This thread is going to be sooo inappropriate!

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Oh I didn't mean to say that I'd want the sleeve surgery reversed. I meant that I might not have many alternatives if there was a complication having to do with the removal of part of my stomach.

Wasa, you've had really good results from getting the band removed and the getting the sleeve surgery, right? What went wrong with the band? I am trying to figure out if it's just me who is weak and therefore a potential candidate for the sleeve, or if I really should have experienced some kind of complication from the band before it is sensible to get the sleeve.

I've read posts of very successfully banded people who actually have great feelings toward their bands. They are "at one" with their band and would be devastated if it ever had to be removed.

I am not one of those people. I have had a limited amount of success and I am aware of the port nearly evey moment of every day. I worry about having this foreign body in me and worry that it might be causing damage in some way. I don't think those thoughts are very conducive to success.

But if I were to get the sleeve, I wonder if I would still be worried that I have a foreign body in me. I mean I would be an idiot to go through that surgery and continue to question my decision. In fact, I worry that I would feel even more frustrated than ever. (And weak)

The side effect of not absorbing B-12 is no biggie. I often take subinguinal B-12 now. And as far as Calcium is concerned, I have had kidney stones a couple of times in my life and so I probably don't process calcium properly now anyway. The nausea is a little scary. I hate feeling nauseated.

Another problem that I can foresee is that my husband would have a heart attack if I told him I wanted to get the sleeve. He was very supportive of me getting the band, but he did question my sanity. He thought I was courageous and strong and all that, but he's not one to ever choose elective surgery for anything. I'm sure he's as disappointed in my band as I have been though.

For 8.5 months now my band is sitting in an OR baggie on my dresser while I think up a way to kill it before it spreads its evil to others.

Wanna know the truth? For a long time I thought I was the only person with such severe band problems. I told a few people I wanted to revise to a sleeve but I was afraid to announce it here because I would be the band loser that I am. There was only one person that I found in the beginning that had sooo many problems with that piece of crap. I went on saying the band was great because I really thought I was in the minority with the kind of band problems I was having. The one person that had the SAME problems as me was Julissa, another poster here who went on to revise to bypass just a few weeks ago. I didn't lie, I honestly thought the band was a great thing for most people. I didn't want my weird ass band problems to discourage someone else from getting banded. What was I supposed to say? I did not slip, I did not erode, I did not have pouch dilation, no esophageal dilation, just band intolerance. What is that? A nut diagnosis?

I've learned a LOT since I had my band removed. I am not in the minority, I am in the MAJORITY. The band sucks. Every newbie loves their band, they see the scale moving. To hell with the puking and various forms of stoma spewing, so what that you can't eat in public for fear of hurling up some slimed piece of restaurant food. The scale is moving. What else in life matters? Heck, I put my marriage on the line over the band. I wanted weight loss like I wanted nothing else in life. I was determined to make this work.

I exercised every single day, hard cardio for 1-2 hours daily minimum. That's why I don't have any sympathy at all for people who whine that they don't like exercise, they don't want to, they don't have time. Total crap, if you had time to research the band, have surgery, and go through all that you have time to exercise. I hated exercise too, still do. But it's like cleaning the toilet. It's something you have to do.

My symptoms... everything except slips, erosion, and dilation. I may not have had those but I had everything else. You know what I have come to realize? I know exactly what band intolerance is now. It is not a psych diagnosis, it is a physical problem. You know how everything affects restriction? Time of day, time of month, weather, temp, temp of food (hot, room temp, cold), stress, emotions, bloody everything. What will make another person a little tight would make me obstruct. If my food was hot or cold, my stoma would clamp shut. EVERYTHING had to be room temp including Protein Shakes. If I was the least bit on edge, it would clamp shut. If I was just a little annoyed with a phone call ... that meant I couldn't get Water down. I would slime on water with an unfilled band. If everything was going perfectly, I was not rushed, stressed, moody, etc., I could guzzle water. If someone called and said they'd be 10 minutes late I might be just a little bit annoyed and that's all it took. My band was shut tighter than a virgin on prom night (phrase stolen from a great x-poster here). I could eat steak without hardly chewing when things were good. If the setting was anything but perfect I'd slime on water.

