I posted this under a different thread in a couple of different forums (age 60+) and didn't get a lot of replies. Hoping the change in title will help:

#1 I want the lap band removed (placed in 2008 by different surgeon) but I am still struggling with the decision to get the sleeve.

Ultimately I know the decision is mine and I have to do what I think is right but I'd like some practical (not philosophical) advice.

To me the main purpose of any WSL should be to improve one's quality of life. If losing weight does that - great. If your medical conditions improve - great. If you can do things you couldn't do before - great. And finally - if you look and feel better - great.

My band is unfilled now and I can eat most anything. It is a crap shoot though as to when I get stuck or feel very uncomfortable and need to make myself throw up. I also get left shoulder pain.

I was diagnosed with GERD many years ago and have been on nexium for about 10 years - so I have no heartburn or symptoms of GERD. During this time I have slept elevated.

At age 64 I have chronic back pain and arthritis. Tylenol is not effective. My weight doesn't keep me from doing anything - more so the back pain and arthritis (neither of which improved with my weight loss with the band).

So that brings me to my dilemma:

I am at a BMI of 35 and the surgeon says I can expect to lose about 45 pounds. And I won't be able to take NSAIDS for life to treat my pain.

I have also read that about 1/3 of those who didn't have acid reflux develop it after the sleeve.

I have also heard the word "stuck" and vomiting and sliming with referral to the sleeve.

Then there are all the foods (even healthy ones) that one cannot eat after the sleeve and many posts about problems with foods - getting enough Protein, etc...

So, I guess what I am trying to decide is if the sleeve will improve the quality of my life or create problems I don't have now without benefits to my medical conditions (that's asking a lot for 45 pounds).

Any advice - especially from those who didn't have a lot of weigh to lose?

honestly if you asked me would i have the sleeve to lose 45 pounds the answer is very adamantly no way. now you mention something like the word "stuck" in a sleeve it doesn't get stuck like in a lapband, you feel full very fast and if you dont eat slow enough and chew well enough that full feeling gets ignored until you are overfull and that is the stuck sensation i believe people are really mentioning. most people i know with more advanced arthritis than me have found alternatives to regular nsaids. as to the reflux, i had horrible gerd i slept in an adjustable bed for years due to it, but since my surgery my gerd is non existent, i had some acid issues immediately post surgery but nothing above the stomach.

honestly if you asked me would i have the sleeve to lose 45 pounds the answer is very adamantly no way. now you mention something like the word "stuck" in a sleeve it doesn't get stuck like in a lapband, you feel full very fast and if you dont eat slow enough and chew well enough that full feeling gets ignored until you are overfull and that is the stuck sensation i believe people are really mentioning. most people i know with more advanced arthritis than me have found alternatives to regular nsaids. as to the reflux, i had horrible gerd i slept in an adjustable bed for years due to it, but since my surgery my gerd is non existent, i had some acid issues immediately post surgery but nothing above the stomach.

Thank you for your honest reply. I do have a lot to think about. I don't want to create problems for me where there are currently none. I'm too old and have had to deal with too many issues in my life for me to add more problems. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, soon after my husband was diagnosed with cancer from which he died almost 10 years ago. I struggle with chronic back conditions for which 4 neurosurgeons have no solutions.

So, while my life is far from perfect health wise, I do not want to detract from what quality of life I do have with the unknowns of this surgery. Thus my dilemma.