Since the merger, we are all obviously seeing new faces and hearing new opinions. I believe we have all read the threads regarding the "vs" of all the different surgeries. I have to say though that it gets frustrating when people post wrong facts based on a surgery that they have not had. That's why I'm thinking lets just get all of the truths and myths out on the table. Let differentiate between facts and opinions. What I am hoping for is actual "I have lived with this surgery" type information. We can all find case studies and documentation to support are arguments so I believe we should not use this thread to post links to articles. Lets keep it to real experiences, honest opinions, no false truths and no Internet myths. We are all adults here, no wars or instigations. If someone is wrong, please just respectfully disagree and move on. This should be a helpful thread, not a battle ground.

I honestly do not know much truth about other surgeries aside from the band. I will get things started with some band truths though.

The band should not be considered reversible. It is removable. If it is removed, the placement of the band itself around your stomach can often leave behind scar tissue and other issues that would prevent your stomach from every being back to the way it was pre op. Therefore, many people see it as not truly reversible.

You do not have to have fills with the band. Fills are how the band is designed to work to its fullest potential but many people find plenty of restriction and satiety with no fills at all. It is possible to live with no fills.

With the band, many people can only take liquid medications but many can also still take pills, tablets and capsules. Just because you have a band doesn't mean you can only take liquid medications.

The band has helped fix my reflux. I battled acid reflux for 20 years but I now no longer have reflux issues. I no longer take meds for reflux. I consider it to be partly from the band creating the tighter than my esophagus opening and from the band allowing me to eat/drink healthier.

Here is my experience with RNY. First, I had my original gastric bypass in January 2005 at the age of 24 with a starting weight of 249 lbs. I did great with no real problems. I never had a goal weight but I got to my stable weight at about 6 months (157 lbs.). My weight stayed the same till January of 2009 after my divorce. I did gain back about 75% of the weight I loss. It is 100% my fault. I could eat anything prior to weight gain but after the divorce when my entire life changed dramatically I started to eat more often and much more carry out/fast food. The weight came back quickly but I was in denial. This past July I decided to look into a revision. I met with a different surgeon that was a revision specialist. My pouch had obviously stretch. On October 31 I had my revision with a starting weight of 217 lbs. I am now 33 and my recovery has been very slow and painful. I have only lost 10 pounds but I have lost inches. I am struggling with Protein intake. I am positive that I can do this again and commit 100% as my life is drastically different and I actively participate in therapy.

So in my nine years here is what I know:

#1 You gain regain your weight if you stop following the eating rules. The pouch will stretch.

#2 Vitamin deficiencies are very real and you MUST take Vitamins for life. You must also take bariatric vitamins. I will note this part was not true in, research wise in 2005. I developed a deficiency because I was told pills like Centrum and Citracal were just fine. I know now the importance of bariatric geared vitamins.

#3 Once I got t to about a two years post op I forgot I even had the surgery because my eating habits were just natural. I didn't think about it.

#4 I became extremely fertile after bypass and hormonal birth control didn't work.

Most people here are under 3 years out so I hope my story tells a more long term view. I am not a model patient. I admit I did not have to try very hard to lose my weight the first time. But on the other hand it didn't take much to regain it back. For me I went back to letting food be my emotional crunch and coping tool. Now that I have that under control I can be successful.

I am 110% delighted I had my original surgery in 2005. Even though I am not having an easy time this go around I know that I am older now but I know what is down the road for me. This keeps me in check.

Can you explain what sort of "revision" surgery you had? I know of a couple of people who had bypass years ago, regained and are unhappy. I know about the band-over-bypass, converting to DS, sleeving, and the Rose procedure, can you elaborate on what you had done?

Best of luck to you!

I just saw a friend last night who had RnY probably 8-10 years ago. She initially lost either 130 or 180 pounds (can't remember but it was significant) and told me she has gained 50 pounds back. She said that her "pouch" (is that the right term?) was the size of a shot glass and over time it's stretched again to probably 1.5 to 2 times that size.

She basically said she has to have 6 small meals. But she has stopped exercising, and she still eats chocolate at night, and that is what has caused the regain.

She knows what to do and says she will try to do it, but she's in her late 50s and nothing comes easily any more.

It's interesting in comparison with your post, Pear. She knows what she needs to do and hasn't yet been interested in making the changes. From my perspective as a newbie to WLS, it was a cautionary tale of sorts.

I just saw a friend last night who had RnY probably 8-10 years ago. She initially lost either 130 or 180 pounds (can't remember but it was significant) and told me she has gained 50 pounds back. She said that her "pouch" (is that the right term?) was the size of a shot glass and over time it's stretched again to probably 1.5 to 2 times that size. She basically said she has to have 6 small meals. But she has stopped exercising, and she still eats chocolate at night, and that is what has caused the regain. She knows what to do and says she will try to do it, but she's in her late 50s and nothing comes easily any more. It's interesting in comparison with your post, Pear. She knows what she needs to do and hasn't yet been interested in making the changes. From my perspective as a newbie to WLS, it was a cautionary tale of sorts.

yup yup yup.....anything can be undone, it's not magic (well, it kind of is, but it's magic that takes a little work). That's where the lifestyle changes come in...they can't be temporary, they've got to 'stick' or else the obesity monster can easily come back to play. As I'm typing this there's a commercial on for Lipozene...it really works, burns off pure fat, will work for everyone...shoot me now.

Yes regain is a reality with ALL forms of WLS..