Then Mr. Bubblebutt and I decided to split and with all his game playing and usual couples "stuff" I couldn't get any solids down for 4 months. Now, I had been asking my doc for a revision for a few months and he declined, he didn't feel the risk outweighed the benefits. He felt I had learned to work around the problems, I was at goal, I was doing well. He just felt it was an unnecessary surgery. Then when I couldn't get anything but liquids down for months then he started pushing for a revision. He'd email reminding me that he was looking at his OR schedule and my name wasn't on it. I was going through my 2nd guessing, wondering if all this was in my head, I just didn't know what to do. Finally I was losing a lot more weight than I wanted to or intended to. So I finally scheduled the revision.

I had esophageal spasms (verrry painful), esophageal damage resulted in the end, stoma spasms, reflux, an inability to eat solids, I never wanted to eat in public unless it was with another banded person. I'd go to lunch with Denise but never someone that didn't have a band because they wouldn't "get it". My voice was starting to sound like a cross between a frog and a boy in puberty... esophageal damage. My teeth were suffering from barfing. It was a non stop battle between me and my band. I hated it, I resented my band and there were days if I would have known how I would have ripped it out myself.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore and scheduled the sleeve. My biggest fear was that the sleeve would make my problems permanent and forever. THAT is why I was dragging my feet, I was scared to death that this was never going to end. I couldn't decide between banded life and fat. It really is a hard decision. Finally my doc just looked at me and asked me to trust him. I DO trust him, so I left it at that.

Life has never been better since after the post op diet. I don't keep plastic bags in every room, my purse, my car, my desk, and everywhere else to barf in. I don't need them anymore. I have no food intolerances AT ALL. I eat four small meals a day. I don't struggle in the least to maintain. I don't exercise much because I don't need to. I have my life back AND I'm thin.

There is no way to describe the difference between life with a band and life without. I did not know that I am not the minority, I am the majority. Maybe most don't experience things to the same degree that I did, but they experience it. No sweet spot,.. you know... when I was sleeved and started on solids I was in for the shock of my life! I had NO clue what REAL restriction was all about. Holy crap! what a concept! I realized how much I had been white knuckling it unless, of course, life was not ohhh sooo perfect and I couldn't drink water. THIS is easy, banding is HARD!

In my heart I can never suggest banding to anyone. Stats show you are going to lose half your excess weight on a temporary basis. Sure, some beat the odds... I did. But I paid dearly for it. All this time I could have had a damn sleeve!

A band IS a ticking time bomb. It may not mess up today, but you can bet it will tomorrow or the day after. I dare you to do something... out of the thousands and thousands of posters posting here, find five people that have had a band for 10 years or longer. Just five. Not 500, just five. Try it. Find them, introduce me to them. I want to see how well they like their band. I'll bet you can't find five people that are still banded and happy. Shoot, I'll bet you can't find five banded unhappy people.

You know, I wasn't sure how or when I was going to tell everyone I got sleeved. Kira did it for me. Ooupss... she didn't realize I hadn't told anyone here or on my doc's board I was getting a revision. She was calling the hospital and when I was in recovery she announced it here, on OH, and my docs board I was in recovery. Heh... that was weird. I have a different ID for each board but all the regs know all my IDs. I've never hidden them. I don't even know why I have different IDs on various boards. Anyway, since I had my revision and I have been verrrry open about it I've had four docs contact me and tell me since Kira announced my revision and since I have been verrry open about it since that time they are slam dunked with revisions. None of us really wanted to talk about problems other than slips and erosion or dilation. Since I've been my usual vocal self people are realizing they are not alone and they are doing something about it. We ALL thought we were failures and we weren't. I was just lucky that I was determined enough to lose weight with the sucky band vs. falling into soft food syndrome and I grant you, that would have been easy but I didn't do it. I stuck to my guns, I wasn't going to go through all that and not lose, it wasn't going to happen.

So if anything positive came out of the band in my case it is that I am very vocal and the reason that I am so vocal about how much the band sucks is because nobody else was speaking up about the "kind" of problems and the degree of problems I was having and I thought I was the only one. That's not even close to truth, now I realize it's COMMON and if my speaking up makes others realize they are not alone in band failure, all the better.

I have not had a single day since 6/3/08, the day of my revision, that I haven't had a PM or email on here, OH, my doc's board, or someone giving out my name/email address where someone hasn't asked me about revision from band to anything else. Before my revision it was once in a blue moon someone would ask about a revision and what was necessary, who did them, how to get ins to cover, etc. Today it is DAILY. That's not us failing, that is the band failing.

Again, the band is a great way to lose about 1/2 your excess weight on a temporary basis. Inamed doesn't even put their long term weight loss stats on their own website! They did for a short time and people were up in arms. Now they removed the numbers, the actual stats, and infer it's a LOT of weight loss. It's not a lot of weight, it's 55-60% of their excess weight. Big deal, if a 50+BMI person loses half their excess weight they are still obese in the end. That's not great. It's better than 50BMI but obese is not great. It's obese.

