed to me because there is no foreign object in your body, the potential complications are not nearly as scary as the band, it works better for long-term weight-loss on par with the RNY bypass. it's a permanent choice though

pre-surgery weight 325; surgery date 2/28/2013; surgery weight 307; 8 weeks past-op weight 281.4; 12 weeks post-op 274; 4 month post-op 266.2

My OPINION: I was also stuck on the band for the sole purpose of the ability to reverse if necessary and be ause it was the least invasive. The truth is that the band works both short term and long term. However, complications can and most LIKELY will for the rest of your life. Think about this, the band will be in your body for the next 50 yrs of your life or so depending on how long you live. That is a long time for your body to up and decide to renect it at anytime. That is also a long time and many doctor appts to maintain it. I havent heard of many folks who have kept it in for over 10 yrs without a significant problem. Note that i havent read everyones story i am telling you what changed my mind. For the sleeve, it seemed i vasive but i got yo thinking that we have appendix removed, gallbladder, parts of lungs, colon and etc and end up being fine. With the sleeve, no maintanence can mean saving money. I know they take out a PART of your stomach but there is still stomach there when they are done. I wrote this on phone with fat fingers, sorry for typos.

I'm in a similar situation. Went to my first appointment with the surgeon 2 weeks ago and I was determined to get a band.

He encouraged me to go with the sleeve due to my higher bmi, better likelihood of losing more weight, and better long term stability.

After doing more of my own research it appears that a significant percentage of those banded need an additional surgery at some point and many have them removed.

I'm going with the sleeve ...

To be completely honest, I chose the sleeve because I didn't want a huge bulge in my stomach where the lap band port is. If you look at pictures, you can CLEARLY see something poking out of peoples' stomachs. The band vs sleeve recovery is mostly the same. Similar pre surgery diet and very similar post op diet. Good luck on your decision!

My experience has been great. I went into surgery 4/1 and the next morning I was discharged. I was walking around the hospital 30 minutes after surgery. Recovery was really easy and I honestly felt fine. Some gas pain, some incision pain, but nothing I couldn't handle. I didn't even take any of the pain medication they sent me home with and I was back at work a week after being sleeved.

My suggestion would be to read some of the forums here. There are several that are entitled "just got sleeved" or something similar. Poke around and make sure you're confident in your decision!

For me I just looked at the success rates and the complication rates of both procedures...my mind was made up pretty quickly

To be completely honest' date=' I chose the sleeve because I didn't want a huge bulge in my stomach where the lap band port is. If you look at pictures, you can CLEARLY see something poking out of peoples' stomachs. The band vs sleeve recovery is mostly the same. Similar pre surgery diet and very similar post op diet. Good luck on your decision![/quote']

I seen a lady at a restaurant and noticed a bulge on her. I realized it was the lapband port. I didn't know they poke out like that.

I considered the lapband but changed my mind to the sleeve after going to an information seminar. I found this forum afterwards and found so much useful information. I'm always lurking and reading posts now.

So I had the band and I decided to go with the band because I believed it would be the option with the least complications. While there are those who have had the band and have had great success with it, and no complications that was not me unfortunately. Three months after the placement of the band the port was found to have flipped. After that was surgically fixed the physician put fluid in the band. At that time I found I couldn't eat food and was sliming and vomiting with anything solid. They ended up taking all the fluid out of it because it would take me 4 hours to get through a 240 ml protein shake. I lost weight but I was also severely dehydrated. Then I ended up laying on the bathroom floor vomiting and dry heaving for 12 hours. I went to a new surgeon and after a swallow study found that my band had slipped and I would have to have the band removed. I chose to have a sleeve at the same time. When the surgeon went in he realized the band was placed incorrectly and was causing an erosion. I cannot describe to you the pain I had with every swallow in the weeks running up to having the band removed. I had constant chest pain that was unrelenting. After having the sleeve the difference in the quality of my life is amazing. I wish I would have had the option of the sleeve to begin with as because I had already had a WLS I had to pay for this out of pocket. I hurt too much to fight insurance and I just wanted it out. So bottom line. I would never have had the band had I knew what I had to go through. Do the research, make your own decision and good luck.