We are sneaky, sometimes addicted creatures and can find ways around anything to get our "fix"

She was also blown away by the fact that I had surgery. Even at my heaviest, I was smaller than she is. She asked why, and I said, "Because I was clinically morbidly obese, I qualified, and I want to do this now while there is some time to turn it around."

Oh well. No competition from my standpoint but it says a lot about denial and how we see ourselves too.

She was also blown away by the fact that I had surgery. Even at my heaviest, I was smaller than she is. She asked why, and I said, "Because I was clinically morbidly obese, I qualified, and I want to do this now while there is some time to turn it around." Oh well. No competition from my standpoint but it says a lot about denial and how we see ourselves too.

better late than never but even better to be proactive and take charge while you're still reasonably healthy. I know someone right now begging to get a bypass but the surgeons in the area refuse because her other health issues are so severe....it's rather sad.

She was also blown away by the fact that I had surgery. Even at my heaviest, I was smaller than she is. She asked why, and I said, "Because I was clinically morbidly obese, I qualified, and I want to do this now while there is some time to turn it around." Oh well. No competition from my standpoint but it says a lot about denial and how we see ourselves too.

Yes I have a good friend that is significantly larger than me get flabbergasted when I told her I was having WLS! The fact of the matter though is at a 40 BMI I was MORBIDLY obese...

I think it was a shock to her. Not sure why; she has eyes and she has surely seen me steadily gain weight over the last 20 years.

I think it was a shock to her. Not sure why; she has eyes and she has surely seen me steadily gain weight over the last 20 years.

I think it takes getting used to for all of us really..

Back in the day WLS was reserved for super morbidity obese people.

I mean it is a radical step right?

Then it became more main stream and those of us that are just morbidly obese started having the surgery.... And bigger people were like wtf?

Now it's becoming so common that people in the low 30's BMI are doing it and us 40 BMI peeps were going wtf??

I don't know how to articulate this either, but I think it might also be that she feels she would be "happy" at my weight, so the fact that I have gone to this "drastic" extreme might not sit well.

But that's a lot of assumptions wrapped in innuendo and of course my latent psychic abilities.

I don't know how to articulate this either, but I think it might also be that she feels she would be "happy" at my weight, so the fact that I have gone to this "drastic" extreme might not sit well. But that's a lot of assumptions wrapped in innuendo and of course my latent psychic abilities.

Oh yes! I've seen it a lot here, in just the scenario I posted about above. It's all about perspective..

A 60+ BMI would love to be a 40 and so on and so fourth. We all did this to improve upon ourselves... That improvement is a relative..

Having had a lap band that failed and now having the sleeve I feel I can say something on both surgeries. The band worked for me for a while. I never got to the goal I wanted to be with it, but by lapband standards I was considered a success. I never found the "sweet spot" with the band. In order for me to feel restriction my band was too tight. I disagree with 5.0 about bands not needing to be filled or adjusted. I spent more than three of the six years with heart burn and on prescription medications from my band and vomited more in the 6 years with it than I did in my entire life. I am 56 so that is a lot of living. My lap band failure was not from noncompliance. I followed the pre and post-op diet to the letter so I would not risk my surgery.

I had all the Fluid removed from my band in August of this year. Even after it was unfilled, I still continued to experience severe heart burn. The prolapsed position of my band was causing problems with my esophagus and was enough evidence for my insurance company to waive the six month medically supervised diet. I can say since I have had my sleeve surgery I no longer experience heart burn and have not thrown up once. I am much happier with the sleeve. The band did not work for me, but has for a lot of people. This post is not meant to bash the band, but to say that for me it wasn't the right surgery and I now have a new opportunity to succeed with the sleeve.

I find it aggravating also to see people post incorrect information on this site or to say "you're wrong" because you say something and it isn't what they do.

If nothing else I have seen from being banded and sleeved, is one commanality is that we had weight loss surgery, but that is about where it ends. Different doctors for the same surgery have different preop and postop diets and people start different phases at different times.

Great thread, and not just from the content, but also the tone.

Been banded almost 11 months now, lost about 60% percent of my excess weight, but that doesn't really tell the picture. I am 6 feet and down from a 46" waist to a 36" now, and I feel great. I did a large amount of research before choosing WLS, and I found that the band had the lowest weight loss result, but also the lowest surgery complication rate. I examined not only the national stats, but also the complication stats of my particular surgeon.

Because I was adamantly opposed to WLS for the majority of my life, the band was a giant step for me and I simply couldn't see doing anything more radical. With that said, if the band ever fails me, I would seriously consider revising to the sleeve.

As far as the band failure rate be mostly from non-compliance? I can believe that, I have seen people show up on this site that have almost no after care from their surgeon, who routinely ignore their doctors orders from the week of surgery on. Let me be clear though, the band DOES fail, but then again, all the WLS have their risks.

At this point in my life and health, the band was the correct decision for me, your mileage may vary (YMMV).

One thing about the band that I haven't seen mentioned. For many of us, it is tighter in the morning. Eating solid food when I first get up is an impossibility.

This is such a wonderful thread! I am really enjoying seeing the different perspectives and experiences from across the board.

One that that I want to throw in is that there are a lot of people that think sleevers loose all their weight too quickly and reach goal before a year is out - and then keep losing. I am here to say that that is not true at all. I am a year and 5 months out from surgery, have yet to reach goal, and have even completely stalled out here and there.

Also, sleevers CAN dump. I still have dumping after I eat anything with high fructose corn syrup or a very high fat/grease content. I was actually told prior to surgery that it wouldn't be a problem, but it can be.

And the hunger thing - I get hungry. I get as hungry now as I did before!

Thanks for starting this!