Once in awhile I get PMs from people that have revised from band to sleeve and they mention that they feel sad when someone announces that they have a date, they are getting banded. For those of us that have been there we feel sorry for those folks because we know a majority of them are going to be in the same boat as us. I know the emotional turmoil, the feeling like a freak of a failure, the band problems, reflux, pain, etc. It's hard to be excited for someone when you know what their future is likely to hold. Re-ops for banding is between 30-50% depending on which study you look at and that's for those less than 5 years out!

Check out OH boards. Just scan the topics under the band forum and compare it to the sleeve forum. Bands are all about they can't get restriction, they are stuck, they dilated their pouch and they are on liquids, they dilated their esophagus and they are on liquids, they are not losing well, etc. Then scan the sleeve boards. Most old timers don't post because they have no issues and problems. It's newbies posting to tell how great the weight loss is.

I'll shout it from the damn rooftops! The band sucks! The sleeve rocks! No maintenance, no adjustments, no aftercare, no nothing. It's sew and go. Get surgery and go home. You are done.

I gotta tell you, writing that felt damned fine!

[Nanook 2]

Wasa,

let's also not forget that everyone is different and not everyone does well on the band from the beginning. They don't even get to the point you did where they have such traumatic complications. I admire your honesty and hope you don't get attacked like I have in the past. Basically trying to help those to be aware that it doesn't always work they way they make it appear it will! We need to stop blaming the patients! Take care, Nancy.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Wasa,

let's also not forget that everyone is different and not everyone does well on the band from the beginning. They don't even get to the point you did where they have such traumatic complications. I admire your honesty and hope you don't get attacked like I have in the past. Basically trying to help those to be aware that it doesn't always work they way they make it appear it will! We need to stop blaming the patients! Take care, Nancy.

I had problems starting from day #4. I made it work for as long as I could.

[Nanook 2]

Well even though my daughter did really well with her RNY, lost over 140 lbs and is doing well health-wise I was too paranoid about getting a revision. I suppose I lost all faith in WLS for myself after my lap banding experience, I'm dealing with it now the best I can.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Well even though my daughter did really well with her RNY, lost over 140 lbs and is doing well health-wise I was too paranoid about getting a revision. I suppose I lost all faith in WLS for myself after my lap banding experience, I'm dealing with it now the best I can.

We are ALL afraid of revision. You do what is best for you and leave it at that.

[Nanook 2]

That's the problem, I thought I knew what I was doing the first time and don't want to fail again!

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I am not one of those people. I have had a limited amount of success and I am aware of the port nearly evey moment of every day. I worry about having this foreign body in me and worry that it might be causing damage in some way. I don't think those thoughts are very conducive to success.

BTW, you aren't going to be aware of the staples like you are with a band or port. The staples are itty bitty, it looks like a tiny little zipper. You can't feel them, you are not aware of them, they don't set off alarms at the airport, you just are not aware of them.

After I got to goal my port stuck out like a tumor and I had the low profile port. I can't imagine what the bigger port would have looked like, it was gross as it was.

Sleeves are just a whole different world. With bands all your food has to go through a tiny stoma, if you didn't chew well enough it gets stuck or comes right back up. No so with a sleeve. You just have a small stomach and get full faster.

I can eat about 2oz of solid Protein or 4-6oz of soft protein. So I eat 4 times daily and maintain without effort at a 20BMI.

If you still want to lose weight, go for it.

[Nanook 2]

BTW, you aren't going to be aware of the staples like you are with a band or port. The staples are itty bitty, it looks like a tiny little zipper. You can't feel them, you are not aware of them, they don't set off alarms at the airport, you just are not aware of them.

After I got to goal my port stuck out like a tumor and I had the low profile port. I can't imagine what the bigger port would have looked like, it was gross as it was.

Sleeves are just a whole different world. With bands all your food has to go through a tiny stoma, if you didn't chew well enough it gets stuck or comes right back up. No so with a sleeve. You just have a small stomach and get full faster.

I can eat about 2oz of solid Protein or 4-6oz of soft protein. So I eat 4 times daily and maintain without effort at a 20BMI.

If you still want to lose weight, go for it.

Wasa,

That's funny you brought up the staples at the airport, just sent my daughter on her first solo trip down south to visit some college friends and I was waiting for her to go through security and I was waiting for them to stop her for having her RNY but they didn't.