I chose the sleeve out of lap band, sleeve and by pass because I know someone who did the band and is heavier now than when she did it. I know it is her choices in food since you can eat whatever just smaller amounts same with the sleeve but didn't want something in my body that could cause problems down the road. Plus people that I have talked to that were sleeved had less problems than the ones I know that did the band. It is a personal choice but I felt this one was the best of the three. Good luck with your choice and with your weight loss.

My PCM sent me to the seminar with my thought of getting the lapband done. Whenever I call to make my appointment for the seminar the nurse there asked me have I ever considered the sleeve gastrectomy, I asked did tricare pay for that bc ive not heard of it. She said yes but just to do some research on it before coming to the seminar which would be one month later. So on that same day I started researching everything looking for every forum reading every post! By the time I made it to the seminar 30 days later I knew that I wanted the sleeve. I had over 30 questions prewritten for the surgeon, nut nd psychologist. The surgeon talked about all 3 nd gave stats from their surgical experience as well as other stats. We had mostly sleevers, 2 bands nd 2 who were told that gbs was their hope bc of bmis over 50 or 60, so b4 it was over, one of the band people left, nd the other chose sleeve nd the gbs stayed the same and we had over 20 people or so. It is an individual choice but do ur hw, don't let ur mind be changed by anything other than YOUR OWN research and prayers. But like I said, take heed to what people who've had lapband revision and know y they had it bc I doubt anyone wud just change from lapband to vgs unless it was medically necessary. Nd one more 2 cent, it is a foreign object in ur body, which will try nd reject it at whatever costs, not to mention always having to be stuck in the belly to refill or maintain the band. I'm glad that my research helped me make the decision to be sleeved. Can't wait for my date. God bless nd gl w ur choice:) . Sorry, p.s. I didn't want gbs bc I love sweets, which they say u can nvr ever have wo dumping it, nd I don't want my insides rerouted. I just need help, which I feel the vgs tool will provide for me. If it was all about just losing weight so fast, id have gbs, not sayn that that's why people do it. What I mean is, w vgs, I feel w the rate of weight loss, I'll learn how to help myself make better choices for the rest of my life. , Dee Dee

I'm also a lapband survivor. Loved my band. Allowed me to lose over 100 lbs. Had it in 2009 and it finally slipped (my fault, frequent vomiting). I'm now 2 weeks away from my sleeve surgery. They're doing the removal at the same time. I chose the sleeve over bypass cuz I think bypass is a little extreme for my needs (my bmi is 28 and I want to lose 40 lbs) but also can't do this on my own (I've proven that, gaining 30 lbs over the last year), so I chose the sleeve. It wasn't offered to me 4 yrs ago. While I'm scared to lose 85% of my stomach, I know I can't do this on my own.

PM me if you want to know more about the band. Like I said, I LOVED my band. If you're a true rule follower and never, ever break them, it may be a good idea. If not, you run the risk of a slip (like me). I thin the band was a fad, like Phen-Fen in the 90's.

Good luck with your decision!

I choose the sleeve because I did not want to go for fills and up keep. I also look and the complications and success rates withe Sleeve. Best decision I ever made. I Love my Sleeve.

Hey everyone,

Hoping I can get some help here. I had my appt with my doctor yesterday and he recommended the sleeve. I have been focused on the band since I decided to do a wls so now I'm a little confused. Curious as to why people picked the sleeve instead of the lap band. At the end of the day, I know it's my decision but I would like to get some feedback in the mean time. If you have good, bad and ugly stories I would love to hear them all. No sense in sugar coating what's to be expected if I decide to go with the sleeve. Thanks in advance!!

I started out thinking I'd have lapband like three of my friends did. Two of the three are regaining, neither reached their goal. The third, the wife of one of the others, had complications and had her band removed 6 weeks after it was put in place. I read and read, and the failure rate was/is high. I'd never heard of the sleeve 3.5 years ago when I started researching, but when I did, I knew forced Portion Control is what I needed. I never looked back.