I can't believe my brain is working this way now but I suppose you can go through different stages, like death and dying, when you lose your band or it never worked and you lose your band. It's pretty traumatic as I'm sure you well know. I just don't know if I choose to revise, after saying I never would, if I be more successful with the sleeve or the RNY. I want to make sure it will work this time and have lost a lot of confidence during my banding experience, thanks for your honest assist, I appreciate it! Nancy.

[plain 12]

Not really. There is one person on OH that is having a really hard time with a lot of issues. She is mortified because the stink was coming out through her skin. When a DS person farts the stench hangs on their clothes. There is a girl (I believe it was on OH, can't swear to it) that said she actually received written reprimands from her supervisor because of the smell. They thought she wasn't bathing. They moved her back to a desk in the back of the room because her coworkers were complaining about her odor. They finally fired her.

Other people have talked about how they build an extra bathroom on the house so the DS person can poop their little hearts out without bothering the rest of the family.

People have discussed all kinds of issues regarding odor. Suggestions for people in social settings, employment settings, etc.

Don't forget my personal fave....charcoal-lined drawers.

Plus I got WLS to have a normal life. That means once in a while having something with sugar in it or once in a while having white carbs. They aren't every day foods for me, but once in while I have them and enjoy them and I want to keep doing that.

Amen. I could have lost at a much faster rate if I strictly ate only healthy food.....but there is quality of life to consider. I'm happy losing at a slower pace, knowing I can occasionally eat something "bad" if I want to. The band has helped with my Portion Control, which is EXACTLY what I need. That's why the band doesn't feel like a "diet" to me.

We need to stop blaming the patients! Take care, Nancy.

Too late! I already blame the patients. There's an old healthcare joke that the job wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the patients...

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Too late! I already blame the patients. There's an old healthcare joke that the job wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the patients...

Holy crap, isn't THAT the truth! ;o) You can spot them a mile away!

Edited February 17, 2009 by WASaBubbleButt

[skittles108 1]

I don't post here much, but I'm almost 3 years out and love my band. I'm down about 130 lbs. and have never had a single problem with it. The band is far from "crap" for me, but I don't choose to speak for others. It may not be for everyone, but it definitely was the right choice for me. I have maintained my weight for well over a year now, and in fact lost 6 more pounds, so I consider myself a success. I was older getting this band, and worked hard to get approved.

I'm sorry BubbleButt that you hated your band, but "one man's trash is another man's treasure" and so it is with me and my band. I plan on dying with this wonderful little device inside me, AND absolutely no one can tell me I didn't do the right thing for me. I didn't want my guts rearranged, and that is the reason most people choose the band. I am going to end this post by saying I have never regretted a single day of having this band..not one single, solitary day, so please speak only for yourself. I choose to speak only for me, and I live each day like it is the beginning of my life thanks to this band.

[Jachut 487]

Me either, its the best thing I ever did.

Do I think most people will have a problem or two along the way - yes. Most people will suffer episodes of pb, discomfort eating, heart burn and a bit of reflux is extremely common, and most will probably experience frustration with fill levels at some point in time. I do believe too that most of us will not have these bands in us forever, that there will be improvements in obesity treatment, improvements in bands and that we may need to upgrade, or may choose to.

But do I believe the majority have horrible troubles like you did Wasa? No. Many bandsters would trade minor issues for being healthier and thinner for life and not give it a second thought. I know a lot of bandsters in real life here in Melbourne and I certainly dont know any that must keep baggies in every room to puke in. I dont fear eating in public. Personally, I might puke once a month if that, its usually hormonally induced tightness and always always at home becuase I'm less careful there. Just because you were happy to remove part of your stomach that you dont believe you need doesnt make that the right decision for everyone, which you are coming quite close to saying. And I hate to say it because I respect your opinions lots but you're sounding almost as strident as the DSers this thread is poking fun at.

The sleeve is an option, that is all. The band is an option too and one many people find preferable. I get a little tired of being made to feel like an idiot becuase I'm supposedly so dumb I couldnt SEE what a mistake I was making.

I'd go so far as to agree with you though that sew and go is the way to go in America. Managing a band here with a close and constant relationship with your doctor is not expensive and its not difficult. But its not the same case in different countries.

The band wasnt right for you Wasa and I'm really really glad you found a surgery that is. But the band IS fine for many people and its really no different to choose to irrevocably change an organ in your body than it is to choose to risk some complications that may be unpleasant. Either way we're taking quite drastic measures to solve obesity arent we?

I hope I can say that, i dont want to spark a huge debate. But please remember most of us have chosen bands and dont want to be called fools for doing so. You can think it of course :-p

Edited February 17, 2009 by Jachut

[plain 12]

Wow, wish I had read Wasa'a novel-length post before I got banded.....not. I know you love your sleeve, Wasa, and that's cool that things are fab for you now, but c'mon.....

How many times did you point out that the problems you had put you in the MAJORITY, not the minority of bandsters? That may be your personal opinion, wasa, but you toss in some statistics and make it sound like a well-researched fact. It's not.

Anywho, I'm not trying to pick a fight either. I just don't get you sometimes....either you are the most altruistic person on this board, or else you get fixated on a few "pet" topics. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt if you'll quit trying to piss on the joy I'm having being banded. Just be as happy for me that the band is working as I am for you that the sleeve is working. Deal?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I don't post here much, but I'm almost 3 years out and love my band. I'm down about 130 lbs. and have never had a single problem with it. The band is far from "crap" for me, but I don't choose to speak for others. It may not be for everyone, but it definitely was the right choice for me. I have maintained my weight for well over a year now, and in fact lost 6 more pounds, so I consider myself a success. I was older getting this band, and worked hard to get approved.

I'm sorry BubbleButt that you hated your band, but "one man's trash is another man's treasure" and so it is with me and my band. I plan on dying with this wonderful little device inside me, AND absolutely no one can tell me I didn't do the right thing for me. I didn't want my guts rearranged, and that is the reason most people choose the band. I am going to end this post by saying I have never regretted a single day of having this band..not one single, solitary day, so please speak only for yourself. I choose to speak only for me, and I live each day like it is the beginning of my life thanks to this band.

I don't believe I did speak for you. I told MY story and I posted the stats. Nowhere did I write that Skittles hates her band.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Wow, wish I had read Wasa'a novel-length post before I got banded.....not. I know you love your sleeve, Wasa, and that's cool that things are fab for you now, but c'mon.....

How many times did you point out that the problems you had put you in the MAJORITY, not the minority of bandsters? That may be your personal opinion, wasa, but you toss in some statistics and make it sound like a well-researched fact. It's not.

Anywho, I'm not trying to pick a fight either. I just don't get you sometimes....either you are the most altruistic person on this board, or else you get fixated on a few "pet" topics. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt if you'll quit trying to piss on the joy I'm having being banded. Just be as happy for me that the band is working as I am for you that the sleeve is working. Deal?

That's not fair, Plain. I pointed out stats and personal experience. If you like your band, kewl beans! I'm happy for you. If the band works for you that is fantastic. But I've been on the receiving end (on another board) when the band doesn't work and people who are fearful they will experience band problems tend to attack those who are having problems. Matter of fact, one person who has posted in this thread blasted me on another board and flat out told me I don't have a right to a revision surgery, it's as though you get one WLS in life and that's it. I was self pay both times. That was a wrong turn to take with me, I don't cower in a corner, I come out fighting.

I have not had one single day since my revision was announced that I am not contacted by someone wanting information on revision. That's not what really shocks me, what shocks me is who is contacting me. People that are all pro-band on the boards and how life is so great with a band yet it's all bogus, they are PMing and emailing me asking about how to get ins to cover a revision because they can't hack it with a band anymore. You'd be shocked at who is wanting and getting revisions. These people are doing the same thing I was. I thought it was just me, I thought I was in the minority. I was pro band because I thought it did a good job for a lot of people, the majority of people. All newbies pretty much love the band. Those two years out have a different perspective many times.

I belong to two band grad boards, one is for those banded one year or more. The other is for those banded one year or more and at goal. Both boards are similar, most are not happy with their bands and want to revise or have already revised. THAT is where people are honest.

Inamed has been calling doctors trying to determine why sales are going down. They want to know if it is the economy or what. Doctors are telling them that they are as busy as ever doing revisions, sleeves, and bypass. They aren't buying bands because they aren't banding as many people as before. Various hospitals outside the US won't do any banding anymore, the country of Chile is doing away with banding completely and doing sleeves and bypass. It's not just me.

If you are doing well, losing weight, you are healthy, not having major band problems then it should be pretty well impossible to piss on your joy. So don't you dare try and dump that on me, I'm not taking responsibility for your joy one way or another. You don't like the stats? Don't blame me, I'm not taking responsibility for that one either.

This is R&R, if you only want raves then perhaps you can just read half the posts.